LISNews: Hawkish On Libraries Since 1999

Two Canadian cities, Vancouver and Montreal, have the world’s best public library systems, according to a new survey by German researchers.

Library mavens at the Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf studied libraries in 31 major world cities, from London and Los Angeles, and from Shanghai to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Los Angeles finished in the middle of the pack in the ranking (16th), which took into account the wide array of services that libraries provide to their readers, including availability of printed books and digital information.

Two U.S. library systems finished third and fourth: Chicago and San Francisco. And the very bottom of the rankings were London (30th) and Dubai (31st).

http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-two-canadian-cities-have-worlds-best-public...

A brand new 1.7 million dollar library in Twiggs County is set to close Tuesday night due to lack of funds.

A brand new 1.7 million dollar library in Twiggs County is set to close Tuesday night due to lack of funds. Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal joined local officials in cutting the ribbon just two weeks ago. The library was built with mostly state money. Its operating budget is funded locally.

UPDATE - Library is back open, for now (thank you Mock Turtle).

Now if only the candidates who will win next week’s general election would take this place as seriously. Financing New York City’s three public library systems is an annual set piece of political theater, where City Hall proposes reduced budgets that are deplored and haggled over until the City Council restores much of the sum. According to a report last January by the Center for an Urban Future, since 2008 the Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens libraries have endured cuts of nearly $65 million.
NY Times

From the Flint Journal:

MONTROSE, MI -- A former Montrose librarian is suing the Genesee District Library over claims she was fired for talking too loudly.

Susan Harshfield, 30, of Swartz Creek, said she was fired for talking loudly to police after she called for help with a patron who refused to leave the library.

Library spokesman Trenton Smiley declined to comment on the lawsuit. Library attorney Patrick Parker also declined comment. No response to the allegations has been filed with the court.

Harshfield's attorney, Tom Pabst, said his client was serving as a whistleblower when she was fired by the library.

"The taxpayers and library lost a good worker in Susan," Pabst said.

The lawsuit claims that a loud dispute arose Sept. 5 between Harshfield and the library patron over DVDs. Harshfield claims that she asked the patron to leave but the patron refused, so Harshfield called the police.