LISNews: Librarian News

\"Public Interest,\" a great Washington, D.C. local affairs radio show, profiled a number of area public libraries today:

It\'s a place where parents bring their children for storytime. Where senior citizens learn to surf the Web. And where families can rent their favorite DVDs. It\'s your local library. Join guest host Frank Stasio as he talks to directors from libraries around the Washington area about their role in the community.

You can find more information and listen in RealAudio here. It will be reaired tonight at 8PM for any Washingtonians out there.

The face of public libraries in the US is changing, according to this story from The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. New library buildings are designed for this new role.
\"People view libraries today more as \"information brokers,\" he said. Visitors expect a wider range of services, which includes access to computers, educational programs for children and places to meet and exchange ideas.\"

For The Daily Mail & Guardian, Barry Streek writes...

\"A Western Cape development agency, Wesgro, has initiated a novel approach for providing would-be entrepreneurs with information on small enterprises by establishing \"business corners\" in local libraries. Chief economist, Wolfgang Thomas said, \'In the search for low-cost, sustainable models for the dissemination of information to entrepreneurs, libraries have come forward as an ideal institution, accessible to the public, equipped to store and disseminate information.\' Ummm, isn\'t that what we do anyway? [more...]

I love reading about library summer programs for kids, especially the ones where the program goes way beyond the reading part. This program allowed children to study nature and included letting them dissect owl pellets. Librarianship is such a learning profession, and librarians are so creative. I had no idea what an owl pellet was until I read this. It wasn\'t what I would have thought... [read more...] from The St. Petersburg, (FL) Times.