LISNews: Librarian News

Since Kickstarter launched in 2009, everyone from indie bands to technology developers to non-profit organizations has asked themselves, “Will crowdfunding work for me?” Libraries, which often turn to more civic-minded crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo and Fundly, are no exception. But the question remains: does it work?

Cassandra Elton got the idea to establish the Antelope Lending Library in a well-traversed mall on the Southeast side of Iowa City while she was working at an after-school program in a local elementary school. Elton found that her students—primarily from low-income and immigrant families—did not have access to the literary culture for which the city is known.

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West Virginia could have saved almost $8 million had the scope of the purchase been scaled to the requirements of the state's libraries, schools and state police, the report states. Smaller, less expensive routers could have been used in the state's 172 libraries, resulting in a savings of $2.8 million; in state police facilities, for a savings of $1 million to $1.4 million; and in 368 schools with enrollments of less than 500, for a savings of $3.68 million.

WPRI reports: One year after donating $10,000 to Central Falls' Adams Memorial Library in Rhode Island, Alec Baldwin sent another $5,000 check to the library in response to its year-end fundraising appeal.

“I am overwhelmed with gratitude,” said library board president Bruce Kaplan. “A year ago, Alec’s donation helped us keep the doors open. This year he's helping us expand hours of operation and community programming.”

Funding for the Adams Memorial Library was cut in the wake of Central Falls' bankruptcy. It was forced to close its doors for several months in 2011, until a group of volunteers raised enough money to reopen the library.

This week's program has not one but two features from the United States Department of Agriculture that may prove useful to reference librarians and selectors. In the essay we talk about the World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 and how it may bode ill for the Internet not to mention that NPR reports about such as well.

Related links:

• ComputerWorld: Kill switch thrown on Internet in Syria -- Amid bloody civil war, communication blackout hits all of country
• Wired: U.N.: We Seek to Bring Internet to All
• International Telecommunications Union: Basic Texts of ITU
• Michael Geist: UN Internet Meeting About Who Pays, Not Who Rules
• National Public Radio: Shutdowns Counter The Idea Of A World-Wide Web
• Steve Kemp: Simple website creation tools
• The Register: Voda fails again: network melts in Melbourne heatwave -- ‘Try turning it off and turning it back on again’
• Joe Lambert: Offline First – A better HTML5 User Experience
• Fox 8 News: Boehner ‘Flabbergasted’ at Fiscal Cliff Proposal
• Fox 8 News: Coverage of the Emiliano Terry case
• The Cleveland Plain Dealer: Deadly police chase from Cleveland into East Cleveland brings questions, leaves families sorrowful

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