LISNews: Librarian News

ModBee.com has This One that says for many of today\'s students, the Dewey Decimal System is ancient history.

They are talking about The Study by Pew Internet & American Life Project. Seventy-three percent of the 12- to 17-year-olds who were interviewed said they used the Internet. And of the 754 Internet users surveyed, 94 percent said they used it for academic research.I haven\'t gone through the study myself, but the results don\'t look good as reported.

\"You can find stuff about basically anything on the Internet,\" said Brittany Pittman, a high school sophomore, who used the Internet for a paper on Princess Diana last year. \"It\'s so much easier than finding something in the library.\"

Most of the members of the Missaukee (MI) District Library board want to hurry up and hire a new director before the state enforces legislation that would require library directors to hold an MSLS. Residents are questioning the ethics of hiring on the basis that, among other things, the contractor could write off personal vacations as business expenses. Earlier this year 900 people signed petitions asking for the resignation of board members after they fired two library directors in one year. The members refuse to resign. more... from The Traverse City Record Eagle.

ALICIA CALDWELL of the St. Petersburg Times writes:\"In what is the largest national survey of computer use, the U.S. Commerce Department today released statistics that show African-American and Hispanic children are far less likely to have a computer at home than white children. Consequently, computer access at schools and public libraries is particularly important to these youngsters as computers increasingly become life tools in the 21st century.\"
The story goes on to describe what libraries and schools in Tampa Bay are doing to provide access.
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Someone writes \"Librarians are always hearing wild, wonderful and flimsy excuses for the late return of books.
But former student Mohamed Bokreta could only write of his \"juvenile and youthful wicked whims\" after returning a book to South Thames College in London after 24 years...

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He went on to say :\"I am seeking both apologies and pardon from my dear friends, the respected college principal and his brave librarian staff\".

I just returned one about 11 years over due I found when I moved, ouch.