LISNews Librarian And Information Science News

Following up on yesterday's story about a public forum on the candidates for Director of the Lexington Library, here's an opportunity to view the three candidates in actionon youTube. Who made the best impression (as if it's up to you...)?

The Lexington KY Public Library is inviting members of the community to meet the three candidates for the position of Library Director. The three finalists will be on hand for a public forum at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, at the Central Library Theater. Each candidate will address the public and answer questions.

Check out their vitae here. Who's your pick?

From the Phoenix Center study itself:

"We find that broadband use at home or at public locations reduces defection from the labor market due to discouragement by over 50 percent (50%). Dialup Internet use also has a statistically significant effect, reducing labor market discouragement by about one-third. These results provide useful insights for policymakers: on the demand-side, our results show that programs to promote Internet use keep the jobless active in job search and may equate to more employment; and, on the supply-side, our results demonstrate that the promotion of shared connections, such as at libraries, in unserved and underserved areas may, in fact, produce substantial societal benefits."

One from Times of India: Inaugurating the two-day seminar organized by the Department of Library and Information Centre, St Agnes College, on Empowering Library Professionals in Managing Digital Resources and Providing Extension Activities here recently, she said the adoption of library software could help over come the problem of staff shortage.

Librarian is the 46th best job for 2009...according to the Wall Street Journal. Five criteria determined ranking...environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress. However, it is clearly not among the best paid positions by far.

Best? Actuary. Worst (out of 200)...would you believe 'Roustabout'??

Over the past few weeks Kate had a bunch of conversations with colleagues who have recently gone through the process of hiring a new staff member in their archives, and many were surprised at how many people were making basic mistakes. So she asked for input from herfriends on Facebook and Twitter, and based on the comments of real-world archival managers, here are some things to keep in mind when you’re going through the process of applying for a job:

NH Political Library lays off paid staff
The New Hampshire Political Library, which hosts candidates during the presidential primary season and serves as a resource for journalists and researchers, had laid off its paid staff.

What seems obvious to you and me may not seem so obvious to the members of the Tulsa OK Library Board...that a librarian should be in charge of the library system.

Tulsa World editorializes: "The Tulsa City-County Library System continues to hunt for a new chief executive officer. Former CEO Linda Saferite announced Aug. 4 that she would be on extended medical leave until she retires in March.

The library board met last week to talk about what its looking for in a new library boss, who will be earning $130,000 to $150,000 a year.

The responsibilities include fundraising, strategic direction and policies, long-range planning and community relations.

Those are important jobs, and we don't begrudge the planned salary, but the title CEO bothers us."

Law Librarian's Firing Didn't Violate Free Speech
A law librarian's free-speech rights weren't violated when he was fired for blasting his superiors' alleged "disgusting, degrading, and utterly unprofessional" conduct in an email, a California appeals court ruled.

Library employees fired over censorship of graphic novel: It has become a question of what public libraries are enshrined to do, what role they are to play in monitoring children and whether they get to decide what people get to read.

What complicates this is that the graphic novel in question meets no standard of obscenity by the law.