LISNews: Librarian News

[quote] In Louisiana, librarians panicked this summer when the state Board of Regents announced the end of funding for LOUIS, the statewide academic library network that provides journal and database access to some 30 institutions, including Louisiana State University (LSU). On a Facebook page dedicated to saving LOUIS, students and faculty alike expressed their outrage at the loss of access. "Oh, please please please save LOUIS," wrote one LSU graduate psychology student. "I'm funded by a large federal research grant from the Department of Education. We need to prove we have adequate research resources in order to secure funding.... I need the EBSCO databases like I need air or water!" [end quote]

Read more: Library cuts threaten research - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/57728/#ixzz10xDaxEBd

Related Links: LOUIS - http://www.louislibraries.org

Police: Man kills self after shooting at UT Austin
A gunman opened fire Tuesday inside a University of Texas campus library then fatally shot himself, and police are searching for a possible second suspect, university police said.

A man opened fire with an automatic weapon on the sixth floor of the Perry-Castaneda Library early Tuesday, UT police spokeswoman Rhonda Weldon said.

"He subsequently shot himself. He is deceased," she said, adding that no one else was injured.

Harry Potter and Huck Finn never met in their adventures, but they'll share a shelf at libraries across America during Banned Books Week, Sept. 25 to Oct. 2. The weeklong celebration of our freedom to read began in 1982 in response to an increase in the number of books being challenged in the nation's libraries and schools.

From DePauw University, Greencastle, IN: Banned Books Week has continued annually, and its need has not diminished. According to the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom, there were 460 recorded attempts to remove materials from libraries last year and many thousands more since the organization began counting in 1990.

Three books by Lauren Myracle -- ttyl, ttfn, and l8r, g8r -- topped the ALA's Top Ten List of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009 (see article below). Written entirely in texting shorthand, Myracle's books were challenged for sexual content and drug references. Stephenie Meyer's popular Twilight series was challenged on religious grounds, evoking opposition to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels for promoting witchcraft. And it's not just new books that are being challenged. Classics such as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye are perennial contenders for the distinction of being the most challenged book. -- Read More

A complaint by Mike Persley, who suggested that the campus's Daley Library 'clean up its act' (after a very frustrating experience trying to print materials for class and then being overwhelmed by broken fixtures, dirt, graffitied tables, a confusing layout, and art-starved walls) is addressed in a recent issue of the Chicago Flame by Mary M. Case, University Librarian.

She responds: As Mike’s story demonstrates, we are still working on having a consistent suite of software on all machines. We clearly need to dedicate more resources to meeting that goal, as well as to increasing the reliability of printers. We will do that.

Specifically in Daley, two Oases and the Daley Grind have helped to enliven the first floor. Later this year construction will begin on the now blocked off south end on our new IDEA Commons—a space intended for active learning and 24 hour access. -- Read More