LISNews: Librarian News

Here's a letter to the Friends of the Library USA--If you have suggestions for this librarian/friend, I will pass them on...

Hello, Everyone-

I am new to the (FOLUSA) list. I have some questions and I need advice!

I am a Reference Librarian at a small public library in Ohio. I am also helping out our Friends of the Library organization. We have a very small and inactive Friends group and are working on getting it started up again.

I have volunteered to help sort books in our Friends'Room.It is a disaster! We have books everywhere! Some are in poor condition and will be pitched soon. The librarians on staff (including me) have been instructed to continue weeding to make room for a planned renovation this spring.

We will have 2 Friends' Book Sales- one in May and one in Sept. We need to make room for future donations and the weeded books.

My questions are 1) What do your groups do with the overflow of books? (throw them away? give them away?)
2) Are there limitations to what can be done with the books? We are not allowed (by state law) to give away books the library has weeded. They are considered state property and cannot be given away. Why? I don't know. 3) If your group throws the books away, how do you dispose of them so the "public" doesn't perceive you are wasting tax payer dollars?

Any ideas about what to do with all the extra books?

We have some but are looking for other venues as well.

Thank you in advance

Ohio Public Library Friend!

cjovalle writes "I'm currently a doctoral student in LIS and one of the members of ALA's Copyright Advisory Network. I've had the pleasure of helping people answer questions about copyright and helping to teach people about copyright issues as a result of my interests. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out ways to measure the effects of changes in copyright law to libraries and educational institutions. My questions to you are, what do you think the biggest copyright-related challenges are for different types of libraries? What are the right questions to ask about libraries and copyright? Thanks! Any responses appreciated, here or at cjovalle@librarycopyright.net."

I'm passing along a request I read on my discussion board for Friends of the Library USA...John Gear writes to FOLUSA :

I'm with the Friends of Lansing Libraries (Lansing, MI).
We're considering underwriting with our local NPR affiliate in return for acknowledgments. We can't afford their regular rotation schedules, so I thought that maybe we could get some extra mileage out of fewer spots by placing them on key dates in library history, such as the day that Franklin's library was founded in Philadelphia, etc. etc. etc.

Problem is, I'm having a hard time finding such a list. Does anyone have one or know of a good pointer to where I might find such a thing?

Thanks,
John Gear

Deane Barker writes "I am contemplating a Masters in LIS. I really want a Masters in Content Management (as discussed here), but an LIS degree seems to be the closest thing to it. However, I'm wondering about my level of interest and/or passion for LIS. What I'd like is for the community to recommend two or three of the seminal books in the LIS field, so that I can read them and see if any of it "trips my trigger," so to speak. So, what books can the community recommend that pass the following test: 'If you love this book, then an LIS degree is just what you're looking for.'? Put another way, if you had to represent an LIS degree in a single book, which one would it be?"