LISNews: Librarian News

Toronto library chair defends multilingual collection
"What proportion of our budget should go for non-English movies and books?" said Del Grande in a widely publicized statement.

"An argument can be made that this is what makes the city great, but I would dare say our common language is English, we’re spending tons of money for ESL, should we not have a discussion of how much of the library budget should go for non-English resources?"

Homeless Men Caught Watching Porn at CA Library
Laguna Beach Public Library patrons say there's a big problem with homeless people watching porn on library computers. Police found eight homeless men gathered around a computer inside the library Saturday afternoon watching pornography. One was arrested for allegedly fondling himself.

This fine is not so fine
Lorain Public Library patron Caprice Anderson got a big surprise at the main library Wednesday.

It was a bill for $322 in late fees. But she said she hadn’t been to the library in months and she never checked out the items for which her card was used.

“I’m actually a frequent book reader, but I normally buy my books,” said Anderson, 27, of Lorain. “I was going to go to the library and find something I haven’t read. That’s when I found out my card was used.”

Anderson doesn’t know who used her library card, and filed a police report after coming across the staggering late fees.

A patron at the Palm Beach County Library's Gardens Branch saw more than she wanted to when walking past a computer.

A brochure picked up at the main information desk explains their internet policy. It says: "What you view is not private and may be seen by others-be considerate." It goes on to say: "Internet workstations are filtered to block explicit sexual content. Patrons over age 18, with proof of age, may request the filtering be temporarily removed."

The director of the Palm Beach County Library System, John Callahan, says under federal law they have no choice but to allow patrons to view pornography. Callahan says by law, they cannot restrict the free expression of ideas or the access to those ideas.

Read more: http://www.cbs12.com/articles/library-4735422-beach-palm.html#ixzz1YafXpXle