July 2000

The new trend in libraries is to have the police issue warrants and arrests for overdue meterials. The Los Angeles Times has an article on a few libraries that do not (and will not) do that.

\”One of the hallmarks of our library is it is free and open,\” said Susan Kent, the city\’s head librarian. \”Yes, there are really bad offenders, but we\’re not here to prosecute. We\’re here to provide a service.\”

The new trend in libraries is to have the police issue warrants and arrests for overdue meterials. The Los Angeles Times has an article on a few libraries that do not (and will not) do that.

\”One of the hallmarks of our library is it is free and open,\” said Susan Kent, the city\’s head librarian. \”Yes, there are really bad offenders, but we\’re not here to prosecute. We\’re here to provide a service.\”


\”That laissez faire attitude is a far cry from the approaches at a growing number of library systems around the country, where officials are cracking down on problem borrowers.\”


\”From Queens, N.Y., to left-leaning Berkeley, librarians are getting tough with overdue-book holders by referring their accounts to collection agencies, threatening them with public embarrassment and even resorting to little-known laws that make stealing library books–public property paid for with tax dollars–as much a crime as pilfering stop signs.\”


\”Libraries typically lose 1% to 1.5% of their collections annually through the checking out of materials that are never returned, experts say.\”


\”Although the percentage is low, in Los Angeles it can represent a sizable number. Of 79,320 items considered missing during the first half of 1999 alone, more than 80% were long-overdue materials, according to a library report.\”


\”Even small libraries, which are coming under closer financial scrutiny, are growing less tolerant of such shrinkage.\”


\”If someone doesn\’t want to bring a book back, then I get an arrest warrant,\” said Dusty Gres, director of a small Georgia library system and one of the leading voices in library circles for going after scofflaws. \”It\’s public property, and I have a responsibility to the public for the books.\”


\”So far a dozen patrons have been hauled into court, but none has gone to jail, said Gres, who runs the 65,000-book system in Vidalia, Ga.\”


\”In Clearwater, Fla., last year a woman spent eight hours in jail after failing to respond to notices about seven books and videotapes borrowed from the local library.\”


\”In Center Line, Mich., early this month police issued warrants for three women with seriously overdue library materials who owed $90 to $222 in fines. Police did not go out and arrest the trio but told them to settle up or face potential arrest if they were ever involved in a routine traffic stop.\”


\”In Texas, library officials united three years ago in an unsuccessful attempt to pass a state law making it illegal to hold overdue library books. The Texas Library Assn. said the measure was needed because a survey of the state\’s 500 libraries showed that they lose $14.5 million worth of books and other items each year.\”

The New York Times has this article about Random House publishing books only in digital format.

\”Beginning in January, the house will publish under the name AtRandom a list of about 20 purely digital books, by authors ranging from the editor of Harper\’s magazine to a downtown dominatrix.\”

The New York Times has this article about Random House publishing books only in digital format.

\”Beginning in January, the house will publish under the name AtRandom a list of about 20 purely digital books, by authors ranging from the editor of Harper\’s magazine to a downtown dominatrix.\”

\”All will be sold online as electronic books or in single copies printed on demand, but they will not be shipped to bookstores.\”

\”Random House becomes the second major house to begin a digital imprint, following Time Warner Trade Publishing, which this spring created a digital imprint of its own, iPublish.com.\”

\”All the biggest New York publishing houses are now moving quickly to prepare for the possibility that digital books will soon take off. Over lunches at Michael\’s, the Four Seasons and other industry hubs, editors are quietly courting agents and authors, trying to sign deals for the digital rights to their new and previously published books.\”

\”As they acquire new titles, they are beginning to establish the rules of digital publishing, from authors\’ royalties to the prices consumers will pay. In many cases, especially for brand name authors and older contracts, authors\’ agents have retained digital rights. For publishers, that means there is a vast pool of potentially profitable literary properties waiting to be claimed, sometimes from another house\’s list. Time Warner, for example, will publish the electronic versions of several books by the science writer, James Gleick, previously published in hardcover by Random House\’s Pantheon imprint.\”

\”Both Random House and Time Warner are hoping to build their reputations as desirable places for authors to publish digitally, much the way places like Random House\’s sister imprint Vintage are prestigious names to appear under in paperback.\”

\”Some in the book business wonder why the rush. Even Ann Godoff, president and publisher of Random House Trade Group and creator of the digital imprint, admitted that she had not yet managed to enjoy reading a book off a screen, or read a whole electronic book. Neither has almost anyone else in the industry. Many others, meanwhile, worry that online copyright protection is open to question.\”

According to this article in the Star Tribune, a library which can only hold 40 people at a time may take over the hospitality loungue of an old brewery complex.

\”Imagine showing up at your public library and being told you can\’t go in. That happens sometimes at the Pierre Bottineau branch library in northeast Minneapolis. It\’s the city\’s smallest library.

According to this article in the Star Tribune, a library which can only hold 40 people at a time may take over the hospitality loungue of an old brewery complex.

\”Imagine showing up at your public library and being told you can\’t go in. That happens sometimes at the Pierre Bottineau branch library in northeast Minneapolis. It\’s the city\’s smallest library.


\”It\’s small enough to fit in the lobby of the downtown library — twice. It\’s small enough that the fire marshal allows no more than 40 people into the building.\”

\”We have a sign that says \’The library is now full,\’ which is kind of strange. But most people understand,\” said librarian Gloria Busch.\”

\”The cure for the Bottineau library may be just over two blocks away at a familiar landmark, the Grain Belt brewery complex. The Library Board is pursuing a proposal that could mean a library six times bigger would open at the brewery\’s former Gasthaus in two to three years.\”

\”The Gasthaus (literally \”guest house,\” but a term applied to an inn) was the hospitality room for people touring the brewery — before it was closed in 1976. It was a place where people could enjoy a free beer and mingle with brewery workers. It sits next to what was once the brewery\’s park, which featured deer, a pond with an illuminated fountain and occasional oompah bands.\”

\”The Gasthaus goes back even further than its faux chalet facade would suggest. There are two historical buildings: a steel-framed, metal-sided wagon shop built in 1893 and a millwright shop built of brick in 1913.\”

\”The latter is the more valuable building in the eyes of the Minnesota Historical Society, but it\’s hoping that at least the steel frame of the former can be incorporated into a new library. Some new construction probably would be necessary to provide adequate space for the library. An existing, modern concrete addition to the Gasthaus would be razed.\”

When I first got my MLS and sent out tons of resumes, I only got a few interviews. I once was told I came across as shy, that I was not assertive, and I needed to be more agressive.

So here is what I said at interviews…Perhaps all of the librarians out there could give me some interview pointers. The D is for the library director\’s questions…

Director:
Why do you want to work here?

I heard you have a nice book collection.

D: Who is Harry Potter?

The library\’s gardener.

When I first got my MLS and sent out tons of resumes, I only got a few interviews. I once was told I came across as shy, that I was not assertive, and I needed to be more agressive.

So here is what I said at interviews…Perhaps all of the librarians out there could give me some interview pointers. The D is for the library director\’s questions…

Director:
Why do you want to work here?

I heard you have a nice book collection.

D: Who is Harry Potter?

The library\’s gardener.
D: did you have any trouble finding us?

Yes, I did. You told me to look for a place with a box that could hold books out front and every house has a box like that with a flag on it.

D: Why do you want to work here?

I heard you have a nice book collection.

D: What does being a librarian mean to you?
No talking required.

D: what are the last books you read?

The poisonous cook, the book lover and the library thief. I also read, \”The psychology of library crime-How to steal from libraries and not feel guilty.

What book do you think should be on the bestseller list?

I think you have me confused with Oprah, I don\’t recommend books.

Who is Harry Potter?

The library\’s gardener.

D: Describe your management style.

The one-minute manager-no staff can have only a minute break.

D:
What would you do if you saw someone viewing porn?

Turn around, look at the camera, you are on America\’s Most Wanted and this is not Candid Camera

D: Do you have any teaching experience?

No, do you cause so far I am not learning anything?

D: What can you do on the Internet?

A lot– download music, chat, lots of things…

D: Would you like a tour of the library?

No, not unless you have something to show me besides books. Once you have seen one, you have seen them all.

D: The salary is $25,000. How does that sound to you?

It sounds so bad I didn\’t even hear it.

D: You will be hearing from me.

I hope it is more that shhhh!