July 2010

A striped kitten is fighting for its life at the Montgomery County SPCA after someone left it in the book drop at the La Mott Community Center in Cheltenham Township, officials said today.

The male brown tabby, which has no name, was shoved into the book drop at the center, which also doubles as a library, sometime overnight Thursday after the center closed at 9 p.m.

It was discovered by a maintenance man at 7:30 a.m. Friday when he reported for work and heard mewing coming from the drop box. “He investigated, and lo and behold, it was a kitty,” said Kelly Rebitz, a center staffer.

The worker summoned police and community center officials who could unlock the drop box, she said. The kitten was freed at 9:30 a.m. and taken to the SPCA for emergency medical care.

Montgomery County SPCA director Carmen Ronio said the cat is six- to seven-weeks old and suffering from dehydration, eye infection and diarrhea. He said it is being treated with fluids and antibiotics.

Philly.com.

A weekend-long celebration featuring live music, a symposium and art exhibit will celebrate the dedication of the Frank Zappa statue in Baltimore, organizers said. A bust of Zappa, a Baltimore native, was a gift from a Lithuanian fan club. After much deliberation, the city decided to place it in Highlandtown, outside the library. His wife said Zappa would have liked the location, because his mother, Rose Marie, was a librarian.

Zappa Plays Zappa, a tribute act fronted by Zappa’s son Dweezil, will perform; Zappa’s widow, Gail, will give a symposium; and the Southeast Anchor Library will launch an exhibit in conjunction with the Sept. 19 statue dedication, according to producer Sean Brescia.

“It’s going to make it what it should be,” Brescia said. “It’s going to be a cool tribute weekend.” Baltimore Sun.

Lafayette Bookstore in CA has had to close its bricks-and-mortar store, but will keep on trucking as the Bay Area Bookmobile.

“Big Blue” is a bookmobile that was decommissioned from the Ypsilanti (MI) District Library and was acquired and driven to the Bay Area during the week of June 20. The store is having a Saying Goodbye to the Brick-and-Mortar Party Thursday evening that will include “a ritual marking our move from the old to the new–we’re doing a bucket brigade to move all the books from the new section of the bookstore into the bookmobile.”

The store will have Lafayette Book Store and Bay Area Bookmobile Facebook pages and continue sending out the newsletter. As owner Dave Simpson wrote: “We’ll be active there with a schedule of appearances, announcements of author signings and events, and as always, our book recommendations (and you can offer your own!). Come join the conversation!”

News story about the Omaha Public Library using Unique Management Service to collect overdue materials and fines.

It’s no longer illegal under the DMCA to jailbreak your iPhone or bypass a DVD’s CSS in order to obtain fair use footage for educational purposes or criticism. These are the new rules that were handed down moments ago by the U.S. Copyright Office. This is really big. Like, really big.

[Full article at TechCrunch]

David Carnoy (CNET) weighs in on the topic. He tells Huffington Post readers that plenty of people have come up with lists of reasons why ebooks are better than paper books, but that he finds the opposite point of view more challenging. So here’s his list of why hardcovers are better:

1. Spilling a drink on a hardcover doesn’t cause it to die
2. You can’t press a leaf in an e-book, even a virtual one
3. You can’t have an author sign an e-book (yet)
4. Ebooks don’t float in a pool
5. You can’t use an e-book as a doorstop or to prop open a window
6. A hardcover doesn’t crack when you drop it
7. An ebook has no resale value on Amazon
8. You don’t have to recharge a hardcover
9. In a pinch, you can burn a hardcover to keep warm
10. You don’t have to feel ripped off after paying $12.99 for something that’s just bits and bytes

In Room for Debate, The Times invites knowledgeable outside contributors to discuss news events and other timely issues. For this piece on textbooks they have seven different commentors.

The Real Cost of College Textbooks

The Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library(OH) displayed its collection of new equipment at a technology open house mid-month.

Library Director Doug Dotterer said the new hardware includes 51 touch-screen desktop computers and 10 iPads that were covered by a $106,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation plus an additional $6,000 provided by the Ohio Library Foundation.

“We were very fortunate that we were one of 20 libraries in the entire country out of hundreds to be awarded this presidential technology grant,” Dotterer said. “It’s very prestigious.”

Dotterer said they needed special permission from the Apple company to order such a large volume of iPads because of demand. He said that as far as they know, their library has more iPads than any other library in the country.

“Part of the reason it’s a big deal,” Ohio Library Foundation president Julie Gedeon said, “is they get a lot of people who apply, and they don’t award very many of those.”

Gedeon explained that the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation was responding to the idea supported by President Obama that people need wider access to technology and a means to learn how to use it.

Ann Malthaner, head of public relations for the library, said, “These libraries change lives. “It’s two-fold,” she said, explaining how the new technology will benefit everyone. “It’ll help the people who are currently coming in, plus it could help new users,” Malthaner said. I don’t really see anything but benefits from this.”

The Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library(OH) displayed its collection of new equipment at a technology open house mid-month.

Library Director Doug Dotterer said the new hardware includes 51 touch-screen desktop computers and 10 iPads that were covered by a $106,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation plus an additional $6,000 provided by the Ohio Library Foundation.

“We were very fortunate that we were one of 20 libraries in the entire country out of hundreds to be awarded this presidential technology grant,” Dotterer said. “It’s very prestigious.”

Dotterer said they needed special permission from the Apple company to order such a large volume of iPads because of demand. He said that as far as they know, their library has more iPads than any other library in the country.

“Part of the reason it’s a big deal,” Ohio Library Foundation president Julie Gedeon said, “is they get a lot of people who apply, and they don’t award very many of those.”

Gedeon explained that the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation was responding to the idea supported by President Obama that people need wider access to technology and a means to learn how to use it.

Ann Malthaner, head of public relations for the library, said, “These libraries change lives. “It’s two-fold,” she said, explaining how the new technology will benefit everyone. “It’ll help the people who are currently coming in, plus it could help new users,” Malthaner said. I don’t really see anything but benefits from this.”

Although the 21-inch monitor touch-screen PCs are available to users, the open house served as just a sneak peek of the new iPads.

Malthaner said they are preparing iPad classes for the fall that people can join to learn all about the new devices, which won’t be loaned out. Read more.

If you weren’t able to make it to Comic-Con in San Diego, here’s a slide-show of what and whom you might have seen.

[The readers have spoken; if you want to see photos, you’re welcome to click through and view them -birdie].

New Jersey ACLU open records requests show book removal decisions history
The New Jersey ACLU filed an open records request and uncovered some email documents at libraries that have removed Revolutionary Voices from their shelves.

An active censorship campaign is underway in New Jersey, to remove a book entitled Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie, an anthology of literature and art recommended by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Educational Alliance. A conservative group told the Philadelphia Inquirer l that the book, which contains some sexually explicit material, is “pervasively vulgar, obscene, and inappropriate.”