November 2010

The conundrum over how to support dozens of arts groups and replenish the libraries for 2011 comes to a head in the Erie County Legislature today with no clear strategy at hand according to the Buffalo News.

Most lawmakers say they would like to restore some or all of the approximately $4 million that County Executive Chris Collins cut from the library system when he proposed a budget for next year.

Most lawmakers also want to provide taxpayer money to some or all of the dozens of theaters and galleries that Collins froze out.

However, none of the four plans hatched by assorted camps of lawmakers has yet drawn a Legislature majority. Those four include the set of revisions proposed Monday by Legislature Chairwoman Barbara Miller-Williams, D-Buffalo.

Miller-Williams said she sought a middle ground that Collins would not veto, “to assure that at the end of the day the library and the cultural organizations actually will see the funding.”

However, the $1 million she would restore for the library system was considered too little by both Republican Minority Leader John J. Mills of Orchard Park and Democratic Majority Leader Maria R. Whyte of Buffalo.

Library Director Bridget Quinn- Carey was not wowed, either.

The book arrived from the publisher without any fanfare, wrapped in plain cardboard and sent through the U.S. mail. Record-Bee reports.

With no more effort than it took to tear open the perforated strip that sealed the package closed, the small church library that I oversaw was now part of a “common read.” What an exciting moment!

My first experience with a common read was just a few years earlier, during an effort to encourage all of California to read John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.” My husband and I read aloud to each other from my copy that had been given to me by the Calistoga Junior/Senior High School librarian.

It was intriguing, as we read to each other, to know that across the state of California, other people were reading the same book and that, moreover, public events were promoting “The Grapes of Wrath.” One of those events was organized locally through the efforts of Harold Riley.

My experience taking part in a common read had been very enjoyable so when the organization that oversees our local church selected a common read, I knew that I wanted to make the book available to the members of my church: to give them a chance to have that much more in common with people in other communities, in congregations around the world. Read more.

With 6500 meals to prepare this week for the largest conference to be held in Dunedin for about three years, University of Otago (NZ) catering staff are busy. Otago U website reports on culinary preparations for the Conference.

They are catering for about 630 at the Library and Information Association of New Zealand’s centennial conference – more than 500 delegates and about 90 exhibitors – producing breakfasts, morning and afternoon teas, lunches and cocktail event food.

That included catering to more than 80 vegan, lactose-intolerant and gluten-intolerant people with specialised dietary requirements, University Union general manager Stephen Baughan said yesterday.

The conference, spread over several university lecture theatres, began on Sunday and finishes today.

Another article on the conference profiles a former New Zealand national librarian, Mary Ronnie, now in her eighties, and still doing her Scottish dancing. Ms Ronnie emphasised she was optimistic that public libraries – and books – would still be going strong in New Zealand in another 100 years.

A recent visit to a city public library had confirmed that it was filled with members of the public, and this was a good sign for the future.

With 6500 meals to prepare this week for the largest conference to be held in Dunedin for about three years, University of Otago (NZ) catering staff are busy. Otago U website reports on culinary preparations for the Conference.

They are catering for about 630 at the Library and Information Association of New Zealand’s centennial conference – more than 500 delegates and about 90 exhibitors – producing breakfasts, morning and afternoon teas, lunches and cocktail event food.

That included catering to more than 80 vegan, lactose-intolerant and gluten-intolerant people with specialised dietary requirements, University Union general manager Stephen Baughan said yesterday.

The conference, spread over several university lecture theatres, began on Sunday and finishes today.

Another article on the conference profiles a former New Zealand national librarian, Mary Ronnie, now in her eighties, and still doing her Scottish dancing. Ms Ronnie emphasised she was optimistic that public libraries – and books – would still be going strong in New Zealand in another 100 years.

A recent visit to a city public library had confirmed that it was filled with members of the public, and this was a good sign for the future.

Modern users of public libraries were a “lovely mixture” of people who wanted to read books for fun or for information, and others availing themselves of electronic sources of information.

GEORGETOWN — The Georgetown (DE)Public Library will remain closed through the end of January, with repairs to the water-damaged facility estimated to cost $250,000, officials said. DelMarVa reports.

On Sept. 26, a defective pipe fitting damaged books, carpet, furniture, and drywall on the building’s first floor. The flood occurred less than two months after the Aug. 9 grand opening. They don’t build them like they used to in the Carnegie days I guess…

“The nature of this disaster is taking longer than we’d hoped,” said Paul Enterline, president of the library’s board of directors. “Basically, it’s kind of like a whole new building project.”

Last month, officials said the 29,400-square-foot building would be closed for eight weeks. Since that time, the opening of the first floor has been further delayed, but the second floor has been opened to the public.

The Economist has a short piece posted about the most recent document dump from WikiLeaks. A key quote:

Maybe it’s something about tech geeks, or maybe it’s just related to the self-interest of people and organisations whose particular strength lies in an ability to get a hold of other people’s information. But it definitely seems like we’re learning a lesson here: while information may want to be free, human beings are usually better off when it’s on a leash.

(h/t Glyn Moody)

Herb Jorgensen stands alongside a shiny, red 1931 Packard — a stereotypical gangster car built when he was 12 years old.

Gazing across the car collection, the 91-year-old archivist for the Blackhawk Museum knows he’s enjoying a car buff’s dream job.

The Blackhawk Museum, the brainchild of Blackhawk developer and car collector Kenneth Behring, opened its doors in 1988. Now affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, the museum boasts two spacious buildings and about 100,000 square feet of upscale exhibition space that plays host to a rotating display of nearly 100 automobiles.

For the past 22 years, Jorgensen has overseen the building of the museum’s modest-size research library, a collection that currently stands at approximately 100,000 publications. Many are in excellent condition, while others, including a 1904 Auto Car magazine, have covers that are a bit dog-eared and showing their age. All of them, however, provide a glimpse into the history of a machine that has changed the world.

“It probably is as good a library on old cars that you’ll find anywhere,” Jorgensen said. Story from Contra Costa Times.

If you’ve been waiting for a sub-$100 e-reader, the wait is over Friday.

Amazon announced on its Facebook page that it will be selling the second-generation Kindle 2 for $89 on Friday. The offer is one of Amazon’s “lightning deals,” which begin at 9 a.m. PST on Friday. Lightning deals sell in limited quantities, so you’ll need to be ready to buy as soon as the $89 Kindle 2 becomes available.

Full story at PC World

Wicked Local reports: The Concord Free Public Library has started to circulate five Kindle e-book readers. Each Kindle circulates for a two-week period and comes loaded with several regional travel guides and approximately 50 popular titles including “Freedom: a Novel” by Jonathan Franzen, “Moonlight Mile”by Dennis Lehane, “Tinkers” by Paul Harding, “At Home: A Short History of Private Life” by Bill Bryson, and “Grand Design” by Stephen Hawking. Also included are such local favorites as “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott, “Walden and Other Writings” by Henry David Thoreau, and “Wicked: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire.

Chauncey Mabe, Florida Center of Literary Arts says: “Public libraries are like babies: There aren’t any ugly ones. In a way, then, Flavorwire’s round-up of the “The Most Beautiful Libraries in the US” is as wrong as a baby beauty pageant. On the other hand, I’ll concede, it’s always better to have a handsome building than otherwise, if given the choice.

My first library was a storefront on Tazewell Street in the small Appalachian town of Wytheville, Virginia. It was on the way home from the elementary school, and I stopped in almost every day to wander the stacks, take in the heady aroma of book must and chat with the librarian, a tiny smiling woman who encouraged me to read books beyond my age group.

To me, no library can ever be more beautiful than that homely little place where my incipient love of reading was flamed into a full-fledged romance with books. I wish I could call the librarian’s name to mind so I can give her the credit she deserves. I’m sure every reader in the country has a similar origin story.

The Sacramento Public Library is the target of recent criticism due to its upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops tournament. Escapist Magazine reports.

Libraries have been scrambling to gain the attention of the world’s new technology-focused population, and one effective method they’ve found is to embrace the videogame. Videogames and videogame tournaments are not uncommon to see in public libraries these days, but not everybody is happy that kids are playing games in such close proximity to books.

According to the Sacramento Bee, The Sacramento Public Library is planning to host a Call of Duty: Black Ops tournament as part of its humorously named “Nerd Fest.” Even though the library will only allow those 17 and older to play, the tournament is still attracting the ire of activists that likely have nothing better to do than rail on videogame violence… again.

The Sacramento Public Library is the target of recent criticism due to its upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops tournament. Escapist Magazine reports.

Libraries have been scrambling to gain the attention of the world’s new technology-focused population, and one effective method they’ve found is to embrace the videogame. Videogames and videogame tournaments are not uncommon to see in public libraries these days, but not everybody is happy that kids are playing games in such close proximity to books.

According to the Sacramento Bee, The Sacramento Public Library is planning to host a Call of Duty: Black Ops tournament as part of its humorously named “Nerd Fest.” Even though the library will only allow those 17 and older to play, the tournament is still attracting the ire of activists that likely have nothing better to do than rail on videogame violence… again.

Library director Rivkah Sass isn’t backing down and says that the tournament will proceed on December 11 as planned. Her opinion is that it makes the community aware that the library has something for everyone, and is “simply providing a program and people are free to attend or not.” Dr. Steven Schlozman of the Department of Child Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital echoes her positivity, and told the Bee: “This might be an opportunity for the library and the veterans group to talk a little bit about war, not in an angry way, but to tell the kids, ‘You should know this is a game, and it’s different than going to war.'”