March 2015

Via the LA Times a review of a book on the current state of affairs in libraries and a few observations from the British son of two librarians, author Alex Johnson.

In our technology-obsessed world, libraries provide tranquil sanctuaries for zoning out with physical books. Regardless of the ultimate fate of the printed book, reports of the imminent death of the library as a physical entity seem to have been greatly exaggerated.

Libraries have a long history of overcoming geographic, economic and political challenges to bring the written word to an audience,” writes Alex Johnson, a journalist at the U.K. newspaper the Independent, in the introduction to his fascinating new book, Improbable Libraries.

The Department of Libraries is part of the Agency of Administration and is poised to receive a $2,275,682 appropriation from the state’s general fund for fiscal year 2016. In fiscal year 2015, the libraries were promised a $2,746,649 appropriation, but the actual figure fell because of budget rescissions.

From State cuts could cause libraries to lose federal funding – VTDigger

From the Chicago Tribune: Anti-pornography activist Megan Fox created a 2:30 video urging Niles IL residents to vote against incumbent trustee Linda Ryan.

In the video, which was posted on Fox’s YouTube channel on March 11, she accuses Ryan of voting to allow child pornography on library computers. On Nov. 19, the library board voted to add content filters on adult computers that would block all nudity and pornography. At the time, viewing pornography was already against library policy.

During the meeting, Ryan was one of the trustees who voted against the filtering policy, arguing that it went too far, getting in the way of patrons’ ability to access information. Fox used the clips from the meeting to suggest that Ryan would be fine with child pornography. In the video, she also insisted that American Library Association’s policy were putting children in danger.

It’s the anniversary of the death of Darrington librarian Linda McPherson and her library honored her memory. She was one of 43 people lost a year ago in the Washington state mudslide.

If you quiet your mind and allow yourself to stop judging everything you will find that you have more potential for innovation (at work, in the kitchen, in the garage, in the bathroom [this just got weird – bringing it back], with your hobbies, with your thoughts) than you thought before.  You were using the same brutal quality filter on yourself that you used on viral videos, talk radio, and blog posts.  You deserve better.

From The Dangerous Effects of Reading | Certain Extent

During Sunshine Week, the annual reminder that open government is good government, Congress should shed some light on just who’s funding the nation’s presidential libraries.

From Shed light on presidential libraries

After years of being shortchanged by the city, some of New York’s libraries look like something out of a Gothic novel — with spooky abandoned spaces, leaky ceilings and chilly rooms, a new report found.

From New York City’s libraries badly in need of repairs: report – NY Daily News

The Kentucky Court of Appeals in a 3-0 decision handed down on Friday reversed two circuit court decisions in Kenton and Campbell counties that declared the library districts in those counties had improperly raised taxes for decades.

From Appeals court: Ky. library tax is legal

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, AT&T is forgoing revenue by not spying on its customers, and it’s reasonable to charge them for that lost revenue. On the other hand, this sort of thing means that privacy becomes a luxury good. In general, I prefer to conceptualize privacy as a right to be respected and not a commodity to be bought and sold.

From Schneier on Security: AT&T Charging Customers to Not Spy on Them

At the California Library Association’s annual conference, librarians have given fake talks on real issues in their world, including “Outreach and Embedded Librarians” and “Innovation in the Modern Library.” The trick is to make the speech flow with baffling accompanying slides, such as a photo of exercise guru Richard Simmons in glitter clothing, and a jacket cover for a (real) book titled “How to Raise Your I.Q. by Eating Gifted Children.”

From Shhh…The Librarians Are Doing PowerPoint Comedy – Digits – WSJ