HollyB

Anonymous Patron writes “From Judith Baalman, Business/Operating Manager, Jackson County Library Services via the Libs-OR mailing list:

Note that some cities in Jackson county have approved additional local funding to extend their opening hours beyond what Jackson county / LSSI will provide. This includes Ashland and Talent.”

Also see article at the Mail Tribune.

Tech Guy writes “Interesting Report Via Yahoo! News: Search terms related to music and technology are most likely to return sites with spyware and other malicious code, a new study finds.

Some 42 percent of the results using the term “screensavers,” for example, led to sites flagged with a “red” warning or a cautionary “yellow” by McAfee Inc.’s SiteAdvisor service. Other keywords McAfee deemed risky include names of file-sharing software “BearShare,” “LimeWire” and “Kazaa.””

We all have our stories about interesting things found in library books. But a clerk at the Hillsboro (Or.) Shute Park Library found a big one: over $6000 in cash. A local patron donated a bunch of books to the library, forgetting that he had been storing his stash of cash in an Eric Van Lustbader novel. Luckily, he remembered and retrieved the cash a few days later.

The man is staying anonymous: he has been socking away the cash, a little at a time, to buy a surprise 20th anniversary present for his wife.

Full story from The Oregonian.

“When university librarian Artemis Kirk learned of the devastating fire at the Georgetown Neighborhood Library in late April, she immediately began organizing the university’s response. Drawing resources from multiple offices, Kirk has offered a range of services to the nearby public library.”

Full story from the Blue & Gray at Georgetown University.

JET writes “
The Dallas Morning News has an informative article about why it is better to consult a medical librarian for medical information rather than going it alone.”

stevenj writes “Lost in the hoopla surrounding Google’s fast-growing Ann Arbor advertising office is the search engine giant’s first foray into Ann Arbor: an effort to digitize U-M’s library. The project has hit its stride — scanning 30,000 volumes in a recent week — and is beginning to make a serious dent in the school’s total of 7 million. At the current pace, the project should wrap up in the next five years, said associate university librarian John Price Wilkin. Find this story at:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/ 20070413/BIZ04/704130354/1001/BIZ“

Due to budget shortfalls, all 15 branches of the Jackson County (OR) libraries closed indefinitely on April 7th, the largest library shutdown in the nation’s history. It is a very sad day for county residents, although they have hope it is only temporary. A May 15th bond measure, if it passes, will re-open the libraries.

Main story from the Mail Tribune

Additional stories:

‘Heavens cry’ as Eagle Point padlocks library

Ashland children stage library sit-in

Shady Cove library staff, patrons say goodbye

Variety is reporting that Warner Brothers has hired Mark Burton to write the screenplay adaptation of comic book Rex Libris by James Turner.

“This is the story of Rex Libris, Head Librarian at Middleton Public Library, and his unending struggle against the forces of ignorance and darkness. With the aid of an ancient god who lives beneath the library branch, Rex travels to the farthest reaches of the galaxy in search of overdue books.”

stevejzoo writes “Voters in Philipstown, in Putnam County, New York, approved an increase in operating budget for the Julia Butterfield Library from $125,000 to $276,000. Elected officials, however, decided that they will not provide the increase in funding because voters were “bamboozled.” Town supervisor William Mazucca told the NY Journal News reporter “It is not that the town doesn’t want to work with the library … But an increase like they’ve asked for is unconscionable, unreasonable. I have a right, an obligation, to the people of the town who feel like they have been bamboozled in the election.’ ‘

See the NY Journal News editorial, published March 31st, at http://www.nyjournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article ?AID=/20070331/OPINION/703310325/1151“

Starr Hoffman writes “On March 10th, NPR’s Weekend Edition aired a story on the University of North Texas Libraries‘ CyberCemetery . The CyberCemetery, which is now affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration, archives the websites of defunct government agencies and commissions.

You can read the transcript or listen to an mp3 of the story on NPR’s website, or you can access the original, uncut version by the North Texas NPR affiliate, KERA.”