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Instead of having discussions in the library, the library is bringing the book club to…Kispy Kreme. The story from AP:

“As the sleepy morning crowd shuffles up to the glass counter at the Krispy Kreme shop, a voice with a librarian’s lilt draws them away from the mouthwatering display of doughnuts.”

“Sitting at one of the plastic tables, a box of deep-fried goodies and a hot pot of coffee at hand, Sandy Lindley reads aloud from “To Kill a Mockingbird,” helping kick off a month’s worth of programs meant to take the classic novel where the readers are – retirement homes, downtown bars, museums and yes, even doughnut shops.”

“It’s awesome they’re doing this, because libraries have such a cold feel about them,” said Kelly Rothchild, 26, who stepped into the store Monday to get breakfast for her co-workers. “This brings it out to people.”

A father develops a new method of displaying braille. More from WOAI:

” He designed books with the original print and illustrations at the top of the page, and printed words on top of the braille at the bottom of the page.”

“His books could be a breakthrough for blind and sighted readers who want to enjoy books together, according to national experts. Ethan, a third-grader who has been blind since he was a baby, has deemed them “pretty cool.”

A humourous, yet sad, column by Jean Gonick this week in the San Fransisco Chronicle:

“Which is all to say that library visits, the cheapest cure for all living loneliness, have lately become slightly less curative, because now when I go, I go just for myself.”

“Which brings me to another very disturbing thing that happens to me when I go to the library: macular degeneration. Not that I suddenly get this stupid disease and mistake a librarian’s head for a stop sign. I just remember that I’m going to get it, which sends me straight into biblio-panic.”

From The News Herald:

“Resident Jennifer Czajka and her 3-year-old daughter were denied admittance to the city library’s computer lab recently because, librarian Jean Walker told her, “Things go on in there that children shouldn’t see.”

News out of Yale:

“Yale University Library, a major repository of Arabic-language and Islamic literature and a leader in the process of digitizing its vast collections, has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to preserve endangered Iraqi academic journals and make them accessible to scholars worldwide.”

News out of Yale:

“Yale University Library, a major repository of Arabic-language and Islamic literature and a leader in the process of digitizing its vast collections, has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to preserve endangered Iraqi academic journals and make them accessible to scholars worldwide.”

A quickie from AP with important consequences:

“The Kansas House advanced a bill today to keep children from viewing Internet pornography or check out R-rated movies at public libraries.”

“The House’s voice vote sets up a final vote, expected Thursday. Passage would send the measure to the Senate, which ignored similar legislation in 2004.”

Read The Bill and watch the The House’s final vote, expected Thursday. Passage would send the measure to the Senate, which ignored similar legislation in 2004.

From the Baltimore Sun, in an article about a newly formed panel on collection devlopment, there is some interesting discussion on how some school librarians choose books:

“Hildebrandt said the guidelines specify that before a book can be purchased, the librarian must find two “positive reviews from reputable sources,” such as the American Library Association’s Booklist or School Library Journal.”

“But this is a beginning point. When the book comes in, we do a hands-on examination of it before it goes on the shelves,” she said. “It’s a demanding criteria.”

A piece in The Sacramento Bee (You’ll have to BugMeNot this one as it’s behind a registration) on school media centers:

“For five years, Julie Holgate-Robinson supervised Aero Haven’s computer lab, based in a windowless building away from the library. Now her lab is a collection of laptops among the bookshelves.”

“I wouldn’t have any idea what teachers were checking out in the library,” she said. “But now I can tie into what they’re reading in the classroom.”

“The libraries were designed to be flexible. Bookshelves can be wheeled aside, and lightweight tables replaced the bulky desks needed for desktop computers.”

An interesting story in the Mercury News about a consumer health facility in Los Gatos called the Los Gatos PlaneTree Library:

“Many people arrive at PlaneTree in the grip of a terrifying health crisis after they or someone they love is diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening disease, said Candace Ford, a former public librarian turned medical librarian, who has run PlaneTree since its opening 17 years ago. “They often are emotional or frail or angry,” she said.

The library is well-equipped to aid people in crisis, but Ford also wishes more people would come in to address daily challenges, such as mental health and lifestyle and relationship issues. The library’s circulating collection covers a wide array of subjects, from specific diseases, general health and alternative therapies to niche topics such as understanding teens, talking to children about illness and preparing for surgery.”