The Friday updates for this week include industrial action down under, tower collapse, Internet book lending, books about books, University cuts resources, library visions, outdaded books, and much, much, much more. Have a nice weekend.
The Friday updates for this week include industrial action down under, tower collapse, Internet book lending, books about books, University cuts resources, library visions, outdaded books, and much, much, much more. Have a nice weekend.
From ABC News Online
Library staff planning industrial action
\” Staff at Castlemaine are planning industrial action unless councils boost their funding to the North Central Goldfields library.
The Australian Services Union says library hours have already been cut back at Castlemaine and job losses are next.\”
From the Cumberland Times-News
Dan\’s Rock tower collapse affects library system, board of education
\”High winds toppled a 70-foot tower supporting county Allconet telecommunications equipment Tuesday, blanking out Internet service to Frostburg-area schools and interfering with some functions of the local library system. But officials say that, barring more inclement weather, everything should be back on line within a couple of days.
\”We\’re going to have to relocate some equipment, but within 48 hours we should be back up to normal operations,\” said Beth Thomas, information technology coordinator for Allegany County.\”
From the Bradenton Herald
Manatee County libraries to try Internet book lending
\” Books in cyberspace are coming to the Manatee County library system for a trial run starting Jan. 2.
Library officials are taking advantage of a grant to the state library system to offer 20,000 books on the Internet without charge to patrons to learn whether the public uses and likes the service.
\”I will use it,\” said library patron Vicki Price, 46, of Bradenton, taking a break from working at a computer in the main library\’s computer room. \”Being able to go online and read a book is fabulous. That sounds like a model program.\”
From SF Gate
Looking for a Book About Books?
\”
\”My idea of heaven would be to dine, as well as to sleep, surrounded by books,\” says Robert A.M. Stern. And it is well-filled bookcases that give warmth to fashion designer Bill Blass\’ combination library/dining room.\”
From Ecxite
Looming deficit forces U. Minnesota library to cut resources
\”University of Minnesota students and faculty members using the Institute of Technology library will have fewer resources to choose from unless the library\’s deficit problem is resolved.
Over the past six years library journal subscriptions have gradually been cut and recently proposed budget cuts might decrease subscriptions by another 25 percent — bringing the total number of subscriptions down 40 percent since 1990.\”
From Journal Now
Meetings carve out vision for public library
\” What do people want from the Forsyth County Public Library? It should be a cultural center, a force for downtown revitalization, and a place for reflection and learning, a group of public-library fans told library officials yesterday.
The main library downtown could also use a face lift, and perhaps a coffee shop if it wants to keep pace with people\’s expectations, they said.\”
From the Miami Herald
Library director outraged by delays
\”Fed up with delays in the plans for the long-awaited African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, Broward County Library Director Samuel F. Morrison has given the architectural firm 14 days to deliver signed and sealed plans — or else.
In a memo to Broward County commissioners dated Dec. 6, Morrison complained that the Miami-Dade County architectural firm of PAWA Complex International failed to honor a Dec. 1 deadline to deliver plans for the project.\”
From the Montreal Gazette
Future a mystery for libraries
\”First in an occasional series on the potential effects of municipal mergers
Every morning when the Cote St. Luc Library opens at 10, Harry Greenberg hikes from his apartment across the street to begin his daily ritual.
Dressed in a tweed jacket and sweater vest, the 79-year-old sits down in a sunny corner of the library and digests a daily helping of books and magazines.\”
From the Philadelphia Inquirer
Outdated books to go from Phila. schools
\” Some old books in city school libraries state that man has yet to walk on the moon. Others contain errors of fact, such as an assertion that Nelson Mandela was executed.
But those books won\’t be there much longer. The School District of Philadelphia is launching a major purge of its entire library collection.\”
From the Seattle Times
Grants helping libraries help people use Internet
\” Some people take free Internet access at public libraries for granted.
But not those who are unemployed and live in poor neighborhoods. For more than half of them who have used the Internet to look for work, library computers were their only source of access, according to one study.\”
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