Libraries

Liberia: Youth Group Launches US$20,000 Library Project

Blake — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:56:41 -0500

The Old Matadi Youth for Progressive Action (OMAYPA) has launched a US$20,000 library project.

The Secretary General of OMAYPA, Isaac Nyantte told reporters that the construction of the library in the community was intended to ensure that residents of the area have easy access to do their research.

He said due to the huge population of the community, his group thought it wise to embark on the construction of a library facility since there exist none in the community.

Private detectives hunt for late library books

Blake — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:17:27 -0500

Private detectives hunt for late library books: Norfolk County Council (That's in England) admitted it had spent £82,358 in the past three years using private detectives.

Much of the money was used to hunt debtors and the council confessed it had used detectives to look online for people who owed them cash but had moved away.

Oregon County budget: fewer deputies, no libraries

Blake — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:11:50 -0500

Sad News from Oregon: Numerous unsuccessful pleas for money to reopen county libraries marked a 50-minute public hearing on the Josephine County 2008-09 fiscal year budget.

“It’s a tough decision,” said Commissioner Jim Raffenburg, “but you can’t call the library for help in the middle of the night.”

A Tangled Info Web

Blake — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:04:25 -0500

Newsweek says Don't Be Deceived; Even A High-Tech Library Still Needs Shelves Of Books And Journals.

"Who made the decision that everyone who is not computer-literate-very computer-literate, in the ease of our new library-could be left in the cold? Who is pretending that men and women from low-income neighborhoods, schooled without computers and without computers at home, can use this library? And how many decades will pass before everyone who graduated from pre-computer colleges is dead, and until inner-city and rural public schools have computers in sufficient numbers to teach all their children how to use them? Indeed, precious few minority faces are to be seen at the computer stations in our fancy new library."

Information kiosks installed at some UK libraries

Blake — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:33:49 -0500

Not Much In The Way Of Details Here but, kiosks which provide a wealth of information on a range of topics have just been installed in three libraries. South Holland District Council, in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council, has installed three community information booths in libraries in Crowland, Holbeach and Donington, covering topics such as vacancies, transport, local councillors and local and county services. This information can be delivered electronically at the touch of a button.

Save The Senate House Library

Anonymous Patron — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:27:32 -0500

Les writes: I have started a new blog to stop the possible closure of the academic library in london, http://savesenatehouse.blogspot.com/ As you can see, the opening part suggest whats occuring etc. Two students have also started a face book page. The mission of Senate House Library is to contribute to the broader mission of the University of London, by providing resources to support research, to the highest international standards, and to support undergraduate and postgraduate learning in a research environment. more

Is it the end of Libraries as we know them?

Blake — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:31:51 -0500

Sarah Scrafford has written a short essay for LISNews :

Is it the end of Libraries as we know them?

We’re undergoing a revolution in the way information is accessed and disseminated. Traditional models
of learning and acquiring knowledge have given way to new-fangled innovations that are collectively referenced under the umbrella term Web 2.0. Today, encyclopedias have bowed down to Wikipedia, the local grapevine has shriveled with the advent of the blog, books have closed their pages in deference to the germination of OpenCourseWare and newspapers are being forced to maintain an online presence or be forgotten altogether.

In this rapidly changing scenario, one has to ponder the questions –

Is this the end of
libraries as we know them?
How sustainable and
relevant are they in the midst of this information explosion we are
experiencing through the world wide web?
What do libraries have
to do in order to keep up and prevent being left out?
Does the advent of
e-books and free information on the Internet spell doom for the paper
and print books we knew so intimately till now?

The answer to all these posers can be summed up in one phrase – you can’t beat technology, you just have to join it. Libraries must thus be willing to embrace change
as a friend rather than reject it as an enemy without even trying to establish a rapport with it. With computers and digital technology taking over, it’s high time librarians took charge of the digitization of
their archives. This change is not just necessary for survival, it’s also a boon for the preservation of information for posterity – unlike books which erode in quality over time, their digital counterparts are made of zeroes and ones which can be generated as many times as needed
at almost no cost at all.
Digitization allows libraries to stay in tune with the changing times and adapt to changing needs by allowing access through the Internet or via electronic media. Classification
and inventory becomes easier with the introduction of newer technologies like RFID tagging. And at the end of the day, the fact remains that no matter how much of an edge the Internet has over a brick-and-mortar
library, when it comes to authenticity and originality, there’s no beating a library.
It’s ironic when you consider that today, paper is becoming a scare and expensive commodity with the obliteration of trees worldwide, while electronic goods are becoming
cheaper by the day, and also polluting the environment because of the difficulty in disposing of e-waste in a way that’s not detrimental to the earth. Is it reason enough to switch back to the time and tested
tradition of books that we can feel and touch as opposed to bits and bytes floating around in a virtual world? Unfortunately, we can only speculate!
By-line:

Sarah Scrafford is an industry
critic, as well as a regular contributor on the subject of top rated online universities. She invites your questions, comments
and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com.

Gay Library Wants to Raise Local Profile

Anonymous Patron — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:10:48 -0500

Gay library wants to raise local profile : Tucked into a small, windowless building in a Downtown alley is surely Indianapolis' least-known cultural attraction.

It's the equivalent of the local gay community's attic, a quirky, pint-sized Smithsonian containing four decades of odds and ends: long-defunct gay magazines, videotapes of long-ago drag shows, photo albums and books with gay themes -- gay westerns, gay science fiction, gay history, gay medical books, biographies of Roy Cohn, Rock Hudson, Noel Coward.

The Librarian is Dead...Long Live the Librarian

Anonymous Patron — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:12:51 -0500

The Librarian is Dead...Long Live the Librarian "What libraries need to do now is make it easier for librarians to share their work on the wider web and not just hide them behind a library login. Instead of publishing bookmarks with “cool reading lists for this month” or putting big signs on their shelves indicating good reads, libraries should instead feature librarian online resource lists as their primary offering."

Birmingham's ugly library gets protected

Bibliofuture — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:55:41 -0500

A library once condemned by Prince Charles as an incinerator more suitable for the burning of books is in line for listed building status.

Birmingham's bulky Central Library is in line to receive grade listed status, despite being described as a blot by the local council.

The move, which would make the building difficult to demolish, should be greeted with 'dismay and disbelief', the Civic Society said.

The group added that attempts to get the library listed will impede the progress made in changing the city's image.

Full story here.