Librarians

Nancy Pearl is the Hannah Montana of Literary Circles

birdie — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:56:53 -0500

Not news to us, but here's a profile of author/librarian superstar Nancy Pearl from the Post Star of Glens Falls, NY along with an image of the L.A.F. doll. The article also contains relevant facts about the action figure doll, which were also reported to me by Nancy during our 2005 interview on LISNews.

Pearl will be speaking at the Saratoga Springs Public Library on Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m.

Librarians show off their moves

Anonymous Patron — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:25:22 -0500

Here's an Article in the Cape Cod Times about the Book Cart Drill Team competition at the Mass. Library Association annual conference in Falmouth.

The stereotypes that pester librarians — that they wear their hair in a bun, don tennis shoes, wear frugal sweaters and go around "shushing" everyone all the time — were shattered immediately when the ladies from Plymouth came out dressed as Rockettes wearing little black dresses and fishnet stockings.

CA Political Candidate: recognize this [fired] librarian for her noble resolve

Blake — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:52:18 -0500

Conway should back library assistant:

"It is reckless and irresponsible in a predominantly Christian community such as our own, to allow a good person to to be targeted and punished for a selfless act of protecting our children and our families from sexual predators. Thank God for people such as this librarian, I only wish those who act supposedly on our behalf were as selfless and beneficial to our community.
I firmly believe that the death penalty would make a fine deterrent to those that act in such egregious capacity against our children."

Here's the backstory in a March LISNews report on the firing of Brenda Biesterfield.

Texas Librarian Pays Back Stolen Money In Lieu of Prosecution

birdie — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:56:51 -0500

A former Bartlett librarian who was accused of stealing money from the Teinert Memorial Public Library in central Texas has signed a letter of apology and paid more than $4,000 in restitution in lieu of prosecution. Here's Teresa Stockton's letter of apology to the community.

Bartlett city officials began investigating Stockton last June after they discovered irregularities in the library's bank account. Preston Singleton, the city's financial auditor, found $11,000 worth of questionable reimbursements from the city to Stockton, many of which he said were unsupported by documentation. The auditor reviewed records from October 2004 to June 2007.

Assistant city attorney Roger Gordon said Singleton's review pinpointed $4,545.71 in questionable or unsubstantiated reimbursements to Stockton. American-Statesman reports.

Librarian Guilty of Petit Larceny

birdie — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:23:26 -0500

A former Fulton NY librarian has pleaded guilty to charging more than $13,000 to the library's credit card.

Last month, Rebekah Tanner plead guilty to petty larceny after an investigation by Fulton Police revealed she used the Fulton Public Library's credit card for personal use. Police say Tanner charged various items to the card from May 2005 to March 2007, including a down payment on a car. They say at first she paid the money back, but eventually stopped doing so, she still owes them $5,000.

Famous Australian Librarians To Be Featured in a New Play

birdie — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:25:13 -0500

The Age reports on a new play, The Future Australian Race, which features two well-known Victorian era librarians; Sir Redmond Barry and writer, Marcus Clarke, both of whom served as National Librarians during the 1870s.

Sir. Redmond Barry is one of the fathers of Melbourne, although he is more famous as the judge who sentenced Ned Kelly to hang than for the creation of Melbourne University, the State Library, the National Gallery of Victoria and Melbourne Museum. But he had another side to this upper-crust respectability. He never married his long-term mistress, Louisa Barrow, who was a lower-middle-class Irish Catholic. The couple lived apart, although she bore him four children and is buried with him.

"He loved eating, drinking and screwing around town," says playwright Sue Gore. "He was unstoppable."

Another famous early Victorian is the writer Marcus Clarke, who wrote the classic convict novel For the Term of his Natural Life. Clarke, whose love of alcohol contributed to his early death, was renowned as Melbourne's first bohemian.

He became second in charge at the library while Barry was head of the board. But unlike his patron, Clarke married and had six children and was always threatened by poverty.

Gore's partner and fellow playwright, Bill Garner, calls him a conservative radical, in contrast to Barry's radical conservative. They explore this relationship of opposites in a new play, "The Future Australian Race", to be performed in the State Library where the pair worked together over a century ago.

SLC Library Director Feels the Love

birdie — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:58:39 -0500

Meet Elizabeth Elder, new director of the beautiful Salt Lake City Library.
Salt Lake Tribune does the honors.

"They just go on and on and on about the library," said Elder, who started her new job Monday as director of Salt Lake City's showcase downtown library and its neighborhood branches. "I don't know how many people have shared with me how much they like the library - which makes me really happy."

Elder, hired after two rounds of searches, replaces longtime director Nancy Tessman, who retired in June. Tessman left a 12-year legacy that included 2006 Library of the Year honors. That national award spotlighted the Main Library's design - "It's just a sparkling jewel," Elder said. If you didn't get a chance to see this stunning library, check out our story from last month.

Japanese Librarian collared for threatening to blow up Soka Gakkai building on 2-Channel

Blake — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:09:58 -0500

A Tokyo high school librarian has been arrested for making threats via the Internet to blow up a building owned by Buddhist-lay organization Soka Gakkai, police said.

Miyuki Kamikawauchi, 43, a librarian at a Tokyo metropolitan high school, is accused of forcible obstruction of business. He admitted to the allegations during questioning.

"Soka Gakkai members kept on trying to get me to vote for their favored election candidates," he was quoted as telling investigators. "I wanted to get back at them."

The Hollywood Librarian's financial predicament

Blake — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:06:22 -0500

Lynne writes: "Greetings to all librarians. I am Lynne Martin Erickson. I have been the fiscal agent for The Hollywood Librarian documentary film since 2004. I post this in the hope that librarians will respond immediately and repost widely.

As many of you know, this wonderful film is the result of the tireless efforts of one person: Ann Seidl. She single-handedly raised $200,000 to make and distribute this movie, worked on it for over 8 years and she is still working to get it seen by as many members of our public as possible. She is traveling throughout the US and the world to promote the film. Thanks to the librarian network, the film is being seen in dozens of locations by hundreds and even thousands of people.

While Ann has devoted her full-time work to this cause, she has been paid very little. She insists she is not in it for the money. I can guarantee that is the case. She wouldn't say this to you, but I can assure you that Ann is broke.

During the Banned Book Week release, when tickets sold for $8, we took in about $10,000, but less than $400 was profit. These days, she is asking for a small fee to screen the film but that money is to fund the editing and authoring process for the DVD which she wants to make available this fall. But she must have some financial support to go on working on the film. We can't let her stop working on the film to take other employment when she is so close to finishing.

If you are a fan of The Hollywood Librarian or of Ann, I am asking you to send her your financial encouragement.

Go here now http://www.hollywoodlibrarian.com/involved.html and click on the Paypal link."

50 Minutes With Librarian/Author Scott Douglas

Blake — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 05:54:56 -0500

Scott Douglas appeared on Think, The Dallas NPR Station. His new book, Quiet Please, is all about his life working in the public library. "This is hardly a job for the faint of heart..." Those of you who don't want to go through the hassle of iTunes or don't have iTunes, here's a direct link to the 50 minute NPR interview...