Politics

Hundreds Protest Philadelphia Library Closures

birdie — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:15:17 -0500

Across Philadelphia this Saturday hundreds turned out to protest Mayor Nutter's planned closing of 11 library branches. Residents say they are much more than places to check out books and they're calling the mayor to task.

Residents across the city, braved the bitterly cold temperatures to proclaim to Mayor Michael Nutter that his plan to shut 11 of the city's libraries is a bad idea. Video and story from the ABC-TV affiliate.

I like what one protester had to say.. .instead of spending our money on the State Pen(itentiary), I'd rather see our children prepare to go to Penn State.

Las Vegas School Librarians May Face Axe

StephenK — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:09:47 -0500

Las Vegas area CBS affiliate KLAS reports that the association of school librarians in the Clark County School District was present in recent meetings. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported yesterday that the district is holding meetings to gauge parent views on what should be cut due to financial shortfalls. The librarians went to gauge the risk to their jobs as local television reports have noted that parents are strongly considering already terminating art and music education in schools.

The district has posted a chart with cuts under consideration. It is noted there that cutting out middle school and high school librarians would save the district USD$9,510,215. The argument present in favor of cutting such librarians is that teachers or support staff could maintain libraries.

Clark County School District's boundaries are coterminous with the boundaries of Clark County in Nevada. The district serves Nevada's population center. According to the US Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, as of the 2005-2006 school year the district had 314 schools and served over two hundred and ten thousand students.

Would You Believe..."Savior of the American Publishing Industry"?

birdie — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:52:55 -0500

Guess we're not through with her yet...Sarah Palin that is.

According to Tony Allen-Mills in London's Times Online, but she “may yet emerge as the savior of the American publishing industry.” Literary agents are lining up to sign the former Republican vice-presidential candidate to a book deal that could earn her $7 million, and sales should justify the price.

Not bad for a “small-town Alaska girl turned beauty queen,” said the blog OhMyGov!. It’s too soon to know whether Palin is paving the way for a run for national office in 2012, or simply “defending herself from being labeled an intellectually weak, shop-a-holic, ticket-spoiling, loose cannon.” But one thing’s for sure—she’ll soon have enough money “to keep her living large in ‘real’ America for life.”

When the law is not the law

reellis67 — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:36:14 -0500

Libraries are involved with patron's personal information, we all know that. We know who has what book checked out, and in many system there is a record of who has read what, used which computer, etc. Even when there are no physical records, this information can still exist in the form of logs, computer related information that is carried over for a period of time (cookies, etc.), and when books are checked out of a State libraries the records may exist outside the library where the materials were accessed even if that library does not keep records itself once the materials have been returned. It's just a fact of life.

There are laws in place to protect us, the public, from abuse of those in power when it comes to these records. And, while they are certainly not perfect, from from so since 2001, they are still the law, and this is a land of law and order based on those laws - or so we are told. In certain circumstances, people in positions of authority know that if they use their influence to coerce members of the public to abandon their rights, they will often get compliance despite their request being illegal. It happens all the time.

This story explains how this situation came to pass in a library - a situation revolving around the USA PATRIOT act, or so the people in question were told. FBI agents came into the library, asked to see records without a court order (which is required, even under the so called PATRIOT act), and fortunately in this case, the librarian they were questioning knew something of his rights and refused them. According to this article, this sort of illegal action by the FBI has happened over 1000 times.

The article then reviews the court actions that culminated in the Supreme Court ruling that the entire security letter provision of the PATRIOT act was unconstitutional and therefore invalid. The Bush administration has appealed the decision and at the time of this writing there has been no further ruling on this case. The idea that people will forfeit their rights under pressure is something that we should all be concerned about - it affects us all. If enough people forfeit their rights enough times, it will be very easy to adjust the laws to compensate and we will all lose those rights without a fight. We must all be aware and on guard at all times for abuse.

Further reading:

The original article

The White Houses' USA PATRIOT act website

Wikipedia's page on the act, which may give an alternate point, or points, of view

The ACLU's page on the act

"Show Me the Money" Say Mayors

birdie — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:36:29 -0500

Phoenix's Mayor Phil Gordon is just one of several big city mayors who want in on the federal government's $700 billion bailout plan. As a vital part of their city, they want a portion of the money to go to libraries.

Gordon joined the mayors of Philadelphia and Atlanta in writing a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, suggesting the cities get $50 billion for investments in infrastructure and loans, some of which would help pay pension costs.

"Let's build those roads, those parks, those water treatment plants, those libraries, all of which are needed, all of which are scheduled," Gordon told News/Talk 92-3 KTAR on Friday.

All Those 'No' Votes Hurting Libraries

birdie — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:08:59 -0500

Here's a post-election day scenario that is playing out in a number of cities and towns across the US; library budgets reduced or no money set aside for improvements.

From The Day (CT): "Faced with a disappointing loss at the polls last week, the Board of Trustees of the E.C. Scranton Memorial Library said they will work with town officials to develop a revised proposal for the library expansion that will meet the needs of the town. The trustees had asked town taxpayers to approve a $13 million bond issue, allowing the library to renovate and expand its landmark building at the corner of Wall Street and the Boston Post Road.

In a letter to the editor in this issue of The Source, Board of Trustees Chair Ted Mallory said, “Most of those who were opposed were concerned with taking on a major expense in the tumultuous financial times that burst upon us this fall…The referendum was defeated. The economic fears were too great and we failed to communicate or convince enough people of our reasoning.”

The measure lost by about 500 votes in Madison, CT, a relatively wealthy community.

Were there library voter issues in your community? What were the results?

San Diego Mayor has made no friends at libraries

Blake — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:50:00 -0500

Library advocates have launched a campaign to encourage residents to write to their City Council representatives to oppose a plan to close seven branch libraries as a cost-saving measure.
Mayor Jerry Sanders announced a series of proposed budget cuts Wednesday to help close a $43 million mid-year deficit. In addition to libraries, he also suggested shutting down 10 recreational facilities.

Canadian Parliamentary Library renovation sparks multimillion lawsuit

Blake — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:29:33 -0500

The firms who gave the Library of Parliament an award-winning facelift are embroiled in court battles over who should pay for millions of dollars in cost overruns on the project.

One lawsuit that started as a claim between two construction companies has since spawned third, fourth and fifth party claims, drawing in eight of the companies that worked on the renovation. And the project's general contractor, Thomas Fuller Construction, has filed a $21.5-million lawsuit against the federal government over delays in decision-making and hundreds of changes to the original scope of work.

Night of the Living Map

Bibliofuture — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:40:00 -0500

Dan Roam, the author of The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures, has an author's blog on Amazon. He has a blog entry called "Night of the Living Map", that is about the electoral map that was used during the election and how he viewed election information on the night of the election.

Colorado Community Considering Changes For Library Governance

StephenK — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:09:09 -0500

In the Colorado community of Aurora, thought is being given to changing the way libraries are funded. The Aurora Sentinel reports that spinning off libraries and recreation from city control to "special districts" may be a way to shore up finances relative to those services.