"...engaging and listening to members of a community about what they need is one of the most effective ways to improve urban regions." - Cynthia E. Smith, Curator of Socially Responsible Design at the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. 

Here is the article in Architectural Record where Ms. Smith is interviewed. We can all learn from projects everywhere in our increasingly interconnected world.

It's the only effective way that you are going to improve your effectiveness in your library within your community too.

How are you and your library responding to and being responsible within your community and city?

We watch and cringe as some libraries loose ground with their communities.  Funding votes are lost and users are crammed into out of date, overcrowded little libraries.

Overworked and discouraged librarians are missing the chance to get out into their communities to build up their position and BE SEEN as an 'outstanding contributor' and 'valuable asset' in their community.

 This topic is universal within the library community and becoming larger and more urgent as each day passes and technology plows on, with our without libraries.  Here are two related articles from Library Journal.

Users Don’t Know What Libraries Are Talking About, Studies Find 

 That Sound You Hear? It’s The Library World Changing

http://boingboing.net/2012/03/14/library-staircase-delightfully.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Heads up folks.  You may not have or want an Urban Greenhouse in your library but one day your neighbourhood could partner with a project in your community designed with the help of this Swedish company - Plantagon International.

I've only imagined a company that had a prospectus like this one - take a look at a future oriented business model. (click to enlarge)

 Plantagon took the initiative to develop the new offer Urban Agriculture within SymbioCity, and the offer is delivered in cooperation with Plantagon's partners SWECO, SAAB, Combitech and Tekniska Verken.   SymbioCity is a network of Swedish companies and organisations, within sustainable urban development, founded by the Swedish Government and Swedish Industry.

Not often the National Press turns its pen or mid toward libraries. NPR seeks your news.

Who would do good, sensible design if it weren't named other than a rose? 

I would, I do, but I gather the rest of the world needs a catchy handle. 

As a person who did her design education in the 70's I find this 'already-done-and-got-the-high-heels-like'.   Perhaps some building owners and trustees still haven't heard of any of this so here goes.

International Interest Grows in Green-Building Certification-By,Kate Galbraith. New York Times. Published: March 7, 2012

"Solar Lantern Project" aims to provide rechargeable solar lanterns to rural Indian areas where electricity is still not available - Institute for Global Environmental Strategies.

"TERI (Energy and Resources Institute) campaign uses solar lanterns that have CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) as well as LEDs (light emitting diodes) for dual purposes.  Each solar lantern in its useful life of 10 years replaces the use of about 500-600 litres of kerosene, thereby mitigating about 1.5 tonnes of CO₂.  Rural entrepreneurs are trained to manage and run a central solar lantern charging/distribution centre where lanterns are rented. This creates financial opportunities for the entrepreneur. hostels for tribal children, funded by the government's universal education programmes, are equipped with solar lanterns to help children study at night."

"Facebook collects....(and) it records a user’s online usage patterns, including the browser they use,the user's IP address and how long they spend logged into the site." 

There is no excuse for not knowing the degree to which we are giving away our rights to privacy.  This article will outline the threats:  You Are Being Tracked Online: Here Are 5 Ways to Protect Your Privacy

They are not alone in doing this.  And neither are you, any more, ever. "Once you connect to the digital ether, whether via a computer, smartphone or tablet, your ostensible private information becomes public and prime for commercialization."

The Federal Trade Commission issued a warning earlier in February over apparent violations of children’s privacy rights involving the operating systems of the Apple iPhone and iPad as well as Google’s Android and their respective apps developers. Its report, "Mobile Apps for Kids," examined 8,000 mobile apps designed for children and found that parents couldn’t safeguard the personal information the app maker collected.

SirsiDynix® launches their 'Social Library solution'... and it just might keep people happy that they use your library.

Not only is this VIDEO funny and well done, our man

in the library is an impressive specimen of hunkatude.

From the Journal of the Medical Library Association Food for thought.

A great age of librarians is possible, but not guaranteed. We are at the very beginning of the development of a digital culture that parallels the print culture that has been dominant for five hundred years. Innovative and creative librarians have the potential to shape the development of that culture in ways that will truly serve the needs of their communities. (cited with permission)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257492/

be Brave~stay Calm~ wait for the Signs