We are researching the topic of how librarians can plan for the future in their libraries. In architectural school, the "Environment' and "Environmental Design" were at the root of all my design considerations. Most of us in class thought, "We've got this. We can be agents of change for good. Our values and caring for our planet through intelligent design are going to help everyone."  The "Almost" in the title of the following intensive and exhausting-to-read (for me at least!) article sums up the results of our youthful, optimistic dreams.

This is this a photo of weekend's New York Times Magazine cover, stark white letters on unrelieved black, small enough to make you really look and read. The exclusive Two-Part issue of August 1, 2018 - Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change - is so overarching a topic that it must be considered by all community leaders as they try to plan for services that are foremost on their users' minds and strive to meet just their basic human needs.

The publication clearly and in plain words puts before our eyes for all to see, the feet-of-clay history of what we have done since we were all warned that climate change was real and how it could affect our lives.

Our global climate affects our jobs, our health, immigration intensity, food and water supplies, demand for science-literate citizens, our power supplies and the willingness by our community's institutions to embrace adaptability. We have no exact idea how this issue will devolve but one thing is certain; it will and we must consider our environment in every decision we make when planning our libraries.

The chapter titles of Part One are riveting. As you begin to read Part Two, you'll get the drift of where this is headed.

1. 'This Is the Whole Banana', Spring 1979

2. 'The Whimsies of the Invisible World', Spring 1979

3. 'Between catastrophe and Chaos', July 1979

4. 'A Very Aggressive Defensive Program', Summer 1979-summer 1980

5. 'We Are Flying Blind', October 1980

6. 'Otherwise, They'll Gurgle', November 1980-September 1981

7. 'We're All Going to Be the Victims', March 1982

8. 'The Direction of an Impending catastrophe', 1982

Here is the link to the full on-line publication (with awe inspiring photos).

Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change By Nathaniel Rich Photographs and Videos by George Steinmetz

Thank you everyone #alaac18 for coming to our presentation.

Here's a little GIFt for you - a few visual memories from NOLA (click on it)

If you have questions after you receive our NOTES, we will happily assist. Posting them within a week the ALA Conference Sessions Postings site.

Working full out finishing up our Program for the American Library Association Annual Convention (ALAAC18) in New Orleans - Saturday, 23 June.

Interested? Register Now | ALA Annual 2018

from @ALALibrary tweet

Information about issues we will be advocating for are available in two briefing documents - Appropriation Brief and the Broadband Brief.

Advocacy really DOES makes a difference! Here's the link to the ALA Page.

Chicago PL pushes boundary of "Library Commons".

Chicago Housing Authority & Chicago Public Library Partner Up, Bring Mixed-Income Housing and Libraries Together

The City of Chicago is "beginning of construction on three innovative co-located housing and library developments being built across the city. (Beginning with the) Taylor Street Apartments and Roosevelt Branch Library, with construction also getting underway at two co-located developments in the West Ridge and Irving Park communities. Mayor Emanuel announced that plans will continue for two additional CPL branches using creative interagency partnerships — one in the CHA’s Altgeld Gardens community and a new branch in the West Loop to serve its rapidly growing community.

“Libraries serve as community anchors, making knowledge and learning accessible for everyone,” said CPL Commissioner Brian Bannon. “The new co-located libraries will help to sustain strong neighborhoods, and provide a place for all community residents to gather, share and succeed.”

“This project bringing together housing with a neighborhood library will be paramount for our community,” said Alderman Jason Ervin, 28th Ward. “This investment shows our residents that no matter what your income is or what neighborhood you live in, if you call Chicago home you should have a range of housing options to choose from.”

"Over the past six years, Chicago Public Library has witnessed one of the largest capital investments in recent history. Through City investment and innovative partnerships, the Library has seen over $200 million of new capital projects and investments in the people and programs that activate our community anchors. By the end of 2018, we will have 11 new library buildings and 14 additional locations with major renovations and expansions. Embedded in these locations and other locations citywide is our innovative way to serve children and teens. CPL will have added new early learning play spaces at 28 locations and new teen spaces at 19 locations."

Source: Mayor Emanuel and City Officials Break Ground on Innovative Branch Library Projects

from @ACLU

This excerpt is from a draft document - Net Neutrality - An Intellectual Freedom Issue being developed by the Net Neutrality Working Group under the auspices of the American Library Association (ALA) Intellectual Freedom Committee (IFC). I am honored to be a member of this Working Group. I will keep tracking this issue and let you know when and how best to help us protect net neutrality.

"Net neutrality is the First Amendment of the digital realm. It guarantees the right to distribute and receive ideas without limitations via the Internet. It ensures that Internet providers make their services available to the public without discrimination. Without the protection of net neutrality, tiered access limits diversity, blocks ideas and opinions. Additionally, it creates an internet in which only the companies who can afford to pay more for prioritized access can get their content through to consumers.

A democracy requires an informed citizenry with access to information from many points of view and the opportunity exchange ideas with others through civic engagement. Publicly supported institutions such as libraries, universities, and K-12 schools provide equal access to the members of their communities. If a portion of library users have limited or lesser access, their rights to participate in democracy are diminished; and the foundation of the nation’s democracy is undermined."

Yesterday, 21 November 2017, the American Library Association (ALA) released a statement about the FCC proposed order to end net neutrality:

http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2017/11/ala-strenuously-opposes-fcc-proposed-order-net-neutrality

Here is a link to an article from the November 21st Guardian - America is about to kill the open internet - and towns like this will pay the price

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/21/republicans-are-about-to-kill-the-open-internet-net-neutrality-winlock-washington?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+USA+-+Collections+2017&utm_term=253487&subid=24880355&CMP=GT_US_collection

and another link to the November 21 New York Times - F.C.C. Plans Net Neutrality Repeal in a Victory for Telecoms

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/technology/fcc-net-neutrality.html?emc=edit_th_20171122&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=4754748

This is an interesting article from the November 21 Washington Examiner - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange warns Trump that full net neutrality repeal could inhibit tweets

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-warns-trump-that-full-net-neutrality-repeal-could-inhibit-tweets/article/2641445

and finally this insightful link to a November 21 ABC News article - FCC looks to repeal Obama-era net neutrality rules

http://abcnews.go.com/US/fcc-repeal-obama-era-net-neutrality-rules/story?id=51309157

We urge you to inform yourself as much as you can about all the factors in this issue. Our future as a vibrant, open democracy with unfettered access to information is at stake.

battleforthenet.com

from princh.com

We've heard this in various versions especially this past half year when Federal Funding for libraries in America is under attack. This article (click on the graphic above) articulates 4 core concerns of library users that are well worth reviewing.

1. A Good Range of Books - including free access to various ebooks, eAudiobooks, eMagazines and newspapers!
   
2. Longer Opening Hours -after work/school or during the weekend.
3. Core Library Service for Free - access to information but also to the library’s facility (use entices new library patrons)
4. Help from Knowledgeable Librarians - representing the human Google of your local community. You have THAT covered right?

Click on this image to open the beautifully produced vid in a separate window.

princh.com

I note that Libby, the Overdrive App is referenced in this Danish article. @OverdriveLibs

Part Two of the princh.com article, "5 other services users wish to find in a library (and how libraries offer them)"  can be read here: http://bit.ly/2ujOQOv

"I am the Executive Director of the Ramapo Catskill Library System a cooperative system that provides services to 47 independent member public libraries in New York State.

Public libraries are dedicated to protecting intellectual freedom and providing access to all to the record of human creation. Our democracy is founded on the principle of "Government by the people, for the people . . ." which requires an educated electorate. All people must have open and unfettered access to information. We are fortunate in this nation to have this right protected in the Constitution - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Net Neutrality is the First Amendment of the digital realm. Any action that would abridge digital access would disenfranchise the people of the United States. I do not want ISPs to have the power to block websites, slow them down, give some sites an advantage over others, or split the Internet into "fast lanes" for those who can afford to pay and "slow lanes" for those who unable to pay. Public Libraries, schools and not-for-profits depend on open and equitable access to the Internet.

Imagine a world where you pick up the telephone to make a call and get a recording stating "based on your account type your call is the 17th call in line to be connected." Eliminating Net Neutrality or if you prefer "packet equality" would setup just such a system for digital content access.

The Internet is a telecommunication system no different than the telephone system in place today; as such it should be regulated in the same way.

Help us protect innovation and our democratic way of life protect Net Neutrality!"

AND ...For those of you following along, you can go to GOFCCYOURSELF.COM it TAKES YOU DIRECTLY TO THE ECFS Proceedings Results Page  - hover over and click on 17-108 - for the comments on the Bill cynically titled as follows-

See 6,831,286 comments in ECFS Proceedings Results

ALSO: Here are some numbers for you:

Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554

• Phone: 1-888-225-5322
• TTY: 1-888-835-5322
• Videophone: 1-844-432-2275
• Fax: 1-866-418-0232

Cred: Change.org, battleforthenet.com,fightforthefuture.org, Thank you John Oliver

Related articles

How you can fight to save net neutrality on the Day of Action and beyond

News from Ontario, Canada: WE SUPPORT PUBLIC LIBRARIES  The people of Canada's most heavily populated province are living up to these words, "Investing in Ontario's public libraries is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives."

"Ontario is investing $3 million through the Improving Library Digital Services fund and will support up to 307 libraries and library organizations across the province. This includes $1 million for rural, remote and First Nation public libraries through Budget Talks."

This is the press release from the office of the Hon. Eleanor McMahon Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport , MPP (Member of the Provincial Parliament) for Burlington (Ontario):  http://bit.ly/2tTA1Of

BurlingtonPL

The initiative will support funding for "access to technology, digital services and training opportunities at public libraries in towns, cities and Indigenous communities across the province."

FrstNtnsPLWeek2017

Ontario is the most populated province in Canada with 38.3% of the country's people mainly gathered along the border with the United States. Canada has only 11.2% of the population of the United States of America but it is clear that Canadians' 'Community Intelligence Factor' is more in tune with their citizen's needs.

Living south of the 49th, we have this year witnessed the erosion of trust in the Media; shortsighted slashes to funding for libraries at the Federal level (see this article in ALA News,23May'17); imprudent stagnation of funding to libraries at State levels and ignorance of the essential role of Information Literacy. We are proud that the people in Ontario gave voice to their needs so that they can take their place as leaders in our world economy and participate in global stewardship.

 The Ministry site also provides a complete list, with live links, to all the libraries in Ontario, check them out there are some fantastic things going on in Ontario and Canada-wide in Your Library.

Related articles

CANeLearn June News

On May 18, 2017 the FCC voted 2 to 1 to start the process of eliminating net neutrality rules and the classification of home and mobile Internet service providers (ISPs) as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act.

Net neutrality is the equivalent of the First Amendment for the Internet.

Net neutrality is a phrase that is often misunderstood and elicits widely divergent reactions. Without net neutrality ISPs could establish a system of paid prioritization for the processing of data conveyed via the Internet. This approach would discriminate against libraries, schools, not for profits, and small and medium sized businesses which are unable to pay for "priority access." It would also hurt individuals who would be unable to pay the premium for this enhanced access.

Net neutrality is NOT another term for bandwidth. Bandwidth refers to the "volume of information per unit of time that a transmission medium (like an Internet connection) can handle. An Internet connection with a larger bandwidth can move a set amount of data (say, a video file) much faster than an Internet connection with a lower bandwidth." Bandwidth can be compared to plumbing, just as the size of a pipe determines the volume of water that can flow through it in a given time; the greater the bandwidth the more data can be processed. Maintaining net neutrality does not affect an ISPs ability to charge different rates for increased bandwidth. If you have a 75mbps account you will and currently do pay more than someone who has 25mbps account. Bandwidth refers to the "rate of data transfer," while net neutrality refers to the equality of all data transferred, that is, data is processed in the order it is sent.

Everything you do on the Internet involves packets. For example, every Web page that you receive comes as a series of packets, and every e-mail you send leaves as a series of packets. Net neutrality ensures packet equality, that is, all packets are treated equally and transmitted in the order that they were sent. Eliminating net neutrality will create an environment where the packets generated by companies or individuals who pay more will receive preferential transmission.

Imagine if you picked up the telephone to make a call and after dialing the number you heard the following message, "Your call is being processed and based on your account type it is estimated that your call is the 23rd call in line to be connected." This is what it would be like if net neutrality was eliminated.

The Chairman of the FCC, Ajit Pai, served as Associate General Counsel at Verizon Communications Inc., between February 2001 and April 2003. Verizon is one of the telecoms that have lobbied for the elimination of net neutrality. Mr. Pai has made many statements recently that net neutrality under the Title II order has diminished broadband investment and stifled innovation. However, the Internet Association (IA) recently released a document titled Preliminary Net Neutrality Investment Findings, which challenges Mr. Pai’s claims. The IA is "the only trade association that exclusively represents leading global internet companies on matters of public policy. The association’s mission is to foster innovation, promote economic growth, and empower people through the free and open internet."

You can read the FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - WC Docket No. 17-108 by downloading a PDF copy.

You can comment on the Proposed Rulemaking by using the Standard Filing Form, which allows you to upload a file with your comments, or you can use the Express Comment Form, which allows you leave a brief comment. In either case you must insert the correct Docket number 17-108 in the first field - Proceeding(s).

As of Sunday, May 21 there were over 1.6 million comments.

Please take the time to let the FCC know that net neutrality is essential for open access to the Internet. Net neutrality is the equivalent of the First Amendment for the Internet.

Here are some additional articles about the importance of net neutrality:

A May 18th article from Ars Technica, a publication founded in 1998 devoted to technology that caters to “alpha geeks” technologists and IT professionals.

The May 17th posting District Dispatch from the ALA Washington Office.
A March 29th posting to District Dispatch.

If you prefer to have your information delivered with a bit of satire here are three links to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver:

1. his original net neutrality segment from June 1, 2014
2. his follow-up piece in response to the recent Proposed Rulemaking from May 7, 1017
3. his web only segment from May 14, 2017

Related articles

Cable companies have a friendly FCC Chairman and consumers should be worried

The American Federal Government funding of libraries is 0.00006 % of the total Federal Budget.

Libraries are the bearers of, the repositories for, the collective knowledge of a culture.

Libraries are at the core of a healthy democracy.

This WH will eliminate federal funding for libraries.

Connect the dots.

Margaret H. Willison's article (@MrsFridayNext), What Donald Trump Doesn't Understand About Libraries - His proposed budget would eliminate all federal funding for the Institute of Museums and Library Services, in cosmopolitan.com/politics ends with this:

"I wish I could say that Trump is attacking libraries because he knows that the information literacy we exist to create is exactly the skill our electorate needs to shut down his lying, cheating, hate-mongering administration. I wish I had confidence that he thought that hard, or strategically, about any of the terrible policies he’s spent the first 50 days of his presidency advancing. But I don’t."

"Take a look at this map — built by a librarian, naturally — and you will see how the Institute of Museums and Library Services’ grants have benefited communities all over the country, red state and blue alike." (map credit: Anna E. Kijas,@anna_kijas)

The percentage of federal funding for libraries is so infinitesimal within the total federal budget, it doesn't show up on a pie chart.

What is going on in the minds of men who take these actions? I refer you to the beginning of this post. Draw your own conclusions.

 (Bar Chart maker Source: here)

Related articles

President Trump's Proposed Federal Budget Would Eliminate Funding For Corporation For Public Broadcasting, Other Arts Programs

'Sesame Street' has been mocking Trump since 1988 - here are some of the best moments

Library Advocates head for Washington DC tomorrow #NLLD

Take five minutes to call, email, or Tweet at your Members of Congress help preserve over $210 million in library funding now at risk.

All the details that follow are directly copied from District Dispatch @ALALibrary, see it here. Posted by: Kevin Maher March 22, 2017 in Funding, Legislation

"Your limited-time-only chance to ask for your House Member’s backing for LSTA and IAL begins now.

Where does your Representative stand on supporting FY 2018 library funding? Against the backdrop of the President’s proposal last week to eliminate the Institute for Museum and Library Services and virtually all other library funding sources, their answer this year is more important than ever before.

Every Spring, library champions in Congress ask every Member of the House to sign two, separate “Dear Appropriator” letters directed to the Appropriations Committee: one urging full funding for LSTA (which benefits every kind of library),

... and the second asking the same for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy program. This year, the LSTA support letter is being led by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ3). The IAL support letter is being jointly led by Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX30), Don Young (R-AK), and Jim McGovern (D-MA2).

The first “Dear Appropriator” letter asks the Committee to fully fund LSTA in FY 2018 and the second does the same for IAL. When large numbers of Members of Congress sign these letters, it sends a strong signal to the House Appropriations Committee to reject requests to eliminate IMLS, and to continue funding for LSTA and IAL at least at current levels.

Members of the House have only until April 3 to let our champions know that they will sign the separate LSTA and IAL “Dear Appropriator” letters now circulating, so there’s no time to lose. Use ALA’s Legislative Action Center today to ask your Member of Congress to sign both the LSTA and IAL letters. Many Members of Congress will only sign such a letter if their constituents ask them to. So it is up to you to help save LSTA and IAL from elimination or significant cuts that could dramatically affect hundreds of libraries and potentially millions of patrons.

Five minutes of your time could help preserve over $210 million in library funding now at risk.

Soon, we will also need you to ask both of your US Senators to sign similar letters not yet circulating in the Senate, but timing is key. In the meantime, today’s the day to ask your Representative in the House for their signature on both the LSTA and IAL “Dear Appropriator” letters that must be signed no later than April 3.

Whether you call, email, tweet or all of the above (which would be great), the message to the friendly office staff of your Senators and Representative is all laid out at the Legislative Action Center and it’s simple:

“Hello, I’m a constituent. Please ask Representative  ________ to sign both the FY 2018 LSTA and IAL ‘Dear Appropriator’ letters circulating for signature before April 3.”

Please, take five minutes to call, email, or Tweet at your Members of Congress  and watch this space throughout the year for more on how you can help preserve IMLS and federal library funding. We need your help this year like never before."

This is straight out of the press release from District Dispatch, @ALALibrary Blog:

"This morning, President Trump released his budget proposal (now in 2021 - taken down from the WH Site and replaced with a ridiculously titled report: A New Foundation For American GreatnessFiscal Year 2018, that I will not bother to reference now - ('old news' and all.) The Institute of Museum of Library Services (IMLS) is included in the list of independent agencies whose budgets the proposal recommends eliminating. Library funding that comes through other sources such as the Department of Education, the Department of Labor and the National Endowment for the Humanities is also affected. Just how deeply overall federal library funding is impacted is unclear at this point. The Washington Office is working closely with our contacts in the federal government to gather detailed information. We will provide the analysis of the total impact when it is complete and as quickly as possible.

One thing we all know for certain: Real people will be impacted if these budget proposals are carried through.

While we are deeply concerned about the president’s budget proposal, it is not a done deal. As I said in a statement issued this morning,

'The American Library Association will mobilize its members, congressional library champions and the millions upon millions of people we serve in every zip code to keep those ill-advised proposed cuts from becoming a congressional reality.'

There are several actions we can take right now:

1. Call your Members of Congress  – ask them to publicly oppose wiping out IMLS, and ask them to commit to fighting for federal library funding. (You can find talking points and an email template on the Action Center.)
2. Share your library’s IMLS story using the #SaveIMLS tag – tell us how IMLS funding supports your local community. If you aren’t sure which IMLS grants your library as received, you can check the searchable database available on the IMLS website.
3. Sign up to receive our action alerts – we will let you know when and how to take action, and send you talking points and background information.
4. Register to participate in National Library Legislative Day on May 1-2, either in Washington, D.C., or online.

Timing is key to the Federal budget/appropriations process. More information – along with talking points and scripts – will be forthcoming from the ALA Washington Office, particularly as it pertains to the upcoming advocacy campaign around “Dear Appropriator” letters. Meanwhile, please take the time to subscribe to action alerts and District Dispatch to ensure you receive the latest updates on the budget process.

The president’s budget has made clear that his funding agenda is not ours. It’s time for library professionals and supporters to make our priorities clear to Congress."

Thank you ALA for all you do.

Educational Attainment in America is an interactive dot-density map designed by these clever folks at the Center for Urban Studies at Texas Christian University showing the US population aged 25 and over by educational attainment.Click on the map anywhere - scroll out or in to focus on y our area of interest.

Bar Chart - America

Data are summarized into five categories organised along the colour spectrum, representing the highest education attained: RED-less than high school; ORANGE-high school or equivalent; YELLOW-some college or associate's degree; GREEN-bachelor's degree; and BLUE-graduate degree.

According to Kyle Walker, Assistant Professor of Geography and Director of the Center for Urban Studies at Texas Christian University. "Data are from  the 2011-2015 American Community Survey Table B15003, distributed by NHGIS. Dot locations are approximate and do not represent the locations of individuals. Also, as the ACS is a survey of the US population, its estimates are subject to a margin of error.

I originally saw this article on line at: BoingBoing

I think it is instructive to compare and contrast the visual representation of the data on the two coasts (I have taken screen shots) compared to the center of the continent. Zoom around this map to find your own areas of interest.

Bar Chart-San Francisco

Section of Map - Mid Continent

Bar Chart - Mid Continent

Bar Chart - New York

According to the OECD-The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the US remains in the middle rankings for Science. (click on the images -they pop up larger)

  You can see for yourself the ranking for Maths: Cred and ScrnGbs: GitHub - walkerke/education_map: Educational Attainment in America  and PISA - PISA

Stand up New Yorkers! National Library Legislative Day (NLLD) is fast approaching and we have work to do. Our voices count.

NLLD is an opportunity for us to learn more about the Administration and its policy related to support for the Library Services and Technology Act ( LSTA), intellectual freedom, privacy, copyright, net neutrality and many other issues that are important to librarians, library users and the general public.

Registration for National Library Legislative Day (NLLD) is open.You can find out more about NLLD by clicking here. For information about the schedule of events click here.

NLLD Briefings take place at The Liaison, you can register here. Here is a link to hotels that are either in Washington DC or in nearby Virginia with ready access to the Metro which comes into Union Station, not far from The Liaison and the legislative office buildings.

As a result of the changes in the Administration, many of the legislative issues are still unknown, however, based on President Trump's Executive Budget, released earlier this week, we know that he has eliminated funding for the IMLS Institute of Museum and Library Services. This is the only federal funding for America's libraries and is critical to New York State. Funding from IMLS  supports the NOVELny program, which makes databases available to all New Yorkers. In addition, IMLS funding supports the operation of the Division of Library Development (DLD). We also have indications that the new Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Ajit Pai intends to end support for net neutrality. Net neutrality is the principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally.

Link to Session/Workshop Information

We are look forward to meeting librarians and trustees at the @ONLibraryAssoc Ontario Library Association Super Conference #OLASC in Toronto this Friday, 3 February.

Our Session and Workshop  - "Communicate Effectively with Design Professionals" - will introduce and develop the concept of the the Library Building Program Document as a comprehensive method for organizing your library’s requirements and communicating them to library users, board, city or municipal councils and the architect.

We believe that the librarian is the person who should lead the Library Building Project and we do everything we can to support you with tools to help you systematically navigate your Library Building Project. There is no need to reinvent the wheel or feel unsupported.

We help librarians lead the pre-planning phase of the library building project and offer and explain the use of methods and strategies to use throughout the design development phase that help you retain control of your design into the acceptance of construction drawings.

So that you are familiar with the visual language that designers use, we will introduce you to adjacency charts; bubble diagrams; construction drawing schedules and Room Data Sheets . We will workshop three of these with exercises so that all our attendees can get hands on experience of the work involved and gain some experience for when you begin the design conversation with your architect.

No words can politely express how we feel about this story.

Perhaps the lawyers for Michigan's Gov. Rick Snyder and Gov. Snyder himself really are hoping that there will be no one who is even able to read this article:

http://bit.ly/2fG2nHd

ScrnDrbCred: fox2detroit
 

Librarians and their Libraries have shifted and morphed with us since we had papyri and charcoal, flint and bone. It is our contention that, as our world becomes ever more connected and the individual in contrast senses a growing seclusion and remove, libraries will provide a Commons, a safe Place to be together, and a repository of our past, present and future musings - be they on tape, in a book, in bytes in the Cloud or on a Holodeck. 

Leave it to the brilliant and out-of-the-Box-Aussies to publish this piece "Libraries of the Future are going to change in some unexpected way", in a Business/Tech section.

from Business Insider Australia

Chris Weller in Business Insider Australia reports from an interview with David Pescovitz, (who has not Tweeted yet has 758 followers on Twitter!) , co-editor  @BoingBoing and research director at the Institute for the Future , that the Libraries of your Future are going to be there with you. 

They might not look like today's libraries but they will fulfill our deep societal need that will expand beyond our imaginings with information we haven't yet dreamed of and provide access to technologies not yet invented.

We change, Libraries change and, because we are libraries, they will keep pace and stay with us no matter where we go.

Save

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'A revolution has been happening (in Somaliland) in publishing books, reading, writing and literature,' says Musa...."

"Hamdi Ali Musa saw her first book when she was 10. Now 25, she's one of Hargeisa's only librarians." (shown in photo)

Somaliland is a self declared state (some sources say 'republic') and an autonomous region of Somalia.

It is also a region of Africa whose roots go back to the Neolithic Period. On the outskirts of the Capital, Hargeisa are the Laas Geel complex cave paintings  "containing stratified archaeological infills capable of documenting the period when production economy appeared in this part of Somalia (circa 5th and 2nd millennium BCE)".(Wikipedia)

The capital of this republic is Hargeisa (Somali: Hargeysa, Arabic: هرجيسا‎‎ is the second largest city in Somalia after Mogadishu. (source: Wikipedia).

And here's a fascinating fact ... for centuries until recent history (the end of the 1800's) when European Imperialist interests turned their attention to the region, splitting it up, negotiating treaties to alternately divide or reunite it and eventually leaving it to handle its own particular brand of civil war ... this country's people passed on their ancient legacy of stories in the Oral Tradition.

That's all changed now for a number of reasons, the need to join the community of nations being one of them. Books and their authors represent the renewed hope of these people who are widely spread across our globe as a diaspora - a country as an idea. Since 1972 the swelling initiative to support books written in Somali has been chiefly lead by the desire to gather together in a literary and a real way, the hundreds of thousands of Somalis that have fled this ancient land during its fight for independence and have not returned.

Somaliland has no passport agency and is not 'officially recognised' by the international community. It has no support from international aid agencies nor funds flowing to it from the World Bank. It does have a Book Fair, (site text not it English) and that's where librarian Hamdi Ali Musa enters this story. "The (Book Fair is the) biggest annual event in Somaliland, drawing 11,000 attendees this year, (is) an advertisement for a republic that showcases itself as a kind of "anti-Somalia."

I can not find any details about Hamdi Ali Musa other than what is reported by NPR (and republished by the online 'Samliland Informer'.) I am encouraged as should we all be, that a young woman is the stewart of this growing body of Somali literature, taking her country with her into her future.

Here is the link to the Hargeisa Library on Twitter. @HargeisaLibrary. Somliland skipped right over the 1900's and scooted right into the 21st with its communications and social media!

Credit: NPR, Wikipedia, Twitter

American Libraries Mag

Turns out that librarians and libraries are doing a great job at keeping up with competition from both obvious - box store book stores - and obscure sources - multi national uber-corporations.

In this book review in @amlibraries American Libraries Magazine: "The Purpose-Based Library Finding your path to survival, success, and growth" by John J. Huber and Steven V. Potter, you will read...

"Bill Gates’s quote should have you, as a member of the library profession, doing backflips. Librarians are specifically trained to gather, manage, and use information. If we take Gates’s words at face value, libraries should be the most competitive organizations on the planet."

Turns out that libraries are doing a great job in this regard.

...and that, my library friends and colleagues, should make you all feel very good about your work today!

Here's a sample of the ideas celebrated by Huber and Potter:

"To successfully compete, libraries must embrace the words of Bill Gates. 'Libraries must gather, use, and manage information in a way that large for-profit companies cannot.' So the question is: What competitive advantages do libraries have that these organizations do not? Let us count the ways:

• Libraries have more locations across the country than any other organization.
• Libraries have a personal presence in every community in the country.
• Library staff interact with their customers face-to-face.
• Library staff are trained and skilled to gather, archive, and manage information.
• Library staff are well educated and motivated to make a difference.
• And most important, libraries and their staff have a powerful, game-changing common purpose.

To go beyond survival, to succeed and grow, libraries must embrace and leverage these competitive advantages."

from: ALA Store

You may purchase the book at this link.

"...the hardest truth: that to be in the middle class, just working hard and playing by the rules doesn’t cut it anymore. To have a lifelong job, you need to be a lifelong learner, constantly raising your game." T. Friedman

See Mr. Friedman's OpEd here.

All change is inexorable. This change has already swept over us.

As a society we have been too slow to recognise it. Librarians have always designed spaces for people to meet, learn, research and work; for people who view the world as their home and their shared place of business as their own. 

Although Mr. Friedman's words make some of us uncomfortable and others even frightened, they are true. We have moved on. We are part of a global economy - a global web of opportunity - that we have never experienced before.

We can't go back. Our children don't want to go back. The globe, our planet is their future; their opportunities are quite literally a world beyond ours. We reside in a world where, as life-long learners already appreciate, libraries will continue to play a pivotal role.

Cred:@amlibraries and www.rightrelevance.com

We join all the librarians of America today who are doing the Happy Dance in celebration of the Senate Confirmation of Dr. Carla Hayden as Librarian of Congress.

@prattlibrary has Dr. Hayden's last Book Picks still up on their website. Interesting to see what the great lady recommends! Here is the Pratt Library page.

"Carla's Picks" @prattlibrary

Since the Towers fell in NYC; since I worked at a maximum prison; since my mother thought me how to carry my keys - points out - in my hand when walking to my car; I have thought a lot about my personal safety and what I would do, could do, "should anything happen".

Well "anything" happens all the time now. We are none of us as safe as we imagined we were yesterday or last year.

Tomorrow we present a Webinar for the Southern Ontario Library Service for librarians who are developing their management skills.  In it we talk about "The 3rd Place" and "The Commons" with respect to how librarians are providing space in their libraries for individuals in their communities so that they feel like they are a part of their physical community - not just the on-line one we are becoming so used to. 

Librarians are on the forefront of societal change especially concerning how we interact and how we find our place in our community.

In light of this article from the Atlantic - CITYLAB, our message rings both sickeningly hollow and loudly. 

How can we go into a public space and feel safe? How are these violent actions that are happening globally and involving our physical safety, affecting our behaviour in our cities, towns and in our libraries?

Indeed.

We complain about our operating hours and our funding and how to stay relevant in the 'information age' and this little one

cred:yourstory.com/

"Muskaan Ahirwar (who) lives in the slums of Arera Hills in Bhopal", India can put us all to shame just by being a 9 year old who doesn't know she can't do the unbelievable.

After school each day when she gets home, she reads to her friends who flock to hear her and feed their hunger for knowledge and delight.

Congrats to Anne Bailey and her great staff at TPL!

http://m.thestar.com/#/article/news/insight/2016/01/03/why-toronto-public-library-is-creating-its-first-book-lending-kiosk.html

screen capture

Are people still asking, "Do libraries 'have a future'?

Do you find yourself defending funding to libraries - your library?

When was the last time someone told you 'books are so yesterday, libraries are dead"?

Public Libraries Europe just updated their Tour site. There are some great talking points here, and a lot of encouraging news.

This is their main website: Public Libraries 2020 Building Stronger EU Communities

screen capture

This survey was done in July this year.

The graphics are usable and clear. Nice for showing your Board or questioning patrons!

http://blogs.overdrive.com/general/2015/09/30/overdrive-patron-survey/

Credits :Photo screen shots: video this article.

TEN WAYS TO SUPPORT YOUR LIBRARY and enrich the lives of our young citizens...

1. Get a library card. Sign up your children for library cards.
2. Write to your local paper about your library and how it helps your family; use an example linked to this article.
3. ‎Donate to YALSA.
4. ‎Distribute free teen reading resources found in this article.
5. ‎Share the info found in this article with your local politicians.
6. Compare‎ your library's Teen Programs with National Standards using info in this article and share with your library and elected officials.
7. Be part of the movement to support your future : Volunteer‎ at Your Library
8. Host a fund raiser: ideas in article. 
9. Become part of your Library Support Group.
10. This May, go with your community and library supporters to Library Legislative Day. Libraries organize busses to take you to Washington to visit Federal Legislators offices to speak to their staff, to show how important libraries are in this country.

Be seen. Be heard.


There are links to documents, sites and details about all these topics in the following article. Click on a couple and see‎ which one inspires you or your children and teens to Take Action for Your Library !

Be sure to take a moment to view the touching and well produced video at the end.
‎

http://www.ala.org/yalsa/support-libraries-and-teen-literacy

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'Get carded' at Reading Public Library in September

The Ottawa Public Library in partnership with the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) make a documentary: The Human Library.
Video in this link.

http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/human-library-stories-trailer-1.3166914

screen shot WSJ

",,,tablet reading has declined recently to 41% in the first quarter this year from 44% in 2014."

and

"The number of people who read primarily on phones has risen to 14% in the first quarter of 2015 from 9% in 2012."

"The rise of phone reading is pushing publishers to rethink the way books are designed, marketed and sold with smaller screens in mind. It’s also prompting concern about whether deep, concentrated thinking is possible amid the ringing, buzzing and alerts that come with phones."

Read the whole article from the Wall Street Journal here.

We had the chance to check out this amazing space and concept in San Fransisco today.

 .

"Noisebridge is a physical space open and welcoming to all, providing infrastructure and collaboration opportunities for anyone interested in programming, hardware, crafts, science, food, robotics, art, and technology. We teach, we learn, we share. With no leaders, we have one rule: 'Be excellent to each other'."

at Noisebridge today

Got your attention?

This summary article (Wiley.com) written by Lluis Anglada, Director of the Department of Libraries, Information and Documentation of the Consortium of University Services of Catalonia (CSUC), of his paper, Are Libraries Sustainable In World Of Free, Networked, Digital Information? gives us the straight goods about the future of libraries and a formula (yes, a mathematical formula!) to help us find our way into our future as viable libraries.

Are Libraries Sustainable In World Of Free, Networked, Digital Information? and available open access here  talks "...about the sustainability of libraries in a world where information is increasingly digital, networked, and free, based on a speech he gave at the 22nd Bobcatsss conference in Barcelona, January 21-24 2014."

He proposes that "the same stages and library events have taken place in all countries and in all library types, but not at the same time. Therefore, the different phases that libraries passed through to become automated are similar in each country, but they occurred in different years (Anglada , 2006)." And "a division of the recent history of libraries  (can be organised) into three major phases over the past 50 years."

Mechanization, a period characterized by the construction of new buildings and mechanization of processes; Automation, in which networks of libraries were created, OPAC was introduced and union catalogues were created; and Digitization, in which electronic journals and books appeared and documents stored in libraries have been digitized (Buckland, 1992)

Here is a portion of his discourse on the third phase:

"During the Digitization phase, however, despite librarians’ ability to adapt (both in terms of their own roles and how the library space is used), the speed of change has been so great that dysfunctions (defined as the difference between expectations and realities) have continued to increase. For example, duplication in catalogs as a result of one book being catalogued more than once; the ‘Googlization’ of information, while library catalogues – once so innovative – have failed to keep up with; and the failure of libraries to sufficiently adapt their services to meet users’ changing expectations. As a result, applying the formula to the Digitized library shows a clear downward trend in terms of its sustainability."

It continues:

"Basically, libraries are suffering from the fact that the public perception of them remains attached to the printed book, which – with the advent of the Internet and digitization of information – is no longer valued as much as it was. Among other things, this has led to the steady decline in library budgets – both in real terms and as a proportion of the overall university budget. Some classic library services are also experiencing significant declines – loan transactions, reference inquiries, and displacement of the starting point for literature searches from the library catalogue to and A&I service or the internet, for example."

and concludes:

"We need to establish a new stereotype of ‘library’ in people’s minds, one that is not based on physical elements – buildings and books – but on the role of providing support and assistance in the difficult process of using information and transforming it into knowledge.

The creation of this new perception must be performed by the current generation of young librarians – “those who are inheriting renovated libraries but also a mental image that is associated with becoming less powerful for society. This is the challenge and responsibility for young librarians: to create a new perception of our profession.”

BuzzFeed loves to do surveys and make lists.

This one reveals ideas so many people have about librarians, in 2015 no less, that I wonder if people who harbour these misconceptions are just trying to be, well, trying!

On April 15th, BuzzFeed asked: "What’s The Most Frustrating Misconception People Have About Librarians?" - by Arianna Rebolini.

This photo posted on Instagram by 'heartattackvine'  sums up the responses for me. 

Read on. Shatter any notions you may have or anyone you might meet who has weird and outdated ideas about librarians and what they do each day.

Here are the answers to the misconceptions. Read the whole article here.

1. Being a librarian is at times a very stress filled job.
2. Technology has not made libraries redundant.
3. Librarians do not spend their days reading (they WISH!!)
4. Librarians do not have 'a look' that defines them.
5. and the misconception of that 'look' has two diametrically opposed stereotypes.
6. Childrens' Story Hour is not play time.
7. Librarians work "in corporations, law firms, research institutes and laboratories, the government and military, special libraries (and) are researchers, computer specialists, collection developers, archivists, subject experts, meta data experts (you know, make everything findable off and online) and a lot more.” -AnnaBanana617
8. Librarians need to have an advanced degree (it's called a Masters of Library and Information Sciences).
9. It's not easy being a librarian. Click this photo to feel the stress: 
   
10. Librarians embrace technology. Always have. Librarians are always on the leading edge of technological innovation.
11. Librarians are not all women and come in all age groups, sizes, ethnicities and nationalities.
12. Librarians are not prudes (just attend a party at ALA!)
13. Librarians are anything but introverted loners.
14. Libraries as a community and national resource are not an 'endangered species' nor an idea whose time has passed.

To quote Ms. Rebolini... "Librarians are heroes and best friends to readers, of all ages, around the world." I second that.

Libraries are relevant

screen shot:Ferguson Municipal Public Library

and important

and safe.

Libraries are where we go

for information

and hope.

This is what happened in Ferguson at the Municipal Library on August 20 2014:

The Ferguson Library has been an oasis of calm since the town's residents erupted in anger at the police after a Ferguson cop shot and killed an unarmed black teen, Michael Brown, on Aug. 9.

It has used Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to offer residents a place of respite for them to get bottled water, check their emails, and avoid the unrest developing on Ferguson's streets.

We are here for all of our residents. If you want to come, get water, read, check email, we are here… http://t.co/56qhtfFoOz

As the Ferguson-Florissant School District postponed the start of the school year for more than a week, teachers set up shop at the Ferguson library, providing activities and instruction for children awaiting the start of class.

Today, about 120 children showed up to the library for lessons and activities, though staff only expected about 60. Teachers also began hosting classes in the nearby First Baptist Church."

source: ABC News Online, FERGUSON, Missouri, Aug 20, 2014, 3:17 PM ET, Colleen Curry and Micha Grimes

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This beautifully paced TedxMildeHigh 2013 presentation by Pam Sandlian, Rangeview Library District director and the recipient of the 2010 Colorado Librarian of the Year Award presented by the Colorado Association of Libraries, is popular on YouTube, and timeless.

I want to include it in our space for the record.   

screen shot: Ms Sandlian

London, England rebrands their libraries as "the Idea Stores"

She presents her story so simply and well. Her point is clear and easy to grasp... libraries are important now, they always will be, to everyone for his or her own reasons and for democracy to flourish.

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'Anythink' library district wins highest honor for libraries

In the Country of Anythink

screen shot

It is essential to tell the truth about how your library is important to your community. Tell it like it is, to everyone, over and over, in thousands of ways. They will hear you.http://digitalinclusion.umd.edu/content/survey-analysis-results

Quote from the article:

"Research from the Public Library Funding & Technology,¹Opportunity for All,² and Pew Internet³ studies show that libraries are vital digital hubs that provide access to public access technologies and digital content, and that millions of people rely on the public access technologies and services provided by public libraries. When taken together, these studies also show that success in an increasingly digital social and economic context requires a comprehensive approach to creating digital inclusion so as to ensure that there is opportunity for all communities and individuals regardless of geographic location, socio-economic status, or other demographic factors."

"Based on a national survey conducted in Fall 2013, our analysis provides insights into how public libraries help build digitally inclusive communities."

"Our map is now nationwide!

Created in partnership with Community Attributes Inc. as part of the Digital Inclusion Survey, our data visualization tool maps all public libraries using the FY2011 Public Library Survey data file released by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for library locations. The tool overlays Census data (demographic, economic, health, and education) from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year dataset (2007-2011). The map also includes selected Digital Inclusion Survey data from participating libraries, thus showing the roles that libraries play regarding digital inclusion in their communities.

Want your library's Digital Inclusion data on the map? Participate in the 2014 survey, set to launch in September 2014."

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Re-envision our public libraries

Every library is facing this issue. Some realise it sooner than others but all libraries are making changes to their 'business model' - yes, it is a business model - the way you do business.

Take heart, everything changes and not all chages are bad for libraries or the pursuit of knowledge. What goes around comes around in unexpected ways. Librarians are masters of going with the flow - of life, of information, of democracy and freedom.

The Skokie Chamber of Commerce meets in a section of the public library where the reference collection was once kept.(Photo: Anne Ryan, USA TODAY)

This piece from USA Today is just one of the hundreds of articles on this subject making the  rounds today on Twitter and Blogs across the world. You may want to check it out.

There has always been movement in the library.

‘Repurposing the Library’ is today’s term for “That Flexibility Thing Libraries Have Always Done’. Librarians are experts about the subject of ‘Movement’ whether it is movement of people or the movement of relationships and adaptations between spaces to account for new ways people need to use existing spaces. It is so vexing to a librarian who is documenting the needs of her or his library to be able to forecast what the space requirements for the library will be in 10 or 20 years. But librarians have always met the challenge.

Flexibility that is built in to your design will help you, as the leader of your library design project, to cope with planning for the future of your library.

When you know your needs based on your plan to supply your community with what they need, you can lead your designer to solutions that you may have not imagined. The article gives you some examples of what flexible storage is available on the market today. With a well prepared architectural program and a clear budget, you and your designer can together make the library for your community's future.

Screen shot from Spacesaver site ref.

I like the INFO SHEET: THE REPURPOSED LIBRARY found as a freee download on the right column on this Spacesaver Link, because it is clear and short and it's about storage spaces, real concepts that people can easily grasp.  It emphasizes what we have been telling librarians, that you need a plan (a Strategic Plan to begin) that takes into account your community's needs and you need to gather data about what you have now to plan for what you need in the future. You need this information to establish a Budget and you and you staff are the most experienced and well placed persons to gather that information.

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Future Proof | Library by Design

30 Vintage Photos of People in Libraries

Report from PCmag.com today by Chloe Albenesius

(photo - PCmag)

A coalition of top Internet firms - from Google and Amazon to Facebook and Twitter - penned a letter to the FCC this week to express concern with the commission's proposed net neutrality rules.

See the entire article here. It's not too late...yet. Make your voices heard.

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We are in Washington preparing for National Library Lobby Day #NLLD14 .

Most instructive regarding teens issues is this link I saw on Twitter posted by @AutoGraphicsInc

I think it is an info-graphic every librarian and person in your community should see.

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Who controls the on/off switch?

Is it possible all of our digitized information could all go away? ...or just some of it?

These are questions that immediately came to mind when we were listening all day to the Webcast from NYC of the Institute of Museum and Library Services - Strategic Priorities 2014.

Being that the scope of the conversation was Digitizing All the Information in the World!, we thought the on-line following was paltry.  What has to happen before we all wake up and together try to fashion our future into a scenario with which we can almost cope?

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Event: Digital Cultures Conference

73% of Americans are 'likely' to ask an on-line librarian for research help.

*You find the press release below and at the bottom you will find the link to the actual Report.

Libraries continue to transform to meet society’s needs, but school libraries feel the pain of tight budgets

 CHICAGO — Libraries continue to transform to meet society’s changing needs, and more than 90 percent of the respondents in an independent national survey said that libraries are important to the community.

But school libraries continue to feel the combined pressures of recession-driven financial tightening and federal neglect, according to the survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, and school libraries in some districts and some states still face elimination or de-professionalization of their programs.

 These and other library trends of the past year are detailed in the American Library Association’s 2014 State of America’s Libraries report, released today during National Library Week, April 13– 19.

 Ninety-six percent of the Americans responding to the Pew survey agreed that public libraries are important because they provide tech resources and access to materials, and the same number found libraries valuable because they promote literacy and a love of reading.

 More than 90 percent of traditional public schools have a school library, but public schools continue to struggle with the impact of funding cuts. For public school libraries, that means that professional staffing has been targeted for cuts nationwide.

 The ALA is on the forefront of efforts to shore up support for school libraries.

 “On one hand, budget and testing pressures have led to decisions to eliminate or de-professionalize school libraries,” said Barbara K. Stripling, ALA president. “On the other hand, the increased emphasis on college and career readiness and the integration of technology have opened an unprecedented door to school librarian leadership.”

 Stripling and the ALA are undertaking an advocacy campaign for school libraries that sets goals in five critical areas: literacy, inquiry, social and emotional growth, creativity and imagination, and thoughtful use of technology. The task for school librarians, Stripling said, is to fulfill the dream that every school across the country will have an effective school library program.

 On another front, Banned Books Week, sponsored by the ALA and other organizations, highlights the benefits of free access to information and the perils of censorship by spotlighting the actual or attempted banning of books.

 A perennial highlight of Banned Books Week is the Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books, compiled annually by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). The OIF collects reports on book challenges from librarians, teachers, concerned individuals and press reports. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that a book or other material be restricted or removed because of its content or appropriateness. In 2013, the OIF received hundreds of reports on attempts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves.

 The most challenged books of the year were: 1. “Captain Underpants” (series), by Dav Pilkey; 2. “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison; 3. “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie; 4. “Fifty Shades of Grey,” by E.L. James; 5. “The Hunger Games,” by Suzanne Collins; 6. “A Bad Boy Can Be Good for A Girl,” by Tanya Lee Stone; 7. “Looking for Alaska,” by John Green; 8. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky; 9. “Bless Me Ultima,” by Rudolfo Anaya; and 10. “Bone” (series), by Jeff Smith.

 The ALA is leading a broad effort to guide libraries and librarians through a process of transformation that deals not just with quantitative change — doing more, for instance — but with qualitative change.

 “This means fundamental change in the very nature of what we do and how we do it,” said Keith Michael Fiels, ALA Executive Director, said, including fundamental changes in in community relationships.

 “As communities have changed, so has the relationship of the library to the community,” Fiels said. “The traditional library was a passive provider, reacting to community needs. The library opened its doors, and people came in to use its materials and services.

 “Today, the library must be proactive; it must engage its community. . . . Increasingly, libraries are serving as conveners, bringing community members together to articulate their aspirations and then innovating in order to become active partners and a driving force in community development and community change.”

 Libraries witnessed a number of developments in 2013 in the area of ebooks and copyright issues. Ebooks continue to make gains among reading Americans, according to another Pew survey, but few readers have completely replaced print with digital editions — and the advent of digital reading brings with it a continuing tangle of legal issues involving
publishers and libraries.

 “Print remains the foundation of Americans’ reading habits,” the Pew researchers found. Most people who read ebooks also read print books, they reported, and only 4 percent of readers described themselves as “ebook only.”

 After years of conflict between publishers and libraries, 2013 ended with all the major U.S. publishers participating in the library ebook market, though important challenges, such as availability and prices, remain.

 In November 2013, after eight years of litigation, a federal court upheld the fair use doctrine when it dismissed Authors Guild v. Google, et al., a case that questioned the legality of Google’s searchable database of more than 20 million books. In his decision, the judge referenced an amicus brief co-authored by the ALA that enumerated the public benefits of Google Book Search. The Authors Guild has filed an appeal.

 Other key trends detailed in the 2014 State of America’s Libraries Report:

 More and more public libraries are turning to the use of web technologies, including websites, online account access, blogs, rich site summary (RSS) feeds, catalog search boxes, sharing interfaces, Facebook and Twitter.

 The economic downturn is continuing at most institutions of higher learning, and academic librarians are working to transform programs and services by re-purposing space and redeploying staff in the digital resources environment.

President Obama signed a $1.1 trillion spending bill in January that will fund the federal government through September and partially restore funding to the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) — the primary source of annual funding for libraries in the federal budget — that were dramatically cut in the 2013 fiscal year under sequestration.

The full text of the 2014 State of America’s Libraries report is available at *  http://www.ala.org/news/state-americas-libraries-report-2014.

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Planning is more than Dreaming

Planning a new library space or building is a huge undertaking and can take up to 10 years from Strategic Plan to Opening Ceremony in this economic climate.  I think the participants that took part in our Work Shop for RCLS got the message.

Thank you to the generous librarians in Ontario who spoke with me and shared your experiences with building a new building and addition.  I couldn't have done this without you.

Appreciation as always to Grace and Stephen, Ruth, Eileen, Sue and Dan at RCLS for your help in making me welcome.

To all the RCLS Member Library librarians, staff and trustees who took the time to participate and offer insightful observations and questions, it was a pleasure to spend time with you. I had fun.

• What are the ways you engage visitors and drive the continued relevance of the library as a cultural institution?
• How does the library interact or interface with other public institutions?
• How does the library market its services to the public?
• What types of technologies do European libraries use to enhance the user experience?
• What type of online interfaces do European libraries offer?

• Hans van Velzen from the Amsterdam Public Library
• Paola Manoni from the Vatican Library
• Frédérique Manning from the City of Paris Library Network
• Eric Conderaerts from Infor"

I write to you from the NYLA Conference in Niagara Falls. While
checking my e-mails this morning I came across a press release from
the Institute of Museums and Libraries (IMLS) about the release of
their latest Research Brief - The State of Small and Rural
Libraries in the United States.

A link to the complete Brief is at the end of this Post.

The Brief reports that the use of small and rural libraries is
growing in the digital age.

Here is a copy of the press release:

The report gives an overview of the distribution, service use,
fiscal health, and staffing of these important community assets. One
of the report’s surprising findings is the sheer number of public
libraries that can be classified as either small or rural.
The report finds that 6,098 libraries (77.1 percent of all public
libraries) are small libraries and that overall 46 million people
(15.4 percent of the population) are served by small libraries.
Further the report finds that city libraries are being outpaced by
their rural counterparts in providing access to broadband and
e-books.
“This report is a must read for policymakers who are concerned
about the health and vitality of rural America,” said Susan H.
Hildreth, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library
Services. “Whether the issue is education, economic development,
or access to broadband, small and rural libraries are important
communications hubs for people in small towns and rural
locations.”
For this analysis, IMLS developed definitions for “small” and
“rural,” terms that lack widely accepted definitions when applied
to public libraries. “Rural” is defined using locale codes
developed by the U.S. Census Bureau for the National Center for
Education Statistics to indicate any area outside of an urbanized
area or urban cluster. “Small library” is defined as a public
library with a legal service area population below 25,000 people.

The brief’s key findings include the following:

• Of the 8,956 public libraries in the United States in FY2011,

• In FY2011, there were 167.6 million recorded visits to rural

• There were 49,048 publicly accessible computer terminals in

http://www.idevmail.net/link.aspx?l=1&d=73&mid=367099&m=1729

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RESOURCE: Best of Both Worlds: Museums, Libraries, and Archives in a Digital Age

"Join... celebrities, libraries and bookstores across the country in the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out!

For the third year in a row, readers from across the country and around the world will be able to participate virtually during Banned Books Week, Sept. 22 – 28, 2013.

Participants may proclaim the importance of the freedom to read by posting videos that will be featured on a dedicated Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out YouTube channel."

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This is Choose Privacy Week.

So many of us are completely unaware of the easy-to-use strategies that will help  guard our personal information from theft or inadvertent disclosure.

A new tip sheet, from ALA -" Public Computers and Wi-Fi Privacy, helps individuals understand the privacy risks associated with public access computing and outlines how they can protect their privacy while using public computers and public networks.  The tip sheet is available here at chooseprivacyweek.org as a free, downloadable PDF file."

Here are the main tips you should be aware of and practice in your day to day life on line in public places and while using Wi-Fi:

• Delete your browsing history
• Log out
• Do not enable "remember me" on a public computer
• Look for the 's".  https:// and shttp:// sites make sure your information is secure.  An http:// site is NOT secure.
• Do not conduct personal transactions  that request personal and sensitive information (bank account numbers; home address; SIN etc.) on Wi-Fi hotspots or public computers.
• If you have any doubt about your ability to guard your privacy on line anywhere and in your library - ask your Librarian!

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Check this out and maybe join the discussion at ACRL 2013, Indianapolis today through Saturday @libraryleadpipe   #diylib  

"DIY projects are shiny and exciting (and time-consuming), but to what end? For academic librarians this DIY culture is closely tied with professional development and scholarship, but what does it say about the future of the academic library profession? This is a question we propose to answer in a panel session at the ACRL National Conference this month."

We have always changed to meet our readers and clients' needs, is this a fad or a shift?  Librarians are asking how shifts in our technology and shared media culture are effecting librarians and how they do their work.

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If they can 're-brand', why can't we?

File this under the heading : Libraries are suffering under public sector cutbacks, but could social enterprise save the day? Maybe, maybe not.

Companies that are in business to make money see libraries as a lead-in to their other services,because "It offer(s) us a portal to expand our community projects, and at the same time we knew how well used the libraries were... we were already trying to address digital exclusion across the community, so it just seemed like a natural thing to do.", says Gavin Dunn of Eco Computer Systems, speaking about the company's involvement in libraries in Lewisham, UK.

(what is that person doing in that grey heap anyway?)

After re-branding the libraries as community hubs, and the company name to Eco Communities, the business plan mirrors that of all social enterprise-run libraries since – it diversified. "Obviously you don't generate money out of loaning books, or the use of computers – they are all free", says Dunn. "But we are installing cafés in all the libraries and the local housing associations are funding us to provide work experience and training for long-term unemployed residents, and we have a pot of funding from Defra... We also have the contract with the council to sell old library books... on Amazon, and at book fairs." And, of course, it continues to sell recycled electrical equipment, with the library buildings providing effective showrooms and depots.

Wow, and to think we could be doing that at our Libraries; putting the money from 'Friends of the Library' book sales back into our funds to support ourselves!  Interesting.

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