Monday, December 31, 2012

New Rules of Conduct Go Into Effect at Boulder Public Library on January 2nd


New Boulder Public Library rule: No unattended children under age 12.  (Denver Post, 12/30/2012)

Comments.

Library rules in effect through December 31, 2012, which includes #8, lie down, doze or sleep anywhere, in any library facility except this rule shall not apply to children under the age of six.

They must have interesting policy discussion meetings at BPL.

Announcement of New Library Rules of Conduct.



As for rule #17, if you lug around, say, a banker's box during your daily perambulations, you'll need to stash it somewhere before entering the Boulder Library.

Definitely bigger than a breadbox.


From the minutes of the August 9, 2012, meeting of the Boulder Public Library Commission


From the approved minutes of the June 13, 2012 meeting of the Boulder Public Library Commission.  Discussion of rule #14 regarding the collection of signatures.

From the approved minutes of the April 4, 2012 meeting of the Boulder Public Library Commission.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Embargoes Use of Phrase "Climate Change"?


State's lakeshore communities struggle to cope with low water levels.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/29/2012)

Excerpt: As Lake Michigan plunges toward uncharted low water levels, Wisconsin's lakeshore communities - from Milwaukee to the tip of the Door Peninsula - are scrambling to cope.

Uncharted, as in we've never been here, never experienced this before; it's new to us.

And so what are offered as possible causes.

Well, you won't find any mentions of "climate change".

But how about this for reach.


So, even with this increased flow of water, Lakes Erie and Ontario are still experiencing near-record low levels.  And after a century of "human meddling", the water from Superior, Michigan, and Huron finally found the hidey-hole?



Background readings for Dan Egan.




Glenn Grothman Wants to Slap Down Kwanzaa Once and For All


The first Kwanzaa stamp was issued in 1997, during Bill Clinton's second term of office.  Funny that Grothman didn't include this bit of trivia in his rant.


Kwanzaa is a favorite punching bag of the right wing.

Tony Snow, former White House Press Secretary under George W. Bush, former host of Fox News Sunday and Weekend Live.

Mark Williams, talk show host.

Other Kwanzaa stamps issues by the U. S. Postal Service




Sunday, December 30, 2012

Actually, Robin, Your Riposte is Patently Absurd


Commentary: Why Wisconsin voters support the Assembly Republican agenda.  (Racine Journal-Times, 12/27/2012)

According to Vos, points scored in 16 football games played over a period of 4 months is comparable to votes tallied on Election Day.


Mr. Secrecy N. Redistricting should know better.



Little Box of Books on Elmwood Avenue, Middleton


Plans and tips for builders

Teachable Moment at Baldwin-Woodville High School


Baldwin, Wis., student disciplined for presenting classmate with noose, KKK symbol.  (Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 12/29/2012)

Excerpt:  Eric Russell, principal of Baldwin-Woodville High School, said he suspended the boy Dec. 14 after he confessed to placing the offensive items on the desk of the classmate, whose foster mother said she is 15 years old and one of only three black students in the 450-student school.

From page 28 of the Freshman Handbook
.

Names Will Never Hurt Lauren Myracle


Childhood, uncensored.  (The New York Times, 12/28/2012)

Excerpt: Last year, Ms. Myracle’s so-called Internet girls series — consisting of the titles ”ttyl,” “ttfn,” and “l8r, g8r” (ask a young person to decipher the texting language) — topped the list of challenged and banned books nationwide, according to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. (Angela Maycock, its assistant director, estimated that only 20 to 25 percent of challenges to books on school or public library shelves are reported.) Earning such a ranking requires a groundswell of people going to their libraries and declaring, “This is trash,” Ms. Maycock explained.


Hmm....here's what I accessed at what is allegedly Lauren Myracle's website.  Inside joke?  Hacked?




Lauren Myracle on Facebook

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Denton Public Library Video Annual Report (FY 2011-12)




The Birds Put on a Show @ the Boston Public Library

The Vancouver Public Library is a Very Busy Place



VPL website

Fire drill?  False alarm?

I found no reports of oan actual fire.

Expanded Library on Poynette Village Board's 2013 To-Do List


Focus turns to library.  (Poynette Press, 12/19/2012)

Excerpt: At Monday night’s Poynette Village Board meeting, trustees briefly discussed new information on architectural studies of the village-owned “Little Blessings” building that provided options ranging from around $200,000 for a more basic renovation to around $750,000 for an extensive one. The issue will be put on the next village board agenda for discussion.


Related posts:
Catching up.  (8/23/2012)
Space crunch.  (3/8/2012)
Keeping the lines of communication open. 12/15/2011)
Poynette library board president takes village board to task for poor communication. (11/26/2011)
The library as Poynette's anchor store.  (11/10/2011)
Poynette redevelopment project includes space for library.  (9/29/2011)

State Election Campaign Contributors a Small Percentage of Wisconsin's Voting-Age Population

So Much From So Few.  (Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Big Money Blog, 12/27/2012)


And that puts Wisconsin in 9th place, according to an analysis by The Campaign Finance Institute (CFI).


About the CFI.

Word(s) of the Day: pablum/pabulum

Quite the do!




Merriam-Webster dictionaries list the senses of a word in historical order -- from oldest (1) to newest (3).


Pew Internet and American Life Project: Internet Use at Libraries

Survey results, posted 12/28/2012.

Although 26% of all Americans 16 years of age and older have accessed the Internet at a library (wired computer or wifi connection) in the past 12 months, 77% of respondents to the Pew survey say that it is "very important" for libraries to provide free access.


Friday, December 28, 2012

Vocabulary Lesson: "Surge"





An imprecise word choice especially in light of this.


Libraries See Opening as Bookstores Close. (The New York Times, 12/27/2012)

Excerpt: “A library has limited shelf space, so you almost have to think of it as a store, and stock it with the things that people want,” said Jason Kuhl, the executive director of the Arlington Heights Memorial Library. Renovations will turn part of the library’s first floor into an area resembling a bookshop that officials are calling the Marketplace, with cozy seating, vending machines and, above all, an abundance of best sellers.





Reading: Printed Books Still Lead Ebooks by a Significant Margin



E-book Reading Jumps; Print Book Reading Declines. (Pew Internet & American Life Project, 12/27/2012)


Demographic profile.  The higher the income and education levels, the higher the incidence of ebook use.

Audiobook use. 17% of book readers -- 13% of the population 16 and older --  have listened to an audio book during the past 12 months.


Related posts:
Ebook market pauses to take a breath.  (12/25/2012)
Year-to-date book revenues:  Jan-Jul 2011 and Jan-Jul 2012.  (11/1/2012)
Libraries get screwed when it comes to price of and access to ebooks.  (9/10/2012)
Millennials lead the way....to fewer bookstores?  (8/22/2012)
Ebooks sliding down the peak of inflated expectations.  (8/18/2012)
Adult hardcover book sales hold their own, paperbacks sales drop in 1st quarter of 2012.  (6/17/2012)
Library ebook circulation skyrockets @ the Greendale Public Library and throughout Wisconsin.  (5/29/2012)
In so many words:  Libraries will have a place at the table. (4/30/2012)
3M Cloud Library ebook lending service goes beta at select libraries.  (4/28/2012)
Pew Research:  The rise of e-reading, summarized. (4/5/2012)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution attempts to get a handle on the ebook era.  (4/2/2012)
And I quote from "Bringing Up an E-Reader".  (3/29/2012)
The Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board weighs in on ebooks and libraries. (3/19/2012)
Carl Zimmer responds to Franzen.  (1/31/2012)
It's only Monday but this is still the best ebook headline of the week.  (1/20/2012)
Jonathan Franzen has something to say about ebooks.  (1/30/2012)
As they have been doing all along, libraries adapt to technology.  (1/29/2012)
Floating an Idea: The Harvard Library Innovation Laboratory's Library License.  (1/17/2012) 
Getting in line @ your library for ebooks.  (1/15/2012)
The Post-Christmas ebook sales surge. (1/10/2012)
Honey, we've been 'trying' it.  For years.  (12/25/2011)
Chris Bohjalian on our totemic connection to books.  (12/20/2011)
Hold that bricks-and-mortar bookstore obituary.  (12/13/2011)
Your local public library: The greenest option of all in the ebooks vs. print books debate.  (12/11/2011)
Go directly to Amazon, do not pass library.  (11/3/2011)
Ebooks in U.S. public libraries.  (10/22/2011)
How ebook buyers discover books.  (9/27/2011)
Cookbooks make the transition to digital publishing.  (9/27/2011)
Redefining what an ebook is and who gets to publish it. (9/19/2011)
The L.A.Times on ebooks: An Amazon tablet, push into interactivity. (9/16/2011)
The Economist:  "Great digital expectations".  (9/16/2011)
Lev Grossman presents a short history of the reading device..  (9/6/2011)
Speaking of gadgets, here's the latest iteration of ebooks.  (8/25/2011)
Sounds like another digital divide in the making.  (7/30/2011)
Libraries and ebooks:  Any book, not any time soon.  (6/1/2011)
On the distinction between the book reader and the book owner.  (5/10/2011)
Demand for ebooks grows exponentially in Wisconsin.  (5/2/2011)
Struggling to find an ebook common agenda between libraries and publishers.  (4/5/2011)
Ebooks and libraries:  "The challenges just keep piling up".  (3/28/2011)
Publishers Weekly tracks ebook sales.  (3/18/2011)
Word is getting out:  Ebooks @ your library.  (3/18/2011)
Ebooks continue to gain market share.  (3/17/2011)
Publishers look to bottom line in formulating ebook policies for libraries. (3/15/2011)
News stories on HarperCollins ebook decision go mainstream.  (3/5/2011)
9 years of book sales:  trade and ebook.  (2/17/2011)
Will ebook readers be wooed by Barbara Cartland?  (2/12/2011)
The impact of ebooks on libraries.  (2/11/2011)
OverDrive news release: Library eBook circs up 200% in '10. (1/10/2011)
Mashable: 5 ebook trends that will change the future of publishing. (12/29/2010)
Christmas 2010 the tipping point for ebooks?  (12/24/2010)
Ereader as brown paper bag.  (12/9/2010)
The ebook reader compatibility surprise.  (12/3/2010)
Ereader ownership:  Survey says....  (11/30/2010)
David Carnoy asks, "Does the Kindle pay for itself?" (11/29/2010)
Need to repair that ebook reader?  (11/19/2010)
Who uses an ereader:  Survey says....  (9/22/2010)
Book industry wrestles with print vs. pixels.  (9/2/2010)
Coming soon to a screen near you:  Ads in ebooks.  (8/20/2010)
Ebooks now comprise 8.5% of book sales. (8/12/2010)
Genre paperback publishers drops print.  (8/6/2010)
Ebooks and libraries.  (5/4/2010)
Ebooks eliminate a free form of adversiting:  the book jacket.  (3/31/2010)
Ebooks: another round of false promises?  (3/19/2010)
The skinny on ebooks.  (3/8/2010)
Hardcover vs. ebook:  Breaking down the costs.  (3/1/2010)

Thursday, December 27, 2012

"Theater District" Plan Will Gobble Up Parking Lot Next to Worcester Public Library for Indoor Ice Rink


Worcester library board stands firm against rinks in parking lot. (Worcester Telegram, 12/21/2012)

Excerpt:  Residents and business neighbors in the area have praised the business group’s overall plan, which includes a vision of vibrant, pedestrian-friendly walkways, ornate lighting, parking improvements and mixed-use development. There are plans to close Federal Street to vehicle traffic to encourage the development of an “outdoor room,” and a plan for a pedestrian walkway that spans Portland Street from the old Telegram & Gazette parking lot, adjoining The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, to the Worcester Public Library

The sticking point with members of the library board — who have in general praised the redevelopment efforts — has been solely with the plan for the ice rink in the municipal parking lot. The task force has previously voted to recommend against placing the rinks there because of the impact it would have on access for library patrons, along with aesthetic concerns about how it fits in the neighborhood.

Work to Do, Words Yet to Live By @ the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation



Financial controls lacking at state jobs agency. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/26/2012)


Paul Lapides, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship, is director of the Corporate Governance Center at the Coles College of Business, Kennesaw State University, Georgia.


State jobs agency lost track of $8 million in overdue loans.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/18/2012)


Richards (D-Milwaukee) represents the 19th Assembly District.


State economic development board not told of HUD criticisms. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9/26/2012)




Sen. Lassa (D-Stevens Points) represents Wisconsin's 24th Senate District and is a WEDC board member.

WEDC Board members include.....
Officers 
Members

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Four Years of Flat Funding Results in a Loss of Monday Hours @ the Hudson Area Library


Library will be closed Mondays to save money. (Hudson Star-Observer, 12/20/2012)

The Hudson Area Library will be open 43 hours per week in 2013, down from 50 in 2012.

In another money-saving measure, the library will outsource the cataloging of library materials to Indianhead Federated Library System.

The text in the following slide is from the Star-Observer article.  (The title is Retiring Guy's.)

It certainly would be helpful to know what's being formulated.

A 'Limbo Rock' formulation, perhaps.  How low do they want to go?

$21.78.  Hudson Area Library per capita support 2011.

$40.81.  Average Wisconsin resident per capita support for all public libraries 2011.

[Both figures are from the Wisconsin Public Library Service Data.]

Related posts:
Funding the library on the cheap.  (11/1/2012)
Looking at the options for the Hudson Area Library.  (10/9/2012)