Espionage and library science seem an odd mix, but it’s certain, according to Rosalee McReynolds and Louise S. Robbins, that Philip and Mary Jane Keeney, who were called to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1950, were spies. As related in The Librarian Spies: Philip and Mary Jane Keeney and Cold War … Continue reading Librarian Spies
July 1 is fast approaching, bringing a new fiscal year for many libraries around the country. However, that’s the only certainty in many communities as advocates tenaciously continue their campaigns to keep as many library facilities open and staffed as possible. The libraries of New York City, Brooklyn, and Queens are rallying supporters on the … Continue reading Rallies, Rallies, Everywhere as Final Budget Votes Loom
There are two things that Congress and Libraryland need to eliminate from their thinking before government information can truly move into the digital age. The first is the word “printing,” as in Government Printing Office (GPO). The second is the word “documents,” as in Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc), the branch of GPO that actually runs … Continue reading GPO Must Go
The Oxford English Dictionary has been called the world’s greatest dictionary, and it has been joined by what might be called the world’s greatest thesaurus, Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary. This is no ordinary synonym-finder. More than 40 years in the making, it covers nearly a million words and expressions from Old English … Continue reading Historical Thesaurus
All eight elementary-school libraries in the Natomas Unified School District closed indefinitely as of May 26 to plug $1.6 million of the district’s $17.3-million budget gap by the end of FY2012–13. “These cuts are a last resort,” district spokesperson Heidi Van Zant told American Libraries. “We have deep, deep, deep regret about this action, which … Continue reading California School District Closes All K – 5 Libraries
One rainy day in May, I gathered my umbrella and ventured into the Massachusetts countryside. My destination was not the charming farms nor the region’s myriad historic towns; instead, I went to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, which resides on quiet West Bay Road in Amherst. The museum itself was quiet, too, … Continue reading My Artful Diversion
The Open Archives Initiative Object Reuse and Exchange specification defines a set of new standards for the description and exchange of aggregations of web resources. This presents an exciting opportunity to revisit how digital libraries are provisioned. ORE and its concept of aggregation—that a set of digital objects of different types and from different locations … Continue reading Aggregating Web Resources
The board of the Charlotte (N.C.) Mecklenburg Library voted May 20 to close three branches in a month’s time in anticipation of an FY2011 operating budget that will be 45% smaller than the already diminished funding the library system received for FY2010. But even as trustees lamented having to establish the June 19 closing date … Continue reading Charlotte Mecklenburg Axes Three Branches, Eyes a Dozen More
Illinois's nine library cooperatives are reeling from what Prairie Area Library System (PALS) Executive Director Michael Piper says may be the worst financial crisis in the state's history, "a game-changer." Already six months long, the wait for the state's overdue payments to libraries "will likely grow longer," Piper announced May 19, and "will probably persist … Continue reading With No Check in the Mail, Illinois Cooperatives Lay Off Dozens
Fearing severe budget cuts more than ghosts, New York Public Library teamed up with public pranksters Improv Everywhere to host one of IE's missions at the library—and produce a viral video supporting NYPL's "Don't Close the Book on Libraries" advocacy campaign in the process. "We are facing a $37 million budget cut from the city … Continue reading Facing Cuts, NYPL turns to Improv Everywhere for Viral Advocacy Video
The microblogging service Twitter has gifted its entire archive of tweets, totalling billions of 140-character posts dating back to March 2006, to the Library of Congress. "The Twitter digital archive has extraordinary potential for research into our contemporary way of life," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. "This information provides detailed evidence about how … Continue reading Historians Await Access to the Library of Congress’s Twitter Archive
When I listen in on one of our Booklist webinars, it’s hard for me to concentrate on what’s being said—not because there isn’t always something interesting to hear but because, as a Booklister, I’m mainly just hoping that nothing goes wrong (sound problems, panelists dropping the baton as they pass controls to one another, etc.). … Continue reading Hidden Treasures
