Citrus County votes down New York Times digital

US Air Force veteran Daniel Carmichael, of Inverness, shares his opinion before a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Citrus County on November 19. Photo by Douglas R. Clifford / Tampa Bay Times

The Citrus County, Florida, commissioners voted on November 19 to reject a digital subscription to the New York Times for 70,000 local library cardholders that would replace its print subscription for a savings of $200. A motion for the county to move forward with the $2,700 digital subscription, instead of its current print subscription, failed 3–2. So many people attended, officials opened up an overflow room. Three sheriff’s deputies stood by the door. Commissioner Scott Carnahan said he wouldn’t back down from his original opinion, adding that he doesn’t think public money should be used for any news subscriptions.

Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, Nov. 19

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The Edwardsville (Ill.) Public Library is trying to address homelessness in its community and recently took a big first step. On December 3, the library hosted the first meeting of a community resource advisory group to help identify a network of assistance and support for library patrons whose needs are not being met. About 25 people attended, including representatives from libraries, government agencies, churches, and health services. The group is part of the library’s multi-prong approach to the issue, which includes applying to serve as an internship site for a student from the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Social Work.

Edwardsville (Ill.) Intelligencer, Dec. 6
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Aaron Mak writes: “In October, Yahoo announced plans to shut down its 18-year-old platform for forums and email lists, Yahoo Groups, and delete all of its contents on December 14. After that, Yahoo will only maintain the service’s mailing list functions. While Yahoo Groups’ popularity has been dwindling for a while now, the announcement sent the tens of thousands of users who still use the service in a frenzy to save the nearly two decades of old messages, photos, polls, databases, and other material. But it appears that Yahoo and its parent company, Verizon, are making it exceedingly difficult for these archivists to even access the platform.”

Slate, Dec. 9
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ALA announced the 10 winners of this year’s I Love My Librarian Award on December 10. Recipients were nominated by patrons nationwide for their profound impact on the lives of families, students, teachers, and information seekers in their communities. Winners will each receive a $5,000 cash prize, a plaque, and a travel stipend to attend the I Love My Librarian Award ceremony during the 2020 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia on January 25. The event will stream via Facebook Live. This year’s recipients include three academic, three public, and four school librarians.

AL: The Scoop, Dec. 10
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Inside Higher Ed, Dec. 10
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The Toronto Public Library says women were among the most popular from the library this year. Of the 10 most borrowed books in 2019, announced December 9, eight were written by women, with the top two written by black women. Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming came in first place at 5,860 borrows and holds combined, followed by Esi Edugyan’s Washington Black with 4,997 borrows and holds. Despite US politics capturing the attention of so many, it was a strong year for Canadian literature. Canadian authors on the list included Edugyan, Margaret Atwood, Louise Penny, and Miriam Toews.

Toronto Star, Dec. 9
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For children who have sensory issues, the world can seem like a minefield of unpleasant experiences with noisy school classrooms, the constant visual stimulus of moving lights from an unending flow of vehicles, or an unpleasant crawling feeling all along the skin from touching a strangely textured object. The Public Library for Union County in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, recognizes that there are many kids who desperately need an escape from these and other sensory disasters, and offers a free Sensory Night program on the fourth Thursday of every month for these children and their families to play safely.

NorthcentralPA.com, Dec. 7
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Transgender locals and allies have inundated the Seattle Public Library with calls and emails, asking it to cancel a private February 1 event at the library’s Microsoft Auditorium featuring Meghan Murphy and hosted by the Women’s Liberation Front—a self-described “radical feminist organization” that espouses what critics call anti-trans views. The event puts the library in a quandary over how it can maintain its commitment to intellectual freedom, provide information access to the entire community, and be an inclusive, welcoming space. Chief Librarian Marcellus Turner said the event request was initially processed because it was labeled as a women’s-rights talk.

Seattle Times, Dec. 9

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