Sunday, September 24, 2017

Toronto Star: Toronto Public Library to offer staff naloxone training for overdoses in branches The move is part of the city’s response to the opioid crisis

The move is part of the city’s response to the opioid crisis. 


A naloxone anti-overdose kit is shown in Vancouver in Feb. 1, 2017.
 (JONATHAN HAYWARD / THE CANADIAN PRESS) 

As part of the city’s response to the opioid crisis, the Toronto Public Library will provide staff with life-saving naloxone to administer when overdoses happen at branches.

Public safety and health officials have already been providing mandatory first-aid training to all library staff, with basic information on recognizing overdoses and what to do. But as the crisis keeps getting worse, the library is encouraging willing staff to provide the medication, which reverses overdose symptoms.

“As a public space, we want to offer a safe and welcoming environment to everyone,” said Pam Ryan, director of service development and innovation at the library. “We have to be responsive to our community needs, and the opioid crisis is an urgent issue that’s affecting so many people in Toronto. We can’t just look away.”

A report on the agenda for next week’s public library board meeting shows there are already arrangements to acquire naloxone kits through the city at a cost of $145 per pack. They’d only be purchased as needed and distributed to qualified staff after they volunteer to complete the training. The library is also buying personal protective equipment for staff.

The opioid crisis has seen a sharp increase in Toronto. Between 2004 and 2015, overdose deaths increased by 73 per cent, according to Toronto Public Health. The city is currently running a temporary safe-injection site, which will be replaced by three permanent.

Ryan said the library responds to customer health emergencies on a regular basis, and suspected overdoses have been reported across the library system.

“The first step is always to call 911, but if we have staff who are trained on the administration of naloxone, then they can proceed to that step,” she said.

Source: Toronto Star

Saturday, September 23, 2017

The Messenger Gazette: 2 Librarians Pick the Best Books for Business Professionals

September 15, 2017

Are you in need of innovation, inspiration, or organizational tactics for taking your business to the next level? Then look no further than your local Somerset County book providers - your Library and your neighborhood Barnes & Noble.

On Oct. 17 from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Barnes & Noble located at 319 US-202 in Bridgewater,
Somerset County librarians Manny Miracle and Cathy DeBerry will be discussing the 15 best (and newest) books for business professionals.

"Books written by titans in their industry provide valuable insights about succeeding in the face of daunting challenges and finding opportunity in the most unlikely places," said Manny Miracle, adult services librarian at SCLSNJ's Mary Jacobs Memorial Library branch. "Quality information offers professionals a competitive advantage by sparking new ideas and providing cutting edge practices that benefit both client and provider."

1. Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations  by Dan Ariely
4. Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One by Jenny Blake

7. Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant and Sheryl Sandberg (ebook)

8. All in: 101 Real Life Business Lessons for Emerging Entrepreneurs by Bill Green


11. Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, and Braden Kowitz (ebook)

14. Fortune Makers: The Leaders Creating China's Great Global Companies by Michael Useem, Harbir Singh, Neng Liang, and Peter Cappelli


[Hyperlinked titles are available at the Mississauga Library System.]

Source: The Messenger Gazette

Friday, September 22, 2017

CBC.ca: Ottawa Public Library changes porn policy following controversy

Change follows public outcry after CBC News story, councillor says

By Matthew Kupfer
September 20, 2017

A man surfs an internet sex site in Brussels. The Ottawa Public Library has made some changes to its network access policy after a woman discovered people were being allowed to watch pornography on library computers in public. (Virginia Mayo/Associated Press)

The Ottawa Public Library will be stricter with people who openly display explicit content such as pornography on its computers, following public complaints it wasn't doing enough to protect patrons from seeing offensive material.

Library staff will ask people to shut down or turn off material that leads to a complaint, whether it's explicitly violent, overtly sexual or contains threatening language, a spokesperson for the library said Tuesday.

The current policy only has staff direct offending patrons to a more discreet area.

The public outcry followed a story published by CBC News about an Ottawa mother who said her two daughters saw a man watching explicit pornography at a public library branch.

Ottawa library patrons allowed to surf porn, mom discovers
Jennifer St. Pierre said it happened in a high-traffic area of the Greenboro Ottawa Public Library (OPL) branch in late July.

She was later told by the library that anyone can access online pornography in their libraries if the material they're viewing is legal and they're over 18, she said.

Modelled on other libraries

Coun. Tim Tierney, chair of the library board, said there was a significant public reaction to St. Pierre's story.

OPL board chair Tim Tierney said he directed the library to review its policy around people displaying explicit material on library computers. (CBC)
"I've asked the CEO of the library to look into this, look into making changes similar to Vancouver, Hamilton, Gatineau, Aurora, Calgary," Tierney told CBC News Tuesday.

The policy is aimed at balancing library's mandate to promote the right to access information and its function as a public space, according to a statement from the library.

No filtering, monitoring

OPL spokesperson Anna Basile said the library is changing its network access policy to include the phrase "refrain from displaying content that may be offensive to others in a public setting."

This is in addition to asking patrons to "respect the sensibilities of others," as per the old policy.

Enforcement will be based on complaints from patrons and reviewed by staff who can then address individuals who may be viewing offensive material, Basile said.

"We will not monitor."

There will be no additional filters or firewalls blocking pornographic content, she said, though the library will continue to filter child pornography and some other sites based on security.

"Filters and blocking aren't proven to be effective," Basile said, adding they are only as effective as reports of offensive content.

'It's not really a solution'

St. Pierre said Tuesday she was happy her story led to changes, but the policy doesn't go far enough. Without a firewall, children and library staff can still be exposed to offensive material.

"It's just now going to be a matter of who's going to come across and see it," she said. "It's not really a solution to a problem because you're still going to have a child seeing something that is confusing and scary to them. It's just not right."

Jennifer St. Pierre
Jennifer St. Pierre said she's happy the library has changed its policy about watching porn and other offensive material in public, but that the changes don't go far enough. (CBC News)



OPL should be doing more to address the rights of children to have a safe, welcoming environment and perhaps consider some kind of designated space where people can watch adult material, St. Pierre said.

"They talk about so much rights for people to watch porn; what about the children's rights to not have to see that?" she said.

She also said she doesn't understand how a firewall wouldn't be effective since the government and other workplaces use them.

Source: CBC.ca

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Search Engine Journal: Use Google to Find E-Books At Your Local Libraries

By Matt Southern
September 18, 2017

Google has introduced a new feature that allows users to find e-books in stock at their local libraries.

After searching for the title of a book and loading the knowledge graph card, there will be a new option under the “Get Book” tab.

If the e-book version of the title you’re looking for is available to borrow from a local library, you will see it displayed underneath ‘libraries near you.’

After tapping on the name of the library where you want to borrow the book, you can choose to borrow it, sample it, or add it to your wish list.




With that in mind, it’s interesting to think Google has now created a way for people to use library services without ever having to leave its search engine.

Perhaps those who have moved their reading over to electronic mediums will rediscover what libraries have to offer, thanks to Google.

As with most new features lately, this appears to be only available on in mobile search.


Source: Search Engine Journal