Libraries Tap into Twitter

by: Alison Flood

Libraries throughout the UK are testing the waters of Twitter as a way to both engage with their readers and dispel their image as fusty, silent enclaves staffed by old-fashioned introverts.

At the British Library (@britishlibrary), they're talking about riding on John Berger's motorbike; "about as good as it gets I think". Aberdeenshire's libraries (@onceuponashire) are recommending books – "Katherine by Anya Seton is a great romp through the 14th century, well worth a read" – while the John Rylands University of Manchester library (@jrul) informs us that it has just made a 14th century cookbook available online, complete with recipes for porpoise, pike and blancmange.

"Librarians as a group are very spread out around the country, and they are really seizing on Twitter as a great way to network and spread information among themselves. They are also trying it out to give information about author events and closing times to their users," said Benedicte Page, libraries expert at the Bookseller. From Milton Keynes (@mklibraries) to Devon (@devonlibraries), Plymouth (@plymlibraries) to Newcastle (@toonlibraries), over 40 UK libraries are now using Twitter, and a "Twitter for librarians" course will be held by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) in September to encourage more to take it up.

"It certainly helps to change perceptions of what we do, raising our profile and helping to shape our role," said David Viner, assistant librarian at Solihull Central Library (@davidviner, @cilipwm). "Twitter instinctively becomes the medium you use to find out information, so in that sense it allows libraries to promote their services to users and non-users in a fast and effective way."

Page said that individual librarians, as well as libraries, were also using the service. "Some authorities are getting on board in a more formal way, but there also seem to be a lot of librarians who are trying Twitter out spontaneously and having fun with the system," she said. Phil Bradley (@Philbradley), a freelance librarian running the Twitter course for CILIP, agreed, estimating that there are 400-plus librarians now regularly using Twitter in the UK. "It's an extremely vibrant community," he said. "It allows librarians to promote what they're doing .. They can contact other librarians, ask questions and answer questions." Viner said he followed fellow librarians from all over the world, booksellers, agencies and organisations whose news is of direct relevance to his job.

The UK's library community is still a long way behind the US, where at least 300 libraries are regularly in touch with their users via Twitter, but Bradley believes the numbers of tweeting British librarians and libraries is only going to grow. "Librarians are really taking to Twitter in a big way [and] we're just going to see more and more of this," he said.

From: The Guardian

SF Library fee waiver lures lax back to the stacks

SF Library fee waiver lures lax back to the stacks
by: Michelle Locke Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO—Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger may have the best excuse for overdue library books; his got rather damp following a spectacular jet landing in the Hudson River.

But people from all over the San Francisco Bay area came up with some decent, or at least inventive, explanations for their tardy tomes under a recent amnesty program aimed at luring the lax back to the stacks.

Take borrower Antonio, who claimed, "I was abducted by aliens, they just brought me back after 2 months."

The (optional) written excuses—and video promos by local celebrities including Sullenberger—were to raise awareness of the program and add some fun to the process, said Michelle Jeffers, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Public Library.

But the return of late books and other materials had a serious mission. Library use is up amid the recession and officials wanted to make sure that the people who need access to free books the most weren't being kept away by old debts.

It's not a crime to have a book out late in San Francisco, but borrowing privileges are suspended once you hit $10. Fines are capped at $10 per book, but if you took out a lot of books before getting suspended, that could mean quite a bill.

In all, 29,000 overdue items were returned during the two-week May amnesty program, including about 3,100 that were more than 60 days late and were assumed lost, library officials reported Thursday. That meant more than 3,000 people got to turn over a new leaf while the library saved approximately $730,000 in replacement costs. Typically, there are about 123,000 items overdue at any one time.

San Francisco isn't the only place seeing more faces at the library, according to the American Library Association.

The Chicago-based group's 2009 State of America's Libraries report found that people visited libraries nearly 1.4 billion times in 2008 and checked out more than 2 billion items, up 10 percent from data collected during the economic downturn of 2001.

A number of libraries have been running amnesty programs including "food for fines" campaigns, forgiving fees in return for canned goods.

Although he lent his name to the San Francisco book return campaign, Sullenberger, the US Airways pilot who safely landed his jetliner in the Hudson River on Jan. 15, checked his books out from his local library in suburban Danville.

All four books were salvaged and are intact, although their days in circulation appear to be over. "They have had quite a ride," said family spokesman Alex Clemens.

The books included some borrowed on the network system and one, about professional ethics, came from California State University, Fresno. The conscientious Sullenberger got in touch with the school to explain the delay and officials responded by waiving fees and promising to dedicate the replacement book to him.

Among the older items returned in San Francisco was a copy of George Bernard Shaw's "Man and Superman" with a due date of Jan. 29, 1964. (With the $10 cap, even after 45 years this wasn't a case of Man (or woman) and Super Fine.)

The book "just showed up," said Marjorie Brean, manager of the Presidio Branch Library. "We got lots of other books but nothing like this, this is great."

Excuses listed by amnesty claimers ranged from simple forgetfulness to raging bibliophilia to just love in general.

Kristen blamed a cleaning spree with causing her to put books on a shelf where they accumulated hundreds in fines. "This is why my room is best left 'uniquely organized'," she rationalized.

Ka'ala waxed poetic about a book called "India's Past": "Oh like an emerald pool on a hot day, I need this book on my too long shelf, dear librarians, not to read in a hurry, or even to have forever and ever, but to be able to pick up on a whim, having spotted it and feeling in the mood for its pages."

And then there was Gretchen who checked out "The Jewish Book of Why," in the summer of 1994 after starting a romantic relationship with a Jewish woman. "Fifteen years and three Jewish girlfriends later I still don't have the answers," ran the note. "But I now have the Internet."

From: Mercury News

Library's laptops will tattle on those who steal

Library's laptops will tattle on those who steal
by: Sara Shepherd

Yes, some of the Kansas City Public Library’s laptop computers have fallen prey to sticky fingers.

No, the thieves didn’t get away with it — although some probably thought they did until police showed up at their doors with a search warrant.

Each of the library’s 60 laptops, including 25 new ones purchased just for teens, is equipped with technology that basically phones home as soon as a thief tries to get online.

In one case, police traced a stolen laptop to a library employee’s Kansas City home, then learned the woman had stolen four others and given some to relatives in St. Louis.

The library’s computer-tracing software is the same kind used by the Kansas City, Kan., School District, where officials say it has helped retrieve computers and even solved other problems in unexpected ways.

Kansas City is the only area library system that loans laptops to the public. The library bought its first batch in 2005.

To help ensure the costly but easily portable pieces of equipment stayed inside the library, the library added the tracing software about a year and a half ago, said Cheptoo Kositany-Buckner, deputy executive director for operations.

Most laptops that leave the library are taken by forgetful patrons, Kositany-Buckner said. Users walk out with the computer in hand and their library card and photo ID at the checkout desk.

Usually, a phone call to the patron is enough to get those computers back.

The tracing software helps when it’s not that easy.

When they got the library employee’s address from the software company, Kansas City police searched her residence and found one stolen laptop lying on her bed, according to court documents. The woman told detectives she pawned one computer and gave one to a friend, one to her brother and one to her mother in St. Louis.

“We were able to recover them pretty easily,” Kositany-Buckner said. The employee has since been charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with felony theft and no longer works for the library.

The tracing software, called Computrace, is permanently installed on each computer.

When one turns up missing, the library files a report with the Kansas City Police Department then forwards it to the software company.

The company tracks where that computer gets online and turns the Internet protocol address over to police. The company pays up to $1,000 to replace computers it fails to find.

For laptops that contain confidential or sensitive information, the company notes on its Web site, theft can be more costly than the hardware alone.

Between phone calls, tracing software and some pre-software police work, Kositany-Buckner said, “we’ve recovered all of them that we’ve lost so far.” She said those stolen laptops total fewer than 10.

The Kansas City, Kan., School District — which leases take-home laptops to all high school students — has reported 123 stolen laptops to the company since enlisting its services last year, said Joe Fives, director of technology and information services.

Between Computrace and other means, the district has recovered 28 so far, Fives said. The software company has paid the district for another 28 it couldn’t retrieve.

In a few cases, the tracing software has had unintended benefits, Fives said.

When two students’ laptops were taken along with their car in a carjacking, police asked the district to trace the computers in hopes they might lead to the people who stole the car. Guardians have asked the district to help contact students who ran away from home and took their laptops with them.

“We never even thought about them being used that way,” Fives said.

The library deployed its newest laptops in late May.

Five branches — L.H. Bluford, North-East, Southeast, Trails West and Waldo — each received five computers reserved for teen uses like podcasting, test preparation and Web chats with young-adult authors.

Johnson County and Olathe library officials said they plan to offer laptops for patrons later this year, though they still haven’t settled on theft-protection plans.

Jim Staley, marketing and communications manager for Mid-Continent Public Library, said his library has discussed laptops for patrons but hasn’t committed.

“Security is one of the big issues,” he said.

From: the Kansas City Star

Christian group sues for right to burn gay teen novel

Lawsuit also claims Francesca Lia Block's Baby Be-Bop 'constitutes a hate crime.'
by: Alison Flood

In a scene which appears to have been lifted straight out of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, a group of Christians in Wisconsin has launched a legal claim demanding the right to publicly burn a copy of a book for teenagers which they deem to be "explicitly vulgar, racial [sic], and anti-Christian".

The offending book is Francesca Lia Block's Baby Be-Bop, a young adult novel in which a boy, struggling with his homosexuality, is beaten up by a homophobic gang. The complaint, which according to the American Library Association also demands $120,000 (£72,000) in compensatory damages for being exposed to the book in a display at West Bend Community Memorial Library, was lodged by four men from the Christian Civil Liberties Union.

Their suit says that "the plaintiffs, all of whom are elderly, claim their mental and emotional well-being was damaged by this book at the library," and that it contains derogatory language that could "put one's life in possible jeopardy, adults and children alike."

"The word 'faggot' is very derogatory and slanderous to all males," the suit continues. "Using the word 'Nigger' is dangerously offensive, disrespectful to all people. These words can permeate violence." The suit also claims that the book "constitutes a hate crime, and that it degrades the community".

"They've filed a claim against the city of West Bend and the city has to decide if it is valid," said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, acting director of the ALA's office for intellectual freedom. "Their insurance company is evaluating the claim, but I would be very surprised if they found any merit in it ... Should they find any merit in this claim, we would certainly support the library in fighting it."

The legal challenge follows a lengthy campaign by some West Bend residents to restrict access to teenage books they deemed sexually explicit from library shelves, which was eventually thrown out at the start of June.

"Obviously we were really pleased with the outcome to that – there was a unanimous vote to keep the books in the library and we thought the matter should be over," said Larry Siems, director of the Freedom to Write programme at PEN America.

Siems said there was clearly "a bit of theatre" in the lawsuit which followed. "They've filed a lawsuit which has little possibility of going forward legally, and they're asking for damages which include the right to burn a book. It does seem more to gain publicity than a real serious challenge." But, he said, PEN remained very concerned about the impulse behind the claim. "This is a group of people trying aggressively to rid the library of these books and that's very serious - it needs to be fought."

The claimants, he said, "have a right to continue to express their views, and this in a way is a creative attempt to express those views". But it's "also a dangerous game when you're talking about something like book burning, calling on the law to burn books. It's certainly completely un-American, and if they paused, I think they would agree."

It was not possible to reach the Christian Civil Liberties Union for comment.

from: The Guardian

Experience Necessary

From Uzbekistan to a Desk at the Library
by: Ralph Blumenthal

With 49,000 loans a month, the Queens Library at Broadway is a busy place in the busiest public library system in the nation — circulating more books, tapes and videos (23 million a year) from its 63 branches than its Brooklyn counterpart or the combined branches of the separate New York Public Library. The library, at 40-20 Broadway, where Astoria meets Long Island City, is scheduled to reopen Wednesday after nine months of renovation. In charge is Tatyana Magazinnik, 53, pianist, émigré from Uzbekistan and a librarian since 1996, like her husband, David.

How she arranged the perfect name: It’s my husband’s name. It sounds like “magazine,” but in Russian it means “store.” Maybe somebody wanted me to be a librarian.

Other parallels to “The Music Man”: I graduated from conservatory and was teaching piano. I performed sometimes until my daughter was born. My husband was a professor of piano in the Tashkent conservatory.

Transplantation: When perestroika started, the future of our child was not there. We came as refugees in 1993. My husband had a sister here. She invited us. When we came to the country, we were looking for information. We came to the library.

Learning the language: My daughter didn’t know English well; I didn’t know English. I was trying to teach her myself. The library was my life at the time. We took out children’s books to hear that language. We learned 30 words a day. We memorized them, put them on the wall. The next day, another 30 words. After half a year she didn’t need English as a second language anymore. I learned with her. She just graduated from Vassar, Phi Beta Kappa. The library was everything for us. We were in the library every day, me and my husband.

The making of a librarian (couple): We went to Pratt for library science. It took me two and a half years, my husband two years — well, he didn’t sit with the child. I graduated in 1996, and in August I got the job at the library in Lefrak City. In ’99 I became manager of a small branch, in Maspeth. I loved Maspeth. I still have customers that still send me cards at Christmastime.

Biggest relief: Before I got this position, people told me all those homeless people will come. I was starting to prepare myself so I’d be ready for something disastrous. But fortunately I don’t see that many problems. During the day they just sit there and read the newspaper.

What she does, exactly: I make out a lot of reports, time sheets, assignments to staff. Also work with customers. I’m still a librarian. My office is in the children’s room. I call myself librarian. I like it. I can go to 641.5 and get you a cookbook.

Proudest moments: At Maspeth, there was a lady with no job. I would give her books and talked to her, and after two months she said she got a job and brought me flowers. So touching. I had a kid whose first book was a graphic novel. He started to read every book. He became a writer. I had a Russian customer who didn’t speak the language. She took an E.S.L. program in the library. You don’t even pay for it. She went through two programs, spring and fall. After that she got a job in Tiffany’s and then became a secretary.

What a librarian hates: People who don’t return books. I call them book-keepers.

How she keeps fit: I run four miles every day. I run my stairs at work. It’s a free exercise machine.
From: NYTimes

More on Rangeview Library District

Adams County libraries shelving Dewey Decimal
by: Monte Whaley

THORNTON — Clunky. Out of touch. Ready for the dustbin.

Plenty would say that about General Motors or other American icons badly in need of retooling.

But officials at the Rangeview Library District in Adams County are calling out another cultural institution, saying it no longer meets the needs of a new generation of readers.

Say goodbye to the 133-year-old Dewey Decimal Classification.

By the end of the year, all six Rangeview branches and the district's outreach office will dump the iconic Dewey and its numeric organizing system for one that relies on word categories such as "history" and "science."

The district will be the first in the U.S. to go this route, which is controversial among some librarians.

But it mirrors what customers see at Barnes & Noble and other chain bookstores, Rangeview officials say.

The retail-based system — called WordThink — encourages browsing and helps customers find exactly what they need quickly and intuitively, said Rangeview director Pam Sandlian Smith.

"For years, we've had focus groups and people consistently tell us, 'I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how this library works,' " Sandlian Smith said. "So we decided to turn things upside down, and so far it seems to work well."

While other library districts — including the Arapahoe Library District — are experimenting with a retail- based system, Rangeview will be the first one in the nation to adopt Word Think for every building, said Sand lian Smith.

The Perl Mack and Bennett branches have already implemented the word- based system and booted Dewey. The Perl Mack branch closed for about five days in mid-May to make the switch, and reviews have been excellent, said branch manager Annette Martinez.

"It's just a different way of thinking and probably a little more user- friendly," Martinez said.

At Perl Mack, books are now broken down into about 45 alphabetical categories, ranging from antique, cooking, humor and poetry to self-help, sports and travel.

Each section also has a subcategory for more specialized subjects. For instance, under cooking, readers can also find titles for baking or French fare. Children's books also have subcategories, Martinez said.

Ken Neely, a 17-year patron of the Perl Mack branch, said he's happy with the new system.

"I think it's a good idea, especially if you are new to the library and don't know the system. You don't have to go to one of the librarians and ask for help," Neely said. "That means they can spend more time helping people and doing research for you."

But there are plenty of Dewey disciples who say the time-honored and reliable system isn't going away. In fact, Dewey is growing internationally.

Developed by American librarian Melvil Dewey, the classification system is used in more than 200,000 libraries throughout the world and has been translated into 35 languages. Dewey, using numbers and letters, coordinates materials on the same subject and on related subjects to make materials easy to find on library shelves.

It's so simple, say Dewey experts, all knowledge is divided into 10 main classes: generalities; philosophy and psychology; religion; social science; language; natural science and mathematics; technology and applied sciences; arts; literature; geography and history. The classes and their subdivisions all have corresponding numbers.

"I guess I can't entirely see the reason for switching over to anything else," said K.R. Roberto, serials and electronic-resources librarian at the University of Denver. "This idea of grouping items by subject matter, it's already being done — it's just numerically."

Dewey translates well overseas for print and electronic formats, said Joan Mitchell, editor in chief, Dewey Decimal Classification for the Online Computer Library Center in Ohio. "I spend a lot of time talking to users around the world, and we are looking at developing Dewey in all different formats. It's very exciting."

However, Mitchell can see how smaller library systems could put a word-based plan to good use.
"Maybe it's sufficient to turn your collection into more of a bookstore format," Mitchell said. "It's entirely up to local authorities to see what works best for their customers."

Sandlian Smith understands the reluctance of many in the field to let go of Dewey.

"Sometimes, when you try and do something differently, it makes people uncomfortable," she said. "But I think Melvil will understand."

How does it look on the shelves?

Timothy Egan's "The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl," as it might appear under three cataloging systems. Compiled by Barry Osborne; photo by Reza A. Marvashti, The Denver Post

WORDTHINK
Currently in use at the Perl Mack and Bennett branches of the Rangeview Library District

Collection: Adult Nonfiction

Call No.: HISTORY US20TH

Under WordThink, the call number appears in a plain, perhaps more intuitive language that might appeal to library users. Here it shows the book shelved under history, in the subcategory of U.S. 20th-century history.

DEWEY DECIMAL

Collection: Adult Nonfiction

Call No.: 978.032 EGA

Dewey uses a mix of numbers to classify items. Though confusing to some, Dewey offers flexibility for growing and larger systems and is common in many public libraries. The number 978 stands for Western U.S. history, with the numbers that follow placing it into more specific context. In this case, 032 may stand for an era or an event, such as the Dust Bowl. EGA stands for the author's last name, Egan.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Collection: University of Colorado at Boulder's Norlin Library, home of the humanities and social-sciences collections

Call No.: F595.E38 2006

The system of choice for many research-university libraries, Library of Congress uses a letter-and-number scheme to classify items and is perhaps the most complex of the three. In this catalog, F stands for History of the Americas; 595 stands for the Western United States; E stands for the author's name, Egan; and the following numbers help place it among similar titles.
Sources: CU-Boulder, Dewey Decimal Classification, Library of Congress, Rangeview Library District

From: the Denver Post

Rangeview Library Ditches Dewey

The Rangeview Library District in Northglenn CO is ditching Dewey in favour of its own system. Read on to find out more.

Under Rangeview's new WordThink system, materials are organized by simple categories instead of the old numeric system. Here you can see drawing books in the Arts & Humanities section at the Perl Mack Branch Library. They are organized under Art, then Drawing, and then alphabetically by title.

From: the Rangeview Library website

As part of Rangeview Library District’s “Customers First” philosophy, the district is replacing the 133-year-old Dewey Decimal Classification with its own WordThink system. This new method was generated from a retail-based standard for organizing materials. Similar to what you might see in a bookstore, materials are arranged by simple categories like history and science instead of the old numeric system. Customers are delighted at the ease of use of this new system, which is geared more towards browsing and helps customers find exactly what they need quickly and intuitively.

Earlier this year, Rangeview took the bold step of becoming a fine-free institution to enhance the positive experience customers feel when they come to the library. WordThink is another step in that direction. Last month, the Perl Mack branch was the first library in the district to implement the word-based system. The district’s new Bennett branch opened on Saturday, May 30, with the new organization in place. By the end of the year, all Rangeview branches will use WordThink.

Rangeview will be the first district in North America to use a word-based system in all of its libraries. Maricopa County Library District, near Phoenix, uses similar organization in two of its branches. They were the pioneers of using words instead of numbers to organize library materials, and Rangeview patterned WordThink from their system. After seeing Maricopa’s success, and the practicality of using words instead of numbers, Rangeview decided to make the switch.

A handful of other districts are experimenting with the new word-based classification, including Frankfort Public Library District in Frankfort, Ill.; Richmond Public Library in Richmond, British Columbia; and Arapahoe Library District in Colorado.

“At Rangeview, our main focus is to provide exemplary service to our customers,” says Rangeview Library District director Pam Sandlian Smith. “WordThink is just one more example of how Rangeview puts its customers first, by making our traditional library environments easier to use, resulting in friendlier experiences.”

Cozy contemplation in libraries needs its own room

Cozy contemplation in libraries needs its own room
By: Monica Rhor

HOUSTON (AP) -- Step inside the children's area of the Clear Lake-County Freeman Public Library and you'll be greeted by a tumult of toddlers babbling, librarians singing and mommies cooing.

The noise wafts up to the second floor adult section, where patrons click on computer keyboards, teenagers watch movies on a big-screen TV and bookshelf browsers chat on cell phones. But slip inside a glass-enclosed "quiet space" and this is what you'll find: silence offering some old-fashioned cozy contemplation.

Around the country, more and more public libraries provide designated quiet rooms to take the edge off their transformation into chaotic hubs, which was done in part to draw more visitors and keep pace with the demands of frenetic, technology-driven lives.

While adding toddler playtime and teen dances, library officials discovered that many patrons still longed for a traditional, less hectic atmosphere.

"People wanted a place for quiet study. It takes them out of the hustle and bustle in buildings that are very busy," said Rhoda Goldberg, director of the Harris County public library system, which includes the suburban Clear Lake building among its 26 branches. "We're going to be putting in quiet rooms as much as possible."

Inside the Clear Lake quiet room, the loudest noises are whispers and the faint rustling of turning pages. Even the overstuffed upholstered armchairs encourage patrons to sink into stillness.

"A library is supposed to be a place where you study, but now people type on computers, watch TV, talk on the phone. There's no civility," said one fan, retired engineer Ronnie Sams, 62. "This is the quietest place in the library. That's why I come here to read."

In Westlake, Ohio, the public library features a gift shop and a lobby cafe, aspiring to mimic the atmosphere of a busy retail bookstore rather than a muted lair for bookworms, said Mary Worthington, the assistant director for public services.

But it also has a quiet room, where visitors who talk too loudly are gently reminded to tone down. "We didn't want to be the kind of library that shushes people," she said.

The public library in Plainfield, Ill., offers teen dances and online gaming clubs along with a quiet room, with officials conceding it's the only hushed space. The Seattle library system has 16 "quiet study" rooms among 26 branches. So many people were calling to inquire about the rooms, library officials had to put a special information section on their Web site.

At the Clear Lake library, wide-screen televisions are placed in an internet cafe just behind the DVD collection and inside the Teen Zone lounge, where clusters of young people plop in comfortable chairs placed haphazardly around the room.

"Today, we don't try to make everyone do the same thing," said Harris County's Goldberg as she led a visitor on a tour. "We try to make it be what it needs to be for people using it at the moment."

Goldberg pushed open a door in the children's section. A cacophony of noise bolted out. The singsong of nursery rhymes. The clatter of rattles. A chorus of baby talk.

"In here, this is what a library sounds like now," said Goldberg, who then motioned toward the second floor quiet room. "And the silence up there, that's the other way the library sounds."

Back downstairs, where toddler story time had just ended, a row of pint-sized readers stood on stools behind self-checkout kiosks, swiping books across magnetic strips. Among them was 22-month-old Maggie Lin, who wore a ladybug T-shirt and gleefully checked out book after book from her pile of twelve.

"We love it here because you're allowed to be loud," said her mother, Lisa Lin. "I want my children to have fun here and they can't if I'm telling them to be quiet all the time."

As Lin talked, Maggie showed off her last book.

Its title? "Sshhhh!"
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From: Associated Press