Featured Stories
The State of Mobile in Libraries 2012
As patrons embrace mobile devices, libraries need to provide new services. Here’s a look at the state of mobile library services—and what libraries need to do to stay on the radar
Consider the Checkout Slip | The User Experience
However small, our checkout slips are touchpoints—ways that people interact with us—and collectively we’re pumping out thousands of these things daily. In some small way, we’re representing ourselves through these little scraps of paper.
Latest News
The Tricky Business of Restructuring | From the Bell Tower
To achieve efficiencies, many institutions of higher education are thinking about restructuring, but big change requires big thinking and big risks, writes Steven Bell.
No Increase in GPO 2013 Budget Proposal
The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) is requesting no increase in FY 2013 appropriations from the level of funding the agency is receiving for FY 2012, due to savings from its cost-cutting activities.
Bloomberg Proposes Cutting NYC Library Funding by Nearly $100 Million
New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg presented a $68.7 billion preliminary FY12-13 budget on February 2 that, as usual, proposes Draconian cuts for the city’s three library systems.
NYPL Animator Recreates 19th Century Stereograph Effect
The New York Public Library is offering the Stereogranimator, which lets users turn 19th century stereographs into animated GIFs.
Patron Profiles
Library Journal Releases Groundbreaking Publication on Who Uses Libraries and Why
First Issue of Patron Profiles, Library Patrons and Ebook Usage, Now Available
Upcoming Webcasts
Creative Funding for Library Technology
Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 12:00 PM EST/9:00 AM PST Libraries continue to face difficult challenges as the demand for services rises while operating and capital funds remain static or decline. Many libraries have experienced remarkable increases in use as patrons turned to their local libraries to help with a job search or to leverage print and Internet resources.
In order to meet the demands, the presenters will describe some innovative methods for funding new technology and offer insight as to the impact to their public services. Register now!
- Building a LibraryAware Community: Making the Connection
- Your library at Webscale: How radical collaboration is redefining library management services
- New Data Rules: Census 2010 and American Community Survey
- Directors’ Summit: Discover a 21st Century Roadmap for Community Outcomes
- Meet the Power Patron: Insights from Patron Profiles
Blogs & Columns
The Tricky Business of Restructuring | From the Bell Tower
Restructuring is all the rage these days. Have you seen who’s doing it now? The U.S. government, that’s who. That’s right. Bloated federal agencies, if President Obama has his way, will undergo significant consolidation and streamlining. That … [Read More...]
It’s a Jungle Out There | Peer to Peer Review
As often happens, things that appear random seem suddenly to be signs and portents of something that is almost too big to see. This week, every tweet, article, blog post, and invoice that crossed my desk seemed to be a dot on great blank sheet, but … [Read More...]
Lessons from Small Libraries: They’re Not Intimidated by the Present, or the Future | Editorial
See also: Best Small Library in America 2012: The Independence Public Library, KS “An american library horror story with a Happy Ending”: that’s the tagline on the winning application submitted for LJ’s 2012 Best Small Library in America … [Read More...]
Consider the Checkout Slip | The User Experience
Call me crazy, but I think the secret life of checkout slips is fascinating. Some moms use their foot-long slips filled with children’s books as a master list, crossing off items as they’re returned. One regular patron I knew kept every checkout … [Read More...]
Free Patron Profile Webinar on Feb. 15
Patron Profiles is a new quarterly publication from Library Journal, based on in-depth, trended research among a national sample of 2000+ public library consumers. It has so much to offer libraries! If you haven't yet subcribed to Patron Profiles … [Read More...]
Library Journal Social Club