We learned from LIS News last week that the library where this video “was filmed, the Reiche Branch of the Portland, ME Public Library is now CLOSED.” This at least supports my hypothesis that more funky librarian videos aren’t going to save libraries. I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. The video in question, supposedly witty but really annoying, is the “Kickass Librarian” video. It’s been viewed over 6,000 times, no doubt by librarians who are overjoyed that the word “ass” and the word “librarian” appear in such proximity. It seems appropriate given the librarian’s attitude in the video. How anyone could stand to sit through that excruciating video is beyond me. Where some librarians see “kickass,” I saw rude and condescending, and the tattoos didn't make up for it. The library system is probably out of money, but this video isn’t much of an incentive to support it. I can just imagine some hapless librarian going up before a library ...
Read More >>

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave me three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree. I’m giving you a blog post on incest porn. Guess I’m not your true love. A couple of weeks ago someone sent an amusing email to the ALA Council listserv. Amusing, at least, if you find the idea that people think incest porn is, you know, just another way to express your personality, than, say, just another way to mark yourself as a person of concern. A councilor was asked to forward the message by an incensed incest porn writer. “Because of my interest in keeping [incest porn] information flowing in society, I  am doing so.” You can read the message without looking at the Council email archives, because it turns out to just be a forwarded blog post. Those incest porn writers like to get the word out. Why would anyone think the ALA Council would care? After all, incest porn has nothing to do with international wars, health care policy, or airport ...
Read More >>

Though libraries could act like the federal government and start spending like drunken sailors on their first shore leave in six months, most of them are trying to figure out ways to save money. They’re cutting branches, hours, staff, services, and budgets. Some, like the Williamsburg Regional Library, are cutting off free riders. My local library even stopped serving free tea and biscuits during the weekly book club meeting. The tea is still free, but we now have to bring our own biscuits. Times, as they say, are hard. When it comes to money, librarians have a tendency to think reactively. Obviously they don’t know much about making money, because if they did they’d be out making it instead of being librarians. But in addition to cutting, libraries need to start thinking of ways to bring in more revenue. One way is charging people to check out materials. As should be clear from a couple of posts ago, I’m not in favor of this option, even for popular tripe like DVDs ...
Read More >>

As if it wasn’t bad enough living in the sticks, things just got worse for some Virginians, library-wise. You might have seen the tiny story about the Williamsburg Regional Library rescinding borrowing privileges for people who don’t live in areas directly funding the library. Until  this coming February, people in neighboring areas could sign up for a library card, even though they contributed no funding to the library. The letter from the library director was terse: “In an economic and political climate where the library has received budget reductions and looks at a future filled with uncertainty, it became evident... that to sustain financial support the library must restrict its circulation privileges to users who live in localities that directly fund the Williamsburg Regional Library.” It was so terse that it didn’t make clear what financial support needing sustaining. The local newspaper came out against the decision, in an editorial bizarrely entitled “Library ...
Read More >>

Browsing the library-related news from the past week or so, a couple of articles caught my eye, this one from Ottawa: City must make a business case before spending millions on new library, and this one from Pittsbugh: With funds slashed, libraries are having to charge to stay afloat. The Pittsburgh article is on libraries charging new fees they’ve never charged before because of drastic funding cuts. The Cranberry Public library will start charging $1 to check out a DVD.  According to the article, “Last year, 56,000 DVDs were checked out, and library director Leslie Pallotta thinks the new charges will raise about $25,000.” Unless, of course, people decide they don't want to pay for library materials. The cuts were huge, too. “State financial aid for the Cranberry library, which was $153,292 in 2007, is projected to be $77,535 next year. County aid, $47,544 in 2008, is forecast to be $22,490 in 2011.” In response, the library has also cut hours and spending on ...
Read More >>

Okay, so back to last week. If they didn't already exist, would public libraries be founded today? Probably not. Why not? Here are a few possible reasons. 1) Crossbow killings. This is the new scourge of Canadian public libraries. I guess they use crossbows because guns are too noisy for libraries. If they were asked to tax themselves to support a public library, the peace-loving, non-violent citizens of the United States would take one look at Canada and think, we don’t want to foster the sort of crossbow violence endemic to Canadian society. Libraries don’t provide a haven from crime. They just provide a convenient gathering place for crossbow victims. 2) The Internet. (I don’t have a link for that one, but it’s out there.) A hundred years ago, or even thirty years ago, it was more difficult to find reading for entertainment or instruction or education than it is now. Libraries and bookstores were the best places to go. That’s not true any more. Most people don’t ...
Read More >>