Library News, Reviews, and Views
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, will open its Library and Archives to the public in a new four-story, $12 million facility on the Cuyahoga Community College Metro Campus, about two miles from the Museum. An invitation-only grand opening featuring a panel discussion, ribbon cutting, and reception will be [...]
The referenda landscape of 2011 was punctuated by strong voter support to keep library doors open—but little more. Libraries took a cue from three long years of budget cuts, a struggling economy, dwindling consumer confidence, and weary taxpayers and ventured out to voters with markedly restrained requests.
One small market segment that has emerged in the past few years is the standalone automated library machine, which, at a certain level, draws inspiration from the 24/7 services of an ATM machine, except here we are talking about books (and audiovisual materials) not cash. The number of companies offering a full-cycle machine, that is a machine that checks materials out and checks them back in without staff intervention, grew by one on March 14 at the Public Library Association (PLA) conference in Philadelphia as Duluth, GA-based EnvisionWare launched its 24-Hour Library line.
Hannibal-LaGrange University in Hannibal, Missouri, will have a dedication ceremony for the new Roland Library on April 27th, according to the Quincy Herald-Whig. Though the library won’t officially open until August, students and faculty will be given a tour of the building. Also as part of the event, students, staff and others will form a [...]
Library ebook distribution firm OverDrive has begun construction of its headquarters in Garfield Heights, Ohio, the company announced today. The 95,000-square-foot facility on a 12-acre tech campus will house more than 300 employees.
The Gary Public Library and the library’s union have reached a tentative agreement on staff cuts. The plan, if approved by the library board and the union’s membership, would cut full-time staff from 51 to 37 employees, eliminate all 14 part-time positions, and cut pay 10 percent for all remaining employees.
Usage of the newly renovated McHenry Library at UC Santa Cruz has doubled since the renovation. M. Elizabeth Cowell, associate university librarian, told LJ that gate count through December 2011 showed 201,100 visits, compared with 90,381 for the same time the previous year. That’s even more impressive when you consider that the building, renovated by [...]
Northwestern College, Orange City, IA, plans to build a new “learning commons,” which will include the library. On March 8, Northwestern’s board will hold a final vote on whether to move forward with groundbreaking this year.
Since LJ reported on the Little Free Library project last August, the idea has begun to spread beyond its home state of Wisconsin. Meanwhile, New York City dwellers create some tiny libraries of their own.
The New York Public Library is restarting its plan to revamp the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. This month, the library’s board of trustees approved the start of schematic designs by architecture firm Foster + Partners and launched “a citywide public dialogue” about the library’s plan for the future. It is expected to cost about $300 million.
INFOdocket by Gary Price
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