Library News, Reviews, and Views
Say what you will about librarians, they keep their promises and make good on their debts. So when the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) lost a Superbowl bet with the Enoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore, MD, SFPL Librarian Luis Herrera wasted no time keeping his end of the bargain: he recited Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” in the atrium of the SFPL Main Library wearing a Ravens jersey, and posted the results on YouTube.
Libraries have long shared acreage with other organizations as part of a civic campus, but today’s partnerships provide more than a convenient location for government services.
A branch library in Portland, OR, is considered to be part of the first public-private housing partnership. Since it opened, other libraries nationwide have entered into similar arrangements, with lessons learned for libraries.
“We know Luis Herrera will win this award someday because he is a fabulous leader,” wrote Catherine Bremer, the chief steward of the Librarians Guild of the Service Employees International Union, Local 1021, about the city librarian who directs the San Francisco Public Library. That support was echoed by many others, from the very recently reelected mayor of San Francisco, Edwin Lee, to members of the city’s Board of Supervisors, citizens who represent library branches, and the chiefs of other city departments. Such broad consensus made Herrera the clear choice for the 2012 LJ Librarian of the Year, selected by the editors of LJ.
INFOdocket by Gary Price
