Tag: libraries

what makes a good library great?

Posted on by jessamyn

T. Scott discusses the work of Jim Collins and how what makes a business great and what makes a social sector enterprise great are two very different things.

[I]n the social sectors it is a mistake to think that we need to “act like a business” (the subtitle to the monograph is why business thinking is not the answer) and he acknowledges that the measurements that we use to assess ourselves are not going to be as neatly quantitative as those that measure the performance of a for-profit company. But we still have to have clear goals, and strong discipline, and a way to tell whether or not we are moving toward those goals.

ALL 15 Jackson County Library branches WILL BE CLOSED…

Posted on by jessamyn

“The Jackson County Library Information blog is a place to share information regarding the funding and closures of our 15 branch libraries. All fifteen branches of the Jackson County [OR] Library System will close beginning April 7, 2007 for an indefinite period of time due to lack of funding.” This is a sad sad blog, including posts like “Why Jackson County Must Close Libraries” “How you can help” and a Library Stories page. [thanks rick]

but what are people really reading

Posted on by jessamyn

I’m fascinated by the Public Lending Right scheme wherein authors receive money from the government for the lending of their books in public libraries. Nothing like having a little money involved to get accurate statistics on who is reading what. One author reports on what people are actually reading at the library.

The truth is that public libraries have become a service for the very young – the place where you go to inspire the nippers with a love for literature. For better or worse (and I’d say worse), they are no longer where many adults go in search of information (what’s Google for, after all?).

If adults go at all, it seems that it’s hardback fiction that they are mainly after. Josephine Cox and Danielle Steel came in second and third place in PLR’s top twenty last year (with sales in Steel’s case totalling over 500 million, I’m not quite sure this is the kind of struggling writers that the Brophy’s had in mind). And so far as I can see, there were no authors of non-fiction for adults in the top hundred; though Terry Deary, who wrote the Rotten Romans etc for kids, non-fictin of a kind, does get there.

library too popular with teens? close it after school. brilliant!

Posted on by jessamyn

In the article Lock the Library! Rowdy Students Are Taking Over one New Jersey library claims it has to resort to closing the library during after school hours because the library is being overrrun by unruly teenagers who are fighting, peeing on the bathroom floor and, apparently “talk[ing] back to librarians.” Here’s the library’s announcement on their website. Looks like the library will be available via phone, IM and email after school, just not in person. [thanks kelly!]