Week in Review: Library and Book News Roundup

-- Library Journal, 4/17/2009

Library News for the Week Ending April 17:

Budget Roundup: Seattle Library To Close for a Week To Save Money
Job cuts in Boston; PA State Library loses hours, staff; new Internet fee in Troy, MI.

Newly Created Lyrasis Now Set To Add NELINET
Expansion of Lyrasis driven in part by changing OCLC relationship, need for cost controls.

The Economic Stimulus Package: Updates on Broadband and Beyond
At ULC audio conference, collaboration on broadband urged; application period may begin soon.

Digital Library Federation To Merge into CLIR
Times and technologies change, so the mission will carry on in spirit.

Topeka Board Agrees To Keep Sex-Related Books on the Shelves
Vote apparently aimed to avoid lawsuit; library will post new notices.

Florida County, Facing Citizen Criticism, Drops LSSI Contract Proposal
Despite Hernando County Library budget cuts, citizens, board, oppose privatization.

Indianapolis Library Loses Lawsuit over Central Library Cost Overruns
Sought $49 million in recovered costs and punitive damages.

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Blatant Berry: The Irreplaceable Krug
We need a candidate who can lead the Office of Intellectual Freedom in our brave new world.

ALA Urges Broadband Stimulus Funding for Libraries
The American Library Association (ALA) is making sure the federal government knows the important role rural libraries play in our nations economic recovery, along with the crucial component of broadband technology.

Longtime ALA Intellectual Freedom Leader Judith Krug Dies
Updated with an appreciation from the New York Times.

From PW: Amazon Says Glitch to Blame for "New" Adult Policy
A groundswell of outrage, concern and confusion sprang up over the weekend, largely via Twitter, in response to what authors and others believed was a decision by Amazon to remove "adult" titles from its sales rankings. On Sunday evening, however, an Amazon spokesperson said that a "glitch" had occurred in its sales ranking feature that was in the process of being fixed.

Gates Gives $5 Million to OCLC To Build Library Awareness, Support
Campaign aims to enhance latent public support, give libraries new tools.

Good News in Cedar Rapids: FEMA Will Pay for a New Building
The Cedar Rapids Public Library, whose management team won LJ's Librarian of the Year Award this year for their response to a devastating 2008 flood, will be able to build a new main library downtown—but not near the Cedar River—after a decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that the existing building suffered more than 50% damage.

InfoTech Briefs
* AquaBrowser to be Harvard's search and discovery platform
* Blackwenn named sales agent for ABC-CLIO ebooks
* ProQuest products shortlisted for 24th annual CODiE Awards
* Swets signs agreement with Aldipress, for consolidation and logistics activities

Books, Reviews, & Features:

Survivalist Novel Patriots Rates High in Amazon, Not Libraries
So, a title shoots to the top of Amazon.com's sales ranking within days of its release and libraries are caught off-guard—only a handful have it on hand and another few wait for its delivery; it's already on backorder at Baker & Taylor (B&T).

Wyatt's World: Plant it, Cook it, Eat It!
For the freshest produce, you have to grow it yourself.

Hell Is a Runny Nose (Or Inflamed Lungs): Ten Titles for Allergy and Asthma Redemption
Never mind the connotations of rebirth—spring means hell, in a word, for many allergy sufferers. Your library is no doubt experiencing increased demand for consumer health information on asthma and other allergic disorders, which are on the rise. Theories point to pollution, oversanitized children, and global warming. Whatever the cause, people will need information about prevention and treatment; these ten books fit the bill.

The Word on Street Lit No. 13
Women caught up in personal situations spiraling out of their control is the theme of this month’s picks. Among the pressures these sisters face are perjury, too many haters, and cheating boyfriends. These assertive ladies, however, won’t take too much mess from the fellas. In this column: Teri Woods, L. Devine, and Mary B. Morrison. Plus, a sizzling reading soundtrack by LJ music columnist Matthew Moyer.

35 Going on 13: Spring Is Here!
As the first daffodils bloom, so do a new crop of books make their way into the literary marketplace. While I have not had as much time as I would like to read through publishing’s latest offerings—being a new mom—I have nevertheless found much to like so far. This eclectic mix of titles from the first part of the year includes the latest installment in a popular fantasy series, a short story collection, a first-time author, and a biography of a famous scientist.

From the Print Edition:

Reality Bites: Periodicals Price Survey 2009
As waves of grim economic news wash over state and federal governments here and abroad, libraries of all types and sizes are bracing for budget cuts the likes of which have not been seen in three generations. Unlike most financial crises, this one is ubiquitous, with all but a handful of states in the red and getting redder.

The Great Escape: Mystery Preview
in tough times, book and movie sales prosper as consumers look for some form of escape.

The Transparent Library: Cheers & Jeers
We've been writing the Transparent Library for two years, so it's time for some more thumbs up and thumbs down.

Introduction: Data in Context
the Semantic Web is an appealing notion: it has the potential to build beneath the surface web a fabulous underlying structure of interrelated data and context meaningful to both users and machines. However, for all the recent buzz, it's still not entirely clear how we will get there from the current web.

Making Connections
From shuttling "bots" to library catalogs brimming with contextual data, Karen Coyle shows us the future made possible by Linked Data.

Discovering Linked Data
Fiona Bradley takes a tour of Linked Data endeavors and explains how they can help us make library data easier for everyone to use.

A Sparrow with a Machine Gun
What do birds and firearms have to do with reference? R. David Lankes explains, describing how credible context and Reference Extract are all linked.

Screencast Like a Pro
After reviewing the best free tools in January, Melissa L. Rethlefsen takes a look at some premium screencasting products.

Microformats: Context Inline
Karen Coombs sees microformats as a quick and easy way to embed contextual information into your library's site.