NewsDesk

The American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries, and Association of Research Libraries have pushed the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DoJ) to intervene in the Google Book Search settlement, headed for a court hearing in October. They asked the division to treat the settlement, if approved, “as a consent decree to any antitrust action it brought.” That would allow the DoJ to monitor compliance.

The settlement is beginning to generate more skepticism. The Christian Science Monitor praised the potential of the settlement in an editorial on August 7, but acknowledged concerns about pricing and privacy raised by library groups.

Reed Business Information (RBI) is putting Library Journal and its affiliated publications—School Library Journal, Library Hotline, and Publishers Weekly—up for sale. The transaction is part of RBI's strategy to divest most of its trade magazines in the United States. Variety and a few others won't be sold. Last year, Reed Elsevier, parent company of RBI, tried to sell all of RBI but dropped the plan when it couldn't get the price it wanted.

While Reed would prefer to sell the package of some 50 titles to one buyer, paidContent predicted that, given the market, the deals will be piecemeal. No timetable has been announced.

The Prince George Public Library, serving the largest city in northern British Columbia, has partnered with accounting students at the local College of New Caledonia on several studies. “Terms of Enjoyment” explored “a new, more comprehensive measure of library performance,” involving not simply circulation but “hours of patron enjoyment.” During the study period in November 2008, local residents derived 207,400 hours of enjoyment—or $1.37 CAD per hour. While the results aren't scientific, other Canadian libraries and researchers have been following up.

At the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) annual meeting, July 10–13, in Denver, the group decided not to accept any sponsorship dollars from Thomson-West, because the publisher wouldn't provide pricing information for AALL's annual Price Index for Legal Publications.

Anne Ellis, senior director, librarian relations, Thomson-Reuters, responded that the index “does not accurately reflect the prices our customers typically pay…we approach pricing on an account-by-account basis—which, by the way, is not uncommon in the industry.”

Aiming to consolidate government, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm wants to eliminate the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries, transferring most Library of Michigan functions to the Department of Education, abolishing the position of state librarian, and downgrading certain library services, including circulation and interlibrary loan of state materials.

The Library of Michigan, a major component of the department, would be split up. Granholm's order includes conceptual plans for a Michigan Center for Innovation and Reinvention in downtown Lansing, complete with “a transformed Michigan Library and Historical Center.” A report on that possibility is not due until June 1, 2010. The Michigan Library Association said the proposed cuts ignore the Library of Michigan's role in “cost savings and effective delivery of statewide library services.”

Pennsylvania's Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity has rescinded (as of 2010) the book-borrowing rights of a seven-year-old after librarians spotted a photo of him in the local paper tooting his kazoo at their summer reading parade—and realized that his family had received the card in error.

The story, picked up by Comedy Central's Colbert Report, has caused quite a stir in the library community, including defensiveness that a library's rightful effort to limit usage to cardholders was being mocked.

The Committee on Accreditation of the American Library Association has announced accreditation actions taken in July at the annual conference in Chicago. Programs granted continued accreditation status, with the next “comprehensive review visit” scheduled for 2016, are the Master of Arts in Library and Information Science, University of Iowa, Iowa City; Master of Arts in Library and Information Science, University of South Florida, Tampa; and Master of Science in Information Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Continued accreditation status and release from conditional status was granted to the Master of Science in Library Science program offered by Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. The Master of Library Science program offered by University at Buffalo, State University of New York, was granted continued conditional accreditation, with the next comprehensive review visit scheduled for 2012.

Facing a decrease in Regional Asset District (RAD) sales tax collections, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (CLP) may see a loss or consolidation of branch locations as well as reduction in services.

Officials estimate that expenses for the system will begin to exceed revenues beginning in 2010 and that the deficit will continue to grow. CLP already implemented $2 million in cuts this year, said Director Barbara Mistick. Some 400 CLP supporters who attended a series of town meetings expressed their preferences: reduce hours and programs over closing branches. CLP has launched a web site to seek increased support.

The Special Libraries Association, which six years ago began doing business simply as SLA, is again considering changing its name, in response to research showing that the terms special library and special librarian were ranked low in a list evaluated by respondents.

To help the city of Omaha recover from a lingering budget deficit, the Omaha Public Library (OPL) is suffering a significant temporary hit, cutting hours, closing a branch, and laying off more than 25 percent of its FTE workers (nearly all part-time paras). “[P]ublic safety and basic city services are the top priorities,” Mayor Jim Suttle said.

The layoffs take effect on September 6. Suttle has recommended a 12 percent increase in the library budget next year. The library budget, which has been flat for years, was cut nearly six percent in 2009. “It's frustrating all around,” said then–OPL director Rivkah Sass, who subsequently departed last month for the Sacramento Public Library, CA.

If you have completed a public library building project (new, remodel, expansion) between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009, let Library Journal know. Go to www.libraryjournal.com/PublicArch2009 to submit. The deadline is October 1, 2009. Referenda held between December 1, 2008 and November 30, 2009 should be submitted at www.libraryjournal.com/referenda. Any questions? Email bl.fox@reedbusiness.com.

A flash flood in Louisville, KY, that began at 8:15 a.m. August 4 dropped seven inches of rain in 1¼ hours and wreaked havoc, especially on the Main Library of the Louisville Free Public Library (LFPL). Director Craig Buthod said it was the worst-hit building in the city, with about 50,000 square feet of the 170,000 square foot structure affected by seven feet of water. “We had 15 minutes to save everybody's life,” Buthod told LJ. “That doesn't give you time to reflect on and refer to your disaster plan.”

Suffering an estimated $5 million in damage, including 50,000 books and dozens of computers, many awaiting shipment to branches, the Main Library will be closed until Labor Day, when partial services are expected to be restored. The full reopening, with the recovery of HVAC and elevator service, is not expected until the beginning of 2010. Three bookmobiles and two library service vehicles were caught in the flood, as well.

Meanwhile, service continues at the other 16 locations, and LFPL has moved Main Library office and technical functions to a nearby office building and a decommissioned firehouse. While many people have offered to hold a book drive, the library is instead soliciting monetary donations to: The Library Foundation, 301 York Street, Louisville, KY 40203; note Flood Recovery Fund on the check.

Given the role of social media, blogs, and emerging technologies, it's time for some new criteria for library scholarship, suggests Eric Schnell, associate professor, Prior Health Sciences Library, Ohio State University Libraries, Columbus, writing for LJ Academic Newswire.

Because such efforts don't fit neatly into the tripartite model of faculty activity—teaching, scholarship, and service—promotion and tenure review committees commonly relegate them to the catch-all category of service. A 1998 task force report from the Association of College and Research Libraries that aimed to extend the range of activities recognized as scholarly gained little traction. The University of Maine's New Media Department, however, has offered a new definition of how library faculty could be recognized and rewarded.

Academic librarianship is unlike most other academic disciplines, given that it involves the continuous development of new customer services and the refinement of internal processes. The weight of such activities should be based on the value it brings to the practice and the discipline, writes Schnell, suggesting that the role of traditional scholarly publications has diminished. For example, the conference peer-review acceptance rate can be more competitive than for a scholarly journal and obtaining a funded grant for a library project or program can serve as evidence of scholarship.

The Library Journal Teaching Award, sponsored by ProQuest, recognizes excellence in educating the next generation of librarians. This annual award, now in its third year, honors the winning LIS teacher with an article in the November 15 issue of LJ, a $5000 prize, and a reception at the 2010 American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Boston.

Nominees will be judged on several criteria, including a track record as a mentor and a commitment to the core principles of librarianship, such as intellectual freedom, privacy, and a belief in the value of library service. For more details, go to bit.ly/1b479i. The nomination deadline is September 29, 2009.