July 6, 2010

 

NEWS

Of the $795 million in grants and loans for broadband expansion announced July 2 by the White House, $62.5 million will go to a group of national research and education networking organizations to link libraries, schools, and others and offer the capacity for high-bandwidth applications like telemedicine and distance learning. » » »

New York City's public libraries avoided the massive, crippling budget reductions originally proposed by the Mayor's office but are losing a day of service. The libraries initially faced a cut described as between $75 million and $77 million, but some $61.8 million was restored in budget negotiations. Still, the loss of perhaps $15 million must be absorbed. » » »

Registration Open for "ebooks: Libraries at the Tipping Point" Virtual Conference
Library Journal and School Library Journal are jointly hosting ebooks: Libraries at the Tipping Point. This full-day virtual conference brings together the major segments in the library ebook market: public libraries, school libraries, and academic libraries. Scheduled for September 29, the conference offers keynote presentations and panel discussions on the evolving concept of the book in a digital world and explores libraries' essential role in the ebook future. Click for registration and complete schedule and speaker information. » » »

OCLC and LYRASIS Partner for WorldCat Services and Web-Scale Management
OCLC and LYRASIS are partnering for "the next generation of cooperative library services and consulting," involving both WorldCat and "new cooperative Web-scale library management services." The announcement was rather opaque, but apparently those services—potentially the replacement for many if not all of the functions of an integrated library system (ILS)—will be marketed (but not distributed) via LYRASIS, which now has a national reach.» » »

Major Grants to State Libraries Will Extend Broadband Service
Along with the $62.5 million to build a distance-learning network (see "In Broadband Grants, $62.5 Million To Build Network for Distance Learning, Telemedicine" ), several state libraries and government organizations will receive tens of millions of dollars to help libraries by upgrading public computer centers and extending broadband access. But many others to telephone companies for extended broadband service surely will benefit libraries under the general rubric of "community institutions." » » »


Wyatt's World

Wyatt's World: Celebrating To Kill a Mockingbird—Five Further Experiences

 

Review

Moore, Andrew. Detroit Disassembled.

Akron Art Museum. 2010. 127p. photogs. ISBN 978-88-6208 118-4. $50. PHOTOG

"God has left Detroit" states graffiti on the wall of an abandoned nursing home. That claim is the perfect evaluation of this collection of remarkable photos depicting the once great metropolis as a city gone to ruin. Photographer Moore's Detroit is as rusted, pitted, and decrepit as the rotting roadside hulk of a once luxurious automobile that was the motor city's life blood. Photographing in color, Moore captures decaying ships, peeling movie theaters, a shuttered library with paperbacks crumbling in book stands, abandoned car factories, and uninhabitable private residences, including a house so overgrown with foliage that its original structure is all but invisible. VERDICT Though it is unsettling to see an American city that was a dynamo of domestic industry decayed into a nightmare landscape out of post-apocalyptic science fiction, the photos are powerful and the message is clear. Photography heads will go for this, but those interested in poverty and urban issues also will find it interesting.

—Mike Rogers, LJX/LJ



Xpress Reviews

Xpress Reviews—First Look at New Books
Susan Hubbard's The Season of Risks, Cynthia Robinson's The Dog Park Club, Bill Tucci's Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion graphic novel, and more reviews just in! » » »

LJ ALERT

Call for Nominations—Political Winners (and Sinners) of the Year
Politically speaking, it’s a roller coaster for libraries as the recession hits Libraryland. Tell us about the people who launched preemptive strikes to sustain the library, helped save it, or threw a monkey wrench into the works—whether on a local, statewide, or national level. Look for our coverage in the Sept. 15 Library Journal. Send nominations by August 1 to Rebecca Miller. Full details here.



Job of the Week

Systems Coordinator
Gwinnett County Public Library
Lawrenceville, GA
As the Systems Coordinator you play a critical role in supervising the Help Desk, which includes managing the ticketing system and project workflow to ensure that the needs of Library staff and customers are met in a timely manner. You take the lead in researching and testing technology for efficient and effective operations. You set the example by demonstrating complex or difficult maintenance and repairs. You ensure top-notch technical support by managing the daily operations of the Library's software, hardware, networks and related peripheral equipment. You deliver outstanding results to all customers and are able to explain "techno-speak" in everyday terms.
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