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Stan Alcorn:
1: THE BOOKLESS LIBRARY
2: LIBRARIES AS SCHOOLS
3: LIBRARIES AS MAKER SPACES
4: POP-UP LIBRARIES
5: THE OCCUPY WALL STREET LIBRARY
by Stephanie Bonjack Here’s my theory: the proliferation of "shoppes" and "towne centers" may have satisfied a need (or collective desire) for designer sunglasses, fusion restaurants, and relaxing places to drink coffee, but commercial spaces will never satisfy all of the needs that a library can address. A great library has the potential to serve as a community hub, where resources and services intersect with work, learning, and culture. A space designed to facilitate such interactions while making the patron feel something – inspired, creative, curious – cannot be replicated commercially. Image: Jose Vasconcelos Library
Via Miguel Mimoso Correia
"The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.” ― Carl Sagan, Cosmos
Dr Steve Matthews: "The reason libraries are needed is because it is a fundamental right of America’s citizens to have free access to information and knowledge. I think Jacob had an excellent post! “Make as much information possible to as many people as possible in as many ways as possible.” because something beats nothing all to hell. Too much philosophizing about a library philosophy puts people off the real work that needs doing. Jacob noted that only 20% of ALA members cared enough to vote for their leadership in 2012. I think that’s because those 80% realize that actions speak louder than words. Stop debating our existence, or lamenting our place in society, and start DOING Librarianship. Our philosophy is nothing more than Jacob implied by stating; “We are agents navigating structures, some of which we helped to create.” We should be DOING librarianship, not debating it. And, lots of 21st Century Libraries already are!" More of the discussion and links here: http://21stcenturylibrary.com/2012/08/13/why-libraries-are-needed-revisited/
The Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide agency has won a gold prize in the Effie awards for their hoax "Book Burning Party" campaign, which is credited with saving the public library in Troy, "MI. Michigan's extreme austerity measures and collapsing economy had put the library under threat, and the town proposed a 0.7% tax raise to keep it open. The local Tea Party spent a large sum of money opposing the measure on the grounds that all taxes are bad, so the Burnett campaign reframed the issue by creating a hoax campaign to celebrate the library's closure with a Book Burning Party a few days after the vote. The outrage generated by this campaign was sufficient to win the day for the library, as Troy's residents made the connection between closing libraries and burning books, focusing their minds on literacy and shared community, rather than taxation. Troy Public Library would close for good unless voters approved a tax increase. With little money, six weeks until the election, facing a well organized anti-tax group who'd managed to get two previous library-saving tax increases to fail, we had to be bold. We posed as a clandestine group who urged people to vote to close the library so they could have a book burning party. Public outcry over the idea drowned out the anti-tax opposition and created a ground-swell of support for the library, which won by a landslide."
Via Stacey Py Flynn
"Videos Supporting the Campaign to Save Library & Archives Canada. Call on the Federal Government to Save Library and Archives Canada. Speak out now" Videos of interviews with: Susan Crean, Kimalee Phillip, Francesca Holyoke, Liam McGahern
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By Alison Nastasi: We gathered a few passionate statements from 20 writers that emphasize why libraries aren’t “sentimental” institutions. See what Neil Gaiman, Judy Blume, Ray Bradbury, and other writers have to contribute to the conversation, below.
Amid a continuing fight to keep public libraries open, figures show an increase in the rate of closure of libraries
1. The house of the 99%: The foundation of democracy is an educated electorate. When the economy is down, it is all the more vital that we the people have access to information, education, news… and now in modern times the internet, computers, and other sources of media tools as well. 2. Libraries build equity 3. Community hope chest 4. Renewable resource 5. Renewable resource 6. Leveling the playing field 7. Safe space 8. Cultural touchstone 9. Drop in or drop out
Read here: http://ivn.us/2012/08/08/nine-reasons-to-save-public-libraries/#.UC1o_erukmc.twitter
R David Lankes: "Beyond the Bullet Points: It is Time to Stop Trying to Save Libraries" » Virtual Dave...Real Blog - http://t.co/4NaBjGxy... "I believe the future of libraries is bright. I believe that libraries improve society. I believe that libraries are key to positive social transformation. I believe that librarians are facilitators of knowledge. I believe that librarians are the most important assets of any library. It is in my demonstration of these beliefs that I help ensure the future of libraries and librarians. I don’t need to save libraries. Libraries have survived for over 3,000 years. Libraries have survived famine, plagues, prejudice, censorship, and anti-intellectualism well before either of us came along. I don’t need to save libraries, I need to help transform them. The test of that transformation is not in a building, or a collection, or a service, or even the librarians; it is in the achievements of the community."
"Indiana’s Foellinger Foundation is using free library services to boost grantee effectiveness. [...] The Foellinger Foundation realized that nonprofits might be able to use the library in a similar way to an MSO. A library is customer service-oriented; it specializes in managing and distributing information and training to a wide variety of people and institutions; and people are accustomed to it operating as a center for learning. The foundation saw that the library budget could cover the overhead and infrastructure, and realized that with some additional funding, the library could expand its offerings and eliminate the need to fund an independent, service-based nonprofit." Taking library engagement with community to a whole new level. DW
Via Donna Watt
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