In May I posted on a collection of letters from various public figures on the benefits of the library, collected in the early 70′s by a librarian at the Troy Public Library.
The Troy Public Library will close August 5th unless the citizens of Troy, Michigan pass a dedicated millage. In most cities this would be no big deal, here in Troy there is a well financed anti-tax group that actively works to undermine the efforts of library supporters by any means necessary. With your help we will defeat them with this simple message: if you want a library you have to fund it in a stable fashion.
To accomplish this we need to combat their lies, inaccurate statistics and dangerous misinformation. With your help over the next 24 hours we can raise $1200 about the cost of one final mailer to our supporters. Stand with us now by donating $5, $10,$20, $50, or $100 or more if you can afford it. If you prefer, you can write a check, but drop it in the mail today using this form so that will get it in time to put it to good use.
Whether you can donate or not you can also help by spreading the word by every means at your disposal
Please visit the site and help in any way you can.
Update August 3, 2011: Troy Public Library was saved thanks to the approval of the mileage levy. Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word.
This short video of John Jay, Executive Creative Director and Partner of the Wieden + Kennedy advertising agency, contains some interesting suggestions that librarians might consider to enhance their own creativity. For example;
One of the great challenges for all of us … is to put yourself into unusual situations, put yourself into unusual cultures where you don’t belong, put yourself amongst people who you don’t normally hang-out with and get out of your comfort zone culturally… I think that is very, very important.
The Toronto Public Library Workers Union is mounting a campaign to protect Toronto libraries from threatened cuts and further privatization, a campaign that has included a clear warning to Toronto councillors.
The Toronto Public Library Workers Union has a message for city councillors: If you want to keep your seat, support your local libraries.
Results of a survey commissioned by the union and released Wednesday found that half of Toronto residents said it would affect their vote “a great deal” if they knew a candidate had supported closing a library branch.
The survey sends “very clear” message, union president Maureen O’Reilly said. Of more than 1,000 respondents, about three-quarters said they disagreed with closing branches to save money. The library board recently approved a $184 million budget that led to a decision to close the Metro Hall branch. “We have no reason to believe this trend won’t continue,” O’Reilly said, adding that shutting branches adversely affects seniors and kids.
Three-quarters of respondents also disagreed with privatizing library services.
If you live in the Toronto area, please contact your city councillor and also sign the online petition or help spread the word any way you can.
I have been a fan of Kickstarter for a while and was delighted to see The Uni, a light-weight, portable, open-air reading room.
The Uni starts with a custom-designed infrastructure that can be adapted to almost any kind of urban space. It consists of 144 open-faced cubes, which can be stacked and locked together in different configurations or heights, depending on site conditions. Together these cubes provide a modular system for programming public space and creating a venue for books, workshops, arts-and-crafts, demonstrations, classes, lectures, public meetings, and small film screenings….
In short, the Uni is a new type of small-scale, portable institution that puts books and learning experiences such as readings, classes, and screenings where we don’t regularly see them in the city. It can be installed in various configurations at different scales, and it can thrive in a variety of locations, efficiently transforming areas within parks, plazas, or empty lots into places of community use, learning, and public engagement.
I think every librarian should take out their wallets and contribute a few dollars to make this project a success.
A TED Talk from TEDGlobal 2011 that offers librarians plenty to think about regarding our role in ensuring that citizens maintain freedom of expression and privacy on the Internet.
In this powerful talk from TEDGlobal, Rebecca MacKinnon describes the expanding struggle for freedom and control in cyberspace, and asks: How do we design the next phase of the Internet with accountability and freedom at its core, rather than control? She believes the internet is headed for a “Magna Carta” moment when citizens around the world demand that their governments protect free speech and their right to connection.
