Sunday, January 28, 2007

Events at the Albany Public Library: January 29-February 4, 2007

Monday, January 29
Bookmobile - Westview Senior Center (Bookmobile)
Pre-School Storytime (Howe Branch)
Bookmobile - Swinburne Park Neighborhood (Bookmobile)
Bookmobile - Daughters of Sarah (Bookmobile)
Bookmobile - Arbor Hill Elementary Community School (Bookmobile)
Tuesday, January 30
Seniors Connect (Main Library)
Toddler Storytime (Pine Hills Branch)
Book Review: The Great Risk Shift (Main Library)
Bookmobile - Arbor Hill Community Center, Inc. (Bookmobile)
Read to me Storytime (Pine Hills Branch)
Delaware Dogs Program (Delaware Branch)
Wednesday, January 31
Pre-School Storytime (Howe Branch)
Pre-School Storytime (North Albany Branch)
Pre-School Storytime (Main Library)
Pre-School Storytime (Delaware Branch)
Pre-School Storytime (North Albany Branch)
Toddler Storytime (New Scotland Branch)
Open Computer Lab (North Albany Branch)

Thursday, February 1
Writers Group (Main Library)
Lapsit Storytime (Main Library)
Public Meeting-Library Plan (Main Library)
Film: February One (Main Library)
Friday, February 2
Intro. to Word (Pine Hills Branch)
Read to Tess the Dog (Main Library)
After School Craft (New Scotland Branch)
Connecting with America (Pine Hills Branch)
Saturday, February 3
Anime Club (Main Library)
Anime Club (Main Library)

Monday, January 22, 2007

COMMENTARY: Library improvements vital to Albany

By JOHN BACH
First published in the Times Union: Sunday, January 21, 2007

On Feb. 6, Albany voters will be asked whether to approve a significant upgrade of the city's branch libraries. Many citizens are naturally asking: Why now? What's wrong with the libraries we have? The short answer is that surging demand and faltering facilities have created a situation that requires immediate attention.

Last year, the Albany Public Library circulated more than one-million items, and handled nearly as many visits. Since 2000, use of our facilities is up 67 percent and circulation has spiked 53 percent. This fits with a national trend of library use doubling in the past decade, and counters the theory that the Internet has rendered libraries obsolete.

In fact, the overwhelming amount of information available on the Web is driving bewildered people to libraries for help determining which Web sites have credible information. Growing numbers of people also are coming to us for assistance with health research, government applications, job searches and computer training. This is all in addition to the traditional visitors who want to check out books, magazines and a growing selection of electronic media.

We are doing our best to meet this heavy demand in generally small, outdated facilities that need costly repairs. The 90-year-old Howe library has a leaky roof, falling plaster and temporary heating units. None of our branches have space for new books, more public computers or program areas for teens. Access for the disabled is substandard. The New Scotland branch is closing because of the renovation of School 19, and it will not be replaced unless voters approve the referendum. And our tiny Delaware branch has an uncertain future because of a monthly lease arrangement.

With all of that in mind, it is understandable that our publicly elected board of trustees feels a responsibility to act. The trustees have spent the past several years working with hundreds of citizens and a wide array of experts to develop a branch system that will feature modern, environmentally sustainable facilities equipped to meet the needs of Albany's residents in the 21st century.

The branch improvement plan renovates, relocates or builds five neighborhood libraries, and expands service to Arbor Hill/West Hill for the first time in 40 years. The plan reflects that our trustees heard the insistent voice of Albany's neighborhoods to build on the strong tradition of walkable branches; they agreed with the concerned citizens who urged the creation of productive places for teens to go after school; they responded to complaints about limited collections and hours; and they acted on the persistent plea for community meeting rooms.

If voters approve the referendum, Albany's renovated and new libraries will also feature:

Larger children's collections and space.

Small meeting rooms for tutoring.

Public computers for each age group.

Full access for the mobility impaired.

Wireless Internet access.

Sustainable "green" designs.

The cost for all of these improvements is $29.1 million -- including construction, borrowing costs and new library books -- or about an additional $47 a year for the owner of a home assessed at $100,000.

The benefits in this plan for library users are obvious. But what about those who don't regularly visit the library? National studies show the benefits of good libraries extend to everyone by producing a stronger economy, a better educated population and higher property values. A new study from the Urban Libraries Council and the Gates Foundation concludes that public libraries play an important role in economic development efforts because they build technology skills, boost entrepreneurial activity and contribute to the creation of vibrant, livable places. Researchers for this study repeatedly found that libraries contribute to stability, safety and quality of life in neighborhoods.
Cities and states across the country report that for every dollar spent on libraries, approximately $4 to $10 is returned to the community in wages, purchases and savings for individuals and small businesses.

That's one reason why U.S. cities are making major investments in libraries. Poughkeepsie; Springfield, Mass.; Hartford, Conn.; and many communities on Long Island have all undertaken major library improvements in recent years. Leaders of these cities tell us that new or improved libraries spark positive economic and social change and become the heart of their neighborhoods.

I encourage you to visit our Web site (http://www.albanypubliclibrary.org) to see preliminary site plans, polling locations, details on costs and answers to frequently asked questions.

All members of the public are invited to meetings at the main library during which library staff and trustees will answer questions about any aspect of this project. The meetings will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Friday, 6 p.m. on Feb. 1.

This is an extraordinary moment for our library system and our city.

Our proposal is a result of the first strategic, long-range facilities plan in the 150-year history of the Albany Public Library. Its approval by referendum would bring about the first major capital investment in Albany's libraries in more than 80 years.

I hope every registered voter will go to the polls on Feb. 6 and participate in a decision that will have a very significant impact on our city's future.

John Bach is president of the Albany Public Library Board of Trustees.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Events at the Albany Public Library: January 22-28 2007

Monday, January 22
Bookmobile - Atria Shaker (Bookmobile)
Pre-School Storytime (Howe Branch)
Bookmobile - Atria Crossgates (Bookmobile)
Bookmobile - Harriman Campus (Bookmobile)
Tuesday, January 23
Seniors Connect (Main Library)
Toddler Storytime (Pine Hills Branch)
Read to me Storytime (Pine Hills Branch)
Delaware Dogs Program (Delaware Branch)
Public Meeting-Library Plan (Main Library)
Wednesday, January 24
Pre-School Storytime (Howe Branch)
Pre-School Storytime (North Albany Branch)
Pre-School Storytime (Main Library)
Bookmobile - Crestwood Plaza (Bookmobile)
Pre-School Storytime (Delaware Branch)
Pre-School Storytime (North Albany Branch)
Toddler Storytime (New Scotland Branch)
Intro. to Word (North Albany Branch)
Bookmobile - Green St. (Bookmobile)
Thursday, January 25
Bookmobile - Center for the Disability Services (Bookmobile)
Lapsit Storytime (Main Library)
Intro. to E-mail (Main Library)
Friday, January 26
After School Craft (New Scotland Branch)
Bookmobile - Ida Yarborough (Bookmobile)
Intro. to Internet (Pine Hills Branch)
Bookmobile - South Mall Towers (Bookmobile)
Public Meeting-Library Plan (Main Library)
Read to Tess the Dog (Main Library)
Dance Dance Revolution! (New Scotland Branch)
Connecting with America (Pine Hills Branch)
Saturday, January 27
Read to Tess the Dog (Main Library)
Sunday, January 28
Sunday Cinema (Main Library)

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Robin Levitt, San Francisco Community Organizer
will speak Monday, January 22 at 6:30 pm on
Urban Success Story - How Turning a Freeway into a Boulevard Transformed a Neighborhood
at the Albany Public Library, Seminar Room 2
Robin will speak about how the people in San Francisco's Hayes Valley transformed their neighborhood overnight by getting the City to tear down part of the freeway.
Robin had the idea of tearing down part of the central freeway. He spent 7 years of his life working on this, and finally convinced the city of San Francisco to tear down 4 blocks of the central freeway in Hayes Valley. In the process of this struggle, a strong neighborhood group formed which later helped organize an architectural competition for the now vacant plots around what replaced the freeway, and is now Octavia Boulevard. Over one hundred and sixty architects from all over the world handed in designs which sparked a discussion among San Francisco citizens.
Robin Levitt is one of San Francisco’s most outstanding community organizers. He cannot leave his house without being recognized on the street, and thanked for helping turn one of San Francisco's most run down neighborhoods into one of the most desirable neighborhoods. Robin was a part of what John King called An Urban Success Story.
The neighborhood group now is in process to convince the city to change the building code so no parking space needs to be provided for any new building, which would lower the cost of new buildings by 1/3 and would promote people walking, using their bikes even more or hopping on one of the many buses in this dense urban neightborhood. Another project of the neighborhood group is to create a mixed income, mixed ethnicity neighborhood, helping to alleviate the concentrated poverty of the elderly and/or low income populations in the city.
Please help spread the word. Robin is very fun to listen to and we promise you this talk will be fun.
The presentation is sponsored by Save the Pine Bush, the Albany Bicycle Coalition and Dorothy Tristman, Solidarity Committee of the Capital District.
“We have all had this experience over the last 20 years, from Los Angeles to Atlanta to Phoenix, that shows that building and widening freeways do not solve our traffic problems ...” Keith Bartholomew, professor at the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment at the University of Utah.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Facilities Planning

As you should know by now, the branch improvement plan will go to the voters. On February 6th, voters in Albany will be asked whether to approve borrowing $29.1 million to construct, relocate or renovate five neighborhood branch facilities. The pertinent information is here. Please note that some of the voting locations have changed! Also, the polls are open from noon to 9 pm.

No clerk could replace services of a librarian

First published in the Times Union: Tuesday, January 16, 2007

With regard to the many responses to Albert Paolucci's Dec. 30 letter about bookstores replacing libraries, one essential factor has not been mentioned: the librarian.

An educated professional, it is the librarian who first found books for me to read to meet the summer 100-book challenge (librarian created) when I was young.

It was the public library librarian who helped me figure out the labyrinth of reference directories and resources during high school and the librarian who helped me find research material when writing my master's papers. And it was the librarian who created interesting events to which to bring my children.

No clerk at a bookstore can do all that and so much more. So, thank you to all the librarians who make the libraries the inviting, educational places they are. And Mr. Paolucci, don't be absurd.

SHARON SIEGEL

Albany

Comparison of libraries to bookstores puzzling

First published in the Times Union: Tuesday, January 16, 2007

I am responding to Albert Paolucci's assertion that we do not need improvements to the Albany Public Library (letter, Dec. 30). I believe his arguments are short-sighted.

Mr. Paolucci states that libraries are not needed because information is available on computers. However, many interesting and authoritative resources are not available on the general Internet because of cost, copyright and other legal issues. Much of the reputable material that is available through Albany Public Library's Web site is there only through the library's paid subscriptions, and is not available through a Google search or other free service. The number of Albany households without a home computer may be as high as 60 percent, but these residents can gain access to online information at the library.

When Mr. Paolucci states that he does not think students use the public library, I wonder when he has last visited his local branch. There is often not a seat available in the children's section of several branches.

The library is busy during the summer and promotes reading through summer reading programs. The library promotes literacy through story times, which are often standing room only. At my neighborhood branch, I see tutors using library resources to provide instruction to schoolchildren, people learning English, adults learning to read and write, and people studying for citizenship exams.

Mr. Paolucci's statement that we do not need libraries because there are bookstores is puzzling. Bookstore owners don't intend for people to visit daily and use their materials for free the way you can at your local library.

SUSAN D'ENTREMONT

Albany

Monday, January 15, 2007

Albany library proposal shouldn't be ignored

First published: Monday, January 15, 2007

In his Dec. 30 letter, Albert Paolucci calls the proposed referendum on Tuesday, Feb. 6, to build five new branch libraries a "tax burden that truly is not needed." I see the library bond as a wise public investment in a library system on the brink.

The Delaware branch, in a strip mall, is leased monthly. The once-regal Howe branch in the South End has a broken boiler, no air conditioning and plaster falling on patrons. The cramped New Scotland branch is getting booted from School 19 in June. Arbor Hill has been without a branch for 40-odd years, and West Hill has never had one.

Shame on us.

The library board's plan ends this embarrassment by proposing to build new or improved branches in Pine Hills, the South End and Arbor Hill/West Hill, as well as in the New Scotland and Delaware Avenue neighborhoods. Each branch will be an education center where our children, especially ones from poor families, can get free computer access and free books (something Wolf Road bookstores don't provide, Mr. Paolucci), as well as a safe and quiet place to study after school.

What else will the bond provide? Community centers, as the libraries will include space for meetings, children's programs, lectures and study groups. New neighborhood libraries that families, the elderly and teenagers can walk to. What better way to keep residents in the city and make suburbanites jealous of the city life?

The library board is proposing to do all this for $29.1 million, a far more modest proposal than its original $65 million plan (rebuilding the main branch has been postponed). For the owner of a $125,000 home, that's just $59 a year, the price of a few hardcover books or CDs. That's not a burden, Mr. Paolucci, that's a smart bargain we can't afford to pass up.

DENNIS GAFFNEY

Albany

dgaffney@nycap.rr.com

Urge Albany residents to pass library budget

First published in the Times Union: Monday, January 15, 2007

Feb. 6, the citizens of Albany will be asked to approve a $29.1 million budget to enlarge, relocate or improve five libraries.

The financial impact on the homeowners will be 47 cents per $1,000 of assessment.

In my opinion this improvement in the library system is vital to the educational growth of the community.

Libraries are no longer rows of dusty books and card catalogs. They are a vital locality for our children and a link to the future.

Libraries provide a living and learning place for the entire family, they support after school opportunities, they nourish and enhance the advancement of knowledge, they supply online active computer links to the Internet and most of all they offer integrity for each and every neighborhood user.

I plead with the city residents to make a special effort to support this much needed improvement in our public libraries by voting yes on Feb. 6.

RAYMOND S. BLANCHARD

Albany

Libraries a vital part of culture and education

First published in the Times Union: Monday, January 15, 2007

I am writing in response to Albert Paolucci's letter (Dec. 30) concerning the expansion of the Albany Public Library system, which he believes to be unnecessary. To clarify, only one additional branch is being added to the system, the new building proposed for Arbor Hill.

Although the Delaware Avenue and New Scotland Avenue branches will be at new locations, they replace branches that already exist in those neighborhoods. The renovation of the Howe Branch in the South End is much needed and long overdue. Plans for the Pine Hills branch will expand space and services at the current location.

As a resident of Arbor Hill, which has not had its own branch for 40 years, I am very aware of the need for a neighborhood library in this community. I also spoke out during the library's planning process in favor of a separate geographically accessible branch in West Hill.

To get a sense of the wide variety of services and programs the Albany Public Library makes available to all segments of the community, one need only read an issue of the library's free monthly newsletter, BiblioTech. Its pages convey how very different the library's mission is from big-box bookstores, from school libraries and from the specialized research focus of the State Library.

As a result of economic disparities, not every community in Albany has equal access to private transportation and to home computers. In fact, many people rely solely upon the library for computer access.

Just as our neighborhoods benefit from physical improvements such as street repairs and rehabilitated vacant properties, they are also greatly enhanced by the availability of high-quality cultural and educational resources.

BARBARA SMITH

Common Council Member

Fourth Ward

Albany

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Events at the Albany Public Library: January 15-21, 2007

Monday, January 15
Bookmobile - Westview Senior Center (Bookmobile)
Special Activity for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Main Library)
Pre-School Storytime (Howe Branch)
Bookmobile - Swinburne Park Neighborhood (Bookmobile)
Bookmobile - Daughters of Sarah (Bookmobile)
Tuesday, January 16
Seniors Connect (Main Library)
Toddler Storytime (Pine Hills Branch)
Bookmobile - Arbor Hill Community Center, Inc. (Bookmobile)
Read to me Storytime (Pine Hills Branch)
Delaware Dogs Program (Delaware Branch)
Wednesday, January 17
Pre-School Storytime (Howe Branch)
Pre-School Storytime (North Albany Branch)
Pre-School Storytime (Main Library)
Pre-School Storytime (Delaware Branch)
Pre-School Storytime (North Albany Branch)
Toddler Storytime (New Scotland Branch)
Intro. to E-mail (North Albany Branch)
Advanced Internet (Main Library)
Thursday, January 18
Lapsit Storytime (Main Library)
Intro. to Internet (Main Library)
Book Discussion Group (Main Library)
Friday, January 19
Read to Tess the Dog (Main Library)
After School Craft (New Scotland Branch)
Dance Dance Revolution! (New Scotland Branch)
Connecting with America (Pine Hills Branch)
Saturday, January 20
Bookmobile - Kipp Tech Valley Charter School (Bookmobile)
Saturday Stories (Main Library)
Read to Tess the Dog (Main Library)

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Libraries and schools worth the investment

First published in the Times Union: Thursday, January 11, 2007

It's 5:30 on a Friday evening, and I'm off to meet my daughter at the library. When I arrive at the cramped quarters, every computer is in use, patrons are selecting books and DVDs; I see three adults I know from the neighborhood and I'm introduced to a new Albany resident.

There's a line at the checkout counter, and 10 kids are finishing their game of "Dance Dance Revolution!"

One half-hour before closing time, and this place is bustling -- hardly the unneeded, unused, 20th-century relic Al Paolucci painted in his Dec. 30 letter. My grandmother taught me to know a good deal when I see one, and she'd be proud to watch me vote for two "great finds" next month.

For me, the Feb. 6 school and library referendums are a community investment at a very palatable price.

The school referendum will not cost taxpayers in the end, and provides necessary repairs to three schools that weren't part of the rebuilding plan passed by voters more than five years ago.

The price tag on five new or renovated libraries seems modest when I consider the product -- a new branch for the Arbor Hill/West Hill neighborhoods where there are currently no library branches, and the assurance that neighborhoods that now have branches will be served even better with more space and services for children and youth.

In my mind, these referendums add up to a deal we can't afford to pass up.

LEAH GOLBY

Albany

Good article in the Washington Post about librarians

A New Chapter for Librarians: Profession Strives to Get Past the 'Bun Lady' Stereotype
By Amanda Thomas, Associated Press, Sunday, January 7, 2007

As for myself, I haven't worn a bun in years.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Value of Library Services - How Much Would You Pay for Electronic Resources?

I'm on this librarian listserv. One of the librarians recently posed this query:

I am working on a hypothetical question, in which I hope you can offer some sound and reasonable opinions. I am trying to determine the value of library services, specifically how much a typical person would pay each time they wanted to access electronic resources (online databases, e-books, etc) that were available at a library? (Public, special, academic, etc.)

Of course there are a lot of variables to consider, such as the cost and content of the database, size and geographical location of the community, convenience of accessing the database remotely, etc.


Interesting, and difficult question to answer, the library community agreed. I bring it up, though, because in the discussion about the upcoming vote about the building and rehabilitation of branch libraries, scheduled for February 6, the conversation is naturally about the structures.

I know, as a librarian who uses the library remotely more often than I walk in the door, that the value of the library is not merely a function of the foot traffic, but of the personnel, and the materials, including the databases housed therein.

Monday, January 08, 2007

The Library as a Reflection of What's Popular

There have been at least two articles about libraries this past week. One was about how relatively poorly paid librarians are abnd how they may be going off to do something else. As a librarian, I don't need to be that depressed.

The other article has do do with a library deaccessioning some older books that are considered "classics". I found the blog post here to be most interesting on the topic.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Events at the Albany Public Library: January 8-14, 2007

Monday, January 8
Bookmobile - Atria Shaker (Bookmobile)
Pre-School Storytime (Howe Branch)
Bookmobile - Atria Crossgates (Bookmobile)
Bookmobile - Harriman Campus (Bookmobile)
Tuesday, January 9
Seniors Connect (Main Library)
Toddler Storytime (Pine Hills Branch)
Bookmobile - Albany Community Charter School (Bookmobile)
Read to me Storytime (Pine Hills Branch)
Bookmobile - Sheridan Prep Elementary School (Bookmobile)
Delaware Dogs Program (Delaware Branch)
Wednesday, January 10
Bookmobile - Ohav Shalom Nursery School (Bookmobile)
Pre-School Storytime (Howe Branch)
Bookmobile - Crestwood Plaza (Bookmobile)
Pre-School Storytime (Main Library)
Pre-School Storytime (Delaware Branch)
Pre-School Storytime (North Albany Branch)
Pre-School Storytime (North Albany Branch)
Toddler Storytime (New Scotland Branch)
Intro. to Internet (North Albany Branch)
Bookmobile - Green St. (Bookmobile)
Save Energy Program (Delaware Branch)
Thursday, January 11
Lapsit Storytime (Main Library)
Intro. to Computers - Part II (Main Library)
Friday, January 12
Bookmobile - Ida Yarborough (Bookmobile)
Intro. to Word--Part 2 (Pine Hills Branch)
Bookmobile - South Mall Towers (Bookmobile)
Read to Tess the Dog (Main Library)
After School Craft (New Scotland Branch)
Dance Dance Revolution! (New Scotland Branch)
Connecting with America (Pine Hills Branch)
Saturday, January 13
Read to Tess the Dog (Main Library)
Sunday, January 14
Albany Quilters (Howe Branch)