Document Thief Sentenced

A presidential memorabilia collector who has acknowledged stealing thousands of rare and valuable documents from historical societies and archives nationwide was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison.

Pinterest for Libraries

In the May 2012 issue of SEARCHER magazine, there is an article by Irene E. McDermott about Pinterest, which, thanks to favorable coverage in TIME went from "120,000 users in January 2011...to more than 11 users in January 2012..." According to advertising tools, "over 97% of Pinterest's Facebook fans are women."

Here is Kelly Lester's links to "advice to make Pinterest pay off for a small web-based business."

The New York Public Library (http://pinterest.com/nypl/) "showcase[s] its current events and pictures of the day, but also...merchandise it sells in its [gift] shop." Also check out the pages for the Muncie (IN) Public Library and the Westerville (OH) Library.

In a sidebar article, "Pinterest and Copyright: We May Have a Problem" notes that there is a metatag () that "webmasters can insert into their headers to keep Pinterest from copying and pinning their content."

Brilliantly changing the conversation to save a library

"So the local Tea Party in Troy, MI decided enough was enough and decided to stop those evil libraries from enforcin' book learnin' on the community by stopping a 0.70% tax. Yea, that's right. A POINT SEVEN PERCENT INCREASE IN TAXES SO PEOPLE COULD HAVE FREE BOOKS. To prevent them from being selfish and ruining education for kids without access to books, the opposition came up with a brilliant solution. BOOK BURNING PARTAY!?!?!"


Save the Troy Library "Adventures In Reverse Psychology"

Summer Booklist for Young Readers

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), with help from the American Library Association, presents its 25th annual Summer Booklist for grade K-3, 4-6, and 7-8. All of the books meet the standard of having "lasting value."

Getting ready for college? The NEH has you covered, too.

Bonus hint for grown-ups: The books in the 7-8 list make pretty good beach reads, and they're easy to find at your local public library.

Librarians are a sharp bunch

Calvin thinks so, so it MUST be true.

What is the Purpose of the Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence - a Conversation

Monday, June 25
6:30-7:30pm
The Stephen and Harriet Myers Residence
194 Livingston Avenue
Albany, NY 12210

The Underground Railroad Workshop is looking for your participation in helping URHPCR articulate the uses and
purpose of the Myers Residence. Continued restoration and fundraising decisions
rest upon how the Myers Residence will be used. Please join us for an hour of
conversation about this important topic.

Questions or thoughts? Call at 518-432-4432 or email at
info@ugrworkshop.com

Garage Bands in the Garage Concerts are Back!

The award-winning Garage Bands in the Garage concert series returns to the Albany Public Library, Main Library this summer. The all-ages, after-hours shows feature live music by great local bands playing in the garage of the Main Library (at the Elk Street parking lot entrance). All shows run on select Friday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. and also feature a CD/DVD garage sale with $1 items.

For more info, go here.

Ray Bradbury, friend of libraries and reading

From HERE:

Bradbury’s greatest skill was his ability to inspire readers to reflect deeply on our society and values, even when his books dealt with Mars or the future or some other tried-and-true genre concept.

With book burnings and repression of ideas still part of our daily news, Bradbury’s most famous novel has much to teach us even today. You may remember “Fahrenheit 451″ — or the celebrated film François Truffaut made from it — for the disturbing scenes of “firemen” whose job is no longer to put out blazes but to start them, consigning all literary works to the flames. But Bradbury’s story has other lessons to teach us. What you may have forgotten about “Fahrenheit 451″ is that communities only started burning books after they had lost interest in reading and the exchange of ideas. Their immersion in entertainment compromised their engagement as citizens. That lesson may be even more timely in modern America, where flames are hardly necessary to undermine our political and civic institutions.

Bradbury lived up to his ideals in other ways. He was a longtime champion of book culture and reading. “Libraries raised me,” Mr. Bradbury once commented. “I don’t believe in colleges and universities. I believe in libraries.” He often spoke at libraries and campaigned to keep them open and well funded.

25 New Recordings Added to National Recording Registry

The Library of Congress' National Recording Registry annually adds recordings that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and preserves them for future generations. This year they added recordings such as "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, and "Rapper’s Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang.

Here’s what was added, in reverse chronological order
25. “Purple Rain,” Prince and the Revolution (1984)
24. “Rapper’s Delight,” Sugarhill Gang (1979)
23. “I Feel Love,” Donna Summer (1977)
22. Barton Hall concert by the Grateful Dead (May 8, 1977)
21. “Mothership Connection,” Parliament (1975)
20. “Coat of Many Colors,” Dolly Parton (1971)
19. “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Vince Guaraldi Trio (1970)
18. “The Continental Harmony: Music of William Billings,” Gregg Smith Singers (1969)
17. “Forever Changes,” Love (1967)
16. “Green Onions,” Booker T. & the M.G.’s (1962)
15. “Bo Diddley” and “I’m a Man,” Bo Diddley (1955)
14. “Also Sprach Zarathustra,” Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1954, 1958)
13. “Let’s Go Out to the Programs,” The Dixie Hummingbirds (1953)
12. “I Can Hear It Now,” Fred W. Friendly and Edward R. Murrow (1948)
11. “Hula Medley,” Gabby Pahinui (1947)
10. “The Indians for Indians Hour” (March 25, 1947)
9. International Sweethearts of Rhythm: Hottest Women’s Band of the 1940s (1944-1946)
8. Debut performance with the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein (Nov. 14, 1943)
7. “Artistry in Rhythm,” Stan Kenton & and his Orchestra (1943)
6. “Fascinating Rhythm,” Sol Hoopii and his Novelty Five (1938)
5. “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart,” Patsy Montana (1935)
4. “Voices from the Days of Slavery,” Various speakers (1932-1941 interviews; 2002 compilation)
3. “Ten Cents a Dance,” Ruth Etting (1930)
2. “Come Down Ma Evenin’ Star,” Lillian Russell (1912)
1. Edison Talking Doll cylinder (1888)

Library Fundraising Ideas

By Jessica Brawner from Unbound Booking

Fundraising Ideas Part 1
Fundraising Ideas Part 2
Fundraising Ideas Part 3

The most courageous, intrepid, industrious, forward-thinking, brilliant, and, yes, sexy individuals in all of academia: the librarians

From Rapp on This:

"The librarians are saying no to the absurdly inflated prices of these journals and the particularly heinous publisher practice of bundling multiple journals together so libraries are forced to buy three overpriced journals it doesn’t want or need in order to get the one or two that it does. University libraries simply can’t afford these obscure titles any more.

"What is happening, and quickly, is that librarians and scholars are creating open-source web-based journals with their own peer review standards...

"You can help push this open access policy to all publicly-funded research by signing the petition at the White House’s “We The People” page at wh.gov/6TH . This site’s functionality is surprisingly sucky, but I found I could get in by using a Firefox browser. Go vote for the future."