Why it matters that you can't own an electronic copy of the OED

From BoingBoing:

In Cory Doctorow's latest Guardian column, he talks about "the digital versions of the Oxford English Dictionary and the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, the two most important lexicographic references to the English language ... [he] was disturbed to learn that the digital editions of these books are only available as monthly rentals, services that come with expansive data-collecting policies and which cannot be owned.

"OUP – which has been selling dictionaries and thesauri since the 19th century – will not sell you a digital OED or HTOED. Not for any price.

"Instead, these books are rented by the month, accessed via the internet by logged-in users. If you stop paying, your access to these books is terminated.

"[He] mentioned this to some librarians at the American Library Association conference in Chicago this spring and they all said, effectively: 'Welcome to the club. This is what we have to put up with all the time.'"

E-Books vs. Print Books

Text from New Strategist.com

Three out of four Americans aged 16 or older read a book in the past 12 months, according to a Pew Internet and American Life survey. The figure peaks at 90 percent among 16-to-17-year-olds (many of whom are required to read books in high school) and bottoms out at 67 percent among people aged 65 or older.

Print still rules the book world, even in the younger age groups. Among 18-to-24-year-old book readers, 93 percent read a print book and 31 percent read an e-book in the past year. E-books are most popular among 30-to-49-year-old book readers, 41 percent having read an e-book and 85 percent a print book in the past year.

Black or African American? Hispanic or Latino?

From the New Strategist:

Which term do African Americans prefer? According to a Gallup survey, 65 percent of blacks say it does not matter whether the term "black" or "African American" is used.

There is little variation by age in this attitude, with the proportion of blacks who say either term is okay ranging from a low of 62 percent among 18-to-29-year-olds (with 20 percent preferring African American and 17 percent black) to a high of 73 percent among those aged 65 or older (with 16 percent preferring African American and 11 percent black).

Which term do Hispanics prefer? According to that same Gallup survey, 70 percent of Latinos say it does not matter whether the term "Latino" or "Hispanic" is used.

There is some variation by age in this attitude, however, with the proportion of Hispanics who say either term is okay ranging from a low of 53 percent among people aged 65 or older (with 33 percent preferring Hispanic and 14 percent Latino) to a high of 76 percent among 18-to-29-year-olds (with 16 percent preferring Hispanic and 7 percent Latino).

Are Your Vaccinations Up to Date?

National Immunization Awareness Month is a reminder that people of all ages can protect their health by getting recommended vaccinations. Take a look at immunization schedules by age:
• Children (birth through age 6)
• Preteens and Teens (ages 7-18)
• Adults (ages 19 and older)

Under the Affordable Care Act, immunizations are a preventive service that will be covered by all plans within the Health Insurance Marketplace and by many other health insurance plans.

Use Google as a timer

Need a count-down timer? Just head on over to Google and enter “set timer for” and your length of time. You’ll get an on-screen count-down, a graphical status bar that fills in as your reach zero, and an audible alarm when your time’s up.

35 Library Stories You May Have Missed in July

This summer has been fantastic for library news, blogs posts, and articles. If you’re just getting caught up, here’s a list of library-related stories that will keep you busy!

Copyright actually makes books disappear

From HERE:

A random sample of new books for sale on Amazon.com shows three times more books initially published in the 1850’s are for sale than new books from the 1950’s. Why? This paper presents new data on how copyright seems to make works disappear,” runs the abstract of the study, How Copyright Makes Books and Music Disappear (and How Secondary Liability Rules Help Resurrect Old Songs), by Professor Paul J. Heald (pictured at left), of the University of Illinois College of Law, and visiting professor at the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management (CIPPM) at Britain’s Bournemouth University.

CDTA Title VI hearings

(Albany, NY) - The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) has announced that public hearings will be held with respect to its Title VI policies. Title VI is a federal requirement that seeks to ensure that equity is considered when transit systems use federal funds to operate. CDTA fully supports the objectives of Title VI requirements which seek to:

Ensure that the level and quality of transit service is provided in a nondiscriminatory manner.

Promote full and fair participation in transit decision-making without regard to race, color, or national origin.

Ensure meaningful access to transit-related programs and activities by persons with limited English proficiency.

Albany County – Tuesday, August 27, 2013 (5:00pm-7:00pm)
Albany Public Library – Main Branch
161 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12210

Click here for more information on hearing dates

The Barber of Birmingham; Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement: short documentary shown at APL,

On Wednesday, August 14, 6 pm, come to the Washington Ave. Albany Public Library to watch a short documentary, The Barber of Birmingham; Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement, about Mr. James Armstrong, one of the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. Armstrong ran a voter education program out of his barbershop for 50 years, was a flag bearer in the 1965 March from Selma to Montgomery and repeated that role annually until his death in 2009.

This FREE screening and forum on a brief history of laws on voting, boundaries and barriers that restrict registration and access to the polls, the Voting Rights Act, Voter ID laws, eligibility, deadlines, where to vote, who is on the ballot, absentee voting and more is for all ages and experience levels. Bring your questions and join in the conversation.


Sponsored by the Community Coalition for Safe Engagement, Graduate Student Employees Union/CWA 1104 and Filling in the Gaps in American History (FIGAH).For more information, contact ange.clarke11@gmail.com.

“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.” --Frederick Douglass

Infographic: Why Buy Used Books?

That's HERE

Used books are "often cheaper than an ebook, and when you know in advance that you will want to sell the book again (textbooks for example) the paper copy is often a much better deal."

Why librarians are needed more than ever in the 21st century

In a 2010 interview with The Book Page, Neil Gaiman neatly set out the case for libraries and librarians in the 21st century; the remarks are even more relevant today, as libraries fight for a fair deal from publisher for ebooks, and with austerity-maddened local governments for their very survival.

More from BoingBoing.

Albany public schools, city and libraries to offer 'cooling stations'

The City School District of Albany, in cooperation with Mayor Gerald D. Jennings and Albany Public Library, is providing "cooling stations" for community members through Friday.

The cooling stations are located at:

Giffen Memorial Elementary School, 274 South Pearl St.
North Albany Academy, 570 North Pearl St.
Schuyler Achievement Academy, 676 Clinton Ave.
Delaware Branch of the Albany Public Library, 331 Delaware Ave.
Bach Branch of the Albany Public Library, 455 New Scotland Ave.

Each location will be open from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. through Friday. Water will be provided, and an emergency medical technician also will be on hand at each location.

For more information, contact the school district's administrative offices at 475-6000.

School is out and summer reading is in at Albany Public Library

The Albany Public Library's Summer Reading Program encourages literacy by rewarding kids for reading from June 28 to August 23.

Prizes and special activities are designed to further engage youngsters in the world of books and reading. Participants register and record their reading in person at any of Albany Public Library's seven locations.

The APL Summer Reading Program has something for all ages:

For Kids Entering 1st through 12th Grade -- Kids and teens get a chance to earn prizes for reading and participating in reading-related activities. They can also visit their branch libraries for special activities, events, and parties.
For Babies and Toddlers -- In the Baby Bookworms program, parents read to their little ones for 15 minutes each day and fill out a reading record. Each child gets a new book in July and August.

For Adults -- Grownups can get in on the summer reading act too through Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Go to the Summer Reading Program Guide.

Mapping America's Libraries and Museums

"There’s always that joke that there’s a Starbucks on every corner," says Justin Grimes, a statistician with the Institute of Museum and Library Services in Washington. "But when you really think about it, there’s a public library wherever you go, whether it’s in New York City or some place in rural Montana. Very few communities are not touched by a public library.”

In fact, libraries serve 96.4 percent of the U.S. population, a reach any fast-food franchise can only dream of.

Grimes built the map during the National Day of Civic Hacking, using the agency's database of public libraries. Each of those dots refers to an individual branch library (and a few bookmobiles), out of a total of 9,000 public library systems.

More HERE.

The Survey of Library & Museum Digitization Projects, 2013 Edition

Primary Research Group, ISBN 978-157440-230-8.

This report, based on detailed data from approximately 80 libraries and museums in the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, continental Europe and other countries and regions, looks closely at the collection digitization efforts, covering budgets, costs, fundraising, staffing and manpower, use of consultants, outsourcing, revenue generation, productivity, software, marketing, licensing, cataloging, rights management, content selection, and many other issues in collection-related digitization. Data is broken out separately by many variables including but not limited to size of institution, by type of material digitized (ie text, photographs, audio-video) and separately for libraries and museums and by type of library, ie, public, special and academic.

Just a few of the study’s many findings are that:
• Digitization projects or departments in the sample have a mean annual budget of $105,907 for digitization.
• 37.97% of survey participants have an unfavorable outlook for raising money for digitization from sources outside the main institutional budget.
• Digitization spending will increase somewhat to substantially among 45.45% of institutions focusing their digitization efforts on film, video and audio recordings.
• Special libraries in the sample have a mean of 6.87 employees doing digitization work of some kind and devote nearly 7,300 hours in staff time to this work annually.
• A mean of 19.23% of the physical exhibits staged by survey participants are accompanied by a substantial online exhibit that reproduces a significant portion of or adds to the exhibit in a significant way.
• Organizations or divisions that focus their digitization efforts on text documents have outsourced a mean of 30.7% of their digitization, nearly twice as much as those focusing their efforts on photographs.
• 11.11% of survey participants share an asset management system with other departments or divisions of their institution.

The 165 page study is available directly from Primary Research Group or from major book distributors such as Baker & Taylor, Midwest Library Services and Amazon, and through eBook distributors such as MyiLibrary and Overdrive. A PDF version of the study is currently available from Primary Research Group and a print version can be ordered as well. For a table of contents and sample pages, or to place an order, view our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com or call us at 212-736-2316.

The Survey of the Use of Tablet Computers by Academic & Special Libraries

Primary Research Group , ISBN 978-157440-232-2

This special 80+page report is based on data from 78 academic and special libraries and looks closely at how they are using tablet computers. It helps librarians and information technology personnel to answer such questions as: what type of libraries are using tablets? What are they using them for? Which library departments are benefiting most from tablet use? Which brands of tablet are most popular? What are buying plans for the future? What stock of tablets do libraries have and how fast do they plan to expand this stock? How have tablet affected their ebook acquisition plans? What kind of apps do they use or develop for their tablets? Do they loan out tablets to patrons? On what terms? How long can patrons borrow them? Have they had losses due to theft? What is their overall budget for tablets and app development?

Just a few of the report’s many findings are that:
• 34% of the academic libraries in the sample loan out tablets to library patrons.
• Academic libraries in the sample plan to spend a mean of $2,210 on tablet computers in the next year.
• The number of tablets owned by the libraries in the sample ranged from 0 to 34.
• A majority of the libraries preferred the iPad over other brands for its availability of apps, readability and high level of demand from patrons. However, several libraries disliked the iPad because of lack of durability and high price.
• 12% of academic libraries have had a tablet computer stolen or lost by a patron.

A PDF version is available from Primary Research Group for $75.00, and a print version of the report is ready to ship; site licenses are also available. The report is also available through major book distributors and report sellers. To place an order to for a table of contents, list of survey participants and a free excerpt, view our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com or call us at 212-736-2316.

The Survey of Library Use of Open Source Software

Primary Research Group Inc., ISBN 978-157440-239-1

This 125+ page report looks closely at how public, academic and special libraries are using open source solutions for email, integrated library systems, word processing and spreadsheets, the library website, server management, and content management and digital preservation software, among other applications. The study looks at which libraries use open source and which use commercial software and why. The study helps librarians and library information technology staff to answer questions such as: what are the most popular open source applications? How much of an IT or software support staff must a library have to succeed with open source alternatives? How much do libraries spend in supporting open source solutions in both funding and staff time? How much does the use of open source software save them? What areas of library operations have been most impacted by open source? How many open source solutions are libraries of different size staffs and different types using? How many have started with an open source solutions in a given area and then abandoned it? How do libraries evaluate their own success or failure with open source? What are the open source solutions they are most anxious to try in the future? Which outside services do they recommend to support open source alternatives? Which information sources about open source do they find most useful?

Just a few of the study’s major findings include:
• Nearly 91% of respondents said that they had never experienced any downtime using open source email alternatives.
• More than two thirds of the libraries sampled have ever replaced a commercial software system with an open source alternative.
• Nearly 43% of the academic libraries in the sample use an open source alternative for content management software.
• Public libraries in the sample spent a mean of 960 staff hours per year in adjusting or maintaining open source software systems.

The study is available from Primary Research Group for $95.00. A pdf version of the report is currently available and a print version will be ready to ship on May 12, 2013 and can be ordered now. Site licenses are also available. Our reports can also be ordered through major book and Ebook distributors, as well as through major research report distributors. For a table of contents, list of participants, questionnaire and free excerpt, or to place an order, visit our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com.

The questionnaire for the report was largely designed by Frederick Zarndt, consultant to Digital Divide Data, Content Conversion Specialists, DL Consulting and Chair, Newspaper Section, International Federation of Libraries and Associations.

Library Use of the Mega Internet Sites, 2013 Edition

Primary Research Group, ISBN 978-157440-241-4

The study looks closely at how libraries are using Google, Pinterest, Yahoo, Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Amazon, Bing, Instagram, Vimeo, Twitter, Ebay and many other major internet sites. Just a few of the findings from the study are that:

• 4.17% of the libraries have workshops which teach patrons to use Craigslist
• 25% of the libraries sampled give workshops on how to use Wikipedia
• 90% of college libraries sampled give workshops on how to use Google Scholar.
• A third of legal and corporate libraries sampled considered Google Translate to be “highly useful”.
• Nearly 43% of libraries with an annual budget of more than $1 million considered Bing to be “highly useful”.
• The mean number of subscribers to the Twitter accounts of the libraries in the sample was 323.
• Non-USA libraries were much more likely than US-libraries to consider MySpace useful.
• About 23% of the libraries sampled had a YouTube account.
• Public libraries in the sample spent a mean of $8,000 ordering books from Amazon in the past year.
• 12.5% of libraries sampled use FlickR in their professional work.

The 160+ page study is available from Primary Research Group for $72.00. A pdf version of the report is currently available and a print version will be ready to ship on June 5, 2013 and can be ordered now. Site licenses are also available. Our reports can also be ordered through major book and Ebook distributors, as well as through major research report distributors. For a table of contents, list of participants, and free excerpt, or to place an order, visit our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com

The Survey of Public Library Plans for Workstations, Personal Computers, Laptops and other Computing Devices

ISBN 978-157440-243-8.

The study looks at the purchasing plans and computer use policies of public libraries in the United States and Canada.

The report helps librarians, information technology professionals and vendors answer questions such as: which brands of personal computers are favored by public librarians? What are their purchasing plans for laptops, eBook readers, fixed computer workstations and tablet computers? How much do they plan to spend? What are their plans for “information commons” and computer centers? How many such centers do they maintain and how much do they now and in the future plan to spend on them?

Just a few of the study’s many findings are that:
• The public library systems in the sample spent a mean of $47,357 for personal computers and workstations in the past year.
• Public libraries with more than 10 employees purchased a mean of 3.71 laptop computers in the past year.
• Libraries with a budget of less than $100,000 had an average stock of only 1.31 laptops.
• The libraries in the sample spent a mean of $824 to pay for laptops lost to theft or misplacement in the past year.
• The libraries in the sample spent a mean of $483 on eBook reading devices in 2012.
• 44.9% of the libraries currently own or lease an Amazon Kindle.
• 18.37% of the libraries plan on purchasing a Barnes & Noble Nook over the next two years.
• Main public libraries had an average of 3.29 “computer centers” or “information commons” in their main library.
• 23.08% of libraries with a budget higher than $1 million and 37.5% of public library systems have invested between $500 and $5,000 in iPhone technology.
• 94.44% of libraries with 1 to 10 FTE employees have made no investment in Android-based phone technology.

The report ($59.00) is available from Primary Research Group and also from major book vendors such as Amazon, Baker & Taylor, Yankee Book Peddler, Midwest Library Services, Overdrive and other distributors of content. For a free excerpt, table of contents and list of survey participants, or to place an order, visit our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com.

Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2011

In 2011, more Americans connected to the Internet than ever before, although differences continued to exist between those with use and those without. Just as with differences in use, variation in the ways that people were connecting online and the frequency of their use remained prevalent as well. This report provides household and individual level
analysis of computer usage and Internet use. The findings are based on data collected in a July 2011 supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS), which includes questions about computer ownership, Internet use both inside and outside the home, and the additional devices that people use to go online. The U.S. Census Bureau has asked questions in the CPS about computer use since 1984 and Internet use since 1997.

In 2011, 75.6 percent of households reported having a computer, compared with only 8.2 percent in 1984 (the first year that the Census Bureau asked about computer ownership), and 61.8 percent in 2003 (the last time the Census Bureau asked about computers prior to 2010).

Find Your Local Farmers' Markets

The products vary from market to market--based on what's locally grown or raised--but many farmers' markets sell fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meats, and other items.

Using USDA's directory of farmers' markets, enter your ZIP code to find a market in your area. If you'd like to narrow down the options, specify the items you're seeking and your payment and location preferences.

Inside Guantanamo's library

Charlie Savage writes in the New York Times of the books on offer to prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, which include a set of Indiana Jones novelizations, some Star Trek: TNG novels, Ender's Game, Arabic editions of Danielle Steele, and some Captain America graphic novels. Some of the prisoners arrived in Gitmo able to read English, other have learned during their 10-year incarceration. One lawyer brought in copies of Nineteen Eighty-Four for his client, Shaker Aamer, who said, "it perfectly captured the psychological reality of being at Gitmo."

More HERE.

Garage Bands in the Garage @ Albany Public Library

From Nippertown.

You might not realize.. that the Albany Public Library is... a pretty damn fine music venue.

Back again for a another summer season is the Garage Bands in the Garage free concert series, held in the garage at the rear of the Washington Avenue main branch of the Albany Public Library.

The monthly concerts take place at 6pm on the third Friday of the month between now and September, and they’ve got some mighty fine bands lined up to play for you this year.

Note current hours of Albany (NY) Public Library main branch

From the crowd waiting just after 9 a.m. Thursday, and subsequent potential patrons coming to the door, not to mention the painted hours partially scratched off the window, it appears the hours at the main branch of the APL have recently changed. They are now:

Monday-Wednesday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Thursday & Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Closed Sundays in July and August

Seattle library sets off world’s largest book domino chain

The books were literally falling off the shelves at the Seattle Library during a spectacular stunt.

In an effort to promote its 2013 Summer Reading Program, the library assembled 2,131 books in a winding fashion on its third floor. After a seven-hour setup and four failed tries, the volunteers finally got the books to fall properly.

As you'll see, the chain winds around several "models" who are reading in different environments. At one point, the books even spell out "Read."

Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer

From TIME magazine:

Raymond Mar, a psychologist at York University in Canada, and Keith Oatley, a professor emeritus of cognitive psychology at the University of Toronto, reported in studies published in 2006 and 2009 that individuals who often read fiction appear to be better able to understand other people, empathize with them and view the world from their perspective. This link persisted even after the researchers factored in the possibility that more empathetic individuals might choose to read more novels. A 2010 study by Mar found a similar result in young children: the more stories they had read to them, the keener their “theory of mind,” or mental model of other people’s intentions.

"Deep reading" — as opposed to the often superficial reading we do on the Web — is an endangered practice, one we ought to take steps to preserve as we would a historic building or a significant work of art. Its disappearance would imperil the intellectual and emotional development of generations growing up online, as well as the perpetuation of a critical part of our culture: the novels, poems and other kinds of literature that can be appreciated only by readers whose brains, quite literally, have been trained to apprehend them.

Random Hack of Kindness at Albany

On Saturday June 1st, Albany will join the National Day of Civic Hacking with a Random Hack of Kindness Event:

In this event we will join pioneering citizens across the United States blazing new trails for social innovation in an event of unprecedented scope. Nearly one hundred teams across the country, supported by more than 20 government agencies, will come together with a common purpose: to invent new applications that leverage open, public data for the common good. This is the National Day of Civic Hacking.

Logistics

Where:

We will meet at the State University of New York at Albany
Social Science Building, Room SS 134 (NOT Science Library, SLG020)

When:

From 9am to 4pm,
You are welcome to join at any time and stay as long as you want.

Activities

Being a Hackathon, this is an open space for you to join, bring your own ideas and meet with like-minded people. Below are some of the activities that we anticipate to perform:

• Mobile Project for Emergency Responders
• Learning Raspberry Pi
• Hacking the Google Chromebook
• Google maps / Open maps
**Attendees will get Amazon server gift certificates for $100!**

More Details at this Google Doc. Under the title ‘Who is Coming’, please add your name so that we can keep track of who will be participating.

For any questions or concerns please contact Luis Ibanez at luis.ibanez@kitware.com

Organized by Luis Ibanez and UAlbany ASIS&T Student Chapter

Oldest complete Torah found in library

ROME — An Italian expert in Hebrew manuscripts said Wednesday he had discovered the oldest known complete Torah scroll, a sheepskin document dating from 1155-1225. It was right under his nose, in the University of Bologna library, where it had been mistakenly catalogued a century ago as dating from the 17th century.

Quote: the reference interview

“Experienced reference librarians know that the original question put to them by a user is rarely the real question."

William Katz, Introduction to Reference Work, Volume 2 (1992)

Albany Public Library Closed Memorial Day Weekend

All APL locations are closed Saturday, May 25, through Monday, May 27, for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. APL will re-open with regular hours on Tuesday, May 28.

John Davis Elected APL Trustee

John Davis was elected to the APL Board of Trustees in the May 21 vote.

According to the unofficial results, Davis received 1,952 votes and Jose Lopez, the other candidate, received 530 votes.

Davis will be sworn in as library trustee within the next few days. He will serve for two years (the unexpired portion of the late Mimi Mounteer’s term).

The next APL Board of Trustees meeting is Tuesday, June 11, at 5:30 pm at the Howe Branch.

Director of the (New York) State Library, Open-Competitive Examination

28-297, Director of the State Library

For full announcement


Evaluation of Training and Experience To Be Held During
August 2013

Applications Must Be Submitted or Postmarked By June 17, 2013

Minimum Qualifications
On or before August 31, 2013, you must have a master’s degree in Library and Information Studies from an ALA accredited institution; AND eight years post degree professional library experience. Five or more of the eight years must have included management experience involving fiscal, program planning, and policy responsibility in a research, academic, or library system setting with a collection of at least one million items.

Kids.gov: Visit Your Library!

Most of us have fond memories of making trips to the local library when we were kids. Do you remember sitting with a bunch of books trying to decide which you would choose to leave with that day? Do you recall the grownup feeling you got when you handed the librarian your card to check them out? Times have changed and many people read digital books, but there is still something special about a trip to the library. Give your kids the gift of that special memory and visit the library with them:

Ask a Librarian - Library of Congress

Find a Library Near You

Library of Congress for Teachers

Library of Congress' Classroom Materials

Presidential Libraries and Museums

Read.gov for Teachers

World Digital Library

Friends of the APL Annual meeting May 22

Position Announcement: Assistant Library Director, Albany Public Library

Assistant Library Director IV

Albany Public Library is seeking a dynamic, self-motivated, experienced professional for the position of Assistant Library Director IV. In this position, the Assistant Library Director reports to the Executive Director and is responsible for supervision of public service departments and library security, and assisting with facilities management, grant writing, and development.

Additional duties include:
recommending policies and procedures, interpreting and negotiating contracts, recommending and implementing new programs and services, representing the library at community meetings and public events, participating in department
budgets, and participating in recruitment and selection of library staff.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Graduation from a registered college or university accredited by the American Library Association or registered by the NYS Education Department to grant degrees with a Master’s Degree* in Library Science, Information Services or equivalent and six (6) years of paid full-time professional library experience in a library of recognized standing, one (1) year of which must have been in an administrative** capacity over a complex operation.
*Minimum qualifications are in accordance with New York State Education Department Division of Library Development.
**Administrative capacity is defined as spending the entire workweek planning, organizing, budgeting/allocating funds, staffing and communicating.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT:

Eligibility and application for a New York State Public Librarian’s Professional Certificate at the time of appointment.
This is a provisional Civil Service position.
A Civil Service examination will be required before permanent appointment in accordance with Civil Service laws and rules.
The salary is competitive with a generous benefit package.
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Application review will begin on June 10, 2013.
To apply send resume, letter of interest, and the names and contact information for three professional references to:
Human Resources Manager
Albany Public Library
161 Washington Ave.
Albany, NY 12210
reinhartm@albanypubliclibrary.org

Albany Public Library is an AA/EO institution and is committed to increasing diversity within its organization.

Clarification of HBR Article Acces Policies in EBSCO

Annette Buckley, Research Librarian for Business at UC Irvine Libraries wrote on the BUSLIB listserv last week:

Over the past few weeks I conducted investigative work on the issues of both the 'popular 500' Harvard Business Review articles, plus general permalinking access to HBR content. How?

I tracked down live administrators at both the Harvard Publishing and EBSCO Motherships, and I just got the final words back from them today! They said some important things, so I wanted to tell you all ASAP (as evidenced by this Friday night email).

Because this required a lot of back-and-forth, I dolled up the communications up in a PDF file to make the process of reading-an-email-thread as painless as possible. I would just attach said file, but listserv don't always like that. Also, I'm shamelessly curious about quantifying the level of interest among my librarian brethren, so here's a url instead where you can download it. Feel free to distribute the url: http://libguides.lib.uci.edu/explain_hbr_ebsco_policies.

Sharing is caring!

Social Media library conference presentations

The Texas Library Association had its Annual Conference last month and the Special Libraries Division hosted a couple of presentations you might be interested in.

Karen Landolt, who is the Director for the University of Texas' HireTexas Interview Center, presented Social Media for Career Advancement.

Laura Young of Austin Ventures did a new version of 50 Apps in 50 Minutes.

Agenda for Friends annual meeting 22 May

The Friends of Albany Public Library, Inc.
Agenda for Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 7:00 pm
ANNUAL MEETING

Meeting in the Auditorium of the Albany Public Library--Main Library


Reports

President: Paul Hacker
Vice President: Bill Dufur
Corresponding Secretary: Judi Baum
Recording Secretary: Jonathan Skinner
Treasurer: Nancy Dover


Business
Election--Nominations for the Board:
For the term ending in 2016:
David L. Colchamiro
Robbie Halley
Janet Jones
Peter G. Sokaris
Willie Mae Spencer

For a term ending in 2014 (to replace L. Tucker):
Lois Parsons

For Honorary Membership:
Eleanor Billmyer
Leonard Tucker (promotion, leaving a vacancy)

George Held Award

Program
Speaker: Valerie Temple, Local Poet

Resources for Your Family During Tough Financial Times

The normal events of the week can be enough of a struggle—getting the kids off to school, paying the bills, making sure you have dinner on the table, and lots of things in between. But when times are tough or you’re facing unexpected expenses, caring for your family’s needs can seem overwhelming. Use these tips from USA.gov’s special Help for Difficult Financial Times section to find resources from the government that can make things a little easier:

• If you’re having trouble with housing expenses, it’s important to be able to spot scams and know how you can avoid foreclosure before it happens. There are also a variety of programs to help you stay in your home or find a temporary place to live.

• We all want healthy and happy families, but emergencies can come out of nowhere. Even if you don’t have insurance, your family can still get medical care, including health care options in your local community.

• It can be hard to leave your little ones at daycare while you go off to work or are job hunting. USA.gov has resources to help make this tough decision easier, helping you decide what type of child care you can afford and what kind of environment is best for your children.

• Your kids can help the family save money too. Use these fun comics from Kids.gov to explain to kids of all ages how some simple chores and tasks can save your family money over time. Educating your kids about saving money while they’re young can help them better understand finances for the rest of their lives.

Quirky Bookstore unveils a Literary Vending Machine

...a bookshop in Toronto by the name of Monkey’s Paw with the world’s first “antiquarian book randomiser”, essentially a literary vending machine that dispenses books like a lucky dip...For a very reasonable price of two Canadian dollars, “The Biblio-mat” will dispense an unusual second-hand book, personally selected for the machine from the stores eclectic collection of titles. Owner of the Monkey’s Paw bookshop, Stephen Fowler has noticed there’s a sentimental element to the Biblio-mat; ”They’ll get a book and feel as though it was physically selected for them."

More HERE.

Top 10 Books Library-Goers Want Banned

From PARADE:

A charming picture book, a Pulitzer Prize winner, a memoir, and a beloved children’s series—no genre was safe from complaints from offended readers in 2012. Captain Underpants, Fifty Shades of Grey, and Beloved were among the most “challenged” books last year, according to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.

The top 10 most controversial books, which the ALA released, was determined by the number of “formal, written complaints filed with a library or school requesting that a book or other material be restricted or removed because of its content or appropriateness.” In total, 464 complaints were filed in 2012, up from 326 in 2011.

Sparks Fly at ‘Surely You’re Joking, Dr. Wertham’ Event

As the first of several “Comic Book Roundtable” events to be held at the Soho Gallery of Digital Art under the auspices of gallery owner John Ordover and former Marvel editor, author, and educator Danny Fingeroth, this event exploring the life and legacy of Dr. Frederic Wertham was planned for the occasion of Wertham’s 118th birthday, but in the lead up to the event, recent developments in scholarship about the controversial comic reformer shed new light on the evening’s subject matter. In November 2012, librarian, professor, and scholar Carol Tilley published her findings that after examining Wertham’s papers held by the Library of Congress, some of Wertham’s methods and reports were questionable, sparking debate in comics scholarship and among comics fans, particularly after the story was picked up by major media sources in February of 2013.

Friends of the APL programs now on TV!

The time slot for the airing of Friends of Albany Public Library programs will be Wednesdays at 7:00 pm. The programs will be aired on Channel Albany, which is the Public Access channel. In the Albany area, it is channel 18.

Our first program, Brett Hartman's author talk of his book Cadillac Chronicles, will be shown this Wednesday, March 20, 2013.

Is a free association library immune from paying mortgage recording taxes?

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
Office of Counsel
Advisory Opinion Unit

The Department of Taxation and Finance received a Petition for Advisory Opinion from the [name redacted] (Petitioner). Petitioner asks whether it is subject to mortgage recording taxes imposed by Article 11 of the Law on a construction
loan it procured from name of [bank redacted] (Bank) which is secured by a mortgage. We conclude that the recording of such a mortgage by Petitioner is not exempt from mortgage recording taxes.

Sue Fowler a top Capital Region teacher

Delaware Community School second-grade teacher Sue Fowler has been selected as one of the Capital Region's top teachers for the 2012-13 school year by WNYT/TV-13. You can check out the story online HERE.

IMLS Releases Public Libraries in the US Survey FY 2010 Report

The Public Libraries in the United States Survey report published by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) analyzes data supplied annually by over 98% of public libraries across the country. This year’s report features nine performance indicators and examines differences in library service at the locality levels (city, suburb, town, rural and national). Nationally, public libraries have seen reductions in operating revenue, service hours, and staffing. Numbers for circulation, program attendance, and computer use continue to trend upward.

SEE IMLS Press Release

Madison Avenue Traffic Calming Report, Albany, NY: Feb 2013

The City of Albany commenced a study to evaluate the feasibility of implementing a “Road Diet”along Madison Avenue from Lark Street to South Allen Street and along Western Avenue from South Allen Street to Manning Boulevard. A “Road Diet” is when a road is reduced in the number of travel lanes and/or the effective width. The reallocation of space can result in improved safety for cyclists by providing dedicated space on the roadway; for pedestrians by reducing the potential vehicle conflicts; and for vehicles by providing clear delineation and fewer decision points. The goals of the study are to provide an assessment of the feasibility, benefits, and impacts of a road diet in the corridor by evaluating alternatives that consider bicycles, pedestrians, transit,parking, safety, and passenger vehicle operations. In addition, the alternatives should strive to maintain the existing curb lines, allow sufficient opportunities for turning vehicles, and maintain parking on both sides of Madison Avenue

The report.

Albany public school kids can 'Meet the Author and Illustrator' Saturday

Elementary-school children in the City School District of Albany on Saturday (March 9) will have a chance to talk to the authors and an illustrator of several children’s books at “Meet the Author and Illustrator Day” at Giffen Memorial Elementary School.

The event – free and open to students in all our elementary schools – is designed to get kids excited about reading.

The authors and the times they’ll speak:

Matt McElligott (author of Benjamin Franklinstein, 12 other books) – 9 a.m
Coleen Paratore (author of The Wedding Planner’s Daughter, 16 other books) – 9:35 a.m.
Bruce Hiscock (author of The Big Tree, 11 other books) – 10:30 a.m.
Liz Zunon (illustrator of The Boy who Harnessed the Wind, four other books) – 11:05 a.m.
Daniel Mahoney (author of The Saturday Escape, seven other books) -- noon

Refreshments will be served and the Giffen orchestra and chorus will perform.

Giffen is located at 274 South Pearl St.

• Library of Congress Releases National Recording Preservation Plan

If you listen to music, the state of recorded sound may strike you as healthy and robust. Whether you hear it in a club, on the radio, on mp3, compact disc or LP, and whether the recording was made last week or decades ago, the sound is solid and the experience can be immersive.

But historians of recorded sound have long been fretting about the relative delicacy of that sound, or more specifically, of the media on which it is stored. And anyone who has listened to transfers made from early cylinders – the dominant format for the first quarter-century of recordings, before the invention of the flat 78 rpm disc – or who has tried to play a digital file in an obsolete format, understands their concerns.

These worries, and their ramifications for the national legacy, became a matter of government concern when Congress passed the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000. That bill directed the Library of Congress to “plan and coordinate a national effort to develop policies and programs to save our nation’s recorded sound history and ensure its accessibility to future generations.”

More HERE.

Free pole dancing classes at library 'great success' with readers

Members of the public were given the chance to learn how to spin around the pole at Mayfield Library in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland on Saturday.

They queued to watch teacher Nikki Clark before giving the dance moves a whirl.

MORE HERE.

Why Read? Making the Case for Passionate Reading

Albany City Area Reading Council, Iroquois Reading Council, Schoharie Reading Council and The Children’s Literature Connection invite you to:

Why Read? Making the Case for Passionate Reading
Monday, March 11, 2013 4:00-8:00 p.m.
The Century House 997 New Loudon Road, Latham, NY 12110

Dr. Shelley Stagg Peterson, IRA board member and Professor of Literacy, University of Toronto
Steven Sheinkin, author of The Notorious Benedict Arnold and National Book Award Finalist Bomb
Matthew McElligott, author and illustrator of Even Aliens Need Snacks and more

Guest speakers will address the need for passionate reading in our standardized times and help teachers, librarians, and authors inspire a new generation of readers.

Evite can be found here.

Questions: acarcny@gmail.com or your local membership chair (Janice Toomajian - jtoomajian@ brittonkill.k12.ny.us.) Professional development certificates will be provided as well as door prizes for all. Join us for a great evening of literary conversation.

E-books for all

A successful Kickstarter campaign>:


The People's E-Book seeks to be a lab, an incubator, an e-book creation platform for artists, authors, and alternative presses who want to try new things, publish new books, and push into new territories. The People's E-Book will handle e-books of all sizes and scope, but it will excel in areas that no one else has cared to consider—the very small, the quick and dirty, the simple and the experimental.

Winter Break Activities at Albany Public Library

There's no room for boredom this week because APL has so many great FREE activities planned for kids and teens during the winter vacation. They've got a number of arts and crafts programs, along with LEGO-building sessions, story times, family movies, and more.

Check out this flier for a complete list of winter break fun at APL.
Here's a small sample of what has been planned for this week:

Roll into Reading Family Roller Skating Party
Sunday (Feb. 24) at 1-3 pm -- Washington Avenue Armory
Join APL for the second annual roller skating party at the Armory (next to the Main Library at the corner of Washington and Lark). We're providing skates, craft activities, and light refreshments. They'll have giveaways -- free book to the first 100 kids through the door -- too. Albany All Stars Roller Derby League will give skating tips and a helping hand. (Skates are provided; participants will not be allowed to use their own roller skates.)

Clay Pictures Arts and Crafts Activity
Tuesday (Feb. 19) at 3 pm -- Main Library
The Scotia-Glenville Traveling Museum helps kids design and create their own 2-D pictures using multi-colored clay. For ages 6-12. Registration required at 427-4310.

"Hotel Transylvania" Family Movie
Wednesday (Feb. 20) at 2 pm -- Pine Hills Branch
In this funny animated feature, Dracula and his pals try to keep a high-end, monsters-and-ghouls-only resort a safe haven from those pesky humans.

Electrifying Science Program
Thursday (Feb. 21) at 3 pm -- Main Library
The Children's Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST) helps kids investigate static, explore magnetics, and more. For ages 6-11. Registration required at 427-4310.

"Where in the World are You?" Music and Dance Program
Friday (Feb. 22) at 2 pm -- Bach Branch
Popular music educator Deb Cavanaugh presents an interactive program of songs and dances from around the world. For elementary-school children.

Copywrongist of All: Fair Use and Intimidation

Sanity is Razor Thin.

It seems we need to go over this copyright thing again. The movie studios seem to think that copyright only applies to them and they get to make the rules (when it favors them). This is wrong. Very wrong. How many of you are familiar with the term "Fair Use"? Fair Use means that we, all of us, have the right to use a copyrighted work without compensating the copyright holder in a specific and limited scope. You can use parts of a movie, a book, a song, a video game, a painting... anything for the purposes of satire, criticism or reporting.

What's the Best Way to Read a Book?

Unless you are both an incredibly avid reader as well as someone who cares for their gadgets and does not replace or upgrade to new models, e-readers just simply don't live up to the lighter footprint they promise. Instead, we should stick with our library cards.

More HERE.

The Future of Librarians in an EBook World

"There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration." So wrote the steel baron and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who donated a great part of his vast fortune to establish some 3,000 such libraries around the English-speaking world, from his native Scotland to Fiji, and in 47 of the United States. Carnegie believed that libraries should be more than just repositories for books. He envisioned them as community centers as well, and many of them serve that purpose to this day.

But libraries in the 21st century face challenges that Carnegie could not have anticipated, and have struggled to retain their central role to the lives of cities and towns. One of the most profound realities libraries face is the move of readers away from printed books. In 2010, only 6 percent of Americans owned a tablet or e-book reader. By 2012, that percentage had jumped to 33 percent.

Libraries are responding to the decline of print in a variety of creative ways, trying to remain relevant – especially to younger people – by embracing the new technology.

More HERE.

RIP Danforth Toan, Architect of Brutalist Libraries

Architect Danforth Toan specialized in library design, and often wrapped them in a brutalist shell. One of his major works was Toronto's Robarts Library, with Toronto firm Mathers and Haldenby. Lindsey Roberts writes in Architect Magazine:

At its opening in 1973, the Brutalist-style Robarts Library at the University of Toronto was said to be the largest academic building in the world, with each side of the equilateral-triangle-shaped building measuring 330 feet, and with enough space inside for 4,000 people and 1 million volumes. The library was impressive to more than just Toronto students; novelist Umberto Ecco wrote much of his 1983 novel, "The Name of the Rose," in the library, taking some of its features as inspiration for the secret library described in the book.

More HERE.

Capital Region calendar for Black History Month

Where can you see artwork by Gordon Parks and Faith Ringgold, hear civil rights attorney Lani Guinier, join in discussions on the Maafa of the 21st Century, experience a masquerade ball, see live theater, hear gospel choirs, sample foods from area restaurants, watch student step teams, honor students who won a creative expression contest, learn about the role of spirituals, take part in a business networking event, find out about Black Shakers, attend a pre-screening of a film that honors women who make a difference, watch films made in Africa, share in activities that honor our ancestors, receive spa services at nominal rates, learn why Texas got word of the Emancipation Proclamation so late, hear about some history of Blacks in Schenectady and more? Right here in the Capital Region during the month of February.

See this Capital Region calendar for Black History Month for a listing of events that highlight themes and celebrate the lives of people of African descent during Black History Month.



Jacqui C. Williams, Founding Director

Filling in the Gaps in American History (FIGAH)

www.figah.us

First Presbyterian of Albany celebrates 250th birthday

From the Times Union:

As it celebrates its 250th anniversary, First Presbyterian Church is notable for many things beyond its longevity.

Founding Father Alexander Hamilton worshiped there. Large Tiffany stained-glass windows grace the church. Members sometimes meet for services in Washington Park...

First Presbyterian's brownstone Romanesque landmark at State and Willett streets, its fourth location, dates from 1883...

Earlier this month, a refurbished diorama with models of the four churches in a display case was unveiled at a Sunday service as parishioners sang "Happy Birthday" and shared cake. All three previous churches have been torn down.

The anniversary events kick off on Sunday at the Albany Institute of History & Art with a lecture by former assemblyman and historian Jack McEneny. Church officials recently donated to the Institute a 1790 church penny. The church forged 1,000 of the coppers and each member was given four to be used as "communion tokens" in a long-held Scottish tradition. The penny predated the start of the U.S. Mint by two years. A similar penny sold for $115,000 at auction in 2012.

[The diorama will also be on display at the Institute.]

AAUP Publishes New Guidelines on Librarians

From Inside Higher Ed:

The American Association of University Professors has updated guidelines for librarians to reflect their changing roles as teachers and researchers. The joint http://www.aaup.org/report/joint-statement-faculty-status-college-and-university-librarians Statement on Faculty Status of College and University Librarians now includes language on technology in the library and recommends that institutions adequately compensate librarians for the 12-month cycles in which they typically work.

Flu vaccine clinic Saturday

The Albany County Department of Health will offer a special flu vaccine clinic this Saturday, Jan. 12, at its office at 175 Green St., next to the Department of Motor Vehicles in Albany.

The clinic will be open from 9 a.m. until noon and is available to all Albany County residents over 6 months of age. You can call 518 447-4589 for an appointment; walk-ins also are welcome.

To make an appointment for a flu vaccine during the week, call 518 447-4589 from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The Health Department accepts most insurance plans and will bill Medicare Part B for individuals aged 65 and older. Individuals should bring proof of residence and their insurance card to their appointment. If the insurance plan is not accepted, the cost of the flu vaccination is $25 payable at the time of service. For those without insurance who are unable to pay the full cost, a sliding-fee scale will be used.

The Sound of Silence in the National Library

From BoingBoing:

The Library of Congress occupies three massive and ornate buildings in the center of Washington, D.C. But those edifices house just part of the collection, which spans hundreds of miles of shelves across many less-interesting buildings, and extends to media beyond books.

To find the heart of the nation's audiovisual memory, I took a lovely drive in October along ever smaller highways heading southwest from Washington, D.C., to Culpeper, Virginia, where sound recordings, films, and video reside in temperature-controlled vaults beneath Mount Pony.

Passing historical sites like Manassas (where Bull Run is located) , and watching the landscape shift rapidly from government buildings and commercial high rises to strip malls to farms and antique stores, it felt as if I traveled through time as well as distance on the 75-mile trip.

But the library's Culpeper facility is firmly rooted in the 21st century, and its existence owes much to the latter half of the 20th. While the focus is on what's buried inside, it's hard to ignore the beauty of the setting, its landscaping, and the building's architecture; it's the best use of concrete that I've ever seen in interior design, and I say that completely unironically.

New Albany Board of Education officers

Alexandra Streznewski is the new president of the City School District of Albany Board of Education. Streznewski, beginning her third year on the board, was selected unanimously by her peers Wednesday night. She served as board secretary in 2012.

The board members also selected Ginnie Farrell as the vice president for 2013, and Rose Brandon, Th.D., as secretary. Dr. Brandon served as vice president for the past three years and was elected to a second four-year term in November along with former President Dan Egan. Dr. Brandon and Egan were sworn in to begin their second terms Wednesday night.

Read more.

Albany School District Board of Education meets tonight

The City School District of Albany Board of Education will meet tonight, Wednesday, Jan. 2, at Albany High School, 700 Washington Ave. There is a reception for newly elected board members at 6:45 p.m., followed by the meeting at 7 p.m. in the north cafeteria.

The meeting will include the election of board officers for the 2013 calendar year. You can find the full agenda in the Upcoming Events section at www.albanyschools.org, and in the Board of Ed section.

Advisory: Snow Emergency in Effect for the City of Albany

Please be advised that the City of Albany has issued a SNOW EMERGENCY that will begin at 8:00 PM on Thursday, December 27, 2012 at which time all normal parking rules and regulations are temporarily suspended.

During the first 24 hours of the snow emergency all vehicles must be parked on the even numbered side of the street.

Beginning at 8:00 P.M. Friday, December 28, 2012 all vehicles must be parked on the odd numbered side of the street for the next 24-hour period.

If you are parked on the wrong side of the street during the snow emergency your car will be ticketed and may result in it being towed.

After the second 24-hour period please stay tuned for further announcements. For SNOW EMERGENCY information, call 476-SNOW or log into the city of Albany’s website at www.ALBANYNY.GOV.


If your vehicle has been towed, call Albany Police Department at 438-4000 for information on how to retrieve your vehicle. Snow emergency brochures, which outline all of the Snow Emergency procedures, can be picked up at any City firehouse, police station or branches of the Albany Public Library. Thank you for your cooperation.

Snow Emergency Additional Parking

Due to the snow emergency declared for the City of Albany to start at 8:00 p.m. December 27, 2012, the City of Albany has made available additional parking located at various lots in the city the locations are as follows:

ARBOR HILL/SHERIDAN HOLLOW
1. PARKING AREA ADJOINING ARBOR HILL SOFTBALL FIELD
(NORTH LARK ST.)
2. 230 COLONIE ST. (PLAYGROUND LOT)
3. 178 COLONIE ST. (PLAYGROUND LOT)
4. TEN BROECK MANSION (PARKING LOT & SIDEWALK WEST END)
5. 124 SECOND STREET (PLAYGROUND LOT)

PINE HILLS
1. RIDGEFIELD PARK (ENTER ON PARTRIDGE ST.)
2. WOODLAWN PARK LITTLE LEAGUE
3. WATERSON PARK (WESTLAND HILLS) ENTER ON COLVIN AVE.
4. WASHINGTON PARK (ALL ROADWAYS AND PARKING AREAS)
SOUTH END
1. KRANK PARK AREA
2. FRANKLIN ST. (BETWEEN SCHUYLER & BASSETT STS. – EAST SIDE)
3. LINCOLN PARK (ALL INTERIOR ROADWAYS & PARKING AREA)
4. FRISBEE AVENUE PARKING LOT BETWEEN SECOND AVE. AND MCCARTY AVE.
CENTER SQUARE/MANSION
1. 77 PHILIP ST. (PLAYGROUND)
2. 88 PHILIP ST. (PLAYGROUND)
3. 179 MYRTLE AVE. (LOT IN FRONT OF COMMUNITY GARDENS)
4. WASHINGTON PARK (ALL ROADWAYS AND PARKING AREAS)

NORTH ALBANY
1. PARKING AREA ACROSS FROM NORTH ALBANY AMERICAN LEGION POST

WEST END
1. BLEECKER STADIUM (PARKING AREA & ROADWAYS)
2. NORTH SIDE OF LIVINGSTON AVE. (OPPOSITE JUDSON ST.) Parking Lot

ALBANY PUBLIC LIBRARY'S HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Visions of sugarplums -- and New Year's Eve toasts -- dance in our heads

With Christmas and the New Year almost upon us, we want to remind you about the library's holiday schedule of service. All APL locations will be:

Closed all day on Monday, Dec. 24
Closed all day on Tuesday, Dec. 25
Closing early at 5:30 pm on Monday, Dec. 31
Closed all day on Tuesday, Jan. 1

From everyone at APL, have a safe and fun holiday season! And don't forget to stock up on great books and DVDs for those extra days off from work and school.

Matt Durfee @ Albany Public Library, 12/10/12

From Nippertown

Get Through the Holiday Blues

The holidays aren't joyous for everyone. This time of year can bring stress and feelings of loneliness. Exercise, focusing on positive relationships, and doing things that you find rewarding can help with depression. Get tips on what to do if you feel depressed.

Keep in mind that winter depression could be a sign of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which may be caused by the lack of sunlight. Treatment for SAD is much like other forms of depression, but also involves light therapy.

Get more holiday tips.

CDTA to shift to exclusive use of monthly Rolling Swiper passes

The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) will shift to the exclusive use of monthly Rolling Swiper passes beginning January 1, 2013. Rolling Swipers are offered at the same price as monthly passes while providing customers with more flexibility and convenience.

CDTA's 5-day and 7-day calendar passes will be replaced by their Rolling Swiper equivalents. A public education campaign entitled We're on your schedule now is underway to educate customers on the transition, and the added benefits of more flexibility, convenience and value.

The Rolling Swiper is a discounted monthly pass in 5-day ($55) and 7-day ($65) options, which are also available to eligible half fare customers. Rolling Swipers allow riders to start using their pass at any time, and customers who wish to remain on a calendar schedule just need to validate their new rolling pass at the beginning of the month. Rolling Swipers include a start date and end date printed on the back of the card for tracking convenience.

How Rolling Swipers work:
- Purchase either 5-day or 7-day Rolling Swiper at any CDTA sales
outlet or online
- Insert Rolling Swiper into the farebox for validation
- Swipe and go every time thereafter for a full month of rides
- Passes can be purchased and activated at any time
- Customers control their own schedule and maintain full value of
their pass
- Corporate partners have a simplified administrative process with
no returns

Improved technology over the past decade has taken CDTA customers from bus tokens to swipeable fare media. Rolling Swipers were first introduced in 2009 and now constitute 30% of pass sales across the system with more than half of CDTA customers using prepayment.

Rolling Swipers are available at cdta.org, at area Price Chopper Supermarkets, Hannaford Supermarkets, and ShopRite supermarkets, select Keybank locations and the CDTA Sales Center at 85 Watervliet Avenue in Albany. Window hours at the Sales Center are Monday-Friday from 9:00am - 5:00pm)

NYCLU program on cable channel 18 in Albany

A program from the Project Liberty series produced by the NYCLU will appear on Channel 18 in Albany. The program will air on the following dates.

Wednesday December 12 at 3 pm
Thursday December 13 at 5 pm
Friday December 14 at 5 pm
Saturday December 15 at 2 pm

Here is the description from NYCLU:

Project Liberty, the New York Civil Liberties Union’s very own television show, is back and broadcasting across New York State. Our fourth episode highlights the NYCLU’s relentless fight to guarantee that New York’s criminal justice system respects the rights of all New Yorker’s, not just those who can afford their own Johnny Cochran.

This episode marks five years since we filed Hurrell-Haring v. State of New York – our landmark, class-action lawsuit challenging New York’s failed system for providing effective legal counsel to poor people accused of crimes.

It features two of our lead plaintiffs, Kimberly Hurrell-Haring and Jackie Winbrone, whose heart-wrenching stories provide viewers unique insight into how the state’s fractured and dysfunctional public defense system is ruining people’s lives.

On the advice of her now-disbarred public defender, Kimberly pleaded guilty to a much more serious crime than the one she committed. As a result, the mother-of-two lost her job and her home. Jackie’s assigned counsel was missing in action as she languished in jail for a crime she did not commit. Her husband died during the 52 days she was incarcerated.

NYCLU Senior Staff Attorney Corey Stoughton, lead counsel on the case, explains the over-arching consequences of New York’s five-decade long failure to provide a functional public defense system. Each day in courtrooms across New York, people face judge and prosecutor without a lawyer accompanying them. When lawyers do appear, they struggle under huge caseloads to find time to investigate accusations and properly counsel clients about their rights.

Barrie Scheck, co-founder and director of the Innocence Project, and Thomas Giovanni, counsel to the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, offer perspective on grave harms that occur when our adversarial process is permanently skewed to favor prosecutors.

The whole point of this process is to ensure that the right people go to jail. When the system breaks down, people’s lives are upended – just ask Jackie and Kimberly.

For more information or to find out when Project Liberty will air on your local cable access station, visit our website: nyclu.org

C-SPAN at UAlbany

The M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives is prominently featured on C-SPAN2’s BOOKTV show that will broadcast on Saturday December 8 at 12:00 noon on CSPAN2. The program is part of C-SPAN’s LCV (Local Content Vehicle) 2012 Cities Tour of all of America’s state capitals and will also be available on their web page later today. Here’s a link to the C-SPAN Local Content page for Albany.

Sandy Update: Top Reasons You're Eligible to Apply for SBA Disaster Assistance

From SBA:

A month after Hurricane Sandy devastated the East Coast, homeowners, renters and businesses are dealing with the challenging task of rebuilding their homes, businesses and communities.

There’s a lot of information out there about different forms of federal assistance, and a lot of confusion about the U.S. Small Business Administration’s role in helping homeowners, renters and businesses recover. The SBA is committed to the long-term recovery of the people and businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Don’t let misinformation keep you from getting an SBA disaster loan! Here are the facts:

You don’t have to be a business owner to apply for an SBA disaster loan. SBA makes low-interest loans to homeowners of up to $200,000 to repair or replace the residence. Renters and homeowners are also eligible to apply for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged personal property – like furniture, cars, appliances – that isn’t fully covered by insurance.

A video about the hidden costs of soda

From here:

Americans drink more soda than anyone else on earth. And it’s no wonder we keep reaching for soda over water, coffee and juice–soda is addictive. From morning to night, many of us rely on a steady stream of sugary, caffeinated soda to power us through long hours sitting in front of steering wheels, computer screens, dinner tables and televisions. Like gas-powered cars and high-speed internet, Coke and Pepsi products are just another fixture in most Americans daily lives.

It may be time to confront our soda addiction. Just as lifestyle diseases like Type II Diabetes and obesity grow to epidemic proportions in the U.S., the average American now consumes 20 oz of soda every day.

World AIDS Day is December 1 - Help Create an AIDS-Free Generation

World AIDS Day is Saturday, December 1. The 2012 theme is "Working Together for an AIDS-Free Generation".

It has been more than 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were reported in the U.S. HIV is still a reality for more than a million Americans. Nearly one of every five people living with HIV in the U.S. doesn’t know it.

If you want to help create an AIDS-free generation, participate in the Facing Aids Initiative, get resources to plan an event, read the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, and more at AIDS.gov.

To get tested for HIV, locate a testing site near you by sending a text message with your ZIP code to "KNOWIT" (566948) or visit HIVtest.org.

Men Can Register Online for the Selective Service

From USA.gov:

Most men between the ages of 18-25 must register with the Selective Service in order to be eligible to receive federal student aid and grants, including college work study.

Find out who is required to register with the Selective Service and do it online.

Absurd licensing terms imposed on public domain works by libraries and museums

From BoingBoing

"Keneth Cerws' published studies take copyfight to libraries and museums where restrictive - often absurd - copyright claims and licensing terms are forced on those requesting images of art works and scans of books and documents where the original work long ago entered the public domain, often decades or centuries ago. This raises relevent questions about fair use, academic and research use and how we treat copyright for new images and renderings, often digital images, of old works that many consider vital pieces our common human history, heritage and cultural commons."

Library closed Thursday

All Albany Public Library branches, including Main, are closed Thursday, November 15, for staff development day. They will reopen on Friday.

President Obama Wins Reelection - Find Results by State

President Barack Obama won the 2012 Presidential election. According to major news outlets, he captured 303 electoral college votes, and won important battleground states like Ohio and Virginia.

Find a map of election results or results by state.

Obama will begin his second-term in office when he is sworn in at a public ceremony taking place on January 21, 2013. Learn more about the President and the inauguration.

Libraries and ebooks: YOU DON'T OWN IT

From Rapp on This by intellectual property lawyer Paul Rapp.

This issue [of ebooks] is getting especially dicey with libraries that want to do what libraries should do with ebooks, lend them out Publishers, which have always hated libraries, have no idea what to do. Remember, ebooks are tethered, so a library can’t just go online and buy an ebook, because it can only be read on one device, or one owner’s devices. So, for ebook lending to work, publishers need to provide libraries ebooks with looser controls, that can be moved across platforms, and shared with the public. Several publishers have simply refused to allow this, and have kept their ebooks off of libraries' digital shelves. Several publishers provide ebooks capable of being lent out, but gouge the libraries for as much as 300% of normal retail prices. One publisher doesn’t allow its ebooks to work on certain devices it doesn’t like, and another electronically limits its library ebooks to 26 loans. 26. One more than 25.

What a stupid mess.

Bibliotheque Ideale

This artwork loads slowly but is neat if you appreciate "mere books and experts."

The impact of public access venues and the benefits of libraries

Public access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) can play an important role in development. Communities benefit when people can access information and communicate with experts and people in their social networks to learn about health, jobs, education, leisure activities, or whatever inspires them. When access to ICTs is public and available to everyone in the community, such as in public libraries, telecenters, and cybercafés, it can be an effective tool for those that need it most.

In some countries, public libraries deliver this core service. There are over 230,000 libraries worldwide, most in developing countries. Many of these libraries offer free computer and Internet access, sometimes the only options for free and reliable access, yet they are often overlooked when development agencies implement policies to promote public information and communication.

This brief describes some of the emerging findings of the Global Impact Study of Public Access to Information & Communication Technologies related to the impact of public access on development, including the unique benefits successful public libraries offer.

Prepare for Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy is moving up the eastern coast of the United States.

Use the National Hurricane Center's mobile website to track the storm on your mobile device or online.

Learn how to prepare for the storm by visiting Ready.gov.

Follow the instructions from your state and local emergency management officials.

Outlawed by Amazon DRM

Linn travels a lot and therefore has, or should I say had, a lot of books on her Kindle, purchased from Amazon. Suddenly, her Kindle was wiped and her account was closed. Being convinced that something wrong had happened, she sent an e-mail to Amazon, asking for help. This was the answer...

More here.



(Hat tip to Steve Bissette)

Treasure-trove of maps headed to L.A. Public Library

From the Los Angeles Times:

When real estate agent Matthew Greenberg cleaned out the Mount Washington cottage after the occupant died, he couldn't bring himself to throw out a treasure-trove he discovered inside--all kinds of maps.

Instead, he invited the Los Angeles Public Library's map librarian to look at the find.

Stashed everywhere in the 948-square-foot tear-down were maps. Tens of thousands of maps. Fold-out street maps were stuffed in file cabinets, crammed into cardboard boxes, lined up on closet shelves and jammed into old dairy crates.

Wall-size roll-up maps once familiar to schoolchildren were stacked in corners. Old globes were lined in rows atop bookshelves also filled with maps and atlases. A giant plastic topographical map of the United States covered a bathroom wall and bookcases displaying Thomas Bros. map books and other street guides lined a small den.

The library's Glen Creason called the find unbelievable.

"I think there are at least a million maps here," he said. "This dwarfs our collection — and we've been collecting for 100 years."

Medicare Open Enrollment Starts Today

Medicare's Open Enrollment period is October 15, 2012 through December 7, 2012. If you have Medicare, you can change your health plan and prescription drug coverage for 2013 during this open enrollment period.

If you are satisfied with your current plan, then you don't need to do anything.

Visit Medicare's Open Enrollment Center for additional information.

Accepting applications for the Young Entrepreneurs Academy

The School of Business at the University at Albany, SUNY would like to announce a final call for applications for the Young Entrepreneurs Academy scheduled to begin on campus the first week of November. Launched at the Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester with financial support from the Kauffman Foundation, YEA! takes students in grades 6-12 through the process of starting and running a real business over an eight month period. These student-run companies also have the opportunity to pitch their business plans to real investors!

To see highlights from the 2011 Investor Panel event, check out the YouTube video titled UAlbany Biz School Helps Young CEOs.

A $100 tuition discount is available to children and grandchildren of University at Albany faculty, staff, and alumni. Financial aid is also available for students who qualify.

Michael Hoffman and Brian Straughter, who represent Turf Hotels, Inc. have provided continuing support with helping us launch and grow this chapter.

Bill Brigham, the Director of our award-winning Small Business Development Center, will continue this year as the lead instructor.

To download an application, visit www.albany.edu/business/young-entreprenuers-academy.php. For further information, contact YEA! Recruitment Manager Jason Cotugno (jcotugno@ albany.edu) or YEA! Program Manager Sally Mills at 442-4272 (smills@albany.edu) in the School of Business.

Farmers Market hours change at APL Delaware Avenue branch

The Farmers' Market is now running from 3 pm to 6 pm on Tuesdays behind the Delaware Avenue branch of the Albany Public Library at 331 Delaware. The library also closes at 6 pm. Get there early to get tender just picked broccoli rabe. (rapini) There will also be plenty of veggies, fruit, jam, honey, eggs & baked goods. Shoppers who use EBT cards can now get a $2 dollar coupon each time they get $5 worth of Farmers' Market tokens.

Busy day at the library Wednesday, October 10. Start off with pre-school story time at 10:30 for stories, songs & play. After school teens can learn to draw Manga and enjoy Japanese snacks at 4 pm. At 6:30 pm participate in a free Pilates class that will strengthen your core & improve your balance. All at the happening place to be - the library at 331 Delaware Ave.

NEW YORK PLAN FOR LSTA FEDERAL FUNDS EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2012

Bernard A. Margolis, Assistant Commissioner for Libraries and State Librarian, is pleased to announce that the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has approved New York State’s Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) 2012-2017 Five-Year Plan. The new LSTA plan took effect on October 1, 2012.

Susan Hildreth, Director of IMLS, labeled the Plan “an excellent framework for the future” and stated that the Plan “demonstrates a commitment to embrace new service opportunities as changing information delivery services, platforms, and information policies create new challenges in providing critical materials that are the foundation for all other services.”

Each of the four goals within the new LSTA Five-Year Plan is closely linked to the recommendations in “Creating the Future: A 2020 Vision and Plan for Library Service in New York State; Recommendations of the New York State Regents Advisory Council on Libraries to the New York State Board of Regents” and to one or more of the priorities of the federal Library Services and Technology Act.

State Librarian Margolis expressed his thanks and appreciation to the many individuals and groups involved in developing the new plan. In particular, he thanked the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries LSTA Committee (Jill Hurst-Wahl, Sara Kelly Johns, Bridget Quinn-Carey and Chairperson Louise Sherby) for their leadership. He also thanked the State Library staff and other Office of Cultural Education staff who led the plan development effort, gathering suggestions and feedback from New York’s library, education and cultural communities.

The LSTA Five Year Plan, which is required by IMLS, describes potential activities that will be implemented using the federal LSTA funds provided annually to the New York State Library by IMLS and has four major goals:
1) All New Yorkers will have improved access to library resources that advance and enhance their personal, educational and working lives;
2) The New York State Library, library systems and libraries will deliver new and improved library programs that anticipate and meet New Yorkers' constantly changing needs for library services;
3) New Yorkers of all ages will perceive libraries as community learning spaces offering high-quality lifelong learning, literacy, and knowledge creation;
4) All New Yorkers will benefit from statewide programs and services of the New York State Library that effectively leverage private and public funding through collaboration and partnerships and maximize value in order to achieve goals one, two and three.

For more information on the federal LSTA program and its importance to New York State’s libraries and all New Yorkers, please visit the New York State Library’s website. Questions about New York State’s LSTA program may be directed to Mary Linda Todd, LSTA Coordinator, Division of Library Development, New York State Library at mtodd@mail.nysed.gov .

Proof That Science Books Can Be Beautiful

Or, conversely, Disbinding Me with Science, another example of book "mutilation" in the furtherance of beauty. Welcome to today's introduction to Arts and Science.

Bill Moyers: The Bane of Banned Books

Bill Moyers addresses banned books and ALA's Banned Books Week

When I was growing up in East Texas we didn't have any money for books. My reading room was the small local library run by an organization of business professional women. To this moment, I can remember checking out my first two volumes - one was Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days; the other was a primer on Greek and Roman mythology (don't ask me why.) Years later, when I walked into the much larger library at the state college as a freshman, I was practically overwhelmed. I looked down row after row of books and periodicals and thought: "Wow! All this for me?!” Some of the best hours of my life were spent in that library. I even considered majoring in library science, so that I could be near those books.

Which is one reason it pains me today that even in this modern day and age, some folks in communities across America are saying: "No. That Book ISN'T For You” and for reasons that have nothing to do with the community, the school, or the reader - and everything to do with prejudice.

The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom reports 326 attempts last year to remove or restrict books from school curricula and libraries. Add those to thousands of formal complaints filed with a library or school in the last two decades - complaints about a book's content or appropriateness. Can you believe some people don't want other people to read Brave New World, The Color Purple, To Kill A Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, The Kite Runner, A Wrinkle in Time, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, A Light in the Attic, the Harry Potter series, and – ironic if not surprising – Fahrenheit 451.

Think of it: some of the most inspiring and mind-opening words ever written, threatened with removal because they offended a self-deputized vigilante over who wants to deny an entire community's curiosity and passion to learn.
Censorship is the enemy of truth - even more than a lie. A lie can be exposed; censorship can prevent us knowing the difference. This is one reason that on my public television broadcast, Moyers & Company, we call out the censors every time we can. And it's why we're so grateful to the ALA – as well as the librarians, writers, booksellers, publishers, and neighbors who stand with the Association in observing the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week, taking place this year from September 30 – October 6."

Read the rest and watch the video.

2012 Census of Governments

From Census.gov:

The Census of Governments identifies the scope and nature of the nation's state and local government sector; provides authoritative benchmark figures of public finance and public employment; classifies local government organizations, powers, and activities; and measures federal, state, and local fiscal relationships.

The data are available by:

level of government (state, local, or state and local combined),
type of government (state, county, city, township, special district, school district), and
category of governmental activity

New List of Privacy Resources and Sites on the Internet

From LLRX.com:

Privacy Resources and Sites on the Internet is a comprehensive listing of privacy resources currently available on the Internet. These include associations, indexes, search engines as well as individual websites and sources that supply the latest technology and information about privacy and how it relates to you and the Internet.

Internet Archive Launches News Search Service with 350,000 Broadcasts

From Internet Archive blog:

This service is designed to help engaged citizens better understand the issues and candidates in the 2012 U.S. elections by allowing them to search closed captioning transcripts to borrow relevant television news programs.

The collection now contains 350,000 news programs collected over 3 years from national U.S. networks and stations in San Francisco and Washington D.C. The archive is updated with new broadcasts 24 hours after they are aired. Older materials are also being added.

Libraries, Patrons, and E-books

From Pew Research:

Some 12% of Americans ages 16 and older who read e-books say they have borrowed an e-book from a library in the past year.

Most e-book borrowers say libraries are very important to them and their families and they are heavy readers in all formats, including books they bought and books lent to them. E-book borrowers say they read an average (the mean number) of 29 books in the past year, compared with 23 books for readers who do not borrow e-books from a library. Perhaps more striking, the median (midpoint) figures for books reportedly read are 20 in the past year by e-book borrowers and 12 by non-borrowers.

Librarians have ALWAYS been hot

I have no idea how long the Hot Librarian stereotype has been, as the young folks say, a Thing, but clearly it existed back in 1965.

Why is the SC state library throwing away dumpsters full of books?

While the library informed a book seller, public libraries and universities about the surplus books, little to no effort was made to inform the general public, charities or schools.

2012 Voter’s Guide: The Library Advocate’s Guide to the Voting Records of the New York State Legislature

The New Yorkers for Better Libraries PAC has released its 2012 Voter’s Guide: The Library Advocate’s Guide to the Voting Records of the New York State Legislature.

The Voter’s Guide, published since 2001, grade NYS legislators on their voting records concerning library funding and legislative issues.

Scores are calculated based on library aid in the state budget; sponsorship of library priority legislation; recorded votes on library legislation, and letters of support (in the Assembly). The grading scale is based on the number of total points each legislator receives in each category. More details can be found within the Guide.

The guide has also been posted on the New York Library Association’s website, www.nyla.org.

Education in Finland

In a piece in Metroland, Solidarity With Chicago by Miriam Axel-Lute, she talks about the mixed results of charter schools. Then she indicated:

But it also made me think of a stunning article from last December in the Atlantic about Finland, called What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland’s School Success, Finland, on account of its startlingly high scores on international comparisons of educational attainment (even compared to its demographically similar Scandinavian neighbors), has become a bit of a mecca for education reformers. We have oohed-and-aahed at how they don’t push standardized testing, don’t push early reading, encourage play-based learning longer.

But, according to the Atlantic article, what we can’t seem to get our brains around is that the foundation of the current Finnish education system is almost the opposite of our beloved idea of “school choice.” It’s this: equity. “The main driver of Finnish education policy has been the idea that every child should have exactly the same opportunity to learn, regardless of family background, income, or geographic location,” says the Atlantic. They feed all the kids healthy meals and give them access to health care. They have no private schools at all. They give their teachers “prestige, decent pay, and a lot of responsibility” (and independence). Schools with high numbers of immigrants . . . do just as well as other schools.

They don’t aim for excellence. They aim to bring everyone along and level the playing field. And they get . . . excellence.

11 Amazing Librarian Tattoos

There are plenty of literary tattoos out there, and plenty of tattooed librarians. A bit less common are librarians with tattoos celebrating their career choic

Read the full text here -- brought to you by mental_floss!

U.S. Public Libraries Weather the Storm

From BoingBoing:

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and the woman seated next to you on the plane could smoke her Virginia Slims all the way from Chicago to L.A., libraries were fully-funded and considered an essential for every community. Then came the financial crash, and the slash-and-burn began for library budgets. The American Library Association's handy infographic shows the impact that library budget cuts have on the communities they serve—and shows how libraries are weathering the storm...

Read the 2012 Public Library Funding & Technology Access study, produced by the ALA and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.