Library Administrator's Digest

Of the 200 items, library specific ones included a book about gardening, bookmark, Dewey Dash T-shirt, Henderson Crier (the library's newsletter), library board member, library staff member, library association membership card, library due date receipt, noncomputerized library card, out-of-state library card, overdue library book, picture of the team in front of the library, question answered by the reference librarian with her signature, and a letter to be mailed to the library director.

Shelving the Koran

A library customer at a branch informed an information staff member that out of respect for the Koran, it should be placed high on the shelves. The Diversity Committee was asked to consider this issue.

Why Aren't Little Boys Reading?

Children's librarians at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library are reading something new lately - boys' minds. Boys tend to like nonfiction, action, adventures, graphic novels and stories about sports.

Phase-Out of Bcpl Video Collections

Because of difficulty in purchasing materials in VHS format, we have not purchased nonfiction or feature videos for our adult collections since August 2005.

Library Eases Up On Security

The gates, which sounded a buzzer if library property was detected, did little to stop thieves determined to pilfer books, tapes and CDs from the library, Executive Director Martine Kominiarek said.

Getting in the Game

"Games teach pattern recognition, incorporate reading and writing, are based on real physics, integrate math and economics, provide historical context, and require geography and map reading skills," says Gallaway. While the appeal of games is noticeable among young men, it's growing significantly among young women, thanks in part to Dance Dance Revolution (DDR to gamers), a PlayStation game that gets gamers out of their seats and onto a dance mat.

Budgets Smudgets

When you mention "Ohio libraries" to the rest of the library community, they often smirk with a "you have no idea how bad it can get" attitude. And, although Ohio's libraries have had healthy funding for many years, with the onslaught of funding freezes over five years ago, we have had to learn how to do more with less.

Cultural Center Fund Raising

Successful Membership Drive

The group does not have any officers and no formal organization, and their sole focus is on supporting the library whether through fund-raising efforts or special projects.

What's the Mess?

What's all the mess at the Hackley Public Library? It's the long awaited repair of the plaster that was damaged by water coming into the library from the leaking flashing and gutters.

Dead Videotapes

Well, maybe the Boston Athenaeum (which I visited last March, at least as much of it as you can without being a member), but that's not really a public library.

Cost and Effectiveness

The library said the gates didn't work all the time, were expensive to buy and maintain, to say nothing of the cost of putting strips in the books.

Salaries at Nypl

The next day, Chris Albertson, director of the Tyler (TX) Public Library, sent me the article by e-mail. The library's president and chief executive officer had increased in the year the reporter was looking at to over $800,000, including a $136,000 housing allowance, which according to the former president of the board "because Dr. LeClerc owns his apartment in Manhattan, the money was effectively an addition to his salary."

Where Do You Cut?

Susan Hill is the very energetic director of the Paulding County (OH) Public Library. Back in 1993, when my library faced not only a significant budget cut but a dismal forecast for revenues for some years to come, the library administration and the board of trustees made a business decision - one that was designed to preserve the library as a place for information, education and recreation, all based on an adequate materials collection.

From The Editor's Desk

In the Mail

Ranked as one of the worst library systems in the state, the board was facing a severe financial crisis, including closing a branch if the mill levy had failed. When I first joined my library as assistant director in 1959, the voters had just passed the first bond issue ever for libraries, in the amount of $650,000 (about $4.8 million in today's dollars) for a new 20,000-square-foot branch, the first of six recommended by a consultant.

Reserves in Nashua

[...] why have reserves multiplied by the rate they have in such a short time? I can think of several reasons: first, an increasing number of people are checking the catalog and making reserves online, which, of course, is probably happening everywhere.