1. Toxic stress is the heavy hand of early poverty, scripting a child’s life not in the Horatio Alger scenario of determination and drive, but in the patterns of disappointment and deprivation that shape a life of limitations.

    — 

    Poverty as a Childhood Disease, by Perri Klass.

    As we saw at this year’s schoollibraryjournal Public Library Leadership Think Tank, school and public libraries have a very strong role to play in mitigating the effects of poverty, for both children and their caregivers. 

    (via librarylinknj)

  2. Libraries Changed My Life →

    thelifeguardlibrarian:

    Real life accounts from library patrons whose lives have been changed for the better by libraries.

    Everyone, share the impact libraries and librarians have had on your lives—ALL submissions are welcome and encouraged. Take a moment and tell your story!

    Important!

  3. libraryadvocates:

    National Library Legislative Day 2013

    From May 7–8, 2013, more than 350 librarians, patrons, trustees, educators and parents met with members of Congress to discuss key library issues during the American Library Association’s 39th annual National Library Legislative Day. Advocates discussed the need to protect federal library funding and support access to federally-funded scholarly journal articles, among other issues.

    Read more on our blog.

  4. gitmobooks: “Star Trek,” “Robinson Crusoe,” and “David Copperfield” NYT reporter Charlie Savage has started a Tumblr documenting books that catch his eye in the Guantanamo Bay Prison Library. There is something both so heartening, and heartbreaking, about all of these images. (I wonder, too, how many of the detainees can read English?) Especially relevant in light of the current hunger strike going on there.

    gitmobooks:

    “Star Trek,” “Robinson Crusoe,” and “David Copperfield”

    NYT reporter Charlie Savage has started a Tumblr documenting books that catch his eye in the Guantanamo Bay Prison Library. There is something both so heartening, and heartbreaking, about all of these images. (I wonder, too, how many of the detainees can read English?)

    Especially relevant in light of the current hunger strike going on there.

  5. vintageanchor: Anthony Lewis (1927 – 2013), author of GIDEON’S TRUMPET and twice the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, died this week, aged 85. GIDEON’S TRUMPET (1964) is a bestselling history of the landmark case of James Earl Gideon’s fight for the right to legal counsel. I really loved the update to Gideon’s Trumpet, Karen Houppert’s Chasing Gideon. I loved it so much I included it as one of my Editor’s Picks this year! It’s rare for me to find a title that delivers an equal measure of storytelling gusto and urgent political information—I’m either introduced to obscure or unknown (to me) subject matter by an especially charming writer, or I’m struggling through leaden books about causes I really believe in. CHASING GIDEON: THE ELUSIVE QUEST FOR POOR PEOPLE’S JUSTICE (New Pr., dist. by Perseus, Mar.; see p. 112) by Washington Post Magazinecontributing editor Karen Houppert, is both important and a great read. Touching on privatized prisons, public support for the death penalty, and institutionalized racism, Chasing Gideon is more than just a look back at five decades of Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court decision that guaranteed free legal counsel in criminal cases to those who cannot afford it. (Its 50th anniversary falls in March 2013). A monumental victory for the nation’s poor, who have historically made up the majority of defendants in criminal cases, Gideon promised far more than it actually delivered. Today, more than 80 percent of defendants are represented by a public defender, and—with a fraction of the funding, resources, and respect that prosecutors receive—these lawyers cannot adequately serve their clients, most of whom have no other resources. The results, as described in devastating detail by Houppert, are disastrous: unwise plea bargains are accepted, the innocent are found guilty, and even those who haven’t been charged with a crime languish in prison for months. A necessary book but also a thoroughly good one: this is a title to be devoured.

    vintageanchor:

    Anthony Lewis (1927 – 2013), author of GIDEON’S TRUMPET and twice the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, died this week, aged 85.

    GIDEON’S TRUMPET (1964) is a bestselling history of the landmark case of James Earl Gideon’s fight for the right to legal counsel.

    I really loved the update to Gideon’s Trumpet, Karen Houppert’s Chasing Gideon. I loved it so much I included it as one of my Editor’s Picks this year!

    It’s rare for me to find a title that delivers an equal measure of storytelling gusto and urgent political information—I’m either introduced to obscure or unknown (to me) subject matter by an especially charming writer, or I’m struggling through leaden books about causes I really believe in. CHASING GIDEON: THE ELUSIVE QUEST FOR POOR PEOPLE’S JUSTICE (New Pr., dist. by Perseus, Mar.; see p. 112) by Washington Post Magazinecontributing editor Karen Houppert, is both important and a great read.

    Touching on privatized prisons, public support for the death penalty, and institutionalized racism, Chasing Gideon is more than just a look back at five decades of Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court decision that guaranteed free legal counsel in criminal cases to those who cannot afford it. (Its 50th anniversary falls in March 2013). A monumental victory for the nation’s poor, who have historically made up the majority of defendants in criminal cases, Gideon promised far more than it actually delivered. Today, more than 80 percent of defendants are represented by a public defender, and—with a fraction of the funding, resources, and respect that prosecutors receive—these lawyers cannot adequately serve their clients, most of whom have no other resources. The results, as described in devastating detail by Houppert, are disastrous: unwise plea bargains are accepted, the innocent are found guilty, and even those who haven’t been charged with a crime languish in prison for months. A necessary book but also a thoroughly good one: this is a title to be devoured.

  6. Libraries, as we know, do not exist for free. They cost their communities—whether composed of taxpayers, tuition-payers, donors, or a combination—a substantial amount of money. It’s well-intentioned to emphasize that libraries provide materials and services without exacting immediate payment from users for each transaction. But today it is at best a mistake and at worst self-destructive to underrepresent the considerable ongoing investment that the members of a community make to have library collections, technology, personnel, and facilities available to them. There Are No Free Libraries | American Libraries Magazine

    Libraries, as we know, do not exist for free. They cost their communities—whether composed of taxpayers, tuition-payers, donors, or a combination—a substantial amount of money. It’s well-intentioned to emphasize that libraries provide materials and services without exacting immediate payment from users for each transaction. But today it is at best a mistake and at worst self-destructive to underrepresent the considerable ongoing investment that the members of a community make to have library collections, technology, personnel, and facilities available to them.

    There Are No Free Libraries | American Libraries Magazine

  7. Um, just FYI.

    Um, just FYI.

  8. While the Internet makes it easier to share opinions in writing, it also makes it harder for a publisher to sue its way toward a good reputation, because once word gets out, any number of librarians and scholars confirm in writing, loudly, exactly what the defendant in the suit is being sued for saying,” she said. “The number of librarians who will never buy a book published by Mellen and the number of scholars who will avoid ever signing a contract with them went up enormously as a result of their nuisance suit. This is not a business plan I would recommend to publishers.

    — 

    Another publisher accuses a librarian of libel | Inside Higher Ed (via infoneer-pulse)

    Yuck.

  9. The copyright in most of these works is owned by our faculty members, and it is well past time that we just refused to transfer those rights to commercial entities that undermine our best interests.

    — 

    Kevin Smith at Duke draws the right conclusion from the ongoing outrage of the lawsuit against GSU.

    Full blog post: Law and politics in the GSU case | Scholarly Communications @ Duke

    (via arlpolicynotes)

  10. Nearly 1.6 million people were in federal or state prisons in 2011, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. City and county jails are also full of people. Though there are increasingly vocal calls to reevaluate stiff sentencing for less serious crimes, this is unlikely to cause a dramatic decline in prisoners anytime soon. Meanwhile, each day, thousands return to their communities from some form of incarceration. What is changing is a growing realization that more public, prison, and jail libraries can better identify and serve the often significant needs of inmates or those prisoners who are returning to their communities. Not only are some libraries providing books, they are providing innovative programs and services, helping inmates and returnees to learn about work and employment opportunities, the arts and to develop job-seeking skills. Prison and Libraries: Public Service Inside and Out I am so so excited about this feature in the February 1st issue of LJ. Read it! And then do something to help out the members of your community that are incarcerated.

    Nearly 1.6 million people were in federal or state prisons in 2011, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. City and county jails are also full of people. Though there are increasingly vocal calls to reevaluate stiff sentencing for less serious crimes, this is unlikely to cause a dramatic decline in prisoners anytime soon. Meanwhile, each day, thousands return to their communities from some form of incarceration.

    What is changing is a growing realization that more public, prison, and jail libraries can better identify and serve the often significant needs of inmates or those prisoners who are returning to their communities. Not only are some libraries providing books, they are providing innovative programs and services, helping inmates and returnees to learn about work and employment opportunities, the arts and to develop job-seeking skills.

    Prison and Libraries: Public Service Inside and Out

    I am so so excited about this feature in the February 1st issue of LJ. Read it! And then do something to help out the members of your community that are incarcerated.

  11. Please Support State Aid to Virginia Public Libraries! →

    kaylawhata:

    Please take a moment to sign this petition regarding state aid to public libraries! Today is the LAST DAY to make your voice heard! There is information on the website, and below are more reasons why you should support House Items 239 #1h and 239 #2h, and Senate Item 293 #1s. Read this, and share with your friends!

    Local libraries play an important daily role in Virginia’s educational system and State Aid to Public Libraries is essential to meeting those needs. During the recent economic downturn Virginians turned to their public libraries more than ever for assistance in job searching, access to computers, E-government, lifelong learning, cultural programming, and educational and recreational reading. A survey of Virginia libraries in April 2012 found in just one day at Virginia’s public libraries 412,969 books, audiobooks and other materials were borrowed, 3,726 new library customers enrolled for services, 10,764 patrons enjoyed free programs, 14,527 people held meetings, 82,565 people used computers and Internet access and 19,239 people asked questions about business, jobs, health, government, school work and more. 

    Virginia public libraries have struggled to meet the challenge of this increasing public demand for services while coping with significant budget cuts. While JLARC has found State Aid to Public Libraries to be a valuable source of funding that effectively leverages local spending and achieves cost efficiencies by encouraging regional libraries, in recent years this state financial support for public libraries has fallen to its lowest level since FY 1998.

    In order to meet the tremendous demand from the public for New Age, New Library digital information resources, the Virginia Library Association is urging members of the General Assembly to support a budget amendment that will increase funding for State Aid to Public Libraries by $1.25 million in the second year of the biennium. This new funding will support the purchase of digital information resources local libraries can make available to the public, including eBooks, downloadable audiobooks, information databases and streaming media. 

    This budget amendment would raise State Aid to Local Public Libraries to slightly above the FY 1999 appropriation, more than $12 million below and only 59% of the amount required by state law.

  12. Virginia’s Richmond Public Library posted a rule this summer saying “carrying concealed weapons of any type is prohibited by State Law,” according to the Richmond Times Dispatch. The Virginia Citizens Defense League Inc., a pro-gun group, correctly told the library that this information was not accurate, and the library changed the rule to read “carrying concealed weapons is prohibited, except as permitted by law.”
    Yet the defense league’s members found even this posting unacceptable, and 30 of the group’s members showed up inside the library in August with openly carried guns to protest the rule.

    — 

    No Guns in the Library: Curbing the Second Amendment in the Stacks | Editorial

    LJ Editor in Chief Mike Kelley protests the incursion of guns into libraries.

  13. More people than ever using New York’s public libraries » MobyLives Of the ten branches in the city with the highest circulation, six are in neighborhoods in which immigrants make up a disproportionate share of the population: Flushing, Queens Central (in Jamaica), Kings Highway, Elmhurst, McKinley Park and Fresh Meadows. 37 percent of the city’s population is foreign born, around 60 percent of residents are either immigrants or children of immigrants and nearly a quarter of the population is less than totally fluent in English. 2.9 million city residents don’t have broadband Internet access at home. Since 2002, the city’s three library systems have increased their total number of public access computers by 89 percent, with number of users rising just as fast or even faster. In the last five years alone, the number of computer sessions logged at public computers in the city’s libraries has grown by 62 percent, going from 5.8 million sessions in 2007 to over 9.3 million in 2011. At NYPL alone, attendance at technology programs nearly doubled from 2003 to 2012, going from 30,000 to 58,541. At least 250 small businesses have been launched by clients that were advised at the Science and Business Library by mentors from SCORE(Service Corps of Retired Executives). The intensive literacy and pre-GED courses that the libraries offer—along with the many informal educational opportunities they provide—are critical in a city where nearly 30 percent of the working age population, or 1.6 million people, currently lack a high school diploma and which has one of the lowest GED attainment rates in the country.

    More people than ever using New York’s public libraries » MobyLives

    • Of the ten branches in the city with the highest circulation, six are in neighborhoods in which immigrants make up a disproportionate share of the population: Flushing, Queens Central (in Jamaica), Kings Highway, Elmhurst, McKinley Park and Fresh Meadows.
    • 37 percent of the city’s population is foreign born, around 60 percent of residents are either immigrants or children of immigrants and nearly a quarter of the population is less than totally fluent in English.
    • 2.9 million city residents don’t have broadband Internet access at home.
    • Since 2002, the city’s three library systems have increased their total number of public access computers by 89 percent, with number of users rising just as fast or even faster. In the last five years alone, the number of computer sessions logged at public computers in the city’s libraries has grown by 62 percent, going from 5.8 million sessions in 2007 to over 9.3 million in 2011. At NYPL alone, attendance at technology programs nearly doubled from 2003 to 2012, going from 30,000 to 58,541.
    • At least 250 small businesses have been launched by clients that were advised at the Science and Business Library by mentors from SCORE(Service Corps of Retired Executives).
    • The intensive literacy and pre-GED courses that the libraries offer—along with the many informal educational opportunities they provide—are critical in a city where nearly 30 percent of the working age population, or 1.6 million people, currently lack a high school diploma and which has one of the lowest GED attainment rates in the country.

  14. #twitterlibrarians are almost there! →

    thelifeguardlibrarian:

    Miss your chance to give in the Tumblr vs Twitter Race to $1k for EveryLibrary? Be a social media sport and help Twitter reach their goal! I know you’re on Twitter, too. Both platforms have done an amazing job, blowing the initial fundraising deadline (1 week) out of the water.

    If that’s not your thing, please PLEASE consider directing donations to libraries affected by Sandy. Urban Libraries Unite is in need of cash donations, as is the New Jersey Library Association Relief project.

    Let’s keep making it happen for libraries!

    Yes, we beat Twitter handily, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still donate! DO IT FOR THE LIBRARIES.

  15. How did the election impact your libraries?

    everylibrary:

    EveryLibrary is working to build a full national report on library ballot pass/fails. Help us out by replying with what happened in your races. The next step is voter segmentation and message analysis. We need more wins for libraries in 2013 and 2014.

    Every library matters.