That's what I'm talkin' about!

Zipping around the Internet and into many inboxes these days is an article in the New York Times. In Web Age, Library Job Gets Update talks about how very different our jobs now are. It showcases school librarian Stephanie Rosalia of Public School 225 in Brooklyn. Thankfully, it's not a picture of her just checking out books, but rather teaching information literacy skills.

You should most definitely take a read! You should also watch the video.

Mobile Donkey Librarian?

Amazing man and an amazing story. Former San Francisco children's librarian Yohannes Gebregiorgis builds libraries (mobile libraries) in his native Ethiopia. You can vote for him (again and again) for CNN Hero of 2008. For more about the organization, go to Ethiopia Reads.

How involved are you in decision-making?

I am shameless. I think the best librarians are (although I have a long way to go before I am part of the "best"). On Wednesday, I had a couple of architects wander through the library. My school is up for modernization and, up to this point, it was unclear if the library would be included in that effort.

It is now more clear. On Wednesday I discovered that the proposal for the school would be presented in November and then put out to bid. The library will be part of that presentation.

I asked them what the thoughts for the library might be. It sounds like the usual: new paint and carpets (the carpet is the original from 1973), new cabinet faces and lighting fixtures, and a new circulation desk (!). I asked if there was any thought to enclosing part of the library for a computer lab and there was not. At one point, that had been discussed, but that vice principal is gone now.

Why is this important? This past spring I convinced my school to fund the insides of a computer lab. Sitting in my office I now have 25 laptop computers, keyboards, monitors, and more. I purchased knowing that I might not get the lab enclosed.

So the answer on Wednesday was no.

However, that architect and her boss (?) came through again today. I talked a little with them and then I said, "So, there really is no possibility of a lab?" The boss asked about it, I responded, we walked over to take a look, and now it is a possibility. He will be presenting it as part of the proposal. Will it get approved? Who knows, but I am certainly closer.

Remember that part about being shameless? I'm okay with that. :)

Ten Favorite Public Libraries List

For those of us who are librarians in California, we should be asking ourselves why no California libraries made this list in USA Today:

10 Great Places to Find a Nook and Read a Book

It is the list of the ten favorite public libraries of NPR book commentator Nancy Pearl, author of Book Lust. While there are many reasons for why this might be, it does give me pause.

By the way, I saw an advertisement today for a position at this library that made the list.

Extreme Makeover, Library Edition!

If I thought that the local graffit artists wouldn't destroy it, I would really look into doing something like the libraries below. Wouldn't that be cool? You should definitely take a look.

Cardiff (Wales) Public Library and Kansas City (MO) Public Library

California dead last in libraries

If you were looking for something to write a letter to the editor about, this came from a post over at CALIBk12 today. Pretty dismal for California libraries.

From a new study (Reading Across the Nation: A Chartbook):

Number of children age 0-5 per California public library
California 2,688
National 1,368
Ranking 51

California has the lowest number of public libraries per child under the age of five years in the nation. They also have the worst level of school library staffing in the nation (1,400 librarians for 9,000 schools).

And this is key:

To be average, California would have to double the number of public libraries in California and hire 8,000 credentialed school librarians.

(Thanks to Richard K. Moore, InfoSherpa, for this CALIBK12 post on the study.)

Library Quote of the Week

The cost of libraries is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.

--Walter Cronkite

Resource: Library Research Service

On CALIBk12, I read about the Library Research Service. This was a new resource to me (but, then, what isn't?), but a cursory look has me quite pleased. I expect that I will use this site a great deal for the library media credential program.