Support our Libraries by Buying Books!

For three days in August, 18 local bookstores have joined together to help out our local Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. This past year the library’s book purchasing budget was dramatically slashed by 58%! That means that the libraries have significantly less money to spend this year purchasing books, however these cuts come just at a time when the library is seeing a surge in use. There is a general consensus that libraries are essential to our literature community, as they provide valuable resources to all of us and host programs and events that encourage a love of literature and reading. Without the proper funds the library would not be able to purchase as many books and other resources therefore leaving us as a community without those rich resources.


Local booksellers have recognized this need and are stepping up. For three days in early August eighteen local bookstores are banding together to host a “book fair” to help generate funds for the library so that they can continue to purchase the books and other materials that library users need. To participate simply shop at one of the local booksellers during their book fair dates (those vary by individual store) and ask that your purchase be used to help support the libraries.

For the complete listing of participating booksellers and the exact dates they are having their book fairs please check out this article on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library website: http://www.plcmc.org/about_us/in_the_news/releaseDetails.asp?id=469.

Brighter Future for Libraries?

Thomas Frey

Lately there have been many people talking about lots of coming doom and gloom for libraries. How libraries are an outdated business model and who needs libraries when we all have the internet and ebooks? Well Thomas Frey, executive director and senior futurist at the DaVinci Institute, thinks that libraries do have a place in the future, although a slightly different one then what roles they currently occupy. This is an interview with him posted on the American Libraries website. His ideas are really interesting, I especially like the concept of and Electronic Outpost Library. I think these could really catch on in various places, especially among those who seek to know information all the time, but don't yet have an iPhone or Droid.

New Video about Studying in the Library (Take off on Old Spice Commercials)

So, yes this video has been blogged about a lot and posted in multiple places, however I just had to join the crowd and post it as well (in case you are a librarian under a rock somewhere or on vacation and missed it). But this video is a marketing tool for the Harold B. Lee Library at BYU. Its hilarious!
Enjoy!

Take a Quick Blogs vs. Journals Survey

Stewart Baker, a librarian at California State University, is conducting a survey of librarians and library science students to study the impact of library blogs vs scholarly journals. If you would like to take the survey follow this link: Blogs vs Journals Survey.

I personally think he is trying to answer a really interesting question, if both blogs and scholarly journals have value in the library world and more specifically what value? If money and time are both in short supply, can we just read blogs? Are blogs accurate enough to be thought of as good sources? I believe that most blogs are accurate and certainly they are much much more timely than academic journals. But blogs are also opinion pieces, since there is no peer-review process, a blogger is free to say whatever they want to say in their blog.

Personally I read both, kind of. I read a couple of blogs that I find interesting (although I need to read them more often) but I also read Library Journal and American Libraries, which are not scholarly journals, but are still trade journals discussing the news and trends in the field. I would subscribe to a scholarly peer-reviewed journal if I had an area of expertise or speciality in the field. Because I am still a student and not sure yet where I want to go, as of now I do not subscribe (money is also an issue).