Free Republic

With the crippled economy forcing more Bay Staters to dust off library cards, local lending institutions are throwing the book at overdue scofflaws, turning them over to the cops and courts in a hard-nosed bid to collect fines and recover costly tomes and DVDs. “The value of the materials is fairly high. We need to replace them,” said Martha Holden, director of the Peabody Institute Library, which has sent the law after a trio of overdue culprits. The Peabody library filed criminal complaints against 19-year-old Alyssa Toste and 23-year-old Jeramie Crane on Dec. 15. Despite repeated notices, both Toste and...

Some Boulder library employees and supporters are up in arms this week about plans to shut down all four branches on Friday for a mandatory, all-staff training session that includes yoga lessons, a catered lunch and extra paid hours for some workers. But Library Director Tony Tallent defended the get-together, saying it’s a chance for the library system’s 80 employees to bond, relax and learn.

Teen Sex Magazine to Stay on Shelves at Iowa Library Sunday, November 22, 2009 AMES, Iowa — A teen sex magazine will stay on the shelves at the Ames Public Library despite a petition signed by more than 100 parents objecting to the publication. The Ames Library Board voted 6-1 to support library Director Art Weeks' recommendation to keep the magazine Sex, Ect., in the teen section. The magazine is written by and for teens under the oversight of Answer, a national sexuality organization at Rutgers University. It addresses teen sexuality issues, substance abuse and eating disorders.

Former Velvet Underground members Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker and Doug Yule will make an extremely rare joint public appearance on December 8 at the New York Public Library. The three will discuss the Velvet Underground's music and legacy with rock journalist David Fricke as part of the "LIVE from the NYPL" series. The reunion of the legendary New York band comes on the heels of the publication of "The Velvet Underground: New York Art," a compendium of previously unseen photographs, poster and cover designs by Andy Warhol, Lou Reed's handwritten music and lyrics, underground press clippings and other reviews, flyers,...

KIRKUK, Iraq, Nov. 13, 2009 – The public library here is receiving a facelift that highlights the building’s 72-year heritage while hiding modern amenities. The 72-year-old public library in Kirkuk, Iraq, is undergoing a $453,000 renovation designed to highlight the building’s classic look. U.S. Army photo by Rizgar Jan  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The $453,000 project, funded through the Commander’s Emergency Relief Fund, calls for complete renovation of the library’s electrical system, plumbing and heating plant, as well as installation of an air conditioning system and renovation of interior spaces. "For centuries, Iraq's libraries and universities were renowned...

About the George W. Bush Presidential Center The George W. Bush Presidential Center will be the centerpiece of President and Mrs. Bush's ongoing commitment to improving our nation and the world. It will examine the ideals and principles that guided President Bush's major decisions throughout the defining years of his presidency. The Center will be a platform from which world-class scholars can build upon these principles—contributing vital new ideas to shape current and future public policy debates. Live Streaming Video starting at 2pm Central time

My friend is a certified elementary teacher. Teachers are getting paid $125-150/session (which is an hour) to teach classes at the library on weekends like arts&crafts. They move around to different libraries. In return, you know the teachers help the library out when the vote to cut their budget comes... This job could be filled by a library worker, a college student as an intern, or by offering a lot less $25-50/hr. Additionally the library renting dvds helped take care of blockbuster. At what point do we cut the budget of the sacred library?

Visit most public school libraries and you'll find an array of books that address the subject of homosexuality. Many include sexually explicit content, and some even include graphic images. But if you're looking for a book that refers to the possibility that homosexuality can be "reversed," a Chicago-based group says your best bet is the banned books list.

Visit most public school libraries and you'll find an array of books that address the subject of homosexuality. Many include sexually explicit content, and some even include graphic images. But if you're looking for a book that refers to the possibility that homosexuality can be "reversed," a Chicago-based group says your best bet is the banned books list. Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) says there's an entire community of people across the world who say that their sexual orientation changed from gay to straight. But they're not getting their message out, the group says, because libraries across...

Locals express concerns about "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," which includes a rape scene of an 8-year-old. An autobiography by renowned author Maya Angelou has become the latest book in Orange County to be challenged as unfit for school libraries. Judy Ahrens, a former Westminster School District trustee, took to the podium at Monday's Huntington Beach City Council meeting to read a scene from Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'' that details the rape of an 8-year-old girl. The reading was a demonstration on why the book should be banned, she told the audience. "I would...

In one small Michigan town, another chapter is being written in a controversial library debate. On September 23, nearly 300 Owosso, Mich. citizens crowded a local middle school to discuss whether or not filtering software should be placed on all Shiawassee District Library computers. The filters would prevent patrons from accessing "adult content."

The novelist and children's writer Philip Pullman has been showered with awards that include a CBE, a Carnegie Medal and several honorary professorships. This week he notched up a new distinction: he is ranked second in the top 10 books that people have tried to ban across America. Pullman's fantasy trilogy, His Dark Materials, has leapt to the top of the target list of would-be censors in the new rankings issued this week by the American Library Association. Several schools across America faced requests from parents to remove the book. One challenge at a school in Winchester, Kentucky was made...

How ironic it is that when news emerges of Governor Palin's book becoming available prior to its expected date, she shows up in my school's library. No, she didn't show up in person and no, there was no announcement to inform interested students about her book, which reportedly is already number one on the Barnes and Noble list. She showed up in the center of a display highlighting Banned Books Week.

The City of Brotherly Love isn't showing much to book lovers. All 54 of Philadelphia's libraries are scheduled to close because the state of Pennsylvania has not been able to pass a budget to fund the library system. "All branch and regional library programs, including programs for children and teens, after school programs, computer classes, and programs for adults, will be cancelled," the Free Library posted in a notice on its Web site. All 250,000 books, disks and other items that have been borrowed are now due Oct. 1, and nothing can be borrowed after Sept. 30. Pennsylvania lawmakers are...

We deeply regret to inform you that without the necessary budgetary legislation by the State Legislature in Harrisburg, the City of Philadelphia will not have the funds to operate our neighborhood branch libraries, regional libraries, or the Parkway Central Library after October 2, 2009. Specifically, the following will take effect after the close of business, October 2, 2009: * All branch and regional library programs, including programs for children and teens, after school programs, computer classes, and programs for adults, will be cancelled * All Parkway Central Library programs, including children programs, programs to support small businesses and job seekers,...

ASHBURNHAM - There are rolling hills and ivy-covered brick buildings. There are small classrooms, high-tech labs, and well-manicured fields. There’s even a clock tower with a massive bell that rings for special events. Cushing Academy has all the hallmarks of a New England prep school, with one exception. This year, after having amassed a collection of more than 20,000 books, officials at the pristine campus about 90 minutes west of Boston have decided the 144-year-old school no longer needs a traditional library. The academy’s administrators have decided to discard all their books and have given away half of what stocked...

Brooklyn's chief librarian has yanked a nearly 80-year-old book from the shelves because it depicts Africans as monkeys. Tintin Au Congo is the only book in the city library system hidden from public view after a reader complained that it was "racially offensive." The popular Belgian children's work - due to be made into a movie by Steven Spielberg - is locked behind a series of hidden doors on the third floor of Brooklyn's central library. "'Tintin au Congo' was relocated," said director Richard Reyes-Gavilan. Library officials across the city said they've debated pulling about 25 books and DVDs from...

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Separation of church and state is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution but that doesn't mean the Bible can't be admired and appreciated by a public or government institution. Take the Library of Congress in Washington. It has an immense Bible collection, one augmented with modern technology. The interactive equipment available in the Library of Congress is making the Scriptures accessible to a high-tech generation, said Robert M. Sokol, project manager for the "New Visitors Experience" program at the largest library in the world. The most celebrated Bibles in the collection are the Gutenberg Bible and the Giant...

A Library of Congress curator is on a worldwide mission to find exact copies of the books that belonged to Thomas Jefferson For more than a decade, Mark Dimunation has led a quest to rebuild an American treasure—knowing he will likely never see the complete results of his efforts. On an August day 195 years ago, the British burned the U.S. Capitol in the War of 1812 and by doing so, destroyed the first Library of Congress. When the war ended, former President Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his personal library, which at 6,487 books was the largest in America,...

Last week, my wife and I concluded a trip to California with a visit to the Reagan Library, a place I had always wanted to visit.It wasn't exactly easy or convenient. We were staying in the Palm Springs area at the conclusion of a family wedding (her side, our nephew) and it was our first visit to California since the last family wedding five years ago. Our itinieary for the day consisted of dropping our daughter off at the John Wayne airport for a noon flight back to her college in Idaho, a quick lunch and an afternoon at the...