Citation
by Eileen Fitzsimons, E. (2006), "Noteworthy and newsworthy", The Bottom Line, Vol. 19 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/bl.2006.17019dab.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Noteworthy and newsworthy
The new bookshelf
Management Skills for Archivists and Records ManagersElizabeth Shepherd and Karen AndersonFACET – the imprint of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (formerly the British Library Association)256 pp.$95.00ISBN 1856045846
Archivists and records managers encounter unique management issues in their day-to-day work. This new guide helps professionals develop skills that will enhance both their own satisfaction with their work and the satisfaction of their employer or parent organization. Written by leaders in the field, each chapter draws from current thinking and theory while still providing practical advice. Coverage includes key aspects of managing archives and records repositories, such as long range planning; project management; budgeting; staff supervision; performance assessment; advocacy; and training and development. The practical advice is supported by real-world scenarios and examples. This guide is an ideal resource for students, new professionals, or newly promoted managers.
Library Service to the Incarcerated: Applying the Public Library Model in Correctional Facility LibrariesSheila Clark and Erica MacCreaighLibraries UnlimitedPaperback264 pp.$40.00ISBN 1591582903
Learn how to provide exemplary library service to individuals in prison or jail, by applying the public library model when working with inmate populations. These authors, a jail librarian and an outreach librarian, offer a wealth of insights and ideas, answering questions about facilities and equipment, collection development, services and programming; computers and the internet; managing human resources, including volunteers and inmate workers; budgeting and funding; and advocacy within the facility and in the community. The approach is practical and down-to-earth, with numerous examples and anecdotes to illustrate concepts.
Sheila Clark is Library Supervisor, Arapahoe Library District, Detention Facility Library in Centennial, Colorado and has also worked in public and public school libraries, and a synagogue library. Sheila also is involved in the Begin With Books in Jail and Choose Freedom – READ! programs.
Erica MacCreaigh is Outreach Services Librarian, Arapahoe Library District, Centennial, Colorado.
Tennessee judge rules library can privatize
A county chancery court has determined that the Jackson-Madison County (Tenn.) Library board is empowered to outsource the library’s management to a private company. In his July 31 ruling, Chancellor James F. Butler said the board has the “authority to enter into contracts relative to the operation of the library,” according to the August 9 Jackson Sun.
In an effort to optimize operating expenses, the library board had considered bids in April from two companies – Library Systems and Services (LSSI), of Germantown, Maryland, and Information International Associates, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee – as well as a counterproposal from the current administration. But after LSSI indicated that their bid might involve some cuts in existing staff, Madison County commissioners obtained a court injunction against accepting any offers until a judge clarified the board’s legal right to hire an outside management firm.
Library Executive Director Thomas Aud told American Libraries that in putting together the library’s own bid he was essentially attempting to keep everyone’s jobs. “The board set a requirement that 20 percent of the budget go toward materials,” he said, “but I told them that would result in less qualified staff to help library users find those materials.”
Aud said that county commissioners were planning to meet August 21 to decide on whether to appeal the court’s ruling.
Board Chair Kathryn Swindle told the Sun, “We’re trying to improve the library for citizens of the city and county. The judge has given us an awesome responsibility.” The library is jointly funded by the city and the county. It has an operating budget for 2006-2007 of $975,200, with 65 percent spent on personnel.
Posted August 11, 2006
University of California joins Google Books Library Project
The University of California joined five other research libraries August 9 in Google’s efforts to digitize books and provide access to their contents through its search engine. The deal covers more than 100 libraries on the university’s ten campuses, with collections totaling more than 34 million volumes.
The search-engine company launched the Google Books Library Project in December 2004 in partnership with Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford Universities; the University of Michigan; and New York Public Library. Search results allow users to look at the full text of a book if it is in the public domain, but only allow relevant snippets of text if the title is protected by copyright.
The Association of American Publishers has filed a lawsuit to block the Google project on the basis of copyright infringement. Allen Adler, AAP vice president of legal and government relations, told the Associated Press that UC’s action was “a curious decision to make, given the pending litigation and legal uncertainties” surrounding the project.
“Obviously we’re concerned with the sentiments and interests of our publishing partners”, Dan Greenstein, university librarian for system wide library planning, said in the August 9 Cnet online news. “We will work in compliance with the law.”
The University of California is already participating in the Open Content Alliance, an initiative led by Yahoo and the non-profit Internet Alliance that will scan and digitize only texts in the public domain. Jennifer Colvin, strategic communications manager at UC’s California Digital Library, which works on digitization projects for the UC school system, told Cnet that the university’s involvement with two seemingly competing scanning projects posed no conflict or problem. “We value our partnership with the OCA”, she said. “As a public institution, we believe in making our materials as widely and freely available as possible.”
Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle told Cnet that while he was pleased the university will continue to work with the OCA, he criticized UC for “privatizing its library system” by agreeing to Google’s limitations on distributing and sharing copies of digitized books. “They’re effectively giving their library to a single corporation,” he said. “Having a public institution decide to go with Google’s restrictions doesn’t help the idea of libraries being open in the future.”
Posted August 9, 2006
ALA forthcomingALA-APA Salary Survey 2006: Non-MLS – Public and Academic: A Survey of Public and Academic Library Positions not Requiring an ALA-Accredited Master’s DegreeALA-Allied Professional Association and Office for Research and StatisticsPaperback$100.00ALA Member price, $90.00$ 40.00ISBN 0838983979Useful for non-MLS Accredited professionals seeking employment in academic and public libraries, this first national survey covers 62 positions in all departments: associate librarians, library technical assistants, copy catalogers and interlibrary loan assistants, information technology managers, human resource managers, administrative assistants, and accountants.
The ALA-Allied Professional Association is a non-profit organization chartered in the State of Illinois and established “to promote the mutual professional interests of librarians and other library workers”.
The mission of the Office for Research and Statistics (ORS) is to provide leadership and expert advice to ALA staff, members, and public on all matters related to research and statistics about libraries, librarians, and other library stuff; represent the Association to Federal agencies on these issues; and initiate projects needed to expand the knowledge base of the field through research and the collection of useful statistics.
www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog2&_pn=product_detail&op=2153top
Upcoming LAMA Regional InstitutesOctober 11, 2006, St Louis, MO
“Integrating learning with work”Presenter: Julie TodaroSponsor: Midcontinental Medical Library AssociationContact: Cathy Sarli, sarlic@msnotes.wustl.eduFor complete information on the LAMA Regional Institute program: www.ala.org/ala/lama/lamaevents/lamaregionalinstitutes/LAMARI.htm
Edited by Eileen FitzsimonsFitzsimons Editorial Consultants, Chicago, Illinois, USA