Daily Thoughts 5/23/2010

A magnificent reading room in the Vilnius University Library.5, October 2007, taken by Thomas Guignard, Lausanne, Switzerland, Creative Commons Share Alike Attribution 2.0 From Wikimedia.

Daily Thoughts 5/23/2010

The American Library Association has a new Awards, Grants, and Scholarships page, released on May 22, 2010. http://www.ala.org/template.cfm?template=/CFApps/awards_info/browse.cfm&FilePublishTitle=Awards,%20Grants%20and%20Scholarships&rtype=ALL

Sent out two postcards for the Postcard Campaign to save New York City libraries. http://reforma-northeast.org/postcardcampaign.html

A satirical article from the Huffington Post, Is Print Dead? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ja-konrath/is-print-dead_b_583959.html?ref=fb&src=sp

I am reading Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay. There are some very interesting things about the novel. The main character, Shen Tai, calls his kingdom Kitai which is the Russian word for China. He also describes Sardian horses. Sardia was a kingdom along the Silk Route. This is a very different style of fantasy drawing from a mix of Eurasian and Chinese history.

There is a feeling that the author has been drawing from readings of both imperial China, and the more eastern tribal peoples. There are pieces of the book that remind me of the Book of Dede Korkut. The story is not just heroic, there is court intrigue, poetry, wine, and love. It is an intriguing read so far.

I just found out that the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund of which I am a member is having a fundraiser at Book Expo America sponsored by Image and DC comics. It should be very interesting.

Daily Thoughts 5/20/2010

Illustration of the Converse Memorial Library, Malden, Massachusetts, USA. Architect H. H. Richardson. This figure is contemporary with the building's dedication, 3 October 1885, American Architect Building News

Daily Thoughts 5/20/2010

Queens Library, http://www.queenslibrary.org/, New York Public Library http://www.nypl.org/, and Brooklyn Public Library http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/ in New York all face very large budget cuts. This will not just affect libraries, it will have a strong effect on the publishing industry which relies on libraries for their backlist of older titles which often are not in bookstores. If you want to keep many of the classics and older books alive, it is important to keep libraries alive. Libraries are centers of cultural memory. Bookstores are more focused on the immediate and current and often are not as deeply focused on the past.

Also closing libraries will have a ripple effect on so many publishing institutions in New York. New York Public Library is a symbol for the book in the whole United States. Diminishing its effect will have a negative impact on the publishing industry in the area. It could have a stronger effect on the media industry than most people realize. Librarians are often writers or supporters of book culture. The immediate cuts will carry into business in the surrounding area. Big publishing houses like Scholastic, MacMillan, Random House, and others will be strongly affected. It is not just books that will be affected, the magazine industry could take a serious hit as well. It is short sighted.

I understand the need for cuts across the city, but the cuts are not even. A 30% cut in budget is a little bit too much for libraries. I don't see the city taking the time to analyze and take apart spending with audits or austerity programs for every department in Manhattan. It will eventually come to this.

There is also a postcard campaign for New York City Libraries. It adds a more personal element to the campaign. http://reforma-northeast.org/postcardcampaign.html

It is not just Manhattan that is being effected, other large municipal library systems in the United States are under scrutiny by city councils. There is also a save http://peopleofboston.org/ Boston Public Library
http://www.savelapl.org/ Los Angeles Public Library campaign. Many cities do not see libraries as being essential services.

If you read The State of America's Libraries 2010 http://ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/mediapresscenter/americaslibraries/ALA_Report_2010-ATI001-NEW1.pdf , the American Library Association describes increased usage of libraries combined with less funding. Some of the services described are critical. In many communities, the library is the only source of free computers and internet access. It helps bridge the digital divide. Also, these computers are often used to search for jobs and government information which would not be readily available to many people in the community who do not have a computer.

On a more personal note, students at UCSC where I got my undergraduate degree in anthropology are protesting library cuts. They staged a "study-in". http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_15073038

Daily Thoughst 3/8/2009

Engraving of a Reader Source Octave Uzanne, Le Livre, Paris, A. Quantin, 1880.
Date 18th Century

Daily Thoughts 3/8/2009

Today was a bit frightening. There is so much political theater on the television going on. All of the pundits are spouting fear. I was at the deli and get a chance to watch Ann Coulter spout her brand of fear. Then later at night, while I was at the laundromat, I was watching 60 Minutes and they were putting out their own special brand of fear, how banks are shut down when they fail by FDIC. It was informative and very scary.

We are in for some very interesting times. Governor Paterson in New York is cutting library budgets. More people are coming in. Things were just going along. Now, I feel, I am going to have to justify everything I do in terms of money. This means lots more statistics and demands for greater results from the community with less money.

I spent some time printing out some of the poetry I had written from this blog. I am going to read it on Tuesday. We are having an open microphone poetry/spoken word event. We decided to add spoken word to our flyers hoping it will get some more people to come. I think I have at least three or four people with original material. One of them got their name in the paper at another poetry reading, he is a boxing poet. Another person has a spoken word cd. The last person has been coming to our library for over twenty years.

I am still reading Words In Your Face.