Public Libraries

Promoting local public libraries since 1999

Public libraries are the Netflix of print books

Ever wonder why there is no Netflix of physical books?  Sure, a quick search on your favorite search engine will quickly pull up several companies offering a “Netflix-style” service for books, but none of them are even remotely popular as the video subscription company. [Read more…]

Are children the future of public libraries?

It’s a well known fact that librarians love kids.  We all know that libraries all have a special place in their heart for children.  It undoubtedly comes from the excitement of watching a child learn to read and experience the joy of reading. [Read more…]

Public libraries should filter porn on library computers

Seattlepi.com reported today that a woman with her kids at the Lake City Branch of the Seattle Public Library complained when she saw a man watching porn on a computer with a screen that could be seen from the information desk of the library.  She asked a librarian to ask the man to move to a more private area and the librarian refused stating that “the library doesn’t censor content”.  The woman, Julie Howe, said that one of her daughters (ages 7 and 10) saw what the man was watching. [Read more…]

Community college library in Illinois opens while Chicago libraries close

Elgin Community College (ECC) celebrated the grand opening of their Academic Library and Learning Center last Friday.  The library is special compared to the libraries at other Illinois colleges because it required a voter referendum that requested $178 million in property taxes in April of 2009.  That was just six months after Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and was during a very uncertain economic environment.  Voters barely approved the referendum with 19488 in favor and 19453 opposed. [Read more…]