Please enjoy these library-related thoughts and links. I love these Little Free Libraries, which I discovered thanks to M@. These birdhouse-like structures sheltering books are like the domesticated version of Book Crossing, which wants books released “into the wild”. Here are some libraries changing lives on a scale Andrew Carnegie
Continue readingTag: becoming a librarian
wmtc: nyc reflections part 4: know the past, find the future, nypl centennial free book
Roy Blount contemplates the original Winnie-the-PoohI have one last snippet to share from our recent, brief trip to New York City. My friend NN, who writes this blog, surprised me with a wonderful gift. To celebrate its centennial, the New York Public …
Continue readingwmtc: urgent! new threat to toronto public library: make your voice heard
Read and sign the petition!From Our Public Library::* * * *The first order of business of Mayor Ford’s handpicked Toronto Library Board was to cut 100 librarians and other staff.Even though there is not a single children’s librarian in the entire s…
Continue readingwmtc: guerrilla librianship meets the occupied wall street journal
From the Occupied Wall Street Journal #3:Howard Zinn is here. Dominick Dunne and Tom Wolfe, too. Ernest Hemingway and Barbara Ehrenreich and Dr. Who and Beowulf: All here, and all free. Barnes & Noble may be endangered and the Borders across the st…
Continue readingwmtc: occupy: the people’s library and how to build the movement
In my post here, recapping a report-back from Occupy Wall Street, I mentioned The People’s Library – but I neglected to see if the people’s librarians have a blog. Silly me, of course they do! Please visit and scroll through, it’s quite amazing: Occupy…
Continue readingwmtc: green tomatoes, red socks, and a white dog, plus libraries of many hues
For those of you following…First, and most importantly, Tala. She is doing really well! After our last trip to Guelph, we added on a second medication, one designed to specifically target nerve pain. We had to give that several weeks to kick in, with…
Continue readingwmtc: toronto public library update with great videos
The winners of the My Library Matters to Me contest – offering a walking tour and lunch with the likes of Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje and other prominent Toronto authors – have been posted: You can read them here.The organizers received more than…
Continue readingwmtc: back to school
My classes resume today, my third year of four, fifth term of eight. I’ve been dreading this for weeks, but for the past few days, the dread has been overwhelming. I’m halfway done with the program, but for some reason, the start of this school year fe…
Continue readingwmtc: why my library matters to me: win lunch and a walking tour with atwood or ondaatje
Some of you may have recently received this somewhat cryptic email from Maureen O’Reilly of the campaign to save Toronto Public Library.In a few days, I will be announcing an exciting new contest called My Library Matters to Me. . . . Some of the big…
Continue readingwmtc: video: 14-year-old girl’s impassioned plea for public libraries
Annika Tabovaradan is an awesome force in the world. She is a girl willing to overcome her fears to defend her rights and the rights of others, a girl who sees herself as part of a community, who understands that we all depend on each other. Down the r…
Continue readingwmtc: the ford brothers vs libraries, next installment: reason for hope
By now you’ve probably heard that the City of Toronto public budget hearings continued through the night and into the morning, making this the longest City Council meeting in the city’s history.The Star reports:Some 168 people took Mayor Rob Ford up on…
Continue readingwmtc: imp strump: the library as public oasis
Impudent Strumpet:If home is too crowded or noisy or uncomfortable or abusive or non-existent, having somewhere else to go – a perfectly respectable place to go and to be (compare the connotations of spending hours in the library vs. spending hours in …
Continue readingwmtc: the ford brothers vs. libraries, continued
Doug Ford: Why do we need another little library in the middle of nowhere that no one uses?”Library users: We want our votes back.The Star is devoting some serious real estate to Fords vs. TPL. I happened to see a hard copy (at the library!) today, and…
Continue readingwmtc: trials of a student librarian: i can shelve
I passed the page test!I think it was a bit easier than I was led to believe. On the phone, I was told the test had to be completed in six minutes. But before the actual test, I was told I had “up to 10 minutes,” with points deducted for time over six …
Continue readingwmtc: toronto, your mayor wants to hear from you. tell him you value your public library.
When Toronto City Council’s executive committee meets on Thursday to start making decisions about the future of the Toronto Public Library, you can help defend Toronto Public Library. And if you can’t make it, you can surely make a phone call.The com…
Continue readingwmtc: toronto has more donut shops than libraries. fight to keep the libraries open.
Toronto City Councillor Doug Ford thinks his city has more libraries than donut shops. In fact:When the Urban Affairs branch closes, Toronto will have 3.9 libraries per 100,000 people, which is what Vancouver has. Halifax has 4.3 libraries per 100,000 …
Continue readingwmtc: help protect tpl from ford’s privatization rampage
Mayor Rob Ford is out to privatize the living daylights out of Toronto. Privatization is a great deal for the corporations that pick up lucrative contracts, and a very bad deal for everyone else. As privatization grows, quality of life erodes.Next on F…
Continue readingwmtc: trials of a student librarian: in which i confess to practicing my alphabet
In addition to writing a large portion of the final report for the “Private Eyes” research project, I’ve been stressing over something else – something I decided not to share, until today. I finally have an interview for a page position at the Mississa…
Continue readingwmtc: watching the watchers: ipsi research day today
The project I’ve been working on – my summer position as a research assistant – is in the spotlight today, as two of the IPSI research teams give a public progress report.IPSI Research Day – Proportionate Digital ID + Video SurveillanceSponsor: Identit…
Continue readingwmtc: books on books, part 3: reading matters: what the research reveals about reading, libraries and community
Nobody reads anymore, or nobody reads anything worth reading.
At least that’s what we’re supposed to believe. These days everyone is too busy playing video games, watching YouTube and texting. Before that, everyone was too busy listening to loud musi…
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