Friday fun diversion!
A library can operate without a cat, but a library with a cat is special. They draw new patrons to the library, they make people smile, calm the staff, and they keep mice away. Some also work to promote literacy, library use, and pet adoption. And curling up with a cat and a good book is a pleasant way to spend time at the local library.
Read about them all: 10 Cats Who Live at the Library | Mental Floss.
Librarians are known for their creativity and love of technology. And with today’s easy-to-use video-making apps and programs, librarians are using these twin passions to create some terrific marketing videos for their libraries. [Here] are 10 great library videos, everything from parody to patron endorsements to ghouls in the stacks.
My favourite, the UMD “Gangnam Style” parody.
See them all: 10 Great Library Marketing Videos | Mosio for Libraries – Virtual Reference Software
Earlier this year, digital content distributor OverDrive partnered with publisher Sourcebooks in an experiment aimed at establishing concrete data on how readers respond in terms of book borrows and book sales to digital titles they check out from their libraries.
Now, OverDrive is partnering with HarperCollins on a second installment of the project, this time using a children’s book and including school libraries in the experiment. In addition, the audiobook of this title will be available as well at no-cost and with multiple checkouts, just like the digital title.
Read: Second OverDrive “Big Library Read” Project Includes School Libraries | GoodEReader.
Note that Lita Casey was a library aide. The article title is misleading.
9-year-old Tyler Weaver was accused of ‘hogging’ the Hudson Falls Free Library summer reading contest after winning five years in a row. The library fired Lita Casey after she spoke up for her little friend.
The Full Story: New York librarian fired after speaking up for child who read too much | NY Daily News.
The Toronto Public Library has just given another reason to love having a library card, and to enjoy this benefit you won’t even need to leave your house. TPL has partnered with leading digital newsstand provider Zinio to give members access to digital magazines for free.
Read the full story: Toronto Public Library now offers free digital magazines | BlogTO.
James Patterson said on “CBS This Morning” that he intended to help children become better readers. His announcement comes at a time when one in every seven American adults reads below a fifth grade level.
The bestselling author of the Alex Cross series said, “It’s so easy to get kids reading.” He offered an anecdote about his own son, stating, “When… Jack was 8, that summer we said ‘Jack, you have to read every day.’ And he said, ‘Do I have to?’ and we said, ‘unless you want to live in the garage.'”
Patterson urged viewers to go to local libraries or local bookstores, then made a surprising announcement: Over the next year, the author will donate $1 million of his own money to local bookstores. The only stipulation? The stores receiving donations must have children’s sections.
Indie bookstores and libraries alike have been receiving their fair share of donations from generous individuals; Last week, the Columbus Metropolitan Library broke ground on a new building thanks to a $1 million donation from one of its previous employees.
via James Patterson To Donate $1 Million To Indie Bookstores | HuffPosy Books.
Many thanks to all of you who took part in the 2013 Librarian Survey conducted by Wiley during May. We have produced this infographic to summarize the key results from the survey covering the areas of budgets, digital books, print vs digital journal preferences and patron driven acquisition.
There was a broad spread of responses from different territories, helped no doubt by the survey’s availability in nine languages. 37% of responses came from the Americas; 33% from countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and 31% from the Asia Pacific region.
See the end of the post for a summary of key takeaways at this link: 26% of book collections are now digital | Exchanges | Wiley.
I’m cheating a little with this one. See, the National Library of Israel is definitely a cool bookish place, but it doesn’t strictly….exist. At least not yet.
At this point, the library is in its design and competition phase, but Moshe Safdie, just released high-resolution renderings of his proposed design, and it is marvelous.
Read the full story with more pics: Cool Bookish Places: The National Library of Israel | BookRiot.
infophile 