This series of blogs will summarize and highlight important portions of our recent white paper, The New York City DOE/CUNY Library Collaborative: Bridging the Gap Between High School and College, which you can view here.
Read moreBridging the Gap Between High School & College: Part 5
The Edmonton Public Library’s outreach program, which focuses on supporting the city’s homeless population, is expanding to five more libraries. The program, which partners with Boyle Street Community Services, was launched in 2011 in response to the growing number of people seeking refuge at the downtown Stanley Milner branch. Jared Tkachuk, an outreach worker, explains … Read more
Some 110 school leaders from across the nation attended the National Connected Superintendents on November 20. The event was part of the Obama administration’s 5-year plan, ConnectED, to provide nearly universal high-speed broadband connectivity to schools and libraries. Currently, fewer than 40% of schools have access to high-speed Internet. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan … Read more
In this interview with Toby Litt, British author Neil Gaiman talks about the immense value of libraries and describes himself as a “feral child who was raised in libraries.” He notes that he was three or four when he first started visiting his local library and was “hooked” at the point that he could persuade … Read more
Beginning in early 2015, a two-year pilot project may enable the Salt Lake City Public Library’s downtown branch to stay open 24 hours a day. According to John Spears, executive director of the library, the goal of the project is to give homeless people a safe place to go at night, while also serving other … Read more
Despite the recent violent protests that followed the grand jury verdict in Ferguson, Missouri, the Ferguson Public Library stayed open. Library director and sole employee Scott Bonner, who describes himself as having a “very broad definition of librarianship,” has received significant contributions that may enable him to hire additional help. He also plan to purchase … Read more
In this pre-Thanksgiving post, Richard A. Carranza, president of The San Francisco Unified School District, thanks voters who recently passed the Children and Families First Initiative (Proposition C). The initiative provides $50 million in additional funding to San Francisco Schools in areas such as music and art, sports, wellness, and libraries. Proposition C supports the … Read more
This article explores how three libraries have “navigated a more serious route toward which slice of ‘maker pie’ would be most palatable to their communities and staff.” The libraries featured include the Simla branch of the Ebert County District Library (Colorado), the Middletown Free Library (Pennsylvania), and the Billings Public Library (Montana). Each library has … Read more
The Aspen Institute Dialogue on Public Libraries, which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has recently released a report, Rising to the Challenge: Re-Envisioning Public Libraries, that asks us “to reconsider how the library can serve communities in the 21st century.” The report focuses on the Chattanooga and Nashville public libraries for … Read more
By Tina Creguer
Rebecca used to think that her life would be uneventful at this stage, but, boy, was she wrong. Her son recently moved out and married, and she completed a degree program—just as her position was eliminated at her long-time employer. She has identified an opportunity in a nearby community and is considering starting her own business. Some days, she feels that the possibilities are endless. Other days, she’s overwhelmed and some self-doubt is starting to creep in. She’s looking for information to help her regain her confidence so she can move forward with some assurance that she is making good decisions that will shape her future.
Read moreSelf-Improvement Resources For Getting Passed Crossroads