European Digital Library

Here's a fact sheet from the European Commission on the European Digital Library project

Online access from public libraries

(from http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/015954.html)
Public libraries are sole source of online employment and education information for millions of Americans

ALA: "Ever-growing patron demand for computer and Internet services in U.S. public libraries has stretched existing Internet bandwidth, computer availability, and building infrastructure to capacity, according to a new study “Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2006-2007,” conducted by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Information Use Management and Policy Institute at Florida State University (FSU). The study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and ALA, found that more than 73 percent of libraries report they are the only source of free public access to computers and the Internet in their communities. Surveyed libraries said that the top three Internet services most critical to their community are online educational resources and databases for K-12 students (67.7 percent); services for job seekers (44 percent); and computer and Internet skills training (29.8 percent)."

Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2006-2007 Report

Staffers fear library's too pop-fixated

Excerpt from a Sacramento Bee article: "The idea of the library as a cloistered hall where everyone whispers is giving way to a place where people go read books, have conversations and increasingly want audio-visual materials," Dickinson said. "I think this is all part and parcel of what the public wants."
Personally, I can't imagine anything more soothing than a "cloistered hall where everyone whispers" - where can I find one?

2007 State of America's Libraries

From the press release announcing the ALA report 2007 State of America's Libraries
Predicted demise due to Internet fails to materialize
(CHICAGO) Ten years after some experts predicted the demise of the nation's system of libraries as a result of the Internet explosion, the most current national data on library use shows that the exact opposite has happened. Data released today by the American Library Association (ALA) indicates that the number of visits to public libraries in the United States increased 61 percent between 1994 and 2004.

LibSite

This is a very professionally done "recommendation site for library-related web services" - and could become an invaluable resource if people contribute to it!

Ten Tech Trends for Librarians

Michael Stephen's Tame the Web blog identifies 10 trends that the librarian profession will need to follow in 2007, and which will have an impact on the essential duties of a librarian according to Stephens: Learn to Learn, Adapt to Change and Scan the Horizon. If you're confused about all the talk of web 2.0 and library 2.0, this might be helpful.

The Librarian's Nosegay

Thanks Laura for the tip about Shifted Librarian's post on keeping up when you don't have time. There's already an rss feed from Shifted Librarian over on the left, but I've also now made a composite RSS feed from some of the other sites the Shifted Librarian recommends, plus another favorite, Phil Bradley's blog I've dubbed this redolent little bouquet the Librarian's Nosegay, and you'll find it among the others in the column of RSS feeds (you have to scroll quite a ways down, but that's because there's so much good stuff there!). In addition to Phil's blog, Librarian's Nosegay retrieves rss from Librarian in Black, Library Garden, Library Link of the Day, and Tame the Web. If you'd like to subscribe to the Librarian's Nosegay rss feed with your favorite feedreader or rss enabled browser rather than check it here during hourly visits to ircworld, use the url
http://app.feeddigest.com/digest3/DXCOMZHSS1.js