Harper Collins

My sister got this email from Change.org and forwarded it on to me. I'm sure many of you know Andy, who blogs at http://agnosticmaybe.wordpress.com/, and his campaigns but I thought I would share if you haven't signed the petition yet...

"By day, Andy Woodworth is a mild-mannered librarian. By night, he's still a librarian, just less mild-mannered.
Andy is kind of famous in the librarian community, mostly for getting the Old Spice guy to do a video about how great libraries are, and unsuccessfully campaigning to get Ben & Jerry's to create a flavor called the "Gooey Decimal System." (If you don't get the pun, just ask someone ten years older.)
Oh, and now he's using Change.org to help lead the charge in a fight against NewsCorp, one of the world's most powerful companies.

See, more and more libraries are beginning to buy e-books, like those read on a Kindle or similar device. They're programmed to be like normal books -- lent out to one reader at a time, returned, and downloaded by another reader. It's simple, and especially great for working parents or the disabled who have a hard time making it to a library.
  But publishing giant HarperCollins (owned by NewsCorp) is trying to force libraries to only buy e-books that literally self-destruct after the 26th reader in an attempt to maximize profits.
 Having to repeatedly buy the same book will be a financial and logistical disaster for libraries, one that could force a few to close their doors.

  Even worse, there are signs that other publishing companies may soon follow the lead of HarperCollins, which could devastate libraries all around the world. 
Some amazing librarians have launched a full boycott of HarperCollins until the decision is reversed, but they urgently need widespread support to force NewsCorp to back down.

Andy's petition demanding an end to self-destructing e-books has a goal of 100,000 signatures -- click here to add your name now:
http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-harpercollins-limited-checkouts-on-ebooks-is-wrong-for-libraries
Andy declares on his blog that "The world needs more badass librarians." It's true, though right now the world also needs more readers who will stand alongside them.
Thanks for doing your part,
Patrick and the Change.org team"

posted by Kirby

Open Letter to New Librarians in Library Journal

Posted today on LibraryJournal.com is a letter from Roy Tennant to new (and new-ish) librarians, in response to a blog post by my friend Patrick (pcsweeney). It's a must-read for all librarians who are fired up but frustrated: Open-letter-to-new-librarians

All IMLS, LSTA Funding in Jeopardy | American Libraries Magazine

Anna and I are 2010 Eureka! Leadership Institute fellows. We are both working on projects that will help parenting teens provide an educational foundation for their children by bringing early literacy enriched storytimes to the mothers at their respective high schools. The bottom line goal for both of our projects is simple: teach teen moms how to read and select materials for their children, so they can give their children the tools for success.

 Although we did not write the proposals together (and did not know what the other one was working on until we arrived at the Institute) we are collaborating as much as possible to help stretch our money. We are currently waiting for the grant funds to arrive, and today we learned that funding might not ever come. Check out this article: All IMLS, LSTA Funding in Jeopardy American Libraries Magazine and then please write/email/call your rep today.