Wellesley Townsman has an article about the library's summer plans, including celebrating the library's 125th year! The library is selling commemorative t-shirts to benefit the Wellesley Free Library Foundation. Read the article here .

Has your library been featured in your local newpaper? Got some great pics at a library event? Be sure to let us know so we can feature on our blog. Email sarah@mmrls.org

Those of you who read Perez Hilton's celebrity blog are probably familiar with his regular "A Worthwhile Cause" posts, in which he bring attention to causes and how his readers can get involved. On June 29, 2009, Perez featured Save Ohio Libraries in his blog. While not everything on his blog is of note, his post has many, many comments thanking him for his support of libraries. Save Ohio Libraries also thanked Perez on their site.

 

Donna Johns, Library Teacher at Newton North HS and Robin Cicchetti, head librarian at Concord-Carlisle Regional HS, were interviewed for an article that appeared in the June 28, 2009 edition of the Boston Sunday Globe-West edition. The article, titled Sands Shift in Summer Reading, reports the recent shift in school summer reading lists. Popular titles are finding their way onto lists. Read the entire article online here .

National Public Radio did a program with Sari Feldman, President-Elect of the Public Library Association, and  regular parenting contributor Jolene Ivey on books and activities to share with kids this summer. Click here to hear the program.

Shrewsbury Public Library's YA Librarian, Dan Barbour is a contestant on ABC's summer reality game show "I Survived a Japanese Game Show! "

Contestants "compete to win $250,000 by being the last player standing following a series of wild challenges similar to those found on actual Japanese game shows." 

Read the rest of the article here . Dan spend almost one month this winter filming in Japan.

Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands launch Library Legacy Project
 
Poet Emily Dickinson once famously wrote, “There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away.”  
 
This summer the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands (Friends) are taking New England readers on special literary journey to the fascinating islands of the Boston Harbor Islands National Park. As part of a special Library Legacy project, the Friends will donate three Boston Harbor Islands- related books to neighborhood libraries and libraries of the schools whose students have visited the islands
 
The Library Legacy project is part of a year-long celebration of the Friends’ 30th anniversary. Hundreds of volunteers from the Friends have worked to increase access to the harbor’s dramatic islands and to make the experience more enjoyable and informative once visitors arrive.

Libraries who wish to request books may call the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands at 781-740-4290, email info@fbhi.org, or write to 349 Lincoln St., Hingham, MA 02043. See www.fbhi.org. For libraries that seek more extensive holdings on this topic, the Friends can provide a more complete bibliography. The Friends will also arrange for a speaker or another Harbor Islands-related event libraries on request. 

Peter Alexander reported this morning on the Today Show that library use is up while funding and staff are down. Something we already knew but nice to see the news addressing our dilemma..how to keep up with increased usage with less staff and money. View the report here .

 

Last weekend, Judy Zomer, Carol Shilakowsky and I attended Book Expo in NYC. We had a great time! And you can read what other librarians were up to on Library Journal . Want to go? Be sure to be on the lookout for info if we do another bus trip next year!

This was posted on Yahoo! Questions, and re-posted on Boing Boing.net. It poses an interesting question: A student turns an unoccupied locker into a lending library of books banned in his school library. Is this illegal? Read the entire article and comments here .

The Civil Recovery Times, from the Office of the Governor, has released a newsletter that may have some helpful information for your patrons. Click here to view and print copies.

Did you miss Fringe last night, so you could see the Live Results show of Dancing with the Stars? Do you not have  a DVR (no worried...neither do I!)? Thankfully there is Hulu.com , a website where you can stream tv shows and movies, new and old and not pay a cent. Many networks offer up their most popular shows to be viewed free of charge and legally on hulu.com. You won't find every show, but there are literally hundreds to choose from. The only catch? You must be connected to the internet to watch..no downloading, only streaming. How is this a free service, you ask? Like all tv shows, there are commercials, but they are short, usually 30 second breaks that air in the place of commercial breaks. You may have seen commercials for Hulu.com air during the Super Bowl starring Alec Baldwin (mush, brain, mush) or the newest one featuring Family Guy creator Seth MacFarland (he's an alien, didn't you know?) Seriously, what did I do before Hulu.com? Read lots more books, I am sure!

Congrats to Robin Brenner, Young Adult Librarian at the Brookline Public Library, on being voted to serve on the Margaret A. Edwards Committee!

From ALA:
"The Margaret A. Edwards Award, established in 1988, honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature."

For more on the Margaret A. Edwards Award, please click here .

YAY Robin!

As you probably all know by now, I am a big fan of Google, and all the cool Google products. But none so much as iGoogle . iGoogle is your own personal Google homepage, where you can select a template (known as a theme), and have a place to see your new mail messages, track new additions to your favorite blogs, set up a personalized news feed, check the weather, and see your schedule! It even makes coffee! Ok, no it doesn't, but there are literally hundreds of options (called stuff) that you can add to your homepage. Games, moon phases, quotes and how to's of the day, optical illusions, you name it! But perhaps the bext thing about iGoogle is it's ability to organize...you sign in just one place in the morning, and you have access to all the sites you usually check out! And, of course, if is free. All you need is a Google account, and if you already have a blogger, gmail, or gchat account, you are all set!

Check out my iGoogle page:

 

 

Yes, that is a Super Mario Bros. theme. 

You are appreciated!

Check out this YouTube video for a laugh.

Libraries get their day in Boston
More than 200 library directors, advocates, trustees, patrons, library directors and members of Friends of libraries converged on the Massachusetts State House last Thursday for the annual Library Legislative Day.

Read more about the event here .