Librarians Do Lady Gaga

Cutting libraries in a recession...

(Image: CuttingLibraries, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from daniel_solis's photostream)

(The image on Daniel's Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daniel_solis/4520024767/)

(via BoingBoing: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/05/05/cutting-libraries-in.html)

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

In February, I was able to attend a leadership mini-conference at the central library and take in a presentation by Geri Lynn Sponaas of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library http://www.plcmc.lib.nc.us/ . Geri Lynn is the supervisor of the Imagin On branch of that library system, which is a innovative branch that hosts library material and programming for youth in a building that they share with a local children's theatre company. Geri Lynn's presentation was inspiring and very interesting, and although she touched on how the downturn in the American economy had been effecting their library system I was sure that it would continue to be successful. So, I was very shocked to hear last week that due to budget cuts, they might be forced to close twelve libraries and lay-off dozens of staff. I don't think that the result will be quite as drastic as that and the library has already begun a grassroots campaign to raise the money (they've already received more than seventy thousand dollars!)

Good luck to CML! You'll be in my thoughts!

A library journal article on the budget cuts:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6723200.html?industryid=47101