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Ghostbusters Fans Take Over NY Library
 Ghostbusters Fans 
 Take Over NY Library 
in case you missed it
May 23, 2010 1:25 PM CDT

Ghostbusters Fans Take Over NY Library

Improv troupe performs scene based on movie; stunt was library's idea

(Newser) - The ghosts arrive first, and they're barely in their seats when the Ghostbusters show up to chase them out of the reading room at the New York Public Library. Both the Ghostbusters and their prey spread laughter throughout the Fifth Avenue landmark before receiving a round of applause as they...

Vigilante Mom Returns Gossip Girl Books to Library

Orlando-area woman says she made her point about smut

(Newser) - The Florida woman holding her local library's Gossip Girl books hostage because she deemed their content "really inappropriate" has returned them. "I feel like I had done my part to help focus attention on this," Tina Harden tells the Orlando Sentinel , which broke the story yesterday. Since...

Fla. Mom Holds Racy Gossip Girl Books Hostage

She's had them checked out since 2008

(Newser) - A Florida mom is waging a one-woman war on the Gossip Girl books. Determined to keep her teenage daughter—and everyone else—from reading the racy fare, she's had them checked out of her local library since 2008, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Tina Harden says the books' references to sex...

Seattle: America's Most Literate City

High-ranking literate cities safer, better for singles

(Newser) - The most literate cities tend to be safer, healthier, and have thriving singles' scenes, according to Central Connecticut State University's annual ranking of American cities. Seattle topped the list again this year, which was cross-indexed with statistics and other surveys for the first time. Washington, DC, came in second, knocking...

Overdue Books Return &mdash;51 Years Late
 Overdue Books Return 
 —51 Years Late  
guilty conscience dept.
Nov 15, 2009 2:32 PM CST

Overdue Books Return —51 Years Late

(Newser) - An Arizona high school librarian got the surprise of her career when she opened a package and found a letter from a former student, two books checked out in 1958—and a money order for $1,000 to cover the overdue-book fines. The books, Community of Living Things: Forests and ...

Libraries Embrace E-Book Lending

Compatibility issues and reticent publishing industry slow progress

(Newser) - More than 1 million e-books books were checked out of libraries this year—25% more than all of last year—as libraries offer more and more digital lending. Borrowers can check the book out online—obviating the trip to the library—and can read them on a computer or Sony...

Microsoft, Amazon Unite Against Google Book Deal

(Newser) - Microsoft, Amazon, and Yahoo are ganging up against Google Books, trying to quash its settlement with publishers and authors, the Wall Street Journal reports. The settlement, which still needs court approval, would allow Google to offer works scanned off library shelves online for free, provided publishers get a cut of...

Oldest Bible Scanned for Web
 Oldest Bible Scanned for Web 
Jul 6, 2009 6:36 AM CDT

Oldest Bible Scanned for Web

(Newser) - The fragile Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest surviving Christian Bible, has been hidden in scholarly collections for decades, but today the British Library has launched a new site to let online surfers peruse the 1600-year-old document. The ancient text was discovered in the 19th century, and researchers suspect it survived due...

SF Library Offers Amnesty to Tardy Book Borrowers

But each has to cough up an excuse

(Newser) - A book amnesty program in San Francisco has inspired many guilty returns and a few entertaining excuses, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The city's public library offered tardy borrowers the chance to return items, fine-free, as long as they came with an excuse. Returning a record 29,228 items worth...

Book Missing Since Civil War Returned to Virginia School

(Newser) - A Virginia college has a missing library book back—145 years after a Union soldier stole it during the Civil War. An Illinois man who inherited the book from friends tracked down the original owner and returned it to Washington and Lee University in Lexington, reports the Washington Post. The...

Library Rules: No Loud Yells, No Bad Smells

Homeless advocates get into lather over hygiene policies

(Newser) - Even if you haven’t been to a public library in a while you probably know the major rules: no shouting, no running, no food or drink near the books. But a rash of complaints from patrons have driven some Chicago-area libraries to institute a new prohibition: no offensive body...

Schindler's List Found in Aussie Library

List of saved Jews that inspired book was buried deep in box of author's papers

(Newser) - A rare copy of one of Oskar Schindler's original lists has been found in an Australian library, Reuters reports. The 13 yellowing pages list hundreds of Jews the German industrialist saved from the gas chambers by employing them in his factories. The list was given to Schindler's List author Thomas...

Academics Fear Google's 'Orphan Books' Plan

Search king accused of rewriting copyright law to get access to out-of-print works

(Newser) - Google's plan to take millions of "orphan" books under its wing has critics crying foul, the New York Times reports. Google aims to make these out-of-print works—whose rights holders are unknown or cannot be found—part of its mammoth online bookstore and library, a plan some academics say...

Recession's Victims Overwhelm Libraries

Surge in jobseekers, homeless, and crime stresses out library staff

(Newser) - Libraries that once worried about staying relevant are finding themselves on the front line of the recession, the New York Times reports. Attendance has surged as the newly unemployed—some of whom can't read or write or navigate the Internet—use facilities to write resumés and search for jobs,...

8 Offbeat Library Collections
 8 Offbeat Library Collections 
Mar 7, 2009 3:20 AM CST

8 Offbeat Library Collections

Hidden treasures abound in local libraries across the country

(Newser) - Your local library may be home to an odd or wonderful specialized stash of artifacts. The Smithsonian compiles a list of the nation’s most unusual library collections:
  • The Cleveland Public Library sports perhaps the world’s largest collection of chess- and checkers-related material, with more than 30,000 items
...

Library Ditches Hero Pilot's Fine for Book Sunk in Hudson

Restocked ethics tome to be dedicated to Sully

(Newser) - Hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger's local library has told him not to worry about a borrowed book stuck in the hold of US Airways Flight 1549 that crashed in the Hudson River, AP reports. After he contacted the library to ask for an extension, the staff not only waived all overdue...

In Tough Times, People Dust Off the Library Card

Even amid budget cuts, the institutions are expanding offerings

(Newser) - As the economy lightened wallets last year, people in search of jobs and entertainment turned to a long-lost concept called a library, reports the Washington Post, spiking DC-area circulation by 23% in the last half of 2008. And although budget cuts are hitting libraries hard, they're still finding ways to...

Libraries a Cheap Refuge, But Top Target for Budget Cuts

Popular books see huge waiting lists, while unemployed line up to use computers

(Newser) - Whether you’re looking for a job, or just a cheap respite from the horrors of the economy, the public library has become the place to be, the Wall Street Journal reports. But even as attendance swells, the same financial crisis that brings patrons has left many branches cash-poor. One...

10 Biggest College Libraries
 10 Biggest College Libraries 
Jan 11, 2009 7:09 AM CST

10 Biggest College Libraries

Labyrinthine stacks good for more than reading

(Newser) - Whether your purpose is to study, flirt or nap, college libraries are "labyrinths" of opportunity. The editors of College on the Record list the biggest, and why they like them.
  1. Harvard (13,617,133 books): "Because size matters."
  2. Yale (9,932,080 books): "Because it’s
...

Philly Mayor to Lease Closing Libraries

11 buildings would be run by private or foundation centers

(Newser) - The mayor of Philadelphia has preliminary agreements with private foundations and nonprofits to manage at least five of the 11 libraries the city is closing out of budget concerns, the Inquirer reports. The new institutions, which Michael Nutter said he hopes will become “knowledge centers,” will retain collections...

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