From the Des Moines Register:

Area residents can hatch some great projects in the new Maker Space at Kirkendall Public Library — the first of its kind in central Iowa.

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The space is officially called Hatch and will include a 3-D printer, video and audio editing equipment, an image scanner, a traditional sewing machine and a serger, plus tools for digitizing VHS, vinyl and audio cassettes. The equipment will be ready for the public to use Sept. 23.

“The name Hatch comes from ‘hatching an egg,’ because we’ll be hatching creativity,” Willeford said. “We’ve seen an increase in people using new technology, like e-readers, so we wanted to give them the opportunity to use new technology that they might not have at home, like a 3-D printer.”

Read the Complete Article

Thanks: Matt Weaver

Nearly 10,000 students at 20 local schools now have access to The Indianapolis Public Library’s collection of nearly two million items as part of the Library’s growing Shared System, an interlibrary collaboration that provides online circulation services and joint access to the catalogs and collections of member institutions.

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Begun in 1995, the Shared System allows students to use their library cards to request materials from the Indy Library’s online catalog and from their own school library collections, and provides a delivery system that transports items between Indy Library branches and the schools. The Library also performs processing and cataloging services for the cooperative. It is the only such system in the United States that uses this cooperative model between schools and public libraries.

The Shared System includes a combination of private, public and charter schools along with a state school (Indiana School for the Deaf), and two local art museums (Eiteljorg Museum and the Indianapolis Museum of Art).

“This is a unique partnership that helps the Library support Marion County students by giving them more tools to access information and the resources they need,” said Sarah Batt, the Library’s Shared System Manager. “Schools can leverage their scarce resources by sharing the materials they purchase with each other.”

See Also: A History of the Shared System (via IPL)

See Also: Shared System Info Page (via IPL)

According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics released today, college enrollment in fall 2012 plunged by half a million (467,000) from one year earlier. This decline, which includes both graduate and undergraduate enrollment, follows a period of substantial growth ─ 3.2 million ─ between 2006 and 2011.

These statistics come from School Enrollment: 2012. As the nation’s students begin a new school year, the Census Bureau releases its annual set of tables on the characteristics of children and adults enrolled in school at all levels ─ from nursery to graduate school. Among the characteristics examined are age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, nativity and foreign-born parentage.

This decline in college enrollment was driven by older students ─ that is, those 25 and older. Their enrollment fell by 419,000, while the enrollment of younger students declined by 48,000.

Hispanics didn’t follow the trend, as the number enrolled in college grew by 447,000 from 2011 to 2012. Meanwhile, non-Hispanic white enrollment declined by 1.1 million and black enrollment by 108,000. From 2006 to 2012, the percentage of all college students who were Hispanic rose from 11 percent to 17 percent. The percentage who were black also rose (from 14 percent to 15 percent), but the percent of non-Hispanic white students declined from 67 percent to 58 percent.

“This increase in the number of Hispanics enrolled in college can be attributed to the combination of an increase in the adult Hispanic population and their climbing likelihood of being enrolled,” said Julie Siebens, a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Education and Social Stratification Branch.

The tables released today cover specific topics such as enrollment by grade, the attendance status of nursery school students and characteristics of their mothers, the type of school college students attend (two-year, four-year, etc.) and whether they attend full or part time, students taking vocational courses and the enrollment status of recent high school graduates. The information was collected in the October 2012 Current Population Survey.

Also released today was School Enrollment in the United States: 2011, a report that examines the characteristics of people enrolled in school at all levels using statistics from the Current Population Survey, American Community Survey and federal sources outside the Census Bureau. It covers some topics not typically covered in Census Bureau reports, such as Head Start, charter schools, home schooling and receipt of financial aid.

Although most of the statistics are national-level, some state-level data from the American Community Survey are presented. Updated 2012 American Community Survey statistics on school enrollment covering states and all geographic areas with populations of 65,000 or more will be published in September.

Other national highlights from the 2012 Current Population Survey tables:

–In 2012, 78 million people, or 26.4 percent of the population 3 or older, were enrolled in school.

–In 2012, there were 19.9 million college students, including 5.8 million enrolled in two-year colleges, 10.3 million in four-year colleges and 3.8 million in graduate school.

–In 2012, there were 4.2 million students enrolled in private elementary and high schools (first through 12th grade), down from 4.8 million in 2005.

–Non-Hispanic white children in 2012 comprised 53 percent of elementary school students, down from 58 percent in 2005. Hispanic children made up 24 percent of elementary students in 2012, up from 20 percent in 2005. Black children comprised 15 percent of elementary students in 2012, down from 16 percent in 2005.

–Students who were born in another country or whose parents were foreign-born comprised 32 percent of all those enrolled in school at all levels in 2012.

–While most students are under 25, there were 804,000 students age 50 and older enrolled in schools at all levels in 2012.

Direct to Data Tables

School Enrollment in the United States: 2011

One week after facing an official GOP reprimand for failing to oppose Common Core, Sen. Bill Holtzclaw is calling upon state educators to ban a novel used in conjunction with the national standards.

Holtzclaw objects to “The Bluest Eye,” Toni Morrison’s first novel, being included on high school reading lists. He said was unaware whether the book was in high school libraries, but that he would also support removal from school libraries.

“The book is just completely objectionable, from language to the content,” said Holtzclaw, who points out the novel includes depictions of incest and child molestation.

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Holztclaw said a constituent contacted him last week about “The Bluest Eye” in relation to Common Core. Holztclaw said he has since contacted State Superintendent Tommy Bice. The Alabama Department of Education was crafting a response and did not immediately reply to inquiries about Holtzclaw’s concerns.

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Holtzclaw said he was not initially focused on removing the book from school libraries, but would probably support removal from library shelves.

Read the Complete Article 

See Also: Some Parents Want ‘The Bluest Eye’ Banned From High School Reading List (KRDV-Denver; July 23, 2013)

See Also: Timeline Entry for 1994: The Bluest Eye (via ALA OIF)

UPDATE  9/5/2013 “Morrison’s ‘Bluest Eye’ Joins Wide Range of Books Challenged in Alabama Schools” (via School Library Journal)

Six weeks after cautioning it could shutter 22 public libraries, Miami-Dade County has found a way to keep all 49 facilities open at least some of the time, offering stripped-down services.

In all, 169 librarians would lose their jobs by Oct. 1, and libraries would operate about three-quarters of the hours they do now, Mayor Carlos Gimenez informed county commissioners late Friday

More in the Complete Article

UPDATE: The Miami Herald has published an op/ed by the Mayor of Miami-Dade, Carlos Gimenez.

Here’s what he has to say about libraries.

All libraries will remain open: We finalized a two-year plan that will keep all libraries open. Additionally, we have reduced the number of layoffs from 251 to 169. However, there will be reduced staffing and fewer service hours — 1,624 per week versus 2,016. To move toward a sustainable library system, we must take a transformative look at how our system operates and is funded. Dissolving the current restrictive library tax district to provide for countywide funding would allow for the flexibility needed to respond to the entire community’s priorities. We will work with community partners to study and assess our options.

We need to learn more details about precisely which jobs will be cut.

Does librarian mean professional librarian with MLS/MLIS degrees or all library employees. Regardless, while the number of people losing jobs has been reduced to 169 from 251 it’s still quite disturbing on multiple levels.

We shared some comments about school librarians losing jobs in Harrisburg, PA (all librarians let go) and NYC (reduction in the number of librarians in schools) in this post.

Is a public or school library really a public or school library without professionals building collections (print and ebooks for adults and children), selecting electronic services (from research databases to 3D scanners), training library users (e.g. digital literacy, web search), etc.

As we pointed out a few weeks ago on infoDOCKET, the library community has done a poor job of explaining what librarians do (both in and out of the library facility) and why they are more valuable today than ever before.

We must do a better job marketing ourselves and promoting our skills and abilities and demonstrating (this is key) why they are important. If we don’t do this no one else will. This needs to be done in a community wide-effort (regardless of library type) but also by each one of us, individually, with those we come in contact with including both friends and family.

More about this in a future post.

From 10TV.com:

On the same day the state released school report card data, the Columbus Metropolitan Libraries announced a new position designed to “help ensure that students have the resources to succeed outside of the classroom.”

CML officials announced Thursday the creation of the position of Director of Education and Partnerships.

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The libraries also will be reallocating a member of senior-level staff to focus entirely on advancing initiatives aimed at pre-K literacy as Director of Early Childhood Literacy.

Read the Complete Article

From a Columbus Metropolitan Library News Release:

The Director of Education and Partnerships will collaborate directly with public, private and charter schools to ensure that students have the resources they need to succeed outside of the classroom. “CML is uniquely poised to work with students during out-of-school time – preschool, after school and summer,” said CEO Patrick Losinski.

CML is also working to implement two new initiatives later this fall in the Whitehall City and Groveport Madison school districts that will assist students and educators. They are:

1.     A school delivery service.  CML will deliver library materials directly to elementary schools in these two districts to ensure books are in the hands of our school children.

2.     A special Kids Card. A new “Kids Card” will be given to all elementary school students in the two districts, granting them the ability to check out three children’s books without incurring fines or needing a parent signature.

CML plans to expand these services to eight other districts in Franklin County in the next year.

New York City school librarians are fighting back.

A group of librarians and parents held a rally Wednesday morning to protest the city’s request for a waiver from state librarian staffing requirements.

Standing on the steps of Tweed Courthouse, the Department’s downtown Manhattan headquarters, librarians said they couldn’t just be replaced by a computer in a classroom.

“A lot of the kids – every librarian can tell you this – they all want to run to Google” said Karen Levy, who has worked for more than 20 years at Christopher Columbus High School. Librarians said they help students find better research databases and steer them toward reliable information.

Read the Complete Article

See Also: City Schools Are Quietly Using Fewer Librarians (via WSJ; 8/11/2013)

See Also: Pennsylvania: All Gone! Harrisburg School Library Staff Eliminated With Recent Layoffs (8/13/2013)

From Follet:

Follett today announced a partnership with U.S. trade publisher Hachette Book Group (HBG) to provide preK-12 school libraries and students expanded access to popular children’s titles in an ebook lending format for the 2013-2014 school year.

Ebook offerings published under HBG’s Little, Brown Books for Young Readers imprint include noteworthy books such as the Ninth Ward (Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Award) and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (National Book Award Winner).  “Our goal is to have authors’ work available to schools and students as technologies and reading habits evolve, and this partnership with Follett helps us in this effort,” said Evan Schnittman, HBG’s EVP, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer.

Read the Complete Announcement

From a Follett News Release:

Follett’s ebook customers are now able to purchase Random House ebooks and lend them to students. The partnership gives librarians the opportunity to enhance their collections with many of the most sought-after titles, such as Rachel Hartman’s “Seraphina” and Christopher Paul Curtis’ “The Watsons Go To Birmingham – 1963″.

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A 2012 survey by Library Journal of electronic book penetration and use among PreK-12 school libraries revealed that two-thirds of the schools that purchase ebooks buy them from Follett. FollettShelf is the digital shelf of choice at 76 percent of elementary schools, 67 percent of middle schools and 59 percent of high schools.

Read the Complete Announcement

See Also: Merger Completed: Say Hello to Penguin Random House (Roundup) (July 1, 2013)

Starting later this year, Bing For Schools  will offer schools in the U.S. the option to tailor the Bing experience for K-12 students by removing all advertisements from search results, enhancing privacy protections and the filtering of adult content, and adding specialized learning features to enhance digital literacy.

The program is completely voluntary: schools have the choice of participating or keeping the normal Bing experience. For those that opt-in, Bing will enable the experience across all searches from within the school’s network on Bing.com, without any need for special software or a different search address. And of course, Bing For Schools is free for any school or districts wishing to participate.

While we aren’t ready to go into too much detail, as we’re still finalizing what will be available in the first iteration, here are a few things you can likely expect:

Keeping Our Kids Focused on Learning: As a country, we’ve set schools aside as a special place that is focused on learning, and have traditionally kept advertising out of that environment. Bing For Schools removes ads from the search experience, keeping with our strong belief that schools are for learning and not selling.

Protecting Our Kids: Bing already offers the ability to filter out adult content with SafeSearch, but with Bing For Schools, SafeSearch will automatically default to the strict setting and remove kids ability to change it.

Educating Our Kids: In addition to the beautiful Bing homepage images, which feature hotspots that encourage exploration of new and unexpected topics, Bing For Schools will offer short lesson plans that teach digital literacy skills that are related to search and tied to the Common Core. For example, this picture of a sloth might be coupled with the question “How many sloths could live in one square mile of jungle?” and a lesson helping students use search tools and critical thinking to find potential answers.

Direct to Bing For Schools Info Page, Updates

Microsoft goes after Google with ad-free, filtered Bing search for school (via The Verge)

It’s clear that Microsoft wants school administrators to keep its software and services on their minds. Though the new service isn’t available just yet, the announcement coincides with a major discount for schools on the Surface RT. Through the end of August, Microsoft is going to be offering the tablet for $199 and Type Covers for $50 — a combo that usually retails for $599

Follett Corporation today announced the establishment of the Follett Knowledge Fund, a capital funding source for new technologies that have the potential to improve and even disrupt the way educational content is delivered and consumed. Follett has committed $50 million to the fund, which complements and extends the company’s extensive portfolio of digital solutions and tools.

“Follett has a long track record of investing in and introducing new technologies to the education marketplace, whether it be in K-12 classrooms, on college campuses or wherever learning takes place,” said Mary Lee Schneider, President and CEO, Follett Corporation. “The Knowledge Fund will enable us to identify and invest in early-stage technologies that will make educational materials more accessible and affordable to students and educators alike.”

The fund will be co-managed by Atrium Capital, based in Menlo Park, Calif. Atrium will partner with Follett to identify, analyze and manage investment opportunities for the fund and serve as an adjunct to Follett’s business development activities in the emerging technology space.

Read the Complete Announcement

Direct to Follett Knowledge Fund Web Site

More than 200 digital book entrepreneurs competed in the hackathon and the winner was announced today at Book Expo America after a final round in which each company was given six minutes to pitch its idea to a panel of technology experts.

The Publishing Hackathon attracted 200 people in over 30 teams. Six made it to the final round.

Evoke, the winner, received $10,000 and a breakfast with Ari Emanuel, co-CEO of talent agency William Morris Endeavor.

The finalists were:

BookCity (Vincent Trivett, Charlie Gaines, Nathan Gao) – a way to find books set in your travel destination

Captiv (Christina Zou, Lucas Lemanowicz, Russell Huang, Dmitry Pyatin, Wei Yin, Kane Hsieh) an approach to mining events both global and personal to make better book recommendations

Coverlist (Dani Frankhauser and Chris Ciabarro) – a solution focused on the joy of browsing jackets

Evoke (Lisa Maione, Jason Pearson, Jill Axline) – a way to discover young adult literature through characters

KooBrowser (Sage Wohns, Ahmed El Kholy, Marmina Abdelmalek, Tarek ElElaimy, Mohamed Altantawy) – an approach to making better book recommendations based on browsing history

LibraryAtlas (Michael del Castillo, Monica Katz, David Lau, Andrew Leung, Peter Rood, Aaron Siewert, Gabriel Troia) – a book discovery solution based on geolocation

Read the Complete Report (via Digital Book World)

See Also: Judging Criteria

From the AP:

The state House of Representatives voted Tuesday 143-0 to pass a bill requiring the commissioner of consumer protection to report to the General Assembly on the issue by Feb 1.

The bill, which originally called on publishers to offer e-books to libraries at a reasonable price, was amended to reflect lawmakers’ concerns about the likelihood of lawsuits.

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[Our emphasis] The bill must pass the Senate and be signed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to become law.

Read the Full Text Article

See Also: Libraries’ Access to eBooks (Report from CT. Office of Legislative Research)

See Also: Read, Track House Bill 5614

See Also: Testimony Given at February 21, 2013 Hearing

See Also: Analysis of Bill

The Columbus Public Library Board received its second materials challenge in five months and again rejected the protest.

This time a patron objected to the book “Batman: The Killing Joke” by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland.

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It is currently located in the young adult area of the library, but cataloged in the graphic novels section.

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In December, the board unanimously denied a patron request to remove the movie “Bruno” from circulation.

Read the Complete Article (Columbus Telegram; December 14, 2012

See Also: Library board says no to censoring DVD

See Also: Columbus, Nebraska Public Library Materials Selection Policy (PDF)

From Bloomberg:

Cengage Learning Inc., the educational publisher owned by Apax Partners LLP, said it’s seeking to negotiate with creditors on a restructuring plan and may need to file bankruptcy as part of its turnaround efforts.

“We will seek to negotiate the terms of a comprehensive restructuring transaction with our key creditor constituents and quickly implement the restructuring plan,” Chief Executive Officer Michael Hansen said today on a conference call after the company reported third-quarter results.

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“The Chapter 11 process can be an effective way of achieving a fast and efficient debt restructuring with minimal disruption to the business, particularly where agreement is reached with key financial stakeholders on a plan — on the outlines of a plan –prior to the filing,” Hansen said.

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Hansen, who joined the publisher in September, has revamped management and shifted to more digital products and subscriptions to help revive revenue as students increasingly move away from buying new textbooks. The company is cutting costs and ending some incentives that encouraged early ordering, Hansen said today. That decision will hurt fiscal fourth-quarter sales, he said.

Read the Complete Article
Note: This article also appears on the BusinessWeek Website

See Also: Here’s the Cengage Quarterly Earnings Report that’s Referenced in the Article (46 pages)

See Also: Michael Hansen’s Prepared Remarks from the Call are Online (PDF)
Also Embedded Below

See Also: Audio of the Complete Conference Call is Available (Including Q&A)

See Also: Apax Buys $800M in Cengage Debt Ahead of Publisher’s Possible Bankruptcy (via Dow Jones; April 26, 2013)

See Also: Cengage Draws on Credit Line, Hires Restructuring Advisers (via WSJ; March 24, 2013)

Prepared Remarks for May 13, 2013 Conference Call by Michael Hansen, CEO, Cengage Learning

From Fox 13 Salt Lake City:

The twenty Library Media Specialists were called to a mandatory meeting on Friday morning where they were told that their contracts won’t be renewed and their positions will no longer exist starting July 1.

According to the superintendent, Ogden School District entered the 2012-2013 school year with a $2.7 million deficit. He said they’ve avoided cutbacks in past years, but they finally have to do it this year.

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The school board still has to approve the cuts in June. If approved, the district plans to replace the positions with part-time staff working 3.5-hour shifts and have two licensed media specialists working at the district level.

From The Standard Examiner (Ogden, UT)

The change — which includes media specialists from the districts’ elementary schools, junior high schools and high schools — will save the district $930,000 per year, district officials say.

The district will retain two media specialists at the district level to oversee the rest of the staff assistants. There will be two part-time staff assistants at each school working 3 to 3.9 hours a day, allowing the district to not pay medical or retirement benefits to those employees.

[Superintendent Brad] Smith said Ogden School District is the only remaining district on the Wasatch Front to employ licensed teachers as media specialists in their libraries.

From the Salt Lake Tribune

“No one has been fired,” said Ogden’s Superintendent Brad Smith. Instead, officials met with the employees Friday to alert them to the move and encourage them to consider applying for open teaching positions, he said.

From the San Antonio Express-News:

Construction is underway on the system’s 5,000-square-foot base of operations at 3505 Pleasanton Road. County Judge Nelson Wolff, Precinct 1 Commissioner Sergio “Chico” Rodriguez and other dignitaries were on hand Friday as workers pulled down part of a concrete wall to create a doorway for the library.

Designed by Muñoz & Associates, the site will offer 50 computers, 25 laptops and 25 tablets for onsite use. The library will have a reading room, children’s area, learning lab, lounge and coffee shop, with rooms for group study.

The article also mentions that the digital public library with 10,000 titles (via 3M Cloud Library), 100 circulating ebook readers, and 50 pre-loaded readers for children.

Direct to Full Text Article

UPDATE (April 13) Here’s a bit more info and a video report from KSAT in San Antonio.
See: County kicks off construction on digital library

UPDATE (April 13) Construction officially started at BiblioTech, Bexar County’s all-digital library

UPDATE (April 15) Here’s an Announcement From Bexar County Announcing that 3M Cloud Library Will Be E-Book Provider

UPDATE (April 16) On Tuesday, Bexar County Commissioners Formally Approved Contracts With 3M ($275,000) and Polaris ($18,000)

An in-depth look at YOUmedia’s strengths as a space for connected learning, and broader considerations for application in other environments.

Penny Bender Sebring is a founding co-director of the Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) at the Urban Education Institute, University of Chicago. CCSR is dedicated to informing and assessing policy and practice in the Chicago Public Schools. She serves on the board of the directors for the Chicago Public Education Fund, the editorial board for Catalyst Chicago and the Social Sciences Visiting Committee, University of Chicago.

Eric Brown is a research analyst at CCSR for the Focus on Freshmen project and the Evaluation of the Excellence in Teaching Pilot. He is interested in researching family and community level-interventions to improve educational outcomes for students in inner-city schools.

Links to View Live Stream and Participate in a Live Chat

Wisconsin public schools have received $30.1 million from a state trust fund to help purchase materials for their libraries.

School districts can spend the money awarded Monday on books, newspapers, periodicals, and some digital materials.

A state trust fund set by the constitution uses loan interests generated on public lands to support the cause. Revenue from unclaimed property, penalties and timber production also contribute to the fund.

More in this News Release from the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands

Hat Tip: Wisconsin Library Services

Here’s a roundup of coverage.

Announcement from Workman Publishing Blog

He was the founder, president and CEO of Workman Publishing Company, one of the largest independent publishers of nonfiction trade books and calendars. In addition to the Workman imprint, the company consists of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Artisan, Storey Books, Timber Press, and HighBridge Audio. He served on the board of the Goddard-Riverside Community Center and the board of Prep-for-Prep; he was a member of the Publishing Committee of UJA-Federation of New York and chairman of the Board of Governors of Yale University Press.

From the NYT:

Peter Workman, the founder of Workman Publishing, whose knack for landing best-selling trade books like “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” and “The Silver Palate Cookbook” made his company one of the few remaining independent book publishers in the country, died on Sunday at his home in Manhattan.  

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Mr. Workman also created “Brain Quest,” a popular learning card game for children, and the “Page-a-Day” desk calendar, said to have been the first of its kind, with its 365 tear-off pages and a different image on each page. Workman Publishing first marketed it in 1979.

Publishing about 40 books a year, Mr. Workman was known for working closely with authors and editors (more so than they might like; he often changed cover designs and details at the last minute) and for promoting his book list relentlessly.

From Publishers Weekly:

 To diversify the publisher, Peter made a series of acquisitions over the years; the Workman Publishing group now includes Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Artisan, Storey Books, Timber Press, and HighBridge Audio, and it also handles distribution for Black Dog & Leventhal, Greenwich Workshop Press, and The Experiment.

From the AP:

After a job in the sales department of Dell Publishing, he founded Workman in 1967 as a book packager. Within two years, its inaugural list led with Richard Hittleman’s “Yoga 28-Day Exercise Plan,” which is still in print.

Workman bestsellers also include are B. Kliban’s “Cat,” Sandra Boynton’s children’s books, and “1,000 Places To See Before You Die.” Artisan published chef Thomas Keller’s “The French Laundry Cookbook.”