PA budget crisis (what will happen to my library?)

I'm nervous. I may even be slightly terrified.

Last year, before I left school for the summer, I handed over two orders: one for the majority of my databases, and the other for 260 books for my library. I don't know that I should get into specific dollar amounts, but let's just say these two orders make up 69.44% of the total money I spend for the year.

These two orders were handed over to my school secretary, so that she could send them to the state of Pennsylvania this summer, and they would be filled used grant money that I obviously desperately rely on to supply resources for my students each year.

But now that money may not come through.

On top of the grant falling through, PA is also trying to cut the library programs throughout the state by 73%. The main problem for many libraries with this is the loss of a valuable group of databases known as the POWER Library. Every single library in the state has access to these, including school, public, academic, and special libraries. Every single library in the state is in danger of losing their access to the POWER Library, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't have a budget to replace these valuable databases.

If the state budget passes WITH the POWER Library being cut, and my grant doesn't come through, I will be in a place of utter despair. I know that sounds dramatic, but this is what it would look like:

1. my students could lose 25 databases, and be left with only 4

2. my book order of 260 books will not come through, and I do not have money to replace that order

3. I have no idea what my students will use for research, being as all they will have left is one online encyclopedia, one science database, one history/geography database, and one general database

Number one on that list especially makes me want to cry. How can I prepare my students for college if I can't teach them about database searching and research? They need a variety of resources, not FOUR.

Number two I am still worried about, but a tiny bit less because I have a fundraiser/used book sale in mind; it would be so, so much work, but something I need to do. I can't stand the thought of not keeping up with new books and having these in my library.

Number three, which is basically the same as number one, scares me.

If you are reading this and you live in PA, please make your voice heard. I ignored it for too long, because I am terrible with snail mail, but I got an email not long ago that said I could quickly email a PA official. I did, and I actually got a response back!

Please click here to help save libraries - the letter is already written, all you have to do is sign your name and email it!

And please, if you have any ideas or help for me, share.

Video updates!

Most of us have seen the Shift Happens video from awhile back. I always wondered when that would be updated. I found out yesterday when I came across these two videos:

Did you know 3.0:

Did you know 4.0:

mini reviews

Here is what I've been reading for the past 3 weeks:

1. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan - Terrifying! I don't know that I've ever actually read a book that can be classified as horror. My husband is always pestering me to go see scary movies with him and I refuse. When FHT is made into a movie I don't know that I will be able to watch it! That being said, this is a fabulously exciting and well-written horror story.

2.Another Faust by Daniel & Dina Nayeri - I'd almost like to call this a quiet fantasy, meaning there are no dragons, wizards, or huge action-packed scenes. But I said almost. This is not a quiet story by any means; the characters are memorable and powerful and the story dark. I'm a big fan of fractured fairy tales and retellings and this is no exception. I linked to the audiobook for this one because I purchased my copy of this on iTunes and listened to it. The narration was SO well done!

3. Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko - I loved the book Al Capone Does My Laundry, and therefore had high hopes for this title. I was not disappointed. Al Capone Shines My Shoes is humorous and touching in a way that reminds me of Gary D. Schmidt's Wednesday Wars. I think this would be a perfect classroom read aloud. I can't imagine many kids in 5th - 8th who would read this and be disappointed. It's just as exciting, well-written and crowd-pleasing as the first!

[note: the copy I read was an ARC]

4. The Comeback Season by Jennifer E. Smith - Amazing parallels between life and baseball are drawn in this heartbreaking story of love and loss. Highly recommended for ages 14 and up, baseball fan or not.

5. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen - I have read other books by Dessen and enjoyed them, but haven't particularly loved them...until now. I am so glad that one of my students gave this to me to read! I really sympathized with the main character, Macy, in this story as she explored loss and love. The character development in this story was intriguing and wonderful.

My worst fears realized?

Here is the latest in my new series "Things-that-get-Tiff-all-riled-up-and-passionate-and-crazylike."

Cushing Academy, a prep school in New England, with a former library of over 20,000 books [I wish!], has 'decided to discard ALL THEIR BOOKS.' I'll let that sink in for a minute.

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Are you freaking out yet?!?

I can barely grasp this idea or summarize the article very well because I am so shocked that it's hard to type.

Here's a quote that I can hardly believe:

“When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ said James Tracy, headmaster of Cushing and chief promoter of the bookless campus. “This isn’t ‘Fahrenheit 451’ [the 1953 Ray Bradbury novel in which books are banned]. We’re not discouraging students from reading. We see this as a natural way to shape emerging trends and optimize technology.’’

Um, hold up a second. I have two problems with this quote:

#1 - Books are outdated? Seriously? I highly disagree. I do think e-readers are fabulous for some purposes but not for all! Not many [any?] schools can afford an e-reader for each student at their school, but I bet most [all?] schools have at least one book per student in their library. Oh, and further on in the article it mentions that this school has only purchased 18 e-readers for their entire school! Really. Really? I am not totally sure how many students attend Cushing Academy, but I'm pretty sure it's more than 18. [I did some online research and I believe there is somewhere between 500-800 students.]

#2 - "We’re not discouraging students from reading." I also disagree with this statement. Here's an example: Student walks into library. Asks for favorite fiction book. Is told 'we no longer have any books.' Is handed an e-reader which does not have book student wants. Student leaves. Sound discouraging to you?

Another part of the article that I just adore [where is that sarcasm font?] is:

"Where the reference desk was, they are building a $50,000 coffee shop that will include a $12,000 cappuccino machine."

OMG. No words. None.

What this article does for me, besides make me freak out, is worry about the future of my profession. Libraries without books? It's absurd. Don't get me wrong, I love having access to eBooks, and the databases I provide for my students are amazing resources and greatly supplement my collection. But that is what I believe digital media/books/etc should be: a supplement. Not the whole.

The librarian [what will they call her now?] at Cushing said she never imagined working as the director of a library without any books.

Neither have I.

[more to come on this topic and the fate of libraries in the very near future!]

Here is the link to the article. Read it yourself and please let me know what you think! Am I the only one freaking out here?

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/04/a_library_without_the_books/