Looking for new signs for your library

Someone recently said to me that they wished that in their library they could just put up a sign that said "Go ahead and use your cell phone, just don't be an asshat." Well, these signs from ..@the library.. aren't exactly that but they're close.

Hire a librarian?

On Tuesday I was visiting the Morton-James Public Library in Nebraska City, NE and noticed this sign (right) in the computer lab. I asked about it and it turns out that they do offer the service of a librarian to "do the work for you" at the rate of $5 per 1/2 hour. They don't get many takers but there have been a few. Mainly they've found that it actually encourages people to learn how to do it for themselves instead of just expecting the staff to do it for them. (They do also offer free one-on-one computer classes.) Shelly from BCR has already left her opinion in flickr, what do you think?

Library break-ins "solved" by Internet filters

I'd decided not to blog about this unique library filtering saga until the story was resolved. Well, it was resolved last week exactly as I predicted. Here's the salient points:

• Library board doesn't install filters. It's been this way for years with no significant complaints.
• Library experiences a series of break-ins.
• Turns out teen boys were breaking into the library to look at porn on the library computers.
• City shuts off library's Internet access.
• Board meets. Agrees to "solve" problem by installing filters on the computers.
• Library gets Internet access back.

There's no two ways about this one folks, the library board caved into the pressure. Ultimately I believe the actual problem, teens committing a crime by breaking into the library, wasn't actually addressed. No article I read about this story mentioned that maybe the building's security needed to be improved. Really, the old library non-filtering policy wasn't the issue since the boys obviously felt the need to break in after hours to view porn. I'm sure that if they felt that they could get away with looking at porn during normal library hours, they would have done so instead of taking the risks involved in the crime they ended up committing.

I've learned something new as a result of this story. It turns out that break-ins can be stopped by porn filters. Go figure.

Nebraska Library Map - Attempt #1

Here's my first attempt. A bunch didn't make it through the Geocoding process, I'm not sure I like the paged interface with this system and I didn't realize the import process would put everything in reverse alphabetical order but, it did work more or less.