The Friends of The Scranton Public Library is sponsoring a trip to New York City for a guided tour of the New York Public Library on Saturday, May 1st, 2010. Tickets are $30.00 for Friends members and $35.00 for non-Friends members. Reservations are due April 1, 2010.
From the desk of Glenn R. Miller, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Library Association:
Today Governor Rendell announced his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2010-11 which begins on July 1 (see above).
Some of the initial reactions that I’ve heard range from relief (that the cuts aren’t deeper) to anger and frustration that libraries will face cuts even as the Administration touts a commitment to education and provides a $354 million increase for the Basic Education (K-12) Subsidy.
For now, I just wanted to share the numbers in Governor Rendell’s proposal and emphasize that they represent a proposal and not the final word. The numbers might go down or they could go up if we work hard together and get a bit of luck, too.
The PaLA Legislative Committee was scheduled to meet on Thursday but yet another major storm is now underway across the state and we’ve decided to postpone that meeting. Please know that the Legislative Committee will be working on PaLA’s strategy and message and we will sharing more as soon as we have specifics. In the meantime, I think it is fair to assume the following:
1. The growing demand for library services during this recession more than justifies an increase not a cut in state support for libraries.
2. Despite the seeming disconnect here in Harrisburg between “education” and “libraries”, Pennsylvanians do consider libraries a key element of education which deserves increased funding not further cuts.
3. The loss of POWER Library and other shared resources runs counterproductive to our state’s efforts to improve education.
4. The most powerful voices on our behalf are the people who depend on and believe in the value of good public library services. Please do everything you can to encourage their advocacy.
We will be back in touch more information about PaLA’s next steps. Thank you in advance for your dogged support of good library service for all Pennsylvanians.
Glenn
SOCRATES CAFE
This thought provoking discussion group has been in place for two years at the Library. Come and check it out; a variety of people raise questions and respectfully listen to one another discuss a topic chosen that evening. No prior learning is required.
Reservations are required. If you would like to attend, please call (570) 348-3000 or you can register online by clicking here.
Pictured above is a screenshot from the new version of Access Pennsylvania Power Library. You can access Power Library at www.albright.org
MorningStar...the name brings to mind a breakfast cereal, doesn't it? 
As previously blogged, Access Pennsylvania Power Library is losing a number of its popular full-text databases due to the recent budget cuts to Pennsylvania libraries.
The Office of Commonwealth Libraries has just announced the resources that will be provided under the POWER Library Network for 2010. This is the package of resources as of today, January 28, 2010.
POWER Library Network 2010
General Periodical Resources (H.W. Wilson)
Newspaper Resources (Gale)
Business Resources (ProQuest ABI Inform)
Contemporary Authors
AP Photo Archive
The detail on the content of the new resources will be announced next week. Any additions to this package will be announced as decisions are finalized.
We'll keep you posted.
BEFORE
AFTERMasterFILE Premier
Business Source Premier
MAS Ultra – School Edition
Middle Search Plus
Primary Search
Newspaper Source
Teacher Reference Center
Auto Repair Reference Center
ALBRIGHT MEMORIAL LIBRARY
The WARM LINE is not a hotline or crisis line.
The Reference Department has free copies of the 2009-2010 Pennsylvania Career Guide available for patrons. They are available in the Job Resources area of the Reference Department. The PDF of the complete booklet is also available online by clicking here.
Posts
All Comments
