NYPL Shows How to Carve a Library Lion Into a Halloween Pumpkin
In case you ever want to carve a library lion into your Halloween pumpkin, the New York Public Library shows you how in this video.
NYPL Ready To Launch New Online Catalog Page
The New York Public Library will launch its new online catalog page on Wednesday, October 5.
The library has been working with Toronto-based software company Bibliocommons since June to transform the catalog so that users will have the power to create reading lists, rate and tag books, and organize groups.
Bibliocommons – an 18-person firm – hosts online catalog interfaces for over 40 North American library systems (comprising 120 libraries), including Boston, Seattle, and Cleveland, and reviews from those systems will now also be available to NYPL users.
“In the future, we are planning to expand our partnership with Bibliocommons to allow greater access to our special collections, self-organizing groups around books and collection, and immediate volunteer opportunities online,” said Angela Montefinise, the library’s director of public relations and marketing.
The current catalog is NYPL’s most heavily used web property, with 12.2 million visits per year from 2.9 million different users.
“It allows us to offer our users opportunities to connect and collaborate around our collections in ways they have never before experienced in a library setting,” Micah May, the library’s director of strategy, said in June. “I believe our investment in Bibliocommons is the single most important thing the library has done to advance our digital strategy and define a new broader role for libraries online.”
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New York City Libraries Forgive Fines for Patrons 17 and Under
New York City’s three library systems are forgiving late penalties for patrons 17 and under as part of the “New Chapter” program which will run until October 31.
The Brooklyn Public Library, the New York Public Library, and the Queens Library launched the program today, September 22. It is designed to encourage children and teens to return to their libraries and check out new materials without the fear of having to pay large, longstanding book fines.
When patrons accrue $15 or more in fines, their library temporarily suspends their borrowing privileges until the fine is paid. Nearly 100,000 children and teenagers will benefit from the program, according to a joint press release from the libraries.
“It is unacceptable that one innocent mistake – forgetting to bring back one book – could keep young patrons out of their local libraries,” said NYPL President Anthony W. Marx in the release. “Our priority is to keep kids reading, more than to collect fines that many of them simply cannot afford to pay. We believe this program will bring kids back to their local libraries, encourage them to become lifelong readers, and open new doors of opportunity for them. That is priceless.”
The McGraw-Hill Companies has made a contribution to pay a substantial portion of the fines for all three systems.
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