Jan 18: Union Sues to Block Library Outsourcing RFP 

Just a month after the Simi Valley (Calif.) City Council voted to withdraw its city library from the Ventura County Library System, the union local that represents southern California library workers is suing to have the decision reversed.

Jan 18: Emphasis on Ebooks Stirs Community Outcry in Illinois 

Area residents served by the Rockford (Ill.) Public Library are questioning a decision by the board of trustees to allocate 25.5% toward the purchase of ebooks for the year. That amount would equal $303,332 of the library’s $1.19 million total collection budget for FY2012.

Dec 21: LSSI Gets Its First Florida Library Contract, Eyes Simi Valley 

Despite the opposition of library boosters in Osceola County, Florida, to the proposed outsourcing of county library operations there, the county commission has approved a five-year contract with Library Systems and Services, Inc. (LSSI) to run the library.

Dec 05: OCLC Launches New WorldShare Platform 

OCLC announced the release of a new platform December 5 that will let its member libraries create, configure, and share a growing number of new services and web-based library applications.

Nov 23: Thanksgiving Week Serves Up Net Neutrality 

The concept of net neutrality became a reality November 20, when long-sought rules slipped into effect to protect equitable access to online content. However, an unresolved lawsuit filed by Verizon in January continues to challenge the underlying principles codified by the Federal Communications Commission.

Nov 22: Wide Backlash Greets Internet Antipiracy Bill 

Groups from both ends of the political spectrum—and everything in between—have come out against a congressional bill that would require internet service providers to police users’ online activities for potential copyright infringement and would empower the U.S.

Nov 16: The Occupy Wall Street Library Regrows in Manhattan 

[For UPDATE, scroll down to end.] The People’s Library at Occupy Wall Street was destroyed in the early morning hours of November 15. Without warning or provocation hundreds of militarized New York police officers cleared the park starting at 1 a.m.

Nov 01: Libraries Tap into Crowd Power 

Wikipedia wants libraries to join the “crowdsource.”

Oct 26: Privatization Showdown Moves to Osceola County, Florida 

After several months of rumors about the future of the Osceola Library System that serves Osceola County, Florida, a series of public hearings that began October 25 are seeking to explain why county officials are considering the outsourcing of library services to Germantown, Maryland–based privatization firm Library Systems and Services, Inc., and how LSSI plans to deliver the services so

Oct 18: A Library Occupies the Heart of the Occupy Movement 

[For UPDATES since the clearing of Zuccotti Park, scroll to the end.] The People’s Library at Occupy Wall Street in New York City started spontaneously shortly after the protest began on September 17, when a pile of books was left in a cardboard box at Zuccotti Park on Wall Street.

Sep 27: As Antioch College Reopens, Its Library Stands Ready 

After shutting its doors in 2008 following years of declining enrollment, Antioch College is on the verge of reopening, and the Olive Kettering Library on the Yellow Springs, Ohio, campus stands to play an integral role in the school’s recovery. In 2009, an alumni-led group purchased the campus and other college assets and began efforts to resurrect the school.

Sep 20: Summer Reading Stats Skyrocket in Indianapolis infoZone 

A library-museum partnership has resulted in a 60% jump in summer-reading participation at the Indianapolis–Marion County Public Library’s infoZone branch, which is located inside the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.

Sep 14: Recognizing the Impact of Ezra Jack Keats 

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Ezra Jack Keats’s groundbreaking picture book The Snowy Day (Penguin, 1962), The Jewish Museum has created the first major United States exhibition for the Caldecott-winning illustrator.

Sep 07: England’s Libraries and the Funding Crisis 

Like many other countries, the United Kingdom has experienced a series of financial shocks, including a severe banking crisis. The home nations in the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) are funded differently, and each has its own unique financial and legal circumstances (and its own parliaments).

Sep 07: Post-Irene, West Hartford Library Lovers Pitch In 

Like so many New England communities, the town of West Hartford, Vermont, was hit hard on August 28 when Hurricane Irene caused the White River to jump the riverbanks it calls home. The roads flooded and water swirled around many buildings, including the public library.