For years, the Douglas County commissioners have reduced the budget of the county's 11 libraries, serving 100,000 residents, and they've vowed to zero out its budget next year, so the library's supporters got a ballot initiative to create a Special Library District that would keep the doors open -- naturally, the county has removed all mention of the initiative from its website, using dirty tricks to finish off its dirty work.
The Douglas County Library is on the ballot this November 8th to possibly create a Special Library District to serve the people of their county. The county commissioners there have removed all mention of the library ballot measure from county websites, including information about what it would happen if it passes, and worse yet, how the library would close next year if it doesn’t. This now-missing content is completely neutral, non-partisan information that addressed the plan for creating and funding the new library district. It was based on an independent “Economic Feasibility Study” and was ratified for the ballot by 9 of 11 cities in the county.
The library is on the ballot because the county commissioners have cut the library budget every year for the past few years, and have now promised to cut off all funding for the library next year. These same commissioners had placed the measure on the ballot a few weeks ago to “let the voters decide”, but they are now suppressing voter information about the election. We are not sure why. But we know what this will do: voters won’t know the facts, so rumors, hearsay and misinformation will rule the day.
Don't Suppress Voter Information in Douglas County, OR [Everylibrary]
Residents of the Ocean Park neighborhood in Santa Monica, California are angry that adult film performer Ellie Eilish and a colleague allegedly filmed a porn movie inside the local public library. The video apparently turned up on PornHub where, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press, “library porn is not uncommon.” From the SMDP: The […]
Under Missouri House Bill 2044 -- the "Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act" -- each town will elect a committee of five local people (librarians are not permitted to serve) who will take local submission for books to ban. If they choose to ban a book, any librarian who allows a minor to check out […]
Gregory Priore -- former archivist for Pittsburgh's Carnegie Library -- has pleaded guilty of stealing $8m worth of rare texts from the collection over a 25 year period, fencing them through John Schulman's Caliban Book Shop (Schulman has also pleaded guilty, and admitted to forgery as well).
Whether you’re looking to create perfect portraits or amazing artwork, if your medium is digital, you know you absolutely must have Photoshop to do your best making. So if you’ve been putting off really mastering the various techniques, tools, and styles it offers for your craft, now is a great time to make it happen. […]
There are few things more satisfying than the clickety-clack of an old keyboard. So old, in fact, that it’s really more of a typewriter sound and feel than that of a keyboard. But if you want to enjoy the benefits of both, check out this Rymek Retro Bluetooth 3.0 Mechanical Keyboard. Bringing you an impressive […]
There are plenty of productive ways to spend time while stuck indoors. While it’s undoubtedly fun to binge all 15 seasons of Supernatural or sink days of playtime into an Overwatch campaign, learning something new is definitely a more meaningful and long-term beneficial use of open hours. And if you’re going to invest time in […]
