[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: The 21st Century Library

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
The 21st Century Library
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1235352044.shtml


   Today's Minneapolis Star Tribune profiles [1]Lois Langer Thompson,
   recently appointed to head the Hennepin County Library (HCL) system.
   She replaces Amy Ryan who left to head the Boston Public Library. She
   appears more than qualified, a 20 year veteran of HCL.
   You may remember that HCL absorbed the financially moribund
   Minneapolis Public System. You know, the one that rebuilt its downtown
   location yet had nowhere near the funds to run it. The dust hasn't
   settled yet from that merger, and now Thompson has to pare about 10
   percent from the $74 million budget for its 41 branches.
   It seems a good time to again suggest that merging the county
   libraries with all those overlapping Community Education programs the
   public school districts offer. In fact, the article says that the
   mission of the library is to promote early literacy and lifelong
   learning, so why not include ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education)
   in that as well? While I'm add it, let's toss in the similar programs
   offered by MnScu. Did you know that North Hennepin teaches
   babysitting? Or that Anoka-Ramsey teaches candle making? Oh, and don't
   forget the city community centers where you can learn pottery.
   Two good things would happen. One, a great deal of overlap is
   eliminated. Better still, agencies for whom such programs are at best
   incidental to their primary government roles can better concentrate on
   those roles. That includes the library system.

References

   1. http://www.startribune.com/local/40009352.html