3

By David Rothman

image"Elsmere library volunteer Harriet Jaffe worries that her son will no longer get personalized book recommendations. The third grader isn’t naturally inclined to read, she said, but he devoured the bestselling ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ and a book on World War II history that Smith selected for him. That personalized attention will be lost if librarians shuffle between schools, she said." – Elementary school librarians on endangered list, in Albany Times Union.

The TeleRead take: The supposedly progressive David Paterson, governor of New York, is calling for a $698 million reduction in state education spending. "During budget shortfalls, school librarians are among the first to be considered for cuts," warns Michael Borges, executive director of the New York Library Association. While TeleRead’s focus is on e-books and e-libraries, all the tech on earth won’t obviate the need for school librarians, who, via personalized recommendations for students, can take advantage of the greater number of titles that E could make available. Studies show a close relationship between students’ academic achievement and the presence of librarians in their schools.

Values Department: Guess what ad was accompanying the Times Union article when I first saw the latter? One for a day spa (alas, a tech glitch zapped the screen shot). Talk about some unwitting commentary on our society’s values! But no, I’m not calling for the abolition of day spas, or saying their patrons should feel guilty. What’s more, I suspect that the charges of Kimberly’s are small potatoes compared to the vast amounts spent by the Wall Street rich on their own favorite spas. In fact, the real question is this. Why isn’t New York instead raising taxes on those who can most afford them?

 
3