Berkeley: You’ll never be charged a late fee again at these California libraries.

From Sacramento Bee

” If you check out a library book and forget the due date, most of us expect late fees. But in one Northern California city, you won’t have to worry.The Berkeley Public Library says it will no longer charge daily late fees for books and other materials like CDs and magazines beginning July 1, according to a news release. Why the change? Many lower-income residents don’t use the library because they’re scared they’ll be charged late fees they can’t afford, said Elliot Warren, acting director of library services.”Public libraries are the people’s university, and we need to make sure they are accessible to everyone,” he said in a statement. “The current practice unintentionally tells some people they are not welcome.”Charging late fees was originally intended to encourage people to return the materials on time — but it’s become an obstacle, Warren added.”

https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article213022549.html

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Berkeley Library Makes List Of Most Beautiful Libraries In US

From Berkeley Patch

” Real estate website Curbed has come up with a list of the 20 most beautiful libraries in America. Making the cut is the Doe Library on the UC Berkeley campus.”

https://patch.com/california/berkeley/berkeley-library-makes-list-most-beautiful-libraries-us

¡Viva la Fiesta! at UC Berkeley’s Bancroft Library Explores a Variety of Mexican Celebrations

From East Bay Express

” The popularity of Disney/Pixar’s animated film Coco has brought a newfound appreciation for the indigenous Mexican celebration of Día de los Muertos. While this November holiday has been getting attention, there are plenty of other Mexican fiestas and rituals worth talking about. And you can learn all about them at ¡Viva la Fiesta!, an exhibition now on view at UC Berkeley’s Bancroft Library.This is the first solo-curated exhibit of José Adrián Barragán-Álvarez, who has been the curator of Latin Americana at the Bancroft Library for roughly a year. The exhibit is also personal to him — his family is from the Mexican state of Michoacán.The Express recently caught up with Barragán-Álvarez during a visit to the exhibit, which is rich in historical details.”

https://www.eastbayexpress.com/CultureSpyBlog/archives/2017/12/18/viva-la-fiesta-at-uc-berkeleys-bancroft-library-explores-a-variety-of-mexican-celebrations

Berkeley Public Library heals with appointment of acting director

From The Daily Californian

“The Berkeley Public Library Board of Trustees recently took action to appoint Elliot Warren, current deputy director at the Berkeley Public Library, or BPL, as the acting director of library services.The deputy director fills in when the acting director is absent. Warren has been fulfilling the role of director since the resignation of his predecessor Heidi Dolamore two weeks ago.Dolamore’s resignation — which came less than a year after her appointment — goes into full effect Sept. 22. No reason was given as to why Dolamore resigned.Board of Library Trustees, or BOLT, member John Selawsky called Warren a good choice, stating that he will maintain continuity for the library. Selawsky also emphasized the importance of BOLT’s role in supporting Warren.“He’s personable, he’s a good communicator — I think he’ll work well with the board and with library staff and with the community,” Selawsky said.Councilmember Sophie Hahn — who also serves on the Board of Library Trustees — and Councilmember Kriss Worthington expressed similar sentiments, acknowledging Warren’s past involvement in the library.”

http://www.dailycal.org/2017/09/11/berkeley-public-library-heals-appointment-acting-director/

Berkeley library board to hire new director from San Jose

From Berkeleyside

“The Board of Library Trustees is poised to hire Heidi Dolamore as the new director of the library at their Wednesday meeting, a move they hope will start to quell more than a year of turmoil.Dolamore is currently the assistant director of the San Jose Library, a position she has held since January 2015. She has worked in libraries around the region for 15 years, including stints in the Solano County Library, the Contra Costa County Library, and the San Mateo County Library, according to her LinkedIn page. If BOLT confirms her appointment, Dolamore will be paid $180,000 annually.Dolamore will take over the five-branch system by the end of September, 13 months after the previous director, Jeff Scott, resigned under pressure after the controversial book culling process he oversaw called his integrity into question.”

Berkeley library board to hire new director from San Jose

Berkeley: Library Whistleblowers’ Lament

From The Berkeley Daily Planet

“At the recent Board of Library Trustees meeting (July 20, 2016), Trustee Winston Burton acknowledged the hundreds of emails he, the rest of the Board of Library Trustees (BOLT), and all the City Council members have received lately requesting support for the library whistleblowers. Our thanks go out to Mr. Burton for his comments acknowledging these hundreds of petitioners. His comments about this email petition, reflecting community outrage and support of the library workers, was one of the few hopeful moments at the BOLT meeting that night. Since Mr. Burton expressed a lack of clarity about the figures of “2,200” vs. “39,815” books tossed that the petition cites, it could be that others are also unclear. So here’s a little clarity. These are the figures that were pivotal in bringing a temporary stop to the rampant weeding of library items, the media coverage of the library’s crisis, and the BOLT’s decision to “accept” Jeff Scott’s resignation.”

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2016-07-22/article/44717?headline=Library-Whistleblowers-Lament–LibraryAdvocateOfBerkeley-gmail.com

Berkeley: Weeding the Worst Library Books

From The New Yorker

” Last summer, in Berkeley, California, librarians pulled roughly forty thousand books off the shelves of the public library and carted them away. The library’s director, Jeff Scott, announced that his staff had “deaccessioned” texts that weren’t regularly checked out. But the protesters who gathered on the library’s front steps to decry what became known as “Librarygate” preferred a different term: purged.”

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/weeding-the-worst-library-books