In the metro Atlanta area, a group of activists have symbolically occupied Woodruff Park in the very heart of the city, at Five Points. Christine Fraser, a librarian and writer, gives her perspective on the Occupy Atlanta demonstrations in this video. She is an underemployed part-time library worker and she is “terrified” of her student loan payments, which will begin soon and require her to pay $600–$700 a month, and she wants politicians to care about people like her. Occupy Worcester’s Elizabeth Westie said she lost her full-time job as a middle school librarian four or five years ago. Westie is also worried that the next generation is saddled with school debt, can’t find high-paying jobs, and will never kick off that debt saddle. Watch the video…

Lawyers acting for library advocates were granted an injunction October 19 to prevent further dismantling of six libraries in the London Borough of Brent that were slated for closure, and a court of appeals will review the case in November. Residents, backed by some of Britain’s biggest authors, sought a judicial review after Brent Council announced plans to shut half of the borough’s libraries in April. In what was viewed as a test case for closures across the UK, High Court Justice Ouseley ruled October 13 that the Council’s decision was lawful. Council members padlocked the doors of the Kensal Rise Library, an institution dedicated by American writer Mark Twain in 1900, a few hours after the decision. Parents and children have been maintaining a vigil outside the historic library. Read more…

Country musician Taylor Swift donated 6,000 books to her hometown library, the Reading (Pa.) Public Library, which has divided them equally among its main, northeast, northwest, and southeast branches. Reading was one of three struggling libraries that Swift decided to help. Library officials learned of the donation in March during a call from Scholastic Books. They picked the books they wanted from the publisher: five copies each of 500 titles, including fiction and nonfiction for children and teens and picture books for younger patrons. Watch the video…

The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library was selected to receive a 2011 Champaign-Urbana International Humanitarian Award for its efforts to facilitate international cooperation through research and education. The center works to strengthen international ties among libraries and librarians worldwide for the promotion of international education, understanding, and peace. It was nominated for the award by the Champaign (Ill.) Public Library. Read more…

Christian Zabriskie writes: “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. The books were passed around and organized, and more were soon added. Several weeks later, Betsy Fagin brought the idea of a people’s library before the General Assembly of the occupation and was appointed librarian of Occupy Wall Street. Since then the library has been growing and expanding exponentially.” Read more…

Merle Pickett died October 7, less than a month shy of her 109th birthday. Born on October 23, 1902, the Spencer, Wisconsin, native had been a resident at St. Mary’s at Felician Village in Manitowoc. For 43 years, she served the Manitowoc School District, retiring in 1968 after serving as a teacher, librarian, and assistant principal of Washington Junior High. She earned a bachelor’s degree in library science from the University of Minnesota in 1946. Read more…

Mark Ray, a teacher-librarian at Skyview High School in Vancouver, Washington, was named the 2012 Washington Teacher of the Year on October 3, besting eight more traditional teachers from across the state. He said he plans to use the award to advocate for the importance of school libraries. Ray won the honor, given annually by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, because of his enthusiasm and creativity. Read more…

Chicago’s public libraries will reduce their hours in 2012, even as the city continues to build new libraries, Mayor Rahm Emanuel acknowledged October 11. Emanuel defended the library cuts built into his 2012 budget, saying they’re a small price to pay at a time when other major cities, like New York, are closing libraries. Sources said the reduced hours will be concentrated on two days, including Mondays, when library usage is the lowest. Read more…

Actor Alec Baldwin has a soft spot for the struggling Adams Memorial Library in Central Falls, Rhode Island. On October 3, Jerauld Adams , chairman of the library’s board of trustees, was working the front desk when he took a call from Baldwin, who said: “I’d like to give you $10,000.” Baldwin told Adams he was moved by a feature in the October 1 New York Times that talked about the city’s problems and how the state-appointed receiver was forced to fire six of the library’s staff to pare a projected deficit of $5.6 million this year. This donation brings the total amount of money raised to $40,000. Read more…

Russian-American dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov has donated a cache of personal recordings, photographs, documents, letters, and scrapbooks to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Jan Schmidt, curator of the library’s Jerome Robbins Dance Division, said Baryshnikov’s superstar status would draw scholars, students, and the general public to the collection. She estimated it would take three years for the library to copy the videotapes into a digital format and to catalog all the material. Read more…