Library Patrons

The Howard County library is selling a cutting-edge database service designed to enhance how the knowledge-hungry gather information while chiseling a new niche for area libraries.For $85 a year, 'Round the Clock DataNet can connect library patrons throughout Maryland to 27 business and educational databases 24 hours a day in their homes and offices.Heralded by library administrators as a one-of-a-kind information system, DataNet illustrates the changing role of libraries -- from free purveyors of books and periodicals to sellers of expanded technology used beyond the library's walls.

The Baltimore County Public Library has launched a new service that will give patrons access to more than 100 magazine titles on their computers and mobile devices. Patrons can sign up for the Zinio service through the library system's website (www.bcpl.info) and download the application to their tablet, smartphone or computer for free. The service gives them access to the library's digital magazines 24 hours a day. The program is compatible with iPhones, iPads and other tablets, Androids, PCs and Macs, but not with Kindle or Nook, library officials said.

Three days remain to return overdue library materials to Enoch Pratt Free Library branches without paying fines. The library's "Amnesty Week" runs through Saturday. Fines are being forgiven this week in order to encourage library patrons to register or renew their library cards in September, Library Card Sign-up Month. Normally, the maximum fine on adult or young adult cards is $6 an item. On children's cards the maximum fine is $3 an item. Fine forgiveness does not apply to e-readers, laptops, and materials lent by other library systems.

Three of the most popular books in America are being kept off the shelves of the Harford County Public Library system because administrators consider them to be pornographic. British author E.L. James' erotic trilogy about a steamy affair between an innocent literature student and an entrepreneur with dangerous desires has topped the list of Amazon.com's best-selling books. Ditto for the New York Times' best-selling fiction list. Every other library system in Central Maryland owns copies of "Fifty Shades of Grey" and its two sequels, and maintains waiting lists of hundreds of eager readers who want to check them out. Harford County's reluctance to purchase the novels in the face of overwhelming public demand and accusations of censorship places it in among an embattled minority of libraries nationwide.

A Laurel man who threatened suicide in the parking lot of a Columbia library Monday will be charged with assaulting police officers, weapons violations and other offenses, Howard County police said yesterday. Doctors at Howard County General Hospital were evaluating yesterday the psychological condition of the man, Glen Williams, 38, of the 8400 block of Dulwick Court. An arrest warrant charging Williams with two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct and illegal possession of a firearm was issued yesterday, said Sgt. John Superson, a police spokesman.

Baltimore library patrons will not receive advance warning about branch closings after Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke said yesterday that he won't sign a bill requiring public hearings on the shutdowns.The legislation, sponsored by Councilman Martin O'Malley of the 3rd District, was passed last month by the council and would have required the Enoch Pratt Free Library to justify branch closings through public forums.The bill was created after the library closed two of its 28 branches -- in Charles Village and Morrell Park -- last summer.

Carroll County public library patrons should soon be able to pick up their telephone to renew books and conduct other circulation-related functions.A new telephone-computer system called TeleCirc will enable the library to deliver electronic notices and accept calls from library users. Using a personal identification number, patrons will be able to renew overdue books, get a list of materials they've checked out, and cancel or confirm items on hold."[The system] is going to speed up the notification of when a book is ready for people which will add to the circulation of popular items," said Scott Reinhart, director of automation, support and technical services for the library.

The Baltimore County Public Library has launched a new service that will give patrons access to more than 100 magazine titles on their computers and mobile devices. Patrons can sign up for the Zinio service through the library system's website (www.bcpl.info) and download the application to their tablet, smartphone or computer for free. The service gives them access to the library's digital magazines 24 hours a day. The program is compatible with iPhones, iPads and other tablets, Androids, PCs and Macs, but not with Kindle or Nook, library officials said.

Three of the most popular books in America are being kept off the shelves of the Harford County Public Library system because administrators consider them to be pornographic. British author E.L. James' erotic trilogy about a steamy affair between an innocent literature student and an entrepreneur with dangerous desires has topped the list of Amazon.com's best-selling books. Ditto for the New York Times' best-selling fiction list. Every other library system in Central Maryland owns copies of "Fifty Shades of Grey" and its two sequels, and maintains waiting lists of hundreds of eager readers who want to check them out. Harford County's reluctance to purchase the novels in the face of overwhelming public demand and accusations of censorship places it in among an embattled minority of libraries nationwide.

To bolster the financial future of Carroll County's public libraries, the library system's board of trustees has approved the creation of an endowment to pay for renovation and expansion work and other projects.The board last week approved an agreement with the Community Foundation of Carroll County to manage the fund, which will be established with $6,000 in donations to the library, mainly from residents."We are looking for ways to make our limited resources go a little farther and attract some additional funds that aren't directly related to texts," said Scott Reinhart, assistant director of the county's library system.

Three days remain to return overdue library materials to Enoch Pratt Free Library branches without paying fines. The library's "Amnesty Week" runs through Saturday. Fines are being forgiven this week in order to encourage library patrons to register or renew their library cards in September, Library Card Sign-up Month. Normally, the maximum fine on adult or young adult cards is $6 an item. On children's cards the maximum fine is $3 an item. Fine forgiveness does not apply to e-readers, laptops, and materials lent by other library systems.

When Howard County unveils its new 63,000-square-foot library in December, patrons will be welcomed into a high-tech facility with a computer classroom and a historical center. Officials also plan a garden that they envision will be charming enough for weddings. Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library system will this month open its first small eatery in a neighborhood branch, where people can snack on fresh pastries, sandwiches or coffee while they use the library's wi-fi. Far from the stuffy, silent archives of old, today's libraries are inviting patrons to come often and linger, have a snack and meet with friends.

After Crystal Langdon checks out 22 books from her library on Reisterstown Road on Wednesday, she plans to carry them home on the Metro in her purse. And preteen boys enrolled at St. Ignatius Loyola Academy may soon be able to leave their book bags at home, because their reading lists for the entire year will fit into their back pockets. For the past three years, library patrons have been able to download virtual books onto some electronic readers, such as Barnes & Noble's Nook, or the Sony Reader, for the three-week loan period that is standard for hardcover and paperback volumes.

Facing the prospect of more cutbacks in library hours and other declines, Anne Arundel County Public Library administrator Hampton "Skip" Auld is taking a page from other services clamoring for scarce county dollars. Auld is turning to the community for support, seeking to energize library patrons in much the same way that public schools have turned parents into lobbyists. He is hoping that a public outcry will pressure elected officials to keep reductions in the library budget well below the 10 percent that County Executive John R. Leopold has asked of each agency.

Richard Hart, humanities department chief at the central Enoch Pratt Free Library, died Tuesday of complications from old age at Roland Park Place. The former Charles Village resident was 99. Recalled yesterday for his encouragement of aspiring writers and patience with library patrons, he wrote poetry and had a scholar's interest in Edgar Allan Poe. He was also the author of a biography of the library's founder, Enoch Pratt. Mr. Hart was born in Baltimore and raised on Harlem Avenue.

With children's books propped up on the steps behind her and stuffed animals strewn all around, Karen Kuebler settled herself on the floor at the Pikesville library, nestled her 2-year-old son on her lap and began to read and sing. "Today we're going to talk about feet. Does everyone have feet?" she asked the babies who toddled or crawled or just sat smiling on the blankets in front of her. "Show me your feet." For the next 12 minutes, Kuebler, her face elastic, her voice lilting, gave dramatic readings from books on feet and toes, sang about body parts and held stuffed animals upside down to look at their feet.

When the Westminster branch of Carroll County Public Library reopens after closing for a few days this month, patrons will find a reconfigured interior -- complete with a cafe area. The East Main Street branch will be closed Thursday through Saturday, and the changes will make more efficient use of staff and space, said branch manager Lois Leasure. The cafe area will include gourmet coffee, snack machines and seating space. Periodicals will be relocated next to the cafe for convenient reading during patrons' coffee breaks.

About 150 people were trapped inside the Central Library of Howard County in Columbia for more than two hours yesterday as police negotiated with a wheelchair-bound gunman in the parking lot who had threatened to kill himself. No one was injured in the standoff that ended about 6: 20 p.m. when the man, identified only as a 37-year-old from Laurel, collapsed in his wheelchair, apparently from a seizure, said Sgt. John Superson, a county police spokesman. Criminal charges are pending the outcome of the man's psychological evaluation at Howard County General Hospital, police said.

If you're two weeks late in returning a book to the Baltimore County library, you're likely to get a phone call. If your book is four weeks overdue, you'll receive a notice in the mail. And if you're Philip Akbar Shabazz, you're sent a letter that begins: "You currently have 402 items overdue from the Baltimore County Public Library. Fees and charges for these items amount to over $8,400." Library officials say they suspect that the books were sold. Yesterday, Shabazz, a Randallstown resident, went to court to face a felony theft charge.

It's like the superhero of library cards: flashy and vibrant in appearance, and able to leap over county borders in a single bound. Public librarians across Maryland are preparing to unleash the new MPOWER card, which gives the bearer the ability to borrow from any of Maryland's 174 public libraries. Yesterday, state officials chose the new library in Odenton - a fast-developing part of Anne Arundel County near the Howard County line - as the venue in which to unveil the eye-catching turquoise card, which presents different images as the holder tilts the card at various angles.