Library Staff

THE VERSATILES, A gospel music group well known in and around Carroll County, will present a dinner concert to benefit Texas flood victims April 3 at the Mount Airy Firemen's Activities Building on the carnival grounds at Route 27 and Twin Arch Road.The dinner will begin at 4 p.m., and the concert at 5: 30 p.m. Tickets are $15 or $10 for children age 10 and younger. Tickets may be purchased at Bohn's Furniture in downtown Mount Airy and at Heidi's Gifts in Mount Airy Shopping Center.Information: Ernest Thompson, 301-831-5624, Thurman Tyler, 301-829-1462, or Gail Crum, 301-829-1615.

EAST COLUMBIA library's Kevin Lewis was saluted as a 1998 Star Performer by Howard County Library staff as part of Staff Day on Nov. 11.Lewis is assistant circulation supervisor and has been on the library staff for 15 years.He was selected for his sense of responsibility and ability to motivate his staff."When dealing with his peers and the public, he pursues whatever route is necessary to get the job done well," the citation read.Gifts neededAs part of its community service, Boy Scout Troop 613 is collecting items to be given to Christian Services for Howard County.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The city builds a dramatic library and what does it get? Ridicule in the New Yorker. Tirades at municipal meetings. Threats of a mayoral takeover. And last week, the resignation of the library chief.It's hard to imagine so much controversy about an institution that people have been crowding into since it opened to raves in April. But in recent months, the San Francisco library management has been under siege.It has endured charges that it cavalierly tosses valuable old books into landfills, that it's more interested in flashy computers than in book collections, that it has spent $137 million on a building without enough shelves to hold this year's books, let alone the volumes of the future.

Resentment is brewing among Carroll County Public Library employees over a new pay scale that raises the earning potential for a few supervisory positions while lowering that of middle- and lower-level jobs."

First, let me thank The Sun for printing the dates and locations of the public forums to discuss the Enoch Pratt Free Library's Facilities and Services Initiative.I reiterate your invitation to any and all with an interest in the library and its long-range plans to come, listen, and be heard.Unfortunately, your Oct. 25 editorial (''A chance to be heard'') misstated important facts that influence the public's understanding and potential support for an initiative that will ensure that the Pratt Library remains a source of information and inspiration for Baltimoreans in the coming quarter-century.

THE FOLLOWING is an excerpt from the journal of for Anne Arundel County's original traveling Glen Burnie community news columnist.Saturday evening. Arrive at Baltimore-Washington International Airport for departure. Spouse heralds my arrival by informing every passing stranger this is my first flight. Manage to maintain minimal dignity as I decline stewardess' offer to walk me to my seat. Decided to keep the really neat pilot wings she gave me and the other kids.Saturday evening. Arrive at Denver airport.

THE UNITED Methodist Youth from Nichols Bethel United Methodist Church in Odenton plan a car wash from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the church parking lot to raise money for the group's annual trip to West Virginia to help repair the homes of the elderly and poor.The youth group also will have a bake sale the same day, so you can buy something to munch on while you wait for your vehicle.Summer reading programAnne Arundel County's public libraries have tied the theme of their summer reading program, Ready, Set, READ, to the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

IF CURRENT budget plans are adopted, Carroll County's vaunted public library system will be decimated. Hours will have to be drastically trimmed, magazine and periodical subscriptions canceled, damaged books won't be replaced; in short, a valuable community resource will be severely degraded. The county's budget problems may be tough but destroying a library system that enjoys the highest per-capita use rate in the state seems a nonsensical way of solving them.Carroll's library system is the quintessential example of government providing service.

A Baltimore woman has been charged as part of a theft ring that stole at least $17,000 worth of compact discs from at least 10 Anne Arundel County Public Library branches and public libraries in Howard and Baltimore counties, county police said yesterday.Dawn Michelle Sizemore, 28, of the 2800 block of Washington Blvd. was arrested about 2 p.m. Thursday at the Southern District station, said Anne Arundel County Detective Tracy W. Williams.Ms. Sizemore was charged with felony theft and released.

WELL, WE successfully weathered the first of the holidays in this lively season. Halloween was great fun! The terrific weather kept many out of the Savage library and on the streets where ghosties belong that night. However, on the negative side, few area residents managed to see the Savage branch library staff resplendent in their holiday finery.Branch manager Donna Matthews wore her by now-traditional get-up as Batwoman. Henry Lattimore, assistant branch manager, and normally a spiffy dresser, dressed as a Generation Xer, complete with spiked hair and boxers over trousers.

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation announced a $500,000 donation to the Enoch Pratt Free Library yesterday to provide free wireless Internet access at the Central Library and five other branches across Baltimore. The foundation is providing the money because it says about 40 percent of city households don't have access to the Internet. "For most of them, the only way to go online to get information they need to live and grow is to use one of the 500 public-access computers here at the Pratt libraries," said Pratt CEO Carla D. Hayden.

Government closed tomorrow, Tuesday Harford County government offices will be closed tomorrow and Tuesday for New Year's. The Harford County Waste Disposal Center will be closed both days, while Waste to Energy will be open tomorrow and closed Tuesday. Harford transit will be closed Tuesday. Harford County Public Library will be closed Tuesday. Senior centers will be closed tomorrow and Tuesday. Public schools will be closed tomorrow and Tuesday, and re-open Wednesday. Abuse support training Jan. 7 The Sexual Assault/Spouse Abuse Resource Center Inc. will hold a Crisis Response Companion Training beginning Jan. 7. SARC is Harford County's private, nonprofit service center for domestic and sexual violence, including stalking victims.

On a chilly March morning 25 years ago, more than 500 Westminster residents trekked down Main Street, pushing library carts filled with books, carrying bundles of volumes tied with string and toting tomes in shopping bags. A 1980 entry in the Library Journal re-created the great book move that began at 7 a.m. and, within hours, transferred about 60,000 items to the new Westminster Library just a few blocks away from the old site. "People were so excited that they turned out early on the coldest day to move everything from the old building," according to the Library Journal.

WASHINGTON - A week before televised confirmation hearings on Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr., the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library said yesterday that it had discovered a potentially large number of documents related to Roberts that had been inadvertently missed during previous searches of the nominee's files. The library near Simi Valley, Calif., which earlier had acknowledged that it had misplaced a Roberts file on affirmative action that is still missing, said it would bring in extra researchers to expedite a review of the documents before the Senate hearings, which are to begin Sept.

Next month's children's programs at the Savage branch library include: "Play Partners," a series of short programs for ages up to 23 months, at 9:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays, July 13 through Aug. 3. "Storytime Safari," programs of animal stories, songs and activities for ages 2 to 5 with an adult, are offered at 10:30 a.m. Mondays, through Aug. 8; 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, through Aug. 9; 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thursdays, through Aug. 11; and 10:30 a.m....

Elizabeth H. Bunch, a retired Enoch Pratt Free Library staff member who won a library outstanding service award, died of complications of diabetes Wednesday at University of Maryland Medical Center. The Northeast Baltimore resident was 76. Elizabeth Howard was born in Litchfield, Ky., and attended schools in West Virginia. She moved to Baltimore in the 1940s. She joined the Pratt library staff in 1957 as a clerical assistant at the Patterson Park branch. She also worked in the Govans, Waverly, Fells Point, Roland Park and Federal Hill branches.

AS A CHILD, I was given one of the greatest gifts I ever could have received - a library card. The role of libraries in the community has changed drastically since I was exposed to their wonderful opportunities. Paper slips have been replaced by bar codes and card catalogs by extensive online databases. But libraries are still magical and in some instances life-saving places for children and adults. September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month. While many establishments now require you to have a card for discounts or special club benefits, your library card provides free access to a world of resources in print and online, along with the expert assistance of librarians and other library staff.

There's a first for everything, and today marks the first meeting of a book-discussion group for children at the Bel Air branch of Harford County Public Library. Children in grades 3 to 5 are invited to come and enjoy refreshments, make suggestions about future monthly meetings and, of course, chat about the first reading. This month's book is Natalie Babbit's Tuck Everlasting, chosen partly because a Disney movie based on it is now in theaters, but mostly because of the weighty questions it poses about the value of life.

During one of four public meetings scheduled this week at various Enoch Pratt Free Library branches, Ronald Dubberly asked library users for their thoughts on how the city library system could be improved. About 40 people, including library staff, attended the meeting Monday at the Herring Run library branch in the Belair-Edison neighborhood in Northeast Baltimore. During the meeting, Dubberly noted suggestions for warmer colors on the walls, cozy reading chairs, group study rooms designed for conversation, a place to drink coffee and better shelving.

THE CROFTON branch of the Anne Arundel County Public Library looks the same as always this week - almost. Cars fill the spaces in the library parking lot. Announcements of community activities line the hallway leading to the main desk. Children scurry to the Summer Reading Program desk to register for events or record which books they have read. But library staff and patrons wear wistful expressions while perusing the bookshelves, as if preparing to say goodbye to an old friend. On Friday, at 5 p.m., the Crofton branch will close to the public so staff can begin moving library materials to the new facility on Reidel Road, which will open in September.