LISNews Librarian And Information Science News

The longtime law librarian at the Santa Maria court complex is facing felony charges for allegedly burglarizing the Solvang residence of a local attorney and stealing firearms and jewelry. Lompoc (CA) Record.

The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office on Dec. 23 filed charges of first-degree residential burglary and grand theft firearm against Stephen Christopher Zaharias, 69.

Zaharias, of Santa Maria, is due in court Jan. 13 to be formally charged, according to a source with the District Attorney’s Office who asked to remain anonymous.

The librarian is suspected of breaking into and burglarizing the Solvang condo of attorney Milton H. Yoshimoto on Dec. 12, according to the source. Zaharias later tried to sell guns stolen from the residence at an Oxnard gun shop, the source said.

Update: Mayor Nutter and the Free Library of Philadelphia will halt their plans to shut down 11 branch libraries Wednesday after 5:00 p.m after a judge from the Court of Common Pleas ruled against the closures, as reported by MSNBC and Philly.com.

Philadelphia Inquirer - Library advocates on Monday asked a judge to prevent the city from shuttering 11 branches at year's end, closures they contend are illegal and endanger some communities.

"Libraries are no longer just depositories of book and magazines and other media," plaintiffs' attorney Irv Ackelsberg told the court. "(They are) sanctuaries of learning and safety for our children within the streets that hold many dangers for them."

Mayor Michael Nutter plans to close the libraries beginning Thursday to help narrow an estimated $1 billion budget deficit over the next five years.

But Ackelsberg cited a 1988 ordinance that states "no city-owned facility shall be closed" without the approval of City Council. He asked the judge to prohibit the mayor from closing the branches unless council approves.

On Tuesday, December 16, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit established important restrictions on the power of the federal government to impose gag orders on recipients of National Security Letters (NSLs). Currently, the recipient of an NSL cannot challenge a gag order for one year, and the chances for success are limited by a provision of the law that requires judges to regard as "conclusive" government assertions that secrecy is necessary to protect national security. The Second Circuit ruled that these provisions limit First Amendment rights.

More from Bookweb and on pdf, Doe v. Mukasey (ACLU) Suit.

From the AP: A group of Bruce Springsteen fans who perhaps took the Boss’s song “No Surrender” a bit too seriously have returned more than 1,100 pieces of Springsteen memorabilia to the Asbury Park Public Library in New Jersey, The Associated Press reported.

The library told The A.P. no charges would be filed if the materials were returned in good condition.

Nineteen boxes of Bruce Springsteen memorabilia worth about $30,000 were returned to the Asbury Park (NJ) Public Library shortly after noon Thursday, providing intermediary relief to a feud that had led the library to file a police complaint to get approximately 1,120 items returned.

The complaint against Bob Crane and Dan Toskaner, members of the Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection, said the men in September 2007 had removed with the library's permission about a fourth of the collection housed there since 2001 to be microfilmed at the OCLC Preservation Resources microfilming facility in Bethlehem, Pa.

Approximately 1,334 items were picked up March 14, 2008, but not returned to the library, except for 208 items returned in May. The rest of the articles, books, tour programs and worldwide items became part of an ongoing dispute between Crane and library director Robert Stewart over ownership of the collection.

Crane says the materials belong to the Friends group except for the original 744 documents he turned over to the library in 2001 for which he received a tax credit and which launched the collection at the historic city library.

At this time, SFWA's initial and primary concern remains: this settlement reverses the long, legal standard of requiring that rights to written work be obtained prior to their publication in any form, and forces authors to opt-out if they wish to protect their rights.

The cover of "The Lexicon" speaks volumes about the lengths to which a West Michigan author and his Muskegon publisher have gone to get the comprehensive guide of the Harry Potter book series into the hands of readers. The subject of a lengthy, groundbreaking legal battle with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, the soon-to-be-published lexicon has a cover that appears to be one big nod to copyright.

"An Unauthorized Guide to Harry Potter Fiction and Related Materials" appears boldly below "The Lexicon" title and above author Steve Vander Ark's name. A full paragraph on the otherwise sparse cover further details the fact that neither Rowling nor a host of others with trademarks and other interests in the Harry Potter series had any part in the book.

Publisher Roger Rapaport, author Steve Vander Ark and their team of lawyers -- including Craig Monette of Muskegon -- are confident this version of The Lexicon will pass legal muster. (The cover was negotiated by both sides to avoid a separate planned trademark lawsuit.) The book is set to be released on Jan. 12 in the United States and England. M Live, Publishers Weekly and the AP both tell the story of 'the book that must be published'.

There are all kinds of weird people out there, including some who would like a spanking with a copy of Finnegan's Wake. Check out this story from the New York Daily News:

"The city has agreed to a $25,000 payout for an ex-librarian at the Riverdale Country School in the Bronx who was busted last year for sending bizarre e-mails to his boss. The city agreed to settle Billy Hallowell's wrongful arrest lawsuit rather than go to trial. Hallowell was detained for 30 hours in April last year after cops were told Hallowell had sent a lewd e-mail to his former boss.

"We could do it in the library," the e-mail said. "I could spank you with a vintage copy of Finigan's (sic) wake."

But Hallowell never sent the e-mail. The mixup occurred when librarian Robin Berson responded to an e-mail from Hallowell, who informed her he was quitting, asking him to return a library key. Berson sent the reply to an e-mail address that was nearly identical to Hallowell's. The person who inadvertently received the e-mail sent it back with the bizarre note.

Harassment charges were dropped by the Bronx district attorney.
Hallowell, a freelance journalist, hopes the mixup will spur the NYPD to train their officers in the basics of e-mail and the Internet. "I'm happy that they took responsibility and admitted their mistakes," Hallowell said.

I guess that naughty rep is destined to follow librarians to the grave.

Lakewood NJ: The Board of Education has agreed to pay $32,500 to settle a lawsuit brought by the widow of a former librarian whom she said died partly because of harassment from his co-workers and superiors.

Cheryl A. Watson, in her complaint filed with the state Superior Court in April 2007, claimed Assistant Superintendent Joseph C. Attardi, Assistant Principal Anne D. Luick, teacher and librarian Roz Renner, and other school officials discriminated against her late husband, George Watson Jr., because of his race and disabilities.

Here is his 2005 obituary.