Boy oh boy, other library systems must be green with envy! The Reader’s Review is proud to announce that four of the renovated San Francisco branch libraries have now received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council! Both the Park and Anza branch libraries were certified LEED Gold. [...]

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Congratulations to the San Francisco Public Library, winner of a National Competition to build Learning Labs for teens! The Library received $100,000 in grants from the MacArthur Foundation and Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as well as an additional $20,000 in funds to support the work from the Friends of the San Francisco [...]

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By Katie Sue Ambellan Libraries are essential.  They provide information, education and are pillars in communities.  The San Francisco Public Library system has 27 branches, a robust Main library, four bookmobiles and two off-site locations. Since 2000, 22 branches have been renovated or newly built through the Branch Library Improvement Program.  2011 alone has seen [...]

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Found on The Book Bench from The New Yorker:  a sign outside the Hillsdale Free Public Library in New Jersey, posted by Reddit member CorporatRe.

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For the people who like to argue that libraries are archaic,  this one’s for you.  

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By Katie Sue Ambellan It’s BAAACCKK!  And this time, the San Francisco Public Library ‘s Literary Speed Dating will focus on connecting baby boomers with new love. On Aug. 2, for same-sex dating, and Aug. 9, for straight dating, interested book worms can come to the main library’s Latino Hispanic Community Meeting Room.  The event [...]

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By Marcia Schneider The American Library Association was the first organization to bring a large national conference to New Orleans post Katrina, in June 2006. Chris Rose, former columnist for the Times-Picayune, wrote an Op-Ed piece titled And the Librarians Shall Lead Them, praising the librarians and predicting that the conference would be a turning [...]

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By Katie Sue Ambellan Everyone wants to be green these days.  Even the San Francisco Public Library.  Which is why they are encouraging patrons to switch from print to e-mail, telephone, or text so that in the near future, they  can eliminate printing and mailing overdue notices. The reason?  To save paper and printing expenses [...]

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By Marcia Schneider Public libraries, long recognized as a refuge for readers, students, intellectuals, the economically disadvantaged and more, have an increasingly important role in our society as community gathering place.  Open to all, this most democratic of all public institutions is undergoing an evolution, thanks to new technologies and the downturn in the economy.  [...]

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For the past month, San Francisco based artist and illustrator Wendy MacNaughton has been going to the library a lot. She visited every floor, took detailed notes and even waited out front before it even opened. From all this hard work came a beautiful and inspiring art-essay for The Rumpus entitled, Meanwhile, the San Francisco [...]

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