News Briefs

Barbara Cooney, the renowned children's book author and illustrator, died after a lengthy illness in Portland, ME. She was 83. In a career that spanned 60 years and 110 titles, Cooney twice won the Caldecott Medal, first for her retelling of Chaucer's Chanticleer and the Fox (Crowell Jr. Books, 1958), and second for Ox-Cart Man (Viking, 1979), written by poet Donald Hall. In December 1997, Cooney donated $550,000 to her local library in Damariscotta, ME. She later gave another $300,000. Groundbreaking for the town's new library complex will take place this month.

Provoked by Porn

When a letter appeared in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune complaining about patrons viewing adult sites at the downtown library, some staff members were prompted to action. "Many of us read the letter and it struck a chord," says Nancy Corcoran, Infoline supervisor at the Minneapolis Public Library. In February, 47 staff members--including at least three librarians--signed a letter to the newspaper claiming they were also disturbed by the growing presence of pornography on their terminals. Corcoran says the staff went public because of a lack of response from the library board and administration. The administration has since considered new, recessed work stations, centralized printing, and software that clears screens when patrons' time is up. "Clearly, the First Amendment has to serve as a backdrop for all discussions, but it is not the only thing at stake here," Corcoran says.

A Consecrated Connection

In a bid to sanctify the Internet, two Catholic organizations have asked the Vatican to name a patron saint of the Web. The nominees are San Pedro Regalado, a 15th-century Catalonian priest who is said to have appeared in more than one place at a time, and Saint Isidore of Seville, born in 560 in Spain, whose 20-volume encyclopedia, Etymologies, represents the closest thing to the Web in the 7th century. Luis Angel Largo, a resident of Valladolid, Spain, who had never been on the Net, asked his 16-year-old nephew to post a page promoting San Pedro Regalado as a patron saint after local monks told him about the priest's life. Saint Isidore has been suggested by the Pontifical Council for Social Communication because "his works became a storehouse of knowledge freely utilized by innumerable medieval authors," according to a Council spokesperson.

A Book for Baby's Parents

Need a good book to help parents get their kids reading? Try Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children's Reading Success (National Academic Press, 1999). "If I had enough money, I would give a copy of this [book] to every parent in the country," says Virginia Walter, associate professor at the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at the University of California at Los Angeles. Walter, who is also vice-president/president-elect of the Association for Library Service to Children, recommended the book during a recent workshop for librarians.

A Grant for Innovation

Innovative programs that combat illiteracy in public schools and libraries will be rewarded with mini-grants of $350 from the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. For the 12th year the organization will award $35,000 in mini-grants, starting in December. The deadline for submissions is September 15. For an application, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Deborah Pope, Executive Director, Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, 450 14th St., Brooklyn, NY 11215.

Green Light for California's Libraries

California voters overwhelmingly approved a bond measure that will give the state's public libraries $350 million for much-needed construction and renovation. (See SLJ, March 2000, p. 109.) The last such bond issue in the state was in 1988 and raised $75 million. Under the provisions of the agreement, the state pays 65 percent of construction costs, with the rest supplied by local governments. Ann Cousineau, a library director in Solano County who helped spearhead the bond measure, estimates that another will be needed in the near future, to catch up with the increasing demand.