California Prison Libraries Get Monies

"The California State Library has awarded the Southern California Library Cooperative (SCLC) a grant for $371,000 to provide text books and recreational reading materials to California Prisons. These funds provided through the Library Services Training Act (LSTA), are being granted to support an important need - new materials and textbooks in prison libraries. The monies granted are being used to furnish textbooks to three California prisons. These include adult prisons San Quentin and Ironwood and juvenile prison, the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility. Recreational reading materials are being sent to all California prisons."

Remember that scene in Shawshank Redemption where the prisoner's are unpacking the books and that one guy calls "Dumas" "Dumb Ass?"  Me, too.  That was funny.  That's about all I got here.  Go prison education!  Now if we can only fund those prison football teams.

Also, how bad ass is it there's a prison called "Ironwood?"  That's Tolkien/Martin naming right there, buddy.

California State Library grant provides books for California prisons

Californians, Go Tell Your Teacher's and Bosses You Won't "Friend" Them

Californian governor Not-Schwarzenegger signed two bills on Thursday that prevents companies and universities from asking individuals to release their social media login information.  The state marks the first to pass such laws.

Is it sad that we have to tell companies this?  I know in this day and age you do not want your employees bad mouthing your brand to the whole world, but it was the same back in the day when the "whole world" was just Main Street.  If a person is that much of an embarrassment, odds are they will do something that warrants firing or kicking out sooner or later.  Hell, you let them in, dumb ass.  And honestly, this is not that hard to police and most cool companies will be okay with it.  Check this out: Fuck the Banned Library.  Yep, still here.

Update: The Banned Library does not endorse any opinion or commentary section contained in this post.

California schools, employers banned from social media snooping - Reuters

California Says All Library Books Created Equal

A new California law will extend privacy protections for library records to ebooks.  The Reader Privacy Act of 2011 will come into law in Jan 1, 2012 and require government agencies to obtain a court order before accessing electronic retail orders and requests from book sellers. pcmag

Everybody, say it with me now: FREEDOM! That's what I'm talkin' bout.

Community in Conflict, Book Donation Business Told To Move On

Marin, CA library supporters are waging a boring war on book donation boxes placed around their city.  The book donation boxes are placed by the Thrift Recycling Management company, a for-profit venture that recycles the items.

"Of the books collected in the bins, approximately 25 percent are resold, another 25 percent are donated to nonprofits, and the rest are sold for their value as pulp, [TRM co-founder Phil] McMullin said." MarinIJ

"Friends of the Library" groups complain that the books take away donations to libraries that could be used to fund the library through book sales or replace old library copies.  TMR has been under suspicion for not being as charitable as they claim, selling most of the items instead of donating them as they claim.  Marin Independent Journal

Okay, in this corner we have people profiting from old hippie ideals about saving mother earth.  They weigh in at approximately the size of capitalism and are looking to make a buck on the feelings that people are doing good by the planet by recycling.  They have made millions.

In the other corner we have people looking to enrich their lives by saying the library can benefit from a cubic ton of old National Geographics and books that may or may not have been pooped on by a rat.  These people may or may not collect and sort the materials donated to the library, but do feel a sense of satisfaction when they vote to buy a computer or maybe that god-awful book shaped reading furniture for the children's department when they meet once a year.

Solution:  Put the bins at libraries.  Allow the library system to sort the materials it wants and give the for-profit the leftovers.  Or just let the company do what it does until the Oregon Department of Justice shuts them down for being a fake charity.  Or a five on five deathmatch, Friends VS Thrift in a winner take all pay-per-view for the fate of the county.

Now It's Time for More Facebook Bull$h1t

First up, Microsoft's Bing has begun to more deeply use Facebook "likes" in their search queries.  Basically, if you are logged into Facebook with Bing, Bing will use your and your friend's "likes" within the search results.  Here's the problem as I see it:  this is going to turn the Internet back into the porn, troll and 80s sitcom mess it used to be when every search includes at least one result from a group entitled "Bring Back the Facts of Life But in Porn Cause We All Know Jo Was a Lesbian." computerworld

Cameron and Tyler Winklevondl... Winkandfondle.. Twinvillian from that social movie, have been denied the appeal in their lawsuit against other really rich people and will have to get by on $100 million.  Com'on judge, that's totally not enough money to swim in comfortably!  Okay, maybe swim, but no diving!  rcrwireless

California introducing bill that will allow parents to have private information stripped from their children's social network accounts.  As long as they don't introduce a bill that let's celebrities get away with murder.  Am I right?   FoxNews, aka Broken Clock

Yeah, go slow news day.