Now for the UnGood News: All in One Go

Okay, like a band-aid, let us get through this bad library news quickly and back to the funny.

A library worker in East Brunswick, NJ has pleaded guilty to having over 600 images of child pornography on his home computer, some graphically violent and sadistic.  I'm gonna be sick. nj.com

After a lengthy fight with the county, the city of Lake Elmo, MN has split from the Washington County library system to start its own library.  What this means for residents of either library system has yet to be decided.  This is what happens when you let your cities go to spring break without you.  twincities.com

The Palo Alto, CA community is in an uproar over the soaring price of the construction of their new library and community center.  The price has risen almost 25 percent since construction began, with only 33 percent of the project completed.  Do you feel better I started with the worst of these stories? MercuryNews

Seattle Library Closes for a Week

WiredNewYork

The Seattle Public Library has had the unfortunate tradition for the last few years of closing for a week at the end of  summer.  The reason behind the closure is the savings of about $650,000 of the city's budget for library operations.  This tradition follows the recently completed decade-long $290 Million project that revitalized the library system. NYTimes

Now I know that these workers are not getting paid for their "week off" but I think this should be a national event.  You want "National Library Appreciation Week?" How's about "No Library So See How Bad You Miss Me Week?"  Of course, that back-fired for my ex-girlfriend so maybe we just don't hire anybody when Betty from Circulation retires.

Spider-man Sells for Over $1 Million

 A copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, the first appearance of Spider-Man, sold this week for over $1 million according to The Toronto Sun.  You hear that folks, hang onto your 60 year old really rare comics and you might get some coin.  I mean it, remember that Superman (vol. 2) #75 Death of Superman that is holding up your end table?  In 20 years that could be worth, I dunno... dollars, man.  


The most messed up part of this?  Because of inflation, $1 million to day was worth 12 cents in 1961 dollars.  Economy, man.  Dude just wants to read a damn comic book.

Self Epub Profitable? My Library Vampire Series Might Work After All

Self published ebooks on Amazon and Barnes and Noble seem to be the smartest way to sell an ebook right now.  This USA Today article tells the story of Amanda Hocking, whose self-published "Trylle Trilogy" has found itself into the top selling books list.

This makes me believe my own paranormal romance series could work.  It is about a night archives librarian who is secretly a vampire.  When he is forced to teach a class on bibliometrics, he finds love with a girl who is also in love with a werewolf reference librarian.  This is compounded when the vampire that made him, a children's librarian from Transylvania, begins working in town.  I call it "Bite Me in the Stacks."