Libraries Without Walls: The Opening of the Carnegie Library at Pittsburgh's Public Market

With looming budget cuts and the challenge of adapting to new technologies, libraries are facing hard times of providing new services while surmounting large funding gaps. Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan once wrote that “He not busy being born is busy dying.”¹ This sentiment is certainly true of libraries, which must constantly reinvent themselves to overcome the challenges of budget cuts and rapid technology changes. For libraries today, the skill of adaptation is necessary for survival.

Book Talk

Book Talk provides authors’ perspectives on libraries, books, technology, and information. If you have any suggestions of authors you would like to see featured in Book Talk, or if you are interested in volunteering to be an author-interviewer, contact Kathleen Hughes, Editor of Public Libraries, at the Public Library Association, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; khughes@ala.org.

Chest Deep in Southern Literature: A Conversation With Daniel Woodrell

Acclaimed author Daniel Woodrell has enjoyed a critical resurgence of late. Esquire magazine dubbed him the "most overlooked great novelist in America" and the success of the film adaptation of his novel Winter's Bone introduced him to a larger audience. Woodrell has written eight novels, won the PEN USA Award for Fiction, and been nominated for an Edgar Award. His latest book, an anthology of short stories titled The Outlaw Album, will be published in mid-October.

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E-Books and Libraries - What's Available for Free

Introduction A recent survey done by Unisphere Research, a division of Information Today, Inc., found that of 1,201 libraries polled in North America, an average of 41% of libraries report an increase in patron requests for e-books over the past year. Individual libraries see this in increased demand for OverDrive downloadable books service and NetLibrary digital titles.