From Publishers Lunch, 03.18.02

"Feast and Famine at Libraries
Two articles paint a contrasting picture on the state of libraries. Cerritos, CA prepares to join a wave of cities with high-tech new libraries that also serve as gateways to the electronic world and even community centers, as they celebrate the opening of a "$35-million futuristic building clad in titanium and hard-wired for interaction." Meanwhile, though, the Boston Globe laments how "funding shortages are keeping Massachusetts near the bottom of state-by-state rankings of school libraries." Many schools have no librarian at all and collections are aging and even outdated. Plus, "Research published in this month's issue of American Libraries magazine shows that based on 1990 Census data, 57 percent of professional librarians (including those in schools and in public libraries) will reach retirement age between 2005 and 2019."

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/076/metro/School_libraries_lacking+.shtml
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-000019493mar17.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dpe%2Dcalifornia