Webber Library now open at temporary North Minneapolis site

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People in our community have been through many ups and downs regarding the little Webber Library; commencing with the cutting of hours at the start of this century, hitting the low-point with the one year closure from December 2006 until January 2008, and then the final closure this past July. If the one year closure was its nadir, the January 2008 reopening, with the announced $15 million capital plan for a new library was its zenith.

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Politics and markets: How governments help and hurt economies

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Lots of political rhetoric is spewed across news and the social media. Most of it is just ideology, repeated and spun by pundits or posted across the social media, appearing as Facebook facts” where propositions come to be accepted as political truths. But they reality is that so much of passes as political fact is simply ideology; untested assertions or simply statements about the world that fail to stand up to rigorous social science scrutiny. This is the case with assertions about taxes, or voter fraud, or a slew of many other propositions. Two of the most cherished theories held dear to many conservatives are that the government cannot innovate and that the pathway to economic recovery is through austerity and cuts in government spending and taxes. Both of these myths are convincingly challenged in two recent books, Mariana Mazzucato’s The Entrepreneurial State, and Mark Blyth’s Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea. Continue Reading

E-DEMOCRACY | What’s going on with the Webber Park Library?

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From: Tony Hill Date: 3:35am, Dec 18Could someone provide some background about how it is the Webber Park Library was demolished? It was only built in 1980, making it one of the newest MPLs (or should I say one of the LAST Minneapolis Public Libraries?)The Walker Library was built about the same time and has also been demolished, but I understand that is because it was undersized and had an unusual underground design that didn’t lend itself to expansion.From: John Harris Date: 3:48am, Dec 18Didn’t it have a structural issue?http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/215390301.htmlFrom: Cheryl Luger Date: 4:20am, Dec 18structural issue is putting it mildly. while the cause is yet undetermined … weather and soil, webber park pool reconstruction, no basement foundation.the pictures in the link below make it pretty clear on why it was closed.and not rebuild ? cost prohibitive and, possibly unlike the very first webber location , i don’t think there was anything historic with this site..while the north side tornado damaged parts of webber park, the library escaped.check out this year’s photos….especially the separating bricks at foundation. Continue Reading

Minnesota Winter Book celebrates 25th edition

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On December 14th, it was a packed house at the Open Book building in Minneapolis as the Minnesota Center for Book Arts celebrated the release of the 25th edition of the annual Winter Book. As part of a special partnership with publisher Milkweed Editions, the 2013 Winter Book was entitled Minidewak and reproduced four selected readings from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass in a limited edition, handmade artist’s book. Continue Reading

Keeping Christmas simple

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We’ve taken a step toward a more traditional holiday this year. Our DIY Christmas tree has taken several different forms over the last few years–some of which barely resembled a tree at all–but the same idea was behind them all. We wanted to use what we had to celebrate. We wanted a holiday that focused on creative reuse rather than consumerism. This year we were given a hand-me-down artificial tree, and we have a small collection of ornaments that have been gifted to us, so our tree is pretty traditional. Continue Reading

Welcome to the Small World: A view from behind the lens

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In the world of minis, there are close encounters with bugs that seem prehistoric, adventures in far off places, and seemingly impossible tasks – like milking a cow. Photographer Kurt Moses and his wife, Edwige, began documenting the life of minis several years ago on their site Un Petite Monde (A Small World). But it wasn’t until Moses shared his photos with Longfellow resident and graphic designer Kelly McManus that the idea for the book Welcome to the Small World: A Book of Big Surprises! was born. McManus wrote little stories for each of the images and compiled them all into a book.

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Webber Library will remain closed

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The fall issue of the Friends of the Hennepin County Library highlighted the importance of putting books into the hands of students from low-income households. They cited a study published in the Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, which showed that low-income students who had access to books during the summer did not experience the proverbial “summer slide.” Indeed, their reading scores were raised by 24.15 points, while their peers who did not have access to books experienced a -9.77 point slide in their scores. Counter this data with the responsibility we have as a society to address the appalling achievement gap in education and the knowledge that many of the children in our own community live in poverty, and the value of having our public libraries open for all people, especially the children of our community becomes paramount.Webber Park Library remains closed as of this writing. The structural damage has not been repaired and three possible outcomes were presented at a public meeting held by Hennepin County Commissioner Linda Higgins at Folwell Park on September 30. Options included repairing the existing structure, utilizing trailers to provide interim library services or rent retail space within proximity of the current library. Continue Reading