Every day, Americans borrow 2.1 million DVDs from public libraries. Barely beating libraries out for the top spot is Netflix, at 2.2 million daily rentals. This is according to the OCLC 2010 survey "How Libraries Stack Up." (Redbox vending-machine rentals lag behind at 1.1 million, while DVD rental chain Blockbuster is no longer in the running,…

This article identifies 13 cultural trends that libraries can turn into opportunites to reach patrons. These trends include: Twitter, online reputation management, value added content, mobile marketing, and emotional connection.

The "greening" of corporate behemoths like Wal-Mart, DuPont, and Toyota has received much media attention in recent years. But consider small businesses: according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, of the estimated 27 million firms in the United States, 99.7 percent have fewer than 500 employees, 97.5 percent have fewer than 20, and more…

When flood came to Cedar Rapids city, the Cedar Rapids Public Library (CRPL), IA, lost 160,000 items including large parts of its adult and youth collections, magazines, newspapers, reference materials, CDs, and DVDs. Most of its public access computers were destroyed as was its computer lab and microfilm equipment. The automatic circulation and…

Yoga and Pilates are everywhere these days, and it's no wonder. Innumerable medical studies have shown that yoga and Pilates not only help people improve their fitness levels and slim down but also help them to alleviate asthma symptoms, manage arthritis and carpel tunnel pain, decrease cardiovascular risk factors, and improve one's emotional…

"Forbes" recently reported that Americans spent $11 billion in 2008 on self-help books, CDs, seminars, coaching, and stress-management programs--13.6 percent more than they did in 2005. Why the uptick? According to a recent "Publishers Weekly" cover story, conventional publishing industry wisdom holds that personal improvement titles do very well…