The Best Library Hip-Hop You'll Hear All Year

OK. Probably the only library hip-hop you'll hear all year, but whatevs. So I got this disk from one Melvil Dewey -- no, not the librarian from the turn of the (20th) century and the inventor of the library categorization system that bears his name. Rather, it's Scott "Scooter" Hayes, who works as a librarian in Wilmington, North Carolina and for the past couple years or so has spent the rest of his time singing, or, rather, rapping the praises of libraries. (And occasionally spoofing the Masters.) So now he has a CD out called Library Hip Hop, a disk which is long overdue. (See what I did there? I mean, besides steal the last line from Dewey's PR piece?) Now, if you're a librarian reading this, you've probably already heard of Dewey. (And if you haven't, then you probably need to check out (see what I did there again?) the whole album. If you're anyone else, you do not need this album. It's like listening to an album about bowling -- just about bowling, no bowling-as-metaphor-for-life songs. Which would be pretty cool for 2 or 3 tracks but might not be that interesting 12 tracks in. But you might just dig the beats and the videos below. (The jacket, I offer no such guarantees for.) Melvil Dewey - "Library Card" [YouTube]

You Cannot Slow Down Library Kids Music Festivals, You Can Only Hope to Contain Them

But really, why would you? Earlier this year it was the Tricycle Music Fest, a production of the San Francisco Public Library system. It took over from the original Tricycle Music Fest, a production of the Charlotte, Mecklenburg County library system in North Carolina. That Fest is currently on hiatus, which could very well be the result of a loss of grant or municipal funding, both of which have likely taken a hit in the current economic environment. And while San Francisco's fest will have a second go-round this October, there's still that whole 3,000-mile swath of land between the coasts. Luckily, Minnesota has stepped into the gap. (Yay, Minnesota!) The library system of Dakota County (suburban Minneapolis) is putting on Rhythm and Words on June 12, featuring authors and musicians from the Twin Cities' nascent kids music scene. Bunny Clogs, Clementown, and the Sweet Colleens, among others, will be performing, along with authors (including Lunch Lady creator Jarrett J. Krosoczka (who knows a thing or two about kids music and book festivals). Clearly, this is the type of thing that requires backing of some sort -- a donor, advertising, in the case of this festival a portion of a dedicated tax. But it's proof that it still can be done, even these days...

Borrow This Music (and Never Return It)

We're longtime library supporters (primarily usage, though we've been known to pay a late fine or four) here, so here's the first item this week in honor of National Library Week (April 12-18) and National Library Workers Day (April 14). To celebrate and recognize librarians everywhere Jim Cosgrove is releasing a pair of new singles – “Rockin’ The Library” and “Library Ann” (it took me a minute to get the pun there) -- AND offering free downloads of these two songs at his website from now until the end of National Library Week. The librarian in your life, particularly if they serve the children's section, will likely enjoy them, and even the non-librarians (read: your kids) will find them worth a virtual spin. To download, go to Cosgrove's store and enter the coupon code “read” at checkout.

Librarians and Kids Music: A Survey

We are committed library users in our household -- four cards! -- so it's not surprising that there are a few CDs scattered amongst the books we borrow from our local library system. Not so many kids' music CDs -- we have plenty, far more than all but the most devoted library system could hope or want to purchase -- but early on, before this site was but a twinkle in my eye, I discovered some artists there -- my first spins of Dan Zanes and Justin Roberts disks, for example, came courtesy of the library. Now that I spend a lot more time thinking about kids music, not only from a critic's perspective but also from a business perspective, I thought it would be interesting to survey some librarians on kids music in their libraries. The survey is a little old (OK, waay old, like, last year), but I think the answers still hold up. I've kept the responses anonymous, though I should note that librarian/blogger Warren Truitt participated -- I think finding at least one of his responses shouldn't be too hard. If there are any trends in the responses, it's that there are no trends. The respondents were all over the map in terms of their favorites, how the learn about music, and how they purchase music. If they agreed on anything, it's that patron requests are taken very seriously. (So go now and ask your library system to get some more great kids music.) Thanks to all the librarians who participated, and to all of them who fight the good kids music fight week in, week out. Zooglobble: What is the internal process your library system uses to decide which kids and family music CDs to acquire?