Libraries

No peeking. The publisher of the new Harry Potter novel has strict rules for libraries handling the book this summer. Among them: Libraries must limit the number of employees who handle the books before the July 21 release and provide names and contact information for each branch manager, according to the contract from Scholastic Inc. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is the final book in J.K. Rowling's popular series about the boy wizard.

An explosive rise in Internet access at the nation's public libraries has also led to a solid increase in the number of visitors, according to a study released Monday by the American Library Assn. "Far from hurting American libraries, the Internet has actually helped to spur more people to use their local libraries because it has increased our hunger for knowledge and information," Loriene Roy, president-elect of the American Library Assn., said in a statement.

It's not often that a librarian is warned to stay away from the bookshelves because of high voltage, and that students aren't allowed to roam freely through the stacks -- but it's becoming more common. At Chicago State University, a South Side college that dates to the 1860s, only robots are allowed to browse most books and archives.

Is the public library no longer a haven for children? That's the message the director of a charter school in South Los Angeles sent the parents of her 340 students last week, warning them that Hyde Park--Miriam Matthews Public Library, a few yards from the school campus, was not safe for their children.

REVIVING a piece of Orange County history, the city of Irvine is replicating the original Irvine family mansion to serve as a new branch of the Orange County Public Library system. The Katie Wheeler Branch Library, named for the late philanthropist Kathryn Lillard Wheeler, granddaughter of Irvine Co. founder James Irvine II, is being built on the 2.4-acre site where the 19th century mansion was destroyed by fire in 1965.

FOR the German monk searching for signs of God in "Star Trek," the obscure storeroom on the fourth floor of UC Riverside's main library was worth the trans-Atlantic pilgrimage. Bernhard Janzen pored over television scripts and a video clip from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," and noticed how an African American space station captain had found a religious stone tablet and, much like Moses, smashed it on the ground as he shepherded an oppressed people toward freedom.

Singer-guitarist Josh Malerman is hitting the books again, and it has nothing to do with studying. "I'm sitting outside the library in Carson City right now," he said enthusiastically by phone from Nevada earlier this week. "They've got an Alfred Hitchcock festival going on. It's fantastic."

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to expand the rights of church groups, turning down appeals in a pair of cases. In the first case, the justices declined to hear a free-speech claim from an evangelical minister in Northern California who wanted to hold worship services in a public library meeting room.

The restoration of Germany's famed Anna Amalia Library, gutted by fire three years ago, has been completed, and the building will reopen next week, officials said Thursday. The $18.2-million restoration was undertaken after a fire blamed on an electrical fault tore through the roof and top floor of the 16th century rococo palace that houses the library. Tens of thousands of irreplaceable books were damaged or destroyed in the Sept.

Sara Adler put a real estate book on hold and was about to retrieve some information on California law schools when the lobby of the Mark Twain Library in South Los Angeles erupted in chaos. From her post behind the reference desk, she heard yelling and looked up to see six men punching and stomping a man on the floor. She picked up a phone and dialed 911. With police and an ambulance on the way, the attackers fled.