Library Juice 1:10 - March 18, 1998
Contents: 1. Library Juice News 2. Index Morganagus - Index to library related serials on the web 3. Scout Reports for Social Sciences and Business & Economics, Net-Newsletters 4. Biodiversity and Conservation - hypertext book 5. gender Inn: Women's and Gender Studies Database 6. _Agriculture Fact Book 1997_--USDA [.pdf, 265p.] 7. Useful databases newly available from NTIS 8. Jackie Eubanks Award winner announced 9. Katherine Sharp Review Call for Papers 10. Legislative proposal to revise Chapter 19 of Title 44 11. Anarchist Yellow Pages 12. Lawsuit against Borders and Barnes & Noble by independents and ABA 13. "Thinking Problem" (Humor) ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. Library Juice News Library Juice currently has 165 subscribers in 15 countries. Back issues are archived at <http://home.earthlink.net/~rlitwin/juice/index.html>. Right now the server that's hosting it won't take a cgi script, so it can't be searchable. If you can donate more user-friendly server space for Library Juice please let me know! You'll have my eternal gratitude. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Index Morganagus - Index to library related serials on the web Index Morganagus is an electronic index of library-related serials created by Eric Morgan Lease. I find it a convenient way to quickly access articles in library literature, especially relating to the internet, "electronic libraries" and the like, but other topics as well. Index Morganagus currently indexes over sixty electronic serials, linking directly to the articles in full text. It is located at the following URL: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/IndexMorganagus/ ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. Scout Reports for Social Sciences and Business & Economics, Net-Newsletters Scout Report for Social Sciences http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/socsci/ Scout Report for Business & Economics http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/bus-econ/ Net-Newsletters http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/net-news/index.html The twelfth issues of the Scout Reports for Social Sciences and Business & Economics, each of which annotate over twenty new and newly-discovered Internet resources, are available. The In the News section of the Social Science Report annotates seven resources on the recent elections in India. The Business & Economics Report's In the News section annotates six resources related to mortgage refinancing. The Internet Scout Project now provides Gleason Sackman's Net-Newsletters mailing list (discussed in the November 29, 1996 Scout Report) via the web. Beginning with the March 2, 1998 issue, users can find daily and monthly postings from the mailing list, which is a compendium of seventeen newsletters at this time, including Benton Foundation communication headlines, Edupage, Seidman's Online Insider, and PBS Previews. [JS] (Internic Scout Report: http://rs.internic.net/scout/report/ ) ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. Biodiversity and Conservation - hypertext book http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/Titlpage.htm Peter J. Bryant, Professor of Developmental and Cell Biology at the University of California, Irvine, provides this hypertext book as a learning aid for his Biological Conservation class. It is an excellent, comprehensive introduction to the topic. Divided into sixteen understandable chapters, it covers such topics as the history of life, depletion and extinction from over-exploitation, exotic introductions, and deforestation, among others. The content is supported by illustrations, photos, charts, and a webliography for each chapter (a work in progress which is also available in full at the end of the book). However, the features that add the greatest value to the site are the well thought out hyperlinks to other relevant resources. There are literally hundreds of these; they combine with the original content of the site to form a powerful resource for undergraduate students. [JS] (Internic Scout Report: http://rs.internic.net/scout/report/ ) ________________________________________________________________________________ 5. gender Inn: Women's and Gender Studies Database http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/englisch/datenbank/e_index.htm German version: http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/englisch/datenbank/index.htm This searchable bibliographic database contains records describing over 5,000 works on "feminist theory, feminist literary criticism and gender studies focusing on English and American literature" from 1950 to the present. The search form is available under the heading Research, where users may indicate which field to search, limit by year of publication, and specify whether to return results in English or German. Works included in the database have been assigned up to 20 keywords from a locally-developed thesaurus for feminist research. A German version of the thesaurus is available in the Deutsche (German) Version and work is underway to translate the thesaurus into English. Work on this database was started in 1987 by Professor Natasha Wurzbach of the University of Cologne (Germany) English Department, and was made accessible via the Internet through a cooperative project with the Department of Art and Design at the Fachhochschule Koln. [AG] (Internic Scout Report: http://rs.internic.net/scout/report/ ) ______________________________________________________________________________ 6. _Agriculture Fact Book 1997_--USDA [.pdf, 265p.] http://www.usda.gov/news/pubs/fbook97/contents.htm The United States Department of Agriculture Office of Communications has recently released the latest version (Adobe Acrobat [.pdf] format only) of its _Agriculture Fact Book_ (discussed in the May 17, 1996 Scout Report). It is a compendium of thousands of facts presented in thumbnail essay, chart, table, and map formats that discuss the various aspects of US agriculture. The _AFB_ answers questions about what Americans eat and what it costs, the structure of agriculture, and rural America, among others. Users can also find detailed organizational information about the Department. The _AFB_ is a well-known reference tool for librarians, journalists, and subject specialists alike. [JS] (Internic Scout Report: http://rs.internic.net/scout/report/ ) ______________________________________________________________________________ 7. Useful databases newly available from NTIS This information is forwarded at the request of Steve Meyer (smeyer[at]ntis.fedworld.gov) of the NTIS Office of Sales. Raeann Dossett a GOVDOC-L Moderator raeann[at]uiuc.edu GOVDOC-L Web User Guide: http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~raeann/govdoc-l.html ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 17 Mar 98 13:48:05 -0500 From: smeyer[at]ntis.fedworld.gov NTIS recently placed several databases within the Government Research Center (GRC) WEB site. In addition, NITS has several new services available from the NTIS and FEDWORLD sites. Please go to www.ntis.gov and explore the new services. Available at Government Research Center site. (http://grc.ntis.gov) Agricola (free 30 day trial of index and abstract database ) Agrobase (free 30 day trial of index and abstract database ) Energy Science and Technology Database (from Depatment of Energy) NIOSHTIC (occupational safety and health) RTECS (The registry of toxic effects of chemical substances) NTIS (free 30 day trial of index and abstract database) Federal Research in Progress Available at main NITS site under online services (http://www.ntis.gov) Davis Bacon database Bureau of Export Administration Regulations Service Contract database World News Connection (electronic version of FBIS country reports) World Tec (State department technology cables) Standards database ASTM etc. International Trade Center Bookstore (Think Tanks and other groups in an index and abstract database. ______________________________________________________________________________ 8. Jackie Eubanks Award winner announced X-To: SRRT Action Council list <srrtac-l[at]ala.org&> PLGNET-L list <PLGnet-L[at]hera.sjsu.edu> Friends: For your info... http://www.ala.org/news/v3n16/v3n16g.html ALA News Release For Immediate Release March 9, 1998 Atton wins Eubanks award Chris Atton has been named the 1998 winner of the Jackie Eubanks Award, presented annually by the Alternatives in Print Task Force of the American Library Association's (ALA) Social Responsibilities Round Table. The award honors outstanding advocacy in promoting the acquisition and use of alternative materials in libraries. Acclaimed for his book, "Alternative Literature: A Practical Guide for Librarians," and articles dealing with media politics, class bias in libraries, and critical thinking, Atton is cited as a relentless networker. He organizes programs for librarians at book fairs, seeks out publications from independent presses and enthusiastically shares information with colleagues internationally. Atton held the position of subject librarian for sciences at Napier University in Edinburgh, Scotland, until recently and is now a lecturer in the school's Department of Print Media, Publishing and Communication. He is working on a doctoral thesis examining the value of the alternative press as a source of news and current affairs reporting. He is a member of the editorial board of Counterpoise and co-founder of the UK-based organization, Information for Social Change. Past Eubanks Award honorees include Noel Peattie, Chris Dodge and Mev Miller. ______________________________________________________________________________ 9. Katherine Sharp Review Call for Papers Call For Papers Katharine Sharp Review GSLIS, University of Illinois ISSN 1083-5261 (This information can also be found at http://edfu.lis.uiuc.edu/review) This is the first call for submissions to the Summer 1998 issue of the Katharine Sharp Review, the peer-reviewed e-journal devoted to student scholarship and research within library and information science. Articles can be on any topic that is relevant to LIS--from children's literature to electronic database manipulation to library marketing. Please take a look at previous issues for a sample of what is possible--but do not let that be your only guide! If you care passionately about some facet of LIS or have produced a research paper of which you are proud, consider submitting it to KSR. All submissions should be received by Monday, May 11, 1998. Although it is not required for submission, we would appreciate an abstract (of 150-200 words) or indication of intention to submit. Submitted articles must be accompanied by an abstract of no more than 200 words. For more information, including instructions for authors, please see the KSR webpage at either http://edfu.lis.uiuc.edu/review/call.html or http://mirrored.ukoln.ac.uk/lis-journals/review/review/ or you can email us at sharp-review[at]edfu.lis.uiuc.edu. ______________________________________________________________________________ 10. Legislative proposal to revise Chapter 19 of Title 44 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 16 Mar 98 16:49:50 -0500 From: patricem[at]RTK.NET To: Multiple recipients of list <gov-info-access[at]RTK.NET> Subject: revised legislative proposal to Congress on GPO & fed'l depository libraries A working group of library associations (the IAWG) has been working for more than a year on proposals related to revisions Chapter 19 of Title 44 of the U.S. Code, the law that governs public printing, procurement and the Federal Depository Library Program. Info on proposed legislation follows. ------------------------------------- Patrice McDermott patricem[at]rtk.net OMB Watch/Public Access Working Group Date: 03/16/98 Time: 16:10:09 ------------------------------------- INTER-ASSOCIATION WORKING GROUP SUBMITS LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL TO CONGRESS The Inter-Association Working Group on Government Information Policy (IAWG) has submitted a March 1998 revised legislative proposal to Congress to revise Chapter 19 of Title 44 of the U.S. Code, the law that governs public printing, procurement and the Federal Depository Library Program. Copies of the IAWG legislative proposal and issue briefs, as well as other information about the IAWG and its activities are available at http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/IAWG. The latest revision focuses on the library community's three key goals for reforming the law: (1) Enhancing public access to government information in all formats from all three branches of government; (2) Strengthening the Federal Depository Library Program to improve public access to government information; and (3) Ensuring the public has continuous and permanent access to electronic government information. The IAWG and its member organizations -- American Library Association, its divisions and roundtables; American Association of Law Libraries; Association of Research Libraries; Chief Officers of State Library Agencies; Medical Library Association; Special Libraries Association; Urban Libraries Council -- strongly believe that it is imperative that legislation to reform Title 44 be enacted during the 105th Congress. The present legal framework does not adequately address the new challenges of electronic government information. For example, no entity in the federal government currently has responsibility for capturing and providing ongoing public access to electronic files available on agency web sites. In addition, agency printing practices have shown a tendency towards increased non-compliance with Title 44 requirements, resulting in fugitive publications that are not included in the Federal Depository Library Program. Without needed reforms, the public will be increasingly denied access to the government information they need to make informed decisions. Established by ALA in February 1997, the IAWG has been working with members of Congress and their staff, other government representatives, the library community, the public interest community, and other interested constituencies to find common ground in enacting legislation that will improve public access to government information. For more information about the work of the IAWG, contact Daniel O'Mahony, IAWG chair and member of ALA's Committee on Legislation, at 401-863-2522, or email IAWG[at]brown.edu. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc [at]ala.org. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc[at]ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/ washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor <leb[at]alawash.org> Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor <alawash[at]alawash.org> Contributors: Anne Heanue All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. ================================================================= ______________________________________________________________________________ 11. Anarchist Yellow Pages ________________________________________________ A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E http://www.ainfos.ca/ ________________________________________________ The 1998 edition of the Anarchist Yellow Pages can be found at: http://flag.blackened.net/agony/ayp.html There is also a printed version which hopefully will be distributed by AK Press. I can also send you a ready to print electronic version (Adobe Acrobat/pdf or Page Maker)if you like to help with distribution. Someday I'll also make the list into a searchable database... Pleace send your questions, corrections and updates to: nihilpress[at]hotmail.com in solidarity, Felix Frost ______________________________________________________________________________ 12. Lawsuit against Borders and Barnes & Noble by independents and ABA Sorry, but I haven't yet been able to find out the source of this article. A group of independent booksellers has filed a federal suit charging Barnes & Noble and Borders with striking backroom deals with publishers in a bid to drive their competitors out of business. The suit, which was filed late Tuesday in San Francisco, charges the two giant book chains with using their clout to obtain discount prices and preferential treatment in violation of antitrust and business practices laws. ``They are bullying the publishers into giving them sweetheart deals, secret deals,'' said Clark Kepler, owner of Kepler's Books & Magazines in San Mateo, one of 26 independent booksellers that brought the suit. ``They're paying less for their books than independents are.'' The result, he said, is that countless independent booksellers are being driven out of business. Kepler and other independent booksellers, including Cody's Books in Berkeley, sued in San Francisco because they say that Barnes & Noble and Borders have targeted California, which has the largest book market in the nation, as a ``key component of their rapid-growth strategy.'' The two chains together own almost 300 bookstores throughout the state. The independent booksellers were joined in their suit by the American Booksellers Association, a national trade organization representing more than 3,500 businesses. Borders Group, a Michigan-based company that also owns Waldenbooks, issued a statement yesterday saying it could not comment on the lawsuit, but it generally denied any wrongdoing. ``Borders and Waldenbooks believe that our operations are conducted in full compliance with applicable trade regulation laws,'' the statement read. Barnes & Noble in New York issued a similar response, stating that it ``follows accepted industry practices in all of its business dealings.'' In their complaint, the independent booksellers allege that the rapid growth of national chains is ``fueled by secret and illegal deals'' that threaten the survival of independent bookstores. Since 1991, the market share of independent booksellers has declined by 40 percent. During roughly the same period, Barnes & Noble has more than tripled its number of ``superstores'' to almost 500 nationally. Borders, the suit states, has increased its superstores from 31 to 189. ``Fair and legal competition is fine,'' said Avin Mark Domnitz, executive director of the ABA, ``but right now the independents are competing with one hand unjustly tied behind their backs.'' The independent booksellers claim that the book chains are gaining an unfair edge through a variety of illegal business practices. The suit alleges that Barnes & Noble and Borders generally obtain discount prices unavailable to competitors, receive special markdown reductions on unsold inventory and discounts on books purchased for new stores and expansions, and get special advertising deals. ``In an industry with small profit margins, these illegal deals give national chains enormous competitive advantages,'' the suit stated. The ABA recently settled a similar suit brought against five publishers. According to the suit, the book chains also are scrambling to buy up retail property and open up new stores, part of a general strategy to saturate the market and force out competitors. ``The ultimate victim of the national chains' expansion will not only be the many independent bookstores forced out of business,'' the suit stated, ``but also the book-reading public.'' ______________________________________________________________________________ 13. "Thinking Problem" (Humor) It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties now and then to loosen up. Inevitably though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker. I began to think alone - "to relax," I told myself - but I knew it wasn't true. Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time. I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself. I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?" Things weren't going so great at home either. One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother's. I soon had a reputation as a heavy thinker. One day the boss called me in. He said, "I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the job, you'll have to find another job." This gave me a lot to think about. I came home early after my conversation with the boss. "Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking..." "I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!" "But Honey, surely it's not that serious." "It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver. "You think as much as college professors, and college professors don't make any money, so if you keep on thinking we won't have any money!" "That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently, and she began to cry. I'd had enough. "I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche. I roared into the parking lot and ran up to the big glass doors... they didn't open. The library was closed. As I sank to the ground clawing at the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye. "Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked. You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinkers Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker. I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was "Porky's." Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting. I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home. Life just seemed... easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking. __________________________________________________________________ Rory Litwin mailto:rlitwin[at]earthlink.net PO Box 720511 phone: (408) 286-6409 San Jose, CA 95172 http://home.earthlink.net/~rlitwin __________________________________________________________________
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