Library Juice 1:32 - September 9, 1998
Contents: 1. Family Friendly Libraries 2. Chicago Tribune runs op-ed column panning the McCain (filtering) bill 3. Scholarly Articles Research Alerting (SARA) 4. E. J. Josey's Speech / CLBC's New Web Site 5. CNN calls "Entertainment Weekly" a "leading news outlet" 6. SUBMISSIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR INDEX ON CORRUPTION 7. 70th Anniversary of the MADRAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 8. Committee on Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) 9. Call for Papers/Presentations on library services to Hispanic youth 10. Prof. George Salzman's radical science course - some materials on web 11. Nice online tutorial for evaluating the quality of web resources 12. The Weight of Nothing 13. Why Banned Books Week? (Notice from ALA OIF) 14. Article by Earl Lee, tentatively titled "*Really* Banned Books" 15. Join the Alternatives In Print Task Force (the core lacks diversity!) Quote for the week: "We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people." - John F. KENNEDY ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. Family Friendly Libraries If you are interested in the filtering debate or intellectual freedom in general, you should check out the website for Family Friendly Libraries. In case you don't know, they are the main organization fighting for internet filtering in libraries and against the ALA. They might be extreme and scary, but they are definitely sincere and scared. Insights are to be gained from visiting their site. http://www.fflibraries.org ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Chicago Tribune runs op-ed column panning the McCain (filtering) bill Sender: owner-member-forum[at]ala.org Today's Chiciago Tribune (Sept. 3) carries an oped column by Steve Chapman which pans the McCain bill. Chapman quotes Carolyn Anthony, director of the Skokie Public Library, and Karen Danczak Lyons, deputy commissioners of Chicago Public, and concludes, "What gives John McCain the idea that he's better able tohandle this problem than Carolyn Anthony? And whywould anyone believe him?". Chapman emphasizes that the Internet should be treated the same as other library materials and that selection decisions should be made at the community level. The column can be found at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ Linda Wallace Director, Public Information Office American Library Association 50 E. Huron St. Chicago, IL 60611 Tel: 800-545-2433, ext. 5042 Fax: 312-944-8520 lwallace[at]ala.org ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. Scholarly Articles Research Alerting (SARA) http://www.carfax.co.uk/SARA.htm Carfax, a UK publisher specializing in academic journals, offers this free service to help academics stay current in their fields. Although the service is limited solely to journals published by Carfax, users have hundreds to choose from. Subscribers can select individual titles or subjects and receive tables of contents by email before the print version is released. Registration information is provided at the site. [MD] >From the Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1998. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. E. J. Josey's Speech / CLBC's New Web Site To: Multiple recipients of list EQUILIBR <EQUILIBR[at]CMSA.BERKELEY.EDU> <excerpt>The Greater Los Angeles chapter of the California Librarians Black Caucus (CLBC) has a new website! <<http://www.clbc.org>www.clbc.org is now available on the Internet. While our former site garnered over 500 visits over the last year, the lengthy URL was somewhat confusing. The new site has a slightly new design for quicker downloads. It also reflects a more active means for our members to stay in touch and to exchange information. For those interested, the site provides information about our organization and its activities, as well as some of the events taking place locally, such as author signings and bookstore socials. (And, you know, all of you have a secret lust for Los Angeles.) New features and new designs, such as an organizations link, will be introduced to make the site an interesting starting point for the Internet experience of African American librarians. The site s first feature is a speech delivered by Dr. E. J. Josey, an honorary member of CLBC-GLA, Past President of ALA, and Founder of the Black Caucus of the ALA. Given at the National Sankofa Council on Educating Black Children Conference on April 5, 1998 in Merrillville, Indiana, Dr. Josey discusses the history of race relations in the United States and the role of African American librarians in shaping those relations as we approach the year 2000. Though he is planning to publish the speech, Dr. Josey has kindly granted permission to post excerpts on our site. Please take a visit to <<http://www.clbc.org>www.clbc.org and let us know what you think. -- Eric Brasley ______________________________________________________________________________ 5. CNN calls "Entertainment Weekly" a "leading news outlet" What makes a "leading" news outlet? CNN has launched new programs in cooperation with magazines owned by its corporate parent: Time-Warner. We've heard hype before, but we think this CNN promo from August 31st breaks new ground: "CNN and Entertainment Weekly, two of the world's leading news organizations." On that note the Pulitzer Prize committee might want to check out Entertainment Weekly's July 17th cover story, "The Spice Girls Talk About Life After Ginger." (For a comical look at journalism awards, check out the "P.U.-litzer Prizes" at http://www.fair.org/pu-litzer/pu-litzer.html ) Item from CounterSpin's Broadcast Week: 9/4--9/11/1998 You can hear the entire show at http://www.fair.org ______________________________________________________________________________ 6. SUBMISSIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR INDEX ON CORRUPTION To: media-l[at]tao.ca, rtvj-l[at]server.umt.edu Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 20:10:18 -4000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Subject: INDEX ON CORRUPTION Sender: owner-media-l[at]tao.ca Precedence: bulk Reply-To: media-l[at]tao.ca Submissions are being accepted for the first index of under-reported stories on corruption worldwide, reports the Network for the Defence of Independent Media in Africa (NDIMA), which is working with the Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society (IMPACS) of Canada on the project. Articles must have been published and qualify if they involve bribery or fraud or misuse of power for private or political gain. "The purpose of the index is to raise awareness about the necessity of independent and accountable media in the expansion and protection of democracy," says NDIMA, adding, "By highlighting the stories of corruption that have been under-reported, we intend to underline the crucial role of the media as an institution of public scrutiny." A story qualifies for consideration if "the degree of publicity is disproportionate to degree of corruption (eg. huge sums of money and involvement of high profile politicians, bureaucrats or businessmen);" in addition to the following criteria: if the story is published or broadcast only in a local, regional, or small circulation medium; it is given prominent coverage once, but no follow-up; and if it is covered only or mainly in alternative, student or on-line media. The deadline is 16 October 1998. For a copy of the nomination form, contact Sam Mbure or Emily Nyanjugu at NDIMA, PO Box 70147, Nairobi, Kenya, tel/fax: +254 154 51118/ 254 154 41403, e-mail: ndima[at]arcc.or.ke Internet: http://www.oneworld.org/ndima/ or contact Karen Sawatzky at IMPACS, 207 W. Hastings St., Suite 910, Vancouver B.C. V6B 1H6, tel: +1 604 682 1953, fax:+1 604 683 8536, e-mail: media[at]impacs.bc.ca ______________________________________________________________________________ 7. 70th Anniversary of the MADRAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION To: IFLA-L[at]INFOSERV.NLC-BNC.CA We are glad to inform you that the MADRAS LIBRARY ASSOCIATION which was founded in 1928 by the late much revered Dr. S.R. RANGANATHAN, the father of library movement in India and the celebrated author of several books such as the Colon Library Classification, the 5 Laws of Library Science and A Prolegomena to Library Classification, besides hundreds of technical papers, will be organizing a Seminar on the theme : "The Role of the Information Professional In the Electronic Age" on 26th Sep. 1998 at Madras to mark the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the Association. As you are aware, Dr. Ranganathan was associated with IFLA, FID and several other International Library Associations and presided over many international conferences organized by these organizations. The Madras Library Association 5, Musiri Subramanian Street, Mylapore, MADRAS 600 004, INDIA E-MAIL ; Saranjeevan[at]hotmail.com For Madras Library Association Dr. Mrs. Susheela Kumar, President *********************************************************************** * IFLA-L is provided by the International Federation of Library * * Associations and Institutions (IFLA). For further information about * * IFLA activities, including organization or personal affiliate * * information, contact: IFLA[at]ifla.org * * * * URL: www.ifla.org * *********************************************************************** ______________________________________________________________________________ 8. Committee on Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) The IFLA / FAIFE Office in Copenhagen is now in operation! The FAIFE Office is a result of a concerted effort by the Danish Library community, the City of Copenhagen and the Danish government. The Committee and the Office will be the instrument of IFLA to promote the intellectual freedom rights as fundamental human rights and the vital mission of libraries as gateways to knowledge. They will support libraries and librarians in responding to attacks and limitations and cooperate with other organizations addressing issues which may directly or indirectly affect libraries and information professionals. The FAIFE Office will co-ordinate the efforts of IFLA in the area of freedom of expression and freedom of access to information. It will monitor the developments within the IFLA member countries, facilitate IFLA policy-making on topics concerning intellectual freedom and function as secretariat for the newly established FAIFE Committee. The Office is staffed with two library professionals: Jan Ristarp, former head of the Main Library of Stockholm and with a long career within the public library field and international experience as general manager for the Swedish Government Seamen?s Service, and Carsten Frederiksen, who has been the international secretary of both the Danish Union of Librarians and the Danish Library Association. Please feel free to contact: IFLA / FAIFE Office c/o Copenhagen Department of Culture Islands Brygge 37 2300 COPENHAGEN S Denmark Fax +45-33667064 E-mail: faife[at]ifla.org Director Jan Ristarp Phone +45-33664637 E-mail jan.ristarp[at]ifla.org Deputy Director Carsten Frederiksen Phone +45-33664627 E-mail carsten.frederiksen[at]ifla.org http://www.ifla.org/ifla/V/press/pr980902.htm Best regards Carsten Frederiksen *********************************************************************** * IFLA-L is provided by the International Federation of Library * * Associations and Institutions (IFLA). For further information about * * IFLA activities, including organization or personal affiliate * * information, contact: IFLA[at]ifla.org * * * * URL: www.ifla.org * *********************************************************************** ______________________________________________________________________________ 9. Call for Papers/Presentations on library services to Hispanic youth To: Reference and User Services Association List <rusa-l[at]ala1.ala.org> *** Call for Papers/Presentations *** ----------------------------------- Trejo Foster Foundation for Hispanic Library Education Fourth National Institute Library Services to Youth of Hispanic Heritage March 12-14, 1999 Tampa, Florida ----------------------------------- The Fourth Trejo Foster Foundation Institute on Hispanic Library Education will focus on public and school library services to youth of Hispanic Heritage. Papers presented at the Institute will be published by McFarland Publishing, Inc. in 1999. Submissions may focus on collection development, programming, ESOL or literacy issues, outreach, library education programs' preparation of librarians to work with youth of Hispanic heritage, immigration issues, current challenges facing Hispanic communities, or other related topics. Participants may elect to apply for either a paper, presentation or both. Abstracts for papers and brief descriptions of presentations should be submitted to the Conference Organizer, Kathleen de la Pena McCook. Co-editors of the proceedings will be Barbara Immroth, Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, and Kathleen de la Pena McCook, director of the University of South Florida, School of Library and Information Science. See submission information at the end of this message. Deadline for submission is October 1, 1998. This will be the Fourth Trejo Foster Foundation for Hispanic Library Education National Institute. Previous Institutes have been held in collaboration with the University of Arizona, University of Texas at Austin and Rutgers University. The McFarland Publishing catalog includes Latino Librarianship: A Handbook for Professionals, Multicultural Children's Literature: An Annotated Bibliography, and Developing Multicultural Awareness Through Children's Literature: A Guide for Teachers and Librarians, Grades K-8. See their webpage at <http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/>. To submit a proposal for a paper/resentation (Juried for publication), please send a brief abstract. To submit a proposal for a presentation/poster session, please send a brief Summary. Be sure to include the following infromation. Name: Affiliation: Address: Phone: Fax: E-mail Title of paper, presentation, or poster session: Please return this form along with the abstract or summary by October 1, 1998 to: Kathleen de la Pena McCook School of Library and Information Science University of South Florida 4202 East Fowler Avenue, CIS 1040 Tampa, Florida 33620-7800 For more information, contact Kathleen de la Pena McCook at: e-mail: kmccook[at]chuma.cas.usf.edu phone: 813/974-3520 ______________________________________________________________________________ 10. Prof. George Salzman's radical science course - some materials on web Since 1972 I have been developing a two-semester interdisciplinary radical science course at the University of Massachusetts. Information about that course, called Science for Humane Survival, is available on my website, which I would like to call to the attention of anarchist librarians. My hope is that other faculty may be interested in developing similar courses in critical thinking, and that the materials I've prepared may be useful to them. Anarchist librarians might mention this to faculty who they think may be interested. The offering is explicitly anarchist in orientation. Materials are available on the website and others, not yet posted, are available in hardcopy by writing to George Salzman Physics Dept Univ of Massachusetts Boston, MA 02125 tel: 617/287-6067 website: http://salzman.physics.umb.edu e-mail: salzman[at]umbsky.cc.umb.edu ______________________________________________________________________________ 11. Nice online tutorial for evaluating the quality of web resources ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INTERNET DETECTIVE A free online-tutorial on evaluating the quality of Internet resources ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We are pleased to announce the release Internet Detective - an informal but comprehensive online tutorial designed to teach the skills required to critically evaluate the quality of information found on the Internet. The tutorial includes interactive quizzes, worked examples and practical hint and tips. It can be accessed via the World Wide Web from: http://sosig.ac.uk/desire/internet-detective.html Who created Internet Detective? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The tutorial has been developed by staff at The Institute for Learning and Research Technology (ILRT) at the University of Bristol using the TONIC-ng software developed at Netskills at the University of Newcastle. The tutorial is hosted at Netskills. The project was funded by the European Union as part of the DESIRE project, a project in the Telematics for Research Programme. What are the aims of the tutorial? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Internet Detective aims to alert people to the *questionable quality* of the information that is freely available over the Internet. After completing the tutorial users will: o be aware of the key factors that affect the quality of Internet information o have learned practical hints and tips for evaluating the quality of an Internet information resource o have seen a comprehensive list quality criteria o have seen practical examples of the evaluation process o have tried out the evaluation process for themselves on a sample of Internet resources Who is the tutorial aimed at? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Internet Detective can be useful for anyone using information found via the Internet. It is designed for people who have already acquired basic skills needed to use the Internet and who are now able to focus on the information they find. It is likely to be of particular relevance to those working with Internet information: o information professionals o librarians It will also be particularly relevant to those using the Internet for academic purposes: o researchers o teachers o students How long does it take to complete the tutorial? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The tutorial may take three to four hours to complete fully. However, users select a login name and may use this to work over a number of sittings - the login will take them directly to the part of the tutorial at which they left off, and will keep a record of their quiz scores. Who can use the tutorial? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Internet Detective is available on the WWW and is freely available for anyone to use. (Users will need to access the tutorial using a Web browser that understands frames and accepts cookies) Users will need to login and remember their username for re-entry at a later date. So how to I start? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Internet Detective is available from the following URL: http://sosig.ac.uk/desire/internet-detective.html So please feel free to "get on the case" :-) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Emma Worsfold DESIRE/SOSIG Research Officer ILRT, University of Bristol, UK http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/ Emma.Worsfold[at]bristol.ac.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >From NetInLib-Announce: http://www.targetinform.com/netinlib/ ______________________________________________________________________________ 12. The Weight of Nothing "Tell me the weight of a snowflake," a coal-mouse asked a wild dove. "Nothing more than nothing," was the answer. "In that case I must tell you a marvelous story," the coal-mouse said. I sat on the branch of a fir, close to its trunk, when it began to snow, not heavily, not in a raging blizzard, no, just like in a dream, without any violence. Since I didn't have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. Their number was exactly 3,741,952. When the next snowflake dropped onto the branch--nothing more than nothing, as you say--the branch broke off." Having said that, the coal-mouse flew away. The dove, since Noah's time an authority on the matter, thought about the story for awhile and finally said to herself: "Perhaps there is only one person's voice lacking for peace to come about in the world." ______________________________________________________________________________ 13. Why Banned Books Week? (Notice from ALA OIF) (notice sent out by Don Wood, ala oif) Sender: owner-member-forum[at]ala.org Librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country will be using Banned Books Week, September 26 through October 3, 1998, to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society. Intellectual freedom can exist only where two essential conditions are met: first, that all individuals have the right to hold any belief on any subject and to convey their ideas in any form they deem appropriate; and second, that society makes an equal commitment to the right of unrestricted access to information and ideas regardless of the communication medium used, the content of the work, and the viewpoints of both the author and receiver of information. Freedom to express oneself through a chosen mode of communication becomes virtually meaningless if access to that information is not protected. Intellectual freedom implies a circle, and that circle is broken if either freedom of expression or access to ideas is stifled.--From the Intellectual Freedom Manual (fifth edition, Office for Intellectual Freedom, ALA, Chicago, IL, 1996) Information on BBW98 and how to order BBW materials can be found at http://www.ala.org/bbooks/ For more information, please contact Nanette Perez at the Office for Intellectual Freedom (1-800-545-2433, ext. 4223, or nperez[at]ala.org). Banned Books Week (http://www.ala.org/bbooks) is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association (http://www.bookweb.org/aba), the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (http://www.bookweb.org/abffe), the American Library Association (http://www.ala.org), the American Society of Journalists and Authors (http://www.asja.org), the Association of American Publishers (http://www.publishers.org) and the National Association of College Stores (http://www.csref.org or http://www.nacs.org). It is also endorsed by the Center for the Book of the Library of Congress (http://lcweb.loc.gov/loc/cfbook). ______________________________________________________________________________ 14. Article by Earl Lee, tentatively titled "*Really* Banned Books" From: Charles Willett <willett[at]gnv.fdt.net> Subject: Draft text of Earl Lee's article for CP v.2:2, circulated at his request *Really* Banned Books (note from Earl Lee: Why don't you put the text of my article up, it could probably use a good thrashing before it goes into print. I too am uncomfortable with "really banned books" but I can't think of a better adjective... suppressed? ignored? repressed? sidelined?) Each year the American Library Association sponsors Banned Books Week, a "celebration" of our right to read. The so-called "banned books" that we celebrate include such hoary chestnuts as Huck Finn, The Grapes of Wrath, The Catcher in the Rye, and even the Bible. It is, of course, ludicrous in the extreme to consider any one of these works as "banned"--at least not in this country. Some of them are occasionally challenged in our public schools and other titles may be challenged or even banned in foreign countries, but none of them can, in any sense of the word, be considered "Banned in Boston" or anywhere else in the USA. The Bible, for example, is the best-selling book in history, and virtually every book store in the country sells at least two or three versions, not to mention the religious book stores, which devote whole sections to different translations and editions. Although there was a recent effort by conservative churches to suppress a "language-inclusive" version of the Bible, this does not affect the overall standing of the Bible as the most popular book in history. Like the Bible, Huck Finn and The Grapes of Wrath are easily available in almost every library in the country. It is equally ludicrous to consider the book The Catcher in the Rye a banned book. Catcher has become such a popular mainstay of our culture that the recent film Conspiracy Theory rightfully presumes that every bookstore in the country has copies on hand for purchase. Obviously, it takes a certain amount of doublethink, if not outright hypocrisy to celebrate these books as "banned" in any way, shape, manner, or form. The question is: If these books are not banned, then what books are? The answer is, of course, that with the notable exception of child pornography, few, if any, books are banned outright in this country. But many books *are* overlooked, ignored, sidelined and squeezed out of the marketplace. Many small press books are unable to find a place in bookstores or libraries, thanks in large part to the efforts of big commercial publishers to hock their own wares at the expense of small press publishers. This form of commercial "censorship" is accomplished thanks to the libraries and bookstores that cooperate with the efforts of big commercial publishers to "mainstream" our culture and marginalize dissent. It is especially hard to understand why librarians would cooperate with the efforts of commercial publishers to homogenize our reading material. But many librarians do this by relying on one or two mainstream review journals for selection, and ignoring the small, independent presses. To try to understand what books are marginalized, I went through the first four issues of Counterpoise and searched each book title on OCLC to see how many libraries had copies of each title. Based on the results, I was able to draw up a list of "*Really* Banned Books" for your consideration. The number of libraries showing holding of each title ranged from 1279 to 2. The most popular book reviewed in Counterpoise with 1279 libraries showing holdings, was Paul and Anne Ehrlich's Betrayal of science and reason: how anti-environmental rhetoric threatens our future. Several other titles came up as very popular, including Opening of the American mind (1147 libraries), Homelessness in America (831 libraries), and Art of Democracy (856 libraries). Of the publishers represented, it was clear that South End Press was probably the most successful publisher in terms of getting its books into libraries. I was, however, much more interesting in looking at the "losers" in this popularity contest, the books that we can identify as *Really* Banned Books. Several of the books reviewed in Counterpoise that show low numbers were foreign publications. These include books published in Australia, like Suppression stories (the grand prize winner, with only 2 libraries showing holdings) and Motherlode (6 libraries). Other books that show few holdings include an English publication, The Human rights handbook, a Swedish publication, Children: the invisible soldiers, a publication by South Centre, For a strong and democratic United Nations: a south perspective on UN reform, a Canadian publication, Turning the tide: confronting the money traders, and a Dutch publication How EC and World Bank policies are destroying agriculture and the environment. Most of these foreign publications were well recommended by the reviewers, and one hopes that perhaps they are more popular in other English-speaking lands than they are here. Frankly, many of the books that showed few holdings were high-quality publications that deserve a broader audience in this country. American books that show few holdings tended to fall into three categories. First, the books found in the fewest number of libraries tended to be those that dealt with sex in a graphic "how to" manner. These include More joy... an advanced guide to solo sex (4 libraries) and First person sexual: women & men write about self-pleasuring (9 holdings). The More joy book is a sequel to the third edition of The joy of solo sex (16 libraries) published in 1993. Evidently masturbation is not a popular topic in libraries, though I am at a loss to explain the social psychology behind that (maybe I'll ask my Kathy Ireland poster later... ). Also hard to find was The Yoni: sacred symbol of female creative power (16 libraries) and American sex machines: the hidden history of sex at the U.S. patent office (31 libraries). These books were perhaps a bit too graphic, visually, for librarians to purchase. Books dealing with gay and lesbian issues were all over the map in terms of the number of libraries showing holdings, from Hot, throbbing dykes to watch out for (40 libraries) to Separatism and women's community (314 libraries). One might suspect that the books' titles have something to do with whether they are purchased or not. Clearly, the more provocative titles did poorly in terms of being purchased by libraries. I think it's fair to assume that purchases by individuals at bookstores must be making up for lost orders from libraries. All in all, books on sex were frequently poorly represented in libraries. A second category of books that did poorly were fiction and poetry titles published by small presses. These include Company Woman (10 libraries) and A beggar at Damascus gate (29 libraries). The fact is that so many novels are published--and media hyped--by commercial publishers, that small press fiction and poetry tend to get lost in the shuffle. Books like Company woman that have a strong pro-union message are probably not very welcome at all in chain bookstores that are anti-union in their policies, as Michael Moore discovered when he made pro-union comments while doing a book-signing for Downsize this!. The bookstore made every effort to separate Moore from the pro-union workers, and he was dogged by handlers throughout the rest of his book-signing tour. Similarly, I'm suspect that pro-union nonfiction books are sidelined whenever possible. Certainly very few even moderately pro-union books are published by commercial presses. In this country the most prolific publishers of books dealing with labor issues and labor movement history are the small presses and the university presses. The third category of books that did very poorly were the comics, or "graphic novels" like War junkie (16 libraries). These books seem to be purchased by libraries only very rarely, and I suspect that a number of libraries that purchase comics don't bother to catalog them. Similarly, libraries are very unlikely to carry much in the way of zines, even when they buy reference books and periodicals that cover the zine scene, including Zines! (83 libraries). Other books that fall into this category include books that appear to be self-published, like Seven mighty blows to traditional beliefs (24 libraries). Oddly enough, the one subject area that did quite well were children's books, which leads me to suspect that librarians who buy children's books take their jobs quite seriously and evidently go out of their way to find small press books. It may be that the commercial presses are offering such a poor selection of children's books that librarians are led to small presses to find good books that really challenge stereotypes and satisfy the reading needs of children. Several children's books fell into the 400 to 600 libraries range. Hopefully they are doing as well in sales to bookstores. All in all, some small press publishers are doing relatively well, while others are barely finding an audience in libraries at all. This is a situation that has plenty of room for improvement. And hopefully Counterpoise will be able in future years to contribute to helping small press books and journals find their way into libraries. Earl Lee ______________________________________________________________________________ 15. Join the Alternatives In Print Task Force (the core lacks diversity!) Subject: Press Release: Alternatives in Print Task Force, ALA/SRRT NEWS For information, contact Charles Willett For Immediate Release tel. 352 / 335-2200 24 August 1998 willett[at]gnv.fdt.net The Alternatives in Print Task Force (AIP) of ALA's Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) has unanimously chosen Rory Litwin to be Coordinator for Internal Affairs, in charge of day-to-day operations. AIP advocates local selection and cataloging of materials from small and alternative presses and independent producers. (Visit its website at: http://www.jessamyn.com/srrt/AIP/ ) Among its notable achievements in recent years are: (1) organizing the popular, annual Free Speech Buffet at ALA conferences (1993- ). (2) instituting the $500 annual Jackie Eubanks Memorial Award, given to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in promoting the acquisition and use of alternative materials in libraries. (1994- ). (3) compiling the biennial directory _Alternative Publishers of Books in North America_ (CRISES Press, 1994; 3rd. ed., 1997). (4) supervising AIP's Hawaii Working Group, led by Patricia Wallace, which helped Hawaii librarians cancel the Baker & Taylor outsourcing contract, helped fire State Librarian Bart Kane, helped pass a Hawaii state law requiring that only local librarians select materials for Hawaii's public libraries, opposed ALA's outsourcing policies, and sparked the formation of the Outsourcing Task Force (1996- ). (5) maintaining the AIP exhibit booth (1996- ), which took over Charles Willett's earlier CRISES Alternative Press Exhibit booth (1991 - 96). Alternative materials have now been displayed at 15 consecutive ALA exhibits. (6) conducting joint promotions at the exhibit booth and the Buffet with the Alternative Press Center, publisher of the _Alternative Press Index_ (1969- ) and the Independent Press Association, a new support organization for periodicals devoted to social concerns (1996- ). (7) founding the acclaimed, international, alternative review journal _Counterpoise_ (1997- ), edited by Charles Willett, with 20 subject and area specialists as associate editors, 50 reviewers in America and abroad, and reprint privileges from several other independent review journals. Visit the _Counterpoise_ website at http://www.jessamyn.com/srrt/AIP/counterpoise.html (8) assembling print and on-line versions of a comprehensive bibliography of alternative reference tools (Counterpoise vol. 2, no. 1: 58-59 [January 1998]; http://www.jessamyn.com/srrt/AIP/bibtools.html). (9) promoting an international new wave of alternative press books and periodicals (see the bibliography) written or edited by members and associates of AIP to join Sanford Berman's and James P. Danky's venerable biennial anthology _Alternative Library Literature_ (1984- ) and Chris Dodge's and Jan DeSirey's insightful _MSRRT Newsletter_ (1988- ) (10) presenting three well-received AIP programs at each ALA conference, co-sponsored by many other ALA units (1996- ). (11) stimulating widespread interest in the alternative press, such as: news and letters about AIP activities in _American Libraries_ and elsewhere; invitations to AIP members to appear on panels organized by other groups within or outside ALA; publication of articles by AIP members in mainstream journals here and abroad; the selection of Patricia Wallace's paper, "Outsourcing Book Selection in Public and School Libraries," by the journal _Collection Building_ as "the outstanding paper of 1997;" and the recent publication in _College and Research Libraries_ (vol. 59, no. 4 [July 1998]) of "Representations of the Alternative Press in Academic Library Collections," by Rita A Marinko and Kristin H. Gerhard. (12) the current effort to challenge the new draft ALA intellectual freedom statement, which deliberately ignores the alternative press and librarians' widespread self-censorship of it. Please consider joining the Alternatives in Print Task Force. Write to Rory or me if you are interested. AIP needs people with many different backgrounds, skills and ideas. Our work touches all subjects and forms. Help us make thoughtful, alternative points of view freely accessible to library users worldwide. We welcome as new members everyone who can help us achieve our stated mission: "The Alternatives in Print Task Force advocates local selection and cataloging of materials from small and alternative presses and independent producers by sponsoring programs and Internet discussions; linking grassroots groups; and producing reviews, articles, exhibits, on-line resources, the biennial Alternative Publishers of Books in North America, etc. Gives annual Jackie Eubanks Memorial Award of $500 to an individual for outstanding achievement in promoting acquisition and use of alternative materials in libraries. Publishes quarterly review journal, Counterpoise." To my colleagues in the Alternatives in Print Task Force I must say in closing that it has been an enormous honor and privilege for me to serve as Coordinator these past five years. What a wonderful group! I thank you all. My heartfelt appreciation goes out also to the many other people outside AIP who have contributed information, advice or financial support to our efforts. Working individually or in small groups, our members have done extraordinary things during these years. Under Rory Litwin's term, I am sure we shall accomplish even more! Charles Willett - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Important note: the core of AIP is small, and made up entirely of white males. Women & minorities are encouraged to join and become active. Contact me at rlitwin[at]earthlink.net if you are interested in finding out more. (I am going to need all the help I can get.) -RL ______________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ | | | # # ##### ##### ## ##### # # | | # # # # # # # # # # # # | | # # ##### # # # # # # # | | # # # # ##### ###### ##### # | | # # # # # # # # # # # | | ###### # ##### # # # # # # # | | | | | | # # # # #### ###### | | # # # # # # # | | # # # # # ##### | | # # # # # # | | # # # # # # # # | | #### #### # #### ###### | | | | | | http://www.libr.org/Juice/ | | | | Except where noted, items appearing in Library Juice | | are copyright-free, so feel free to share them with | | colleagues and friends. Library Juice is a free weekly | | publication edited by Rory Litwin. Original senders | | are credited wherever possible; opinions are theirs. | | Your comments and suggestions are welcome. | | mailto:Juice[at]libr.org | |__________________________________________________________|
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Date: Thursday, October 29, 1998 12:03 PM