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 
 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
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| Except where noted, items appearing in Library Juice     | 
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