Library Juice 2:26 - Library Juice is now a book and a blog

Library Juice 2:26 - July 7, 1999 Contents: 1. Joyfully Subversive 2. KISS MY FILING INDICATORS 3. New URL for Alternatives In Print Task Force 4. Information Resources for Information Professionals 5. A $70,000 Moment 6. New International Relations Round Table web site 7. Anti Globalization archive 8. FSU Professor Resigns from Editorial List in Protest 9. Special Days and Months 10. www.faqs.org 11. Independent Press Distributors Out In Force at ALA 12. Problem Libraries 13. A riot in Eugene and why you don't know about it 14. The Habits Of Highly Deceptive Media 15. The MIT List of Radio Stations on the Internet 16. Organ Transplants Are Best Left to Professionals Quote for the week: "Question Managerial Prerogatives" -Sanford Berman Home page of the week: John Leonard: http://ftp.ccccd.edu/jleonard/index.html __________________________________________________________________________ 1. Joyfully Subversive SANDY BERMANS'S VALEDICTORY Ralph & Kacoo's New Orleans, Louisiana June 27th, 1999 I've been an ALA member since 1973, but with several interruptions, when I just couldn't stand it anymore. What brought me back each time was SRRT, of course, and colleagues like you: raucous, uncontrollable, outspoken, passionate folks who really want to make libraries -- and the world -- a little bit better, a little bit fairer, and a lot more fun. For everyone. People who could all be comfortable wearing this modest button with the simple inscription: "Joyfully Subversive." In January 1977, I submitted five "professional concerns" when running for ALA council. They remain my primary concerns, and perhaps yours, too: * Enlarge "intellectual freedom" efforts to include opposition to economic censorship (like media monopolization and the chain superstore threat to independent booksellers and small presses); frank recognition, at least, of library censorship (e.g. the failure to select visual erotica, zines, labor materials, small press fiction and poetry, and graphic novels); and support for library staff to ' express their views on professional and policy matters without fear of reprisal. * Stop and reverse the increasing commercialization of libraries and of ALA itself, which threatens the very soul of the profession: its committment to genuine openness, diversity, and neutrality. (Among other things, this means ensuring the libraries are spaces or refuges free from hype and otherwise incessant sales pitches.) * Expand and simplify access to library resources for poor, unemployed, and homeless people, in part by energetically implementing ALA's "Poor People's Policy." (Locally, this also involves abolishing fines when their major purpose is to generate revenue, not to get the books back, and avoiding fee-based services -- like bestseller rental programs -- that are predicated solely on the ability to pay.) * Foster greater democracy within both ALA and library workplaces, combatting such traditional management and mystery cult practices as hierarchy, paternalism, elitism, and secrecy; encouraging library unionization as a means of real empowerment, a way to create countervailing power; and unmasking the latest versions of Taylorism and TQM as frequently manipulative and wasteful frauds and fads. (In this context, that ubiquitous maxim, "Question Authority," might be modified to: "Question Managerial Prerogatives.") * Maintain and dignify such activities as collection development and cataloging as "core functions" best performed in-house rather than outsourced. I'd now like to add another item, related to the shibboleth about libraries being "bulwarks of democracy": * Proactively foment and facilitate public policy debates on timely issues through programs, resource lists, and displays. (How many libraries have done this, for instance, regarding classism or poor-bashing, corporate welfare, economic democracy, and corporate power? These are not even LC-sanctioned subject headings!) So what SHOULD libraries be? + Equally accessible to everyone + Dynamic sources of all kinds of information and ideas, available in a setting free of hucksterism + Open places, where rules and policies emerge from unfettered, transparent discussion among users and staff I honestly don't think that's too much to ask. Do you? __________________________________________________________________________ 2. KISS MY FILING INDICATORS Distributed at the dinner for Sandy Berman in New Orleans was Katia Roberto's zine, Kiss My Filing Indicators, issue number one, The "Sandy Berman Rocks My Socks" issue. It's a great little festschrift-zine with contributions from Byron Anderson, Chris Atton, Barbara Blair, "Karen Eliot," Steve Fesenmaier, Jenna Freedman, Mitch Freedman, Dorchester Dog Hip, Earl Lee, Alison Lewis, Rory Litwin, Peter McDonald, Mev Miller, A. Ralph Papakhian, Katia Roberto, Suzanne M. Stauffer, Jessamyn West and Steve Willis. You can get your copy by sending a dollar to Katia. You can email her for her address, at <roberto[at]alexia.lis.uiuc.edu>. __________________________________________________________________________ 3. New URL for Alternatives In Print Task Force The Alternatives In Print Task Force of ALA/SRRT has a new URL for its web pages: http://libr.org/AIP Update your links or pay us a visit for the first time. -Rory Litwin __________________________________________________________________________ 4. Information Resources for Information Professionals compiled by Joe Ryan http://web.syr.edu/~jryan/infopro/index.html "This is a guide to basic resources information professionals use when looking to the written record to solve a problem or learn more about ourselves as a profession." This is a well organized resource, large but not unmanageably so. You are likely to find something there that's right up your alley. It is arranged by category. For a good example of Joe's work take a look at the page on Women in the Information Professions, at: http://web.syr.edu/~jryan/infopro/women.html __________________________________________________________________________ 5. A $70,000 Moment I was holding a sign at the protest against Colin Powell's $70,000 keynote speech at the ALA conference along with about 20 other protesters, when I noticed Joyce Kelley across the room, trying to tell me something. Joyce Kelley is in ALA's public information office; I had met her earlier when I registered for the conference as a member of the press. Well, Joyce didn't like my participation in the protest, and called it a conflict of interest. She said that a journalist has no business taking sides on an issue. I told her I thought the middle was also a political position. It seems obvious to me that the way we talk about something necessarily takes some position in relation to it. It's in the words we chose to use. The "neutral center" that a journalist can create is a political position. This seems completely obvious and natural. Joyce's response was the following: "I've heard all the arguments." I don't know what HER argument is. It is not a problem. ALA made no official complaint and I happily held my sign (about Powell's My Lai coverup) as conference goers streamed past, shaking their heads in annoyance, and reporters counted us as many more than we were. Some non-SRRT members were in our ranks, including the tall and important Peter Graham. That was good. Not so good was the reported turning away of a gay activist who wanted to hold a sign condemning Powell's homophobia. He was told "We don't want to push that issue." SRRT members are unhappy that this happened and hope that the planning process of future protests is better advertised to groups outside SRRT who might share our interests. Powell himself was in the auditorium somehow, as much a TV personality as ever to those of us who didn't see him. He did not get a pie in the face, as some had wondered about. 70,000 very useful dollars were wasted on a homophobic warmonger who knows nothing about libraries and wants to be President of the United States. And people think SRRT is crazy. -Rory Litwin __________________________________________________________________________ 6. New International Relations Round Table web site Please visit the newly revised and updated IRRT web site at http://www.ala.org/irrt Included are links to IRRT activities at annual conference in New Orleans, volunteer opportunities for international involvement in New Orleans, information about the IRRT and announcements of publishing opportunities, including editor of International Leads and IRRT web editor. Acknowledgements for the design and implementation of the web site go to the IRRT Publishing Subcommittee in general and to Tracy Lay specifically who has really gone above and beyond in her efforts to create a place for the IRRT on the web. See you in New Orleans. Lucinda Covert-Vail, Chair ALA International Relations Round Table 70 Washington Square South tel: 212-998-2497 New York, New York 10012 fax: 212-995-4070 lucinda.covert.vail[at]nyu.edu __________________________________________________________________________ 7. Anti Globalization Archive Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 12:39:02 -0700 From: Sid Shniad <shniad[at]sfu.ca> To: mai-not[at]sfu.ca Subject: World's largest on-line globalization archive World's largest on-line archive of news, documents and discussion of globalization issues, starting with the MAI and expanding from there, can be found at http://mai.flora.org/homepage.htm http://www.flora.org/flora.mai-not/ As of 10 Jun 1999 11:20:56 -0400 there were 12016 articles posted to that searchable archive. __________________________________________________________________________ 8. FSU Professor Resigns from Editorial List to Protest Pricing Policies Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 16:20:04 -0400 From: Barbara von Wahlde <bvw[at]buffalo.edu> From: Alison Buckholtz <alison[at]arl.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <arl-sparcmem[at]arl.org> Date: Wed, Jun 9, 1999, 11:28 AM To SPARC Members: We received the following announcement from Charles Miller, director of the FSU library. We'll keep you posted on developments. In the meantime, please join us in applauding Dr. Riley's action. Alison ************************************************ Alison Buckholtz*Communications Manager*SPARC The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition 21 Dupont Circle*Washington, DC*20036 phone: 202 296 2296 x115 fax: 202 872 0884 email: alison[at]arl.org ************************************************ FSU Professor Resigns from Editorial List to Protest Pricing Policies During the last 10 years, Elsevier Science has driven the costs of its journals up at a rate so high that it has damaged the ability of FSU's libraries and other research libraries throughout the nation to meet the needs of their faculty and students. However, Elsevier continues to hold a prominent place in the academic publishing industry. What follows is a letter sent by Prof. Mark Riley, who is an international leader in the area of nuclear structure physics and a member of our Physics Department, to the editors of Nuclear Physics A, an Elsevier journal that costs $15,000 per year. Prof. Riley is taking a courageous stand on this issue. Dear Editor, Although I have been a referee for Nuclear Physics A (and Physics Letters B) for many years I request that my name be removed from your list of referees. I therefore will be unable to referee the manuscript NUCPHA 2480. As a faculty member at a state university (where resources are finite) I have become deeply aware of the spiraling cost of journal subscriptions over the last few years. These increases are having a dramatic, and negative, effect on our library materials budget and thus our educational institution. I am dismayed by the pricing and inflation policies of Elsevier and the significant part they have played, and are playing, in the present journal budget crisis. So while I respect the quality of Nuclear Physics A as a scientific journal, I feel honor bound to minimize my involvement with Elsevier Publishing at this time. Yours sincerely, Mark A. Riley Professor of Physics, The Florida State University __________________________________________________________________________ 9. Special Days and Months A ResPool Conversation http://members.tripod.com/~rtiess/respool.htm .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. We always hear that this is ___?___ Month - fill in the blank. It maybe be African American History Month, or Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Earth Day or whatever. Congress and the President, both, announce these spacial days and months (seems at times, that there are more special days and months than there are actual days and months in the year!) Does anyone know where I can find a list of all these? Thanx, Jonathan Jonathan Prince : The Most Complete Source For jonathan[at]killyourtv.com : RealAudio/Video World News http://www.killyourtv.com : http://ListenToTheNews.com ........................................................ 'If you can imagine a thing, conjure it up in space - then you can make it.' - Alexander Calder .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. I have been looking for such information for a while, e.g. when is secretary's day or when is the next weedless Wednesday. This should also include the year, e.g. the U.N. declared International Women's Year a while back. I would be satisfied with finding such an events calendar for Canada and U.S. The best I found is: http://www.zapcom.net/phoenix.arabeth/1world.html You have to scroll down the page, and what you find is rather sparse. -----oooooooo000000oooooooo----- Margaret Gross, MLS Bibliothécaire & Conseillère en information Librarian and Information Officer EMS Technologies Canada, Ltd. Visit the Librarians' Resource Centre http://www.sla.org/chapter/ctor/toolbox/resource/index.html "Success is a state of mind" "La réussite est un état d'esprit" -----oooooooo000000oooooooo----- .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Jonathan: One of the best sources for this type of info is Chase's Calendar of Events. The print version and/or CD-ROM version can be found in most public library collections. An online subscription based version exists at: http://www.chases.com A free trial is available using the January calendar. cheers, gary Gary D. Price, MLIS Reference Librarian George Washington University .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Have at it... Shirl Kennedy Web Doyenne City of Clearwater (Florida) http://www.clearwater-fl.com 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 http://members.xoom.com/Ari_Kukkonen/today.html Ari's Today Page http://shoga.wwa.com/~mjm/almanac2.html Daily Almanacs http://www.almanac.com/ The Old Farmers' Almanac http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/1327/today.html Daily Miscellany http://www.justmorons.com/almanac.html The Moron's Almanac ("Almost as reliable as the Farmer's Almanac®, but without all that crap about farming.") http://www.infoplease.com/cgi-bin/daily Information Please Daily Almanac http://disasterium.com/ The Living Almanac of Disasters http://www.calendarzone.com/ The Calendar Zone http://www.me2u.com/LoveLore/Calendar/ Romantic Holidays, Celebrations and Special Days http://www.panix.com/~wlinden/calendar.shtml Today's Calendar and Clock Page http://members.aol.com/acalendar/Calendar.html Months of Edible Celebrations http://earthcalendar.webjump.com/ Earth Calendar ("This page is intended to let you know that everyday, somewhere in the world, someone is celebrating something.") http://www.eskimo.com/~recall/bleed/calmast.htm The Daily Bleed: A wake-up call better than boiled coffee! A calendar of events your mom & pop forgot to tell you about... http://www.scopesys.com/anyday/ http://dmarie.com/asp/history.asp?action=process dMarie Time Capsule http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/4656/06lnksn3.htm The Mother of All Today in History Sites (aesthetically awful but packed with links) http://www.thehistorynet.com/today/today.htm The History Net: Today in History http://www.scopesys.com/anyday/ Any Day Today in History Page of Scopes Systems http://www.yarranet.net.au/shell/onthisday/onthisday.cgi?submit=today On This Day http://coach.indiana.net/ Today in History http://www.he.net/cgi-bin/suid/%7Eradtours/today.cgi Today in Radical History http://hometown.aol.com/goreader/today.htm Today in Black History http://web.idirect.com/~atrium/thisday.html This Day in Ancient History http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/today/today.html Library of Congress Today in History http://datadragon.com/day/ This Day in Music History http://www.rotten.com/today/ Today in Rotten History http://litcal.yasuda-u.ac.jp/LitCalendar.shtml Literary Almanac: This Day in Literary History .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. The best source for this kind of information is still in paper: Chase's Calendar of Events The following is the info on the book from Amazon.com: Chase's 99 Calendar of Events (Serial) Our Price: $59.95 Availability: Usually ships within 24 hours. Paperback - 752 pages (October 1998) Contemporary Books; ISBN: 0809228211 ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.57 x 10.97 x 8.53 Donna Goldthwaite dgoldthwaite[at]spfldlibmus.org __________________________________________________________________________ 10. www.faqs.org >From Elbow Grease, a Wired WebMonkey e-newsletter ... Bill Doskoch Saskatoon, SK CAJ-L moderator ---------------------------------- I thought I'd take a little break from the relentless onslaught of content to ask if anyone has any questions. Anyone? Well, chances are you can find your answer right here: -> http://www.faqs.org/ This is the home of the Internet FAQ Archive, a huge and searchable collection of FAQs culled from Usenet. So if you're the inquisitive type and are wondering about, say, Pez or back rubs or woodworking or Mariah Carey (or all four, like me), you're in luck. ------------------------------------------------------- __________________________________________________________________________ 11. Independent Press Distributors Out In Force at ALA If you have neglected buying from the alternative press because it's just too inconvenient, you may be interested in some small press jobbers and distributors that were out in force at the ALA conference. * Consortium Book Sales and Distribution Consortium's main catalog covers 66 independent publishers that represent important sources of books and information for your library. (Some of the publishers are South End Press, New Society Publishers, Graywolf Press, Cinco Punto Press, Blue Heron Publishing, and Green Integer.) Consortium also has a separate children's catalog, which is a must if you purchase children's books. They offer toll free telephone and electronic ordering via PUBNET, sales representation, easy terms for new accounts, discounts for established accounts, and fast turnarounds. Their Fall 1999 catalog offers a 50% discount special. To order the free catalogs or to get other information, call Consortium at 1-800-283-3572. * SPD/Small Press Distribution, Inc. Small Press Distribution is best for literary titles, and does a good job of opening the market to the small press titles they carry by feeding their catalog to bigger jobbers such as Baker and Taylor, Blackwell's and Brodart. If you want to start focussing on small presses then take a look at SPD: Small Press Distribution 1341 Seventh Street Berkeley, CA 94710 tel. 510/524-1668 fax. 510/524-0852 orders: 800-869-7553 email orders[at]spdbooks.org url: http://www.spdbooks.org * The Independent Publishers Group distributes books from about 250 independent publishers. They offer catalogs on specific subjects, as well as a children's catalog and a general catalog. The publishers they carry tend to be experts in specific subjects (e.g. American Bar Association, Bridal Guide Ltd.) but much of their stock is extremely valuable and hard to acquire otherwise. You can contact them for a catalog at: Independent Publishers Group 814 N. Franklin St. Chicago, IL 60610 tel. 800-888-4741 fax. 312-337-5985 email frontdesk[at]ipgbook.com url: http://www.ipgbook.com * Publishers Marketing Association (PMA) (associated with IPG) PMA isn't a distributor or a jobber but "a non-profit trade association of independent publishers." (Sort of an Independent Press Association for book publishing.) "Founded in 1983, it serves book, audiobook, and video publishers located throughout the United States and those international publishers who wish to market their titles within the U.S....PMA has a membership of 3,000+ publishers and continues to grow each year." One of their services is the production of an annual Resource Directory which can be used to supplement the reference work _Alternative Publishers of Books in North America_ as a guide to independent publishers. This guide is arranged into the sections: - PMA Publishers Catalog New and Active Backlist Titles - PMA Yellow Page Directory, Category Buying Handbook - Vendor Resource Directory - Member Company Listings - Member Geographic Listings - Member Genre Listings - PMA Vendor Members You can order your free copy of the resource directory by contacting PMA: Publishers Marketing Association 627 Aviation Way Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 tel. 310/372-2732 fax. 31-/374-3342 email pmaonline[at]aol.com url: http://www.pma-online.org -Rory Litwin __________________________________________________________________________ 12. Problem Libraries This is an article by Carol Reid, originally for the in-house newsletter of the NYS Office of Cultural Education, also to be published in the Spring 1999 issue of "Pressure Point" (the NYLA IFRT newsletter, of which she is editor): -- -- -- Bad libraries, like bad marriages, used to be a matter of relative privacy. But, as with everything else, we've learned some things. For some, the problem is an autocratic patriarch (or matriarch). Others quarrel over the children. Many fight about money. Quite a few form questionable alliances. But, as long as the lines of communication are kept open, such sticking points can often be convincingly resolved. Perhaps the most alarming trend then, or at least one we seem to be hearing a lot more about lately, is the attempt by library administrators to quell communications and quiet their critics, especially those from within the "family." Take the case of Sanford Berman, the up till now irrepressible Minneapolis maverick, who has gained the admiration, bordering on hero worship, of librarians worldwide. He is the author and editor of numerous books and articles about cataloging, social responsibilities, and intellectual freedom in libraries. Through persistent petitioning he has persuaded the Library of Congress to drop or amend hundreds of outdated, inaccurate, and politically incorrect subject headings (most famously, "Jewish Question" and "Yellow Peril") and to add countless others. Berman has given many inspiring addresses and won several major awards. Though still alive (thankfully, after a serious surgery last spring), a festschrift has already been published in his name. It is because of him that the Hennepin County Library has acquired the outstanding reputation among catalogers that it currently enjoys. HCL's records, especially its fiction records, are of the highest quality, surpassing those of LC itself. Where LC subject headings prove inadequate, catalogers now borrow Hennepin headings instead. As head of Cataloging there, he had also elected to depart from Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, by writing out or translating obscure abbreviations and Latinisms, and avoiding unnecessary punctuation. All in the noble aim of increased "accessibility and intelligibility," as one bemoaning admirer wrote to American Libraries, in the wake of Berman's sudden and unimaginable retirement. Hennepin, you see, had recently been asked to become a major contributor to OCLC, an online database of bibliographic records. In the press release announcing this fact, Berman's part was warmly acknowledged. However, back at work, he was being rebuked for having stated his opinion to staff that HCL should insist on OCLC paying royalties for some of their records, for having failed to be in lockstep with AACR2, and for objecting to a PR-skewed misquoting of his views. While unsure of the business aspect, I suspect he had a point, and, as the man of the hour, was in a good position to push it. When his boss refused to withdraw the reprimand and continued to harass Berman privately, while "praising Caesar" publicly, ultimately "kicking him upstairs" to produce a manual on the type of cataloging for which he had put them on the map, Berman had finally had enough and disgustedly decided to resign. He had also been upbraided a couple of years ago for the "insubordination" of speaking out against his library's bizarre proposal to double the overdue fines on children's books as a means of increasing revenues. Jane Rustin, director of the Allegany County Library System, in Maryland, who also believed that the kids in her library were being ill-served, felt similarly at pains to relinquish her post in November 1998 when the library board cobbled together a filtering policy in too-ready response to the admonishments of three area ministers about the ensnarements of the Net. Presumably, like Berman, she felt that political concerns had overridden professional ones. Another library director who was unable to withstand the force of facile change-mongers was West Virginia's Fred Glazer, described by John Berry, the editor of Library Journal, as "arguably, one of the greatest state librarians in the history of our nation." During 24 years of dedicated (or, as American Libraries' Will Manley sadly put it, "joyous") service, Glazer managed to increase the number of public libraries in that often benighted state from 25 to 179. He also raised the amount of money allocated them from five cents per capita in 1972 to $3.81 in 1996, which put them in the top five nationwide. Glazer died from kidney failure a year and a half after his "nasty shove out the door." The cause of death did not, but no doubt should have listed a broken heart, and the stress of being assailed by yuppie downsizers as well. Although the Leroy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund of the American Library Association gave funds to help Glazer fight his unjust firing, which, according to Berry, "reek[ed] of political and professional vendetta, personal disloyalty and jealousy, and incredible misuse of the power of the state," it was tragically a case of too little, too late. Although the ridiculously low salary advertised for his replacement attracted very few applicants, the state commission eventually gave the job to David Price, who, amid controversy over his management abilities, had left two different California libraries, most egregiously the San Francisco Public Library, where he supervised the contentious opening of their new facility. Sometimes the ethical catalyst that leads to such upsets has to do with a perception of the way employees in general are being treated. This is what happened here at the Albany Public Library, long a site of physical disrepair and staff disaffection. One fateful day in 1993, the director decided to dock the pay of managers who had chosen to close the library and send people home during a blizzard. This penurious act proceeded to snowball as it attracted the detritus of those workers' wintry discontent, along with some local and national media attention. Subsequently, the library's employees joined a union and the director eventually stepped down. Most librarians possess a fundamental belief, intuitive or practiced, in intellectual freedom, or freedom of speech. So it tends to rankle when they're told not to talk, or even, as is their celebrated wont, to whisper amongst themselves. In Hawaii, it was an interoffice "gag order" that galvanized the mobilization culminating in the cancellation of the outsourcing contract with Baker & Taylor, the firing of the State Librarian, and the legislative edict against further such outsourcing in Hawaii libraries. Again, as I always say, nothing backfires quite so satisfyingly as censorship does. As in Hawaii, bad publicity has forced the main players to move on, yet fallout from the San Francisco Public Library "book dumping" debacle continues to cast a pall over its long-suffering staff, notably one distinguished children's librarian, who "just happened" to have been the primary signatory on a petition protesting the ill-conceived plans for the New Main Library, and was then falsely accused of child molestation and hitting on female colleagues (despite his being openly gay) and summarily fired from his job three years ago. Fortunately, SFPL is a union shop and the local is at long last taking up his cause. One of the rarest qualities, and therefore most prized in my estimation, is the ability of those in authority to concede an error, or confess that a wrong has been done. Most such people, perhaps out of a nagging need to justify how it is they merit so much more money than their coworkers, invest tremendous amounts of energy rationalizing these things, because to allow their own fallibility might be to suggest that they do not deserve their exalted status. It is for this reason that I was so gratified, after slogging grimly through the all-too-predictable stories recounted here, to have come across one about a librarian in Victoria, British Columbia, a lovely place where I am lucky to have an uncle now living, once again due to the inability of those in high places to admit the colossal mistake that was the Vietnam War, fired during the fifties for at one time having edited a left-wing publication. Half a century later, the Greater Victoria Public Library has publicly apologized to this former employee, and acknowledged the grave insult to both him and our wonderful, freedom-loving profession that such a craven and conformist move implied. Canada is often characterized as a more censorious place than America, with our vaunted Bill of Rights, but in this humble and belated act of contrition, they evinced a greater regard for the rights of the individual and intellectual freedom than some wielders of library power in this country have recently shown themselves to possess. __________________________________________________________________________ 13. A riot in Eugene and why you don't know about it Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 09:47:27 -0400 From: "Carol Reid" <creid[at]MAIL.NYSED.GOV> To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l[at]ala.org> Subject: Riot in Eugene Mime-Version: 1.0 Reply-To: srrtac-l[at]ala.org Sender: owner-srrtac-l[at]ala.org Martha Sherwood has given me permission to post this message. You may contact her at: vetus[at]efn.org ... Carol Reid I would like to call people's attention to a what I see as a serious threat to freedom of expression and media independence, which occurred in my own home town and which will probably not make it into normal media channels. Last Friday we had a serious riot here in Eugene. The anarchists and some of the more militant eco-activists staged an unauthorized parade to protest capitalism. The organizers (to the extent there were any) made it clear that their intentions were peacable, if not, strictly, legal. Increasing numbers of people locally feel that they have exhausted legal means of redress for very real grievances. Based on what I have observed and experienced, I believe that they are right. At some point, a violent confrontation erupted between the demonstrators and the police, in which windows of shops and cars were smashed, and two policemen and an unknown number of demonstrators were injured, none very seriously. There are conflicting accounts as to who started it, as well as accusations of questionable behavior by the police.* There were two television newsman on the scene with video cameras, both clearly identified as such - one working for the mainstream KVAL news and the other for alternative public access television. They were standing side by side when the police arrested the alternative journalist, claiming he was participating in the riot. Later they claimed they had arrested him to prevent him from participating in the riot, and finally, after keeping him in jail over the weekend, released him without pressing charges. They confiscated his videotape. This, of course, means the public has no access to television footage which might throw into question the actions of the Eugene police during the whole affair. No doubt our alternative papers will have verbal accounts, but such are more easily denied. The journalist indicated that he had been harassed by the police on several other occasions. I did not get the above account from either the alternative press or one of the anarchists; it appeared in the stuffy establishment-oriented Eugene Register-Guard. Martha Sherwood Ecology and Evolution University of Oregon *Since I wrote this, the liberal Eugene Weekly came out with a description of the riot which I trust. It appears that it started when several motorist endangered people who were blocking traffic by lunging their cars at them, and one man jumped out of his pickup and bashed a demonstrator over the head with a wrench, injuring him badly enough that he had to be taken to the emergency room. The police made no effort to stop the good citizens of Eugene from attacking nonviolent demonstrators, so the demonstrators fought back. Breaking up the demonstration with tear gas and hauling 20 of the protestors off to jail occurred after the group had left the downtown area and had congregated in a public park, where they were neither trespassing nor impeding traffic. To date, no evidence has come to light linking any of those arrested to specific acts of vandalism. The man who assaulted the demonstrator has not been arrested, though there were many witnesses and his license plate number is known. __________________________________________________________________________ 14. The Habits Of Highly Deceptive Media The habits of highly deceptive media: decoding spin and lies in mainstream news. By Norman Solomon. Common Courage Press, 1999. 294p. Columns and essays; includes index. (Box 702, Monroe, ME 04951, 207-525-0900, http://www.commoncouragepress.com; $15.95, paper, 1-56751-154-6). __________________________________________________________________________ 15. The MIT List of Radio Stations on the Internet http://wmbr.mit.edu/stations/list.html Last updated: May 27, 1999. Links to Over 8000 Radio Stations This list currently includes: U.S. Radio Stations Canadian Radio Stations African radio stations (9K) sorted by country. Asian radio stations (23K) sorted by country. European radio stations Middle Eastern radio stations (8K) sorted by country. North American (not US or CA) radio stations (21K) sorted by country. South American radio stations (33K) sorted by country. Oceanic/Australian radio stations(29K) sorted by country. BitCasters..... Stations who broadcast live on the Internet U.S. and Canadian Bitcasters (165K) Bitcasters Around the World (132K) If you know of any other radio stations on the World Wide Web, that should be included on this list, please use this submission form http://wmbr.mit.edu/stations/submit.html to let us know about them. Thank you. Questions? http://wmbr.mit.edu/stations/faq.html :-) Message ends, Signature begins (-: When spiders unite, they can tie down a lion... Ethiopian Proverb If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito... African Proverb George Lessard in Inuvik (68.3 N, 133.48 W) Northwest Territories, Canada. ICQ # 8501081 MediaMentor Weblog http://www.eGroups.com/list/mediamentor Homepages http://members.tripod.com/~media002 Disclaimers & (c) info http://members.tripod.com/~media002/disclaimer.htm .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. From ResPool - http://members.tripod.com/~rtiess/respool.htm __________________________________________________________________________ 16. Organ Transplants Are Best Left to Professionals The opening credits of The Simpson's show Bart Simpson writing the same sentence over and over again on a chalkboard, the old "write it 100 times" punishment, which establishes him as a troublemaker. Each episode is different. Someone has listed many of these openings of The Simpsons: Write 100 times: I will not carve gods. I will not spank others. I will not aim for the head. I will not barf unless I'm sick. I will not expose the ignorance of the faculty. I saw nothing unusual in the teacher's lounge. I will not conduct my own fire drills. Funny noises are not funny. I will not snap bras. I will not fake seizures. This punishment is not boring and pointless. Mr. name is not Dr. Death. I will not defame New Orleans. I will not prescribe medication. I will not bury the new kid. I will not teach others to fly. I will not bring sheep to class. A burp is not an answer. Teacher is not a leper. Coffee is not for kids. I will not eat things for money. I will not yell "She's dead" at roll call. The principal's toupee is not a Frisbee. I will not call the principal "spud head." Goldfish don't bounce. Mud is not one of the 4 food groups. No one is interested in my underpants. I will not sell miracle cures. I do not have diplomatic immunity. I will not charge admission to the bathroom. The cafeteria deep fryer is not a toy. All work and no play makes Bart a dull boy. I will not say "Springfield" just to get applause. I am not authorized to fire substitute teachers. My homework was not stolen by a one-armed man. I will not go near the kindergarten turtle. I am not deliciously saucy. Organ transplants are best left to professionals. The Pledge of Allegiance does not end with "Hail Satan." I will not celebrate meaningless milestones. There are plenty of businesses like show business. Five days is not too long to wait for a gun. I will not waste chalk. I will not skateboard in the halls. Underwear should be worn on the inside. I will never win an emmy. The Christmas Pageant does not stink. I will not torment the emotionally frail. __________________________________________________________________________ L I B R A R Y J U I C E | http://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 This page was created by SimpleText2Html 1.0.3 on 6-Jul-99.