Library Juice 2:47 - Library Juice is now a book and a blog

Library Juice 2:47 - December 8, 1999 Contents: 1. Jim Morrison's birthday is today 2. McClure & Manzarek 3. Refdesk.com 4. The Keystone Principles 5. Southern Poverty Law Center Educational Materials List 6. "Libraries: An American Value" is Propaganda 7. Patrons, customers, clients, or what? LIBREF-L conversation 8. 25,OOO PULP-FICTION PAPERBACKS THRILL UB LIBRARIANS 9. Dime Novels and Penny Dreadfuls Quote for the week: "It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information." -Oscar Wilde Home page of the week: Phil Agre http://dlis.gseis.ucla.edu/people/pagre/ __________________________________________________________________________top 1. Jim Morrison's birthday is today 1943 -- Jim Morrison is born. American rock singer/lyricist & cult figure since his death. His collections of poetry include An American Prayer (1970) & The Lords & The New Creatures (1971). Morrison studied theatre arts at the University of California & formed a group which was in 1965 christened The Doors after Aldous Huxley's book on mescaline, The Doors of Perception, which quoted William Blake's poem "If the doors of perception were cleansed All things would appear infinite." <>from the Daily Bleed - http://www.eskimo.com/~recall/bleed/calmast.htm __________________________________________________________________________top 2. McClure & Manzarek http://mcclure-manzarek.com A website by Jo Falcon devoted to Michael McClure, the poet, and Ray Manzarek, the musician (formerly with the Doors). They record and perform together. The website has biographic information, tour dates, contact info for the booking agent, excerpts from interviews and reviews, a sample of a recorded performance, AND, a page just for librarians, which discusses the genesis of the project and its intention to fill an information need, and gives an actual MARC record for the website. __________________________________________________________________________top 3. Refdesk.com http://www.refdesk.com/ An extensive, searchable, collection of links "on three levels: quick, studied and deep." Facts At A Glance is an alphabetical list of links to ready reference sites with everything from college rankings to a zip code finder. Current News and Facts includes links to newspapers, magazines, headline news, etc. Refdesk's Categories is an alphabetical list of subject links. Facts Finders links to encyclopedias and other sources of facts. Just for Fun, Help and Advice, and Reference Site of the Day sections round off the site. - gs Subjects: reference - general Librarians' Index to the Internet http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/InternetIndex/ __________________________________________________________________________top 4. The Keystone Principles Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 13:17:44 -0500 From: Bradley Houseton <bradley[at]arl.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <arl-announce[at]arl.org> Subject: ARL/OCLC Keystone Prinicples ARL-Announces... The Association of Research Libraries and OCLC Online Computer Library Center announce the availability of The Keystone Principles. The Keystone Principles invoke and express the urgency of three areas requiring explicit action based on a vivid set of user-centered principles. December 6th, 1999 Washington, DC - The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and OCLC Online Computer Library Center announce the availability of The Keystone Principles, a collection of guiding principles and action items developed to establish a foundation for joint future-oriented activity based on traditional academic library values. In September 1999, 80 academic library leaders engaged in a series of discussions and working groups at the ARL/OCLC Strategic Issues Forum for Academic Library Directors in Keystone, Colorado. The product of these discussions, The Keystone Principles express a set of core values and related actions believed to be critical for creating and sustaining open and dynamic user-oriented library systems that will be relevant, viable, and vital in the new century. The Keystone Principles are published with the unanimous support of the conference participants to promote discussion on issues of vital interest to libraries. For detailed information on the guiding principles and action items Please see The Keystone Principles online at <http://www.arl.org/training/keystone.html> For More Information, Please Contact: KATHRYN DEISS Program Manager, Office of Leadership & Management Services kathryn[at]arl.org (202)296-2296 ARL 21 Dupont Circle No. 800 Washington, DC 20036 ERIK JUL Associate Director OCLC Institute jul[at]oclc.org (614) 764-4364 OCLC 6565 Frantz Road Dublin, OH 43017 ____________________________________ The Association of Research Libraries represents 122 of the major research libraries in North America and works to shape and influence forces affecting the future of research libraries in the process of scholarly communication. ARL programs and services promote equitable access to, and effective use of knowledge in support of teaching, research, scholarship, and community service. The Association articulates the concerns of research libraries and their institutions, forges coalitions, influences information policy development, and supports innovation and improvement in research library operations. OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a nonprofit, membership, library computer service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world's information and reducing the cost of information. OCLC's computer network and services link more than 35,000 libraries in 67 countries and territories. __________________________________________________________________________top 5. Southern Poverty Law Center Educational Materials List http://www.splcenter.org The following resources are available free or at low cost to educators, schools and organizations, as outlined under each category. Print Resources (free to individual educators) Teaching Tolerance - A free semiannual 64-page magazine providing educators with resources for promoting interracial and intercultural understanding. To subscribe, individual teachers and other educators should send a request on letterhead. Bulk orders of recent issues: $1 per copy. Sorry, other back issues not available. One World Poster Set - Eight 4-color 18x24-inch posters featuring artwork and text from Teaching Tolerance magazine. Includes teacherís guide for elementary and secondary classrooms. Free, one per individual teacher, upon written request on letterhead (sorry, no bulk orders). Additional or non-educator orders: $30 per set (includes UPS charges). Responding to Hate at School - A 64-page step-by-step guide to help administrators, counselors and teachers react effectively whenever bias, prejudice or hate strikes. Free copies available individually or in bulk upon written request. Rush orders require advance payment for shipping. Video-and-text Kits (free, one per institution) Starting Small: Teaching Tolerance in Preschool and the Early Grades - A video-and-text teacher training kit for early childhood educators. Includes a 58-minute video and five copies of a 250-page text focusing on seven exemplary tolerance education programs. Free, one per school, upon written request on letterhead from elementary principal, day care director or teacher education department chair. Individual purchase: $30 (includes UPS charges). America's Civil Rights Movement- A video-and-text kit for middle and upper levels. Includes the 104-page text Free at Last; the 38-minute Academy Award-winning video A Time for Justice; and a teacherís guide. Free, one per school, university department, community or religious organization, upon written request on letterhead from principal, department chair, director or leader. Individual purchase: $30 (includes UPS charges). The Shadow of Hate: A History of Intolerance in America - A video-and-text kit for middle and upper levels. Includes a 40-minute video; a 128-page illustrated text, Us and Them; and a teacherís guide. Free, one per school, university department, community or religious organization, upon written request on letterhead from principal, department chair, director or leader. Individual purchase: $30 (includes UPS charges). Books from Kits (sold at cost) Starting Small Book - A 250-page text focusing on seven exemplary early childhood classrooms. Includes research-based commentary, suggestions for activities and comprehensive resource list. Included in Starting Small kit. See "Bulk Rate" below for ordering info. Free at Last Book - A 104-page illustrated text chronicling the Civil Rights Movement and profiling the people whose names are on the Civil Rights Memorial. Included in Americaís Civil Rights Movement kit. See "Bulk Rate" below for ordering info. Us and Them Book - A 128-page illustrated text that examines 14 episodes of intolerance in U.S. history. Included in Shadow of Hate kit. See "Bulk Rate" below for ordering info. Videos from Kits (sold at cost) Starting Small Video - A 58-minute video profiling five exemplary early childhood classrooms from Seattle to New Haven. Included in Starting Small kit. Individual purchase: $20. The Shadow of Hate Video - A 40-minute documentary that chronicles the legacy of intolerance in U.S. history. Included in Shadow of Hate teaching kit. Individual purchase: $20. A Time for Justice Video - A 38-minute Academy Award-winning video from the Americaís Civil Rights Movement kit. Not available from Teaching Tolerance. Please contact: Direct Cinema Ltd., PO Box 10003, Santa Monica, CA 90410-1003; phone 1/800/525-0000. Guidelines for Ordering Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of all free materials. Requests for free items may be faxed to: Order Dept. at (334) 264-7310. Requests must meet the criteria as outlined above for each item. Note on paid orders: Orders must be prepaid. Please send written requests for videos and bulk orders of magazines and texts along with your check payable to Teaching Tolerance to: ATTN: Order Dept., Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Ave., Montgomery, Alabama 36104. Major credit cards accepted upon receipt of written authorization. Sorry, we cannot accept purchase orders. Bulk Rate: Magazines: $1 per copy. Texts: $2.75 each for 1-9 copies; $2.25 each for 10-19 copies; $1.75 each for 20-99 copies; and $1.50 each for 100 or more copies. Shipped at 4th Class Library rate unless other arrangements are made (see "Special Ordering" below). Special Ordering: Bulk orders are shipped 4th Class Library rate. If faster delivery is desired, please call the Order Department at (334) 264-0286 for information. All Items Sold at Cost on a Nonprofit Basis - Prices Subject to Change __________________________________________________________________________top 6. "Libraries: An American Value" is Propaganda The American Library Association is promoting the document "Libraries: An American Value," which was created by Ann Symons and her team during her year as ALA president. I recognize that her intentions of promoting libraries and explaining library values to the public are admirable, but I'm afraid my overall reaction to the document is negative, and I want to show you why. First of all, you can read the full statement on the ALA website, at the address http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/lib_val.html . At first glance the statement might sound like something we can all agree with. For example, it begins by stating, "Free access to the books, ideas, resources, and information in America's libraries is imperative for education, employment, enjoyment, and self-government." Well, certainly. And it goes on to state that the document is a contract between libraries and library users that will guarantee that libraries will provide all the things that they should. It states "...we affirm this contract with the people we serve," and goes on to list all the things that libraries should do. But it does not do this in the form of a series of promises like one would see in an actual contract. No, what we see is a series of declarations: "We defend the constitutional rights of all individuals, including children and teenagers, to use the library's resources and services;" "We value our nation's diversity and strive to reflect that diversity by providing a full spectrum of resources and services to the communities we serve;" "We celebrate and preserve our democratic society by making available the widest possible range of viewpoints, opinions and ideas, so that all individuals have the opportunity to become lifelong learners - informed, literate, educated, and culturally enriched." WOULDN'T THAT BE NICE!!! If this document simply promised to do these things it would have more weight and usefulness, because it could be used as a lever to effect change. We could say, this must be changed in order to live up to "Libraries: An American Value," in the same way that we say, for example, that libraries must acquire alternative literature in order to live up to the library bill of rights. But the statement has the opposite effect, because it states that libraries ALREADY LIVE UP TO these ideals. Of course they do not. Library collections are heavily dominated by corporate media. So this document is really just propaganda that serves to support the status quo in libraries while claiming that the status quo is paradise. Ann Symon's team invited input when they were creating a draft for this statement, and we in SRRT thought this meant we had an opportunity to influence it. This turned out to be a dream. SRRT did propose revisions to the original draft, which were aimed partially at bringing a recognition of the imperfection of American libraries in light of the ideals that were expressed in the original draft. The text of SRRT's proposed revision from mid-1998 is available at http://libr.org/SRRT/docs/lav.html . I hope that you will read it and compare it to the official version. Rory Litwin __________________________________________________________________________top 7. Patrons, customers, clients, or what? LIBREF-L conversation ===== Original Message From Kelley Hunt <khunt[at]co.montgomery.tx.us> ==== It seems to me that each profession has a special name for the people it serves. Doctors have patients, lawyers have clients, salespeople and waiters have customers, and librarians have patrons (my preferred term). I don't care for the term "customer" because I think it diminishes the professionalism of librarianship. I don't like the term "users" because that's also a term for a person with a drug problem. "Reader" is appropriate for the person who actually checks out books but doesn't describe the person who exclusively checks out videos or audios. Maybe they could be called "listeners" and "viewers" ??? ;) Kelley Hunt WBL .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Professionals have "clients." That's my preferred term. I find "patron" patronizing. -- Your friendly CyberGoddess and ALA Councilor, Sue Kamm email: suekamm[at]class.org If this Nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public libraries. These libraries should be open to all--except the censor. ... For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty. --John F. Kennedy. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. While the word "patron" certainly works, I also like the word "customer". I don't find the term "customer" crass. Customers are very important to every business--essential in fact. Businesses who view "customers" as essential to their success treat these important people with respect and try their best to serve. Patrons or users are in fact "customers" of the library. Even though they don't pay for each transaction with cash, as one does in a store for example, they still are financial contributors through their taxes and/or tuition. If the patron/customer receives inferior service, he or she can express dissatisfaction to those who grant the library budget. Too many complaints and the library may find itself receiving even more budget cuts. An excellent customer service attitude in serving library customers, like those held by the highly successul for-profit business, can only serve to make the library a more positive and essential service to the community and/or institution. [anonymous] MLIS Student College of St.Catherine/Dominican University .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. A service ethic is (and long has been) an important part of what libraries and librarians are all about, but why must we call it "customer service"? Yes, there are businesses who are very good at providing customer service, but there are others who are very bad. The worst, in my opinion, are those (and there are many) who display a semblance of customer service, but really only care about the customer's money. A librarian--at least in a public or academic library--should have no such self-interest at heart. Service to patrons is a professional responsibility, and one of the joys of the job. A library or librarian lacking a service ethic is literally unethical. While financial concerns are a reality facing libraries everywhere, arguing that financial concerns should be the basis of a service ethic debases the value of that ethic. For that reason, I too find the term "customer" somewhat crass. Peter Zimmerman MLIS Student Faculty of Information and Media Studies University of Western Ontario .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. I don't like the term "patron." "Customer" is more universal. Here, we use "library user." I don't live and work in an environment where "user" has a negative connotation referring to an "illegal drug user." We ALL are "drug users...the question is "is it legal?" If you take Sudefed, you are a drug user. If you sniff cocaine, you are an illegal drug user. We don't heal folks with legal or medical problems, so we don't have "clients"...or do we? Since we provide resources and services (some at a fee), the recipients of that are "customers." We, also, have "users" for those who visit to USE our PCs, reference sources, copiers, AV equipment, etc. ******************************************************************* MAC 25 Floyd Ingram Director of Library Services Benedict College Columbia, South Carolina 29204-1086 Voice: (803) 253-5182; Fax: (801) 327-3914 Home or (803) 540-2528 Office E-mail: <mailto:fingram[at]mindspring.com> Homepage: <http://fingram.home.mindspring.com> ******************************************************************* .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. I disagree--"client" to me implies a person paying a professional for services. Patron is fine with me and I don't mind being referred to or considered as a "patron" when I'm using a library's services. Corinne Florin, GSLIS *cflorin[at]stkate.edu College of St. Catherine *corinneflorin[at]hotmail.com *corinne415[at]aol.com LITTERA SCRIPTA MANET .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Having worked for a law firm, I was going to comment that clients contract to pay directly for the services they receive. That's never happened to me at the reference desk, although I did get a $2.00 tip a couple weeks ago! However, looking in Webster's Third, I find "client" definition 2a to be completely fitting, at least where reference work is concerned: "a person who engages the professional advice or services of another." Definition 2d of "patron" is also fitting: "one who uses the services of a library and esp. of a public library." So, I guess that people who come to the library are patrons when they walk in the door; anyone who asks a RefQ also becomes a client. As long as we don't start calling them "guests"! Brian Smith Assistant Head of Adult Services Villa Park (IL) Public Library http://www.villapark.lib.il.us/ bsmith[at]linc.lib.il.us .. But writing only on my own behalf =========== "If you didn't want them to think, you shouldn't have given them library cards." -- _Getting Straight_ (1970) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. I find the naming business a little more complex that using a one-size-fits-all term for everyone. I am still most comfortable with the old reliable term "patron;" it's the word I learned when I went to library school (almost 30 years ago). But it's worth remembering that "customer" was almost exclusively a sales term at that time. Since then the move for improved customer service, which includes the naming of both internal and external customers, has contributed to the broadening of the sense of the term, and I think "customer" has lost much of the ring of the sales register it once carried. "Client" is a fine librarians' term, especially for those of us who work in special libraries. As we shift gears from the old reactive mode (waiting for people to submit questions) to a more proactive one (going out to identify people who would benefit from our service, and developing a library service relationship with them), the term "client" to indicate that ongoing relationship seems particularly apt. In many ways I like "user" as a generic term --- people can use our collections without being patrons in the original sense of the word, that is, the people who support us. It does, however, have that unfortumate second sense. Isn't it great we have choices? Jane Houston Government Information Center Idaho State Library Boise, Idaho 83702 PH: 208/334-2150 FAX: 208/334-4016 jhouston[at]isl.state.id.us .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. During the 10 years that I have subscribed to library oriented email lists such as LIBREF-L, I swear that this topic has surfaced at least once a year, on each library related list that I read. THE ANSWER IS, that there is no commonly accepted term, that everyone can agree on using! When I am in the process of contacting someone at another library to verify if they have the types of resources needed, I usually say "I have a person in front of me who is looking for XYZ". Personally, I don't care if you call me a patron, customer, user, etc, as long as a librarian can help me find what it is that I am looking for! I am certainly not the only member of this list, who endured the experience of waiting on the phone, or in person for a health care professional, feeling less like a patient, and more like someone without patience. Some health care facilities keep statistics based on head counts, bed counts... What does it matter, as long as they provide the health care that they claim to offer? Why worry about what is the proper way to describe who it is, who we help while getting paid to be librarians? On the other side of the coin, when your phone call is placed into a holding pattern, there is no uniformity of language to describe who might be picking up your call. "We are sorry that all of our ________ are busy on the phone right now" agents associates customer service representatives customer service specialists employees product specialists representatives sales agents sales persons sales representatives staff But when you call a library, come into our doors, it is fairly common for the employee who can help you, to be carrying the title of "librarian". Yes, there are plenty of corporate settings (and graduate programs) that have tried to eliminate the words "library" or "librarians" from their official vocabulary. I wonder what those folks talk about, on their email lists? GARY KLEIN, volunteering as Editor of BUSLIB-L and also PRT-LIBN BUSLIB-L's FAQ = http://www.willamette.edu/~gklein/buslib.htm PRT-LIBN's FAQ = http://www.willamette.edu/~gklein/prtlibn.htm Management & Economics Librarian Hatfield Library / Willamette University / Salem, OR 97301 USA gklein[at]willamette.edu work #503-370-6743 http://members.aol.com/tethered .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Indeed it is wonderful that we have choices! Well put! [anonymous] .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. My dictionary [Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, 1966] says that the word patron comes from the same stem as the Latin pater -- father. "1. a person corresponding in some respects to a father; protector; benefactor. ...4. a) a person, usually a wealthy and influential one, who sponsors and supports some person, activity, etc....b) a champion, advocate, supporter. 5. a regular customer, as of a store." The term "patron of the arts" is still frequently used. I, therefore, can not agree that patron is "patronizing". Virtually every librarian I know works for an institution supported by taxes and by gifts. These cultural institutions, which we feel are so important to our society, are made possible by the support of our patrons. Given the current level of taxes, many of them have probably made a larger contribution to the support of libraries than many a "patron" in earlier societies! Anne Gometz http://www.rhus.com __________________________________________________________________________top 8. KILLER IN THE CLOSED STACKS!!! 25,OOO PULP-FICTION PAPERBACKS THRILL UB LIBRARIANS Donation fosters research and scholarship in mid-20th century culture BUFFALO, N.Y. -- One of his favorite pulp writers might describe George Kelley as "just one dirty guy doing a seedy job in a miserable world." Kelley's life-long pursuit of cheap -- sometimes even cheesy -- paperbacks may seem a peculiar hobby to some, but it has the librarians at the University at Buffalo doing handsprings. That's because Kelley, a good-natured, witty and highly-educated iconoclast who teaches English literature at Erie Community College, has made a gift to the UB Libraries of 25,000 pulp-fiction titles. The George Kelley Pulp Fiction Collection is a remarkably well-preserved assemblage of books illuminating 40 years of subterranean social attitudes and behavior. The collection Web site is http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/lml/kelley/collection.html . Because of its breadth, depth and superb physical condition, the collection is worth a great deal of money -- millions of dollars according to one source. The librarians, however, say that its greatest value is in the enormous contribution the books make to research and scholarship in mid-20th century popular culture. The collection is a groaning board of detective stories, science fiction, action adventures, westerns and erotic tales of "swamp brats" and promised "orgies" on Fire Island. The authors represented range from Dashiell Hammett, James Cain, Raymond Carver, Ruth Millar (Ross MacDonald's wife) and Ellery Queen (who is really two cousins, neither one an "Ellery" nor a "Queen") to relatively unknown writers like "Jack Woodford" who have long since disappeared from the pop-literary scene. The books that comprise the collection are among the hundreds of thousands of popular novels printed between 1930 and 1980 on cheap "pulp" paper, sometimes for fly-by-night publishers, and distributed regionally or nationally. For 50 years, they sold at about a quarter a pop in five-and-dime stores and other outlets from Caribou, Maine, to Armadillo, Texas. Formulaic, sensational and easy-to-read, the books titillated and horrified readers with exotic locales and characters in big trouble. Charles D'Aniello, who coordinates collection development for UB's Lockwood Library, says that at the same time, the stories reassured their audience by mirroring prevailing attitudes and beliefs. He says the authors eschewed high-toned prose, employing clipped street talk that expressed the "real dirt" on what went on in places their readers would never see -- sleazy backwater dives, the underwater lair of blonde vixens five stories tall, the "Marmot" galaxy or the Montana outback in 1875. In fact, by its very definition, pulp fiction draws readers into marginal realms thick with testy cowboys, sex-crazed aliens, grannies who'll sew your lips together before they shrink your head, hard-bitten private eyes and the chesty, out-of-control babes who love 'em all. Austin Booth, UB librarian and humanities subject specialist who has worked on the Kelley collection, says that scholars value pulp fiction because it is a trove of popular tropes, culture traits, political trends and idiomatic speech. It's also a barometer of what, at a particular time, is considered appropriate and perverse, and by whom. "By studying pulp fiction," Booth says, "researchers can identify the unconscious and conscious fears, beliefs and common scapegoats of an era. They can study attitudes toward everything from homosexuality and women to drinking, drug use and guys from Yale." Besides that, she says that whatever the plot or genre, the books consistently document attitudes toward the ruling elite held by those working the bottom of the ladder. David Schmid, Ph.D., UB assistant professor of English, teaches courses in popular literature and culture at the university and agrees with Booth. "Pulp fiction is a primary source for information on the American zeitgeist from the 1930s through the 1970s," he says. "Whether sci-fi, westerns, erotic stories, horror, action-adventure or detective fiction, this material is written quickly, according to a formula," he says. "Some of the authors are hacks but many are quite talented and their work has held up over time." In either case, Schmid notes that the author uses the pulp formula to express values held -- sometimes privately -- by the readers. "These books actually document our changing tastes and social mores," he says. "They present some of the stuff boiling up from beneath the veneer of civilized behavior through anti-heroes who expose corruption in unlikely places." The hero might be suave (Nick Charles) or brutal (Mike Hammer), drink like a fish (both of them), expose criminals in unexpected places (Fire Island, Long Key) or ridicule ethnic minorities and "lavender boys" -- whatever the traffic would bear at the moment. The UB librarians point out that the George Kelley Pulp Fiction Collection marks the changing definitions of "masculine" and "feminine," for instance, and illustrates provocative gender roles played out by men and women in "unusual" situations. From the troublesome-but-classy-women and low-class-but-suggestive gun molls of the 1930s, for instance, pulp females evolved during World War II into self-motivated, frightening and often sexually rapacious characters. At this time, there were widespread, if subliminal, fears about the changing social and economic power of women. Sensual women continue to hold sway in the 1950s' pulps, but many of the stories are more explicit and depict "good" women as figures of erotic attention as well. UB librarian Donald Hartman, an expert on the penny detective novels of fin de siecle America, notes that even our notion of what a criminal is has changed over the years, and that this evolution is well-documented in the pulps. He says the escapades of bootleggers, kidnappers, killers, "Jap spies" and commies galloped through the '30s and '40s, and that the 1950s introduced a new kind of criminal -- one best examined through a psychiatric lens. "In the '50s," Kelley says, "stories begin to appear that are written from the point of view of the criminal himself, often a psychopath, instead of his pursuers. 'The Killer Inside Me' is a good example -- there's an internal dialogue going on there -- dark, really frightening. The character is criminally insane and worse, he could be your neighbor! How could you know? In this case, the marginal arena in which issues are worked out isn't a criminal subculture, but the mind of a psychopath." Judith Adams-Volpe, director of UB's Lockwood Memorial Library, which houses the Kelley collection, is well-versed in pop articulations of cultural themes. She and Kelley point out that a cult following has developed around the pulp book covers alone. Vividly colored and lurid in subject matter and design, they were painted in the realistic style and featured such subjects as bizarre futuristic characters and places, cattlemen in dire conflict and many, many terrified or terrifying babes in low-cut blouses. Some are movie-star look-a-likes (Liz Taylor, Susan Hayward, Jane Russell are faves of the '50s), menaced by the shadows of unseen killers. Others are eroticized Amazons who comprise a popular Western archetype of dangerous women. Kelley says that sometimes the provocative scenes depicted on the cover had nothing whatsoever to do with the book's content. "It didn't matter," he says. "The pictures sold the books." Schmid says that the pulps were usually read once and tossed out, which is why it's rare to find so many in one place in such good condition. In fact, Kelley's home had to accommodate so many boxes of books that he says his wife couldn't even get to the washing machine without tripping over them. That led to an ultimatum, and Kelley was compelled to find a new home for his collection. He could have sold it for a fortune. "There's a big market for these books," he says, "and when they're held in collections, they're out of circulation, so they can't be bought and sold. People looking to buy, say, a rare title that only I own, are out of luck. So when I decided to give the books to the university, I got a lot of flack from collectors across the country. "But I tell them, 'Hey, what do you expect? I'm a librarian!'" In fact, Kelley holds a number of degrees from UB, in addition to a master's degree in library science. He has received bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in English over the years, as well as an MBA. He's also a dissertation away from a second doctorate -- in library science -- from the University of Wisconsin, although he's abandoned that effort. "What can I say?" he laughs. "I've always liked to read. Obviously." Kelley worked for many years as a computer consultant and traveled extensively, collecting books wherever he went, often by the box or bag from flea markets and used-book stores in small towns and big cities across the U.S. UB librarian Kathleen Quinlivan is becoming a minor pulp expert while establishing a database of the collection that will help people locate material in the collection by subject. She says that Kelley's travels are one reason his collection is unusually well-rounded and deep. It contains book series and a number of titles by the same author, for instance, plus rare books that were distributed only in a few regions or published in one edition or produced in very limited runs. "I've got to say," notes Quinlivan, "that the detectives in these books have one thing in common: They drink like fish. Well, actually, many characters drank a lot, often enough to qualify as alcohol abusers. So did many of the authors. " Despite having survived lives often rougher than the ones they describe, all of the books are in excellent condition. "The Kelley collection is no doubt the best-preserved collection of its kind in the country," says Adams. "They are in absolutely mint condition. The Library of Congress pulp collection, in contrast, is in pretty bad shape. Most other university collections are falling apart as well. "Ordinarily," she says, "books of this kind disintegrate very quickly because the high-acid content of pulp paper causes it to break down in the presence of oxygen. In this case, however, each book was sealed in a plastic Ziploc bag, which prevented oxidation." "Dumb luck," says Kelley. "When I started collecting, I didn't know exactly how to protect the books, but it seemed to me that the Ziplocs might be a step in the right direction. So I bagged them all." Kelley began saving pulp science-fiction books as an adolescent after his mother threw out his comic-book collection while he was at camp. "I tease my mom that today it would be worth a lot of money," he says. Like his wife, however, his mother was intransigent when it came to falling over the stuff. "I started saving the sci-fi because I was a kid and I loved it -- still do," he says. "The detective and western fiction came later. I've read nearly all of the ones in the collection. "At first, I saved the books because they were published as series and, like a lot of kids, I liked to save the whole series. I didn't learn about collecting until I was in my late teens. Then I started picking up all kinds of stuff, reading it, trading it and keeping track of what I had. "The erotic paperbacks weren't so much a preference. I picked up most of those later, along with some books in the other genres to round out the collection," he says. That may be, but at least one librarian is reputed to have spent an unusual amount of time cataloging the collection's titillating "swamp-book" series. She has class, a list of credentials longer than my arm and a body that screamed "Pilates." But she's as cold as a meat locker and mean as an adder. When queried about her pulp preferences, the dame hid her well-worn copy of "Swamp Brat" inside a hollowed-out volume of "Kant? Sure You Can!!" Then she sucked down the rest of her double latte and spun around to face me, a sneer distorting her pouty, scarlet lips. "Print my name," she hissed, "and I'll write your epitaph in hot lead." -- Christine Vidal Online Editor Office of News Services University at Buffalo 136 Crofts Hall Buffalo, N.Y. 14260 vidal[at]buffalo.edu phone 716-645-5000 ext. 1416 fax 716-645-3765 http://www.buffalo.edu __________________________________________________________________________top 9. Dime Novels and Penny Dreadfuls http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/dp/pennies/home.html This extraordinary Website is devoted to the Dime Novel and Story Paper Collection at Stanford University Library. The site offers thousands of cataloged graphic images of illustrated covers to issues of the dime novels and story papers that were immensely popular in America from the mid-nineteenth century to its close. The images may be searched or browsed; search options include an exhaustive listing of "salient features," including -- but not limited to -- cover images relating to Napoleon Bonaparte (2), African-Americans (107), Cowboys (118), and College Students (8). Cultural studies scholars can make good use of these search options in examining graphic representations of gender, class, race, work, and manners of the time. The site also includes nine complete texts and catalog information for all of the issues imaged. Images may be viewed in thumbnail or full screen versions. [DC] > From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1999. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ __________________________________________________________________________top L I B R A R Y J U I C E | http://libr.org/Juice/ | | Library Juice is supported by a voluntary subscription | fee of $10 per year, variable based on ability and | desire to pay. You may send a check payable in US funds | to Rory Litwin, at PO Box 720511, San Jose, CA 95172 | | Original material and added value in Library Juice | is copyright-free; beyond that the publisher makes | no guarantees. Library Juice is a free weekly | publication edited and published by Rory Litwin. | Original senders are credited wherever possible; | opinions are theirs. If you are the author of some | email in Library Juice which you want removed from | the web, please write to me and I will remove it. | | Your comments and suggestions are welcome. | | Juice[at]libr.org This page was created by SimpleText2Html 1.0.3 on 7-Dec-99.