Library Juice 2:9 - March 3, 1999
Contents: 1. Howard Besser's testimony on Fair Use and Distance Education 2. Two reports from the ALA midwinter conference 3. Burwell World Directory of Information Brokers 4. The Womens Presses Library Project 5. News stories in the March 1 American Libraries Online (ad) 6. STRIKE AT THE BRITISH LIBRARY 7. Public Agenda Online 8. Extention of entry date for 1999 ALA Diversity Fair 9. Website to help librarians with Spanish-language outreach 10. Oyeme! Bilingual (Spanish/English) web index and portal 11. Internet resources for the environment, Spanish and English 12. BiD: textos universitaris de biblioteconomia i documentacio 13. Lineamientos para el analisis de terminos en bibliotecologia 14. AMAZON.COM IS ON THE TAKE 15. Sanford Berman's appeal to colleagues, some background 16. Mitch Freedman's appeal to colleagues for Sanford Berman 17. Bibliographic record to 1995 festchrift for Sanford Berman 18. New alternative bibliographic resource (book) Quote for the week: "Hennepin (County Library) is in the process of shutting down the unique, progressive, socially sensitive and, most importantly, user-oriented cataloging that Sandy (Berman) has been doing since 1973. Hennepin is building up a case to fire him for speaking against automatic acceptance of LC names, and probably in the not-too-distant future, ditto on the LC subject headings and the overall LC cataloging record." - Councilor Maurice Freedman. (See items 15 & 16 below.) ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. Howard Besser's testimony on Fair Use and Distance Education Howard Besser's recent testimony before the Copyright Office on fair use and copyright in the distance education setting. This is the cutting edge of an issue that could affect us significantly. http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/impact/Distance/disted-testimony.html ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Two reports from the ALA midwinter conference Reports from ALA midwinter by Councilor Mitch Freedman and Chuck Munson, both originally sent to librarians[at]tao.ca, can now be found on the web at the Bookzen Social Responsibilities Bulletin Board. URL for the Reports is: http://www.bookzen.com/soc~action/ala_midwinter99.html Bookzen is a "free book information library" where "authors and publishers now present how books are presented to librarians and readers around the world." http://www.bookzen.com/ ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. Burwell World Directory of Information Brokers - http://www.andornot.com/ibdb/quick.html Includes nearly 1800 information brokers from around the world. It is considered the world's most comprehensive guide to independent information experts and document retrieval firms in over 50 countries. See also the Members Directory of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP). - cl Subjects: librarians LIIWeek Information - http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/InternetIndex/ ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. The Womens Presses Library Project http://www.litwomen.org/wplp.html >From the website: The Womens Presses Library Project, a coalition of women-owned independent presses, began its official work September, 1994. These presses produce books that address a range of subjects and concerns for women and girls not regularly dealt with by the mainstream houses. We have joined together in an effort to increase the visibility of their titles in libraries throughout the United States and Canada. In 1998, we represent 30 presses and close to 400 titles in 80+ subject areas. ______________________________________________________________________________ 5. News stories in the March 1 American Libraries Online (ad) Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 08:58:16 -0600 From: "Lois Ann Gregory-Wood" <lgregory[at]ala.org> To: ALA Council List <alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org> Subject: News stories appearing in the March 1 American Libraries Online Reply-To: lgregory[at]ala.org Sender: owner-alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org News stories appearing in the March 1 American Libraries Online http://www.ala.org/alonline/ * Jersey City Issues New RFP for Management Services * Workers at British Library Set to Strike * Michigan State Protestors Take Library Books Hostage * California Readies the Ultimate Multitype * Arrest Warrant Issued for Missing Librarian * Legislative Analyst Opposes San Jose Joint-Use Library * Philadelphia Councilman Calls for Review of Library's Videos * Seattle Schools Gain Books But Lose Librarians * Savannah Struggles with Branch Closings, Job Cuts * British Culture Secretary Opposes Plan to Close Libraries * Patron Chases Librarian Away for Interrupting Cyberporn Session * OCLC, PAIS Negotiate Merger * Montana Districting Legislation Fails * NCES Releases U.S. Public Library Statistics American Libraries' Web site also features the latest "Internet Librarian" columns by Karen Schneider; AL's "Career Leads" job ads; listings of conferences, continuing-education courses, exhibitions, and other events from AL's "Datebook"; and Tables of Contents for the current year. -- Lois Ann Gregory-Wood Council Secretariat American Library Association 50 E. Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611 1-800/545-2433, Ext. 3204 312/944-3897 (fax) lgregory[at]ala.org ______________________________________________________________________________ 6. STRIKE AT THE BRITISH LIBRARY Date sent: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 14:38:20 -0500 (EST) From: jherrada <jherrada[at]umich.edu> To: librarians[at]tao.ca Subject: STRIKE AT THE BRITISH LIBRARY (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 24 Feb 99 15:08:10 PST From: Linda West <BL.LGW[at]RLG.ORG> Reply-To: RLGMEM-L[at]lyra.rlg.org To: rlgmem-l[at]lyra.rlg.org Subject: STRIKE AT THE BRITISH LIBRARY STRIKE AT THE BRITISH LIBRARY This notice is being posted to RLG members at the request of David Bradbury, Director General, Collections and Services at the British Library. -------Notice received from David Bradbury Feb. 24, 1999-------------- I wonder if you can help the British Library to make known in North America that all its St Pancras reading rooms will be closed for at least the week beginning Monday 1 March. We have been hit by strike action by one of our Trades Unions. Full details are accessible through out Website - http://www.bl.uk - under "Reading Room closures - industrial action". Any way in which RLG members can help get this message to North American academics and researchers who may be planning visits to London next week would be greatly appreciated. To: RLGMEM-L[at]LISTS.RLG.ORG So is this a really subtle call for solidarity or what? What does this tell us about the BL managers? Are they trying to keep people away in case they talk to the folk on strike and find out what its all about? Whats the crack, anyone? ______________________________________________________________________________ 7. Public Agenda Online http://www.publicagenda.org/ Public Agenda, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization devoted to public opinion, policy analysis, and citizen education, has recently relaunched its Website. Public Agenda Online provides eighteen issue guides that cover topics such as crime, education, environment, immigration, social security, and welfare. Each issue guide contains an overview of the issue, a news digest of recent stories, background data, various perspectives on the issue, resources for more information, and analyses of related public opinion drawn from major public opinion polls. The site also posts highlights of research reports, presents "critiques on the current state of polling," and offers a weekly email alert service, Public Agenda Alert, which shares the latest in public opinion and public policy research. [AO] >From the Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1999. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ ______________________________________________________________________________ 8. Extention of entry date for 1999 ALA Diversity Fair The 1999 Diversity Entry date has been extended to March 15th to allow for more entries. Here's your chance to allow your programs to serve as models for other library communities. If you are receiving this message you more than likely provide one or more important services and programs to traditionally underserved library users in the following diverse categories: New and Non-readers People geographically isolated People with disabilities Rural and urban poor people Children, youth and families Adult and People discriminated against due to: -race, ethnicity and language -sexual orientation -age -social class At the well-attended 1998 Diversity Fair there were numerous ideas and opportunities for networking shared in a festive atmosphere. These programs may be viewed at the Diversity Fair Notebook site at http://www.ala.org/olos/notebook/olos_98divfair.html. Don't let the March 15th date pass without making sure your program is recognized. DATE: Saturday, June 26th at ALA Annual Conference TIME: 3:00 to 5:00 PM LOCATION: New Orleans Convention Center CITY: New Orleans, LA For details and forms go to: http://www.ala.org/diversity Satia Marshall Orange Director, Office for Literacy & Outreach Services American Library Association 50 East Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611 800-545-2433 #4295/312-280-4295 sorange[at]ala.org ______________________________________________________________________________ 9. Website to help librarians with Spanish-language outreach and services ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 05:23:05 -0800 From: Bruce Jensen <flaco98[at]juno.com> To: cdodge[at]sun.hennepin.lib.mn.us Subject: A new website, and a question . . . Greetings, Chris-- I want to let you know about a website designed to help librarians w/ Spanish-language outreach & patron services. It's currently at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Thebes/8107 (though the word now is our lib. coop will soon accommodate the site on its server . . . that'll eliminate the pop-up ads). Any feedback, or help getting the word out, will be greatly appreciated. Bruce Jensen Portland, Oregon ______________________________________________________________________________ 10. Oyeme! Bilingual (Spanish/English) Latino web index and portal URL: http://www.oyeme.com A searchable index and portal whose resources are firmly focused on the Latino community of the United States and Latin-America. Oyeme! offers a bilingual (Spanish/English) directory and search engine, which yields results in English and Spanish. Submitted by: Robert J. Tiess rjtiess[at]warwick.net http://members.tripod.com/~rtiess ResPool - http://members.tripod.com/~rtiess/respool.htm ______________________________________________________________________________ 11. Internet resources for the environment, Spanish and English At 12:54 AM 3/3/99 +0100, cmbrugarolas wrote: > > Hi, my name is Carmen, I„m from Spain and I need help. > Can anyone tell me where I can find information about resources in > internet of ecology or environmental, will be interest in spanish, but > doesn„t mind in english. > Sorry for my english, is very bad. > > thank„s. Carmen. Shirl Kennedy: Here are some that I found. http://www.ecoforo.com/index.html Ecoforo - el foro del medio ambiente http://www.gwu.edu/~greenu/inter.html International Environmental Resources by Country - George Washington University http://ece.dc.fi.udc.es/ European Conference on the Environment (server apparently was down Tuesday night EST) http://www.ictnet.es/terrabit/ Terrabit ("The Centre of Environmental Information Studies is an education and dissemination point for environmental point in Spain."): English/Spanish/Catalan http://www.mma.es/ Ministerio de Medio Ambiente: Government site http://www.gencat.es/mediamb/ Departament de Medi Ambient/Generalitat de Catalunya: Includes a page of "Links ambientals" http://www.tierra.org/index.asp Amigos de la Tierra ("...member of the international Friends of the Earth.): Spanish only http://www-personal.umich.edu/~fiatlux/td/ Talking About Development (...interview series where different professionals, politicians, grassroots activists, and others, talk about what is development and how their work fits in with the larger social, political, and economic framework of the world we live in...): Appears to be in both English and Spanish http://www.beologic.com/ Beologic.Com ("an ecological society based in Latin America."): English, Spanish and Portuguese http://www.usma.ac.pa/eco/ Pagina Ecologica ("The University of Santa Maria La Antigua focuses on ecological information and efforts in Panama."):Spanish only http://www.eea.eu.int/ European Environmental Agency: Many documents here "in multiple languages" http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/region/environment/ Environment in Latin America: Actually a large, organized collection of pointers -- some in Spanish, most in English. http://www.stjohns.edu/library/staugustine/EnviroStudies.html Environmental Studies - St. John's University: Another large collection of resources in 24 subject areas -- looks like all in English. http://www.deb.uminho.pt/fontes/enviroinfo/amb_p.htm Portugal and the Environment (en Portuges) http://www.sej.org/env_subj.htm Environmental Journalism Home Page - Subject Links: Good collection of links, looks like English only. Hope at least some of these are helpful to you. Shirl Kennedy Web Doyenne City of Clearwater/Clearwater Public Library System http://www.ci.clearwater.fl.us/ "...so when these guys started banging on my door at 2am and yelled out 'Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms', I thought they were just making a delivery." J.K. Abaton ResPool - http://members.tripod.com/~rtiess/respool.htm ______________________________________________________________________________ 12. BiD: textos universitaris de biblioteconomia i documentacio Vance Bell wrote: From: vbell[at]dept.english.upenn.edu (Vance Bell) Subject: BiD: textos universitaris de biblioteconomia i documentacio Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 11:48:39 -0500 (EST) BiD: textos universitaris de biblioteconomia i documentacio http://www.ub.es/biblio/bid This new library and information science electronic journal is available on the Web The journal is published by the 'Escola Universitaria de Biblioteconomia i Documentacio', the oldest library science school in Spain (more than 80 years old). The journal accept articles in english, french, spanish and catalan,and it's open to any collaboration. You can send your suggestions to bid[at]eubd.ub.es. We are now working in the second issue of BiD, and any comments and criticism on this first issue of _BiD_ will be welcome. Thank you, Cristobal Urbano Editorial commite of BiD (bid[at]eubd.ub.es) Escola Universitaria de Biblioteconomia i Documentacio Universitat de Barcelona http://www.ub.es/biblio Ernest Abadal Email: bid[at]eubd.ub.es ______________________________________________________________________________ 13. Lineamientos para el analisis de terminos en bibliotecologia Approved-By: ifla[at]NLC-BNC.CA X-Priority: 3 MIME-Version: 1.0 Date: Wed, 24 Feb 1999 23:16:49 -0600 Reply-To: International Federation of Library Associations mailing list <IFLA-L[at]INFOSERV.NLC-BNC.CA> Sender: International Federation of Library Associations mailing list <IFLA-L[at]INFOSERV.NLC-BNC.CA> From: promopub <promopub[at]CUIB.LABORALES.UNAM.MX> Subject: CUIB New publication To: IFLA-L[at]INFOSERV.NLC-BNC.CA The University Center for Library Science Research (CUIB) of the National University Autonomous of Mexico, takes pleasure to announce its new publication: Lineamientos para el analisis de terminos en bibliotecologia Torres Vargas, Georgina Araceli Serie: Monografias 26 1998, 96 paginas. $14.00 U.S. Dlls. Los analisis terminologicos contribuyen a una mejor interaccion verbal y escrita en el interior de la bibliotecologia y a una optima comunicacion interdisciplinaria. Por tal razon, en esta obra se formula una propuesta metodologica para la realizacion de estudios terminologicos sistematicos, que permita analizar la terminologia bibliotecologica en sus multiples dimensiones. Si bien los lineamientos seŅalados pueden ser utiles para el analisis de cualquier grupo de terminos en bibliotecologia, en esta obra se muestra su validez a partir del estudio de los terminos relativos a las tecnologias de la informacion. A traves de este grupo, se explicitan las pautas para la conformacion de un corpus y la elaboraciŪn del analisis semantico y conceptual de los terminos que lo conforman. Como parte de la metodologia propuesta, se presentan tambien categorias que permiten organizar y establecer las relaciones logico-conceptuales entre los terminos. Se espera que este estudio pueda servir como punto de referencia para la realizacion y promocion de investigaciones terminologicas en la disciplina, preferentemente realizadas de manera colectiva, a fin de posibilitar un mayor conocimiento de nuestro lenguaje especializado y con ello apoyar la conformacion de productos terminologicos en el area, tales como diccionarios y tesauros, entre otros. For further information. please contact: Minelia Morales Barrios PromociŪn y DistribuciŪn Dpto. de Publicaciones Centro Universitario de Investigaciones BibliotecolŪgicas, UNAM Torre II de Humanidades Piso 12 C.U., C.P.04510, Mexico, D.F. Tel: 623-03-52 fax: 550 74 61 promopub[at]cuib.unam.mx Web: http://cuib.unam.mx *********************************************************************** * 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 * *********************************************************************** ______________________________________________________________________________ 14. Amazon.com is on the take Amazon.com has been accepting payments from publishers of up to $10,000 to have books featured and reviewed on its website under the headings "Destined for Greatness" and "What We're Reading". Faced with public criticism for not disclosing the ongoing payments from publishers, Amazon found some resourceful responses. Vice-president Mary Morouse opposed labeling purchased reviews because of the often overlooked "neatness" issue: "I think it would be more distracting to have a book tagged," she said. "I think that would clutter it up." Next, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos argued his company was "pioneering a new medium that shouldn't be held up to the same standards" as book reviewers in magazines who strive for "independence from advertising concerns." (After all, who can meet those high standards?) Then he added the real kicker: "We're a buying co-operative. If we can lower costs by collecting co-op advertising money, that can lead to lower prices." Publishers buy reviews and we get lower prices. It's win-win. See why Amazon.com stock keeps rising? (WSJ 2/9/99, NYT 2/8/99) From: Wayne Grytting <wgrytt[at]animal.blarg.net> AMERICAN NEWSPEAK. Hoarded at http://www.scn.org/newspeak ---- ARTISTS AND WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE... YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT BAD TASTE! Email: lamp[at]igc.apc.org - Website: http://www.igc.apc.org/laborart Spanning the Globe to: ORGANIZE - AGITATE - EDUCATE - INSPIRE Mike Alewitz, Artistic Director ______________________________________________________________________________ 15. Sanford Berman's appeal to colleagues, some background Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 10:31:21 -0600 (CST) From: Sandy Berman <sberman[at]sun.hennepin.lib.mn.us> To: ALA Council List <alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org> cc: srrtac-l[at]ala.org MIME-Version: 1.0 Reply-To: sberman[at]sun.hennepin.lib.mn.us Sender: owner-alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org Dear Colleagues: MUCH-HONORED MINNESOTA CATALOGER DISCIPLINED FOR TALKING ABOUT CATALOGING! FREE SPEECH A "NO GO" INSIDE NATION'S 5TH-RANKED PUBLIC LIBRARY! These appear to be outlandish statements, the sort of wildly-fabricated headlines that have become hallmarks for "The Onion," a satirical tabloid. Except that they're true... Since a request for rescinding a reprimand issued to me on 2-8-99 has been denied, I now want it withdrawn with an apology for false accusation and wrongful discipline--plus firm guarantees that staff can freely address professional and policy issues without fear of reprisal... I'm appealing to members of the ALA Council and SRRT Action Council for help since I've been unable to secure justice by "following the rules" where I work. Want details? Let me have your mailing address, or write or call me at home: 4400 Morningside Road, Edina, MN 55416; 612-925-5738... With heartfelt thanks in advance for your assistance & support... sandy berman ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sanford Berman sberman[at]sun.hennepin.lib.mn.us Hennepin County Library phone: 612-694-8570 12601 Ridgedale Drive fax: 612-541-8600 Minnetonka, MN 55305 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- .............................................................. To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l[at]ala.org> Subject: Hennepin County Library Becomes OCLC Member (fwd) MIME-Version: 1.0 Reply-To: srrtac-l[at]ala.org Sender: owner-srrtac-l[at]ala.org this doesn't sound like sandy is in trouble. what's up? -r A. Ralph Papakhian, Indiana University Music Library Bloomington, IN 47405 812/855-2970 papakhi[at]indiana.edu co-owner: MLA-L[at]listserv.indiana.edu ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 14:39:42 -0500 To: OCLC-NEWS[at]OCLC.ORG From: "Makssour,Marifay" <makssoum[at]OCLC.ORG> Subject: Hennepin County Library Becomes OCLC Member FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION: Nita Dean +1-614-761-5002 nita_dean[at]oclc.org HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARY JOINS OCLC DUBLIN, Ohio, March 1, 1999--The Hennepin County Library, known for its commitment to advancement in the field of subject headings, has become an OCLC member. For years, the Minnetonka, Minnesota, library has been a leader in this field, particularly among public libraries, and Hennepin is now, because of its extensive subject heading listings, often described as the envy of many in the library community. Much of the library's success can be attributed to Sanford Berman, the esteemed head cataloger at the Hennepin County Library. Throughout his more than 30-year career--with 25 years spent at Hennepin--Mr. Berman worked to expand and transform the Library of Congress (LC) standardized subject headings. His efforts have helped to eliminate many biased and racist headings from LC's subject headings, and to build the Hennepin County Library into what it represents today. MINITEX, the OCLC-affiliated U.S. regional network that provides services to libraries in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota, is pleased with the library's decision to join OCLC. "Hennepin County's joining OCLC will enhance resource sharing throughout the three-state region and will add to the MINITEX database of bibliographic records in OCLC," said William DeJohn, director, MINITEX Library Information Network. "Having Hennepin County Library in OCLC will greatly assist library staffs as well as library users to know what they hold in their collections. We're particularly pleased by OCLC's efforts to support the existing collaboration between Hennepin County and NoveList, which will benefit other OCLC members by making Hennepin's subject headings available for use." Hennepin County's use rate is one of the highest in the country, with the number of visits to its libraries totaling more than 4.5 million, and the number of books and other materials borrowed at more than 10 million. The public library system serves 700,000-plus suburban Minneapolis residents through three area libraries, 23 community libraries, one Readmobile and outreach services. Three Hennepin County Library staff members--Mr. Berman, Charles M. Brown, library director, and Gretchen Wronka, youth services coordinator--currently serve on the American Library Association's 175-member governing council. Elizabeth Feinberg, manager, Collection and Bibliographic Services for Hennepin County Library, cites a changing environment and the desire to share Hennepin's unique approach as the impetus for joining OCLC. "The time was right for this collaboration, and we are all very excited about the opportunities that this new relationship with OCLC will bring about for us at Hennepin County, and for the rest of the library community," she said. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a nonprofit, membership, computer library service and research organization whose computer network and services link more than 33,000 libraries in 67 countries and territories. OCLC is dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world's information and reducing information costs. In the United States, more information is available via telephone (+1-614-764-6000 or 1-800-848-5878) or via e-mail (oclc[at]oclc.org). In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, contact the OCLC Europe office, located in Birmingham, United Kingdom (+44 121 456 4656). In Asia and the Pacific region, contact the OCLC Asia Pacific office in Dublin, Ohio (phone: +1-614-764-6189 or fax: +1-614-764-4331). In Canada, contact the OCLC Canada office in Montreal, Quebec (+1-450-658-6583 or 1-888-658-6583). In Latin America and the Caribbean, contact the OCLC Latin America and the Caribbean office in Dublin, Ohio (phone: +1-614-761-5196 or fax: +1-614-718-1026). More information about OCLC, its affiliated U.S. regional networks, international divisions and distributors is available on the OCLC Web site <http://www.oclc.org/>. (JI/ND) .............................................................. Date: Mon, 01 Mar 1999 15:43:22 -0600 To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l[at]ala.org> From: Kim Edson <kedson[at]selco.lib.mn.us> Subject: Re: Hennepin County Library Becomes OCLC Member (fwd) Mime-Version: 1.0 Reply-To: srrtac-l[at]ala.org Sender: owner-srrtac-l[at]ala.org Well, if you receive additional documentation, you will see that HCL restricted him from making revisions to this documents (revisions that were requested of him by OCLC). Further, HCL would not entertain his wish to have references to his name removed given that his revisions were ignored and that he did not wish to have inaccurate information associated with his name. Most importantly, however, is that the revisions he suggested were supportive, useful revisions that helped clarify cataloging efforts at HCL and in no way were they suggestions that indicated lack of support for the OCLC program. Sandy, do you wish to add more. .............................................................. Date: Tue, 2 Mar 1999 07:44:42 -0600 (CST) From: Sandy Berman <sberman[at]sun.hennepin.lib.mn.us> To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l[at]ala.org> Subject: Re: Hennepin County Library Becomes OCLC Member (fwd) MIME-Version: 1.0 Reply-To: srrtac-l[at]ala.org Sender: owner-srrtac-l[at]ala.org Ralph & Everyone: "Sandy" was askeds by the OCLC NEWSLETTER about 2 nweeks ago to approve or correct the text of an article on HCL's OCLC membership slated for the Jan./Feb. issue. I submitted a number of corrections & additions, solely to the passages dealing with me and cataloging, in order to make the report fuller & more accurate. Those recommended changes were ignored by order of my immediate supervisor, who NEVER consulted mwith me on the matter. A case, I think, of rank & arrogant censorship. In short, my name & reputation I believe are being (ab)used for purposes that actually contradict what we have achieved in nearly 30 years of cataloging innovation & reform. One stated reason--incredible as it may appear--is "globalization." We need to stop being a "small town library" & go global by conforming to often irrevelant & dysfunctional "standards." Aaaahh.... sandy ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sanford Berman sberman[at]sun.hennepin.lib.mn.us Hennepin County Library phone: 612-694-8570 12601 Ridgedale Drive fax: 612-541-8600 Minnetonka, MN 55305 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________________ 16. Mitch Freedman's appeal to Colleagues for Sanford Berman Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 13:11:43 -0500 From: "Maurice J. Freedman" <freedman[at]wls.lib.ny.us> X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l[at]ala.org> CC: sdimattia[at]cahners.com Subject: Sandy Berman, the Hennepin County Library & OCLC Reply-To: srrtac-l[at]ala.org Sender: owner-srrtac-l[at]ala.org To Whom It May Concern: The following statement is in response to two occurrences: 1. A very public statement and documents publicly distributed by Sandy Berman, Head Cataloger at the Hennepin County Library, that indicated how he was being 'reprimanded' for expressing his professional views. Sandy believes that he is on a disciplinary path that seems headed toward termination. It is hard to conclude otherwise from the documentation. (Anyone interested in viewing the documents should contact Sandy directly. His e-mail address is listed above.) Based on statements made to Mr. Berman and others by HCL management, Sandy believes that the Hennepin County Library is in the process of ending Hennepin's innovative cataloging policies of enhancing, altering and otherwise upgrading LC/MARC records--certainly from the perspective of library users and information desk staff. 2. HCL has decided to join OCLC. OCLC issued a press release that announced Hennepin's decision and extolled the value of HCL's catalog records, particularly the subject cataloging, and Sandy Berman. (Note: Among other awards and recognition, Sandy won the highest award ALA has for catalogers, the Margaret Mann Citation, for the work he has done.) The occasion for the following statement was the juxtaposition of Sandy's very public response to what was happening to him at Hennepin, and the glowing compliments by the OCLC press release (see below). On a listserv where some discussion of Sandy's plight was already being discussed, a question was asked, 'how can Sandy be in trouble at the same time he is being so highly praised?' The following statement is a revised version of the original response I sent to that e-mail question. My discussion also includes business considerations based on information supplied to me by Sandy and assumptions--clearly labeled as such--that bear on the overall situation. STATEMENT "This is a scream. "Hennepin is in the process of shutting down the unique, progressive, socially sensitive and, most importantly, user-oriented cataloging that Sandy has been doing since 1973. Hennepin is building up a case to fire him for speaking against automatic acceptance of LC names, and probably in the not-too-distant future, ditto on the LC subject headings and the overall LC cataloging record. "This advocacy and the operational implementation of it in Hennepin's catalog is precisely what got Hennepin the acclaim it so richly has deserved and the OCLC press release proclaims. And it is precisely this advocacy--a letter Sandy wrote to another Twin Cities professional--that is being used to discipline and threaten him for exercising his professional responsibilities, namely, advocating what he thinks is most professionally sound. "Typically, such lockstep adherence to LC in the context of membership in OCLC is the foundation for lowering cataloging costs, and replacing librarian catalogers with paraprofessionals to do so-called 'copy-cataloging'. In this context it would be hard to see any long-term objective other than this on Hennepin's part. "The irony and dishonesty of such an approach here by Hennepin is that Hennepin will have to save a lot of money because of all of the money it would lose by such a decision. NoveList, according to Sandy, is paying Hennepin between $80,000 and $100,000 per year in royalties for the cataloging that comes out of Sandy's department. The alleged cost-savings from de-professionalizing cataloging will eliminate the royalties either immediately or over time, and may never equal the royalty income Hennepin receives today and that will be lost eventually. (The last statement is speculative, but it is based on library practices once the implications of OCLC membership were appreciated by cost-cutting administrators.) "And presumably, the business decision by Hennepin to turn over its demonstrably valuable database to OCLC so that OCLC can sell it to every library hungry for good cataloging, boggles the mind. OCLC will make the money and, presumably, give NOTHING to Hennepin for its records being used, i.e. no royalties. "And I don't know if it's true in this case, but the standard process for a library joining OCLC is for that library to pay OCLC to load its file of catalog records. "So, Hennepin, in all probability, is paying OCLC to take its valuable database and thus permit OCLC to sell it over and over again for further revenue. At the same time Hennepin seems to be planning to kill the goose that laid the golden egg of royalty revenues by removing what was unique about Hennepin's cataloging. "All of which is why all of this applause about OCLC's loading Hennepin's records is a scream. "Whoever is in charge of OCLC, if he or she thinks this through clearly, will tell the people at Hennepin to leave Sandy alone and encourage him to stay at Hennepin forever. OCLC will have a stream of cataloging records that will uniquely enrich its database and which OCLC can repackage and resell at will, not just to NoveList but to every commercial vendor in the country. (I am not privy to OCLC's intentions, plans, or how it redistributes records under its control, but, again, the previous statement reflects what could be a profitable business decision on OCLC's part.) "Of course, all of the foregoing presumes that if OCLC loads Hennepin's records, OCLC will make Hennepin's records available for its customer libraries to copy. Presumably OCLC would not match the Hennepin records against LC/MARC records and simply attach HCL's holding to the LC/MARC record. In the latter case Hennepin's valuable cataloging will disappear from view and use by OCLC catalogers. This latter alternative wouldn't be consistent with the hosannas and praise OCLC lavished on the Hennepin database. But since one is not privy to OCLC's decision-making, one can only presume. "Despite the exultant tones of the press release, OCLC--if Hennepin's management continues on what appears to be its current course--will find that its valuable acquisition will steadily lose its value as the slavishly-adhered to LC cataloging comes out of a Berman-less catalog department. "And library users, everywhere, will suffer, too." PERSONAL DISCLOSURE: "I will state my personal interest. I am a close friend of Sandy's. I hired Sandy to work at Hennepin in 1973 when I was head of technical services at HCL (1969-1974). Wholly aside from the blatant stupidity and malice underlying Hennepin's treatment of Sandy and the overall direction in which Hennepin's management seems to be taking cataloging, I take it personally that Hennepin is destroying the policy that I established as head of technical services at Hennepin County Library (and to his eternal credit, Bob Rohlf, the director of Hennepin at the time, approved and sustained long after I was gone and until Bob's retirement a few years ago.) "Lastly, Sandy recommended to Hennepin's management that it use me as a consultant to negotiate a better deal for Hennepin than just turning over its valuable database to OCLC and, presumably, to pay the per record charges get it loaded onto OCLC. Sandy's suggestions never received a response." Mitch Dr. Maurice J. Freedman Director (914) 674-3600 x223 Westchester Library System fax: (914) 674-4185 410 Saw Mill River Road freedman[at]wls.lib.ny.us Ardsley, New York 10502 Web site: http://www.wls.lib.ny.us ************************************************************************ ______________________________________________________________________________ 17. Bibliographic record to 1995 festchrift for Sanford Berman TITLE Everything you always wanted to know about Sandy Berman but were afraid to ask / edited by Chris Dodge and Jan DeSirey; with a foreword by Bill Katz. PUB. INFO. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, c1995. DESCRIPT ix, 179 p., [8] p. of plates : ill. ; 23 cm. NOTE Includes bibliographical references and index. SUBJECT Berman, Sanford, 1933- Librarians -- United States -- Biography. Subject cataloging -- United States. ADD AUTHOR Dodge, Chris. DeSirey, Jan. Berman, Sanford, 1933- CONTENTS Foreword / Bill Katz -- Introduction, Part I / Jan DeSirey -- Introduction, Part II / Chris Dodge -- A man for all subjects / Mark Pendergrast -- The Berman brigade : Sandy Berman, Army Special Services Librarian, Germany / James Caccavo -- The sound of one sandal flapping / John Held, Jr. -- Homage to the Berman-librarian / John Yewell -- A tribute from a progressive librarians guild cofounder / Elaine Harger -- Those days at U.C.L.A. / Fay M. Blake -- A man for all seasons / E.J. Josey -- Information freeway builder / Zoia Horn -- Advocate for sexual freedom and the alternative press / Daniel C. Tsang -- Female masturbation, see also Hairdryers / Martha Cornog and Timothy Perper -- Painting a portrait / Jeannie Kamins -- A tribute from West Virginia / Yvonne Farley -- The better for his courtesy / Noel Peattie -- Mr. Berman, I presume? Nope, just Sandy.. / Jim Dwyer -- Sandy Berman-- R.I.P. / Will Manley -- Is Sandy a true bibliosmile? / Norman D. Stevens -- Pancho and Lefty / Steve Fankuchen -- Your mole in LC : two letters / Saul Schniderman -- An African genesis / Hans E. Panofsky -- Behind the boerewors curtain / Christopher Merrett -- Catalog shopping / Jenny Tobias -- Troubled waters / Chris Dodge -- The quality of life / Polly Mann -- The joy of Berman / Rosalie Maggio -- I have a friend in Minnesota / Marjorie Greenfield -- Cartoon / Steve Willis -- Bibliography of works by Sanford Berman -- Bibliography of works about Sanford Berman -- Appendices. ______________________________________________________________________________ 18. New alternative bibliographic resource (book) Russ Kick's _Psychotropedia: a guide to publications on the fringe_ reviewed: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/7423/reading.html Chris Dodge Street Librarian http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/7423 "Unscrew the locks from the doors! Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs!" --Walt Whitman ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chris Dodge cdodge[at]sun.hennepin.lib.mn.us Hennepin County Library phone: 612-694-8572 12601 Ridgedale Drive fax: 612-541-8600 Minnetonka, MN 55305 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________________ L I B R A R Y J U I C E | http://www.libr.org/Juice/ | | Except where noted, items appearing in Library Juice | are copyright-free, so feel free to share them with | colleagues and friends. Library Juice is a free weekly | publication edited by Rory Litwin. Original senders | are credited wherever possible; opinions are theirs. | Your comments and suggestions are welcome. | mailto:Juice[at]libr.org
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