Library Juice 3:18

Library Juice 3:18 - May 10, 2000 Contents: 1. Labor History Month Bibliography 2. Mother's Juice 3. Online gay film search engines, indexes of gay films 4. Article advocating inclusion of hate literature 5. "Net's Truth Squad" 6. Raging Search 7. Biblitecarios Progresistas listserv 8. Listserv for librariana collectors 9. EPA requests help from librarians 10. US Depository Drastically Cut by House Appropriations Committee 11. Development Forum: Globalization, Development and Poverty 12. A QUESTION OF BALANCE 13. Article on the image of librarians Quote for the week: "To ensure a comprehensive and non-sectarian collection of material on all subjects requires a social project of great complexity. Yet as people charged with providing public access to knowledge easily equal to that of the academic, the doctor or the politician. They have the task of providing a democratic society with the information to preserve, even to improve that democracy. They are required to be unbiased and to serve everyone equally. Censorship promotes elitism, the enemy of democracy. Selection should act as a leveller. It should not ignore marginal interests. If they are to work effectively as agents for social and cultural education librarians need to engage in an activism that is largely lacking in the profession." Chris Atton, _Alternative Literature: A Practical Guide for Librarians_, Gower, 1996 Homepage of the week: Helene Gold http://www.eckerd.edu/library/helene.htm _____________________________________________________________________________top 1. Labor History Month Bibliography Date: Fri, 5 May 2000 09:32:45 -0700 (PDT) From: ACS20[at]aol.com To: publib <publib[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu> Subject: Labor History Month Bibliography May is Labor History Month -- time to focus on the contributions of working people the history of our country and the world! I have updated my "Selected Bibliography for a Public Library Labor Studies Collection" for 2000, which you can find on my library's web site: http://www.englewoodlibrary.org/newsspecial.html Or you can get it right off the main page during this month: http://www.englewoodlibrary.org It includes LOTS of resources, including children's and YA titles, videos, even some music. Any comments, suggestions, corrections are welcome. And here's hoping you celebrate LAbor History Month at your library! Ann Sparanese Englewood Public Library Englewood, NJ 201-568-2215 ext.229 _____________________________________________________________________________top 2. Mother's Juice Teri Weesner, Youth Services Editor I am about to leave for Cuba on a Global Exchange <http://www.globalexchange.org> Reality Tour to Cuba, entitled, Cuban Libraries: Creating Partnerships. But, before I go, I want to leave you with some Mother's Day and travel inspiration resources. That Hip Mama <http://www.hipmama.com> Ariel Gore has come out with another fabulous book on the heels of "Hip Mama's Survival Guide: Advice from the trenches on -- pregnancy, childbirth, cool names, clueless doctors, potty training, toddler avengers, domestic mayhem, support groups, rightwing losers, work, day care, family law, the evil patriarchy, collection agents, nervous breakdowns and way more" Hyperion, 1998. Breathe...This one is called, simply, "The Mother Trip: Hip Mama's Guide to Staying Sane in the Chaos of Motherhood" Seal Press, 2000. Check the web site for a book tour stop near you! The latest issue of Hip Mama is the "Are we there yet?" travel issue. The latest issue of Bust magazine (also online [at] <http://www.bust.com> check out their "Girl Wide Web"!) is the "She gets around" travel issue. Bust -- the voice of the new girl order, has got it all: articles by women you want to read (including Annie Sprinkle, Margaret Cho, the girl next door, and you!); reviews of web sites, books, zines and music; erotica; and sex toy adds aplenty. I found a review of <http://www.adventuredivas.com> which is a new PBS series. The first one is on, synchronistically enough, Cuba. Obviously, I'm on the right track. Along with "the top 15 things a woman should carry in her backpack", (from Bust magazine --go read it!) I am also taking children's books to donate to library collections in Cuba. To help me compile a list, I asked Alma Flor Ada, head of the Multicultural Children's Literature Department of the School of Education at the University of San Francisco and a winner of this year's Pura Belpre Award for "Under the Royal Palms: A childhood in Cuba" Antheum Books, 1998. I'm off to the book store!!! _____________________________________________________________________________top 3. Online gay film search engines, indexes of gay films From: _____ To: "Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Librarians Network" <gay-libn[at]usc.edu> Subject: [websites] SUMMARY: gay film search engine/index of gay films Date: Wed, 3 May 2000 14:37:41 +1200 Hi everyone: Thanks to all those who answered my question about online gay movie sites/index of gay films. Here's a summary. GAY FILM SEARCH ENGINES: http://www.queerfilm.com/ http://www.reel.com/reel.asp?node=categories/gay_lesbian http://www.planetout.com/pno/popcornq/ INDEX OF GAY FILMS: http://faculty.washington.edu/alvin/gayref.htm#CINEMA http://www.cudenver.edu/public/library/libq/film.html Regards, [anonymous] _____________________________________________________________________________top 4. Article advocating inclusion of hate literature Date: Thu, 4 May 2000 14:06:12 -0700 (PDT) From: "Blake Carver" <btcarver[at]lisnews.com> To: publib <publib[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu> Subject: Why have controversial material in your library? Karen McCandlish wrote a great story on materials for LISNews. Why have controversial material in your library? She came up with a few reasons why it might be good to have anti-gay or racist or other controversial material in a library. It certainly is a way of raising people's consciousness, and perhaps their consciences, as to what's really out there - the level of hate where these people are coming from. It's a great read, check it out at http://www.lisnews.com/article.php3?sid=20000504092317 -Blake Carver http://www.lisnews.com _____________________________________________________________________________top 5. "Net's Truth Squad" Date: Wed, 03 May 2000 20:56:21 -0400 From: "Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A." <zillman[at]bottechnology.com> Organization: BotTechnology.com To: Rory[at]libr.org Subject: Hello... Hello.... Have enjoyed your Library Juice very much......keep up the excellent work!! I have just updated what has been considered by quite a few folks as one of the more comprehensive sites on the Net for hoaxes, myths, frauds, anti-spam, network security etc..... I like to call it "The Net's Truth Squad" :-) It is at the following URL: http://www.internet-101.com/hoax/ Cheers Marcus Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Creator/Founder BotSpot.com CEO BotTechnology.com Producer BOT2000 NewYork Executive Producer/Host Internet-101.com Television Show http://www.guestfinder.com/zilmar.htm _____________________________________________________________________________top 6. Raging Search http://www.raging.com Another search engine!! Another search engine? Yes, yet another Web search engine has come online, but this one isn't just business as usual. For one thing, there are no graphics, no banner ads, and no fancy portal features, so Raging Search loads very quickly. Another thing that makes it stand out is the ability to customize various parameters like the number of results displayed per page or the amount of detail returned for each result, and have those preferences "stick," so users need not reset them every time they enter the site. Also through this customization interface, users can select the languages of resources they want to search for (including support for various non-English character sets) and opt to include a "translated version" link along with each search result. And last, but certainly not least, all of the above runs atop an AltaVista search engine, consistently rated one of the best search tools on the Web, enhanced with Google-style link analysis technology to help identify the most useful sites. Overall, if you're serious about tracking something down on the Web, then Raging Search is definitely worth a look. [EA] > From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ _____________________________________________________________________________top 7. Biblitecarios Progresistas listserv Date: Wed, 3 May 2000 11:35:23 -0600 From: Carmen Yasmina López Morales <cyasmina[at]ALLMAN.RHON.ITAM.MX> Subject: NEW DISCUSSION LIST IN SPANISH To: IFLA-L[at]INFOSERV.NLC-BNC.CA Dear colleagues: This is to inform you of the creation of a new progressive librarianship discussion list in Spanish. The Mexican Circle of Progressive Studies in Librarianship has created this list with the main objectives of: -supporting democratic library structures and questioning the trend toward turning libraries into mere markets of information. -Facilitating a public forum for the development of critical issues in librarianship, closely linked with social, political economic and cultural problems. -fostering unity, solidarity, and organization among activist libraries and other libary workers of resistance social movements. -Supporting acts of resistance against antidemocratic library administration practices and trends, mainly in Latin America. Discussion of these issues is very important because there currently very few resources in Spanish that deal with progressive and/or alternative librarianship. While this list, called Biblitecarios Progresistas (Progressive Librarians), is primarily devoted to discussion of situation within Latin America, we certainly expect to reflect on events in an international context in order to communicate closely with other progressive organizations around the world. Although Spanish is the main language of the list, all your messages in other languages (English, Italian, Portuguese, and French) are welcome and you can be sure we will be gald to have your participation. Please send subscription requests to: biblio-progresistas-subscribe[at]egroups.com. You will receive a message of welcome. Any problems or questions should be sent to our administrator, Lorena Torres, at lubjana[at]yahoo.com Thanks for your attention, and we look forward to hearing from you very soon! Sincerely, Mexican Circle of Progressive Studies on Librarianship Lorena Torres Julia Gonzalez Martin Vera Felipe Meneses ________________ Please see our statement at http://libr.org/PLG/study_circle.html _____________________________________________________________________________top 8. Listserv for librariana collectors Date: Wed, 3 May 2000 15:45:31 -0700 (PDT) From: "Larry Nix" <larry.nix[at]dpi.state.wi.us> To: publib <publib[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu> Subject: Listserv for Collectors of Librariana Hi, I'm writing to alert members of this listserv to a new unmoderated listserv for individuals interested in collecting librariana which includes the collecting of any items related to libraries and librarians. It might also be of interest to library history buffs and those interested in library trivia. The list owner is Dan Lester, the Network Information Coordinator at Boise State University and an avid collector of librariana. To subscribe, send mail to LISTSERV[at]LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU with the command: SUBSCRIBE LIBRARIANA Your Name Archives for the listserv can be found at: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/librariana.html The listserv is just starting so bear with us until it grows a little. If you join, please introduce yourself and your collecting interest. Please forward this message to other listservs or individuals who might be interested. Thanks. Larry Nix Larry T. Nix, Director Public Library Development Wisconsin Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning P.O. Box 7841 Madison, WI 53707-7841 (608) 266-7270 Fax (608) 266-2529 larry.nix[at]dpi.state.wi.us _____________________________________________________________________________top 9. EPA requests help from librarians Date: Tue, 9 May 2000 19:40:05 -0400 (EDT) From: Frederick W Stoss <fstoss[at]acsu.buffalo.edu> To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l[at]ala.org> cc: Huffine.Richard[at]epamail.epa.gov Subject: [SRRTAC-L:4664] Help! Environmental Librarians - Input Needed (fwd) Friends, colleagues, and fellow environmental/natural resources data/information people: I received the following note from Richard Huffine (ALA/SRRT/TFOE member) from the U.S. EPA. I would ask that you take a look at Richard's request for assistance and help by routing this on to other lists of librarians that share a concern for the environment and resource management issues. I would also ask that you contact Richard if you are interested in taking a more active part in this discussion. Thank you for taking the time to respond to this request for assistance. Fred Stoss SRRT Coordinator Fred - In your capacity with ALA Task Force on the Environment, I need your help to identify librarians that work with environmental issues to engage in a dialogue about how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can meet the needs of the public they serve. As a librarian with EPA's Office of Environmental Information, I am participating with our "stakeholder involvement" folks to build better relationships with the library community to access and disseminate the information we produce. This information may be used for local decision-makers to make better decisions about their environment - everything from telling us what to regulate to influencing daily decisions like when to run, walk or swim. We're trying to identify librarians that would have an opinion on these issues for a "virtual forum" and/or for some survey work the Agency is doing to identify the needs of the public and our ability to address those needs. Any suggestions from you or your members would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for passing this along! Richard Huffine U.S. EPA, Office of Environmental Information Information Access Division 202-260-2344 fax 202-401-1315 huffine.richard[at]epa.gov _____________________________________________________________________________top 10. US Depository Drastically Cut by House Appropriations Committee From: "Bernadine Abbott Hoduski" <ber[at]initco.net> To: ALA Council List <alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org> Subject: [ALACOUN:4658] Depository Program drastically cut by full House Appropriations Committee Date: Tue, 9 May 2000 19:17:53 -0600 Council Members, The full House Appropriations Committee voted today, May 9, 2000 to drastically cut the funding for the depository program. They argued that the program could function as a totally electronic program. This in spite of the fact that thousands of publications in the program are not in electronic form and will not be since many of them are maps, reports and other publicatins not suitable for electronic format. This will mean that depository libraries will not receive paper editions of the US Code, Federal Register, Congressional Record, CFR, hearings, reports, documents and many other publications. This will be the end of a permanent record of government activities and publications in depository libraries unless libraries buy the publications or receive one of the few copies that the publishing agencies may have in paper. Most of these publications are not sold. If we learned nothing else from the recent virus attacks it is the fragility of our data bases and our access to them. The future of research and knowledge about our government is at stake. Please email, fax, call or write your Member of the House asp. Send info on to other list serves, library directors, trustees, friends of libraries, newspaper reporters and editors, public interest groups and anyone else who needs long term access to government information. The press and the public do not understand the meaning of this action. It is a good guess that many of those who will be voting on this bill do not understand it either. Bernadine, Godort Councilor Bernadine Abbott Hoduski Government Information Advisor, 100 N. Lamborn, Helena, Montana 406-449-9974 _____________________________________________________________________________top 11. Development Forum: Globalization, Development and Poverty http://www.worldbank.org/devforum/forum_globalization.html Beginning on May 1, 2000, the World Bank Institute and the Panos Institute London are sponsoring a free four-week, online forum dealing with development issues. Each week, a different topic will be covered. Week One will focus on "Globalization, Development and Poverty: what do we know?" The second week's discussion is titled "Poverty, Basic Needs, and Development." "Modes of Development" will be the topic for week three. And the last week will focus on "Whose Development? Globalization, Empowerment and the Poor." Users may choose to join the mailing list, or they may also visit the globalization site without registration. Along with general information about the forum, this site also contains links to supporting documents and sites, including the _Washington Post_'s coverage of the April protests in Washington DC, as well as articles and commentary written by and about the World Bank and the IMF. [EM] > From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ _____________________________________________________________________________top 12. A QUESTION OF BALANCE: THE ROLE OF LIBRARIES IN PROVIDING ALTERNATIVES TO THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA [Originally published in _Counterpoise_ Vol. 3, Issue 3/4, and republished with permission] Based on a Presentation before the SRRT/Alternatives in Print Task Force at the American Library Association Annual Conference. New Orleans, LA June 27, 1999 by Nancy Kranich Associate Dean, New York University Libraries and President-elect, American Library Association Walk into any Barnes and Noble superstore and customers will be reading intently in settings not unlike those in our libraries. Many people now spend their days in these stores, undisturbed, conducting research or simply curling up with a good book. Others come to hear a multitude of authors speak, to meet friends, to sip cappuccino, or to pick up the latest issues of their favorite magazines. Renee Feinberg visited several of these stores in New York City last year and interviewed various customers, including students from New York University, who told her that the store adequately met their research needs. Remarked Feinberg, "the library has information, but B&N has books. The library is still involved with good reading to make good people, while B&N is willing to suspend �good' and to stretch the limits."(1) Big chain bookstores not only serve many of the research and recreational needs of residents and students alike, but they also exert enormous influence over what gets published. They make big profits with best sellers. They use their ambiance to effect sales. Yet, they have few staff to guide customers, making it difficult to sell less popular titles. So what distinguishes these superstores from the libraries that they appear to imitate so well? The Library Marketplace In the United States, we have 115,000 school, public, academic and special libraries. Last year alone, these libraries spent more than $5 billion for books - 10% of publishers' revenues overall, but 50% to 90% of sales of reference books, specialized materials, children's books, poetry and non-fiction. Nevertheless, librarians are often an invisible market to publishers, since most of our purchases are through wholesalers rather than direct from the publisher. In an article in Library Journal, Barbara Hoffert noted, however, that: "Publishers are beginning to realize that although they create the books, librarians have tremendous power to influence readers."(2) The U.S. Publishing Industry In this country, we have 20,000 publishers, including trade, professional, journal, electronic, textbook, university press, reference and mass-market paperback. Together, these publishers produce 50,000 imprints annually. Yet a mere 2% of them account for 75% of the output. Less than 6,000 titles are reviewed each year, most of which are published by fewer than 200 publishers - the largest publishers. Since the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, a single corporation may now own not only book publishing, but also radio, TV, newspapers and Internet services�all in the same market area and up to a one-third market share nationally. This means that the dozen major corporations dominating media output today could further consolidate to three or four in the next decade. In 1998, mergers and acquisitions activity in the publishing/information sector was up 59% to $33.4 billion. The number of deals climbed to 439 from 390. Among the largest: Pearson purchased Simon and Schuster from Viacom for $4.6 million. Thomson completed the largest number of acquisitions: 29. Reed Elsevier completed the largest number of divestitures.(3) Since the 1920's, the average profit of a U.S. publishing house was around 4%. These houses sought to balance profitability with responsibility. Today, conglomerates look for a 12-15% return on their investment. Periodicals publishers like Elsevier average in the 25%+ range. André Schiffrin, director of The New Press, recently reviewed the lists of the three largest publishers: HarperCollins, Simon and Schuster, and Random House. Out of a total of 400 titles, the three lists included only four books on current politics, one of which was by an ideologue who is among Rupert Murdoch's favorite political thinkers. There was not a single work of serious history, no work of scientific inquiry, and no translations. "Of course the remaining independent presses and university presses are doing their best to publish the books that have disappeared from the conglomerate lists. But as the investment of the major publishing houses, which control 80% of sales, continues to shift to more commercial fields, the choice of ideas presented to American readers will continue to dwindle."(4) Like publishing, book distribution is also dominated by only a few companies: Ingram and Baker & Taylor. These big distributors tend to be very slow in making payments, not a problem for conglomerates but this really hurts small publishers. Stated one, "They feel you can't do business without them. But we can't stay in business if we keep dealing with them."(5) As the mainstream media continues its gold rush to acquire and merge with other media companies, they are neglecting their public interest obligation to advance knowledge and the public's right to know. More and more, homogeneity is creating a monoculture in this country where we are bombarded with celebrity news, infomercials and titillation. We alternate between sex and violence: from Monica Lewinsky and Paula Jones to atrocities in Kosovo and Littleton. As Neal Postman has stated, we have become the "best entertained, least informed society in the world."(6) Increasingly, Americans are more ignorant about public and international affairs and alienated from social issues. In the publishing arena, conglomeration has resulted in the inclusion of financial and marketing people in the editorial process. If a book does not look as if it will sell a certain number�and that number increases every year - these "numbers" people will argue that the company simply cannot afford to undertake the project. Market censorship is increasingly in force in a decision-making process that is based on whether there is a pre-existing audience for a particular title. Books by well-known authors or obvious successes are preferred; new authors and critical viewpoints are increasingly rejected by the major houses. In short, states Peter Phillips, Director of Project Censored, "The U.S. media has lost its diversity and its ability to present different points of view."(7) Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the current increase in conglomerate media power is that it has gone largely unchallenged by the public in general and librarians in particular. Antitrust legislation is rarely discussed, and other forms and structures of media ownership are hardly contemplated. While the small, independent presses provide an alternative, their share of the market is just 1% of total book sales. Moreover, they do not have the strength or resources of the major firms, and they do not have anywhere near as ready access to bookstores. The Alternative Press Often absent from the review media, standard bibliographic tools, and conference exhibits are the alternative, small and/or independent publishers. While none of these labels is satisfactory, the term "alternative" is most apt because these publishers counterbalance the corporate media. Too often, however, they are outside the mainstream of traditional distribution channels and the peripheral vision of libraries. Some are even unaware of the potential of selling to libraries. Others are confused how to do so. This is unfortunate. Alternative publishers are on the cutting edge of important literature and issues. They make an important cultural and literary contribution. And, they are an essential part of the community of publishers with whom librarians must interact. Little money, influence or prestige backs alternative publishers. They are small, and their authors and editors are rarely known. Often, Library of Congress cataloging is minimal or non-existent for their publications. Booksellers omit them from approval plans, making it difficult for libraries to acquire their titles efficiently. Librarians have to work hard to seek out their titles. Nevertheless, we have a duty to guide users to the full range of relevant facts and opinions; therefore, we must pursue these publishers, who can provide us with more obscure fiction and literature as well as vital information about our communities and diversity. The Role of Libraries in Supporting the Alternative Press Unfortunately, alternative publishers do not always see librarians as their alternative. They simply do not look to us as outlets for their resources. They do not understand how to work with us. They do not see us as natural allies. With media wealth so concentrated, so solidified, and so integrated into the corporate-government elite, what role can libraries play to ensure the public a more democratic flow of ideas and offer alternatives to the narrow, corporate-media view of the world? How can we create real access to information and participation for all sectors of our communities? How can we counteract the market censorship that is shifting formerly reputable publishers' lists from serious titles to hype? Libraries could and should be that community-based information sanctuary that offers diverse voices the right to read, view, listen and discuss ideas. But library collections are increasingly looking more and more alike. According to Milton Wolfe and Marjorie Bloss (8), librarians have put their library clientele on a core collection starvation diet, depriving them of those nutritious sources that distinguish one library from another, those materials that enable thinking outside the box of commercially purveyed pabulum. The fast-food collecting syndrome, which focuses on the core at the expense of the periphery, is threatening library users with a severe case of content-deprived anemia. . . . In truth, there is a well-entrenched, global commercial monopoly on the distribution and approval of ideas, and we, as selectors, often contribute to its hegemony by our slothful collection habits. "Content," too often, has become what our commercial enterprises define and distribute, and we often unwittingly purchase - largely because few institutions now devote the number of hours required to the time-consuming, professional job of selection. Among Wolf and Bloss's recommendations are that we "put our always limited funds toward our overarching visions: to ensure that we have cooperative, just-in-case repositories and archives, which have purposely targeted the peripheral, the non-mainstream, the non-corporate information to serve the just-in-time needs of our clientele." A study of ARL libraries undertaken by Anna Perrault in the late 1980's reinforces Wolfe's and Bloss's concerns about collection homogeneity. Perrault found that there was "a decrease in the percentage of unique titles in many subject areas, and an increased concentration on core materials."(9) Another collection development study by Stephen L. Hupp in Ohio libraries concluded that "the state's libraries have done a poor job in collecting controversial political materials."(10) His follow-up study found that holdings of alternative periodicals lagged behind holdings of liberal or conservative titles. Another study by Markinko and Gerhard published in College and Research Libraries (11), which examined the holdings rates of alternative press titles in U.S. research libraries, determined that alternative press titles are not widely held in these libraries. The authors concluded that these rarely-indexed periodicals were less likely to be purchased. Likewise, these periodicals are not cited because they are difficult to obtain. Therefore, they are often not utilized by scholars and are, consequently, less likely to be purchased by librarians. Policies Supporting Diversity of Sources Over the years, the library community has developed and endorsed numerous policies that recognize and support the importance of a diversity of sources in our libraries.(12) Our ALA Intellectual Freedom Manual states that: "Librarians have a professional responsibility to be inclusive. . . ." And our Library Bill of Rights maintains that: "Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval." ALA's Telecommunications Policy, which was passed in the early 1990s, reinforces these ideals for the information superhighway: "The NII should support and encourage a diversity of information providers in order to guarantee an open, fair and competitive marketplace, with a full range of viewpoints." The related Freedom to Read Statement endorsed by both ALA and the American Association of Publishers says that: It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those which are unorthodox or unpopular with the majority. . . . It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought and expression. . . . It is impossible to have a meaningful discussion on issues of the day without access to a broad representation of the viewpoints held in society at large. Yet, information is no longer referred to as a public good but a marketplace commodity. This creates a major dilemma for librarians concerned with ensuring the public's right to know in a commercially-driven information age. What Librarians Can Do to Ensure a Healthy Alternative Press As we explore ways to help the alternative press flourish, we must realize that, too often, these publishers are unfamiliar with libraries and librarians are unfamiliar with them. We have an insufficient involvement with the publishing industry, particularly the alternative press, even though we are highly interdependent. Nevertheless, there exists a natural synergy between a healthy publishing industry and healthy libraries, both of which are essential for a democratic society. We must decide where and how we want to weigh in on the impact of the corporate media and the role of the alternative press. First, we must counter the illusion that the current media offers more choice. We should conduct studies on the impact of conglomeration and document harm to the free flow of ideas. We should focus on antitrust issues, not just legislative action. We should become much more media literate and recognize the synergy between the communications and library communities. We should join forces with the many groups who are speaking out about the impact of media conglomeration on intellectual freedom and the public's right to know.(13) Second, we need to prioritize the acquisition and cataloging of alternative press materials. We should encourage the indexing of alternative press publications and buy alternative press indexes. We should establish standing orders with independent presses and encourage distributors to handle more small publishers. Because these publishers prefer direct sales which pay much faster, they may be willing to offer libraries a higher discount for direct purchases. By seeking out alternative publishers, we can help guarantee them a more predictable market. We can also help to market their lists by showcasing them at programs, book parties, and lectures, as well as adding their archives to our special collections. Third, we can encourage our professional associations to promote the alternative press more actively. They can feature their publications more prominently in advertising and exhibits and offer more programs about these resources at conferences. We should also mainstream discussions about the alternative press within ALA; all collection development specialists should be concerned about these publications. ALCTS should co-sponsor programs with several of the roundtables and focus more attention on the issues surrounding corporate media. Fourth, we should adopt alternative publishers. They need our help to thrive, and they simply do not know how to get to our market. We should go to their meetings and develop and distribute guides about working with libraries. We should also produce guides to help librarians work with alternative publishers. A slight increase in our business can mean a big difference in their survival rates. According to one small publishers, if every librarian simply bought just 10 independent press titles this year, the marketplace would boom. Many titles such as literature in translation and short stories published by the alternative press sell almost exclusively to libraries. Library sales can make a big difference for small publishers whose average press run is 5000 copies; some are even smaller. We must recognize that the marketplace is as much a censor as those who purge information from our airwaves, libraries, publisher's lists, or the Internet. Libraries are sanctuaries for alternative voices. If the mainstream press ignores, under-covers, or diminishes hard-hitting, essential stories, our libraries and our databases are unlikely to pick them up. On a recent Pacifica radio show about Project Censored, I was asked: "Can't someone who just searches Nexis/Lexis pick up on these stories?" I responded: "No, if they are not printed in the mainstream press, the mainstream indexers are not going to cover them." In the library community, we have an obligation to build balanced collections. Given the trends in publishing, we cannot build these balanced collections without heavily investing in alternatives to the mainstream press. It is time we recognize our own values and ensure we have diverse collections that truly represent the full spectrum of published opinion and thought. Otherwise, Barnes and Noble will eclipse us as the community's primary information resource. NOTES 1. Renee Feinberg, "B&N: The New College Library?" Library Journal 123, # 2 (February 1, 1998): 49-51. 2. Barbara Hoffert, "Publishers are Looking at You," Library Journal 116, #3 (February 15, 1991): 146-154. 3. See Who's Buying Whom: Highlights of Publishing/Information/Training Acquisition Activity, NY: Whitestone Communications, 1999. 4. See André Schiffrin, "Bucking the Monoliths: Publishing with a Mission," American Libraries 30, #5 (May 1999): 44-46; "Publishers' Spring Catalogues Offer Compelling Reading About the Market for Ideas, The Chronicle of Higher Education (March 19, 1999): B8-B9; and "Random Acts of Consolidation," The Nation, (July 5, 1999): 10. 5. Mark Crispin Miller, "The Crushing Power of Big Publishing," The Nation 264, #10 (March 17, 1997): 11-18. 6. Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. (New York: Penguin Books, 1985) 7. Peter Phillips, "Building Media Democracy," in Censored, 1999: The News that Didn't Make the News by Peter Phillips and Project Censored.. (New York: Seven Stories Press, 1999): 129-135. 8. Milton Wolf and Marjorie Bloss, "Without Walls Means Collaboration," Information Technology and Libraries, 17, #4 (December 1998): 212-215. 9. Anna H. Perrault, The Changing Print Resource Base of Academic Libraries in the United States: A Comparison of Collection Patterns in Seventy-two ARL Academic Libraries of Non-Serial Imprints for the Years 1985 and 1989. Florida State University doctoral dissertation, 1994. P. xi. 10. Stephen L. Hupp, "The Left and the Right: A Preliminary Study of Bias in Collection Development in Ohio Libraries," Collection Management 14, #2 (1991): 139-54. And " The Left and the Right: A Follow-Up Survey of the Collection of Journals of Public Opinion in Ohio Libraries," Collection Management 18, #2 (1993): 135-52. 11. Rita A. Marinko and Kristin H. Gerhard, "Representation of the Alternative Press in Academic Library Collections," College and Research Libraries, 59, #4 (July 1998): 363-377. 12. For a compilation of statements and interpretations, along with a history and guidance for action, see Intellectual Freedom Manual, 4th ed. by the American Library Association, Office for Intellectual Freedom, (Chicago: American Library Association, 1992) and "Principles for the Development of the National Information Infrastructure," (Washington, DC: American Library Association Washington Office, 1993). 13. For an extensive list of groups working to democratize the media, see The Progressive Guide to Alternative Media and Activism. (New York: Seven Stories Press, 1999) and Censored, 1999: The News that Didn't Make the News by Peter Phillips and Project Censored. (New York: Seven Stories Press, 1999): 271-323. _____________________________________________________________________________top 13. Article on the image of librarians: "Wear lipstick, have a tattoo, belly-dance, then get naked: The making of a virtual librarian" http://www.careerdevelopmentgroup.org.uk/impact/archives/abrewerton.htm by Andy Brewerton in _Impact: the journal of the career development group_ (UK) Thanks, Jessamyn - http://www.librarian.net _____________________________________________________________________________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. 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