Library Juice 3:20

Library Juice 3:20 - May 24, 2000 Contents: 1. Anniversary of the first digital sentiment 2. Library-Related Weblogs 3. IFLA Public Libraries Section Newsletter 4. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship 5. Information Literacy Instruction Objectives 6. Voluntary Simplicity Workshops in Public Libraries? 7. Letter from Karen Schneider to US DOJ 8. ACTION ALERT - Depository Program in Jeopardy 9. The ALA OIF home page has a new address 10. May issue of American Libraries 11. Recent Letter from Sanford Berman to Library of Congress 12. Miss Charlotte Brown, Librarian, Goes Mad Quote for the week: "The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting." -Milan Kundera Homepage of the week: Laura Kortz http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/Veranda/3035/ _____________________________________________________________________________top 1. Anniversary of the first digital sentiment "On May 24, 1840 -- Samuel Morse taps out the message "What hath God wrought" in what is still called Morse Code. Can this be possible?: The first man to write in digital code didn't do it on a Mac? Question was sent from Washington to Baltimore, formally opening America's first telegraph line, & still being asked today." >From the Daily Bleed - http://www.eskimo.com/~recall/bleed/calmast.htm _____________________________________________________________________________top 2. Library-Related Weblogs A weblog is a web page somebody updates on a frequent basis to share what they find in on the web. Weblogs have become extremely popular in the last year or so. Here is a list of library-related weblogs, taken from Jessamyn West's librarian.net. Librarian.net http://www.librarian.net Jessamyn set up this weblog to collect interesting and funny stories relating to libraries that she finds in her web searching. Jessamyn likes anarchism and sex, and anything relating to the image of librarians. LISNews http://www.lisnews.com This site is a weblog and more. Blake Carver posts excerpts from news stories relating to libraries and technology that he collects from the web and from users of the site. The PHP-driven site has software allowing people to participate in discussions about the news items that are posted and to cast votes on issues. He wants to build a team to expand the site. Booknotes: Books, Libraries, Preservation and... http://booknotes.weblogs.com/ The title pretty much describes this site, maintained by Craig Jensen. At this site, Craig has also posted the full text of several books about book binding and preservation. The AcqWeblog http://atla.library.vanderbilt.edu/law/acqs/ms_acqs.html The AcqWeblog is part of the AcqWeb site, which is for librarians doing acquisitions and collection development. It is very much a professionally-oriented site and very practical. It also includes a lot of press releases. Research Buzz Weblog http://www.researchbuzz.com/news/index.html Tara Calishain's Research Buzz is a great weekly newsletter on developments in the search engine world. Her website provides the same news but on a daily basis. She also has a personal weblog on site which she uses to feature whatever she likes (styrofoam, Prince, Napster, etc.) Redwood City Public Library Liblog: A Library Weblog http://www.redwoodcity.org/library/news/liblog/index.html This weblog features "current web sites and stories dealing with the interface between technology and libraries." It really mainly covers information technology and the web. Good for "cybrarians." Libraries and Other Things http://library.weblogs.com/ Kip DeGraaf, the site author, is a non-librarian, library enthusiast. He writes in the weblog's faq: "I'm someone who is passionate about a library's place in a community and how technology, particularly the Internet, affects how the public uses the library these days. You'll see a focus on filtering and internet access via public libraries, but anything that you want to talk about concerning libraries is just fine. Casey Hill's New Pages Weblog http://www.newpages.com/weblog/default.htm Casey Hill used to have a print publication on alternative publishing called The New Pages. Now he has a website by the same name, which aims to be a resource for finding and handling alternative literature. The weblog includes fairly diverse news on the world of alternative publishing, including new books, music, and interesting articles online. _____________________________________________________________________________top 3. IFLA Public Libraries Section Newsletter International Federation of Library Associations. Section Public Libraries. Newsletter. http://ifla.org/VII/s8/spl.htm#4 The Section of Public Libaries Newsletter is published by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. The Section of Public Libraries provides an active international forum for the development and promotion of public libraries which serve the whole community in the context of the information society and ensure free and equal access to information at the local level. The latest Newsletter from the Public Libraries' Section, Issue No. 22, March 2000, is now to be found on IFLA Website. You will find it here: http://ifla.org/VII/s8/spl.htm#3, under PUBLICATIONS. The Newsletter is in pdf-format, so in order to read it on your computer, you must have the free software Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you haven't got this free software, you can download it from this address: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html Borge Sondergard Information Coordinator Standing Committee, Section for Public Libraries E-mail: bibbso[at]horsens.dk or 2b[at]mail1.stofanet.dk _____________________________________________________________________________top 4. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship http://www.library.ucsb.edu/istl/ The Spring 2000 issue of Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship celebrates the 30th anniversary of Earth Day with the theme of Sci-Tech Libraries and the Environment. Table of Contents: * It's Not Easy Being Green: A Survey of Staff Experiences with Environmental Issues in Sci-Tech and Other Libraries by Kristine M. Alpi, Weill Cornell Medical Library * Love Canal: Reminder of Why We Celebrate Earth Day by Frederick W. Stoss and Carole Ann Fabian, University at Buffalo, State University of New York * Training Future Science Librarians: A Successful Partnership Between Academia and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by Kristen Conahan Roland, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill * Transforming Higher Education Through Sustainability and Environmental Education by Terry Link, Michigan State University * The Need for Environmental Information Quality by Maria Anna Jankowska, University of Idaho BOOK REVIEWS * Digital Libraries by William Y. Arms Reviewed by David Flaxbart, University of Texas, Austin * Social Issues in Science and Technology by David E. Newton Reviewed by Julie Wood, Georgia Institute of Technology JOURNAL REVIEWS AND REPORTS * Synergy Reviewed by Ann C. Glenn, Northern Illinois University * Compendex Web Reviewed by George S. Porter, California Institute of Technology * Turpion Electronic Journals Reviewed by Greg Youngen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign =========================================================== Andrea L. Duda Sciences Collections Coordinator Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara E-mail: duda[at]library.ucsb.edu =========================================================== _____________________________________________________________________________top 5. Information Literacy Instruction Objectives Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 10:56:27 -0400 From: Carla List <carla.list[at]plattsburgh.edu> Subject: [ACRL-FRM:557] Information Literacy Instruction Objectives To: ACRL Forum <acrl-frm[at]ala1.ala.org> This message is being posted to several lists. Please excuse any duplication. NEW: Objectives for Information Literacy Instruction by Academic Librarians A new document has been drafted to replace the "Model Statement of Objectives for Academic Bibliographic Instruction," the 1989 document from the Bibliographic Instruction Section of ACRL that many librarians have used in their instruction programs. The first draft of the new document is tentatively entitled "Objectives for Information Literacy Instruction by Academic Librarians." It is now available for review at the IS Web site. Go to <http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/is/> and follow the "Instruction Objectives" link. Paper copies of the document are available through the mail by contacting Carla List (address below). There will be a public hearing to discuss the draft at ALA Annual in Chicago, on Sunday, July 9, 8:00 - 9:00 a.m., in Chicago Ballroom A of the Marriott Downtown. The Task Force to Revise the Model Statement of Objectives that created the document includes librarians from large and small, private and public institutions. They worked with the ACRL document, Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (http://www.ala.org/acrl/ilcomstan.html). The Standards provide performance indicators and outcomes; the new Objectives aim to help librarians achieve the outcomes. Your input is solicited both before and during the public hearing. Please review the Objectives carefully. Bring your comments and questions to the hearing in Chicago. If you aren't able to attend the hearing, send comments and questions to the Task Force Chair, Carla List. She will collate all comments received by July 1 and make them available as a handout at the hearing, and on the Objectives Web site. Carla List carla.list[at]plattsburgh.edu 518-564-5307 fax 518-564-5209 Feinberg Library Plattsburgh State University 2 Draper Ave. Plattsburgh, NY 12901-2697 _____________________________________________________________________________top 6. Voluntary Simplicity Workshops in Public Libraries? Date: Sat, 20 May 2000 18:52:24 -0700 (PDT) From: "Beth Andersen" <bandersen[at]hotmail.com> To: publib <publib[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu> Subject: voluntary simplicity Please forgive any cross-posting. I am interested in hearing from any libraries that have done (or are doing) voluntary simplicity workshops. I know that the Northwest Earth Institute, based in Portland, OR has a discussion course on this topic which apparently has had considerable success in the library field. If you have done such a program, here are a few of the questions I would love to have answered: 1). Do you do this program in partnership with other community organizations? Which ones? 2). What is your budget for this program? Did you apply for any grant money? 3). How is your program arranged? The NEI setup is eight sessions. 4). Do you limit the number of participants? How many? 5). What has been the reaction of those who sign up? 6). Do you charge any fees for registration? 7). Did any of you use the NEI workbook? If not, what materials did you use to plan your program? 8). Do the voluntary simplicity materials in your library do well? Any additional information would be gratefully received. Thank you. Beth E. Andersen Adult Services Ann Arbor (MI) District Library .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Date: Sat, 20 May 2000 18:53:30 -0700 (PDT) From: "Beth Andersen" <bandersen[at]hotmail.com> To: publib <publib[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu> Subject: voluntary simplicity Forgive the cross-posting again. My apologies for not explaining what voluntary simplicity is. I've had several inquiries asking for a definition. VS is a quietly growing movement in this ever-faster paced world we live in which people are encouranged to slow down, to re-assess all facets of their life, and to scale back on those things that are not all that important after all. One of the key identifying factors of this trend is to simplify financially, to really look at consumerism on a personal level, and to think twice before spending. One of the most visible, often-talked about results of this downscaled consumerism is getting out from under the expensive holiday rat race of spending and gift giving and re-directing that affection for friends and loved ones into giving more meaningful gifts, such as those of one's time. Duane Elgin, one of the modern day advocates of this idea, describes it thus: "To live more simply is to live more purposefully and with a minimum of needless distraction." One of Elgin's concerns is that the direction of competitive consumerism and breakneck pace is eroding not only the environment, but people's sense of community through increased isolation. One of the misconceptions of the movement that may causes people to initially dismiss it out of hand is that they believe it's a call to live in poverty and discomfort. That's not it at all -- many people start by looking at the things they already own and asking themselves if a little housecleaning/yard sale/charitable donation mindset might restore calm to a cluttered 'nest.' The next step might be to consciously stop and consider thoughtfully before making an impulse purchase. Another might be for people used to replacing their vehicles every year or two, to decide to extend that period, or to maybe decide they DON'T need such a (big, fancy, loaded -- pick one) vehicle. Many re-examine their work situations. If the stress of a high level position is beginning to feel intolerable, how can that stress be relieved -- delegate? step down? total career change? Some people put more thought into recycling vs. throwing away unwanted possessions. Others give certificates of time at Christmas instead of fruit cakes or ties. (i.e. "This certificate entitles you to 5 companionable walks at the park with the giver.") You get the point. Below are some of the titles that are used to educate/guide/promote this notion of voluntary simplicity: Complete Tightwad Gazette: Promoting Thrift as a Viable Alternative Lifestyle by Amy Dacyczyn How to Want What You Have: Discovering the Magic and Grandeur of Ordinary Existence by Timothy Miller Inner Simplicity by Elaine St. James The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting, and the New Consumer by Juliet Schor The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culture, by David E. Shi Unplug the Christmas Machine: How to Have the Christmas You've Always Wanted by Jo Robinson Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence, by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin The feedback I've received from library systems that have started offering these classes is that the response by the public is immediate, grateful, overwhelming, and bottomless. Classes fill up as soon as they are posted. The local media have done stories that generated a lot of positive attention toward the library. In one true story, an assistant director of a large public library system took the course and took it to heart. She quit. And is blissful and unharried in her new life. Of course, this is a dramatic example of the power of personal reassessment. Most of those who take the course do so much more quietly. I hope this answers some of the good questions I've been getting. Hope this helps. Beth E. Andersen Adult Services Ann Arbor (MI) District Library _____________________________________________________________________________top 7. Letter from Karen Schneider to US DOJ Gail Walker United States Department of Justice May 16, 2000 Dear Ms. Walker, I am writing to explain why I will not testify regarding the deficiencies of Internet content filters in your upcoming retrial of the Child Online Protection Act. As a librarian, my first impulse was to agree to testify, because I have a professional responsibility to share information impartially, regardless of the user's intention. I believe information is a public good, and that no information is in itself harmful. As an expert on the topic of Internet content filters, I was very tempted to reemphasize the points I made in legal testimony as well as in my book, A Practical Guide to Internet Filters. However, after reviewing the information you shared with me regarding the government's intent with respect to COPA, I realized that testifying about the defects of Internet content filters would actually be in conflict with my professional responsibility. I have worked with children, I have used the Internet for ten years, and I understand what open access to the Internet implies. In the course of analyzing Internet filters, I have seen quite a bit of objectionable content on the Internet. Nevertheless, I believe the true danger to children would not come from exposing them to an unfettered information medium of such magnitude that it has become a matter-of-fact part of daily life for a majority of Americans. The greater harm would come from weakening the First Amendment to the point where children would grow up to become adults in a shrunken, compromised democracy, deprived of the freedoms we now enjoy. In terms of obligations, I owe it to the people who wrote the First Amendment to assume they knew what they were doing. As someone with no legal skills whatsoever, I apologize for my hubris in analyzing the Constitution, but I have to believe there is a reason why our founders left its wording so broad. They were not stupid men, and they were not in a hurry. They knew that intellectual freedom is a delicate ecosystem, easily subject to destruction by those who do not understand the law of unintended consequences. They were also aware that if it were left up to individuals or special-interest groups, there would be very little information available to anyone, ever. Their guidance rings with prescient clarity: "make no law." I take these words as literal guidance. Finally, as a lesbian, it saddens me to think that the Department of Justice would deny teenagers access to "objectionable" information until they were 17. I know what it means to be labeled "objectionable." Many people would describe me that way. Gay teenagers have enough trouble coming to terms with their sexual orientation without finding out that the government has banished information about their very existence into the same realm as cheap pornography. My research into Internet filters points out the disquieting reality that when third parties intervene to decide what others should see, oppressed minorities sufferand homosexuals are a favorite target of any group attempting to regulate what others can see. I do not trust the federal government to allow children access to age-appropriate gay-themed websites when it cannot stomach concepts as simple and mundane as an openly gay person serving her country, or two people of the same gender choosing to marry. Think again about the law of unintended consequences. Matthew Shepard died because two young men grew up believing people like Matthew are "objectionable." Again, if the government is truly concerned about protecting children, what does it have to say to Matthew's mother? Teaching children that homosexuality is "objectionable" will only lead to a rise in hate crimesand contributing to an increase in crime conflicts with your professional responsibilities. Ms. Walker, in several years there will be new technological concerns and challenges. The promise of the next-generation Internet includes a directory structure so rich and complex that children will not be able to stumble into sex sites any more than I can wander onto 42nd Street in Manhattan from my house in Albany. In the meantime, I regretfully decline to provide testimony for your trial. Sincerely, Karen G. Schneider Author, A Practical Guide to Internet Filters _____________________________________________________________________________top 8. ACTION ALERT Depository Program in Jeopardy House FY2001 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill Cuts Program by 61% IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED On May 9, the House Appropriations Committee approved a drastic cut of 61% in the FY2001 budget for the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). This was included in a 25.3% cut in the FY 2001 Government Printing Office (GPO) budget, which is part of the FY 2001 Legislative Branch appropriations bill. Only the GPO Access web site would be funded, and all paper and other tangible publications and 85 positions would be eliminated. The severe cuts would decimate the Federal Depository Library Program. The House will vote on the Legislative Branch appropriations bill on Thursday, May 18. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED NOW. Please call or fax a short letter to your representative to urge him or her to OPPOSE the cuts and to vote for COMPLETE FUNDING of the GPO budget at $115.3 million, including the FDLP at $34.5 million. Provide your representative information that relates how your depository library serves the constituents of your state and Congressional district. In addition to providing the local examples, please draw from the * talking points <http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/GODORT/2001approtalking.html> * fact sheets, and * sample letters <http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/GODORT/2001approletters.html> available from the Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) action alert page <http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/GODORT/2001appro.html>. Larry Romans GODORT Chair Total GPO Appropriations: FY00: $103.2 million FY01 requested $115.3 million; Appropriation Committee recommended level: $77.1 million; Total reduction: $26.1 million (25.3%) FDLP and Other S & E Appropriations: FY00: $29.9 million FY01 requested: $34.5 million; Appropriation Committee recommended level: $11.6 million; Total reduction: $18.3 million (61%) Larry Romans, Political Science Bibliographer and Head, Government Information Services, Central Library, Vanderbilt University, 419 - 21st Ave. South Nashville TN 37240-0007 phone (615) 322-2838; FAX (615) 343-7451 E-mail (office): romans[at]LIBRARY.vanderbilt.edu E-mail (home): larry.romans[at]home.com _____________________________________________________________________________top 9. The ALA OIF home page has a new address Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 11:36:11 -0500 From: "Don Wood" <dwood[at]ala.org> To: Intellectual Freedom Action News <ifaction[at]ala1.ala.org> Subject: [IFACTION:854] The OIF Home Page Has a New Address The OIF home page has a new address: http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/index.html Although http://www.ala.org/oif.html is directed automatically to our new address, please use/link to the new address. Thank you. In addition, "Other Useful Links" (http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/index.html#links) on the home page has been renamed "Organizations, References, and What You Can Do." New links under "What You Can Do" include those to four new pages: "Coalitions Against Censorship" http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/coalitions.html "Dealing with Challenges" http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/dealingwithchallenges.html "Reporting a Challenge" http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/reporting.html "The Internet: For Children and Their Parents" http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/children.html _________________________ Don Wood American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom _____________________________________________________________________________top 10. May issue of American Libraries Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 01:12:04 -0400 To: ALA Council List <alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org> From: Mark Rosenzweig <iskra[at]earthlink.net> Subject: [ALACOUN:4694] MAY ISSUE OF AMERICAN LIBRARIES Cc: plgnet-l[at]listproc.sjsu.edu, srrtac-l[at]ala.org, gordonflagg[at]ala.org Dear Colleagues, I want to thank Kathleen de la Pena McCook for the section of the American Libraries May 2000 issue which she put together as Guest Editor. Laudably (although not unexpectedly), she used her guest editorship in the spirit of librarianship's historic social commitments, to try to raise consciousness about an issue paid much lip-service but scarcely ever seriously confronted: libraries' responsibilities to poor people. Her tribute to Sanford Berman's effort's in this cause, as expressed in her editorial introducing the issue, and her acknowledgement of the importortance of the SRRT Task Force he founded (Hunger, Homelessness and Poverty Task Force), remind us of how, in these times, advocates for the disempowered are all too few and, despite their professional distinction, often themselves marginalized, abused and victimized as Berman has been, despite his reknown and reputation, for being a public exponent of daring to think and act like librarianship can and must make a difference. De la Pena McCook is to be applauded for her efforts. I - and I imagine many others - am profoundly impressed, moved and, most of all, aroused to action by the provocative articles she chose for her special issue. The irony is, that the thirteen pages in American Libraries, devoted to the cause of librarianship in the service of the least powerful, the most needy, is followed by ten pages of the "Reference" section given over to what seems to me to be the exact opposite "point of view": that the web-enabled are our most important target clientele, that the online services which elude the grasp of the poor are the primary focus of development in provision of information resources, and that fees for services are necessary, justified and ethical , even in the face of all that De la Pena McCook raises in the first half of the issue. Add to that the ever-execrable soi-disant "humorist" Will Manley in his "Will's World" (yes, I know he's suposed to be the height of hilarity) talking about cataloging, an area that Sanford Berman, as is well known, thought was key to enabling access for minorities, the poor, the working stiffs,. Manley declaims, from his accumulated wisdom, "Do you really want catalogers to be thinking outside the box? Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I want my catalogers to be inside the box, cranking out work so that the new books can get on the shelf and into the hands of patrons." So much for cataloging contributiong to broader access to diverse populations! It's also interesting that this May issue of American Libraries, suposedly devoted to "Reaching Out to Poor People", opens, not with De la Pena McCook's editorial but - right after the Table of Contents - with an advertisement from EBSCO which PURPOSELY has been made to look exactly like an American Libraries editorial! Well, all's fair in love, war and advertising. Obviously EBSCO gets the placement it can pay for --and screw the ostensible theme of the issue. The real theme is "the market rules". The on-going corporatization of ALA, symbolized by this ad placement, as well as by the recent appearance of commercial advertisements on the ALA web page, by the whole change in the ethos of ALA as registered in the discussion of core values which basically indicates a refusal to publicly continue an advocacy position with respect to "social" issues, all this, along with the other things I've noted above about the AL issue in question, stand in sharp contrast to what Kathleen's editorial efforts try to promote. Her position is allowed to be expressed only to be overwhelmingly negated, not by argument but by overall context. This in no way reflects upon Kathleen's efforts . Her section, in itself, is great. It is just to indicates how something like what she has to put forward can only be done in the mainstream media if it is literally enveloped in the miasma of business-as-usual thinking which accepts poverty as a fact of life about which we can do little or nothing and embraces "the market" as the principal arbiter of social and professional values.. Mark Rosenzweig ALA Councilor at large .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 08:21:51 -0500 From: "James B. Casey" <jimcasey[at]lib.oak-lawn.il.us> Mark Rosenzweig wrote: (excerpt): "This in no way reflects upon Kathleen's efforts . Her section, in itself, is great. It is just to indicates how something like what she has to put forward can only be done in the mainstream media if it is literally enveloped in the miasma of business-as-usual thinking which accepts poverty as a fact of life about which we can do little or nothing and embraces "the market" as the principal arbiter of social and professional values." ------------------------------------- Councilor Rosenszweig attempt to stereotype the poor as penniless, helpless folk who are absolutely disconnected from the cyber-mainstream is so well expressed that I almost believed what he was saying for a moment or two. The marketplace isn't the villain as much as it is the reality and the revolutionary changes brought about have boosted employment opportunities and expanded horizons for many. Schools and libraries are making computer literacy a "power of the people" (at least in this country) and helping to bring the world closer together. Sometimes, as with the Gates Foundation efforts, schools and libraries are getting help from those who have occasionally been villified by some Members of Council. The stereotypes, sacred cows and slogans of the 1960s just don't "cut it" anymore when it comes to social justice. We have to work harder to balance budgets to buy books and bytes, serve all patrons rather than objectify and feel sorry for groups them at a time, and play politics in a world where the results are more important than conceptions of moral and ideological purity. Librarians won't get to ge good enough at politics and money to close the digital divide until they stop lusting after martyrdom and sainthood. James B. Casey --- Councilor-at-Large. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 11:08:24 -0400 From: "Maurice J. Freedman" <freedman[at]wls.lib.ny.us> Dear Colleagues, I don't wish to respond to anything but the first portion of Councilor Casey's first sentence, "[Mark's] attempt to stereotype the poor as penniless..." If we can understand the word 'penniless' in any way other than 'without pennies', by definition the poor are without means, and in many case are 'penniless' in the absolute sense of the work, i.e. 'without even a cent of money'. It's not just a stereotype of the poor, it is a fact. Councilor Casey can debate whether or not 'all' poor people are 'helpless folk' and 'absolutely disconnected from the cyber-mainstream', but it will take little research--just walk the mean streets of big and small cities in the USA--to see and know that there are far too many people who are all three, 'penniless, helpless, & disconnected from cyber-mainstream'. I apologize to those who might feel that attempting to correct such a foolish statement was unnecessary, but I just was in NYC for the IOLS National Online Show and placed some money in the blanket of a homeless person wrapped in an army blanket, sleeping on an assemblage of flattened cartons next to the ramp of the parking garage in which I parked. One could interpret him as not being penniless because I stuffed a $10 bill into the blanket; and of course being literally across the street from the National Online Show's hotel, he was closer to that cyber-stream than almost all of the members of the ALA Council. I don't know if he planned to walk down the block to NYPL's nearby Donnell Library Center to use the Internet, but I can say with a high degree of certitude that this man was poor and would shortly be penniless, and very much likely outside the cyber-mainstream. By the way, if anyone wants a better example of the ridiculous differences in distribution of the new wealth, the parking fee for six hours at 53rd & 6th was $55. The homeless man's location next to the garage's ramp provided a contrast that was reminiscent of the depression billboard of the family in their shiny new car and the long line of unemployed men waiting in a soup line. mitch .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Date: Mon, 22 May 2000 11:36:40 -0500 From: "James B. Casey" <jimcasey[at]lib.oak-lawn.il.us> "Maurice J. Freedman" wrote (excerpt): "Councilor Casey can debate whether or not 'all' poor people are 'helpless folk' and 'absolutely disconnected from the cyber-mainstream', but it will take little research--just walk the mean streets of big and small cities in the USA--to see and know that there are far too many people who are all three, 'penniless, helpless, & disconnected from cyber-mainstream'." ---------------------------------------------------- One doesn't need to "walk the mean streets" to see the ravages of poverty. The poor and homeless are often patrons using our Library facilities. Nor does it take much imagination to conjure up situations where Dr. Friedman, Councilor Rosenszweig and I might find ourselves, by twist of fortune, reduced to homelessness and utter poverty. It could happen to any of us. I would think that hope and a way up and out of that difficulty would be more useful than a handout of cash or sympathy. Libraries can do much and a great deal more to provide a bridge over the digital divide and ladder of hope for the less fortunate. But this can only be accomplished if Libraries have the political and financial saavy to keep their doors open, keep their service desks staffed, and keep their books and bytes resources up to date. Being doctrinaire and self righteous in our approaches won't help. Libraries can charge fees for cost recovery and also have rules, devices and procedures in place which allow those barriers to be lowered quickly and unobtrusively as staff determine need. But if we turn our backs on cost recovery on the theory that any fee is an "economic barrier" we are effectively cutting ourselves off from the ability to secure the resources needed to provide the help to those who are less fortunate. Libraries can exploit the competition and innovation of the private sector to develop more cost effective service and thereby reinvest public money into improvement of service to all patrons. If Librarians are open to such possibilities, they can latch on to opportunity. If Librarians close their minds to the marketplace. . . . . James B. Casey --- Councilor-at-Large .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. From: "Therese (Therese Bigelow)" <therese[at]kclibrary.org> To: ALA Council List <alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org> I have been reading the discussion among Mark, Mitch and Jim and want to briefly throw in my two cents worth and then head for the hills. I am not aware of any private, college, university, school or community college that provides the resources to the homeless that public libraries are currently providing--a place to read and be away from the elements and to the Internet through free email accounts like HotMail. While being empathetic to those who "walk those mean streets" I also feel some empathy for public libraries where the homeless have taken over the reading areas and the computers. If this issue is worth discussing by Council on this list, the discussion needs to be focused around libraries, in particular public libraries. We should acknowledge the services libraries are currently providing and also give guidance on dealing with the issues that arise from that service. And I will mention that PLA does have a group that focuses on Library Services to the Homeless so we might want to hear from them. Or if the discussion is really about what is appropriate or inappropriate for publishing in American Libraries, we should focus discussion there. Therese Bigelow .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Date: Tue, 23 May 2000 22:27:14 -0400 To: alacoun[at]ala.org From: Mark Rosenzweig <iskra[at]earthlink.net> Subject: "Reaching Out to Poor People"? I can't help but point this out. I spoke before about the ironies of the May issue of American Libraries. There is something I overlooked (besides not commending Acting Editor Gordon Flagg for his excellent editorial on "Hooking up the Homeless"). Have you noticed the cover of the "Reaching Out to Poor People" issue? It is worth looking at more closely. One doesn't have to be a sophisticated semiotician to "read" the image on the cover and the messages it wordlessly, yet powerfully, conveys. It speaks volumes of deeply held attitudes and assumed frames of reference which affect our practices in the real world. The graphic image on the cover is so patently condescending one can hardly call it analysis to point this out. It is not a subtle thing. The paternalistic literalism of "reaching out" (in the form of reaching down) as embodied in this image. The hand on top - white, male, in a dress white shirt, scrupulously clean. The hand on the bottom, filthy, male, in a tattered and torn black sweatshirt. Let's see: how many cliches can we fit in one image? The white, male librarian in the white shirt, in an overwhelmingly female profession where most of the "reaching out" is done by women. The (once again) male hand of the poor person who is not only "poor" but filthy and in rags, as if the face of poverty is only that of a completely destitute, single male, rather than mostly of women and children in various circumstances, including those of victims of racially institutionalized poverty in the ghettos and the hidden poverty of the "working poor". White shirt on top, black shirt on bottom. One reaching down, the other reaching up. Need I say more. Somebody's cultural unconsciousis showing! One picture is worth a thousand words. Especially when it's an ever-so-carefully chosen image on the cover of a magazine. You say "Political correctness run amok! You just can't win with these "social responsibilities" people! We give 'em an issue with "POOR PEOPLE"on the cover and they're STILL not satisfied! What do they want!????" How about acting on the Poor Peoples Policy that ALA passed but never really put into practice.? How about showing at least a modicum of sensitivity to the fact that an image like that on the cover of AL is offensive and runs counter to the message of the ostensible theme of the issue? Mark Rosenzweig Councilor at large _____________________________________________________________________________top 11. Recent Letter from Sanford Berman to Library of Congress May 3, 2000 Chief Cataloging Policy & Support Office Library of Congress Washington, DC 20540 Dear Colleague, Kindly advise when you intend to replace the inaccurate and inauthentic ethnonym, GYPSIES, with either ROMA or ROMANIES. (Hennepin County Library did this many years ago.) Expectantly, Sanford Berman 4400 Morningside Road Edina, MN 55416 612-925-5738 P.S. Still awaiting a reply to my 3-31-00 note regarding the long-overdue substitution of DALITS for UNTOUCHABLES. _____________________________________________________________________________top 12. Miss Charlotte Brown, Librarian, Goes Mad http://people.english.ohio-state.edu/jung.71/librarian.htm An animated poem. _____________________________________________________________________________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. 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