Library Juice 3:23

Library Juice 3:23 - June 14, 2000 Contents: 1. Editorial on the Core Values Statement 2. International Center for Information Ethics (ICIE) 3. IPPY Awards 4. Librarians in a coalition on scholarly publishing 5. A Zine-ography 6. Luddite Reader 7. 2000 Eubanks Award winner announced 8. Kaczynski papers in the Labadie Collection 9. Real hardware store, real library? a wrenching experience 10. Letter to Library Juice on xrefer.com 11. CFP on ILL software 12. NewJour 13. Pakistani LIS book on the web 14. SOL and PLUS - sites for Spanish in (US) libraries 15. BURN server shut down 16. A.Word.A.Day 17. Literature Abuse: America's Hidden Problem Quote for the week: "The Way of the Library is like the bending of the bow. The high is lowered and the low is raised. If the string is too long, it is shortened; If there is not enough, it is made longer. The Way of the Library is to take from those who have enough for the benefit of the entire community." >From "The Librarian's Lau Tzu: The Book of the Library and Its Ways," by Andy Barnett http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Nook/8823/lao_tzu.html Homepage of the week: The BiblioBitch http://internettrash.com/users/bibliobitch/ ____________________________________________________________________________top 1. Editorial on the Core Values Statement The Core Values Statement is currently being debated on the ALA Council listserv. it apparently has enough supporters to pass if a vote were taken today, despite the lack of a clear need or reason for the statement. As a referesher, here is the basic statement being considered: - Connection of people to ideas - Assurance of free and open access to recorded knowledge, information, and creative works. - Commitment to literacy and learning - Respect for the individuality and the diversity of all people - Freedom for all people to form, to hold, and to express their own beliefs - Preservation of the human record - Excellence in professional service to our communities - Formation of partnerships to advance these values Official interpretations of these values have been proposed and are available at the website: http://www.ala.org/congress/corevalues/draft5.html This statement expresses "values" that it would be hard to imagine someone disagreeing with, and in that sense they are hardly meaningful as values. The resulting document is accordingly uninspiring and unchallenging. While the Core Values Statement would not repeal the Library Bill of Rights, it would take its place as the, well, the primary statement of the core values of the profession. The Library Bill of Rights, by contrast, is an inspiring statement of what a librarian is and the nature of her value to society. Five years ago, I took a job as an extra-hire library assistant in the Marin County Free Library System. I had reached the point in my life where I really needed to chose a career, and I was considering law, but feeling very uneasy about the prospect. In my job as a library assistant I happened to run across a copy of the Library Bill of Rights, and was truly inspired by it. I saw the meaning that librarianship could have, and it was part of the reason I decided to pursue librarianship as a career. I did not want just any job. If it had been the Core Values Statement that I found in that filing cabinet (or anywhere else), it would not even have inspired my attention. I would have read it, or just scanned it, and not found anything memorable in it. I wouldn't have gotten the impression that it "meant it," because it sounds like the kind of language generated by marketing departments, which we all recognize and appropriately ignore as so much background noise. As a result, I would have been left with the impression that librarianship is just another job. If the Core Values Statement is adopted, I am afraid that its complacency and unassertiveness will have the effect of diminishing the identity of the profession in the eyes of those whom it aims to educate about what we do. It would be far better to freshly promote the Library Bill of Rights in a major, popular campaign, and to turn to it to resolve ALA's questions about our Core Values. As a refresher, here is the Library Bill of Rights, a clear and sufficient statement of our Core Values: The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services. I.Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation. II.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. III.Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment. IV.Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas. V.A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views. VI.Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use. The Library Bill of Rights doesn't state that we "connect people and ideas" because this really doesn't need to be stated, if indeed it states anything meaningful. Here is a link to the web version of the Library Bill of Rights and its interpretations: http://www.ala.org/work/freedom/lbr.html Rory Litwin ____________________________________________________________________________top 2. International Center for Information Ethics (ICIE) http://v.hbi-stuttgart.de/~capurro/icie-index.html mirrored in the US at: http://www.library.yale.edu/icie http://www.infoethics.net >From the website: "This is an academic website on information ethics. It is a platform for exchanging information about worldwide teaching and research in our field. It gives the opportunity to meet each other. It provides news on ongoing activities by different kinds of organizations. And it is free. The success of this website depends on the will of the people interested in this subject to share their knowledge with others." ____________________________________________________________________________top 3. IPPY Awards Winners and Finalists in the Independent Publisher Book Awards 2000 have been chosen, the Ten Outstanding Books of the Year have been named, and $5000 in prize money has been awarded. For a complete listing of the Winner and two Finalists in each of the 48 categories and a listing of the Ten Outstanding Books of the Year go to the web site at http://www.independentpublisher.com/ipaward.lasso . The 2000 Independent Publisher Book Awards again proved that independent publishing is alive and well, and heading in a very positive direction. From cover design and illustration to concept and writing style, this year's entrants exhibited the highest publishing standards imaginable. During this, the fourth year of the "Ippy Awards," the judging choices were difficult as always. We wish we could recognize even more of the participating titles--all 550 publishers that entered deserve accolades for their excellent work. Congratulations to all participants in this year's Ippy Awards! ____________________________________________________________________________top 4. Librarians in a coalition on scholarly publishing This article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed. is free on the website: THE CRISIS IN SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING: A coalition of librarians, university administrators, scholars, and publishers has recommended nine steps to fix what they call a "broken system." --> SEE http://chronicle.com/free/v46/i41/41a01601.htm ____________________________________________________________________________top 5. A Zine-ography: An annotated list of books and articles about zines compiled by Chris Dodge. http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/7423/zineog2.html ____________________________________________________________________________top 6. Luddite Reader Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 06:31:20 -0600 Reply-To: jtmcc[at]uswest.net To: Rory[at]libr.org Subject: Take a look at the Luddite Reader... Take a look at the Luddite Reader... http://www.ludditereader.com and Wrong Minus Nine http://www.ludditereader.com/404/wrong.htm ____________________________________________________________________________top 7. 2000 Eubanks Award winner announced The Alternatives in Print Task Force of the American Library Association's Social Responsibilities Round Table has awarded the Jackie Eubanks Memorial Award to Daniel C. Tsang, Social Sciences Librarian Bibliographer and Manager of the Social Science Data Archives at the University of California, Irvine Library. The Jackie Eubanks Memorial Award honors the late Jackie Eubanks, former Alternatives in Print Task Force member and vigorous champion of alternative views in Library collections. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in promoting the acquisition and use of alternative materials in libraries. The $500 award was donated by past ALA and SRRT member Sandy Berman, and will be presented by ALA Councilor and SRRT Action Council member Mark Rosenzweig during the ALA annual conference in July 2000 in Chicago. Byron Anderson, chair of the event, explained that "Daniel Tsang was selected for this award because of his long-term leadership in the Alternatives in Print Task Force, and his indefatigable advocacy of the alternative press. The years of activity and advocacy in alternative media have had a cumulative effect as a result of Tsang's involvement. He is currently a contributing writer at OC Weekly (part of the Village Voice chain) and hosts two of his own weekly alternative radio programs, "Subversity" and "Alternative News", on KUCI at the University of California, at Irvine. He maintains an extensive Alternative Research Web site at http://go.fast.to/ar/, and is a past coordinator of the Alternatives in Print Task Force. Tsang has been a bibliographer at the University of California, Irvine since 1986. He selects materials in Asian American Studies, Economics and Political Science, and is the Social Sciences Data Librarian. He was formerly Research Librarian on the Alternative Acquisitions Project at Temple University. His articles have appeared in such alternative publications as Asian Week, SRRT Newsletter, Public Eye, CovertAction Quarterly, Rice Paper, and Gay News. He has contributed to Voices from the Underground, Ken Wachsberger, editor (Tempe, AZ: Mica Press, 1986). He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Homosexuality and the advisory board of the Alternative Press Center. Satia Marshall Orange, Director Office for Literacy and Outreach Services American Library Association 50 East Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611 312-280-4295 E-mail: sorange[at]ala.org http://www.ala.org/olos ____________________________________________________________________________top 8. Kaczynski papers in the Labadie Collection http://aa.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/20000603atedletter.frm Julie Herrada of the Labadie Collection at the University of Michigan has scored a coup with the papers of Ted Kaczynski, written while in prison. The collection is obviously growing as long as Ted is in prison. It includes drafts of papers as well as personal letters to and from members of the public. Julie Herrada is the co-winner of the 1999 Eubanks Award for the Labadie Collection. ____________________________________________________________________________top 9. Real hardware store, real library? a wrenching experience Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 20:51:31 -0700 (PDT) From: "Thomas J. Hennen Jr." <thennen[at]haplr-index.com> To: publib <publib[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu> Subject: Real hardware store, real library? a wrenching experience I was busy Saturday, so my wife went to the hardware store for me. She was going to get this special wrench I needed but couldn't name, so I described it for her. She went to one of those mega stores, you know, a Barnes and Noble for tools. She came back and said, they didn't have the wrench I wanted- or at least the kid who tried to help didn't think so. She guessed that I would have to go to a REAL HARDWARE STORE. Unfortunately the REAL Hardware Store in our neighborhood closed down and the only other one in town is all the way across town. A real hardware store has more than just tools and hardware, of course. It is a source of expertise and advice on all those household projects that we weekend warriors attempt. They don't have unknowledgeble clerks with Metallica t-shirts that know more about MP-3s than socket sets. They have people who can help you with getting that plumbing project right or finding the right size carriage bolt. That type of hardware store seems to be quickly fading as the mega stores take over and few will mind when they get amazonned, I would guess. When I lived in Minnesota, I used to go to the local hardware store just to shoot the breeze. I was happy to pay more because the owner was so friendly and knowledgeable. If you are ever in St. James, MN, go to the Coast to Coast store and see for yourself. The store is at: 423 1st Ave S St James, MN (507) 375-4151 Sorry, no URL, I guess they are too busy serving people! As with hardware, so with libraries? Perhaps. Will I be able to keep going to a real library, where real people with real experience can help? Please God, make it so. Its not just the books and information, its the people helping people that make a library. The net is important and work it we must, but if its all virtual, well, it will be a very wrenching experience. Posted at LISNews.com as well. Thomas J. Hennen Jr. http://www.haplr-index.com 6014 Spring Street Racine,WI 53406 Voice: 414-886-1625 Fax: 414-886-5424 thennen[at]haplr-index.com ____________________________________________________________________________top 10. Letter to Library Juice on xrefer.com From: "Mary Ann Meyers" <ljmmam[at]hypermall.net> To: <Rory[at]libr.org> Subject: xrefer.com Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 16:22:14 -0500 Dear Rory, Today I posted several questions on PubLib in re the quality of weblinks/resource selection on a site called LibraryCard.com. My questions related to the qualifications of the selectors, to their somewhat difficult-to-find statement that the links were "safe" for families and children and the meaning of this statement in terms of filtering, and to the extent of their commercial interests in producing this website. I just finished looking at xrefer.com, which you excerpted from the Internet Scout Report. There was some better authority shown in the xrefer site's alliance with publishers and sources well-known to the library community. LibraryCard is what I would best describe as coy in describing its methods for resource inclusion. Xrefer.com certainly is more up-front about its commercial intents than is LibraryCard.com. Xrefer.com offers itself as the web's first reference search engine and claims to offer complex cross-referencing across a number of well-known resources in order to provide "authoritative factual information." What disturbs me about xrefer is the fact that it, like LibraryCard, is being promoted to the library community through listservs like PubLib or through journals such as yours or chosen by the well-described members of the Internet Scout selection team--but where is the participation of professionally-trained librarians noted? Are librarians trained to do resource and site selection hired by Xrefer or LibraryCard? Who did the multiple resource cross-referencing for Xrefer and what are their qualifications? I tried one search on Xrefer which claims cross-referencing across dictionaries and encyclopedias, etc. I searched under the keyword "xeriscape," and the response was that they couldn't find any entries that matched my search and I should try more general search terms. If I don't know what xeriscape is, how can I provide them with more general search terms? According to http://www.xeriscape.org/xeriscape.html, "Xeriscape is a systematic concept for saving water in landscaped areas." Cordially, Mary Ann Meyers ljmmam[at]hypermall.net ____________________________________________________________________________top 11. CFP on ILL software From: "Leslie R. Morris" <morrislr[at]niagara.edu> To: "Document Delivery" <DocDel[at]DocDel.com>; <ILL-L[at]listserv.acns.nwu.edu> Sent: Friday, June 09, 2000 11:47 AM Subject: ill management software The Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Information Supply is always looking for articles concerning the ILL software systems below. Even if we have published articles previously, the software evolves over time, so that new data is needed. Although technical articles are good, experiences with selection, installation and operation are also useful. Unlike the recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education demonstrating the sheer nastiness of some article reviewers, The Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Information Supply does not allow nasty or unfair behavior on the part of referees. Our reviewers are fair and supportive. We all want to publish, but we have a million reasons to delay. The largest impediment to publishing is just not starting. As Nike says, "JUST DO IT." Leslie R. Morris Editor The Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Information Supply 54 Northwood Dr. Lancaster, NY 14043 USA 716-686-0906 morrislr[at]niagara.edu ____________________________________________________________________________top 12. NewJour I occassionally post e-journal announcements I collect from the NewJour list. Here is a description from the web site: NewJour aims to accomplish two objectives; it is both a list and a project. FIRST: NewJour is the place to announce your own (or to forward information about others') newly planned, newly issued, or revised ELECTRONIC NETWORKED journal or newsletter. It is specially dedicated for those who wish to share information in the planning, gleam-in-the-eye stage or at a more mature stage of publication development and availability. It is also the place to announce availability of paper journals and newsletters as they become available on -- move into -- electronic networks. Scholarly discussion lists which regularly and continuously maintain supporting files of substantive articles or preprints may also be reported, for those journal-like sections. We hope that those who see announcements on Bitnet, Internet, Usenet or other media will forward them to NewJour, but this does run a significant risk of boring subscribers with a number of duplicate messages. Therefore, NewJour IS filtered through a moderator to eliminate this type of duplication. It does not attempt to cover areas that are already covered by other lists. For example, sources like NEW-LIST describe new discussion lists; VPIEJ-L handles many matters related to electronic publishing of journals. SERIALST discusses the technical aspects of all kinds of serials. You should continue to subscribe to these as you have done before, and contribute to them. SECOND: NewJour represents an identification and road-mapping project for electronic journals and newsletters, begun by Michael Strangelove, University of Ottawa and carried on by the Association of Research Libraries as of 1993. NewJour has expanded and continued that work and is now formally separate from the ongoing ARL Directory project, whose evolving web verion may be found at: http://arl.cni.org/scomm/edir/index.html ARCHIVE The backfiles of NewJour are archived and searchable through the kindness of the James Jacobs of the University of California (San Diego) library, and may be found at http://gort.ucsd.edu/newjour. ____________________________________________________________________________top 13. Pakistani LIS book on the web WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT YOU CAN READ THE FIRST PAKISTANI LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE BOOK ON THE WEB. Samdani, Rais Ahmed and Khalid Mahmood. Periodical Literature in Library and Information Science: An Index of 50 Years' Work in Pakistan (1947-1997). Karachi : Pakistan Bibliographical Working Group, 1999. xv, 182p. PBWG Publication No.12. ISBN 969-8170-04-9. Web Version Available at: http://www.angelfire.com/ma3/mahmoodkhalid Please send your comments to: Khalid Mahmood Lecturer Department of Library & Information Science University of the Punjab, Lahore, PAKISTAN. Email: mahmoodkhalid[at]hotmail.com or Rais Ahmed Samdani Librarian Government College for Men Nazimabad, Karachi, PAKISTAN. Email: samdani020[at]yahoo.com ____________________________________________________________________________top 14. SOL and PLUS - sites for Spanish in (US) libraries Both of these sites seem to be from Bruce Jensen .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. SOL - Spanish In Our Libraries Spanish in Our Libraries (SOL) is a project supported by the Oregon State Library, the Silver Falls Library (in beautiful Silverton, Oregon, the heart of the rich agricultural Willamette Valley), and the University of California, Los Angeles. SOL recognizes that many public, prison, and school libraries with a growing Spanish-speaking patron base need ready access to resources that can help them better serve their communities. The first phase of the SOL project includes a moderated online discussion list, with mailings issued sparingly. All are welcome to participate by asking questions, suggesting solutions, and describing events and service strategies; there are no linguistic, ethnic, nor professional barriers on the SOL discussion list. To sign up, simply send a message to flaco[at]ucla.edu; you'll get a quick reply and an invitation to introduce yourself to the list. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. PLUS - Public Libraries Using Spanish Archiving and linking Spanish-language materials of use to public libraries http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Thebes/8107/ Many public libraries are constrained in their efforts to attract and serve Spanish-speaking patrons because they lack staff members capable of performing translation and outreach work. PLUS seeks to lend a hand by gathering useful, downloadable documents that can help you make your library a more welcoming place for Spanish-speakers. Card applications, brochures, policy statements, signage text, press releases and news articles--all in Spanish with a side-by-side English translation--will be collected here and are yours to use as you see fit. Bruce Jensen 7056 Lanewood Ave. #9 Los Angeles, CA 90028 USA 323-463-2393 flaco[at]ucla.edu ____________________________________________________________________________top 15. BURN server shut down Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 04:49:22 -0700 From: Arm The Spirit <ats[at]locust.etext.org> Subject: BURN Web Site Shut Down Statement From The BURN! Collective June 2, 2000 The BURN! project has had a home in the UCSD communication department since April 1993. During this time, we have become a source of unique materials created by a wide variety of social movements from all over the world. A few weeks ago, right-wing groups in Colombia began a letter-writing campaign aimed at getting our server shut down. On May 31, with no explanation whatsoever and less than 24 hours advance notice to us, our server was disconnected and our hostname removed from campus DNS servers. We have no way to contact many of our users to even explain to them what is happening. But we have a lot of support, and we're still optimistic about getting our server's connection restored within the communication department. We are very interested in offers of legal assistance. Letters to Carol Padden, the communication department chair are also very helpful. Please send copies to us, and to Richard Atkinson, the UC president, who, we understand, phoned the department chair and pressured her into pulling our plug. We are presently working on setting up mirrors in various places. Stay tuned. You can reach the BURN! Collective here: burn[at]groundwork.ucsd.edu Send public messages to our mailing-list: burn-censored[at]groundwork.ucsd.edu List archives contain information about BURN!, background information on our situation, and breaking news. You can read them here: http://groundwork.ucsd.edu/pipermail/burn-censored/ [ATS Note: We've been scrambling to adapt to this new situation and have only just been able to sort out getting ATS-L going again (we were/are experiencing other problems unrelated to to the BURN! closure). We will continue to stand alongside our friends and comrades in the BURN! collective and will struggle alongside them to get the BURN! site back. We also wish to express our ongoing solidarity with the FARC-EP and the Colombian people in struggle. Venceremos! - Arm The Spirit, June 8, 2000] .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. BURN! CENSORED: NOW UP AGAIN AT GROUNDWORK see: http://groundwork.ucsd.edu/burn http://www.sindominio.net/burn Groundwork Books La Jolla, California June 9, 2000 After seven years online, the UCSD Communication department chair Carol Padden has censored the project hosted at burn.ucsd.edu. She has made her decision against the wishes of the majority of department faculty and graduate students and without consulting or even informing any of the department faculty or students involved with the project, reportedly under pressures from the UC president Richard Atkinson. No explanation or justification for the shutdown was given, nor was any opportunity for a hearing or reconsideration of the decision. Host records were simultaneously removed from campus DNS servers, rendering burn.ucsd.edu nonexistent. Only a few hours advance warning was given to BURN! project representatives, leaving them no way to even contact most system users to inform them of what had happened or to arrange for moving to another address. When students retrieved the server hardware from the department chair's office, the CPU board no longer functioned and the Master Boot Record on the primary hard drive had been damaged. After ordering the machine offline, the department chair left on a trip to Finland for two weeks. The other faculty and graduate students have spent the last week debating what to do. >From informal communication with people in the department, and from statements by UCSD's campus spin doctors, we know that the University had received some complaints about BURN.UCSD.EDU from right-wing elements in Colombia, who objected to BURN's publication of information on the FARC-EP (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo), and found in this an excuse for censorship. The university also claims that they didn't know who was responsible for the server, and therefore had no place to direct these complaints. This is patently false. More than ten BURN! members attended a department course-group meeting late last year, where they formally designated one student to be their official liason with the department. Last fall, a memo was also sent to the current department chair reminding her of who this designated representative was, and providing contact information. Both paper and email copies of this memo were also given to each department faculty member. Also, the BURN! main homepage had a large disclaimer explaining that BURN is a student project and that the university and communication department are not responsible for its contents. E-mail addresses to contact the BURN! project appeared prominently in several places, as well as hyperlinks to a web-based "corkboard" for public comments. In addition, the standard e-mail addresses postmaster[at]burn.ucsd.edu and webmaster[at]burn.ucsd.edu have always functioned and were monitored. By making these claims, university administrators are trying to obscure their eager complicity with right-wing Colombian elites in censoring the views of the FARC-EP and denying everyone access to the many other unique and hard-to-find resources published on BURN! Because The Groundwork Collective opposes censorship, we have decided to publish the materials formerly hosted on burn.ucsd.edu when it had its home in the UCSD communication department. The Groundwork Collective does this for two reasons: first and foremost, we are opposed to censorship of any kind and it is dangerous to allow anyone get away with it for any reason; second, the Groundwork Collective has been a registered student organization at UCSD for over 25 years and has a binding legal contract with the university. As such, the university cannot possibly claim that it does not have a place of contact to direct complaints against the site. There should now be no reason for censorship of any kind as the Groundwork Collective has formally responded to all official concerns supposedly created by the previous publication of the site. If they now try to censor the Grounwork Collective, it will be interesting to see how the university's excuses change. In the event we are censored, there are webpages at http://www.sindominio.net/burn http://groundwork.ucsd.edu/burn Listing current information on where BURN! can be found. Yours in struggle, Groundwork Collective <gwbooks[at]groundwork.ucsd.edu> .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Letter from Mark Rosenzweig: Dear friends in the BURN! colllective, Would you please convey the following message to Carol Padden and Richard Atkinson on my behalf: As a Councilor of the American Library Association, a group dedicated to the protection of open access to information, intellectual freedom and free speech, I deplore the action, taken in response to political presssure, to shut down the BURN! website. I have had many occasions to visit the site and have, as a librarian and social activist, referred many people to it. In my considered opinion there can be no legitimate reason for shutting down this outlet for information not found elsewhere. It is a patent violation of your institution's own commitments to academic and intellecual freedom and, I believe, it will be seen by many in the academic community as a rash and unprincipled move which reflects badly on both the Department of Communications and UCSD. The decision should be reversed immediately. Mark Charles Rosenzweig Councilor at large, American Library Association .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 00:59:35 -0700 From: BURN! Collective <burn[at]groundwork.ucsd.edu> To: colmenar[at]library.ucsb.edu Subject: (en) BURN! and YOU! June 11, 2000 Dear Friend of BURN!, The UCSD Communication Department, which hosted the BURN! project at burn.ucsd.edu since it came online in April 1993 until we were censored for political reasons last May 31, is having a meeting on Wednesday June 14 at noon local time (20:00 GMT). The outcome of this meeting will probably determine whether or not BURN! can continue to exist, and may also have fairly far-reaching effects on a variety of other radical projects in other places. So we are asking for you (and all of your friends!) to send letters supporting BURN! to certain UCSD administrators on Monday and Tuesday. There are lots of other people here who support us, and we need to strengthen their position as much as possible in advance of the meeting on Wednesday. Please send letters to: cpadden[at]weber.ucsd.edu Carol Padden, Chair, UCSD Dept. of Communication and also send copies (important!) to the following addresses: burn[at]groundwork.ucsd.edu BURN! Collective commtalk[at]weber.ucsd.edu Communication Dept. Faculty and Grads. Mailing List dmiller[at]ucsd.edu Dave Miller, Assoc. Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs mchandler[at]ucsd.edu Martha Chandler, Senior Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs rlparker[at]ucsd.edu Robert L. Parker, Chair, Academic Senate dynes[at]ucsd.edu Robert C. Dynes, Chancellor, UCSD Richard.Atkinson[at]ucop.edu Richard Atkinson, U.C. President If all goes well, we could be back online in our old home by the end of the week. If not, the University may succeed in censoring us. Bureaucrats will rejoyce and seek new targets with increased vigor. In case we are censored again, there are web pages where we will maintain current information on where to find BURN!: http://www.sindominio.net/burn http://groundwork.ucsd.edu/burn On these pages you'll also find links to a mailing list archive which contains background information and copies of some of the other letters we've received. Thanks for your solidarity! the BURN! Collective <burn[at]groundwork.ucsd.edu> http://tierra.ucsd.edu/ ____________________________________________________________________________top 16. A.Word.A.Day Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 01:29:47 -0400 From: Wordsmith <wsmith[at]wordsmith.org> To: linguaphile[at]wordsmith.org Subject: A.Word.A.Day--bibliophage bibliophage (BIB-lee-uh-fayj), noun An ardent reader; a bookworm. [Biblio- book + -phage one that eats.] "A thousand facts crowd the mind of the bibliophage narrator who recites fragments--proper names, book titles, writefly quirks--at a dizzying clip." Sybil Steinberg, et al., PW's best books, Publishers Weekly, Nov 1996. So many books, so little time! Do you find yourself muttering these words as you browse the shelves in a library or a bookstore? Rest assured, you are not alone in your love of books. It was the Dutch writer Desiderius Erasmus who once said, "When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes." This fondness for books subsumes a wide range. At the extreme, books have been ascribed as the motive behind murders (Don Vicente, a Spaniard killed as many as eight people to acquire a book in 1836), and there have been thieves who steal only books (Stephen Blumberg of the US, stole precious books worth millions of dollars from hundreds of university libraries during the 1970s and 80s, all for his own pleasure, not for resale). While we can't arrange them in a scientific table reflecting severity, this week's progression presents words in increasing order of affinity for books. Finally, to round things out, at the end we'll feature a couple of words for people who don't share that love. So leaf through this week's words and drop me a line (anu[at]wordsmith.org) about where your bibliomania falls within this spectrum. -Anu ............................................................................. God gives every bird his worm, but he does not throw it into the nest. -Swedish proverb Subscribe: http://wordsmith.org/awad/subscribe.html Unsubscribe: http://wordsmith.org/awad/unsubscribe.html Change address: http://wordsmith.org/awad/address-change.html Gift subscription: http://wordsmith.org/awad/gift.html Pronunciation: http://wordsmith.org/words/bibliophage.wav http://wordsmith.org/words/bibliophage.ram ____________________________________________________________________________top 17. Literature Abuse: America's Hidden Problem Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2000 21:05:53 -0700 From: Blair <blairb[at]ix.netcom.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 To: ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom List <alaoif[at]ala1.ala.org> Subject: [ALAOIF:11485] Fwd: Literature Alert LITERATURE ABUSE: AMERICA'S HIDDEN PROBLEM Once a relatively rare disorder, Literature Abuse, or LA, has risen to new levels due to the accessibility of higher education and increased college enrollment since the end of the Second World War. The number of literature abusers is currently at record levels. SOCIAL COSTS OF LITERARY ABUSE Abusers become withdrawn, uninterested in society or normal relationships. They fantasize, creating alternative worlds to occupy, to the neglect of friends and family. In severe cases they develop bad posture from reading in awkward positions or carrying heavy book bags. In the worst instances, they become cranky reference librarians in small towns. Excessive reading during pregnancy is perhaps the number one cause of moral deformity among the children of English professors, teachers of English and creative writing. Known as Fetal Fiction Syndrome, this disease also leaves its victims prone to a lifetime of nearsightedness, daydreaming and emotional instability. HEREDITY It has been established that heredity plays a considerable role in determining whether a person will become an abuser of literature. Most abusers have at least one parent who abused literature, often beginning at an early age and progressing into adulthood. Many spouses of an abuser become abusers themselves. OTHER PREDISPOSING FACTORS Fathers or mothers who are English teachers, professors, or heavy fiction readers; parents who do not encourage children to play games, participate in healthy sports, or watch television in the evening. PREVENTION Pre-marital screening and counseling, referral to adoption agencies in order to break the chain of abuse. English teachers in particular should seek partners active in other fields. Children should be encouraged to seek physical activity, and to avoid isolation and morbid introspection. SELF-TEST for literature abuse How many of these apply to you? 1. I have read fiction when I was depressed, or to cheer myself up. 2. I have gone on reading binges of an entire book or more in a day. 3. I read rapidly, often 'gulping' chapters. 4. I have sometimes read early in the morning, or before work. 5. I have hidden books in different places to sneak a chapter without being seen. 6. Sometimes I avoid friends or family obligations in order to read novels. 7. Sometimes I re-write film or television dialog as the characters speak. 8. I am unable to enjoy myself with others unless there is a book nearby. 9. At a party, I will often slip off unnoticed to read. 10. Reading has made me seek haunts and companions which I would otherwise avoid. 11. I have neglected personal hygiene or household chores until I had finished a novel. 12. I have spent money meant for necessities on books instead. 13. I have attempted to check out more library books than permitted. 14. Most of my friends are heavy fiction readers. 15. I have sometimes passed out from a night of heavy reading. 16. I have suffered 'blackouts' or memory loss from a bout of reading. 17. I have wept, become angry or irrational because of something I read. 18. I have sometimes wished I did not read so much. 19. Sometimes I think my fiction reading is out of control. If you answered 'yes' to three or more of these questions, you may be a literature abuser. Affirmative responses to five or more indicates a serious problem. DECLINE AND FALL: THE ENGLISH MAJOR Within the sordid world of literature abuse, the lowest circle belongs to those sufferers who have thrown their lives and hopes away to study literature in our colleges. Parents should look for signs that their children are taking the wrong path - don't expect your teenager to approach you and say, 'I can't stop reading Spencer.' By the time you visit her dorm > room and find the secret stash of the Paris Review, it may already be too late. What to do if you suspect your child is becoming an English major: 1. Talk to your child in a loving way. Show your concern. Let her know you won't abandon her - but that you aren't spending a hundred grand to put her through Stanford so she can clerk at Waldenbooks, either. But remember that she may not be able to make a decision without help; perhaps she has just finished Madame Bovary and is dying of arsenic poisoning. 2. Face the issue: Tell her what you know, and how: 'I found this book in your purse. How long has this been going on?' Ask the hard question - 'Who is this Count Vronsky?' 3. Show her another way. Move the television set into her room. Praise her brother, the engineer. Introduce her to frat boys. 4. Do what you have to do. Tear up her library card. Make her stop signing her letters as 'Emma.' Force her to take a math class, or minor in Spanish. Transfer her to a Florida college. You may be dealing with a life-threatening problem if one or more of the following applies: * She can tell you how and when Thomas Chatterton died. * She names one or more of her cats after a Romantic poet. * Next to her bed is a picture of: Lord Byron, Virginia Woolf, Faulkner, or any scene from the Lake District. Michael McGrorty www.michaelmcgrorty.com ____________________________________________________________________________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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