Library Juice 3:24 - June 21, 2000
Contents:
1. SunSITE Library SuperSearch
2. Articles in First Monday on libraries
3. One more charming detail of the Information Age...
4. Librarians and opinion on About.com
5. US News article, "Where have all the librarians gone?"
6. visibleandvocallibrairans
7. Top 100 Banned or Challenged Books of 1990-1999
8. LIBRES - CALL FOR PAPERS
9. 2nd Annual Underground Publishing Conference
10. Discussion on e-books from WEB4LIB
11. Article in The Chronicle of Higher Education on e-books
12. CFP - Telecentres in Latin America
13. Weird Library Reference Questions
14. New Yorker Cartoons
15. Cartoon sent by Alistair Kwun
16. LexicalFreeNet
17. Typing Injury FAQ
Quote for the week:
"To know and not to do is not to know."
-Chinese Proverb
Home page of the week:
Jennifer Gellman, "Library Geek"
http://geocities.com/jennyclass/librarygeek.html
Jennifer Gellman is a new contributing editor to Library Juice.
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1. SunSITE Library SuperSearch
http://www.librarylandindex.org/llsearch.html
Maintained by Jerry Kuntz, the SunSITE Library SuperSearch offers a
convenient way to search six library-related resources, all hosted on
the Berkeley SunSITE. These include Current Cites, Index Morganus,
and the archives of two electronic mailing lists: Web4Lib, for
systems librarians and Webmasters, and PubLib, for public librarians.
A team of librarians monitors information technology literature to
produce Current Cites, a monthly list of articles, many available for
free online. The design of Current Cites lets users produce a list of
articles or an annotated bibliography. Index Morganus makes it
possible to search over 80 electronic serials, including some
ephemeral publications, such as the Library of Congress _Cataloging
Newsline_, the (ceased) _Katharine Sharp Review_ from University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and _Progressive Librarian_. Also at
SuperSearch is the LibraryLand Index, a search engine for over two
dozen sites dedicated to the practice of librarianship, with hundreds
of individual Webpages. [DS]
From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
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2. Articles in First Monday on libraries
http://www.firstmonday.dk/subjects/subjectlist.html#libraries
____________________________________________________________________________top
3. One more charming detail of the Information Age... -Chris
Free with registration at:
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/circuits/articles/15book-side.html
June 15, 2000
Foreign Shores Provide Cheap Labor to Digitize Books
By LISA GUERNSEY
...[C]ompanies based in the United States that offer digital copies
of printed materials are starting to rely on large pools of laborers
outside the country. Questia Media and netLibrary, for example, hire
document-management companies that run offshore offices
...
An entry-level job preparing digitized material in the United States
might pay $7 or $8 an hour. But in countries with far lower income
levels, it pays as little as 30 cents an hour, he said. The laborers
are usually in China, India, Mexico, the Philippines or countries in
the Caribbean or Africa...
--
Chris Mays <chrism[at]sfsu.edu>
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~chrism
Library Web Server Support, San Francisco State University
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 118 Voice: 415-338-3874
San Francisco, CA 94132
FAX: 415-338-6199
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4. Librarians and opinion on About.com
Libraries are places where all sides of an issue are tolerated.
And librarians are very good at helping people find information
and opinion whether they agree or abhor the material. It's a very
opinionated place, this library. But what about library workers?
Is there extra tolerance for opinion by librarians for librarians?
By librarian managment? For librarian management?
The article "First Amendment In-House: A Practice"
takes a look at the library as workplace with opinion. At
http://librarians.about.com/library/weekly/aa060900.htm
.
>From the Librarians and Info Pro's Newsletter from About.com
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5. US News article, "Where have all the librarians gone?"
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 09:12:08 -0700 (PDT)
Reply-to: levinej[at]sls.lib.il.us
From: Jenny Levine <levinej[at]sls.lib.il.us>
To: Multiple recipients of list <web4lib[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu>
Subject: [WEB4LIB] "Where have all the librarians gone?"
From this week's U.S. News & World Report:
------------------------------------------
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/000612/lib.htm
"Checked out a school library lately? You may be in for a shock.
Creaky old card catalogs have given way to computers; massive rows of
encyclopedia volumes have dwindled into single CD-ROMs or disappeared
into online databases. And while books still abound, it's getting
harder and harder to find that other familiar fixture: a qualified
librarian (now known as a "media specialist")."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jenny Levine
125 Tower Drive
Internet Development Specialist
Burr Ridge, IL 60521
Suburban Library System
(630) 734 5141
http://www.sls.lib.il.us/ >
levinej[at]sls.lib.il.us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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6. visibleandvocallibrairans
from JudyA:
Hello,
This is an invitation to join the visibleandvocallibrarians group, an email
group that I moderate at eGroups, a free, easy-to-use email group service.
By joining this group, you'll be able to easily send messages to
fellow group members using just one email address. eGroups
also makes it easy to store photos and files, coordinate events
and more.
Here's my introductory message for you:
--------------------------------------------
Hi, I'm trying to start an activist movement of librarians for their
libraries, themselves, and their patrons. I call it Visible and Vocal.
I've started an email discussion group to get it started and to share
ideas. You are welcome to join. Students and librarians and other
interested people are welcome. (I'm a SLIS student) JudyA
-----------------------------------------------
TO JOIN THIS GROUP, simply choose ONE of these 2 options:
1) REPLY to this email by clicking "reply" in your email program
-OR-
2) Go to our site at
http://www.egroups.com/invite/visibleandvocallibrarians
and click the "JOIN" button
If you do not wish to join the visibleandvocallibrarians group, just ignore
this invitation.
Regards,
Moderator, visibleandvocallibrarians
SPECIAL NOTE FROM eGroups: Because eGroups values your privacy,
it is a violation of our service rules for moderators to add subscribers
to a group against their wishes. If you feel this has happened, please
notify us at abuse[at]egroups.com
____________________________________________________________________________top
7. Top 100 Banned or Challenged Books of 1990-1999
http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/top100bannedbooks.html
(Out of 5,718 challenges reported to or recorded by the Office for
Intellectual Freedom, as compiled by the Office for Intellectual
Freedom, American Library Association. The ALA Office for Intellectual
Freedom does not claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges.
Research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many
as four or five which go unreported.)
1.Daddy*s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
2.Scary Story (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
3.I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4.The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
5.The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
6.Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
7.Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
8.Forever by Judy Blume
9.Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
10.The Giver by Lois Lowry
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
100.Jumper by Steven Gould
_____________________________
See also Chocolate War author battles effort to ban book, from free!,
http://www.freedomforum.org/news/2000/06/2000-06-14-01.asp
And also, Banned Books Week, http://www.ala.org/bbooks/index.html
_________________________
Don Wood
American Library Association
Office for Intellectual Freedom
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312-280-4225
800-545-2433, ext. 4225
Fax: 312-280-4227
dwood[at]ala.org
http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/index.html
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8. LIBRES - CALL FOR PAPERS
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 04:40:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kerry Smith <kerry[at]biblio.curtin.edu.au>
To: publib <publib[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu>
Subject: LIBRES - CALL FOR PAPERS
Dear colleagues
Cross posted to numerous lists. Please forgive any duplication.
Have you undertaken a research project in your library/information
environment? Why not write it up and have it published in an electronic
journal?
LIBRES http://libres.curtin.edu.au/
publishes refereed and non-refereed
articles, reports, and drafts as well as news and discussion of library
and
information science research, applications, and events. The March
2000
issue http://libres.curtin.edu.au/libres10n1/index.htm
includes a paper by M. Kendall and J. Eve on Changes through IT in
public
libraries: advantages of carrying out research via a training course.
The next issue is due in September 2000 so there is time for you to get
your paper to us for consideration.
LIBRES has a number of sections:
1 Research and applications (refereed). Peer-reviewed scholarly
articles
from multiple sub-disciplines of library and information science on such
topics as analysis, evaluation, applications (reports of progress at
libraries),and other research in the library and information service
environment.
The journal has an eclectic and growing group of Associate Editors who
assist with the refereeing of papers (see:
http://libres.curtin.edu.au/editors.htm)
Scott Seaman ( Research and Applications Editor)
University of Colorado, Boulder
seaman[at]spot.colorado.edu
2. Essays and opinions section (non-refereed). Articles
for this section
can be of a similar nature to those described in the refereed section
above, but of a less formal structure. They often take the form of
a
researched essay.
Ann Curry (Essays and Opinions Editor)
University of British Columbia
ann.curry[at]ubc.ca
3. Reviews of print and electronic resources and other discussions
(non-refereed). Suzanne is based in the US and has her network of
colleagues who assist with book reviews. I am sure she would also
consider
any LIS reviews which you may wish to contribute.
Editor: Suzanne Milton
smilton[at]ewu.edu
The journal maintains a Conference page of upcoming conferences and this
is
at:
http://libres.curtin.edu.au/meetings.htm
and I offer contributions from information I have gleaned off the Net and
other means in the News and Journals sections.
The journal relies more and more on the potential of web-based technology
and we encourage our contributors to send their articles into us in this
fashion. We are able to convert material if necessary.
We look forward to hearing from you.
(Mrs) Kerry Smith
Editor in Chief
LIBRES http://libres.curtin.edu.au
School of Media and Information
Curtin University of Technology
GPO Box U1987,
PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA 6845
phone 61 8 9266 7217 fax: 61 8 9266 3152
http://smi.curtin.edu.au/information.html
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9. 2nd Annual Underground Publishing Conference
The second annual Underground Publishing Conference took place in Bowling
Green, Ohio, June 10-11 on the campus of the local university. The event
organizers, Jen Angel and Jason Kucsma, who recently launched a new,
radical, glossy magazine, Clamor, attracted 300 zinesters and afficionados
to meet, trade, talk, and learn about zine making in the 19th, 20th, and
21st centuries. Most of the zinesters were from the Midwest punk and
anarchist milieu, but a few traveled from as far away as Philadelphia and
Gainesville, Florida. There was also representation from the comic,
self-published poetry, and hardcore music scenes.
Enthusiasm was high during the workshops and talks scheduled throughout
the two days and the sessions featured many imaginative and useful topics,
such as Prisoner Zines, Copy Centers Are Your Friend, Typography and
Graphic Design, Zines in Public Libraries, Distribution, Underground
Comics, The Power of a Jobzine; as well as more general sessions on date
rape, activism, and herbal health rememdies for women; there were also
historical sessions such as Media Resistance, and even one entitled, Dead
Anarchists I Have Known.
There was a good turnout (25+), for both of the last two sessions
mentioned. The Media Resistance workshop, which I co-moderated, was a
general overview of the history of social movements and radical publishing
from 1840 to the present. Participants were very interested, but the
discussion eventually turned to the pros and cons of print vs. electronic
publishing, a hot topic among today's zinesters.
The session on Dead Anarchists I Have Known, hosted by Bob Helms of
Philadelphia, was a compelling slide presentation complete with amazing
anecdotes about the 19th century anarchist movement in Philadelphia. This
session was well attended; and the stories of early anarchists very
inspiring.
The entertainment ranged from the Lost Film Festival presented by
Bloodlink Motion Pictures (www.bloodlink.com), to a rock show with bands
such as Aloha (Polyvinyl recording artists), Lovesick (Ann Arbor), Minim
(Chicago), and Stylex (Bowling Green). There was also free and low
cost
vegetarian and vegan food available.
Bowling Green University's modern campus is in a sleepy Ohio town just
outside of Toledo. A few of us, while walking between sessions, came upon
a small parade of young, fresh-faced, white males unenthusiastically
waving little U.S. flags. They were part of some kind of boys gathering
also taking place on the campus. We fantasized about getting them to break
ranks and recruiting them to the zine conference, but it seemed a futile
task, so we left them alone.
Julie Herrada
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10. Discussion on e-books from WEB4LIB
.....................................................
On Mon, 5 Jun 2000, Sloan, Bernie wrote:
>
> An interesting (and brief) article on e-books from
yesterday's New York Times Magazine:
>
>
http://www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20000604mag-ebook.html
>
> Bernie Sloan
> Senior Library Information Systems Consultant
> University of Illinois Office for Planning and
Budgeting
> 338 Henry Administration Building
> 506 S. Wright Street
> Urbana, IL 61801
> Phone: (217) 333-4895
> Fax: (217) 333-6355
> E-mail: bernies[at]uillinois.edu
.....................................................
From: Roy Tennant
[mailto:rtennant[at]library.berkeley.edu]
Sent: Monday, June 05, 2000 5:12 PM
Quote from the article cited below:
"In the near future, books will cost little or
nothing, never go out of print and remain eternally
available throughout the wired world."
Is this guy on drugs? Hey, the last time I checked
music CDs cost *more* than LPs, even though they were
much cheaper to make. Since when is the publishing
industry going to start giving this stuff away? Never
go out of print? If you want any chance to retain
copyright in this "wired world" you must keep a very
tight grip on your content. So what happens to this
content when a publisher with a proprietary format
goes belly-up? Eternally available? He clearly doesn't
have the first clue about digital preservation issues.
He spends most of the brief piece saying how much he
enjoys his Rocket eBook (which is fine), and then
quickly polishes off the "literary technophobes" by
quoting the most radical and painting them in terms
like "hostile", "misguided", and "jaded". Now here is
the kind of informed debate I expect of the New York
Times (not).
This paean to e-books just adds to the pile of hype
about e-books and unfortunately does nothing to
prepare people for the *real* world in which they will
find themselves -- a mix of print and digital.
Television did not kill radio for some very good
reasons. E-books will not kill print ones for the same
basic reason -- they are simply better at different
things. Then add in all the legacy stuff which will
*never* be digital,
and you've got one complicated (but interesting)
world. Welcome to real life, Jacob Weisberg, not the
simplistic "wired world" you envision.
Roy
......................................................
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 06:13:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Sloan, Bernie" <bernies[at]uillinois.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list
<web4lib[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu>
Subject: [WEB4LIB] Re: NYT magazine piece on e-books
Roy,
I didn't say WHY the article was interesting......
:-)
You mentioned how TV didn't kill off radio.....another
good example is how neither TV, nor the VCR, killed
off the film industry. The introduction of moveable
type, however, did kinda put a damper on the
manuscript
business!
:-)
I think the current hype about e-books is reminiscent
of the hype about the paperless office some 20-25
years ago. The computer didn't replace paper....in
fact, I believe that paper production is higher now
than it
was back then. Some stuff works better on paper, some
stuff works better on the computer. I think the "real
world" will continue to be a mix of resources in
various formats, with e-books being good at some
things, and paper books being good at other things.
Bernie
.......................................................
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 08:12:35 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tom Peters <TPeters[at]pallus.cic.uiuc.edu>
Although I don't intend to defend Weisberg's article
overall, I do think it contains some ideas (or at
least kernels of ideas) worth considering. It's
unfortunate, however, that Weisberg chose to use
inflammatory language, such as describing printed
books as "dust-catching objects" (Research question:
Which object attracts dust faster: a printed book or
a Rocket eBook?) and people who are skeptical of
electronic reading devices as "literary technophobes".
Anyway, here are some things I consider worth
pondering, IMHO:
1. attempting to put an new technological development
into some sort of historical perspective usually (or
always) is a good thing, assuming that the attempt is
undertaken in good faith and with a knowledge of
history. Public opinion on ebooks seems to fall onto
a continuum with the following extremes: this is
something completely new and different, and this is
something that has happened previously and frequently
in various historical phases of human communication.
An appeal to history often lets cooler heads prevail.
2. Weisberg's observation that "serious and unserious
readers alike have much to gain from the new
technology." I don't know why he divides readers into
two such camps, but for me, one of the more
interesting aspects of the current hubbub over ebooks
is the possibility that the new devices and software
hold for complementing "mere" reading of a text. The
facility
with which readers will be able to create hyperlinks
within and across etexts, use a dictionary look-up
feature, add notes and marginalia (then search
and share these notes among fellow readers), use
audiobooks on demand (i.e., switch from reading to
listening in the midst of an interaction with a
text), etc. seems to hold some promise, at least in
the abstract, if not in the actual execution.
3. Weisberg's assertion that the "book is the text's
container, not its essence" resonated with some of my
current thinking. Much of the current hype and debate
about books (both e and p) tends to confuse and
conflate the experience of the text with the
experience of the text-bearing device. Although I've
yet to think of some way whereby a human could
experience a text without also, inextricably
experiencing the text-bearing device, once I've read
the same or similar text via multiple text-bearing
devices, at least mentally I can distinguish and
separate the two components of the experience. For
example, I've read Huck Finn in a cheap paperback
edition, a nice Library of America edition, and at
least parts (e.g., the
wonderful "Ode to Stephen Dowling Botts" section) off
my desktop computer screen. Although each experience
with the text-bearing device was quite different, I
still was able to recognize, appreciate, and enjoy the
"pure" text. (Some theorists about texts may argue
that my sense of recognition and sameness is
chimerical.)
At this point in the development of the *debate* about
the future of the book, I wish I could find a good,
calm, historically/technologically/theoretically
informed summary of the primary arguments for and
against ebooks. Does anyone know of such a document?
Tom
Thomas A. Peters
Director, Center for Library Initiatives
Committee on Institutional Cooperation
302 East John Street, Suite 1705
Champaign, IL 61820-5698
Phone (217) 244-9239
Fax (217) 244-7127
Email tpeters[at]cic.uiuc.edu
Web http//www.cic.uiuc.edu
......................................................
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 08:58:14 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Jerry Kuntz" <jkuntz[at]rcls.org>
Bullets of the pros and cons can be found at:
http://www.rcls.org/ebookcrib.htm
Jerry Kuntz
Ramapo Catskill Library System
jkuntz[at]rcls.org
......................................................
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 09:01:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: Sue Kamm <suekamm[at]mindspring.com>
If e-books are indeed the wave of the future, why is
that printers and printing costs are such an issue in
libraries? The clients in the public libraries where
I work print out Pokemon characters, superheroes, and
answers to research queries.
Until the time when computers are as small and
inexpensive as calculators, and there's an easy
connection between library computers and the hand-held
machines, people are still going to want hard copies.
--
Your friendly CyberGoddess and ALA Councilor,
Sue Kamm
email: suekamm[at]mindspring.com
.......................................................
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 09:24:45 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Gregory E. Szczyrbak" <gszczyrb[at]eagle.ycp.edu>
Just a thought. Sort of 'toungue-in-cheek'.
Look what is happening already. We've conceived a new
word and are accepting its use in regular
communication. No longer does the term 'book'
automatically signify a paper book. We must instead
use a new term *p-book* to distinguish it from the
e-book.
Granted in everyday communication, the term 'book'
still conjurs up the traditional image, however the
term 'book' may become more ambiguous with time,
especially when spoken about in the context of
e-books.
Gregory Szczyrbak, Reference Librarian
Schmidt Library
York College of Pennsylvania
York, PA 17405-7199
.......................................................
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 08:21:17 -0700 (PDT)
From: Fazia Begum Rizvi <fazia[at]swt.edu>
>If e-books are indeed the wave of the future, why is
>that printers and printing costs are such an issue in
>libraries? The clients in the public libraries where
>I work print out Pokemon characters, superheroes, and
>answers to research queries.
>
>Until the time when computers are as small and
>inexpensive as calculators, and there's an easy
>connection between library computers and the
>hand-held machines, people are still going to want
>hard copies.
One of these handheld devices was displayed at a
technology conference I attended in March, and there
was a panel discussion about the future of electronic
publishing.
The consensus among the audience - myself included -
is that we'd REALLY like to use such a device for
downloading and keeping technical and reference books,
certain how-to-books and the kinds of books related to
our technical careers that seem to take up and awful
lot of room on our shelves. *Especially* if the price
for such books went down because of the new electronic
publishing process.
However, while we *might* download the latest Stephen
King novel on such a device, we most definitely still
wanted print copies of our favorite books, novels,
etc. Many of us have several shelves full of books at
home, and while we'd love to get the two inch thick
"Perl in
14 days" off our shelves, it's only to make more room
for a leatherbound Charles Dicken's Novel, or a few
more paperback science fiction novels. There was a
wish to own something physical, tangible, and a view
of the book as a piece of art too that I don't think
will die.
There was some interest in the idea that authors might
create their own download sites, and write a book or
series in pieces, selling bits as they went, allowing
readers to purchase a print copy when it was complete
if they chose. This was an exciting idea to many of
the
writers.
Wave of the future? Well yeah, sorta, if the idea is
that it may change *some* things about publishing or
the way we aquire or own books. But if the claims are
that it will replace print books - that idea didn't
fly, even with a gadget oriented and technically adept
audience at a new media conference. We still like our
books, and I think they will last as personal
treasures at *least*. And until access is ubiquitous,
they will most certainly still be practical for a very
long time.
Fazia Begum Rizvi
University Webmaster
Southwest Texas State University
e-mail: fazia[at]swt.edu
.....................................................
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 11:18:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: msenroy[at]uwindsor.ca
>If e-books are indeed the wave of the future, why is
>that printers and printing costs are such an issue in
>libraries? The clients in the public libraries where
>I work print out Pokemon characters, superheroes, and
>answers to research queries.
>
>Until the time when computers are as small and
>inexpensive as calculators, and there's an easy
>connection between library computers and the
>hand-held machines, people are still going to want
>hard copies.
The trouble is that publishers are, and will be
continue to be very reluctant to establish easy
connections between a library computer and a
hand-held machine. This is due the fact that this is
seen as 'sharing' in the eyes of publishers who have
seen the effects of 'sharing' music files via Napster
on the music industry and want none of it.
This is why the current electronic publishing models
are so troubling. From my understanding, if a library
downloads an electronic monograph to a computer in the
library, that monograph can only be downloaded to the
one Rocket E-Book that is registered to the software
on that computer. In order to lend the ebook, the
library has to lend the hand-held machine as well.
[Please correct me if I'm wrong in my assumptions]
One means that does provide access to an ebook from a
variety of devices is the electronic publishing method
that is used by NetLibrary which gives access to an
item from any device connected to the internet. The
monograph resides on the NetLibrary system and in
order to get access to the material, a user has to
give a username and password. Once the lending period
for that monograph is over, the access is taken away.
The ebook
cannot be saved or printed unless it is done so, page
by page, at a speed that will not alert Netlibrary,
otherwise, it will give a warning and if not heeded,
will then halt access. The trouble is - if you
consider it trouble - that you never get a copy of an
ebook; just access to it.
There is an interesting that makes the argument to
legalize the copying of ebooks by Richard Stallman
from the May issue of MIT's Technology Review at this
location:
http://www.techreview.com/articles/may00/stallman.htm
I heard about the article from, I think,
http://www.oss4lib.org/
e-Mita
Mita Sen-Roy
Librarian, Leddy Library
University of Windsor
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11. Article in The Chronicle of Higher Education on e-books
CONTROLLING KNOWLEDGE: Conventional wisdom views e-books as the
end of publishing as we know it. But Michael Jensen, director of
publishing technologies at the National Academy Press, writes in
this week's Point of View article that the technology is a way
of protecting publishing's pre-Web hegemony.
--> SEE http://chronicle.com/free/v46/i42/42a06401.htm
____________________________________________________________________________top
12. CFP - Telecentres in Latin America
Call for Participation - True Stories: Telecentres in Latin America &
the
Caribbean
BACKGROUND
TELELAC - Sharing Knowledge and Supporting Telecentres in the Service of
Civil
Society is a project of the Latin American and Caribbean telecentre network,
coordinated by Chasquinet and supported by the International Development
Research Centre (IDRC, Canada). For more detailed information see:
http://www.tele-centros.org/
The general objective of the project is to contribute to the development
and
strengthening of a network of local, national and regional telecentre
initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), through collective
evaluation of their endeavors and learning from them.
Specific objectives include work in these areas:
1. State of the Field: identify, investigate, analyze and document telecentre
initiatives and stories to learn who is involved, what works and why, as
well
as what kind of support and resources are required
for success.
2. Resource Centre: create an online clearinghouse and meeting place to
foster
communication amongst members of the LAC telecentre community network,
and
offer tools and services to support telecentres (e.g. training resources,
planning and evaluation methodologies, applications, etc.).
3. Institutional development: contribute to the development and application
of
methodologies for planning, managing, monitoring and evaluating the impact
of
telecentre projects.
A wide range of telecentre initiatives is underway in Latin America and
the
Caribbean. As they proceed, each initiative yields valuable experience
with
respect to the design, operation and evaluation of telecentres.
Over the past year, there has been increasing recognition of the critical
importance of collaboration among telecentre initiatives (both regionally
and
internationally), as well as community learning about the successes and
challenges of these experiments. This collaboration and learning is part
of a
more global movement toward evaluation of, and learning from, the application
of Information and Communication Technologies in the development process,
manifest in the GK LEAP (Global Knowledge Learning and Evaluation Action
Program) of the Global Knowledge Partnership
(http://www.bellanet.org/gkaims/documents/docs/LEAP_Concept_2May2000.HTM).
Through a collective process in the LAC region, TELELAC has begun to identify
people and institutions comprising the basis of a regional telecentre network.
An important development has been the establishment of the 'telecentros'
electronic forum (http://www.tele-centros.org/portal/discusio.html),
which
serves as a rich source of dialogue for members of the LAC telecentre
community.
TELECENTRE STORIES
To begin the process of addressing project objectives, TELELAC is compiling
a
descriptive catalogue of telecentres in the region. You are invited to
participate by telling your telecentre story.
What's a Telecentre?
We have purposefully left this question open-ended and prefer to allow
definitions to evolve from LAC telecentre experiences. The following way
of
thinking about telecentres is proposed as a way to begin understanding
current
experiences:
"While there is no single definition of a telecentre to satisfy everyone,
a
common characteristic is a physical space that provides individuals, community
groups and local organizations with public access to information and
communication technologies (ICTs) for educational, personal, social, and
economic development. Based on the premise that not everyone in the world
has
access to a telephone, much less a computer, fax service, Internet connection,
or relevant information resources, telecentres are designed to provide
a
combination of ICT services. These range from basic telephone or e-mail
service to full Internet/World Wide Web connectivity."
- adapted from "Focus on Telecentres: How can they contribute to social
development?" http://www.idrc.ca/pan/chasqui.html
Our aim is to collect a wide range of relevant telecentre stories and data,
in
order to uncover valuable information on telecentre experiences, needs,
challenges, and issues. This information will assist the TELELAC project
in
supporting and strengthening LAC telecentres. The stories will be available
to
contributing members of the 'We are tele-centros.org' community via the
Web. We will also explore the possibilities of further electronic and print
publications, based on a non-exclusive license for ' We are tele-centros.org
'
to distribute and re-use this material. All contributions will be referenced
and acknowledged.
' We are tele-centros.org ' is conceived as a membership-based community
of
telecentres, which contribute actively and significantly to the TELELAC
project
objectives. Based on a needs analysis, members will have access to a range
of
telecentre management resources, including a capacity-building program,
sustainability strategies, training materials, and a supportive network
of
telecentre operators, managers, and researchers.
Prizes
An independent committee will select the best stories, i.e. those from
which
the LAC telecentre community can learn the most. Three prizes will be awarded:
First Prize: Digital camera and US $250 worth of telecentre equipment
Second Prize: Scanner
Third Prize: External 90k Modem
Deadline: June 30, 2000
FORMAT
The stories should be short (two pages maximum) and specific. Please include
the following items:
Full Name of storyteller:
Telecentre Name:
Telecentre E-mail:
Telecentre Web site:
Brief description of the set-up and resources of the telecentre (one
paragraph):
Describe the social role your telecentre intends to play. How does it support
civil society?
What are the main problems faced by the community in which the telecentre
is
established?
How does your telecentre contribute to working toward solutions for these
problems? (give examples)
What obstacles or problems does the telecentre face in operating?
What helps you to do a good job? (e.g. specific resources or people; give
examples)
What results can you report at this stage in the development of your
telecentre?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please send this information to Patrik Hunt (patrik[at]chasquinet.org)
or fill in
the online form at:
http://www.tele-centros.org/portal/stories.html
An example of a telecentre story will be available here as well; or, send
an
e-mail to patrik[at]chasquinet.org
and you will receive the sample story in text
format.
Your valuable participation is essential to the success of this effort.
Many
thanks in advance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Patrik Hunt <patrik[at]chasquinet.org>
Investigador / Researcher
ChasquiNet, Quito - Ecuador
http://www.chasquinet.org
http://www.tele-centros.org
¡Suscríbase a 'telecentros'!
http://www.telecentres.org/mailman/listinfo/telecentros
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13. Weird Library Reference Questions
These are actual reference queries reported by American and
Canadian library reference desk workers of various levels. No kidding.
"Do you have books here?"
"Do you have a list of all the books written in the English language?"
"Do you have a list of all the books I've ever read?"
"I'm looking for Robert James Waller's book, 'Waltzing through Grand
Rapids'." (Actual title wanted: "Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend.")
"Do you have that book by Rushdie: 'Satanic Nurses'?" (Actual title:
"Satanic Verses")
"Where is the reference desk?" This was asked of a person sitting at
a desk who had, hanging above her head, a sign saying
"REFERENCE DESK"!
"I was here about three weeks ago looking at a cookbook that cost
$39.95. Do you know which one it is?"
"Which outlets in the library are appropriate for my hairdryer?"
"Can you tell me why so many famous Civil War battles were fought
on National Park sites?"
"Do you have any books with photographs of dinosaurs?"
"I need a color photograph of George Washington [Christopher
Columbus, King Arthur, Moses, Socrates, etc.]"
"I need a photocopy of Booker T. Washington's birth certificate."
"I need to find out Ibid's first name for my bibliography."
"Why don't you have any books by Ibid? He's written a lot of
important stuff."
"I'm looking for information on carpal tunnel syndrome. I think I'm
having trouble with it in my neck."
"Is the basement upstairs?" (Asked at First Floor Reference Desk)
"I am looking for a list of laws that I can break that would send me
back to jail for a couple of months."
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14. New Yorker Cartoons
The New Yorker has a website for all of its cartoons, going back
many years. The site is designed to sell you a license to use the
cartoons that you find, and when you find a full-sized image, it
stamped "All Rights Reserved - Cartoon Bank." But if you want to
buy New Yorker cartoons - either in electronic form or as very nice
prints, this is the place.
The following link gives you cartoons on libraries and librarians:
http://www.cartoonbank.com/search_results.asp?mscssid=&s_keywords=library
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15. Cartoon sent by Alistair Kwun
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16. LexicalFreeNet - http://www.lexfn.com/
Subtitled Connected Thesaurus,
this site allows the user to
"search for relationships between
words, concepts, and
people. It is a combination
thesaurus, rhyming dictionary, pun
generator, and concept navigator."
Show related displays how
a certain word is related to
other words and Show reachable
displays words more distantly
related to the first word.
Intersection finds words with
commonalities to the two
chosen words. There is a spell
check function and the user is
allowed to also choose which
links, or relationships, can be
allowed in the query. - dl
>From Librarians Index to the Internet - http://lii.org
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17. Typing Injury FAQ - http://www.tifaq.com/
This educational site contains
"a wide variety of information
about repetitive strain injuries
(RSIs), resources for dealing
with these ailments, and a broad
description of assistive
products to reduce injury risk
and symptoms." It contains
mainly textual information on
ergonomics and human factors,
alternative keyboards, pointing
devices, speech recognition,
accessories, software, kids
and computer use, organizations,
and an archive with a wide variety
of collected articles on the
subject. - hb
>From Librarians Index to the Internet - http://lii.org
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L I B R A R Y J U I C E
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|
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| fee of $10 per year, variable based on ability and
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|
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| is copyright-free; beyond that the publisher makes
| no guarantees. Library Juice is a free weekly
| publication edited and published by Rory Litwin.
| Original senders are credited wherever possible;
| opinions are theirs. If you are the author of some
| email in Library Juice which you want removed from
| the web, please write to me and I will remove it.
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