Library Juice 3:26

Library Juice 2:26 - July 5, 2000 Contents: 1. Library Juice Supplements to date 2. The Researching Librarian 3. Publisher's Catalogues 4. Search Full-text U.S. Internet Government Periodicals 5. From a BI-L thread on hoax sites for teaching 'net evaluation 6. Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit 7. Freenet - The Free Network Project 8. ICANN Election 9. Privacy concerns with new live web reference software 10. Sanford Berman Receives the GALE/EMIERT Multicultural Award 11. Online Chat session on Academic Libraries of the 21st Century 12. Survey of Internet Access Management in Public Libraries 13. Dr. Seuss Went to War 14. Pat Holt on Barnes and Noble University 15. Dirty Money: Tracking the PACs 16. Media-junkie Paradise 17. Query from LR Gowri 18. Confutatis Maledictis Quote for the week: "Only the educated are free." - Epictetus Home page of the week: Clara Chu homepage http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/chu/ ____________________________________________________________________________top 1. Library Juice Supplements to date CUBA SUPPLEMENTS: 3:25 http://libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.25.sup.html 3:4 http://libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.4.sup.html 2:36 http://libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.36.sup.html More on Cuba at: http://www.libr.org/cgi-bin/search.pl?Range=All&Format=Standard&Terms=cuba CORE VALUES SUPPLEMENTS: 3:17 1 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.17.sup1.html 3:17 2 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.17.sup2.html 3:14 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.14.sup.html More on Core Values: http://www.libr.org/cgi-bin/search.pl?Range=All&Format=Standard&Terms=%22core+values%22 HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE 3:19 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.19.sup.html FUTURE OF LIBRARIANSHIP 3:16 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.16.sup.html JOB SEARCH 3:11 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.11.sup.html LINKING FROM OPAC TO AMAZON 3:1 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.1.sup.html POST-WTO RALLY 2:48 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.48.sup.html ALA COUNCIL DEBATES POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT 2:37 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.37.sup.html DAVID NOBLE ON DISTANCE ED 2:30 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.30.sup.html Y2K (JUNE '99) 2:24 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.24s.html SANFORD BERMAN RESIGNS FROM HCL 2:17 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.17.s.html ALA COUNCIL DISCUSSES FILTERING SUMMIT 2:13 1 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.13.s1.html LIBREF-L ON PORN, TAP-ON-THE SHOULDER, FILTERING 2:13 2 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.13.s2.html INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND THE ALTERNATIVE PRESS 1:24 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol1/LJ_24.html ____________________________________________________________________________top 2. The Researching Librarian Web resources helpful for librarians doing research http://www2.msstate.edu/~kerjsmit/trl/ >From the website: This site was created for librarians--new or experienced--who find themselves needing to perform research. Intended as a supplement to the print resources available in library collections, this site gathers links to selected web resources useful for research: freely searchable citation databases, funding information, relevant journals, statistics and statistical methods, and useful research tools. Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Send them to Kerry Smith at kerjsmit[at]ra.msstate.edu. ____________________________________________________________________________top 3. Publisher's Catalogues http://www.lights.com/publisher/ Provided by Northern Lights Internet Solutions Ltd. (no connection to the search engine), this database of information on over 6,000 publishers may prove useful to a number of users, including, writers, librarians, and book collectors and sellers. Users may keyword search the database by publisher or city or browse by location, topic, or type of material. Entries for each publisher include a brief sentence or two from the publisher describing itself and a link to its homepage. While the database has a decided US-focus, there are numerous listings for publishers in other countries. [MD] > From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ ____________________________________________________________________________top 4. Search Full-text U.S. Internet Government Periodicals http://198.252.9.95/home/govper.html An index providing access to more than 400 periodicals available online. Browse for magazines by subject, title, or Sudoc (Superintendent of Documents) number. Then search for text by keyword. Additional information provided is frequency, format (PDF, HTML, or text), and coverage date. Developed by Paul A. Arrigo and Dee Barker, government documents librarians at Washburn University Law Library. - dl From Librarians' Index to the Internet - http://lii.org ____________________________________________________________________________top 5. From a BI-L thread on hoax sites for teaching 'net evaluation From: Celita DeArmond <DEARMOND[at]utsa.edu> hello all, and thanks to everyone who sent me their favorite Internet "hoax" sites. I've messily thrown all the responses together on a web page (to be better organized at some later date...): http://www.lib.utsa.edu:8000/Instruction/cdearmond/hoax.html And, to Martha...I've considered doing evaluation "on the fly" with a list of hits generated by student's search statements, but prefer the comfort and safety of selecting 3 "canned" sites that illustrate different things in evaluation. Sometimes I've found I can do the same search twice in row and get different results... Cheers! Celita DeArmond * Reference/Instruction Librarian __________________________ UT-San Antonio Library cdearmond[at]utsa.edu office ph (210)458-4583 http://www.lib.utsa.edu/Instruction ____________________________________________________________________________top 6. Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit 06/01/00 KNOXVILLE, TN, June 1, 2000 - A new toolkit has been developed to help both educators and community leaders create locally relevant education concerning sustainable development. Published by the Center for Geography and Environmental Education, the Education for Sustainable Development Tool Kit strives to help both community leaders and educators develop a curriculum that revolves around a community's sustainable goals. Education plays an important role in moving a community towards its sustainable goals. One of the goals of the toolkit is to reorient the education system towards sustainable development. According to the Center, reorienting education requires teaching and learning knowledge, skills, perspectives, and values that will guide and motivate people to have sustainable livelihoods, to participate in a democratic society and to live in a sustainable manner. The ESD toolkit has four major components: A description of the major thrusts and components of education for sustainable development (ESD). A discussion of 12 major issues that have stymied the progress of ESD and that need to be addressed for ESD to be successful. Eight exercises to help schools reorient their curriculum to address sustainability, five exercises to assist communities develop sustainability goals and three exercises to help explain the concept of sustainability. A case study of the Toronto Board of Education's community consultation and subsequent curriculum revision that indirectly addressed ESD as a result of the citizens' vision and desires. To preview the Education for Sustainable Development Tool Kit visit the website at http://www.esdtoolkit.org. ____________________________________________________________________________top 7. Freenet - The Free Network Project What is Freenet? "Freenet is a peer-to-peer network designed to allow the distribution of information over the Internet in an efficient manner, without fear of censorship. Freenet is completely decentralized, meaning that there is no person, computer, or organisation in control of Freenet or essential to its operation. This means that Freenet cannot be attacked like centralized peer-to-peer systems such as Napster. Freenet also employs intelligent routing and caching meaning that it learns to route requests more efficiently, automatically mirrors popular data, makes network flooding almost impossible, and moves data to where it is in greatest demand. All of this makes it much more efficient and scalable than systems such as Gnutella. To become a part of Freenet all you need is a computer with an Internet connection and the capability to run a Freenet server. We are currently developing a Java server which we have been testing over the past few weeks, but which is not yet release quality. You can download a snapshot of the latest code from the menu on the left." What is Freenet? Freenet is a peer-to-peer network designed to allow the distribution of information over the Internet in an efficient manner, without fear of censorship. Freenet is completely decentralized, meaning that there is no person, computer, or organisation in control of Freenet or essential to its operation. This means that Freenet cannot be attacked like centralized peer-to-peer systems such as Napster. Freenet also employs intelligent routing and caching meaning that it learns to route requests more efficiently, automatically mirrors popular data, makes network flooding almost impossible, and moves data to where it is in greatest demand. All of this makes it much more efficient and scalable than systems such as Gnutella. To become a part of Freenet all you need is a computer with an Internet connection and the capability to run a Freenet server. We are currently developing a Java server which we have been testing over the past few weeks, but which is not yet release quality. You can download a snapshot of the latest code from the menu on the left. What is Freenet's History? The original Freenet design was created by Ian Clarke as his final year project in a degree in Artificial Intelligence and Computer science at Edinburgh University, Scotland. You can read a postscript copy of his paper here. This project was completed in June 1999 when Ian made it available on the Internet in the hope that others would see the potential in the design and use it to make Freenet a reality. This website and the software you can download here is the result. Why is Freenet interesting? - Freenet does not have any form of centralised control or administration. - It will be virtually impossible to forcibly remove a piece of information from Freenet. - Both authors and readers of information stored on this system may remain anonymous if they wish. - Information will be distributed throughout the Freenet network in such a way that it is difficult to determine where information is being stored. - Anyone can publish information: they don't need to buy a domain name, or even a permanent Internet connection. - Availability of information will increase in proportion to the demand for that information. - Information will move from parts of the Internet where it is in low demand to areas where demand is greater. The website for Freenet is at http://freenet.sourceforge.net It has all the software you need to take part in Freenet (Windows, Linux, and the Source Code), along with articles, a FAQ, documentation, discussion lists, etc. There is also a French version of the site. ____________________________________________________________________________top 8. ICANN Election CDT POLICY POST Volume 6, Number 12 June 28, 2000 A BRIEFING ON PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES AFFECTING CIVIL LIBERTIES ONLINE from THE CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY CONTENTS: (1) Become a "Cybercitizen" - Register to Vote in the ICANN Elections! (2) How to Become an ICANN Member & Register to Vote (3) How the ICANN Election Will Work (4) More Background on ICANN ____________________________________________________________ (1) BECOME A "CYBERCITIZEN" - REGISTER TO VOTE IN THE ICANN ELECTIONS! An election vitally important for the future of the Internet is getting underway. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), an international nonprofit body that makes important technical decisions for the Internet, is organizing a global election for its Board of Directors. The ICANN Board makes decisions on such crucial issues as the addition of new Top Level Domains (such as ".store" and ".banc") and the resolution of trademark disputes involving domain names. ICANN also oversees the assignment of domain names and Internet Protocol numbers, which some compare to "real estate" on the Internet; they are your "location" online. Although ICANN's mission is supposed to be strictly technical, its decisions will indirectly influence the openness of the Internet and have the potential to raise critical free speech, privacy and other civil liberties issues. Moreover, there are some who would want ICANN to take on a broader role -- one that would directly place it in the position of making policy decisions affecting free speech and privacy. CDT is urging all Netizens to register and vote to protect the open, decentralized nature of the Internet -- and hold ICANN to a narrow, technical mission. ____________________________________________________________ (2) HOW TO BECOME AN ICANN MEMBER & REGISTER TO VOTE Registration is open to anyone 16 years old or over with a valid email account and mailing address. You can register to vote at http://www.cdt.org/action/icann and get important election news, campaign information and background on ICANN at CDT's web site http://www.cdt.org/dns/ Voter registration will be shut off at the end of July, so it's important to sign up NOW if you want to be part of the voting membership. Elections will begin on September 20, but only those who have registered in advance will be eligible to vote then. _____________________________________________________________ (3) HOW THE ICANN ELECTION WILL WORK The upcoming election is for five new "At-Large" directors, representing ordinary Internet users. The process is intended to select five directors, one from each of five different regions of the world -- Africa, Asia/ Pacific, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, and North America. The five will join 9 existing directors that have already been appointed by the technical, business and nonprofit organizations that participate in ICANN, four members of ICANN's initial board whose terms have been extended, and the ICANN president. This is ICANN's first election, and the first online, global election ever. It will set the standard by which future online elections are judged and it will be an important test of whether ICANN can function as a body representing the public interest. CDT believes that it is vitally important that as many Netizens as possible get involved, so that we can ensure the public's voice is heard in the future of ICANN. Although the voting process hasn't been finalized yet, in the most likely voting scheme, you (as a voting member of ICANN) would be asked to indicate your favorite choices for director from a list of nominees. Some of these candidates will be nominated by an ICANN committee, others will petition to get on the ballot. You would list your choices for director in order of preference, and the winners of the election would be the candidates with the highest and most consistent ratings. ___________________________________________________________ (4) MORE BACKGROUND ON ICANN ICANN was formed in October 1998 to transfer management of the domain name system from the US government to a private, nonprofit organization. ICANN consists of a board of directors, three Supporting Organizations, several advisory committees and an At Large membership. (An organizational chart is available at http://www.icann.org/general/icann-org-chart_frame.htm) CDT has been very active in monitoring ICANN and in participating in its development. In March, CDT and Common Cause issued a report on ICANN in which we pushed for the direct, democratic election of directors by the public, and urged ICANN to limit itself to its narrow, technical mission. The report is available at http://www.cdt.org/dns/icann/study/ Register to vote at http://www.cdt.org/action/icann/ More background information on ICANN is available at http://www.cdt.org/dns/icann. For an introduction to domain-name issues, read "Your Place in Cyberspace", at http://www.cdt.org/dns/yourplace/ --------------------------------------- CDT Policy Post Subscription Information To subscribe to CDT's Policy Post list, send mail to majordomo[at]cdt.org In the BODY of the message type "subscribe policy-posts" without the quotes. To unsubscribe from CDT's Policy Post list, send mail to majordomo[at]cdt.org In the BODY of the message type "unsubscribe policy-posts" without the quotes. Detailed information about online civil liberties issues may be found at http://www.cdt.org/ ____________________________________________________________________________top 9. Privacy concerns with new live web reference software Date: Sun, 2 Jul 2000 16:19:33 -0400 From: librefed <librefed[at]kent.edu> Subject: Privacy concerns with new live web reference software ===== Original Message From "Jenette Yikles" <yiklesj[at]hotmail.com> ===== First off, don't get me wrong, I have seen a demo of the new live web reference software that LSSI will be launching at ALA (see previous message "Live Online Reference Services at ALA") ... and I think it is great stuff, and my company will probably be purchasing it. It allows librarians and patrons to work together live and real time over the Web, and that means the librarian can push Web pages to the patron, guide the patron's browser around the Web, fill out search forms togehter, and so forth. And I tend to agree with Coffman (for once!) ... that this stuff probably represents the future of reference ... if there is to be a future for reference, anyway. HOWEVER, ... the software also raises some significznt privacy issues, that I think we all need to be thinking about ... especially if the software does become widely adopted for reference purposes. More specifically, the software saves complete transcripts of all reference interactions (including all chat and URLs visited) and compiles a patron profile that allows the librarian to see all the previous questions the patron has asked. As Coffman points out, there are some great advantages in this ... it might allow us to provide the patron with updated information on questions they had asked earlier (for example: "Mr. Jones, I just want to let you know, that there is a new release of the Consumer Price Index which updates the data we gave you last week") and, of couse, it would allow us to better understand our patrons and how they use our reference services. But it also associates a patron's name with what ... up until now ... has been a pretty anonynmous process ... and it is not difficult to imagine the possiblities for abuse ... just to take an extreme example, could Kenneth Star supenea our reference records to see if Monica Lewinsky had called to ask us about spot removal? Of course, in library circ systems, we have always solved this problem by expurging the patron's name from the records ... but then along comes people like Amazon, who prove that there are a whole lot of people out there ... including myself ... who are more than willing to give up a little privacy in return for the personalized recommendations, and so on ... that those systems can give you. So, like so many aspects of modern technology .. this new reference software also seems to be a double-edged sword. So, while I am definitely impressed by this new technology, and I would certainly urge you to check it out at ALA .... I think we all need to be thinking about the possible privacy implications of the software, and ways we might address them. I would be interested to know what others think about this. Yours, Jenette Yikles Manager, Information Center ECES Technologies yiklesj[at]hotmail.com ____________________________________________________________________________top 10. Press Release May 25, 2000 For Immediate Release Sanford Berman Receives the GALE/EMIERT Multicultural Award Sanford Berman, retired head cataloger of the Hennepin County Library of Minnetonka, Minn., is the recipient of GALE/EMIERT Multicultural Award for the year 2000. The award is presented by the Ethnic and Multicultural Information and Exchange Round Table of the American Library Association (ALA). The award, a $1,000 check and a citation of merit, is donated by the Gale Group and recognizes distinguished contributions to multicultural librarianship. Created in 1993, this yearly award focuses on outstanding achievements and leadership that serve the multicultural community. Acclaimed for his forty years as cataloger, anthology editor, periodicals librarian and editorial board member of Multicultural Review, Journal of Information Ethics and Counterpoise to name a few, Sanford Berman has consistently and energetically sought to promote greater awareness, fairness, respect and access with regard to themes and resources dealing with ethnicity, multiculturalism, gender and other topics. He has tirelessly advocated and modeled a more user-friendly and unbiased cataloging of library materials. His dedication in changing the existing model of subject heading has greatly improved our professionís method in assisting our communities. His interests are diverse. He was heavily involved in the anti-Apartheid campaign within the ALA. He co-authored ALAís ìLibrary Services to Poor Peopleî policy. He is an advocate for the respect of all people and the freedom of information and the access of information to all. His outspoken views have challenged the traditional and outmoded roles of librarians across the country. Please join us in applauding Sandy Bermanís lifelong commitment and contributions to multicultural librarianship at the award presentation at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago on Sunday, July 9 at 11:30a.m. in the Toledo Room of the Inter-Continental Hotel. Nominations are being sought for the 2001 GALE/EMIERT Multicultural Award. For forms and more information contact: Bosiljka Stevanovic, Priniciple Librarian, New York Public Library, Donnell Library Center, World Languages Collection, 20 West 53rd St., New York, NY 10019-6185 (212) 621-0641 email: bstevanovic[at]nypl.org For more information about this yearís award winner or the reception, please contact Francesca Hary, Director, Milton-Union Public Library, 560 S. Main St. West Milton, OH 45383 (937) 698-5515 email: haryfr[at]oplin.lib.oh.us ____________________________________________________________________________top 11. Online Chat session on Academic Libraries of the 21st Century Date: Tue, 04 Jul 2000 18:46:14 -0500 From: "Deborah Harrington" <DHARRING[at]lib-gw.tamu.edu> To: Reference and User Services Association List <rusa-l[at]ala1.ala.org> Subject: [RUSA-L:637] Academic Libraries of the 21st Century will host 2nd Live Chat Session Texas A&M University Libraries welcomes your participation in our virtual learning community available [at] The Academic Libraries of the 21st Century website (http://library.tamu.edu/21stcentury). The purpose of the project is to provide a channel that stimulates creative thoughts and ideas for envisioning and planning for academic libraries of the future. The site has been designed as a "virtual learning community" where anyone that has an interest in collaborating can network with others, share ideas, learn about issues, and plan for the future. During August, the Academic Libraries of the 21st Century website will host it's second live chat session, featuring three individuals who have been active in the development and/or implementation of personalization software: Topic: 'Personalizing Library Web Pages' Featured Panelists: John E. Ulmschneider Executive Director VCU Libraries Virginia Commonwealth University Eric Lease Morgan Network Technologies Development Librarian Digital Library Initiatives Department NCSU Libraries Paul T. Adalian Jr. Assistant Dean for Information & Instruction Robert E. Kennedy Library California Polytechnic State University Date: August 14th Time: 2-4 pm CDT Register via the project website: http://library.tamu.edu/21stcentury/chat.html Click on link to registration. Registration is free, limited to 100 seats. For groups, please register for one-sign-on rather than individual sign-ons. Session Content: The chaotic nature of the Internet is one of the axioms of today's information environment. Academic librarians have been deeply involved in creating Web presences that address the problem by helping to clarify and simplify the information chaos. The exponential growth of resources available on the web, however, make even well designed a library web presence sometimes difficult for users. This is especially true for the Web sites of academic and research libraries that serve a diverse population. Personalization software for library web pages is designed to allow users to control the content and presentation of information available on a website so that it better fits individual needs and preferences. Examples of such software are "My Yahoo" and several different implementations of "My Library" services now available in academic libraries. John Ulmschneider, Eric Morgan, and Paul Adalian will be online to discuss issues related to website personalization software and other issues related to technological means of making library electronic resources more user friendly. Ulmschneider is currently Executive Director of Libraries at Virginia Commonwealth University, and before that appointment he was the Associate Director for Information Technologies at NC State University Libraries. Morgan, the chief developer of the "MyLibrary [at] NCState" software at NC State, is Network Technologies Development Librarian in the Digital Library Initiatives Department at NC State. Adalian is Assistant Dean for Information and Instruction at Cal Poly/San Luis Obispo. All three institutions have "My Library" services available for their users. The Academic Libraries of the 21st Century Website Project Team Charles Gilreath Tommy Armstrong John Paul Fullerton Deborah Harrington Xiaodong Li Daniel Xiao ____________________________________________________________________________top 12. Survey of Internet Access Management in Public Libraries http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/gslis/research/internet.pdf Among other findings, the survey found that almost 95 percent of public libraries have a formal policy in place to regulate public use of the Internet. 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 ____________________________________________________________________________top 13. Dr. Seuss Went to War http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic/ Between 1941 and 1943, Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) was the chief editorial cartoonist for the New York newspaper _PM_ (1940-1948), penning over 400 editorial cartoons that commented first on American neutrality and then involvement in the Second World War. The entire collection of these cartoons (original drawings and/or newspaper clippings) is held by the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California, San Diego. While the 1999 book _Dr. Seuss Went to War_ reproduced 200 of these cartoons, the remaining half have not been published or studied since their original appearance. This amazing collection has now been placed online and is browseable by year, month, and day. Subject term browsing will be available in the future. The cartoons are presented as large thumbnails which link to a full-sized image presented in an unfortunately cramped frame. The cartoons comment on a wide variety of topics, including war preparedness, domestic politics, and isolationism, with particular criticism for the US Congress and Americans not prepared to sacrifice for the war effort. Caricatures of the Axis nations, especially the Japanese, reflect contemporaneous stereotypes. Drawn in characteristic Seuss style, with many creatures familiar to fans of his best-known work, these cartoons are both an excellent look into wartime US domestic politics and public opinion and clever, visually interesting cartoons in their own right. As an added bonus, the site also features some even rarer cartoons that Geisel drew for other publications and for war bond drives. This is simply an excellent resource for students, researchers, and any fan of Horton, the Grinch, the Lorax, and Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose. [MD] > From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ ____________________________________________________________________________top 14. Pat Holt on Barnes and Noble University From HOLT UNCENSORED - http://www.nciba.com/patholt.html ZIS BOOM BAH I'm just about to dust off my pom-poms for the new online Barnes & Noble University that opens next month, according to PW Daily. What a tingle goes through the spine to think of the classes that might be offered - Predatory Planning, Under-the-Table Discounts, One-Fib Inventory, Publisher Gouging, When 60 Days means 6 Months, Stomping the Independent and that great graduate seminar, Using Remainders to Pay the Bills. Why, you couldn't ask for a more enlightening chain-store curriculum. B&N is also knowledgeable about matters outside the book business, which it's been trying to leave for years, and may offer extension classes in Cyber Profiteering, Hedging with Video Games, Overpricing Sidelines and Selling Out to the Germans. Of course, the classes listed on the BNU site at http://www.barnesandnobleuniversity.com/bnu?nhid=bn?userid=4NKU6S296M are equally scholarly. The fact that they're free reflects the kind of philanthropy that so characterizes the chain's modesty and lack of self-promotion. The most taxing courses appear to be "Choosing the Right Diet," "Improving Communication Skills to Get What You Want," and "Dying of Embarrassment." This last looks the toughest, and the catalog begins with challenging questions: "Do you feel you are watching life from the sidelines? Are you someone who performs required social tasks only when not doing them would be awkward or conspicuous?" All they need now is Lucy Ricardo: "Are you tired? Do you poop out at parties? Try a spoonful of VITAMEATAVEGIMEN . . . " So good one, B&N! Let's hope the spirit of free academia spreads to other industries. What's next, the University of California at Burger King? ____________________________________________________________________________top 15. Dirty Money: Tracking the PACs -- EWG http://www.ewg.org/dirtymoney/ Though created with a clear political axe to grind, this new site from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) (last discussed in the December 17, 1999 _Scout Report_) is an excellent resource for those interested in tracking contributions made by PACs (Political Action Committees) that wish to influence environmental legislation. Launched on June 22 and based on data collected by the Federal Election Commission, the site allows users to find specific dollar amounts given by PACs and received by politicians for the 1996, 1998, and 2000 election cycles. The campaign contribution database can be searched by PAC or member of Congress. Users can also view state rankings, see dollar totals for the top ten recipients for each of the EWG's five categories of polluters, and browse by type of polluter. In addition, the site offers briefs on the "dirty PACS" and a listing of the "Top Dirty Money Takers" for 2000. > From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ ____________________________________________________________________________top 16. Media-junkie Paradise Where to go when your library lets you down By Chris Dodge, Utne Reader Imagine a library that archives alternative-press publications, a radical bookshop where customers use the free photocopier to create zines, and a neighborhood center featuring how-to programs ranging from bookbinding to making your own menstrual pad. Combine them and you have the Crescent Wrench Infoshop in New Orleans. This storefront center is one of many such alternative media oases springing up throughout North America. The Long Haul in Berkeley, Chicago's Autonomous Zone, Arise! Resource Center and Bookstore in Minneapolis, and New York City's Blackout Books are other "street libraries." Typically founded and run by young volunteers, infoshops are more than just an interesting place to hang. They often also provide concerts, video screenings, and heated political discussions. To pay the rent, most of them rely on pass-the-hat donations--and the generosity of anonymous benefactors. Infoshops, which are common in Europe, grew out of the international punk and anarchist movements. Germany has at least 100 infoladen listed in a directory updated regularly by infoshop expert Chuck Munson. Chris Attn, author of Alternative Literature: A Practical Guide for Librarians (Gower, 1996), writes that in Great Britain, infoshops "grew out of the squatted anarchist centres of the 1980s, such as the 121 Centre in Brixton, London." Many of the infoshops in the United States began as peace and justice centers during the Vietnam War. Some infoshops are predominantly bookstores. Others, such as the Civic Media Center in Gainesville, Florida, are specialized libraries stocked with countercultural material--small-circulation political magazines, videos on controversial issues, books from alternative presses. Still others are full of alternative (or underground) CDs, straight-edge punk zines, and other cultural flotsam unlikely to be found in any libraries, even those that offer secondary material on punk culture. Infoshops come and go. Besides financial problems, many have neighborhood communication difficulties, especially those organized by white youth in minority-populated areas. As Munson points out, "residents may perceive the infoshop as a beachhead [for] gentrification." Internal politics can also put them out of business. Emma Center in Minneapolis, founded in 1992, almost immediately began providing free day care, clothes, and bread; a men's anti-sexism group; "women-only" and "queer-only" gatherings; a growing zine and book library; and even concerts. Eventually a split developed between one group of staffers motivated primarily by altruism and another interested in making money for the center. The rift forced Emma to close in 1995. Infoshops also have been targets of outside oppression. Last December, "Death to Mumia" fliers (referring to the imprisoned black activist, Mumia Abu-Jamal) and white- supremacist propaganda were pasted to the windows at Wooden Shoe Books in Philadelphia a few days after the shop received an anonymous phone call from someone threatening to burn down the "commie, nigger-loving store." Despite these hazards, new infoshops seem to crop up like dandelions. Recently the Insur-Recreation Center, a "radical infoshop and resource center for activists, punks, and the community," opened in Minneapolis, promising a weekly "Vegan Cafe" and film screenings. When is an infoshop not an infoshop? In Journal of Youth Services in Libraries (Winter 1998), Ann Miyoko Hotta describes Japanese bunko, typically run by women for neighborhood children, as a network of "tiny outposts that may be found in homes, converted train cars, community centers, or even log cabins." Is this an infoshop cousin? If so, then so too are the residents' library founded by K.D. Steward at the Rice Marion Apartments in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1994 and anarchist collections such as the Kate Sharpley Library in London and the Alberto Ghiraldo Library in Rosario, Argentina. The Copenhagen-based Tidsskrift-centret (Periodicals Center) is a more distant family member, while the Durland Alternatives Library in Ithaca, New York, might be called a clean, well-lit infoshop. Part of the Center for Religion, Ethics, and Social Policy (CRESP), an independent entity located at Cornell University, the Durland library is aided by faculty advisers and a formal budget. Librarians generally agree that the presence of infoshops indicates failure on the part of urban libraries, which are accused of short hours, emphasizing business-oriented materials at the expense of everything else, and, as one critic put it, turning "a tin ear and a jaundiced eye" to ideas outside the commercial mainstream. Library bureaucracies also impede dissemination of zines and alternative literature, but it doesn't have to be that way. "We do it for books of house plans and car-buyers' guides, so why not Holy Titclamps and Factsheet Five?" asks Minneapolis Public Library's Cathy Camper. Public libraries may be too understaffed and underfunded to act as local community centers. But until they can serve as zine archive, distribution point for free publications, meeting room, day care center, concert venue, free school, mail drop for activist groups, and bookstore, there will be a lasting and important place in our culture for infoshops and the alternatives they provide. -- Chris Dodge >From Utne Reader ____________________________________________________________________________top 17. Query from LR Gowri From: "Gowri ,LR" <lr.gowri[at]in.britishcouncil.org> To: webmaster[at]libr.org Subject: Loss of Books Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 15:22:10 +0530 Dear Colleague, I am writing from British Council, India. I am looking for information on librarians being held responsible for missing books from the libraries. Do you think you can help me with any article/literature on this topic? Grateful for a reply Thank you Gowri ____________________________________________________________________________top 18. Confutatis Maledictis Subject: New TV ad for Microsoft's Internet Explorer e-mail program The classically-minded among us may have noted a new TV ad for Microsoft's Internet Explorer e-mail program which uses the musical theme of the "Confutatis Maledictis" from Mozart's Requiem. "Where do you want to go today?" is the cheery line on the screen, while the chorus sings "Confutatis maledictis, flammis acribus addictis" This translates to: "The damned and accursed are convicted to the flames of Hell." Good to know that Microsoft has done its research. robrod[at]uniserve.com > A somewhat old message from AgitProp News - http://www.igc.apc.org/laborart ____________________________________________________________________________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. 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