Library Juice 3:47

Library Juice 3:47 - December 13, 2000 Contents: Rory's stories at LISNews Bibliotheca Alexandrina: Revival of the Ancient Library of Alexandria Suggested priorities for progressive librarians... IFLA's Professional Priorities History of the ALA Code of Ethics New Library World/ Librarian's World Harcourt/Reed Elsevier - Letter from ARL to DOJ Spectrum Scholarship information ACRL National Conference Scholarship Deadline Extended IPL Volunteering Volunteer in rural Africa Quote for the week: "I venture to suggest that we are in the middle of a conceptual revolution rather than an electronic revolution: by which I mean that the electronic communication revolution facilitates the exchange of messages, data, and information. more people can be contacted more frequently with more messages and more information than in the past; but the real revolution is conceptual, and involves the way in which we view information: we are now much more concerned about its quality, application, and usefulness than we were just a few years ago." "New roles for information professionals in the development of consensus," Michael Brittain, a paper delivered at the LIANZA 2000 (Library and Information Association of New Zealand) Conference. http://www.conference.co.nz/lianza2000/papers/MichaelBrittian.pdf Homepage of the week: Toni Samek http://www.ualberta.ca/~asamek/toni.htm ________________________________________________________________________top 1. Rory's stories at LISNews By now I have posted a good collection of stories on LISNews. You can get them all linked from one page by going to the URL: http://www.lisnews.com/search.php3?author=rory Keep it and check back every month or two for more stories (though most of it has been here in Library Juice). ________________________________________________________________________top 2. Bibliotheca Alexandrina: Revival of the Ancient Library of Alexandria http://www.bibalex.gov.eg/ "With the heritage of the Ptolemies as its inspiration, the new Library of Alexandria will attempt, according to its charter, to build a sum of knowledge embracing the writings of all peoples." (Navigate via the site map; the site is also searchable.) Revival Project shows who's involved, architectural design, and statistics. Ancient Library has ancient history, archaeological marine research in the presumed location of the ancient library, and information about contemporary scholars. BA Collections gives the mission of the library, what materials will be collected, and examples of donations and rare books. More about collections is available in New BA. - wh From: Librarians Index to the Internet: http://lii.org ________________________________________________________________________top 3. Suggested priorities for progressive librarians... Discussion on the international listserv "Progressive Librarians Around the World" has focused on Cuba lately, primarily in response to Robert Kent's campaign against Cuba and in favor of the "Independent Librarians" there. Some members of the list grew tired of this discussion, feeling, justifiably, that we have already heard all we need to hear from "both sides." Mark Rosenzweig responded to the call to talk about other issues with his suggested agenda for the group. I am copying it here for Library Juice readers, followed by a response from a representative of BiS, a Swedish organization of progressive librarians. -Rory Re: We do have other issues to think about Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 17:36:20 -0500 From: Mark Rosenzweig <iskra[at]earthlink.net> To: "Progressive Librarians Around the World" <ProgLib[at]listbot.com> Progressive Librarians Around the World - http://www.germany.net/teilnehmer/100/115158/adresse.htm Martyn is right: we do have other issues to think about, and at least/at last we have Cuba and hopefully Kent off the agenda for the time being. So, enough...genug . CLSG and other individual initiatives will continue covering that area of concern. To proceed to positive work: I would like to propose the following 10 points as a basis for discussion of principles/goals shared by progressive librarians internationally. we shall work towards an international agenda as the basis of common action of librarians everywhere actively committed, as librarians, to social justice, equality, human welfare, and the development of cultural democracy. we will unite librarians and information workers in opposition to the marketization of public goods, to privatization of social resources and to outsourcing of services and will oppose international treaties and institutions which advance destructive neo-liberal policies. 3)we insist upon the equality of access to and inclusiveness of information services, especially extending such services to the poor, marginalized and discriminated against, including the active solidarity-based provision of information assistance to these groups and their advocates in their struggles. 4) we shall encourage the exploration of alternative models of human services; promote and disseminate critical analysis of information technology's impact on libraries and societies; and support the fundamental democratization of existing institutions of education, culture, communications. 5) we shall undertake joint, interdisciplinary research into fundamental library issues (e.g. into the political economy of information in the age of neo-liberalism and corporate globalization) in order to lay the basis for effective action in our spheres of work. 6) we will support cooperative collection, organization and preservation of the documents of people's struggles and the making available of alternative materials representing a wide range of progressive viewpoints often excluded as resources from the debates of our times. 7) we will investigate and organize efforts to make the library-as-workplace more democratic and encourage resistance to the managerialism of the present library culture. 8) we will lead in promoting international solidarity among librarians and cooperation between libraries across borders on the basis of our joint commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related covenants which create a democratic framework for constructive cooperative endeavours. 9) we will organize in common with other cultural and educational progressives, to help put issues of social responsibility on the agendas of international bodies such as IFLA and UNESCO. 10) We shall oppose corporate globalization which, despite its claims, reinforces existing social, economic, cultural inequalities, and insist on a democratic globalism and internationalism which respects and cultivates cultural plurality, which recognizes the sovereignty of peoples, which acknowledges the obligations of society to the individual and communities, and which prioritizes human values and needs over profits. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. What about our network? Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 22:47:14 -0500 From: "Lennart Wettmark/Hervor Svenonius" <sve.we[at]xpress.se> To: <ProgLib[at]listbot.com> Reply to: "Progressive Librarians Around the World" <ProgLib[at]listbot.com> Progressive Librarians Around the World - http://www.germany.net/teilnehmer/100/115158/adresse.htm Mark Rosenzweig has recently sent an excellent ten points list to this list-serv as a contribution to the further discussion of the basis of our world wide progressive network. I hope we don't forget to relate to his contribution. This is the short platform of the Swedish Bibliotek i Samhälle (BIS) from 1999: BiS is a socialist organisation open to people working in libraries and to others with an interest in library issues BiS believes that it is the objective of libraries to defend and further develop democracy: by supporting freedom of speech and helping to guarantee the provision of information as a base for the creation of fully informed public opinion and social criticism by being a publicly financed and democratically governed institution developed through dialogue with patrons and the community by reaching out to, promoting literacy amongst and mentoring primarily those who are at risk of being socially excluded from information by proactively offering information and literature which provides alternative viewpoints, is not easily accessible and serves as an important supplement to popular and widely available commercial sources. Lennart Wettmark ________________________________________________________________________top 4. IFLA's Professional Priorities The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is a worldwide, independent, non-governmental organization. The purposes of the Federation as stated in its Statutes are "to promote high standards of delivery of library and information services; to encourage widespread understanding of the value and importance of high quality library and information services in the private, public and voluntary sectors; and to represent the interests of its Members throughout the world." The Professional Priorities outlined in this document will provide guidance in the development of IFLA?s professional activities. These priorities are to be incorporated into the professional programmes throughout IFLA?s organizational structure, recognizing especially that the needs, concerns and views of every region of the world are to be taken into account, particularly those in the developing world. Regional concerns, communication and information exchange among IFLA?s members, and the use of electronic technology to facilitate the implementation of its priorities underpin all of these professional priorities. Supporting the Role of Libraries in Society IFLA supports the establishment and maintenance of libraries by serving as an international advocate to ensure that the vital role of libraries in the digital age is well understood and acted upon. IFLA lobbys on behalf of libraries with government officials and community leaders, using all available avenues to secure appropriate funding and staffing of library services worldwide. Defending the Principle of Freedom of Information IFLA believes that all people have a fundamental right to create and acquire information and to express their views publicly. The right to know and the freedom to express are two aspects of the same principle. Libraries play a key role in securing these rights, and IFLA supports this role by defending the ability of libraries to acquire, organize, preserve and make available the widest variety of materials, reflecting plurality and diversity in the society, and thus to protect and enhance democracy and a free debate; by defending the ability of libraries to ensure that selection and availability of material and services are governed by professional principles, not the political, moral or religious views of individuals or governments; and by defending the ability of libraries to make materials and services available to all users, with no discrimination due to race, creed, gender, religion, age or any other subjective reason. Promoting Literacy, Reading, and Lifelong Learning IFLA's programmes promote literacy in many aspects, helping libraries worldwide to develop programmes that support increased literacy for all people, including basic literacy (the ability to use, understand and apply print, writing, speech and visual information in order to communicate and interact effectively), reading (the ability to decipher print and other forms of notation, to understand written language and its construction, and to comprehend the meaning of the written word), information literacy (the ability to formulate and analyze an information need; to identify and appraise sources; to locate, retrieve, organize and store information; to interpret, analyze, synthesize and evaluate that information critically; and to evaluate whether the information need has been satisfied) and lifelong learning (providing for the needs of all learners, whether formal or informal, helping to raise the aspirations and achievements of individuals of all ages and abilities). Providing Unrestricted Access to Information IFLA seeks to influence political and economic decisions that have an ethical impact on access to information so that all persons throughout the world have the same opportunity to participate in the information society without regard to physical, regional, social, or cultural barriers. Ongoing technological progress seems to widen the gap between the information rich and the information poor world-wide. IFLA supports programmes which provide support for information access in developing regions of the world. Balancing the Intellectual Property Rights of Authors with the Needs of Users IFLA assumes a dual responsibility, both to the producers of intellectual property and to libraries as representatives of information users, because safeguarding and providing access to products of the mind are fundamental to the growth of knowledge. IFLA works to protect the rights of authors and the role of libraries by playing an active role with organizations such as WIPO and UNESCO in the drafting of appropriate treaties and legislative models which recognize the dichotomy between the rights of authors and the needs of users. IFLA also works to assure that intellectual property rights support the universal availability of information by such activities as encouraging national legislation for legal deposit and assuring the right of libraries to make copies of published documents in a manner consistent with principles of fair use. Safeguarding these rights must involve both the owners of intellectual property and its users. It necessitates working in collaboration with authors, publishers and librarians. Promoting Resource Sharing IFLA serves as an international forum and advocate for sharing information in all its forms across national borders. It promotes the communication of bibliographic information which is the basis for all resource sharing, it works to develop cooperative principles for international lending, and it supports a voucher scheme to liberate lending reimbursements from national currencies. IFLA works to encourage the sharing of resources, by supporting traditional lending and document delivery, by promoting the communication and easy exchange of bibliographic information, and by encouraging the development of virtual libraries whose holdings will be accessible without regard to geography or national boundaries. Preserving Our Intellectual Heritage Although responsibility for the preservation and conservation of the intellectual heritage in their custody is ultimately the responsibility of individual libraries, IFLA works to promote the establishment of regional, national and international priorities and the application of the best scientific knowledge in the fulfillment of this responsibility. One of IFLA's primary activities is to ensure appropriate coordination at the international level through programmes such as advocacy, training and the development and dissemination of standards and best practices. IFLA also participates in international activities related to disaster preparedness and recovery. Developing Library Professionals IFLA works to strengthen the abilities and knowledge of library and information science professionals and paraprofessionals throughout the world in order to improve service to the user. Programmes supported by IFLA encompass all educational processes, including library and information science curricula and continuing education activities such as lectures, seminars, workshops and in-service training. Promoting Standards, Guidelines, and Best Practices IFLA actively promotes standards, guidelines and best practices to provide guidance to libraries throughout the world in how to perform core functions well, and in many cases how to perform them in the same manner. The latter is particularly important in areas such as electronic communications where conformity with clear, established and widely accepted and understood standards is indispensable for the exchange of information in cost-effective ways. Supporting the Infrastructure of Library Associations IFLA supports the infrastructure of library associations, especially in countries and regions where these are poorly developed, because they provide the essential means for accomplishing IFLA's goals at the national level. Library associations provide many valuable services to librarians. They work to develop effective library programmes and services that meet the needs of library users and advance societal objectives and interests, ensuring public access to information, and preserving and protecting cultural resources. Representing Libraries in the Technological Marketplace IFLA serves as an international advocate for libraries and their users, seeking to influence the development of technology in the world marketplace, especially technology that controls the flow and availability of information. IFLA represents both the sophisticated interests of high-tech libraries and the practical concerns of more traditional users. It negotiates on behalf of libraries (and for the benefit of library users) in discussions on international trade and telecommunications, and it also works to encourage the development of affordable technologies that will bring information to all the populations of the world. IFLA November 2000 ________________________________________________________________________top 5. History of the ALA Code of Ethics Documents relating to the history of the ALA Code of Ethics are available at http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/historyofcode.html ________________________________________________________________________top 6. New Library World/ Librarian's World http://www.mcb.co.uk/nlw.htm The librarian's role is changing in response to new needs and the influence of new technology. By increasing your awareness of the potential for change and innovation within your profession, New Library World enables you to make the most of opportunities to provide the service your readers want now - and in the future. A subscription also includes Librarians' World, a personal view of the modern library. It's lively mix of news and comment creates a sociable and stimulating read guaranteed to keep you and your colleagues on the ball. Subscribers have access to full-text articles. The articles can be viewed or saved to disk in either HTML or PDF formats. Editor: Linda Ashcroft Email: L.S.Ashcroft[at]livjm.ac.uk > From NewJour-L ________________________________________________________________________top 7. Harcourt/Reed Elsevier - Letter from ARL to DOJ Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 11:32:49 -0500 (EST) From: Mary Case <marycase[at]arl.org> Reply-To: arl-directors[at]arl.org To: Multiple recipients of list <arl-directors[at]arl.org> Subject: Harcourt - Reed Elsevier Dear ARL Directors: As you know, Harcourt General announced last Friday (October 27) that it had accepted a bid from Reed Elsevier and Thomson to purchase Harcourt. Prior to the deal being announced, we had sent a letter to the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) expressing our concerns about the impending transaction. We have been contacted by an attorney at the DOJ and will be speaking with DOJ staff on Monday. Below is the letter that was sent. As you will notice, we have focused our complaint on the acquisition by Reed Elsevier of the Worldwide Scientific, Technical, and Medical Group of Harcourt. Companies included are Academic Press, W.B. Saunders, Mosby, and Churchill Livingstone. Under the terms of the agreement, Reed Elsevier will buy Harcourt outright in a transaction estimated to be worth $5.6 billion. Reed will retain Harcourt's STM businesses, in addition to its grade- and high-school text-publishing divisions. Reed will sell the college textbook businesses and most of the corporate and professional-service segment to Thomson for $2.1 billion. We will keep you posted on developments. If the DOJ is interested in investigating our concerns further, we may be contacting you for information. Thank you, Mary ********************************************* September 18, 2000 Susan Edelheit Assistant Chief Civil Task Force Antitrust Division Department of Justice Dear Ms. Edelheit: As Executive Director of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), I am writing to express my members' concern about the impending sale of Harcourt General (Harcourt), one of the largest publishing companies in the world (over $2 billion in revenues in FY99). ARL is a membership organization representing 121 of the largest research libraries in North America. ARL represents its members in matters of federal policy and industry practice that impact their ability to fulfill their missions. Over the past 15 years, ARL's members have been severely effected by publisher price increases and are very concerned about the ongoing concentration of the publishing industry. In the aggregate, ARL libraries spend over $900 million a year on books and journals to support the information resource needs of faculty, students, and the public. But these dollars have been unable to keep up with the inflation in the cost of library materials. Librarians make their purchase decisions by broad subject categories, evaluating titles by price, quality, and anticipated use. They purchase as many titles in each subject area as their budgets will allow. The more titles in a subject area a publisher owns, the greater its market share and power. Of particular concern over the past 15 years have been the high prices of journals in science, technology, and medicine (STM), an area of publishing increasingly dominated by a few large commercial companies. According to Library Journal, STM journals have increased in price about 11% a year between 1990 and 2000. The 2000 subscription price for an STM journal averaged $974. This is over 5 times more expensive than a title in the humanities ($188) and almost twice as expensive as a title in the social sciences ($504). Moreover, recent studies show that the prices of STM journals published by commercial firms are far more expensive than those published by not-for-profit society and association publishers. A study conducted at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, found that commercially published journals in physics were, on average, 2.5 times more costly than not-for-profit journals, and in neuroscience, they were 6.5 times more expensive. [www.library.wisc.edu/projects/glsdo/cost.html] The high prices of STM journals have had a devastating effect on libraries' ability to support the information needs of their communities. According to statistics collected by ARL, between 1986 and 1999, the typical research library has had to cut journal subscriptions by 6% and decrease the purchase of books by 26%, all while spending 170% more on journals and 34% more on books. At the same time, worldwide publishing output increased over 50%. Libraries cannot even afford the same number of resources acquired in 1986 let alone the same proportion of published knowledge. Journal publishers know that demand for their products is very inelastic. Faculty need to publish to receive tenure and promotion and willingly give their articles (often produced with the support of public funds) to publishers without any payment in return. This provides publishers with an immense source of free content. In turn, libraries are expected to acquire the journals in which their faculty publish and which are needed by the faculty and their students for research and teaching. In research begun while he was an economist on staff at the Department of Justice (DOJ), Mark McCabe has demonstrated just how inelastic this demand is. He shows that despite increases in prices of biomedical journals by the major commercial publishers of almost 200% between 1988 and 1998, library subscriptions to these publishers' journals declined by only 1.5%. ["Academic Journal Pricing and Market Power: A Portfolio Approach," July 2000. [http://www.prism.gatech.edu/ ~mm284/] In addition to the market power held by these companies, mergers and acquisitions have also had an impact on STM journal prices. McCabe's data show that after the purchase of Pergamon Press by Elsevier Science (a Reed Elsevier company) in 1990-91, the price of Pergamon biomedical titles increased 27% while the Elsevier titles increased about 5.2%. A similar result occurred from the purchase of Lippincott by Wolters Kluwer that same year, with Lippincott titles experiencing about a 25% price increase due to the merger. These data demonstrate that modest transactions that would not rise to the concentration thresholds of current antitrust guidelines could in fact enhance the market power of the merging companies and significantly increase the price of scholarly journals. Both Reed Elsevier and Wolters Kluwer have confirmed (Professional Publishing Report, Sept. 8) that they are seriously considering a bid to purchase Harcourt, which has a significant Worldwide Scientific, Technical and Medical Group (about $700 million in revenues in FY99). ARL believes that the sale of Harcourt as a whole or the sale of its Worldwide STM division or any of its individual companies (Academic Press, Mosby, Churchill Livingstone, W. B. Saunders) would contribute to the continued concentration of STM publishers and significantly increase prices. Of the 13 companies publishing 10 or more quality-ranked biomedical titles in 1998, according to McCabe, only 8 remain. Harcourt is one of the three largest of these. The net effect of the sale of Harcourt would be a continued erosion of libraries' ability to provide information resources for their constituencies. For these reasons, we believe that any such transaction should be prevented by antitrust enforcement agencies. In 1997 Reed Elsevier and Wolters Kluwer proposed a merger. The Antitrust Division and the Merger Task Force of the European Union both investigated the transaction. ARL was contacted by the DOJ and both our organization staff and our members worked tirelessly to provide information to DOJ attorneys and economists. While the Reed Elsevier and Wolters Kluwer merger was abandoned by the companies in anticipation of competition-related concerns, ARL and its members are still very concerned about any other transactions in this industry segment. As in 1997, ARL and its members stand ready to help in any way we can. Thank you for your time and attention. Sincerely, Duane E. Webster Executive Director *************************************** October 27, 2000 Susan Edelheit Assistant Chief Civil Task Force Antitrust Division Department of Justice Dear Ms. Edelheit: As a follow-up to my letter of September 18 regarding the possible sale of Harcourt General, I am attaching a press release from Harcourt General dated today announcing that it has agreed to sell the company to Reed Elsevier. In addition, I have attached an article about the transaction from today's Wall Street Journal ("Reed Elsevier, Thomson Near Harcourt Deal," p. A3). I would just like to reiterate that the Association of Research Libraries believes that the sale of Harcourt, and especially its Worldwide Scientific, Technical, and Medical division, to Reed Elsevier will have severe repercussions for libraries, researchers, and the public. This transaction will result in a further concentration of STM publishers and significantly increased prices. The net effect of the sale will be a continued erosion of access to scientific research and information resources. Again, we believe that this transaction should be prevented by antitrust enforcement agencies. Please do not hesitate to contact us as this transaction comes under review. Thank you for your time and attention. Sincerely, Duane E. Webster Executive Director Attachments Mary Case, Director Office of Scholarly Communication Association of Research Libraries 21 Dupont Circle, N.W., Suite 800 Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 296-2296 X112 Fax: (202) 872-0884 Internet: marycase[at]arl.org ________________________________________________________________________top 8. Spectrum Scholarship information Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 18:55:32 -0600 From: Satia Orange <sorange[at]ala.org> To: OLOS Chairs <oloschrs[at]ala.org> Cc: outreach[at]ala.org Subject: [OLOSCHRS:528] Re: [ECAUCUS:1298] Spectrum Scholarship and Some Data Dear REFORMA, APALA, AILA, BLACK CAUCUS, AFAS, CCMCCD, Recruitment Network and Spectrum Scholars: Please forward my message on to your membership. I want to ask your help in aggressively recruiting for the ALA Spectrum Scholarship designated for under-represented groups of color in the profession of librarianship. The scholarship is $5,000 and is for attendance to a graduate program that is accredited by the ALA. We want to have a good pool and we want this year's jury to work very hard at selecting 50 scholars and 15 alternates. Applications, personal statements, transcripts and professional references are required. Applications can be found and submitted at http://www.ala.org/spectrum/ Criteria and eligibility can be found at the same website. THE DEADLINE is MARCH 1, 2001 For your information we have 3 classes of Spectrum Scholars. Their ethnic breakdown has been as follows: Class of 98-99: 42% African American/Black 26% Asian/Pacific Islander 30% Latino/Hispanic 2% American Indian Class of 99-2000 52% African American/Black 20% Asian/Pacific Islander 20% Latino/Hispanic 8% American Indian/Alaska Native Class of 2000-2001 59% African American/Black 8% Asian/Pacific Islander 25% Latino/Hispanic 2% American Indian/Alaska Native 6% Bicultural/Belonging to more than one group Spectrum scholars represented 4% of total 1998 enrollment in ALA-Accredited Master's Programs and 4% of the total enrollment of students of color (in schools that reported ethnicity). The ALA Office of Human Resource Development and Recruitment's analysis of ALISE statistics indicates that graduates from ALA-accredited masters programs in library and information studies for the years 1991-1997 range in percentages from 88% to 92% White/Caucasian with the 1997-1998 class being 89% White/Caucasian. The bits of information given above are part of the report submitted to the Executive Board of ALA in October of 2000. Please let me know if you have any questions. Your help in this effort is needed and appreciated. Sandra Rios Balderrama Office for Diversity American Library Association 50 East Huron St. Chicago, IL 60611, USA http://www.ala.org/spectrum/ phone:1-800-545-2433 ext. 5020 or 1-312-280-5020 fax: 1-312-280-3256 e-mail: sbalderr[at]ala.org ________________________________________________________________________top 9. ACRL National Conference Scholarship Deadline Extended The application deadline for the 2001 ACRL National Conference Scholarship Program has been extended until January 8, 2001. The scholarships will allow academic librarians new to the profession to attend the 2001 ACRL National Conference in Denver, Colorado, March 15-18, 2001. "In this time of rapid change and unfettered opportunities and challenges, ACRL is proud to offer this excellent professional development opportunity," said ACRL President Betsy Wilson. "National Conference scholarships increase the participation of librarians from diverse populations in ACRL's activities and programs, and help ACRL become a more inclusive organization. Previous recipients have told us how valuable they found the conference programs, and the opportunity to meet with their colleagues in academic librarianship." Held biennially, the ACRL National Conference is the only conference dedicated to serving the interests of academic librarians. Applicants must be current ACRL members, and must be employed in an academic library. Additional criteria and entry forms can be found at http://www.ala.org/acrl/ncsclrshp.pdf. Program, exhibits, and registration information about the 2001 ACRL National Conference can be found at its website, http://www.ala.org/acrl/denver.html. With over 11,000 members, ACRL is the largest division of the American Library Association. ACRL is dedicated to enhancing the ability of academic library and information professionals to serve the information needs of the higher education community and to improve learning, teaching, and research. Meredith Parets Program Assistant Association of College & Research Libraries 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611 Phone: (312) 280-2515 Fax: (312) 280-2520 Email: mparets[at]ala.org ________________________________________________________________________top 10. IPL Volunteering ><< Do you have any suggestions on how to contact public/academic/special > libraries in order to volunteer in the area of reference? I am a current > library student living in the SF area and am interested in reference work. > I do not have any work experience and agree with you that volunteering or > a practicum might help me out. > > Stephanie Woodbury > >> .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. At 09:49 PM 12/7/00 EST, DianneJBL[at]aol.com wrote: >Hi Stephanie, >What about volunteering with the Internet Public Library? I did that for a >couple months (before I got too busy with a paying job), and it was really a >lot of fun--without the pressure of an actual reference desk: at IPL, you can >answer only those questions you want to answer, and have plenty of time to >look up your answers and word them carefully. I thought it was a great >experience. >Dianne Lyons, Resource Specialist >Massachusetts Prevention Center > .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2000 09:24:49 -0500 From: Michelle Filleul <mfilleul[at]fas.harvard.edu> To: newlib-l[at]usc.edu Subject: Re: reference volunteer This peaked my interest, Diane, do you have someone to contact about doing this type of reference work? .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. From: "Kate (Irwin) Dixon" <kdixon[at]capital.net> To: Michelle Filleul <mfilleul[at]fas.harvard.edu> Cc: newlib-l[at]usc.edu Subject: IPL volunteering, was Re: reference volunteer See http://www.ipl.org/ref/STAFF/Recruit.html for their recruitment page. Thanks for mentioning this, Dianne -- I've been meaning to volunteer since I was in school. My brother actually used to work for the IPL & it's a great resource. I'm going to sign up today! :) Happy Friday, all... Kate .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2000 12:00:50 EST From: RobertsBeth[at]aol.com To: <kdixon[at]capital.net>, <mfilleul[at]fas.harvard.edu> Subject: Re: IPL volunteering, was Re: reference volunteer Hi all: The only thing that bothers me about the IPL (I do think it is a wonderful resource) and other Online question and answer pages, is that they don't seem to want to pay librarians for the wonderful work we do for them. I do understand that they probably could not operate at all if they had tp pay us, but, still... There are many of these services (Askanything,com, etc.) but nobody is paying. We are giving our expertise away free. That is O.K I suppose, but what if we demanded to be paid, then what would happen? What do others think of these free Q&A sites? Beth .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2000 14:28:27 -0600 From: "Lydia (Lee) Harris" <lharris1[at]students.uiuc.edu> To: newlib-l[at]usc.edu Hi there, IPL gets many of their volunteers by working with students taking reference classes. I am at UIUC and answering some of the questions on IPL was part of the course requirements. Then it is my choice whether or not I continue to volunteer. All answers are reviewed and Patricia Memmott does an excellent job of providing feedback. If you are new to the area of reference, IPL is a great place to acquire some experience. You might want to review the work of Nicholas G. Tomaiuolo before you assume that all of the "Aska" services do not pay their staffs. In fact, some of them do. The best thing about IPL is the wide range of questions, which keeps encourages staying on with online searching strategies and reference sources. There are no directional questions. Some questions require just directing the person to resources and others to factual answers. In fact, I have found a number of questions directed to IPL which come from library students. There is also an art to explaining some answers. The best question I chose to answer was a request for statistical information online showing how many amateur or aspiring writers there are. Lee Harris Lee Harris University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign MLIS LEEP student lharris1[at]uiuc.edu "All opinions expressed are hopefully somebody else's." ________________________________________________________________________top 11. Volunteer in rural Africa Librarian Volunteer Announcement Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 14:21:18 -0500 From: "Maggie Hite" <hitem[at]ils.unc.edu> To: ALA International Relations Round Table <alaworld[at]ala1.ala.org> Cc: "Maggie" <hitem[at]ils.unc.edu> Reply to: alaworld[at]ala1.ala.org Please pass this along to members who may be interested. Inform the World! http://rtpnet.org/wlp/itw2001.htm Spend the summer of 2001 helping communities get access to the information they need to build a better future. As an Inform the World (ITW) Volunteer Librarian in rural Africa, you could use your professional skills to help rural librarians in English-speaking South Africa. Instead of spending the summer battling with your online catalog, you could teach a class on book repair, help implement a simple cataloguing system or read stories to a group of eager children. If living and working in rural South Africa sounds like a challenge you would enjoy, then join us for this exciting service project. Your work will help African librarians turn collections of books into centers of lifelong learning. Who: The World Library Partnership (WLP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building global understanding by promoting literacy, learning and access to information. We believe that libraries empower individuals and enrich communities, and we advocate for sustainable, community-based libraries in developing areas of the world. The World Library Partnership (WLP) will be working with the South African Department of Education's Centre for Educational Technology and Distance Education. What: The Inform the World Program will train and place 30 American librarians in rural libraries in South Africa. The volunteers will conduct practical service projects determined by the needs of their host libraries. Previous volunteers trained librarians in basic skills such as how to inventory, weed, repair and catalog books. They used their knowledge and creativity to paint murals, make display boards, produce publicity fliers and pamphlets and help clean, brighten and re-organize libraries. They worked on projects ranging from creating a bus bookmobile to riding along on a donkey driven bookmobile. After returning to the U.S., the volunteers also work with WLP to design projects that will continue to help the libraries they visit. When: July 15th to August 15th. The program begins with training and orientation in South Africa. The volunteers then travel to their host libraries where they spend three weeks working on service projects. The ITW volunteers and their African host librarians will travel as a group to the Zimbabwe International Book Fair for a debriefing/evaluation session and to buy books for the South African libraries. Eligibility: WLP invites professional librarians and library school students from all disciplines to apply. Flexibility, a sense of adventure and the ability to adapt to very basic living conditions are a must. Cost: The cost of the trip is $2000. This includes placement, training, materials, in-country orientation and debriefing, accommodations, most meals, site visit by the trip coordinator during the project, registration for the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, in-country transportation. WLP can provide materials and suggestions to help volunteers secure additional funding from other sources. Deadline: The Application Deadline is January 31st, 2001. We welcome early applications. We will interview qualified applicants by phone and announce the final selections by the end of February. http://rtpnet.org/wlp/itw2001.htm Maggie Hite Assistant Director World Library Partnership 1028 Bahama Rd. Bahama NC 27506 U.S.A. www.rtpnet.org/wlp hitem[at]ils.unc.edu ________________________________________________________________________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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