Library Juice 5:33 - October 31, 2002

Contents:

1. On the "Wild Librarian" websites
2. ALA Washington Office Press Release on Billington ruling on fair use
3. Amy Goodman to speak at President's Program (ALA Midwinter)
4. Summary: Reference Interview activities (LIBREF-L)
5. Mitch Freedman on pay equity naysayers
6. Library Trends 51(1): "Services to the Labor Community"
7. Letter from Congress to HHH on scientific communication
8. Petition to James Billington re: CPUSA archives
9. Miriam Braverman remembered
10. Links
11. Amusing Searches for October

Quote for the week:

"Education for freedom must begin by stating facts and enunciating values,
and must go on to develop appropriate techniques for realizing the values
and for combating those who, for whatever reason, choose to ignore the facts
or deny the values."
-Aldous Huxley (Brave New World Revisited New York: Harper & Row, 1965,
p96)

Homepage of the week: Sandra L. Clockedile
http://www.cybersandy.org/

________________________________________________________________________top

1. On the "Wild Librarian" websites

They are multiplying like rabbits. They have names that make us smile, as
their humorous incongruity attests to the persistence of librarian
stereotypes: Anarchist Librarians; Angrylibrarian; Barbarian Librarian;
Bodybuilding Librarian; Bellydancing Librarian; The Leather Librarian;
Gothique Librarian; Librarian Avengers; The Rabid Librarian; The Renegade
Librarian; The Rockabilly Librarian; The Rogue Librarian;
Ska Librarian; The Stripping Librarian. (I list these not because I have
actually looked at them all or because what I will say ahead necessarily
applies to each, but because their names, taken together, show evidence of
a trend that I want to analyze.) It's a very partial list. As soon as
one can make a list of all the subversive, rebellious, alternative sites
by members of the new breed of generation X, web savvy librarians, there
is a new one to look at, most often a blog whose contents mostly consist
of links to the same articles in the mainstream press that all the other
blogs are linking to.

This phenomenon is, I believe, mostly something to celebrate, but not
without qualifications and reservations. It is something to celebrate
because these sites clearly show that a new generation of librarians does
not fit the old stereotype. And it seems to be a much better way of
fighting the stereotype than renaming ourselves "information specialists,"
which is really more of a way of knuckling under, saying that the
stereotype no longer applies to us because we are no longer librarians.
"No," young librarians are saying, "We are librarians and we like punk
rock; we like sex; we like motorcycles; we like bellydancing; we have
tattoos; if we are geeks then maybe we're the ones who made it cool to
be a geek."

It's a good thing if this strategy succeeds in demonstrating to the public
that librarians aren't clearly a type, or that we are a somewhat different
type than previously thought, a group that should be approached with an
open mind. However, I see a couple of possible weaknesses with the
approach. First, there is the risk of trading one set of negative images
(priggish spinster) for another (unserious but apparently employed
slacker). Will Manley wrote in American Libraries, May, 1996:

"The world generally sees us as steady, serious, and studious.
Unfortunately, steady, serious, and studious are often mistaken for
strict, staid, and stuffy. That stereotype seems unfair and unkind until
we compare it with other, more unpleasant occupational stereotypes:
Lawyers are liars, politicians are crooks, doctors are greedy, athletes
are stupid, journalists are egomaniacs. In comparison, our stuffiness
doesn't look so bad."

That the negative stereotypes of librarians are linked to actual positive
attributes of our profession is something we should consider. If we are
going to bust the stereotypes, we should avoid busting the positive public
perceptions of us at the same time. I think it is better to combine, as
many librarians on the web are doing (but many are not), a demonstration
of our skills and seriousness as librarians with expressions of our
multifaceted personal identities.

Often, though, I find, a "Wild Librarian" website does little more than
announce to the world, "Here is my homepage or blog; I am a librarian who
is also hip; isn't that funny/cool?" A couple of problems begin to emerge
here. First, the "Wild Librarian" labels are pleasurable because they
play with the incongruity of being both wild and a librarian. In
highlighting this incongruity we may be participating in the "joke" that
says positing the idea of a librarian who is contrary to the stereotype
(the partying librarian) is amusing. In flirting with the incongruity of
the Wild Librarian we might actually reinforce the undercurrent of
ridicule that accompanies so much of the public discourse about librarians
(e.g., SF Chronicle, September 16, 2002: "FBI snooping has librarians
stamping mad" - always a pun that serves to trivialize our work by
focusing on its mundane, nerdy, or purportedly feminine aspects). Thus,
attempts such as these at busting the stereotype can have the paradoxical
effect of reinforcing the stereotype. In highlighting the incongruity of
being a wild librarian, they assert that the incongruity is an incongruity
after all.

Another problem with the "long on style, short on content" wild librarian
sites is that they allow themselves to be co-opted by the web as a whole,
which has a decidedly consumer orientation. When little or no original
content is offered on a website, the edges bleed and the medium becomes
the message, with the result that whatever wild or radical adjective is
chosen to modify the noun "librarian" tends to lose its meaning, becoming
merely a spicy seasoning in a recipe for consumption as we click from site
to site.

What is the way out of this conundrum? I believe it is in focusing on
"content" that is thoughtful and critical, rather than focusing on the
funny label. Where a site incorporates or links to material that exists
elsewhere on the web it should carefully construct a context for it, so
that the site has a differentiated existence and does more than provide a
momentary impression of a meme (wild librarian) or a design feel amidst
the commodifying sameness of "web content." Where we use radical
adjectives to modify the noun librarian, we should see to it that we don't
allow the consumer orientation of the web itself and our uncritical
participation in it to rob these adjectives of their meaning. If we are
saying we are radical librarians, we should show that we are radical in a
steady, serious and studious way, as librarians. If we are saying that we
like to party besides being librarians, we shouldn't make this incongruity
the point of the site; it should emerge naturally, even if only in
passing. And if we really are rebel librarians, our rebellion shouldn't
be strictly "web-based;" that is, it should not be in the form of that
socially destructive cyber-libertarianism that celebrates anonymity and
freedom from place. If we really are rebel librarians, we should be
rebelling against stultifying aspects of the library establishment,
undermining the middle-class bias of the profession and trying to undo
actual features of our professional culture that negative aspects of the
librarian stereotype truthfully represent.

In other words, our work on the web should show that because we are rebels
in the best sense and librarians in the best sense what the public thought
was an incongruity really isn't an incongruity after all. Many librarians
are doing this admirably while having fun at the same time. I think we
could all use a reminder now and again.
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2. ALA Washington Office Press Release on Billington ruling on fair use

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2000
CONTACT: FRANK DIFULVIO
(202) 628-8410

New Digital Copyright Rules seen as a defeat for Library Users and the
American Public

The principle of "fair use" in the digital age reduced to nothing more than
a hollow promise

Washington D.C. -- The Librarian of Congress James Billington has ruled
against the American public and library users today, by negating fair use
in the digital arena. Billington allowed only two exceptions resulting
from the rulemaking proceeding by the Library's Copyright Office involving
the section 1201 anticircumvention provision of the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA).

This final rule by the Librarian of Congress will mean that users of
digital information will have fewer rights and opportunities than those
who use print material, just at a time when we are experiencing an
explosion in digital information. Libraries and academic institutions at
all levels will find it impossible to provide access to information in
this increasingly digital world, denying librarians, students,
researchers, and teachers access to important informational material that
they so desperately need.

The American Library Association (ALA) and the American Association of Law
Libraries (AALL) have worked hard to ensure that the longstanding
principle of "fair use" continues into the digital age. "As our nation
becomes ever more dependent on digital information, we are increasingly
concerned in seeing equitable access to information resources in our
country," said Nancy Kranich, President of ALA. "This misguided decision
by the Copyright Office will do just the opposite, by expanding the
digital divide among our citizens, at a time when we all understand how
important it is to provide equity of access to information for all
Americans - and not just the privileged few," she concluded.

This ruling is not some narrow legalism. It has real consequences for the
American people, because it is a direct threat to public access to
information. It appears to give in to the demands of the proprietary
community, which seems determined to lock up information -- requiring
citizens to pay for glancing at any kind of information in the digital
age.

"What the Copyright Office has done is more than a disappointment to
library users, scholars, students, and the general public," said Mary
Alice Baish, Acting Washington Affairs Representative of AALL. "The Courts
and Congress will now be forced to grapple yet again with these issues to
assure that the Copyright Law conforms to constitutional requirements of
balance, and protects equitable public access to information," she
insists.

- End - ________________________________________________________________________top

3. Amy Goodman to speak at President's Program (ALA Midwinter)

From: Maurice J. Freedman [mailto:freedman[at]wlsmail.org]
Sent: Friday, October 04, 2002 1:04 PM
To: SRRT Action Council
Cc: Gerald Hodges; Mark Gould; Larra Clark; John Nichols Berry III;
Leonard Kniffel
Subject: [SRRTAC-L:9033] "Freedom, Patriotism, & Information" - Amy
Goodman

Dear Colleagues,

I'm thrilled to be able to announce that the award-winning Amy Goodman,
host of the award-winning Pacifica Network show "Democracy Now," will be
the speaker at the ALA President's Program at the Midwinter Meeting in
Philadelphia, Sunday, January 26, 2003, 3:30-5:00pm.

The title of the program is "Freedom, Patriotism, and Information."

Personally speaking, I think Amy Goodman is the single best person in
the broadcast media today.

I believe all of you who are unaware of Ms. Goodman's work will find her
to be challenging and informative. Her daily program continues to
breathe life into the word "democracy" and honors our most cherished
value as librarians, intellectual freedom.

She is an inspiration for me and a true successor to the late great I.F.
Stone.

Here is the web site for Democracy Now,

http://www.democracynow.org

so that you can learn more about the show, hear its broadcasts, and get
a great deal of information that typically does not make it into the
mass media, or only appears considerably after the stories were broken
on Democracy Now.

Amy Goodman's reporting from and about East Timor, as well as the
programming on Democracy Now, played an important role in the eventual
freedom and independence of East Timor. Her on-air interview with
President Clinton on Election Day, 2000, was a classic, and there is so
much more that she has done that is noteworthy.

Following is some information about Amy Goodman from the Democracy Now
website.

http://www.democracynow.org/graphics/amy-1.jpg

"Amy Goodman is a 1998 recipient of the George Polk Award for the radio
documentary "Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Military
Dictatorship," in which she and co-producer Jeremy Scahill exposed the
oil company's role in the killing of two Nigerian villagers on May 28,
1998. They were also awarded the Golden Reel for Best National
Documentary from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters.
Project Censored selected the documentary as one of the "10 Most
Censored Stories of 1998". They also were honored by the Overseas Press
Club, a citation they rejected because of the Club's agreement that
journalists not question the keynote speaker US Special Envoy Richard
Holbrooke at the awards dinner, in the midst of the US bombing of
Yugoslavia. Goodman and Scahill co-wrote two articles in The Nation
magazine on the Chevron-related killings.

"Amy has also won numerous awards for the radio documentary she
co-produced with journalist Allan Nairn, MASSACRE: The Story of East
Timor," including the Robert F. Kennedy Prize for International
Reporting, the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Silver Baton, the Armstrong
Award, the Radio/Television News Directors Award, as well as awards from
AP, UPI, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting . In 1991 Goodman
and Nairn survived a massacre in East Timor in which Indonesian soldiers
gunned down more than 250 Timorese. The Indonesian military banned them
from returning.

"Amy has reported from Israel and the occupied territories, Cuba,
Mexico, Haiti and was the first journalist ever to interview the jailed
US citizen Lori Berenson, serving a life sentence in Peru. Goodman also
broadcast the first US radio interview with imprisoned East Timor rebel
leader Xanana Gusmao.

"In addition to her daily radio shows, Goodman speaks around the country
on university campuses, as well as to human rights, church and community
groups about media activism. She also runs workshops at community radio
stations on grassroots coverage."

I hope you'll plan to attend what undoubtedly will be an outstanding
program.

Feel free to pass this message along to other lists and people.

--
mitch
Maurice J. Freedman, MLS, PhD
President of the American Library Association
www.mjfreedman.org; freedman[at]wlsmail.org
Director, Westchester (NY) Library System
410 Saw Mill River Road
Ardsley, NY 10502
www.westchesterlibraries.org
Voice: 914-674-3600 x223; Fax: 914-674-4193
All communications regarding the U*N*A*B*A*S*H*E*D Librarian
should be sent to:
editor[at]unabashedlibrarian.com
************************************************************
"I'll be seeing you, in all the old familiar places..."
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4. Summary: Reference Interview activities (LIBREF-L)

[LIBREF-L] Summary Reference Interview activities
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 09:49:28 -0400
From: Rachelle <ramseyra[at]OPLIN.LIB.OH.US>
To: LIBREF-L[at]LISTSERV.KENT.EDU
Reply to: Discussion of Library Reference Issues <LIBREF-L[at]LISTSERV.KENT.EDU>

Thanks to everyone who responded! I am thrilled with the results and now am
looking forward to the workshop. A summary of the responses is posted below.
Regards,
Rachelle Ramsey

One exercise I remember from grad school involves "whales" and "Wales."
A patron asks the reference librarian for information on "Wales"....but
the librarian does not ask any questions and assumes information on
"whales" is what the patron needs.  I think this is a good exercise
because it illustrates why asking at least a few questions is
important.

Definitely role-playing seems like it would be good. With some pre-scripted
scenarios -- where one person comes in and asks one question but really
needs something else. Etc.

 first, have you checked out the ORE On The Web site? It's
maintained through the Ohio Library Council page at www.olc.org
and is a nice interactive site.

One of the best things I can tell you is to sprinkle in a fair number of
"Gotcha'!" questions.  Where something that sounds perfectly reasonable and
straightforward and easy turns out to be something else entirely - something
that would be easily uncovered with a proper reference interview.  Besides
being good training, they're fun.

These are probably dumb examples, but I'm sure you can work up better.
 School kid says he wants information (or a book) on dolphins.  Assumption:
He's doing a school report for biology, or wants to do a book report on a
book about dolphins.  Reality:  He has a certain Miami Dolphin in mind and
wants to do a report on his favorite sports hero.

Here's an oldie - just a joke:  Kid comes in and asks for the book on Roger's
dinosaur.  Who is Roger?  Well, someone that wrote the book.  You know,
the one with lots of words in it.  OK, don't go looking for books on
dinosaurs by an author with Roger in his name - the kid want's Roget's
Thesaurus.  (That's been around a long time - probably dates me!)

You get the idea - pick some subjects/words that could have more than one
meaning or interpretation or, when pronounced incorrectly mean something
else entirely. And always emphasize that people almost never ask for what
they really want - they THINK they are, because they think they know where
they should be able to find their answer - but it takes the reference
interview to discover the real question..  They ask for a book on the history
of Illinois, when what they really want to know is the date of the great
Chicago fire - so easily found in an almanac or encyclopedia.  They ask for
a book on gorillas, but really want to know if Jane Goodall is still living
or not.  This issue is the most important, really - the "public" (students,
citizens, office workers, whatever) think they're being helpful by asking
for that history book or that gorilla book.

I did a workshop a couple of years ago on this for public librarians in our
area.  One thing that worked very well was to choose 1 participant as the
"librarian" and one as the "patron."  Then give a tricky reference question to
the "patron" only, and let the interview begin.  We then switched participants
and repeated the process.
I used things like, "I need information on china," with the instruction, "You
don't want to give away that you might have some valuable antiques you want to
price."
I don't remember now what all I used as examples (and that notebook's at home),
but one of the things that made this workshop so effective was having all the
other participants watch the encounter and then discussing as a group what
worked, what didn't work, and what might be some suggestions.

Rachelle--I found this site very useful when I was doing an article for our
library's newsletter called "Are Librarians Nosy?".  It's from Ohio Reference
Excellence Web-based Training at http://www.olc.org/ore/2intro.htm.

A useful practice exercise would have them ask the questions in a way
that the reference staff would not know the real question without them
having to ask some open-ended and clarifying questions to get more
information about what the person is looking for.  The staff should be
trained to always verify exactly what the question is (by paraphrasing
or repeating the query back to the asker) before trying to find an
answer.  After answering the question, staff should always follow up by
asking whether or not that was exactly what the person needed.  These
techniques have been found to greatly improve reference accuracy.

Search the LIBREF archives from June-ish or so; I asked the very same
question, and got a number of great suggestions.

I use variations on the following role-play activity.   I've appended
also the 'practice questions' that my students can choose from.  I
keep the questions limited so I can evaluate student work more
objectively - knowing sort of what the answers should be ;).   This
is Part 1. of a multiple step portfolio project which takes them on
through Developing a Search Strategy, Choosing Print, Database, or
Internet Resources, ILL, etc.  Let me know if you'd like the HTML
version of this activity. (from diane[at]KOVACS.com)

 There are several games that are wonderfully designed for sharpening
 interview skills. The old TV show, "What's My Line?" is a good format. The
 chosen one is given an odd statement, such as being a mountain climber or
 printer's devil or artist's model or biplane wing-walker. The other three
 chosen ones try to ask questions to find out what that person does. Put it
 on videotape, and enjoy the insights as the other techs criticize the
 question asking abilities of their peers.
       "20 Questions" is a similar type of game, where the person has only
 twenty questions to ask to find the answer after a single statement is
 given. For example, the person can say, "He rode off on a horse, and
 died." The questions may lead to the answer of General Stonewall Jackson
 being killed by his own troops. Or they may not.
       A scavenger hunt for the right answer is always an interesting
 challenge. Having the staff look not only for a piece or information, but
 a particular image, such as "Old Faithful", the "Stone of Scone," or an
 antique Pennsylvania quilt.
    Cross calculations are always a trial, so have the victim, er, student,
 translate 37 miles per hour into Old English "furlongs per hour" or
 ancient Greek "stadii per hour" (believe me, they will remember this one!)
 And if you are very evil, you will hide the calculator at the ref desk
 beforehand and make them do the calculations by hand.
       Role playing is always fun. Give out a "front" question, which
 really hides the "rear" question, which is the one to be answered. For
 example, the first person can ask for information on mining law in this
 state (the front question), but the interviewer should lead to the fact he
 is really looking for a place, either in a state park or a commercial
 facility, where he can take his preteen son or daughter to pan for gold
 along some muddy riverbank. Kudos if the ref person asks if they want info
 on poisonous snakes or plants as well.
       Team interviews are also common, so have one person start out and
 later be joined by a colleague, who may or may not be helpful. Or have a
 nosy busybody in the library join in to help confuse the issue with wrong
 advice on where to find the answer to someone else's problem.
       For true enjoyment if your were in a public library environment,
 have some kids join in. Since they all speak Martian anyway, it is always
 fun to try to translate their needs into adultspeak. What are the
 definitions of  "Gnarly, dude!", "Pogslappers" or "Kowabunga!" or whatever
 new words kids think up, borrow or adapt for their use. (Yeah, I know I'm
 old hat.)
       These games can also be tried with people from different language
 backgrounds and cultures as well. Looking up the words to a Tibetan mantra
 or finding out how many beads are on a Moslem rosary can not only be
 challenging, but can also test the skills of the reference interviewer by
 dealing with problems of accent, mis-communication, transcultural
 communication, etc.
       Certainly, any class on reference interviews should include a clip
 of "Who's on First?" to show how easily one can be misdirected by common
 communications foul ups. For a really interesting exchange, try having the
 questioner ask the question in Morse code, and see if the reference person
 can identify the code, de-code it, and find the answer. "Hello, my name's
 Dot Matrix." in Morse code is a good place to start. Duh. (Or should I
 say, "Dah"?) If Morse is too complicated, try asking in pig-Latin, and ask
 for the answer back in pig-Latin. And by the way, what is the origin of
 pig-Latin?
     For advanced students, have some questions that are outside the
 collection of the library, and challenge them to find the answer in the
 library, and when they can't find out if they can figure out who would
 likely have the answer. Remember that a goodly number of reference
 questions end up as referrals to other libraries, such as a special
 library in aeronautics or one that has an authoritative collection of
 Renaissance art on slides.
     Ditto for Internet searching. See if they can figure out when to go
 on-line for an answer, and when not to.
       Good luck. Have fun.
________________________________________________________________________top

5. Mitch Freedman on pay equity naysayers

[MEMBER-FORUM:3368] Re: [ALACOUN:8113]
Re: Tommorow, it's always a day away..when it comes to pay
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 12:22:11 -0400
From: "Maurice J. (Mitch) Freedman" <freedman[at]wlsmail.org>
To: ALA Council List <alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org>
Cc: melora[at]prexar.com, "MONEYTALKS[at]ala.org" <MONEYTALKS[at]ala.org>,
Better Salaries & Pay Equity <SALARIESTF[at]ala.org>,
ALA Member Forum <member-forum[at]ala.org>
Reply to: freedman[at]wlsmail.org

Dear Colleagues,

Although I am devoting my next column in American Libraries to this
subject, but I felt compelled to comment now because no one will see
that column for two months.

I will comment more briefly here because of the absolute
wrongheadedness of the assertion that the issue of salaries and pay
equity should be taken off of the table because of the recession and
difficult budgets.

That tired argument always has been used to hold down our pay, and it's
time we put it to sleep permanently or as I have said elsewhere, send it
to the Smithsonian.

First, a library should recognize the existence of the problem by
adopting a policy of pay equity for its staff. It doesn't cost the
library a cent to adopt the policy, but it does demonstrate the
library's acknowledgement that the inequity exists.

Second, having adopted the policy, the library should commit to some
form of comparable worth study, e.g.. how is the public library staff
paid in re to people in other city departments with comparable
qualifications, experience, and skills. Or select applicable targets
for school and academic library staff. This doesn't have to cost
money--it depends on the library's commitment to supporting the policy,
or your willingness to do the work on your own, collectively through a
staff association, a union, or any other means. We need to know the
dimension of the problem and local comparable worth data is especially
relevant.

Third,we must do something about it. The argument that budgets can't be
changed is specious--libraries have reallocated their budgets every
year--putting more here and less there depending on need, circumstance,
etc. The principle of reallocating for the purpose of paying equitable
and fair salaries must not be an issue unless we continue to passively
allow it. We all have seen portions of book money shifted to non-book
materials and on-line databases in order to meet new priorities.

Having committed to the policy and determined the extent of the problem,
the library should create a plan for addressing the inequitable pay.
Whether the increase is $5 or $5000, a token amount (e.g. in situations
where there are major cuts and dreadful problems) or a substantial
amount, some planned payment schedule should be developed. Be it over
1, 3, 5, or even 10 years, libraries must once and for all recognize the
problem and commit to doing something about it.

I didn't sign onto this profession, nor did most of you, to subsidize
libraries by accepting inequitable, and, in altogether too many
situations, demeaning salaries. I will not let up in my efforts to
promote better salaries and pay equity for all library workers in all
kinds of libraries. I hope you won't either.

The reader has my permission to send this message--unabridged,
please--to any list or person.

mitch

Maurice J. (Mitch) Freedman, MLS, PhD
President of the American Library Association

http://www.mjfreedman.org; freedman[at]wlsmail.org

Director, Westchester (NY) Library System
410 Saw Mill River Road - Suite 1000
Ardsley, NY 10502-2605
Voice [NOTE: New Phone Number] (914) 231-3223; fax: (914) 674-4193
www.westchesterlibraries.org

All matters concerning the U*N*A*B*A*S*H*E*D Librarian,
Should be sent to <editor[at]unabashedlibrarian.com>
*******************************************************************
"I'll be seeing you, in all the old familiar places..."
________________________________________________________________________top

6. Library Trends 51(1): "Services to the Labor Community"

[SRRTAC-L:9161] Service to Labor
Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 11:35:44 -0500
From: kmccook[at]tampabay.rr.com
To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l[at]ALA.ORG>
Reply to: srrtac-l[at]ALA.ORG

-Library Trends, 51(1), Summer 2002
"Services to the Labor Community" edited by Deborah
Joseph Schmidle

This issue is the brainchild of a committee with an
unusual membership: six librarians and six representatives of
organized labor.The American Federation of Labor/Congress
of Industrial Organizations(AFL-CIO)/American Library
Association (ALA) Joint Committee on Library Service to
Labor Groups, which celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in
2001, is committed to the current charge to "initiate,
develop, and foster ways and means of effecting closer
cooperation between the librarian and labor organizations
and the large constituency represented by the labor
organizations" (ALA Handbook of Organizations, 2000-2001,
pp. 21-22).

While serving as cochair of the joint committee, and as a
reference librarian in Cornell University's School of Industrial
and LaborRelations Library, I noticed that the subject of
library services to American labor unions received scant
attention. This dearth of discussion is remarkable, not only
because of the long history of library-labor interaction, but
also because of the scale (or potential scale) of such
interaction. There are over 16 million labor union
members in the United States (Bureau of Labor Statistics,
2002) and approximately 100 industrial and labor relations
programs in universities throughout the United States and
Canada.*

The nine articles in this issue reflect the diversity of the
joint committee membership and the collaboration between
librarians and labor union members. These articles draw
upon the experiences and perspectives of academic, public,
and special libraries, as well as labor unions' education and
research departments.
Authors include librarians, archivists, labor educators, and a
professor in labor relations. Contributions include those of
current and past joint committee members. The submissions
discuss the history of library-labor interaction, as well as the
ways in which libraries are currently working with union
groups to provide research assistance and to facilitate the
use of evolving technologies.

--From the Introduction by Deborah Joseph Schmidle

Articles and Authors Include:
"Library Service to Unions: A Historical Overview,"
Elizabeth Ann Hubbard

"Service to the Labor Community: A Public Library
Perspective," Ann C.Sparanese

"A Fifty-Five Year Partnership: ALA and the AFL-CIO,"
Arthur S. Meyers

"The Information Needs of Local Union Officials,"
Margaret A. Chaplan and Edward J. Hertenstein

"The Evolution of Research and Information Services at
the American Federation of Teachers," F. Howard Nelson
and Bernadette Bailey

"Librarians and Working Families: Bridging the
Information Divide,"Gaye Williams

"Preserving the Historical Record of American Labor:
Union-Library Archival Services Partnerships, Recent
Trends, and Future Prospects,"
Thomas James Connors

"Simple Exhibits, Effective Learning: Presenting the
United Farm Workers' Experience on the World Wide Web,"
Daniel Golodner

"Labor on Campus: Academic Library Service to Labor
Groups," Deborah
Joseph Schmidle
________________________________________________________________________top

7. Letter from Congress to HHH on scientific communication

[SRRTAC-L:9199] Re: [Refdesk] alarming letter from Congress to HHH (fwd)
Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 20:36:00 -0800 (PST)
From: Gerardo Colmenar <colmenar[at]library.ucsb.edu>
To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l[at]ala.org>
Reply to: srrtac-l[at]ala.org

Noel.

since it's on pdf format not possible to cut and paste nor email the text.
but here is an intro.

The document is a letter signed by 12 members of Congress address to the
Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson expressing their
concern "...that scientific decisionmaking is being subverted by ideology
and that scientific information that does not fit the Administration's
political agenda is being suppressed."  The rest of the 4-page letter
provides examples of their concern as stated above such as, Scientific
Information in both the NIH and CDC Websites has been removed.
Specifically, on the NIH website information discussing scientific
findings of the National Cancer Institute that contrary to popular belief
abortions do not increase the risk of breast cancer.  Similar incidents
have occurred in the CDC website also.

Further the letter quoted the Washington Post (Sept 17, 2002) that the
administration is closing down expert advisory committees whose
conclusions are at odds with the Administration's agenda and is seeking to
replace well-qualified experts on health-related advisory committees with
individuals chosen because of their ties to industry rather than because
of their scientific qualifications.

One last thing to add, the letter also expresses concern at HHS tactics of
using financial audits as a political tool to harass non-profit Department
grantees that provide comprehensive education on prevention of sexually
transmitted diseases and pregnancy, but do not adhere to the
Administration's position that the only acceptable means of achieving this
goal is to urge abstinence ("abstinence only")

The letter ends asking the Thompson information that will explain the
actions HHS has taken with regards to their concerns.

The document resides in the house of reps homepage.

hope this helps,
gary

On Wed, 30 Oct 2002, Noel Peattie wrote:

I got this into my computer, but it took several minutes.  How about a brief
introduction?  Is this something I need to retain for future reference? --
Noel.
----------
From: Gerardo Colmenar <colmenar[at]library.ucsb.edu>
To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l[at]ala.org>
Subject: [SRRTAC-L:9193] [Refdesk] alarming letter from Congress to HHH (fwd)
Date: Wed, Oct 30, 2002, 12:37 PM

Important information for librarians, especially those of us working in
the medical and science related fields. But the bottom line is that this
incident, as well as the one about the ERIC Database, curtail our
responsibilities as librarians vis a vis Library Bill of Rights.
Has anyone else heard about this?

gary

Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 12:14:21 -0800 (PST)
From: x
To: x
Subject: [Refdesk] alarming letter from Congress to HHH

http://www.house.gov/waxman/news_files/news_letters_thompson_hhs_websites_10_21_02.pdf ________________________________________________________________________top

8. Petition to James Billington re: CPUSA archives

Please distribute this message as appropriate, especially to archivist lists.

The Progressive Archivists website now has an online petition to James
Billington in support of the CPUSA's effort to recover its archives, which
were appropriated by the Russian Federation and then sold to the Library of
Congress. (They had been sent to the Soviet Union during the Red Scare for
safekeeping.)

We are collecting signatures of archivists, librarians and historians. You
can sign the petition at http://www.libr.org/progarchs/CPUSApetition.html .

The text of the petition is as follows:

The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), sent its archives to the Soviet Union
between the years 1919-1944, during a time of harassment, red-baiting and
massive deportations on political grounds, solely for safekeeping, not on
permanent deposit, in order to protect Party members and sympathizers
against violations of free thought and speech.

These archives were appropriated by the Russian Federation without any
evidence of deed of gift or transfer from the CPUSA, an organization still
in existence with a designated archives. The entire collection was
microfilmed and copy transported to the Library of Congress without
consulting the CPUSA in its decision to open the archives for research,
clearly violating the ethical code of the Society of American Archivists
(SAA).

In light of this controversy surrounding the misappropriation of the
archives of the CPUSA, we the undersigned archivists, historians and
librarians
urge the Library of Congress:

1. to acknowledge the CPUSA as a legitimate, active U.S. political party,
   and the generators, collectors and rightful owners of the papers in question
2. to use its influence to persuade the Russian government to return the
   archives to the official depository of the CPUSA, the Research Center for
   Marxist Studies in New York, New York, and
3. to consult with the CPUSA as to the present and further disposition of
   the microfilm copy, the finding aid, and rights pertaining to the ownership
   of the archives of the CPUSA.

--

The Progressive Archivist website is at http://libr.org/progarchs/

Rory Litwin
Progressive Archivists webmaster
________________________________________________________________________top

9. Miriam Braverman remembered

Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 21:38:03 -0400
From: Mark Rosenzweig <iskra[at]earthlink.net>
To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l[at]ala.org>
Reply to: srrtac-l[at]ala.org

Friends,

Pioneer political librarian, Miriam Braverman, has just died in NYC
of a heart attack following a broken hip and hip-replacement surgery.

She remained vitally interested in progressive developments in
librarianship to the end, long after she had retired, and was
extremely happy to have been asked to be the retiree representative
on the Progressive Librarians Guild Coordinating Commitee roster .

She was closely connected to a former librarian turned NY
Congressman, Major Owen, often called the "only librarian in
Congress" and fought as an organizer and strategist to keep him as
one of the few outspoken and reliable critics of reaction on the
national level.

Miriam Braverman was the author of "Youth, Society and the Public
Library"(1979, ALA) a critical book suffused, nonetheless, with hope
for the role public libraries played and will play in the betterment
of the life of young people in a society she had no problem calling
"capitalist", a society the limits of which she had put her shoulders
against and pushed for most of her life --to either topple or clear a
space for greater social and cultural development for all -- along
with many others (not enough from our field).

Those who had the honor, as librarians, to work with her in this
endeavor of social change, across the artifice of party lines, came
quickly to love Miriam and her incisiveness and fiery commitment, the
latter never extinguished even in her last year.

May she be an example to us all of the fulfillment that can be found
of working and of a lifelong commitment to social justice, humanism,
intolerance of injustice and inequity, and striving for a better
world.

Mark Rosenzweig

-----------------------

Miriam Braverman
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 21:24:21 -0700
From: "Elaine Harger" <eharger[at]agoron.com>
To: "SRRT" <srrtac-l[at]ala.org>, "PLG" <plgnet-l[at]listproc.sjsu.edu>
Reply to: eharger[at]agoron.com

Dear Colleagues,

For those of you who knew Miriam Braverman, an early SRRT and PLG member,
I'm writing to let you know of her passing. She died last night in New
York City. She had broken her hip one week ago, was in frail health, and
suffered a heart attack. She would have been 82 at the end of November.

Miriam was an ardent activist, a socialist, and a librarian. She began her
career at Brooklyn Public Library and taught at Columbia University's
School of Library and Information Services. During the civil rights
movement she travelled to Mississippi to help establish libraries in some
of the Freedom Schools. She was an anti-war activist and a strong
supporter of labor and human rights.

She will be greatly missed.

A memorial service is being planned. I will post the details as they
become known.

In solidarity,

Elaine

* * * * * *
Elaine Harger
77 Seaman Avenue #5A
New York NY 10034

212/942-6718
eharger[at]agoron.com

-----------------------

ALA President Mitch Freedman's memorial to Miriam Braverman:
http://www.mjfreedman.org/bravermanmemorial.html
________________________________________________________________________top

10. Links

-----

NYTimes article on Groxis, a new search company using visual displays
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/27/technology/27SOFT.html?tntemail0

[ Center for Arts and Culture Update ]

-----

Lawyers for Libraries
http://www.ala.org/lawyers/index.html

Who Has A Free Press? (Surprising worldwide index of press freedom)
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=14383

[ Don Wood ]

-----

A short intro to Ranganathan
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/archives/ranganathan_for_ias.php

[ Robin Fay sent to Newlib-l ]

-----

Libraries in Palestine website
http://www.bibforb.no/lip/

-----

Eric Eldred, et al., Petitioners v. John D. Ashcroft, Attorney General
http://eldred.cc/

[ Joel Kahn ]

-----

"Alternative Resources on the U.S.- Iraq Conflict"
http://www.pitt.edu/~ttwiss/irtf/iraq.html

{ Tom Twiss ]

________________________________________________________________________top

11. Amusing Searches for October

Here are some web searches (mostly Google) which led to Libr.org during the
month of October:

pics pirate clothing
penis copy machine photos
why do people copy hippies
show me a picture of the boy with the largest penis in the world
librarian work why
how is the clothing fashion is corrupting canadian youth
quotes and jokes about men's hair and vanity
percentage of people with written warnings who get dismissed
any thing about knowledge economy
hi rory is this an interesting search for libr.org?
"spud gun" massachusetts law
background information on "the jetsons"
"frankenberry" sales
penis stretcher machine
benjamin franklin and pornography
I wish to debate the subject girls can do anything and want information on the subject
academic freedom is bad
"Barnes and Noble" and initial responsibilities as Store Manager
www.bibliography in special effects in films.com
glenn rikowski's dimensions
"bad librarians"
where can i find the results of the lawsuit of oprah
people who destroy public services
i hate kellogs
research paper on how to mummify an apple
examples of how to announce new dentists
ricochet rabbit cereal
record biggest ass
"99 cents a meal"
nukiller
why were librarians being accused of being communists
five alive juice pics
what are the good and bad points in martin luther king's speech given in washington d.c.
quotes comparing animals and librarians
Bovine Growth Hormone girls
"paper bag on his head" picture
Advertising slogan - "it's in there"
pictures sexy male devil
Photos of Sweyn the Forkbeard
perfection relish dispenser
how to make manipulative female neighbor stay away
quote dear horatio dreamed of in your shakespeare
where can i find information on how to over ride bess
what is the largest number known to man
"if i hear god bless america one more time"
listing of christian diploma mills
mean librarian
is democracy real
what is the title of the article in the time magazine of january 16,1995 that discusses stupid things you can do on the internet
pakistani live weeding songs
was it an ethical decision in extreme measures movie?
eugene v. debs jesus christ
amusing breasts
fishing line respoolers
using words for a proffesional request letter
+"overdue" +barnacle
number that show that people are lazy
distractions in society
pictures of world's biggest nose
WHAT PART OF THE CONSTITUTION WOULD YOU DELETE ESSAY
the spink family website created by jason spink
very scary library
classification of abnormal things
Military purchase of meat
I read a sex story which is posted by Bangalore Person,that sex story has
been done in a Bus,please tell that website name
I think, therefore IM
how to make a pie
how to stop the world diversifing
"how to" "foot job"
what does the legal term raison d' etre mean?
powerpoint give me jesus
pics of naked men with alligators
Adolph Hitler "family values" quotes
the biggest bongs in the world
people who hate garlic
radical faerie commune
what percentage of Google searches are about sex
"Pissing their Lives Away"
where can i buy cuckoo clock in san jose area
scoobydoo techno music
"Chemistry of Christmas"
WHAT HAPPENED TO BEATRICE FOOD CORP
useful milking searches (Milking the Male)
Cartoon, misunderstanding
krispy kreme donuts AND total quality management AND customer focus AND empowerment AND philosophy AND managing people
Professional communication : What skill is this phrase, That's quite understandable
dunkin donuts slang
lexicographer pandora
laughing christ playboy catalogue
proposal to do a librarianship
the pornography profession
________________________________________________________________________top

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