Library Juice 5:4, January 31, 2002

Contents:

  1. The definitive Sanford Berman website
  2. SRRT Newsletters nos. 136 & 137
  3. ALA Resolution Reaffirming the Principles of Intellectual Freedom
  4. Al Kagan's report on ALA Council, January 2002
  5. Resolutions passed by SRRT Action Council in New Orleans
  6. Why this war is a 'library issue'
  7. President's Program on the Web
  8. Information at Risk
  9. Lawsuits on the way for libraries that don't filter
  10. Library Support Staff.com
  11. Geekbait is dead | Long live libronaut!
  12. H20boro lib log
  13. Howard Besser, photographic maestro
  14. Funny searches


Quote for the week:

"The real weakness in the social responsibility movement is not that ALA
will impose a position upon librarians but that librarians will fail to
impose a position upon the ALA." Robert Wedgeworth, in Library Journal,
January 1, 1973, in the special issue on the Berninghausen Debate,
reprinted in part in Library Journal, September 15, 1993, p. 53.


Personal homepage of the week: Sanford Berman
http://web.library.uiuc.edu/ahx/ead/ala/9701040a/berman/sanford.htm

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1. The definitive Sanford Berman website

Residing at the University of Illinois library, along with the website for
the ALA archives, this nicely-designed site by Madeline Douglas brings
together (and archives on-site) diverse material by and about the great man
of progressive librarianship and LCSH reform. Included are a bibliography;
the full text of his groundbreaking book, _Prejudices and Antipathies_;
materials on his departure from Hennepin County Library; biographical
information; the festschrift-zine "Kiss My Filing Indicators;" an issue of
the HCL Cataloging Bulletin from 1974; links to related organizations; and
a collection of writings (which you can find under "what's new.") Madeline
did a very good job with this site. I am happy to see that it is nearly as
extensive as its subject deserves. Check it out.

http://web.library.uiuc.edu/ahx/ead/ala/9701040a/berman/sanford.htm
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2. SRRT Newsletters nos. 136 & 137

No. 136 (September 2001) is at:
http://libr.org/SRRT/news/srrt136.pdf

It contains information on the CSK Breakfast cancellation last year, the
new SRRT listserv (an announcement list for SRRT members), the Jackie
Eubanks Award announcement, Al Kagan's report on ALA Council from last
summer, and Minutes of Action Council meetings.

No. 137 (December 2001) is at:
http://libr.org/SRRT/news/srrt137.pdf

It contains an article by Terren Ilana Wein on librarians' response to the
war, proposed SRRT resolutions (as of 12/3/2001 - read ahead in this issue
for final versions), a description of the Scarves Across America collective
action in solidarity with Muslim women, a report on the IFLA meeting in
Boston, and a guest editorial by Margaret Guttshall Vitale entitled, "Do
anti-war activists deserve a 'punch in the nose?'"

The newsletter is edited by the very able Jane Ingold.
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3. ALA Resolution Reaffirming the Principles of Intellectual Freedom

Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 12:20:18 -0600
From: "Don Wood" <dwood[at]ala.org>
To: Intellectual Freedom Action News <ifaction[at]ala1.ala.org>
Reply to: dwood[at]ala.org

Resolution Reaffirming the Principles of Intellectual Freedom in the
Aftermath of Terrorist Attacks

is now online at

http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/reaffirmifprinciples.html

PDF at

http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/reaffirmifprinciples.pdf

WHEREAS: Benjamin Franklin counseled this nation: "They that can give
up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither
liberty nor safety"; and

WHEREAS: "The American Library Association believes that freedom of
expression is an inalienable human right, necessary to self-government,
vital to the resistance of oppression, and crucial to the cause of
justice, and further, that the principles of freedom of expression
should be applied by libraries and librarians throughout the world"
(Policy 53.1.12, "Universal Right to Free Expression"); now, THEREFORE
BE IT

RESOLVED: that the American Library Association reaffirms the following
principles, and:

Actively promotes dissemination of true and timely information
necessary to the people in the exercise of their rights (Policy 53.8,
"Libraries: An American Value");

Opposes government censorship of news media and suppression of access
to unclassified government information (Policy 53.3, "Freedom to Read;"
Policy 53.5, "Shield Laws");

Upholds a professional ethic of facilitating access to information, not
monitoring access (Policy 53.1, "Library Bill of Rights;" Policy
53.1.17, "Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries");

Encourages libraries and their staff to protect the privacy and
confidentiality of the people's lawful use of the library, its
equipment, and its resources (Policy 52.4, "Policy on Confidentiality of
Library Records");

Affirms that tolerance of dissent is the hallmark of a free and
democratic society (Policy 53.1.12, "Universal Right to Free
Expression");

Opposes the misuse of governmental power to intimidate, suppress,
coerce, or compel speech (Policy 53.4, "Policy on Governmental
Intimidation;" Policy 53.6, "Loyalty Oaths"); and, BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED: that this resolution be forwarded to the President of the
United States, to the Attorney General of the United States, and to both
Houses of Congress.

Adopted by the ALA Council, January 23, 2002
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4. Al Kagan's report on ALA Council, January 2002


[SRRTAC-L:7511] Council Report
Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 17:34:08 -0600
From: Al Kagan <akagan[at]uiuc.edu>
To: SRRT Action Council <srrtac-l[at]ala.org>

Report on ALA Council to SRRT, January 2002

By Al Kagan, SRRT Councilor

There was a sense of normalcy at the January 2002 ALA Council meetings.
The events of 9/11 influenced discussion and actions, but were very much in
the background.  The point is that there was no sense of urgency in the
need to vigorously oppose the current repressive legislative and executive
actions coming out of Washington.  Luckily for ALA, there is a new group of
activist members of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table who were able to
get their resolution endorsed by Council's Intellectual Freedom Committee
(IFC), and then approved by the ALA Council.  Their resolution puts ALA on
record in opposing government censorship of the news media and suppression
of access to unclassified government information, encourages libraries to
protect the privacy and confidentially of people using libraries, and
opposes government intimidation related to speech. The IFC has also
circulated a draft privacy interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
that will come forward at the Annual Meeting.

On the recommendation of the Government Documents Round Table, the
Committee on Legislation (COL) agreed to establish an Ad Hoc Task Force on
Restrictions on Access to Government Information which will report back in
June 2002.  Council also passed 2 good resolutions on continued access to
US Government information and the need to implement the Presidential
Records Act. This would force President Bush to release documents from his
father's Administration.

SRRT's endorsed resolution on Collection Development and Library
Programming in Times of Conflict was endorsed by the IFC, but all of SRRT's
endorsed resolutions related to 9/11 that were brought to Council were
either soundly defeated or not discussed.  We withdrew our resolution on
Protection of Privacy Rights because most of the points were covered by the
IFC resolution described above.  The resolutions Against Secret Tribunals
and Against the War in Afghanistan were defeated, while the resolution on
Intellectual Freedom and the Use of Torture in War or Peace was prevented
from coming up by a quorum call.

To get a sense of the difficulty of our situation, let me describe what we
faced in just getting the issues to the floor.  We submitted the first four
resolutions in time for the agenda of Council 1, but we found only 3 of
them printed on the agenda document.  When we inquired, we were told that
the Resolutions Committee had ruled that our Afghanistan resolution was not
appropriate ALA business.  Only after showing them ALA's policy encouraging
the peaceful settlement of conflicts did they agree to put it on the
agenda.  Furthermore, ALA Council had passed a resolution last year moving
all committee reports before non-committee resolutions.  This meant that we
could not address any of our issues until the final one-half hour of
Council 3, after people had already started leaving to catch flights.  Even
that was almost prevented because the Council was ready to shut down on
noon Wednesday, the time printed on the agenda.  However, the ALA meeting
booklet had the time listed until 12:30 PM.  Unfortunately, due to the
American Airlines buyout of TWA (itself a result of 9/11), my flight time
was moved up and I had to miss that last half-hour myself.

Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to read the SRRT Statement of
Concern on the Use of Flags in Libraries' Public Areas.  Our strategy from
the beginning was to do this after Council had acted on our resolutions.
We thought that reading the statement at an early time might have made it
harder to get our resolutions considered. I had made an arrangement to do
this during the announcements at the end of Council 3, but it did not
happen because I had to leave to catch my flight.  We need to find other
ways to get the statement distributed.

Council approved the International Relations Committee (IRC) resolutions
on establishing a cooperation agreement with the Asociaction Mexicana de
Bibliotecarios and on welcoming the opening of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
in Egypt. The IRC took no actions on the WTO, but is trying to get a
written statement from the US Trade Representative saying that libraries
will be taken off the negotiating table. We need to continue to carefully
monitor this situation.

SRRT endorsed a resolution last summer that would require ALA to insert a
boycott clause in all future hotel contracts.  This was in response to the
union boycott of the conference headquarters hotel, the San Francisco
Marriott, which so disrupted the Annual Meeting.  The boycott clause would
give ALA the flexibility to void contracts where unions had called official
boycotts. This resolution was referred to the ALA Conference Committee and
the Budget Analysis and Review Committee.  It came back to Council with a
strong negative recommendation from the committees. They claimed that none
of the major hotel chains would sign such a contract.  However, their
methodology is flawed.  They asked the hotel chains for their positions
outside of specific contract negotiations.  In my opinion, they got the
answer they were looking for.  This is a self-fulfilling prophecy if there
ever was one.  ALA could only win such a concession through hard bargaining
where thousands of dollars are at stake.  I said this on the floor, but the
resolution was overwhelmingly defeated.

Perhaps the most far-reaching Council action was the establishment of
bylaws for a 501(c)6 tax status "Allied Professional Association."  This
issue was debated and approved in concept at the 2001 Annual Meeting. PLA,
LAMA and ASCLA argued the purported need of establishing a certification
program for various library competencies. Many of the SRRT affiliated
Councilors were skeptical of the arguments, and thought that the main
purpose was to establish revenue-producing programs.  In addition, there
seems to be an emphasis on training rather than education, and this will
likely turn into requirements for the advancement of public librarians.  It
is hard to see how social responsibility would fit into such training
programs.

President-Elect Mitch Freedman advocated broadening the 501(c)6
organization to include his salaries initiative and for other possible uses
not thought possible under our current 501(c)3 status.  Some of us would
like to hear what labor lawyers think is possible under ALA's current tax
status.  Never the less, ALA Council did approve the bylaws, and the Allied
Professional Association will be established.

The Special Presidential Task Force on Membership Meeting Quorum held a
hearing as well as two meetings in New Orleans.  As a member of this task
force, I advocated SRRT's desire to lower the quorum and maintain some
mechanism to overturn Council actions.  At its last meeting, the Task Force
decided to advocate reducing the quorum to 1/2 of 1 percent of the
membership (now 280) without the ability to overturn Council actions.  This
was a very close vote, and the minority position will be represented in the
report that goes to Council in June 2002 (a quorum of 200, overturn actions
by a 3/4 vote and then ratify by a mail ballot where 1/4 of membership
vote).   SRRT Action Council asked me to chair an ad hoc committee to
provide a history of Membership Meetings and a SRRT response.

The SRRT endorsed resolution on establishing an ALA group health care plan
was referred to the Membership Committee and to the Budget Analysis and
Review Committee. A resolution requiring ALA to hire a candidate with a
library science master's degree for the Office of Intellectual Freedom was
defeated by one vote. ALA Council adopted a document titled "Principles for
a Networked World" which addresses intellectual freedom, privacy,
intellectual property, infrastructure, equitable access, and content.  One
of our SRRT members helped to slightly amend this document.

Council approved 3 items from the Committee on Organization (COO) related
to electronic participation in ALA meetings.  (SRRT has 2 members on this
committee.)  Current practices of some ALA units are already beginning to
violate ALA open meeting policy.  COO has developed procedures to legally
hold electronic meetings, and to authorize "virtual members" of committees
who will be advisory or consulting members.

Finally, two members of the Progressive Council Caucus were candidates for
the Executive Board.  Steve Labash lost by only one vote, while Sue Berlin
was further down the list.

In conclusion, although we did get to address some issues and win a few
points indirectly, we again confronted the profoundly status quo nature of
the organization.  There is a bit of light on intellectual freedom and
access to information issues which address ALA's most core values, but the
response is very far from what is needed considering the profound threats
to our civil liberties and privacy rights in the new "War on Terrorism."--

Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan[at]uiuc.edu
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5. Resolutions passed by SRRT Action Council in New Orleans


The following resolutions were passed by SRRT Action Council with the
intention of bringing them to ALA Council.

-----

Resolution Against the War in Afghanistan

Whereas the acts of terror of 9/11 against US targets were not the acts of
a sovereign nation, nor carried out in official pursuit of the policy of
such a nation,

And whereas these terrorist acts have been attributed to Al Qaeda, a
criminal network headed by Osama Bin Laden,

And whereas war against an entire nation in pursuit of the guilty parties
constitutes "collective punishment," which is specifically prohibited by
international covenant,

Therefore be it resolved that the American Library Association opposes:

(1) the war in Afghanistan and its possible extension to other nations as
an appropriate response to the heinous terrorism of 9/11/01;

(2) the declaration of an indeterminate "national state of emergency"
under which laws are suspended, practices instituted, and precedents set
which are destructive of the liberties and rights of the people of the USA
(ALA Policy 53.4);

(3) US Government censorship of the mass media's coverage of the war,
depriving citizens of the right to know,

Submitted by Mark C. Rosenzweig, ALA Councilor at Large
Seconded By Al Kagan, SRRT Councilor

Endorsed by SRRT Action Council, 1/19/02

-----

Resolution Against Secret Tribunals

Whereas ALA strongly defends the public's "right to know,"

And whereas the use of secret tribunals is being declared a valid and
necessary tool of the US Government in order to fight terrorism,

And whereas secret tribunals raise the gravest concerns regarding the Bill
of Rights, the Geneva Conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, and other national and international covenants,

Therefore be it resolved that ALA opposes the institution of secret
tribunals,

And resolved that ALA supports the right of a free press in reporting all
trials and legal proceedings,

And resolved that this resolution be distributed to all members of
Congress, the President and the Attorney General, and the library press.

Submitted by Mark Rosenzweig, ALA Councilor at Large
Seconded by Al Kagan, SRRT Councilor

Endorsed by SRRT Action Council, 1/19/02

-----

Resolution on the Protection of Privacy Rights

Whereas libraries have been encouraged to assist in identification of
"suspects'" in the "War on Terrorism,"

And whereas libraries have been expected to turn over confidential library
records on demand without court orders, contrary to ALA Policy 52.4),

And whereas the abridgment of free expression rights of foreign nationals
is a threat to the freedom of all, according to ALA Policy 58.3),

And whereas ALA specifically opposes governmental intimidation and
supports the individuals and groups targeted by such actions, according to
ALA Policy 53.4,

Therefore be it resolved that ALA opposes government intimidation, the
abridgements of patrons' or employees' privacy rights, illegal obtaining of
evidence, illegal search and seizure, and racial and ethnic profiling.

And be it resolved that ALA reaffirms all library users' reasonable
expectations of confidentiality.

And be it resolved that this resolution be sent to all members of
Congress, the President and Attorney General of the United States and the
library press.

Submitted by Mark Rosenzweig, Councilor at Large
Seconded By Al Kagan, SRRT Councilor

Endorsed by SRRT Action Council, 1/19/02

-----

Resolution on Collection Development and Library Programming in Times of
Conflict

Whereas the policies and implications of the "War on Terrorism" require
the broadest range of analysis and debate,

Therefore be it resolved that ALA encourages libraries to engage in
expanded collection activity representing the full range of views on the
roots of the 9/11/01 terrorist actions, the parties involved, the responses
by the US and other governments, and the "War on Terrorism" and its
domestic and global implications,

And be it further resolved that "alternative" information resources be
collected and actively promoted, with due diligence in assessment of
sources but without regard to support or opposition to US Government
policy,

And be it resolved that libraries are encouraged to provide expanded
programming to foster understanding between all ethnic and religious
groups, and to counter current practices of ethnic profiling.

Submitted by Mark Rosenzweig, Councilor at Large
Seconded by Al Kagan, SRRT Councilor

See ALA Policies 50.10, 50.11

Endorsed by SRRT Action Council, 1/19/02

-----

Resolution Against Torture

Whereas ALA is among the preeminent defenders of intellectual freedom
and government openness in the US.

Whereas intellectual freedom, our primary value as librarians, cannot
be more seriously violated than by forcing speech through systematic
violence by government against detained individuals.

Whereas the US government has announced its readiness to use torture
(as well as hooding, shackling, drugging, sleep deprivation, etc.) in
the interrogation of suspected terrorists or their suspected
accomplices

Whereas the use or possible use of torture and coercive interrogative
practices is inhumane, illegal and destructive of the democratic
sensibilities of a free society, the cultivation of which we as an
Association and as a profession are committed.

Whereas the secrecy which will undoubtedly attend the use of torture
will also violate our commitment to open government and the necessity
of true and accurate information of our government's actions

and

Whereas the threat of torture of the use of torture and similar
practices of coercing testimony, confessions, information is,
universally condemned under international law and US law (see
addendum)

Be it resolved that the ALA condemns the use or threat of torture by
the US government, its police or military as a violation of human
rights, intellectual freedom, and the rule of law. The ALA decries the
suggestion by the US government that under a 'state of emergency'in
this country torture, here or abroad, is an acceptable tool in
pursuit of its goals.

submitted by Mark C. Rosenzweig ALA Councilor at large
Seconded by Al Kagan, SRRT Councilor

Endorsed by SRRT Action Council, 1/19/02

-----

Statement of Concern on the Use of Flags in Libraries' Public Areas

SRRT recognizes that the US flag ordinarily is appropriately, proudly and
respectfully displayed according to custom and law in libraries and public
institutions. The display of the colors is a formal matter which is meant
to represent the sovereignty and unity of the nation.

However the aggressive display of flags in unusual places, in unusual
numbers, and in an unusual manner might be taken to imply, among other
things, institutional endorsement of current US governmental policies.

Privileging symbolic speech in possible support of current US
governmental policies tends to undermine the library as a place of free
thought and compromises the neutrality of the library space. Such unusual
displays may create an intimidating atmosphere for some library users who
may be deterred in their requests for materials and assistance. SRRT urges
libraries to be sensitive to these concerns.

Endorsed by SRRT Action Council 1/19/02

-----

Editor's note: The above resolutions were created for the purpose of
presenting them to ALA Council. Thus, they use more measured
and moderate language than SRRT felt like using in addressing these issues
on its own. SRRT passed another, longer resolution which it did not send
to ALA Council for a vote, but created simply with the intention of
expressing a strong position on war-related issues. I will publish this
resolution, entitled "Libraries in a Time of War and Emergency," in an
upcoming issue, probably next week. An early version of this resolution is
available in issue no. 137 of the SRRT newsletter, for which there is a
link earlier in this issue of Library Juice.
________________________________________________________________________top



6. Why this war is a 'library issue'


Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 17:58:47 +0800
From: "Mark Rosenzweig" <iskra[at]earthlink.net>
To: alacoun[at]ala.org, member-forum[at]ala.org, alaoif[at]ala.org
Cc: srrtax-l[at]ala.org, plgnet-l[at]listproc.sjsu.edu
Reply to: iskra[at]earthlink.net

The intellectual freedoms so cherished by
librarians in this nation as the basis for our
practice of librarianship as expressed in ALA's
Library Bill of Rights, the Freedom to Read
statement, indeed, the whole framework of policy
which enables democratic librarianship in the
USA, are rooted in the universal values of human
rights stipulated by law in the US Constitution and
its Bill of Rights --as well as in the more global
manifestations of the universality of human
aspirartions towards freedom, peace and
enlightenment contained in covenants of
international law like the UN Charter and the UN's
Universal Charter of Human Rights, to which latter
we even refer in our own ALA policy particularly
with regard to Article 19 which article's
significance is only fully meaningful in the context
of the entire document -- makes the issues of the
conduct of war, its effects on human and civil
rights, and the matter of dissension from military
solutions to problems which admit of alternative
resolutions, 'library issues'.

Those who do not see these as'library issues' do
not see the roots of librarianship in the struggle
for a better society, for human welfare, for social,
economic and cultural devlopmenmt. They have
become oblivious of the raison d'etre of
librarianship!

When people in this country, in ALA, even at its
highest levels, say such and such social or
political or legal concern is not a 'library issue'
they in fact exhibit only a narrow provincialism
which blitheley proclaims libraries as an
"American Value" yet is blind to the fact that as
such they are part of the heritage of human,
universal values, transcending our narrow
nationalistic pride, no mattter how justified,
expressinmg the historical rights, entitlements
and aspirations of the global community and only
ultimately finding fruition in a world guided, not by
national self-interest of great powers, by the
superior force of arms, by the accumulation of the
greatest share of wealth and power over
resources, but by by the most humane
internationalist perspectives codified in the
hard-won and only partially realized documents of
laws andcovenants guaranteeing by common
consent the rights of peoples, nations and the
global community.

'Library issues' broadly but concretely construed
are issues for librarians, information workers and
professionals, with inherent ethical
responsibilities, impacting the conduct of the
affairs of librarians and the terms of relations of
libraries as free and even liberatory institutions of
enlightenment, human development, equality,
education, culture, information access.

'Library issues' worthy of being considered by
associations of librarians in their deliberations,
beyond the technical and narrowly practical issues
of the day include, therefore, those issues which
may undermine the social, economic and juridical
basis, the enabling frameworks, for the existence
of such institutions as libraries in the first place.

It is with this in mind that we can state that
fundamental to a US librarianship exemplary to
the global community is its basis in the
First Amendment of the US Constitution which
grants the rights to freedom of speech, freedom of
association, peaceable assembly and the right to
petition the government for redress of grievances.
These fundamental democratic freedoms are, in
our political culture, considered necessary for any
government to be truly "of the people, by the
people and for the people." But they are also
fundamental for libraries here to be "of the people,
by the people and for the people".

In view of this we are justified in being deeply
concerned by trends towards restrictions on free
speech and peaceable assembly. These trends
are manifest in the actions of our government in
its 'war on terrorism' in both its domestic and
foreign aspects, in terms of government
intimidation, the abuses of government
censorship, limits placed on public organized
dissent, secrecy, legal and punitive procedures,
threats of the use of extra-legal means to elicit
information or confessions including torture,
victimization and blacklisting of critics, ethnic and
racial profiling of suspects, dragnets of persons
of foreign origin, and other practices idestructive
of democratic values at home even as we try to
impose our US values, our priorities and our
interests on countries abroad by force of arms in
pursuit of our ostensible aim (in this case the
apprehension of gangs of criminal terrorists) and
reserve to ourselves means which freely violate
the norms of national and international legality.

As librarians we realize it is particularly important
in times of conflict or uncertainty, that the voices of
the people are able to inform irrevocable
decisions being contemplated by government.

If "libraries are an American value," as we have
asserted in our ALA policy (with some hint of
provincialism and arrogance), then US librarians
in the miost powerful and richest country on the
globe, a nation which can well afford all the
luxuries of freedom, should positively affirm that
here dissent, dialogue and even open
disagreement are the hallmarks of our people
and should be welcomed and encouraged. To
take the position that different voices, thoughts,
ideas and options cannot be heard on critical
issues of government decisionmaking suggests
that those government decisions cannot survive
discussion or scrutiny.

If "Libraries are an American [US] value" then we
must realize that it is a 'library issue' if the
American government's conduct of affairs
proclaimed for the new millenium in which all
means are to be used to pursue 'global terrorism'
in an open-ended war on whomever is
considered an enemy or a friend of an enemy, that
the Constitution cannot be suspended, even In
times of great crisis or wa according to our own
jurisprudence.

The affirmation in 1866 by the U.S. Supreme
Court of the inviolability of the Constitution even
during the Civil War, a violent conflict on the soil of
the United States is stated as follows, and it
behooves librarians to keep this in mind as they
watch dollars diverted from culture and education
to defense and war in what can only be called a
post-Constitutional legal order:

"The Constitution of the United States is a law for
rulers and people, equally in war and in peace,
and covers with the shield of its protection all
classes of men [sic], at all times, and under all
circumstances. No doctrine, involving more
pernicious consequences, was ever invented by
the wit of man than that any of its provisions can
be suspended during any of the great exigencies
of government."
-- Ex Parte Mulligan, 71 U.S. (4 Wall) 2, 120 (1866)

As librarians we have an obligation to see that the
rule of law is scrupulously obeyed in these times
lest we see all our rights suspended indefinitely
and our resources diverted from productive and
creative endeavours to the prosecution of
enemies, real and imagined, here and abroad, by
a government which feels itself freed from
Constitutional and juridical restraints by its legally
nebulous declared 'state of war' and 'state of
national emergency'.

I daresay librarians could do worse than to place
themselves in the avant-garde, along with the
lonely ACLU, in defense of freedom and sanity,
along with our adboicacy of the rational allocation
of resouces in a time like this. Rather than
alienating us from our popular roots, we may find
that we have, to our credit, taken the lead for once
and championed a fundamentally sensible,
ethical and -- in the best sense of the word
-- patriotic cause.

Mark Rosenzweig
ALA Councilor at large
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7. President's Program on the Web

From: John W. Berry [mailto:jberry[at]psinet.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2002 6:31 pm
To: ALA Council List
Subject: [ALACOUN:6880] MW Meeting President's Program on the web

Colleagues:

As promised, the video of my MW President's Program is now up and
running on the web--right on schedule.

Several of our colleagues commented to me that this was among the
most engaging and interesting president's program they'd ever
attended. It surpassed my own expectations--which were quite
high--so I am in the debt not only of the speakers, Deborah Hurley
and Jim O'Donnell, but also to my program committee chair and new
Executive Board member, Nancy Davenport, Library of Congress who was
ably assisted by Kathryn Deiss, Chicago Library System and Karen
Brown, Dominican University. Very good work all around.

And a very special thank you to Ken Dowlin, chair of my task force on
Electronic Participation and ALA staff members Mary Ghikas, Sherrie
Vanyek and webmeister Jack Briody for making this happen quickly and
seamlessly. I really like the clean and clear integration of the
Powerpoint slides with the speakers on split screen. Very cool.

So here are the details...

The MW Meeting president's program video is on the web--currently
being hosted on
webcasting.com's web site. We've set up links to assorted files on a
page on ALA's server so we have a centrally located "distribution"
point that we can edit or change as needed.

Go to the ALA page at:

http://www.ala.org/events/presprog2002.html

The smoothest viewing version for my Mac G4 with cable modem
broadband is using the 'RealPlayer Broadband' option.

This is a first for 'big' ALA, I think, and we hope to bring many
future conference events to people unable to attend in person--that
includes a fair number who were in other meetings in New Orleans on
Sunday afternoon and the many thousands who are unable to travel to
travel to ALA conferences. This is an important step in building a
more inclusive and more digital association.

Enjoy and please let me know what you think.

John W. Berry
ALA President
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8. Information at Risk

By GREG KLINE
Published Online January 20, 2002
Copyright 2002 The News-Gazette

When federal officials told Mary Mallory to destroy a CD of information
about the nation's largest water supplies, it was the antithesis of what
she believes in professionally and personally.

"It's really hard," the head librarian of the Government Documents Library
at the University of Illinois said recently. "We're librarians. We don't
want to prevent access to information. We feel very strongly about that.
That's why we're in the business."

Mallory reluctantly de-stroyed the CD, a publication of the U.S.
Geological Survey, which ordered its destruction after the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks. Not doing so was likely to have negative ramifications
for the UI library, potentially even loss of its federal depository status.

The same thing happened at federal depository libraries around the
country, most of them at academic institutions, although not at Eastern
Illinois University in Charleston, which didn't have the water works CD,
said Jocelyn Tipton, the librarian there....

[nice long article...]

http://www.news-gazette.com/ngsearch/story.cfm?number=10892
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9. Lawsuits on the way for libraries that don't filter

FC: Conservative group preparing to sue libraries that don't filter
Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 13:54:50 -0800 (PST)
From: Declan McCullagh <declan[at]well.com>
To: politech[at]politechbot.com
Reply to: declan[at]well.com

[Fes/Fez may have once been Morocco's imperial capital, but there isn't
that much to do after 9 pm here... except catch up on Tom Sharpe and
Terry Pratchett books I've neglected (Gibraltar's bookstore was
excellent) and log in from Internet cafes. Thanks, all, for the many
ssh-while-traveling suggestions. I'll compile and summarize when I get
back. --Declan]

Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 08:47:53 -0800
From: dburt[at]n2h2.com
To: declan[at]well.com
Subject: Another filtering fact from your favorite troll

"TVC will be filing a series of class-action lawsuits against libraries
refusing to filter pornography from their computers.

TVC is looking for librarians and parents who are willing to add their
names to these lawsuits! If you have been personally victimized by
pornography in a public library or if you know of someone who has been
victimized, please contact us. If you are librarian who feels threatened
by pedophiles or by internet pornography, please contact us!"

http://www.conservativepetitions.com/petition.html?name=libraryporn

-----------------------------------
David Burt, Public Relations
N2H2, Inc.
E-mail:dburt[at]n2h2.com
Web: http://www.n2h2.com
Address: 900 4th Avenue, Suite 3600
Seattle, WA 98164
Office Phone: 206 892-1130
Cell Phone: 206 915-1283
Fax: 509 271-4226
-----------------------------------

FC: More on conservative group may sue libraries that don't filter
Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 02:35:08 -0800 (PST)
From: Declan McCullagh <declan[at]well.com>
To: politech[at]politechbot.com
Reply to: declan[at]well.com

Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 01:03:23 -0500
From: Brett Allen <maraclep[at]yahoo.com>
To: declan[at]well.com
Subject: RE: Conservative group preparing to sue libraries that don't filter

3 observations about this Declan,

1. Its interesting to see a company promoting a lawsuit against people for
NOT being their customer. This is a whole new area of profitable litigation
for companies to pursue!

2. Its also intersting to see conservatives eagerly disgarding their
principles in regard to local control when it suits their agenda.

3. Finally, I noticed that the examples of misbehavior in libraries were
basically people doing things that were illegal in a library, who were then
arrested. Libraries are now expected to act as police to prevent crime?
The things they did were illegal. They were arrested and charged....sounds
to me like things are working well.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list
You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice.
Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/
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Events: Congreso Nacional de Periodismo Digital in Huesca, Spain from
Jan. 17-18 (http://www.congresoperiodismo.com) and the Second
International Conference on Web-Management in Diplomacy in Malta from
Feb. 1-3. (http://www.diplomacy.edu/Web/conference2/)
________________________________________________________________________top


10. Library Support Staff.com

http://www.librarysupportstaff.com/

Annotated links to resources aimed at
paraprofessionals. There is an enormous
amount of information here covering
organizations and mailing lists; on-the-job help
material broken down by type of library job; an
extensive staff training and development section
under Customer Service; online learning sites;
finding a job; online journals and bibliographies;
Web publishing; a section on free, fun, and
practical resources; and links to some staff
home pages. From library worker Mary
Niederlander.

From Librarians' Index to the Internet - http://lii.org
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11. Geekbait is dead | Long live libronaut!

Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 10:49:10 -0800 (PST)
From: "abigail" <abigail[at]libronaut.com>
To: you[at]libronaut.com

Dear People:

You may be aware that I've retired http://www.geekbait.com. I was getting
really tired of the name. But rising from the ashes of Geekbait is
Libronaut!

Libronaut is half-librarian, half-astronaut. Libronaut is the indie-rock
librarian support group. Libronaut is powered by the Movabletype script,
and lots of coffee. Libronaut is a pair of weblogs, one personal at
http://www.libronaut.com, one library-and-information-related at
http://www.libronaut.com/library/. There's also one tracking various
projects of mine, at /projects/, if you care.

Anyway, please adjust your links and your behavior in accordance with these
changes.

Abigail

--
Abigail Leah Plumb
abigail[at]libronaut.com

How tight is your library science?
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12. H20boro lib log

Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 10:07:43 -0500
From: Molly Williams <mmwm[at]adelphia.net>
To: rory[at]libr.org

Thanks for your site.

Wanted to introduce you to ours:
H20boro lib blog: http://www.waterboro.lib.me.us/blog.htm

Updated daily. Library and literary news.

~ Molly Wms.
--
Molly Williams
Volunteer, Waterboro Public Library (Maine)
daily library weblog: http://www.waterboro.lib.me.us/blog.htm
wl-mw[at]waterboro.lib.me.us
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13. Howard Besser, photographic maestro

See!

Elaine Harger, Jenna Freedman, Cathy Bremer, Yvonne Farley, Rory Litwin,
Monika Antonelli, Rhonda Neugebauer, Mark Rosenzweig, Melora Ranney, Dena
Marger, and.... others! And Howard!!

As well as, a mad-cap New Orleans shopping mall!

And, The Disney Store!

And, a craaazy pre-Mardi Gras parade, the famous Krewe du Vieux!

And, views of the city, in the day and at night!

It's all on Howard Besser's photo page, entitled,

American Library Association meeting
New Orleans, January, 2002!!

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/~howard/Personal/Trips/Neworleans02/
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14. Funny searches

The following are amusing, to me, searches that led from search engines,
mostly Google, to pages on Libr.org during the month of January:

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