Library Juice 1:37 - October 14, 1998

 
 
Contents: 
 
1. Try this new site for JASIS 
3. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift 
4. Living Planet Report 1998--WWF 
5. How to find Heaven and Hell on a map 
6. Inference Find: the Intelligent Massively Fast Parallel Web Search 
7. E. J. Josey Scholarship 
8. JOIN THE ALA INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ROUNDTABLE 
9. Vigdor Schreibman item: ALARMING MONOPOLY POWER ATTACK 
10. Call For Papers - Katharine Sharp Review 
11. Memo to Journalists: YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR TINY MINDS 
12. Library Destroyed, discussion of library disaster preparedness 
13. Minnesota Library Association's "Statement on Internet Access"  
14. Montana Library Association filtering resolution 
15. Discussion of NOW chapter advocating filtering, Editorial on Pornography  
16. The Idiosyntactix Culture Jammers' Encyclopedia 
 
 
Quote for the week: 
 
In my day the library was a wonderful place.... We didn't have visual aids  
and didn't have various programs...it was a sanctuary.... So I tend to think  
the library should remain a center of knowledge. 
 
-Norman MAILER (1923- ) 
Cited in American Libraries, July/August 1980, p.411-412 
              
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
1. Try this new site for JASIS 
 
Sent to the email list for the SJSU SLIS: 
 
Hello: 
Try this site for JASIS: 
http://www.interscience.wiley.com/ 
I've registered, logged in, and retrieved full-text articles. It says 
there are now 13 years of JASIS available. By the way, it is available 
at CSUF on microfilm and in print for the last two years (check this). 
 
This is a slow interface with lots of browsing. It helps if you know 
which issue you're looking for. 
 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
2. News stories appearing in the October 12 American Libraries Online  
 
<http://www.ala.org/alonline/> 
 
*   Congress Passes Internet Child-Protection Measures 
*   Digital Copyright Bill Nears Approval by Congress 
*   Children's Literacy Legislation Clears Senate 
*   Pascagoula Library Sustains Hurricane Damage 
*   University of Illinois Dedicates $21-Million Science Library 
*   ACLU Urges School District to Reshelve Gay-Themed Titles 
*   Rolling Stone Gathers Flak in Wisconsin School District 
*   Phillips University Sells Library Collection 
 
American Libraries' Web site also features the latest "Internet Librarian" 
columns by Karen Schneider; AL's "Career Leads" job ads; listings of 
conferences, continuing-education courses, exhibitions, and other 
events from AL's "Datebook"; and Tables of Contents for the current 
year. ____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
3. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift 
 
http://www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver/about.html 
 
The main feature of this site, a part-time project from librarian and 
dedicated Swift fan Lee Jaffe, is the text of the 1726 Motte edition of 
_Gulliver's Travels_ with corrections from the 1735 Faulkner edition. The 
site features not only an authoritative, hyperlinked edition of _Gulliver's 
Travels_, but also links to additional resources, source texts, study 
guides, scholarly societies and just about anything that could be of use to 
a Swift scholar or fan. Jaffe is still in the process of hyperlinking the 
text to a dictionary he has compiled for the purpose, and he has also 
assembled a collection of quotes, a list of Swift's neologisms, 
illustrations from other editions, and a timeline of relevant dates. Though 
Jaffe demurs, "I don't pretend that this is a scholarly edition," he may be 
too modest. [TK] 
 
>From the Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1998. 
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
4. Living Planet Report 1998--WWF 
 
Index: 
http://panda.org/livingplanet/lpr/index.htm 
Lite Site: [frames] 
http://panda.org/livingplanet/lpr/lp_index.html 
Enhanced Site: [RealPlayer, Flash] 
http://panda.org/livingplanet/lpr/flash.htm 
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has recently published the inaugural Living 
Planet Report. This report analyzes environmental data in conjunction with 
global consumption patterns to calculate the cumulative effect that 
humankind has on the earth's ecosystems. The report consists of two major 
parts: the Consumption Pressure section and the Living Planet Index. The 
Consumption Pressure section measures the per capita resource consumption 
and pollution statistics from 152 countries to determine humanity's impact 
on earth. The Living Planet Index presents new data on the health of the 
forest, freshwater and marine ecosystems around the world from 1970-1995. 
Two versions of the report are available from the WWF: the Enhanced Site, 
which requires Macromedia Flash and RealPlayer; and the Lite Site, which 
provides the same information minus the plug-ins. [AO] 
 
>From the Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1998. 
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
5. How to find Heaven and Hell on a map 
 
 
Subject:      Re: geographic/place names 
X-To:         American Name Society <ANS-L[at]BINGVMB.CC.BINGHAMTON.EDU> 
To: Multiple recipients of list ANS-L              <ANS-L[at]BINGVMB.CC.BINGHAMTON.EDU> 
 
Edward, 
 
In regards to you statement that even  Fundamentalists do not locate 
[Heaven and Hell] on maps.   Well, maybe not Fundamentalists, but map makers  
do.  An inquiry of the GNIS database of geographic names found on maps for  
the US for the term "Heaven" returned 63 place names which started with 
 
either Heaven or Heavenly.  Hell is even more popular.  There are 232  
occurrences of that word starting a name including Hell Hole, AZ, Hell Town  
(historical), AL, and Hell Gate, FL (a populated place).    If you don't  
know about Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and the US Board on  
Geographic Names you might give them a try at:  
http://mapping.usgs.gov/www/gnis/ 
 
Jane Messenger 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
6. Inference Find: the Intelligent Massively Fast Parallel Web Search  
 
 
http://www.infind.com 
 
I tried Inference Find and I do get much better results with it than with  
other search engines.  Relevance is better, and the presentation and lower  
hit-counts are convenient.  I also like that there are fewer annoying ads.   
On the downside, some might be opposed to it on philosophical grounds, 
because it is feeding off the work of others.  Since it gets its results by  
sending queries to other search engines it is exploiting the work of other  
companies, who would like to be able to promise their advertisers an  
audience.  It doesn't bother me much, because as long as the internet is  
paid for by "free market" forces, whatever small fry companies can think of  
doing to get around the new dinosaurs should be encouraged.  On the other  
hand, it is all automated, and doesn't benefit from the work of real live  
catalogers like at yahoo.  Also, it doesn't have flexibility or powerful  
search limitations, like at at hotbot or lycos.  But for simple useability  
on a first go at a web search, it's great. 
 
Here's copy from their website: 
 
INFERENCE FIND is the first and only search tool that calls out in parallel  
all the best search engines on the internet, merges the results, removes  
redundancies, and clusters the results into neat understandable groupings. 
     Inference Find queries the best 6 search engines on the web, but can be  
configured to call any search engine. Currently we are calling WebCrawler,  
Yahoo, Lycos, Alta Vista, InfoSeek, and Excite.  
     Each of these search engines is automatically called in parallel, and  
retrieves the maximum number of results each engine will allow. Some engines  
will return 250 documents, some as few as 10. InfoSeek, for example, is one of  
those that will return only 10 items at a time. To get the most out of it,  
InfoSeek is called 3 times in parallel to retrieve 30 items.  
     Therefore, without Inference Find, it would take you 8 searches by hand,  
and still you couldn't produce the huge list of results that Inference Find  
does. That's because Inference Find searches each engine with the absolute  
maximum each engine will allow. This is far greater than the default that most  
users search with. And why should a user ask for 1000 of the best documents  
back? What would he do with them all! 
     This is where "clustering" comes in. After retrieving this huge list  
results, Inference Find clusters the search results. Clustering is basically a  
process of putting similar items together. While other search engines sort  
their results by how well they match the query, Inference Find gets all the  
best results, and then groups the related items together. This makes the large  
results returned very understandable. You can quickly seee which documents are  
relevant and which are irrelevant. 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
7. E. J. Josey Scholarship 
 
 
The Black Caucus of the American Library Association is announcing the 
E.J. Josey Scholarship Award for 1999.  Three Scholarship Awards of $2,000 
will be given to three graduate students in an ALA accredited Library and 
Information Science program in the USA or Canada. 
 
Persons wishing to apply must: 
 
* Be an African American Citizen of the United States or Canada. 
 
* Be enrolled in a graduate program leading to a degree in library and 
information science at the time of application. 
 
* Submit an essay of 1,000 - 2,000 words discussing "Challenges and 
Opportunities Facing African American Librarians in the New Millenium" 
 
* Essays will be judged on the basis of good argument development and 
critical analysis, clear language, conciseness, and creativity.  Submitted 
essays will not be returned. 
 
Special Instructions: 
 
Include a cover letter providing the applicant's name, address, phone 
number, graduate program, name of school and anticipated date of 
graduation. 
 
Double-spaced typing on all pages. 
 
Deadline for submissions: December 15, 1998. 
 
The recipient of the award will be notified by March 1, 1999. 
 
Submit your essay for the award to: 
 
E.J. Josey Scholarship Committee 
Att. Dr. Ismail Abdullahi 
Clark Atlanta University 
School of Library and Information Studies 
James P. Brawley Dr. at Fair Street, S.W. 
Atlanta, Georgia  30314 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
15. Discussion of NOW chapter advocating filtering, note from Editor  
 
The International Relations Round Table (IRRT) is the organization 
that develops ALA's interests and activities in the global arena. 
 
BECOME AN IRRT MEMBER AND RECEIVE:	 
 
*A subscription to "International Leads" 
*Information on international opportunities available to US  
 librarians 
*A schedule of ALA programs featuring speakers from around the world 
 
BECOME AN IRRT MEMBER AND PARTICIPATE IN: 
 
*Preparation of guidelines and publications on international library  
 issues 
*Discussions of international standards 
*Planning or international activities and events 
*Mentoring of international visitors at ALA meeings 
*Hosting international librarians 
*Organizing conference programs on international library topics 
*Assisting at the international lounge and international visitor  
 orientation at the ALA Annual Conference 
 
  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 
 
 
                  **IRRT APPLICATION FORM** 
 
Print out the form below and mail it with your check to the address 
below. 
 
     YES, I would like to join the IRRT*.  Enclosed is $10.00 US 
 
 
Name:___________________________________________ 
 
Address:______________________________________________________ 
______________________________________________________________ 
 
Phone:__________________Fax:__________________ 
 
E-mail:_______________________________________ 
 
ALA Membership number:________________________ 
 
 
 
              *Must be an ALA member to join IRRT 
            Mail to:  ALA MEMBERSHIP SERVICES 
                      50 EAST HURON STREET 
                      CHICAGO, IL 60611-2795 USA 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
9. Vigdor Schreibman item: ALARMING MONOPOLY POWER ATTACK 
 
From: Vigdor Schreibman <fins98[at]worldnet.att.net> 
 
IMPORTANT NEWS BULLETIN 
Please Route as Required 
  
ALARMING MONOPOLY POWER ATTACK 
Public Information Systems Targeted by ITI 
  
Distribution of income in the United States is the most inequitable in the 
world, among developed nations, plunging Americans into a national crisis.  
The reason for this situation, James K. Galbraith, says in his bold and 
convincing book, "Created Unequal" (1998), is because economic competition, 
"to establish a monopolistic position," is the norm which has been 
supported by the Federal Government since the early 1970s. 
  
Now we are witness to a potentially catastrophic attack on American 
democratic institutions by the Information Technology Industry (ITI).  They 
are using their massive economic power -- gained in significant part by 
hundreds of billions of dollars in public subsidies during the past two 
decades -- to unfairly manipulate the political process.  The immediate 
target of their attack is a takeover for private plunder of the government 
information systems of the country. 
  
    Here is the story: 
  
    http://sunsite.utk.edu/FINS/Fins-NC6-07.txt 
  
    And related special reports:  
  
    http://sunsite.utk.edu/FINS/Fins-SR6-06.txt 
    http://sunsite.utk.edu/FINS/Fins-SR6-07.txt 
  
  
Vigdor Schreibman -- FINS 
18 - 9th Street NE #206 
Capitol Hill, Washington, DC 20002     
phone: 202-547-8715; fax: same (call first) 
email: fins98[at]worldnet.att.net 
http://sunsite.utk.edu/FINS/   
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
10. Call For Papers - Katharine Sharp Review 
 
 
                        Call For Papers 
                     Katharine Sharp Review 
                  GSLIS, University of Illinois 
                         ISSN 1083-5261 
 
(This information can also be found at http://edfu.lis.uiuc.edu/review) 
 
This is the first call for submissions to the Winter 1999 issue of the 
Katharine Sharp Review, the peer-reviewed e-journal devoted to student 
scholarship and research within library and information science. Articles 
can be on any topic that is relevant to LIS--from children's literature 
to electronic database manipulation to library marketing.  Please take a 
look at previous issues for a sample of what is possible--but do not let 
that be your only guide!  If you care passionately about some facet of 
LIS or have produced a research paper of which you are proud, consider 
submitting it to KSR. 
 
All submissions should be received by Monday, December 14, 1998. 
 
Although it is not required for submission, we would appreciate an 
abstract (of 150-200 words) or indication of intention to submit. 
Submitted articles must be accompanied by an abstract of no more than 200 
words. 
 
For more information, including instructions for authors, please see the 
KSR webpage at either http://edfu.lis.uiuc.edu/review/call.html or 
http://mirrored.ukoln.ac.uk/lis-journals/review/review/ or you can email 
us at review[at]alexia.lis.uiuc.edu 
 
 
                 +                                   + 
                               Kevin Ward 
                                 Editor 
                         Katharine Sharp Review 
                       review[at]alexia.lis.uiuc.edu 
                    http://edfu.lis.uiuc.edu/review 
                 +                                   + 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
11. Memo to Journalists: YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR TINY MINDS" 
 
That's how columnist Molly Ivins put it-and she may well have been 
speaking for millions of Americans when she assailed the media obsession 
with the President's sex life. "You shoved his sex life in our faces 
last January," wrote Ivins, "and rubbed our noses in it for eight months 
more, so by now we're more disgusted with you than with Bill Clinton." 
With Congressional elections weeks away, too many news outlets remain 
"all-Lewinsky, all-the-time." It may be good for ratings. It's not good 
for democracy-especially when Americans are ill-informed about major 
public issues from HMO reform to tobacco control to campaign finance 
reform to social security preservation. Abandoning any semblance of 
objectivity, national news outlets have worked hand-in-hand with the 
most partisan independent counsel in history. They've broadcast intimate 
details and illegal leaks from an unprecedented prosecutorial 
investigation of a politician's sex life. No wonder GOP strategists 
urged Republicans on Capitol Hill for months to stay tight-lipped and 
let the media do their job for them. 
 
--Disgusted with the Media? Speak Out! 
In the last two weeks, national news anchors have repeatedly encouraged 
the public to express their views to Congress on the President's 
conduct-and what his fate should be. But what about the media's conduct? 
If you're disgusted with the voyeuristic obsessions and political biases 
of the mass media on the eve of an election, now is the time to speak 
out directly to news executives. Long after President Clinton leaves 
office-whether early or on schedule-Americans concerned about democracy 
will have to grapple with a corporate-dominated news media that puts 
profits ahead of fair coverage and full debate. 
 
### 
 
 
MSNBC General Manager 201-583-5050 
mailto:world[at]msnbc.com 
mailto:letters[at]msnbc.com 
mailto:opinion[at]msnbc.com 
mailto:TheBigShow[at]msnbc.com 
mailto:TheNews[at]msnbc.com 
 
CNBC Primetime V.P. 201-585-6424 
mailto:hardball[at]cnbc.com 
mailto:info[at]cnbc.com 
 
NBC News President 212-664-4611 
mailto:nightly[at]nbc.com 
mailto:MTP[at]nbc.com 
 
Newsweek Editor 212-445-4470 
mailto:letters[at]newsweek.com 
 
ABC News President 212-456-6200 
mailto:netaudr[at]abc.com 
 
Time Editor 212-522-3817 
mailto:letters[at]time.com 
 
 
CBS News President 212-975-7825 
mailto:realitycheck[at]cbs.com 
 
New York Times Editor 212-556-1157 
 
CNN Chair 404-827-1311 
mailto:cnn.onair[at]cnn.com 
 
Washington Post Editor 202-334-7512 
 
Fox News President 212-301-8224 
mailto:comments[at]foxnews.com 
 
USA Today Editor 703-276-5993 
mailto:editor[at]usatoday.com 
 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
12. Library Destroyed, discussion of library disaster preparedness 
 
 
Approved-By: ifla[at]NLC-BNC.CA 
Mime-Version: 1.0 
Date:         Thu, 1 Oct 1998 11:47:40 -0400 
Reply-To: International Federation of Library Associations mailing list 
              <IFLA-L[at]INFOSERV.NLC-BNC.CA> 
Sender: International Federation of Library Associations mailing list 
              <IFLA-L[at]INFOSERV.NLC-BNC.CA> 
From: "CLAYTON KIRKING (Clayton Kirking)" <KIRKINGC[at]NEWSCHOOL.EDU> 
Subject:      Library Destroyed 
To: IFLA-L[at]INFOSERV.NLC-BNC.CA 
 
Please forgive any duplicate posting. 
 
September 24, 1998 
 
Below is the text of a letter from Stephen Kaplan, Rector of Altos de Chavon  
School of Design in La Romana, Dominican Republic. Altos de Chavon is  
affiliated with, but not funded by, Parsons School of Design. An agreement  
exists between the schools which allows third year students to apply as degree  
students to Parsons, completing their degrees in New York City.  Each year 12 -  
18 students begin as juniors at Parsons, most on full scholarships.  
 
Over a period of years, and especially during the last three, the Adam and  
Sophie Gimbel Design Library has aggressively contributed materials and   
equipment to the library at Altos de Chavon. The Dominican Republic is a  
country in which all library materials are precious.  Highly specialized  
resources are even more highly prized.  I have been particularly proud to be  
able to arrange significant donations to Altos de Chavon.  Working with  
Dominican students enrolled at Parsons, the Gimbel Library has been able to  
supply materials that fill a recognized need. The Library had become one of the  
"jewels" of the Altos campus. 
 
Yesterday hurricane Georges destroyed the library building and its collections  
of books, serials, magazines and slides. The Rector, alumni, students and  
administrators are devastated.   
 
After speaking with Mr. Kaplan, I volunteered to post his text to the  
art/design library and VRA communities in an effort to begin to rebuild the  
library. 
 
The areas of study at Altos are: Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Illustration,  
Interior Design and Graphics Design.  Materials in these fields, as well as  
their allied and support studies were the basis of the library. The library  
housed materials in all languages. 
 
Mr. Kaplan has sent out the following letter to individuals associated directly  
with the school, I am sending this to the art/design library and VRA  
communities with the knowledge that we understand what a blow this loss has  
delivered--and will continue--to deliver to the mission of this exceptional  
school. 
 
Stephen Kaplan, Altos de Chavon School of Design, Parsons School of Design, and  
I will be grateful for any materials which can be given to begin to reconstruct  
this collection. 
 
Clayton Kirking 
Director 
Adam and Sophie Gimbel Design Library 
Parsons School of Design 
 
Rector Kaplan's text follows. 
 
 
Dear Friends of Altos de Chavon, 
 
No doubt you have heard of the devastation hurricane Georges caused to the  
Caribbean.  The Dominican Republic received the storm full force and La Romana  
was devastated. The School of Design suffered a direct hit. Although the  
buildings still stand, there has been great damage. It seems as if classes will  
not be able to be resumed for two to three weeks. There is no water,  
electricity, nor phone service at this time.  The airports are closed. 
 
The saddest loss at Chavon was our library.  The roof blew off the building and  
the books were destroyed by wind and rain. It took seventeen years to build  
what many called the best art and design library in the Caribbean.  Those of  
you who have used the library at Altos de Chavon know what a great resource it  
was. 
 
We are asking all of our friends, alumni, former artists-in-residence, our  
lecturers, and suppliers to consider making a donation to help rebuild the  
collection.  Donations of books [magazines, slides] or money are tax  
deductible....Send or drop off donations at Altos de Chavon, c/o Parsons School  
of Design, 66 Fifth Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY   10011.  If you are  
donating a large number of books [or materials], call us and we will have them  
picked up or pay the shipping charge to get them to Parsons. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Stephen D. Kaplan 
Rector 
The Altos de Chavon School of Design 
 
 
*********************************************************************** 
*   IFLA-L is provided by the International Federation of Library     * 
* Associations and Institutions (IFLA). For further information about * 
*    IFLA activities, including organization or personal affiliate    * 
*               information, contact:  IFLA[at]ifla.org                  * 
*                                                                     * 
*                      URL: www.ifla.org                              * 
*********************************************************************** 
 
  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 
 
I would hope [ALCTS] would consider expanding their clearinghouse 
function, developing an opportunity for volunteer participation, mounting 
disaster preparedness information and links on the ALA website, 
establishing liaison with pertinent international agencies, and in concert 
with the Fund for America's Libraries, to develop a streamlined way to 
channel offers of financial assistance to libraries that have experienced 
damage.  
------------------------ 
With appropriate formatting, and the inclusion of a funding mechanism, the 
above would be a good resolution for Midwinter. 
 
Karen G. Schneider  
 
  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 
 
Dear Sue (& other interested colleagues), 
 
Thanks for your message noting that something helpful for everyone 
interested in preparing their libraries for an unforeseen disaster would 
be for ALCTS to provide a guide. 
 
Actually, there are some excellent published guides already out there in 
the literature.  For my classes in Preservation Management, I have the 
following titles listed on my syllabus reading list: 
 
Brooks, Constance.  DISASTER PREPAREDNESS.  Washington, DC:  ARL, 1993. 
 
Drewes, Jeanne M. & Julie A. Page.  PROMOTING PRESERVATION AWARENESS IN 
LIBRARIES:  A SOURCEBOOK ...  Englewood, CO:  Libraries Unlimited, 1997. 
 
Fortson, Judith.  DISASTER PLANNING & RECOVERY.  New York:  
Neal-Schuman, 1992. 
 
Kahn, Miriam.  "Mastering Disaster:  Emergency Planning for Libraries." 
 
LIBRARY JOURNAL  118 (Dec. 1993), p. 73-75. 
 
Murray, Toby.  BIBLIOGRAPHY ON DISASTERS, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND 
DISASTER RECOVERY.  Tulsa, OK:  University of Tulsa, 1987. 
 
Rhodes, Barbara J.  HELL & HIGHWATER:  A DISASTER INFORMATION 
SOURCEBOOK.  New York:  METRO, 1989. 
 
Trinkley, Michael.  HURRICANE!  SURVIVING THE BIG ONE:  A PRIMER FOR 
LIBRARIES, MUSEUMS AND ARCHIVES.  Atlanta, GA:  SOLINET, 1993. 
 
Water, Peter.  PROCEDURES FOR THE SALVAGE OF WATER-DAMAGED MATERIALS.  
2nd ed.  Washington:  USGPO, 1988. 
 
There also is a splendid column on practical preservation activities 
published every 3 or 4 months, written by current LITA prexy Barbra 
Higginbotham in TECHNICALITIES (which I edit -- pardon the plug, but it 
covers many things including issues about recovery processes that people 
don't think about, such as how to fund them, staff them, etc.). 
 
Hope this helps, right away! 
 
/Sheila 
 
************************************ 
Sheila S. Intner, Councilor at large 
& ALCTS President 
 
  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 
 
Alex -- Thank you for the rapid response to a stated need!  Wow!  I 
am impressed with the speed at which this page got designed and 
mounted.  Seems like only last week when the general need for it as 
a resource was expessed on the Council listserv, er, ah, discussion 
list and here it is! I checked it  
(http://www.ala.org/alcts/publications/disaster.html) out and, for me, it  
hits the nail right on the head.   
 
My only quibble is the eternal location, location, location one -- is  
it located on the ALA/ALCTS page a spot that is intuitive enough for  
the non-regular user to find?  I guess the answer is, if the person  
can search the ALA site then they will find it.  Or perhaps the  
answer is in the metatdata -- has the site been cataloged in OCLC (or  
elsewhere) with a PURL?   I'm not a cataloger but I think that is the  
correct jargon. :-)   
 
I hope American Libraries will create a story to give the new site 
some publicity and create awareness in the library community.  
Thanks again for the hard work and great site! -- Ethelle Bean, South Dakota 
Chapter Councilor 
 
Ethelle S. Bean, Director, Karl E. Mundt Library 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
13. Minnesota Library Association's "Statement on Internet Access"  
 
 
	***************************************************** 
    		Statement on Internet Access 
	Adopted by Minnesota Library Association 
		   October 1998 
 
The Minnesota Library Association believes that a democracy can only 
succeed if its citizens have access to the information necessary to form 
opinions and make decisions on issues affecting their lives.  It supports 
the principle of open access to information and ideas, regardless of the 
medium in which they exist. In addition, libraries provide opportunities to 
access the world of information to those who would not otherwise have 
such access.  Therefore, the Minnesota Library Association has 
endorsed the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, Code 
of Ethics, Freedom to Read Statement, and its interpretations of the 
Library Bill of Rights.  
 
As an extension of these intellectual freedom principles, the Minnesota 
Library Association endorses a position of full and free access to the 
Internet in libraries.  This position is strengthened by the Supreme Court 
ruling which states that communications on the Internet receive the same 
level of constitutional protection as books, magazines, and newspapers. 
 
 
The Association recognizes the issues and concerns generated from 
providing full access to the Internet.  The debate regarding the use of 
filtering devices in response to these concerns is an important one. 
However, filtering devices block access to constitutionally protected 
speech and prevent the library users from accessing materials they 
determine to be most suitable for themselves.  Therefore, the Minnesota 
Library Association does not recommend the use of Internet filters in 
libraries and opposes attempts by federal and state governments to 
mandate their use.    
 
The Minnesota Library Association respects the responsibility of all 
parents/legal guardians to guide their own children's use of the library, 
its resources and services.  The Association recommends that libraries 
teach responsible and effective use of the Internet through handouts, 
online guides, training sessions, and Web pages highlighting library 
recommended sources.  In addition, the Association encourages the 
management of this resource in ways that protect the privacy of Internet 
users. 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
14. Montana Library Association filtering resolution 
 
 
The Montana Library Association, Academic Special Libraries Division,  
unanimously adopted the following resolution on Internet filters: 
 
------------- 
  
A Resolution on the Mandated Use of Internet Filters in Libraries  
 
Whereas, in light of recent and controversial efforts by federal and state 
entities to impose the  mandated use of Internet filters on school and 
public libraries, and  
 
Whereas, libraries provide unfettered access to information in order to 
maintain an informed citizenry in our democratic society, and  
  
Whereas, objective evaluation of existing Internet filters reveals  serious 
and inherent flaws in such software which unintentionally block valid 
sites while not blocking all sites which may prove potentially offensive to 
someone, and 
  
Whereas, prior restraint on access to information may be 
unconstitutional, and 
   
Whereas, librarians in public libraries do not serve a role as in loco 
parentis and cannot judge what a parent may wish for his or her child, 
and  
  
Whereas, sweeping state or federal constraints circumvent the rights of 
local citizens to exert local control 
 
Therefore be it resolved that the ASLD supports the principle of free and 
unrestricted access to information as a foundation of an informed 
citizenry in a democratic society, 
    
And be it further resolved that, the ASLD opposes broad mandates to  
restrict access to the Internet through the exclusive use of Internet 
filters. 
   
And be it further resolved that the Montana Library Association does 
not recommend the use of Internet filters and opposes attempts by the 
federal or state governments to require such use.  We believe that 
decisions regarding use of Internet filters must remain at the local level. 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
15. Discussion of NOW chapter advocating filtering, note from Editor   
 
 
(first message is from Chuck Munson, to srrtac-l and librarians[at]tao.ca) 
 
  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 
 
Pretty disgusting. Pretty typical of liberal "feminist" organizations. 
 
In Library Filtering Case, an Unusual Ally 
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/10/cyber/cyberlaw/02law.html 
 
--  
Chuck0 
Anarcho-Feminism Page 
http://burn.ucsd.edu/~mai/afem_kiosk.html 
 
  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 
 
Sorry Chuck, but I don't think 
 
>Pretty typical of liberal "feminist" organizations. 
 
is necessarily applicable in this case. 
 
As the article states a chapter of NOW (100 folks in Dulles, Virginia) 
"filed a pro-filtering friend of the court brief" not NOW, the national 
organization. The article also reads 
 
"Loretta King, a spokeswoman for NOW, said the national organization "is 
not involved in any way" with the Loudoun lawsuit.  The president of the 
statewide Virginia NOW, Connie Hannah, also distanced herself from the 
Dulles group's efforts, noting that the state organization issued a 
statement last June that strongly opposed Internet filtering. She said that 
while the Virginia NOW opposes sexual harassment in all its forms, library 
filtering was a flawed and constitutionally suspect solution." 
 
There is a distinction between a national organization and a chapter with 
100 folks. 
 
By the way, what exactly do you mean by >Pretty typical of liberal 
"feminist" organizations<,  I'm curious.  This strange "comment" on my more 
"mainstream" sisters (and I do mean NOW not the Dulles chapter) sort of 
raises my fur, Chuck. 
 
~Debbie 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
MIT LCS/AI Reading Room 
(617)253-5896~ 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 
 
I agree with people here that this is not cause for undue feminist bashing.  
Some reproach, however, as Chuck points out, is occasionally deserved. One  
example is his earlier one of NOW's exploitation of RICO to suppress  
anti-abortion speech. Another is Ms. magazine and Gloria Steinem's promotion of  
the now-discredited psycho-theories concerning "repressed (incest) memory" and  
"satanic ritual abuse." And, of course, it is not only 100 feminists in  
Virginia who would pass laws outlawing pornography. 
 
Carol Reid 
New York State Library 
 
  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 
 
From:  Chuck0 [SMTP:chuck[at]tao.ca] 
Sent:  Tuesday, October 13, 1998 5:50 PM 
To:  SRRT Action Council 
Subject:  Re: Why is NOW supporting Internet censorship in 
libraries? 
 
I'll lay off NOW for now, but I want to point out that Gloria 
Steinem admitted that she took money from the CIA at one point, which is 
cause enough to be wary of her. I'm sure there are lot of good NOW 
members out there and they should be concerned about this Loudon County 
chapter which has been swept into this 1950s time warp. 
 
  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 
 
Okay, but why all the surprise about a feminist group opposing pornography? 
Now, I like my fashion magazines as much as the next guy, but I can't just 
brush aside arguments that pornography is harmful on grounds of, ah, 
intellectual freedom.  I think the usual opposition to filters (and my own) 
is that they censor websites that are not set up for sexual arousal.  We 
can be committed to intellectual freedom without extending library services 
to cover the provision of pornography in a public place. 
 
I am personally ambivalent about pornography, and I think there are 
potentially social/community issues which make it justifiable to keep 
pornography (to be distinguished in some way from erotica, I would believe) 
out of libraries.  If there is an effect on others (and I don't know 
whether there is or not) then it's not so easy to call it a personal choice. 
 
I don't have a strong opinion about this issue. I just don't feel that we 
should be surprised that a feminist group has taken a position against 
pornography in libraries, even if feminist debate has vanished, or seems to 
have vanished, in the last decade or so. 
 
Rory Litwin 
 
  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 
 
From:  Barta, Carol 
Sent:  Tuesday, October 13, 1998 3:25 PM 
To:  'Chuck0' 
Subject:  RE: Why is NOW supporting Internet censorship in libraries? 
 
I don't think they are entirely unreasonable in their stand.  Many women 
are made uncomfortable by the public display of pornographic images. 
Though we don't filter at BCCC, part of our user agreement bans the 
public viewing of such images based on our sexual harassment policy. 
The standard in sexual harassment cases is "the reasonable woman..."  If 
the students are viewing this in their dorm rooms we can't do much about 
it, but we ask them to stop, if they are viewing sexually explicit 
images in the library or computer labs.  The policy has not been tested 
in court, but one teacher threatened to bring a suit if we did not 
institute the policy. 
 
 The lawsuit and current legislation are a waste of time and energy. 
What we need is some creative cataloging genius to devise a system 
whereby one could search for information without stumbling on 
pornography and conversely search for pornography without having to sort 
through other kinds of information.  Sandy??? 
 
Carol 
Carol Barta 
Director of Library Services 
Barton County Community College 
245 NE 30 Road 
Great Bend, KS 67530 
 
  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 
 
It seems to me that the question of pornography is mult-faceted.  And 
here, the feminist opposition to pornography misses the boat. 
 
There are at least 4 kinds of pornography:  straight, lesbian for a male 
audience, lesbian for a lesbian audience, and gay male. 
 
I have heard the following arguments against pornography: 
 
1) that the participants are forced into it and loose control of their 
lives - and - 
 
2) that it causes the readers to react violently against women. 
 
 
Neither seems to be true in the gay male pornographic industry.  In  
response to the first -- Witness the reaction of the porn stars to the 
AIDS crisis - they started using condoms and did public relations spots in 
magazines and movies urging widespread condom use and the development of 
safe sex practices.  If the gay men in the porno industry can do take 
matters into their own hands; then the straight, gay, and bi women should 
be able to as well.  Maybe the problem is not the porn industry but the 
socialization of women so that they still fail to take charge of their own 
lives.  In response to the second, I do not think that gay male porno 
causes violence against women - and in all my years of reading the gay 
male press, I have not heard of any claims that it causes gay men to 
commit violence against gay, straight, or bi men. 
 
So this leads me to several conclusions: 
 
1) that it is not pornography that is at fault, but that the individuals 
involved are using it as a shield from accepting responsibility for their 
own actions, 
 
2) that research on pornography has been limited to that pornography 
geared towards straights audiences and that research on gay audiences 
needs to be completed to determine if the claimed responses in straight 
audiences are duplicatible in gay ones, 
 
3) and that gays are more sophiscated than straights and can deal with 
pornography without become anti-social and/or violent and, if they are in 
the industry, know how to deal with the demands of the producers, 
directors, and consumers. 
 
Thoughts? 
 
-- Stephen 
 
  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 
 
From the editor: 
 
Thinking about pornography is difficult, and not only because of shame. I  
feel that it is hard to understand many things about human life, and where  
our senses get aroused it's only that much more difficult to think. 
 
I am personally ambivalent about pornography, and erotica, for the same 
reason that I am ambivalent about our culture's absorption in images of all  
kinds at the expense of reality. I fear that pornography in particular can  
interpose itself between people who might otherwise connect more completely.   
The idea that it causes violence against women could turn out to be absurd,  
and yet it could still be true that the time spent looking at pornography  
could affect people's real relationships in some uncomprehended way.  Maybe  
it substitutes a relationship with oneself, to some degree, for a  
relationship to another.  Maybe it can influence men to see women as sex  
objects more than they would otherwise.   
 
Possibly more of a problem, most men take it for granted that some form of  
external stimulation is necessary for masturbation.  When pornography is  
used this way (and that is its primary use), what happens to the  
imagination?  Wouldn't it be healthier for our psyches to use only our own  
minds to get aroused?  The imagination has a way of revealing ourselves to  
ourselves in a way that no other feedback can, as Freud and many others have  
known.  Pornography doesn't exactly have that power to keep us honest. 
 
On the other hand, it seems to me that pornography (and erotica) could just  
as easily be a harmless pleasure for many people, and it could be simply a  
good thing that society's shame surrounding it continues to vanish.  Perhaps  
the problems that have been associated with it have to do with enjoying it  
alone rather than with friends or lovers. It is difficult to know.  Any 
hypotheses that are subtle enough would be impossible to test. It is even  
difficult to know whether pornography is harmful to children, and in the  
absence of any positive knowledge it's reasonable for parents to be afraid. 
 
The issues in a public library are more particular than in society at large,  
because the space in a library is shared, and is affected by what happens in  
it.  Libertarian arguments are not as strong in a shared environment, where  
no-ones life is confined to their own private sphere. 
 
While I don't have much hope for research in the area to find out anything  
really informative, I hope for more of a dialog.  I believe that many people  
who are opposed to pornography have silenced themselves out of fear of 
seeming prudish and old fashioned, or an expectation of getting trashed in  
an unpleasant argument with a dozen angry men.  I think it's also a case  
where people feel that their own opinions about it are so self evidently  
true that they don't know how to begin communicating with people who have a 
different point of view.  The answer to that is to critically examine your  
own feelings, ask yourself seriously why you feel the way you do, and then  
be open about it. 
 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
16. The Idiosyntactix Culture Jammers' Encyclopedia 
 
http://www.syntac.net/hoax/  
 
No room to annotate it!  Sorry!  ;) 
____________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
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