Library Juice 2:4 - January 20, 1999

 
 
Contents: 
 
1. News stories appearing in the January 18 American Libraries Online 
2. Ruling in favor of Alameda County Library in Filtering Case 
3. Center for Electronic Records, NARA - Announcement of new web content 
4. Trial & Error -- _Chicago Tribune_  (Miscarriages of Justice) 
5. Digital Freedom Network - http://www.dfn.org/ 
6. _Library Management_'s Internet Research Register 
7. Libraries For the Future: Announcement of a book and a forum 
8. Montana Library Association Filtering Resolution 
9. Proposed Resolution Implementing the 'Poor People's Policy' (ALA) 
10. Proposed Resolution on Subject Headings Relating to Class and Poverty (ALA) 
11. A chill in the air for SRRT  (SRRT Newsletter article) 
12. During the Monica Show: Congressional Copyright Giveaway 
13. VolunteerMatch 
14. Effective Communication (e-zine) 
15. Some library humor (reference question contest) 
16. The Goat Farmer 
 
 
Quote for the week: 
 
"Education ... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to 
distinguish what is worth reading."  -G.M. Trevelyan 
 
 
** NOTE: Library Juice will not be published next week. 
** Next issue will be out on February 3. 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
1. News stories appearing in the January 18 American Libraries Online 
 
 
Date: Fri, 15 Jan 1999 16:05:29 -0600 
From: "Gordon Flagg" <gflagg[at]ala.org> 
To: member-forum[at]ala.org 
Subject: American Libraries Online January 18 news stories (ad) 
Reply-To: member-forum[at]ala.org 
 
 
News stories appearing in the January 18 American Libraries Online 
<http://www.ala.org/alonline/> 
 
*  Livermore Plaintiff Vows to Appeal after Suit Is Dismissed 
*  Coalition Files Amicus Brief against Child Online Protection Act 
*  Arkansas Bill Would Mandate Filters in Schools and Libraries 
*  Online Publisher Challenges Copyright Extension Act 
*  Montana State University Seeks $7.5 Million for Crucial Improvements 
*  Savannah Branch Closings Threatened 
*  Blind Author Threatens NYPL with Lawsuit 
*  Plea of 12-Year-Old Restores Blubber to School Library 
*  Wichita Falls Officials Consider Censorship by Petition 
*  Mom Challenges School's Offering Beginners' Love 
*  Santa Paula Library Settles Wrongful-Termination Suit 
*  Illinois State Library Director Resigns to Accept Post in Governor's Cabinet 
*  Technology Funds Pass Over Wisconsin Rural Districts 
*  Maine Bill Seeks to Consolidate Cultural Grants 
*  Texas School Library Closed for Poor Air Quality 
*  Consultant to Assess Jacksonville PL System 
*  Clinton Resubmits Controversial Envoy Nomination to Senate 
*  Survey Says Internet Not Replacing Traditional Information Sources 
*  Marx, Engels Letters Turn up in China's National Library 
 
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. 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
2. Ruling in favor of Alameda County Library in Filtering Case 
 
 
An Alamdea County Court judge has again dismissed a suit filed by a 
mother charging that the library has a responsibility to use Internet 
filters.  A story about Thursday's ruling can be found at 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/1999/01/15/state023 
8EST0207.DTL 
 
Linda Wallace, Director 
Public Information Office 
American Library Association 
50 E. Huron St. 
Chicago, IL 60611 
Tel: 800-545-2433, ext. 5042 
Fax: 312-944-8520 
E-mail: lwallace[at]ala.org 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
3. Center for Electronic Records, NARA - Announcement of new web content 
 
 
From: Theodore J. Hull 
Date: Jan. 14, 1999 
Subject; Center for Electronic Records Announcement 
 
This message is being posted to a number of Listservs.  Please forgive 
cross-posting and length.  This message updates information last posted 
October 21, 1998. 
 
================================================================ 
The Center for Electronic Records, (U.S.) National Archives and Records 
Administration (NARA) has updated some of its material on the NARA 
homepage.  The general URL is http://www.nara.gov/ 
with information about the electronic records program and holdings 
available at 
http://www.nara.gov/nara/electronic. 
 
The 'Title List: A Preliminary and Partial Listing of the Data Files in 
the National Archives and Records Administration' is current as of 
December 30, 1998, and has entries for more than 14,000 of the over 
100,000 electronic records files in the custody of NARA.   The direct 
link to the Title List files is 
http://www.nara.gov/nara/electronic/tlintro.html. 
 
Title List files are also available via FTP.  Anonymous FTP (password 
'guest') to FTP.CU.NIH.GOV, directory NARA_ELECTRONIC.  A READ.ME file 
on the FTP site provides further information about the 'Title List' and 
Title List extract files.  Note that the full 'Title List' file has 
23,331 lines and is approximately 1.5 megabytes in size. 
 
Among the new entries in the Title List are the Federal Assistance 
Awards Data System, 1st and 2nd Quarter, FY1998, in the Records of the 
Bureau of the Census (Record Group 29), the Federal Procurement Data 
System, FY1989-FY1997 in the Records of the Federal Supply Service 
(Record Group 137), as well as other new entries in the Records of the 
Department of Transportation, Research and Special Programs 
Administration (Record Group 467); and Records of the Health Resources 
and Services Administration (Record Group 512). 
 
The Center has also updated its on-line descriptive handout for 
electronic records in the Records of the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (http://www.nara.gov/nara/electronic/sec.html) to incorporate 
a description of the Institutional Investor Study, 1968-1970, data files 
and the Ownership Reporting System, October 1997-January 1998, data 
file.  The Center also revised its on-line Reference Report #8, 
*Electronic Records of the World War II Era* 
(http://www.nara.gov/nara/electronic/wwii.html). 
The World War II report now includes descriptions of a number of 
electronic records series processed into the Center's holdings since 
1994.  Among them are the World War II Prisoners of War Punchcards in 
the Records of the 
Office of the Provost Marshal General (record Group 389) and the Census 
Tract Data, 1940: Elizabeth Mullen Bogue File (Donated Historical 
Materials). 
 
I hope this information is useful. 
 
 
THEODORE J. HULL 
Archives Specialist 
Center for Electronic Records 
National Archives and Records Administration 
(301) 713-6645 
cer[at]nara.gov 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
4. Trial & Error -- _Chicago Tribune_  (Miscarriages of Justice) 
 
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ws/0,1246,21398,00.html 
 
This major investigative series from the _Tribune_ documents hundreds of 
homicide cases where innocent people were sent to jail, some to Death Row, 
because of the "egregious misconduct" of prosecutors, usually in the form 
of suppressing evidence or using evidence that they knew to be false. The 
study begins in 1963, when the Supreme Court ruling in Brady v. Maryland 
forbad prosecutors from "suppressing evidence favorable to a defendant for 
purposes of determining guilt or imposing a sentence." In their search for 
cases that violated this ruling, the _Tribune_ examined approximately 
11,000 court rulings and 8,700 news stories on wrongful convictions or 
prosecutor misconduct. At the site, users can navigate a clickable map to 
view state lists of defendants whose murder convictions were overturned, 
overviews of selected states, and summaries of representative cases. In 
addition, the site archives the series's feature articles, which have 
appeared in the _Tribune_ over the past week. [MD] 
 
>From the Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1999. 
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
5. Digital Freedom Network - http://www.dfn.org/ 
 
 
    Digital Freedom Network - http://www.dfn.org/ 
        A human rights organization that is publishing the work 
        of political dissidents who are repressed in their own 
        country as well as related news articles and Web sites. 
 
 
Carole Leita, cleita[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu 
LIIWEEK Listowner and Coordinator of the 
Librarians' Index to the Internet 
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/InternetIndex/ 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
6. _Library Management_'s Internet Research Register 
 
 
From: "Eileen Breen" <EBreen[at]mcb.co.uk> 
To: <NetInLib-Announce[at]targetinform.com> 
Subject: Register your research with the new on-line service available from 
March 1999 
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 13:32:04 -0000 
MIME-Version: 1.0 
X-Priority: 3 (Normal) 
Importance: Normal 
 
Library Management Internet research register 
 
Library Management would like to offer you the opportunity of registering 
details of research projects on which you or your organization/institution 
are working, for publication in a searchable, browseable on-line database 
from March 1999.  The database will be available to all those organisations 
which subscribe to the full-service Library Management; all registrants; and 
members of selected professional associations/institutes. The service will 
be a comprehensive database which will be international in coverage. 
 
 
Editorial objectives 
The research register will report on current research worldwide, and 
research completed during the past six months, which focuses on any aspect 
of the management and library and information services.  Research may be 
linked to an academic course of study or project, be independent, or 
organization-based/in-house.  The register aims to maintain a sound balance 
between theory and practice.  Entries which report on applied research are, 
therefore,  particularly welcome. 
 
 
Benefits of registering your research 
A research register provides the scholarly community with pre-publication 
information and the potential for further networking.  It provides the 
practitioner community with early information on new areas for application 
and development.  It also allows the researcher to: 
 
Make sure that you are not duplicating research already under way 
Identify possible research methodologies 
Identify peers for collaborative research projects 
Identify possible sources of funding for research 
Identify types of research under way, e.g. theoretical, applied research, 
case study 
Identify areas where research is needed 
 
The research register will build up into a resource enabling the history of 
research in a particular area, to be tracked. 
 
Why Internet? 
An on-line  research register has functional possibilities not achievable 
with either print or CD-ROM format.  It is possible for an online facility 
to be "live", i.e. updated on a continuous basis, and make hyperlinks to the 
location of publications which have resulted from research. 
 
 
The host journal 
The journal hosting the research register is Library Management published by 
MCB University Press (UK).  .  If you are not already familiar with it, you 
may like to view the journal web page at 
http://www.mcb.co.uk/cgi-bin/journal1/lm 
 
Register today! 
In order that your research is registered as soon as possible, please 
complete the online questionnaire  at 
http://www.mcb.co.uk/literati/research_registers 
 
Patricia Layzell Ward 
Editor, Library Management 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
7. Libraries For the Future: Announcement of a book and a forum 
 
 
PUMP UP THE VOLUME: PRESERVE A PUBLIC SPACE IN CYBERSPACE! 
 
For more information, visit: http://www.lff.org/advocacy/public.html or 
contact Jamie McClelland (800-542-1918, jamiem[at]lff.org). 
 
This February, on the third anniversary of the E-rate, the law authorizing 
discounted telecommunications services for libraries and schools, Libraries 
for the Future is sponsoring two events that bring together a diverse group of 
public library, community television, museum, community technology, and 
independent media advocates to pump up support for electronic public spaces. 
 
First, LFF will release PUBLIC SPACE IN CYBERSPACE: LIBRARY ADVOCACY FOR THE 
INFORMATION AGE. This booklet documents many of the ways public libraries and 
other organizations are designing public spaces in cyberspace. Combining best 
practices with down to earth policy information, PUBLIC SPACE IN CYBERSPACE 
includes profiles of the latest free, innovative library based Internet and 
computer programs, public libraries experimenting with communication and 
information services rarely seen on the library agenda, and a digital policy 
primer written for the beginner. This booklet shows through example the common 
threads uniting public libraries, public information, public media, public 
policy and our right to information. Check Libraries for the Future's website 
in February to access a free online version. Print orders will be available 
for $9.95. To reserve a copy, contact Jamie McClelland (jamiem[at]lff.org). 
 
In addition, on February 2, 1999, Libraries for the Future, the Association of 
Independent Video and Filmmakers, and the Walker Art Center will present a 
forum discussion entitled: LENDING CULTURE, MAKING MEDIA: LIBRARIES AND 
MUSEUMS IN THE DIGITAL AGE. In the future will libraries become the lenders of 
culture? Will museums become the repositories of information? New digital 
technologies make it possible for artists to make their work accessible over 
the Internet. At the same time, these technologies allow museums and public 
libraries to "lend" their collections and archives in ways never before 
possible. This panel discussion examines the ways artists, particularly 
independent video and film makers, use the Internet to exhibit and distribute 
their work, how public libraries and museums work together to create digital 
media and information collections, and finally how we can preserve public 
access to the Internet so everyone can participate. The forum will take place 
at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN and will be free to the public. Free 
copies of PUBLIC SPACE IN CYBERSPACE will be available for those that attend. 
 
Libraries for the Future (LFF) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to 
information equity, literacy and the preservation and renewal of libraries as 
essential tools for a democratic society. The Association for Independent 
Video and Filmmakers (AIVF) is a national service organization for independent 
media, providing programs and services, as well as a sense of community. The 
Walker Art Center is a catalyst for the creative expression of artists and the 
active engagement of audiences that focuses on the visual, performing, and 
media arts of our time. 
 
For more information, contact: Jamie McClelland, Libraries for the Future, 
jamiem[at]lff.org, 800-542-1918. 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
8. Montana Library Association Filtering Resolution 
 
 
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 09:37:16 -0600 
From: "Don Wood" <dwood[at]ala.org> 
To: Intellectual Freedom Action News <ifaction[at]ala1.ala.org> 
Subject: Montana Library Association Adopts Resolution on Filters 
Reply-To: dwood[at]ala.org 
Sender: owner-ifaction[at]ala1.ala.org 
 
This resolution was unanimously adopted by the Montana Library 
Association  Board at its' meeting October 23rd, 1998. 
 
 
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 Montana Library Association 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 MLA 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. 
 
 
Beth Boyson 
Intellectual Freedom Committee 
Montana Library Association 
 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
9. Proposed Resolution Implementing the 'Poor People's Policy' (ALA) 
 
 
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 13:13:10 -0600 (CST) 
From: Sandy Berman <sberman[at]sun.hennepin.lib.mn.us> 
To: ALA Council List <alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org> 
cc: olospoor[at]ala.org 
MIME-Version: 1.0 
Reply-To: sberman[at]sun.hennepin.lib.mn.us 
Sender: owner-alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org 
 
 
Dear Resolutions Committee Chair: Please add the following resolution to 
the Philadelphia Midwinter agenda: 
 
RESOLUTION ON IMPLEMENTING THE 'POOR PEOPLE'S POLICY' 
 
-WHEREAS in 1990 ALA Membership and Council adopted a policy on "Library 
Services To Poor People" (#61); and 
 
-WHEREAS that policy has not been systematically implemented within the 
American Library Association although hunger, homelessness, and poverty 
persist within America and adversely affect the full annd fruitful use of 
library resources; 
 
-THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that ALA Council asks the Executive Board to 
craft acomprehensive implementation plan, including the appropriation of 
necessary staff and other resources, which will be presented to Council no 
later than the Midwinter 2000 meeting; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 
Executive Board direct all ALA units and divisions to report what they have 
already done and plan to do to implement the Poor People's Policy, this 
to be accomplished no later than the Midwinter 2000 meeting. 
 
-Submitted by 
Sanford Berman, 
Counselor At-Large 
 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
        Sanford Berman             sberman[at]sun.hennepin.lib.mn.us 
        Hennepin County Library    phone: 612-694-8570 
        12601 Ridgedale Drive        fax: 612-541-8600 
        Minnetonka, MN  55305 
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
10. Proposed Resolution on Subject Headings Relating to Class and Poverty (ALA) 
 
 
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 14:16:55 -0600 (CST) 
From: Sandy Berman <sberman[at]sun.hennepin.lib.mn.us> 
To: ALA Council List <alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org> 
cc: olospoor[at]ala.org 
Subject: RESOLUTION ON SUBJECT HEADINGS RELATING TO CLASS AND POVERTY 
MIME-Version: 1.0 
Reply-To: sberman[at]sun.hennepin.lib.mn.us 
Sender: owner-alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org 
 
 
Dear Resolutions Committee Chair: Please add the following resolution to 
the Philadelphia Midwinter agenda: 
 
WHEREAS the American Library Association in 1990 adopted a "Poor People's 
Services Policy" (#61) that promotesw, in part, "the ready accessibility 
of print and nonprint materials that honestly address the issues of 
poverty and homelessness, that deal with poor people in a respectful way, 
and that are of practical use to low-income patrons"; and 
 
WHEREAS that same policy encourages activities and programs "likely to 
reduce, if not eliminate, poverty itself"; and 
 
WHEREAS Library of Congress subject headings can importantly affect access 
to vital library resources on hunger, homelessness, and poverty, as well 
as shaping library users' attitudes toward those topics; and 
 
WHEREAS LC headings currently impede or distort access to much relevant 
material because of antiquated or insensitive language, coupled with a 
failure to recognize a host of significant subjects actually represented 
in library collections; 
 
THEREFORE 
BE 
IT 
RESOLVED 
 
that ALA Council urges the Library of Congress to: a) replace PUBLIC 
WELFARE and PUBLIC WELFARE ADMINISTRATION with the more familiar forms 
WELFARE and WELFARE ADMINISTRATION; b) humanize the current heading, POOR, 
by transforming it into POOR PEOPLE; and c) swiftly establish and assign 
these warranted and essential headings related to poverty and social 
policy: CHILDREN OF UNEMPLOYED PARENTS, CLASSISM, CLASSISM IN CAPITAL 
PUNISHMENT [ECONOMIC POLICY, EDUCATION, ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, LAW, etc.], 
CORPORATE POWER, CORPORATE WELFARE, DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM, ECONOMIC 
DEMOCRACY, FOOD SHELVES, HOMELESS AFRO-AMERICAN WOMEN, HOMELESS BOYS, 
HOMELESS FAMILIES, HOMELESS FAMILY SERVICES, HOMELESS GIRLS, HOMELESS 
MENTALLY ILL PERSONS, HOMELESS PEOPLE IN ART, HOMELESS PEOPLE'S ART, 
HOMELESS TEENAGERS, INTERCLASS FRIENDSHIP, LOW_INCOME HOUSING, NONCLASSIST 
CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, POOR AFRO-AMERICAN FAMILIES, POOR PARENTS, POOR 
PEOPLE--EMPOWERMENT, POOR PEOPLE--RIGHTS, POOR SINGLE MOTHERS, RIGHT TO 
SHELTER, VIOLENCE AGAINST HOMELESS PEOPLE, VIOLENCE AGAINST POOR PEOPLE, 
WELFARE CONSUMERS--RIGHTS, and WORKING POOR PEOPLE. 
 
-Submitted 
by 
Sanford 
Berman, 
At-Large 
 
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
        Sanford Berman             sberman[at]sun.hennepin.lib.mn.us 
        Hennepin County Library    phone: 612-694-8570 
        12601 Ridgedale Drive        fax: 612-541-8600 
        Minnetonka, MN  55305 
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
11. A chill in the air for SRRT  (SRRT Newsletter article) 
 
 
(Note: I submitted this for publication in October.  Since then the issues I 
discuss have only become more urgent.  Please get involved if you have a 
chance...) 
 
 
 
As a relatively new member of SRRT who is watching its activities and  
relationship with the larger body via SRRTAC-L, I am concerned about the  
hostility SRRT has been experiencing recently.  Elsewhere in this issue there  
is coverage of the controversy over SRRT's letters to outside organizations  
sent on its own stationery.  SRRT's response to a letter from Ann Symons  
reminding us on behalf of council that we are not to "speak for the  
association" seemed reasonable and unproblematic to SRRT members who discussed  
it in advance, but it received a received a generally hostile response from  
non-SRRT council members. What is going on?  It seems to be an opportune time  
to take stock or our situation within the ALA and to work out strategies for  
the future.  I'll take a step toward that here, with a description of some  
recent history and a summary of some strategic projects that have been started. 
 
In the 1994 ALA elections, members voted to raise the quorum at membership  
meetings to a number that practically guarantees that the they will not have an  
official voice.  SRRT members voiced opposition to the change and felt the  
measure was given a biased presentation by a council that had a vested interest  
in its outcome, and the vote would never have gone the way it did if members  
knew what the measure was really about.  (There has been conflict and  
controversy surrounding SRRT going back to its inception, but I'm not qualified  
to talk about it yet, nor do I have the space, so I'm beginning with the 1994  
vote.  An article in the upcoming issue of _Progressive Librarian_ (PL #15)  
gives some of the historical background to these issues.) 
 
Since 1994, the vote on the membership issue and SRRT members' agitation for  
democracy in ALA have been milked by Councilors and members of the library  
press for their own public relations purposes, at times in clear opposition to  
the goals of SRRT.  As Al Kagan points out in his letter to _American  
Libraries_ (Sept. 1998, p. 34), the previous issue's coverage of the Membership  
Meeting ("Membership Still Chatting, _AL_, Aug. p.98) calls the opposition to  
the quorum change only "a handful of ALA members," and brings out the  
suggestion that we are "radicals bent on bogging down the association over  
social issues."  Kagan mentions in passing that SRRT is one of the  
Association's largest Round Tables, a fact that would seem surprising to people  
whose only knowledge of us is gleaned from the library press and the  
member-forum discussion list, which at times seems to be a hangout for our  
angriest antagonists. 
 
SRRT members have had other ideas about what is bogging down ALA council. In  
his August 1st editorial in _Library Journal_, John Berry called the council's  
leadership of ALA into question and explained its inaction on major issues as a  
consequence of its makeup: "In truth, Council can't act because its membership  
is dominated by administrators, the majority of whom see librarianship as a  
management problem."  They delegate responsibility for resolving problems to  
groups composed of "experts" on the question, but tend to be imbalanced in  
their composition.  They are predisposed to outcomes that the force of gravity  
has already presented to us in the form of the problems: outsourcing,  
privatization, disappearance of the concept of the library inlibrary education,  
etc.) 
 
Reaction to Berry's editorial on the Council's discussion list was predictably  
sharp, and scapegoated a "minority (that) drives the issues" as the cause of  
Council's foundering. (Kent Oliver's phrase.)  It is as easy to say that the  
opposite is true, that a stubborn opposition to any social elements in the  
agenda is keeping Council from part of its appropriate business, at the cost of  
much wasted time.  But this perspective is nearly undetectable in the library  
press.  SRRT is sometimes even protrayed in a false light to support the idea  
that it is a handful of radicals obstructing the Council.  A good example is  
_American Libraries_ misquotation of Mark Rosenzweig's comments at a Council  
discussion of CD#55, the Resolution on Socially Responsible Investing. What he  
stated was that the ALA should use its money "not just as the lifeblood of the  
organization, but for social betterment."  _AL_'s quotation of him left out the  
word "just," creating the false impression that the resolution's backers were  
interested in throwing away ALA's investments (that its money not be used as  
the lifeblood of the organization at all).  Such false representations could  
potentially have a real effect on the outcomes of Council's business. 
 
The question arises, to what extent are the SRRT contingent and its  
sympathizers a minority on Council?  And, what is the proportion on Council  
that really does resent or fear us, and to what extent are they representative  
of the membership in their views?  These are difficult questions, and a partial  
answer could be got by a detailed analysis of Councilors' voting records over  
the years. SRRT-inspired resolutions have fared well historically, and from a  
historical perspective few would deny SRRT's ultimate value to the  
organization.  In relation to this history, the current inquisition of SRRT in  
paranoid reaction to Action Council's distribution of its own resolutions to  
outside groups seems almost incredible. 
 
WHAT YOU CAN DO 
 
Whatever is to account for this chill, SRRT needs to organize a strategic  
response.  There have been recent steps in that direction, beginning with a  
meeting at the 1998 summer conference to form a Progressive Caucus in ALA. The  
intention there is to organize an effort to move the ALA in a more progressive  
direction, as well as to re-democratize its structure.  Central to this process  
will be efforts to elect sympathetic individuals to ALA Council and other  
offices.  Some specific ideas for doing this were discussed but plans have yet  
to be ironed out.  This meeting was called by Mark Rosenzweig, and was reported  
in _Library Journal_, June 29, 1998.  You can contact Mark Rosenzweig at  
iskra[at]earthlink.net if you wish to be involved in this effort. 
 
Within SRRT, at the annual meeting it was decided to form an ad hoc committee  
to investigate the possible formation of a permanenet Public Relations  
Committee. The ad hoc committee has yet to be formed, and the need is obviously  
pressing. Fred Stoss, coordinator of the Task Force on the Environment, has  
agreed to form this committee and is actively seeking your participation,  
comments, and suggestions.  If you are interested in helping to investigate the  
feasability and activities of a PR committee and possibly helping to get it  
started, contact Fred Stoss at fstoss[at]acsu.buffalo.edu. 
 
Also under discussion is the idea of getting the _American Libraries_ editors  
to start a regular column to allow Round Tables to discuss their interests and  
voice their concerns.  Something like that could go a long way toward  
correcting the anti-SRRT bias that is detectable at the moment. Unfortunately,  
this fact in itself might reduce the likelihood of the column seeing the light  
of day in the first place.  Al Kagan has written about this idea on SRRTAC-L.   
If you have specific ideas in relation to this, you can contact him at  
akagan[at]uiuc.edu. 
 
Whether we simply dealing with a spate of bad weather or an actual climatic  
change, the future of SRRT is in our own hands.  Certainly, this has always  
been true, and there has always been this sort of conflict, 
 
What we are seeing might just be a spate of bad weather, or it might represent  
an actual climatic change.  Certainly there has always been opposition, and the  
future of SRRT has always been in our own hands, but right now might be good  
time to face our situation with a strategic attitude and to bring more SRRT  
members into the work of maintaining our place and effectiveness within the ALA. 
 
-Rory Litwin, MLIS 
 rlitwin[at]libr.org 
 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
12. During the Monica Show: Congressional Copyright Giveaway 
 
 
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 22:44:12 -0500 
To: declan[at]well.com 
From: Jonathan Zittrain <zittrain[at]law.harvard.edu> 
Subject: copyright lawsuit 
 
FYI! 
 
How Long Is Too Long?  Recent Congressional Copyright Giveaway Claimed 
Unconstitutional 
 
	January 12, 1999 - Cambridge, MA - Lawrence Lessig, the Berkman 
Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, announced today the filing of a 
lawsuit 
on behalf of Eldritch Press, a non-profit organization that posts literary 
works in the public domain onto the Internet.  The suit challenges 
Congress's recent retroactive extension of the term of copyright by another 
twenty years.  Professor Lessig is joined as counsel by Professor Charles 
Nesson and Jonathan Zittrain of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society 
at Harvard Law School, and Geoffrey Stewart of Hale and Dorr. 
 
	In 1790, Congress provided for up to twenty-eight years for a work's 
copyright--after which the work would enter the public domain, freely 
copyable and usable by anyone.  Since then, Congress has enacted a series 
of extensions, including the Copyright Act of 1976, which provided for 
copyright terms of up to seventy-five years--retroactively extending 
copyright for works written long ago and otherwise about to enter the 
public domain. 
 
	Last year, Congress once again retroactively extended copyright terms 
through the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (CTEA). A book 
published in 1923 under the old law would have come into the public domain 
on January 1, 1999, but under the new statute the copyright prevents the 
work from entering the public domain until January 1, 2019. 
 
	"You get the feeling that works created on or after 1923 seem destined 
never to enter the public domain; Congress arbitrarily extends the 
copyright monopoly on them every twenty years, by another twenty years, 
like clockwork," said Zittrain.  "It's particularly troublesome when the 
speed and access of the Internet promises a substantial audience for the 
works that remain locked up." 
 
	Fortunately, the Constitution offers clear guidance on the subject.  In 
enumerating Congress's powers in Article I, section 8, it clearly says that 
Congress may "... promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by 
securing for LIMITED TIMES to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to 
their respective Writings and Discoveries" (emphasis added). 
 
	"The Constitution empowers Congress to propose a bargain whereby 
authors 
have a limited time to benefit exclusively from their work, after which the 
public may freely benefit from the intellectual property they create," said 
Nesson.  "This allows for an economic incentive to publish while also 
respecting the public's ultimate right to share and share alike with 
speech.  That's why the Constitution provides that Congress's judgment be 
carefully scrutinized when it seems intent on making a copyright go on 
indefinitely--or when it allows for the odd bargain of, retroactively, more 
monopoly time for authors who are long dead, or have long since transferred 
their rights in their work to someone else, having been fully willing to 
work with the shorter copyright time limit at the time they wrote." 
 
	Eric Eldred founded the Eldritch Press in late 1995 as a means of 
demonstrating that computers could be used to present books on the Internet 
in new ways, and in ways that improved upon the capabilities of print 
books.  Initially, the Eldritch Press began with works of American 
literature, by authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Oliver Wendell Holmes 
(Sr.), and Henry James.  Because some of the works Eldritch Press posts are 
not included in library collections or are long out of print, they are not 
obtainable by the public in any other way.  The Eldritch Press now posts 
new works the moment they enter the public domain. 
 
	The Eldritch Press site receives as many as 4,000 visitors per day and 
has been accessed from virtually all countries in the world.  It has been 
recognized as one of the 20 best humanities sites on the Web from 
edSITEment (National Endowment for the Humanities). 
 
	More information about the case, and an opportunity to join a 
coalition in support of it, may be found at 
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/eldredvreno. 
 
 
### 
 
 
Contact: 
 
	Emily Lenzner 
	Berkman Center for Internet & Society 
	617/495-7547 
	http://cyber.law.harvard.edu 
 
 
	Eric Eldred 
	The Eldritch Press 
	http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net 
 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
13. VolunteerMatch 
 
http://www.volunteermatch.com/ 
 
Provided by ImpactOnline, a nonprofit organization investing in the 
development of public interest Internet applications, this site allows 
users to search an online database of volunteer opportunities by zip code, 
distance, date, and category. Users who find an opportunity that fits their 
schedule and interest can sign up immediately via an online form. The 
opportunities are posted to the site directly by local organizations, so 
amount and variety can vary significantly by locale. Additional resources 
at the site include a searchable nonprofit directory and a list of virtual 
volunteering opportunities. [MD] 
 
>From the Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-1999. 
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
14. Effective Communication (e-zine) 
 
http://www.hodu.com 
 
Effective Communication is a new free e-zine which puts the spotlight on 
human communication - verbal and written - in the home and at the 
workplace. 
 
Reader participation is encouraged. Subscribe at our site or by e-mail to: 
winn[at]internet-zahav.net ("Subscribe in subject line) 
 
Contact: 
 
Editor: Azriel Winnett 
 
 
(From NewJour-L) 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
15. Some library humor (reference question contest) 
 
 
A little library humor to make your Friday better.  Check out this site that 
lists reference question contest winners 
 
http://www.library.sos.state.il.us/isl/training/frcontestA.htm 
 
(Forwarded to the SJSU SLIS list by Sylvia Patrick.) 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
 
16. The Goat Farmer 
 
http://www.caprine.co.nz/ 
 
The largest circulation goat magazine in the world. 
 
The only professional magazine dedicated to goats 
only. 
 
The only magazine which takes an international 
overview of the goat industry. 
 
Subscription is required to access the online version 
of this periodical. 
 
Contact: 
 
TheGoatFarmer[at]caprine.co.nz 
 
 
(From NewJour-L) 
________________________________________________________________________________ 
 
 
 
  L I B R A R Y   J U I C E 
 
| http://www.libr.org/Juice/ 
| 
| Except where noted, items appearing in Library Juice 
| are copyright-free, so feel free to share them with 
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| mailto:Juice[at]libr.org                      


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Date: Saturday, January 23, 1999 01:32 AM