Library Juice 3:22 - June 7, 2000


Contents:

1. The Libraries FAQ
2. Four articles added to Progressive Librarian website
3. CFP - _Reference Librarian_ issue on the image of the librarian
4. Call for Papers - Popular Culture Association 2001
5. Shave librarian
6. xrefer
7. Stand For Children Day
8. Gay & Lesbian Pride Month
9. YWCA Year at a Glance
10. The value of the library within the community
11. UCITA
12. _In Formation_
13. ALA PR Follies
14. Bruno's Laws
15. Rory editing "librarians" category on ODP
16. A dialog with Subjex
17. Fan mail for Dr. Laura
18. Dr. Laura ducks the tough questions
19. Censorware blocks Dr. Laura's hate speech, but her site is immune
20. Letter from LC Cataloging Policy and Support Office to S. Berman
21. Re: Weeding procedures (song)


Quote for the week:


"I read," I say. "I study and read. I bet I've read everything you've read.
Don't think I haven't. I consume libraries. I wear out spines and ROM-drives.
I do things like get in a taxi and say, 'The library, and step on it.'"

-David Foster Wallace, author of _A supposedly fun thing I'll never do again_


Homepage of the week:

Terry Ballard
http://faculty.quinnipiac.edu/libraries/tballard/


____________________________________________________________________________top


1. The Libraries FAQ

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/2161/faqidx.htm

The Libraries FAQ just keeps getting better (and bigger).  Currently
it has sections on General Information About Libraries, Education &
Training, Work, Citation & Classification, Organizations, Culture,
and "The Cyberstacks."
____________________________________________________________________________top


2. Four articles added to Progressive Librarian website


I've added a few articles to the Progressive Librarian web site.

They are:

Issue 16:

Mana, Manna, Manner: Power & the Practice of Librarianship, by Jennifer Cram
http://libr.org/PL/16_Cram.html

Understanding Information Media in the Age of Neoliberalism: The
Contribution of Herbert Schiller, by Mark Hudson
http://libr.org/PL/16_Hudson.html

Anarchists with a Tool: The Library
http://libr.org/PL/16_Anarchists.html


And from issue 14:

Growing Our Communications Future - Access, Not Just Wires, by Karen Coyle
http://libr.org/PL/14_Coyle.html


Also see the new online contents page, listing the articles that are online
from all issues of Progressive Librarian:
http://libr.org/PL/contentsFT.html


-Rory

____________________________________________________________________________top


3. CFP - _Reference Librarian_ issue on the image of the librarian


Original Message From "Candace Benefiel" <CBENEFIE[at]lib-gw.tamu.edu>

We are currently seeking papers for a guest-edited issue of the Reference
Librarian from Haworth Press. This issue will examine the image of the
librarian throughout history, stereotypes in popular culture and society, and
the changing roles of the profession.

Papers should be approximately 15 pages.  References, citations, and general
style of manuscripts for this Journal should follow the Chicago style (as
outlined in the latest edition of the Manual of Style of the University of
Chicago Press).   Manuscripts will be reviewed for suitabilit
y and scholarship.

Abstracts should be submitted by July 1, 2000.

Manuscripts to be submitted for review by October 1, 2000.

Please send abstracts, manuscripts or inquiries to:

Wendi Arant Kaspar              or      Candace R. Benefiel
Asssistant Professor                    Associate Professor
Humanities Reference Librarian  Senior Humanities Reference Librarian
Sterling C. Evans Library               Sterling C. Evans Library
Texas A&M University            Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-5000  College Station, TX 77843-5000
warant[at]tamu.edu                         cbenefie[at]lib-gw.tamu.edu
979-862-6310                    979-862-1044
____________________________________________________________________________top


4. Call for Papers - Popular Culture Association 2001

Libraries and Popular Culture Area

The Popular Culture Association will be holding its annual joint meeting
with the American Culture Association in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
on April 11-14 2001. Scholars from various disciplines will meet to share
their Popular Culture interests and research.

The Libraries and Popular Culture Area is soliciting papers dealing with
any aspect of Popular Culture as it pertains to libraries, archives, museums,
or research. In the past this has included descriptions of research
collections, studies of popular images of libraries or librarians, or reports
on developments in technical services for collecting popular culture
materials.

Prospective presenters should send a one-page abstract, by September 15 2000,
to:

Allen Ellis
W. Frank Steely Library
Northern Kentucky University
Highland Heights, KY 41099-6101
859-572-5527
FAX: 606-572-5390
E-Mail: ellisa[at]nku.edu

This message is cross-posted to the following listservs:
POPCULIB  -- Discussion list of the ACRL Libraries and Popular Culture
                     Discussion Group
LIBREF-L    -- Discussion of Library Reference Issues
H-PCAACA -- Discussion list of the Popular Culture Association and
                     American Culture Association
____________________________________________________________________________top


5. Shave librarian


Date: Mon, 05 Jun 2000 22:43:01 -0400
To: rory[at]libr.org
From: Shave Librarian <mail[at]shavelibrarian.com>
Subject: Library Juice Submission
Mime-Version: 1.0

Rory,

I'm not sure our 'take' on shave and librarians will be of interest to you,
but check this out...

We are a Boston-based band called Shave Librarian. I define 'shave' as a
surreal state of perfection.  That is the sound we are presenting. We
have three critically acclaimed releases with a new CD coming out in about
one month.

As the main songwriter/librarian, I feel that we are cataloging surreal
experiences through our projects and music.

Check us out at:

http://www.shavelibrarian.com

____________________________________________________________________________top


6. xrefer

http://www.xrefer.com/

Launched last week, this reference search engine meta-searches and
cross-references sixteen texts from Bloomsbury, Macmillan, Oxford UP,
and Penguin. These include encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri,
books of quotations, and a number of subject-specific titles. After a
simple keyword search, initial returns consist of a brief description
and the source. Full returns can vary significantly in length, some
quite brief, with a useful collection of cross-references and
adjacent entries displayed on the right-hand side of the browser
window. With its clean interface and quick operation, xrefer deserves
a prominent place in any user's bookmarks. [MD]

> From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
____________________________________________________________________________top


7. Stand For Children Day


Note that this initiative lasts through the 19th... (ed.)

Date: Tue, 23 May 2000 09:57:10 -0500
From: Jeanette Larson <jlarson[at]tenet.edu>
Subject: [YALSA-L:2281] Stand For Children Day/ June 1


June 1, 2000 is Stand For Children Day.  Initiated by the Children's
Defense Fund in 1996, the initiative is also moving to the net with a
cyber-stand program.  Go to http://www.stand.org/ for details. On and
around June 1, people all across the country will host local Stand For
Children Day events. The website includes suggestions for potential
events, including violent toy trade-ins, health insurance sign-ups,
etc.  Libraries play a role in the education, health, and after school
initiatives, as well as many other general concerns.

Your library can also own a piece of original children's book art from
Marian Wright Edelman's book, STAND FOR CHILDREN.  The Texas Library
Association's Disaster Relief Fund is holding an on-line auction of
three quilts created by Adrienne Yorinks.  Go to
http://www.txla.org/wells/gallery.html to look at the quilts and place
your bid.  Proceeds will help Texas libraries rebuild collections after
disaster strikes.

--
Jeanette Larson
Disaster Relief Fund ad hoc Committee
Austin, TX
jlarson[at]tenet.edu


"Children cannot discover the delight of books on their own.
They need an adult to bring books into their lives and help them
discover that books and reading are fun."  --First Steps to Literacy
____________________________________________________________________________top


8. Gay & Lesbian Pride Month

by Teri Weesner, Youth Services Editor

Do you have resources for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender teens
in your library? After I created a Gay Pride display for my library's
"Teen Territory" I decided to create  something of more permanance: a
resource folder. Thank you Ellen Bass and Kate Kaufman,  (authors of
*free your mind: the Book for Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth and
Thier Allies*  Harper Trade 1996) for having a web site!
<http://www.free-mind.com> As librarians, we are among the "their
allies"  mentioned in the subtitle! From the "free your mind" site's
WWW Resources for Gay & Lesbian  Youth, I linked to Queer Resources
Directory's youth page. I put this page, along with a copy of a Yahoo
search on "Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals", subheading, "Youth" into  a
binder. As I explored these links myself, I printed out annotated
bibliographies of  fiction and non-fiction to add to the binder. This
is a work in progress for local  information, online resources and
literature for queer young adults.
____________________________________________________________________________top


9. YWCA Year at a Glance

http://www.ywca.org/html/B3.asp

Did you know that September was Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month?
Or that November 16th was the International Day of Tolerance?

These facts and more at the YWCA Year at a Glance.  This page
doubles as a handy calendar if you don't happen to have one at
your desk (Clicking on a month gives you the full calendar for
that month).
____________________________________________________________________________top


10. The value of the library within the community


Date: Tue, 30 May 2000 19:30:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Shaleen Culbert" <shaleenculbert[at]mail.ifls.lib.wi.us>
To: publib <publib[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu>
Subject: Library Value

Hello,

Thank you to everyone who responded to my request for articles regarding
the value of libraries within a community. I was impressed with the quality
of the articles and the research involved. I'll continue looking for
similar items (I think I'm becoming obsessed with this) and post the good
stuff as I find it. What follows is a compilation of websites that were
forwarded to me by fellow publibbers.

Thanks again,

Shaleen

The document, "Dividends: The Value of Public Libraries" in Canada can be
found at the following website:

http://209.217.90.93/top/CAPL/caplcovr.htm

The information, albeit Canadian, may be of interest and use.

You may also find the following site interesting. It describes a manual
(The Library's Contribution to your community: a resource manual for
libraries to document their social and economic contribution to the local
community) which is available for purchase at $ 300 Cdn (about 160 US, I
think): http://www.library.on.ca/advert.pdf

You can see some of the resulting case studies from the use of this manual at:

http://www.library.on.ca/consulting/CaseStudies/casestud.htm


One or two years ago, LJ had an issue which featured Chicago's
Mayor Richard Daley as the "politician of the year" (or something
like that) due to his strong support for Libraries. Daley had some
excellent quotes which might go over with your local municipal
funding officials. Daley is known as a hard, practical administrator
who doesn't suffer fools gladly. He allocated an additional $50
million to the Chicago Public Library several years ago for
building up of their branch facilities.

James B. Casey --- Public Librarian, ALA Council Member
until July 2000.

http://istweb.syr.edu/~mcclure/pasectionlinks.html
Take a look at the report "Public Library Use in Pennsylvania: Identifying
Uses, Benefits, and Impacts" June 1998 by Drs. Charles McClure and John
Bertot.

Your state library may have- or try Pennsylvania Department of Education,
Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Bureau of Library Development, PO Box
1601, Harrisburg, PA 17105

http://douglas.lib.co.us/larue/lc2000  This site archives the articles of
Jamie LaRue, Director of the Douglas County Library system in Douglas
County, Colorado and includes articles on measuring library value and
services.

http://www.sarahlong.org/contents.htm This is ALA President Sarah Longís
website and has articles on her theme "Libraries Build Community".


--
********************************
Shaleen Culbert-Kivlin, Director
Hudson Public Library
911 4th Street
Hudson, WI 54016
715-386-3106
715-381-0486(fax)
shaleenculbert[at]ifls.lib.wi.us
*********************************

--
____________________________________________________________________________top


11. UCITA


"Karen G. Schneider" wrote (to ALACOUN):

On a related note--right now, booksellers and software manufacturers
are trying very hard to make copyright law more stringent.  UCITA is
the proposed law, and it is being introduced state to state.  UCITA,
as I read it, will put libraries out of business by making content
far too expensive to provide to the public.  It would be nice if the
legislative body for the largest professional organization of
librarians had some intelligent discussion about this topic, but
after nearly four years of content-free discussion on this list, I'm
not holding my breath.

Karen G. Schneider kgs[at]bluehighways.com
Assistant Director of Technology
Shenendehowa Public Library, Clifton Park, NY
http://www.shenpublib.org

-----

Date: Sat, 03 Jun 2000 16:21:50 -0400
From: Cathy Wojewodzki <cathyw[at]UDel.Edu>
To: ALA Council List <alacoun[at]ala1.ala.org>
Subject: [ALACOUN:4728] UCITA


Karen, some of us are learning a lot about UCITA, both the peril for
libraries and the needs of its proponents.  As this is a battle with
huge implications for libraries that is just beginning to play out in
the states, I think it imperative that there be discussion of this
issue and ALA's strategy and support for the state library
organizations opposing this legislation.  The librarians in Maryland
and Virginia have already fought this battle, at least the first
rounds.  We are trying to amend UCITA legislation introduced in
Delaware this spring, and I believe we will be dealing with this
legislation again next spring.

UCITA is a very complex topic and difficult to discuss with those who
aren't interested and have not yet needed or wanted to know and
understand the issues. Councilors may want to look at the web pages
posted by the ALA Washington Office (http://www.ala.org/washoff/), ARL
(http://www.arl.org), and EDUCAUSE (http://www.educause.edu/policy/)
regarding UCITA.  Each of these pages has links to other pages discussing
both sides of the debate.

I have prepared a "briefing" notebook and would be glad to share its
table of contents with any of you.

Cathy Wojewodzki
Delaware Chapter Councilor

Librarian
University of Delaware Library

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

Date: Mon, 05 Jun 2000 14:59:15 -0500
From: "Don Wood" <dwood[at]ala.org>
Subject: [IFACTION:866] Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act
To: Intellectual Freedom Action News <ifaction[at]ala1.ala.org>

FYI

At the 2000 ALA Midwinter Meeting, the ALA Council adopted a
resolution to encourage its members and its state chapters to ask
their state legislators to oppose the passage of UCITA (Uniform
Computer Information Transactions Act ) in their state legislatures.

To that end, the ALA Washington Office has posted a sample letter
that can be addressed to individual state legislatures.  That letter
can be found at

http://www.ala.org/washoff/sampleletter.html


_________________________

Don Wood
American Library Association
Office for Intellectual Freedom
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312-280-4225
800-545-2433, ext. 4225
Fax: 312-280-4227
http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/index.html

____________________________________________________________________________top


12. _In Formation_


Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 05:20:19 -0500
From: <jok707s[at]mail.smsu.edu>
To: .....
Subject: _In Formation_
Mime-Version: 1.0

No, that subject line is not a typo. _In Formation_ is the name of a
magazine.  Their motto is "Every day, computers are making people easier
to use."  If you haven't encountered this periodical yet, try your local
Barnes & Noble, or hit the web site:

http://www.informationmag.com

Joel Kahn

*   *   *
"A man may take to drink because he feels himself to
be a failure, and then fail all the more completely
because he drinks.  It is rather the same thing that
is happening to the English language.  It becomes
ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish,
but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier
for us to have foolish thoughts."

-- George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," 1946
____________________________________________________________________________top


13. ALA PR Follies


Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2000 03:08:37 -0400
To: alacoun[at]ala.org
From: Mark Rosenzweig <iskra[at]earthlink.net>
Subject: PR Follies


I have just read the ALA Executive Board report in the current issue
of American Libraries (p.112) with some interest.

I note that a major PR firm, BSMG Worldwide, was employed "to
determine the public's perception of libraries." I would very much
like to see that report itself, in full, and, I would imagine, so
would many other Councilors and members.

Is that possible? Can it be posted on the ALA site. That might be
useful and interesting.

As for the recommendations...I wonder how much it cost to come up
with three such banal "main messages" as reported by Ms Sosin of BSMG
to the board, supposedly based on the results of this survey.

The first, "Libraries offer one-stop shopping where users can find
virtually anything" is meaningless hype. The term "one-stop shopping"
is hardly appropriate to libraries and its overuse in marketing
scarcely  makes it a striking claim.

"Libraries are part of the American dream"? "American dream? Give me
a break.I thought that particular noisome term was put to sleep quite
a while ago. What a tired cliche!

And "Libraries are changing and dynamic places"? What does that mean?
Changing from what to what? Dynamic how? To what effect? That's just
puffery.

And then the piece de resistance... the "branding" (which I knew was
coming), using the "tagline" "[at]Your Library."

Do you have any idea how many people are using the "[at]" sign this way?
That would really make our campaign stand out. Really clever, isn't
it?

How much did this piece of work cost the Association? Why in the
world is this tripe any better than what we could come up with
ourselves? Why are we satisfied with this?

I love libraries and I believe in ALA's mission. I think we deserve
better than this.

Sorry to have to be so blunt and negative, but I must register my
astonishment that this is going to be the basis of a million dollar
"public awareness campaign". There is much more to be said about
this, but I would prefer to see the report first and examine the
minutes of the Board's deliberations.


Mark C. Rosenzweig
Councilor at large

..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..


Date: Mon, 05 Jun 2000 10:51:38 -0400
From: "Carol Reid" <creid[at]MAIL.NYSED.GOV>
To: <alacoun[at]ala.org>, <srrtac-l[at]ala.org>, <PLGNet-L[at]listproc.sjsu.edu>
Subject: Re: PR Follies

Mark,

Touche, yet again. The fight against corporate currying and dumbing down
unto meaninglessness is a thankless one, for the most part, but I do want
to thank you for constantly crying out against such sophomoric, soporific
wasting of our all too limited resources. Intellectual nudity no longer
attracts much attention, but you deserve credit for continually calling
attention to the fact that the emperor has no clothes.

Carol Reid
New York State Library
____________________________________________________________________________top


14. Bruno's Laws


Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 19:54:06 -0700
From: Elliot Kanter <ekanter[at]ucsd.edu>
To: editor[at]libr.org
Subject: Bruno's laws

You asked about provenance and authorship of Bruno's laws.  I found your
site using every search engine I could think of looking for a digitized
copy of those laws long taped to my wall, and so can help.  (By the way,
you've left out law number 12:  "Be as concrete as possible when giving
directions ("the second door on the white wall").  The laws are still
part of our Reference Manual.

Bruno was the alter ego/nomme du reference of Phillip A. Smith (Phil
Smith), also known here as "Reference Librarian Extraordinaire".  He
taught a generation of us to do reference work at the University of
California, San Diego.  Before he came out here in the 1970s, he worked
the big circular reference desk in the main hall of the Library of
Congress.  Phil died in Spring 1995, after completing but before seeing
in print the section on Theater and Performing Arts in the 11th edition
of ALA's Guide to Reference Books.

I hope this helps
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Elliot Kanter                         INTERNET: ekanter[at]ucsd.edu
Social Sciences & Humanities Library
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive                     VOICE:    (619) 534-1263
La Jolla, CA 92093-0175               FAX:      (619) 534-7548
-----------------------------------------------------------------

..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..

Here are Bruno's Laws, from a previous issue of Library Juice


     1. Never Assume - Anything about anything or anyone.
     Typically, the user who says "I've looked in the catalog and
     you don't have the book" or the colleague who says "I've
     checked every conceivable source." Skepticism as process.

     2. Get Off Your Duff - Pointing has its place, Emily Post to
     the contrary, but the skilled librarian never simply points
     the user to a complex or "iffy" source. If there is any
     doubt that the user might run into problems, MOVE.

     3. Attempt to Answer the Original Question - During the
     reference interview, it often turns out that the question is
     reformulated. This is fine, but take care to respond to the
     question as asked. Example:
        Original question: "Where are the books on England?"
        Reformulated question: "Where can I find information on
     the Gunpowder Plot?"
     Somewhere, early into the interview if possible, indicate
     that if the user truly does wish to browse the stacks, many
     books on England can be found in the DA section on the fifth
     floor. In this way he/she perceives that the request for
     help has been fully heard.

     4. Never Take Anything Interesting to Read With You to the
     Desk - Not terribly interesting, anyway. If you're absorbed,
     with head lowered, you'll appear to be unapproachable.

     5. Make it a Practice to Follow up on Unresolved Questions -
     This applies to questions you feel could have been answered
     better, even if the user has long since left the building.
     For several reasons: Sometimes the user returns. The
     question, or one like it, will probably come up again. It's
     a good device for testing new sources ("I wish I'd known
     about this last week.") A back burner, for odd moments on
     rainy Tuesdays, is a fine device.

     6. Keep in Mind - You may have heard the question a thousand
     times, but it's the first time the user has ever asked it.

     7. Dress Comfortably.

     8. Avoid Library Jargon Like the Plague - If you tell
     someone to look under the main entry, the chances are good
     that he/she will find it -- and leave through it.

     9. Be Prepared to Drop all Conversations with Colleagues the
     Instant a User Shows Up - No one will be offended by this
     standard practice.

     10. Before Coming to the Desk, try to Take a Few Minutes for
     Mental Calisthenics - The desk shift should be approached
     for the fun and challenge that it is.

     11. Always Pass Along any Useful Information You Encounter
     in a Search.

And now restoring

     12. Be as concrete as possible when giving directions
     ("the second door on the white wall").

____________________________________________________________________________top


15. Rory editing "librarians" category on ODP


I have re-joined the Open Directory Project as an editor, and this
time I am actually making some edits.  I'm editing the category
"Reference/Libraries/Library and Information Science/Librarians" and
so far I have doubled it in size to 20 entries.  You can check it out
at http://www.dmoz.org/Reference/Libraries/Library_and_Information_Science/Librarians/ .

The Open Directory Project is a directory of the web similar to the
Yahoo directory, only it's created by volunteer editors rather than
by a paid staff.  This means that most of the editors don't have any
training in classification or ontology, and consequently all new
category creation has to be approved by higher-ups.  There is a staff
who wield absolute authority and are under no obligation to share
their reasoning, so volunteer-based as it may be, it is not a
democratic system.  The volunteers are the ones who add the sites
though, and they do know their subject areas on the web.  Most
editors have web sites of their own which they aim to promote, but
there are some controls against this type of abuse.  (Note that in
the "librarians" category I do not plan to add my home page, but
if I do compile a collection of Library Juice home pages of the week
I'll definitely list that.)

When I first toyed with joining ODP there were about 7,000 editors;
now there are over 25,000.  I am surprised at how well the directory
has held up over this expansion period given its volunteer makeup.
It hasn't devolved into disorganization at all; in fact it seems to
have improved.  There is a whole ODP editor's culture which seems to
keep it in shape, with experienced veterans guiding the new editors.

ODP has recently become more important as well.  As you may know,
numerous search engines have added a directory in order to compete
with Yahoo.  Most of them are in fact using the ODP directory,
because it comes to them free-of-charge.  They simply incorporate it
into their own web sites, occassionally adding value (as in the case
of Google and their relevance-ranking system).

If you want to know more about the Open Directory Project, see
http://www.dmoz.org/about.html .  Why not sign up and be an editor?
It's a great opportunity to have a hand in in the production of an
important internet finding aid.
____________________________________________________________________________top


16. A dialog with Subjex

http://www.subjex.com


Welcome! My name is Subjex. I am a dialogue-based search engine in
BETA. Please read my Current brain limitations, so that you
understand what I am capable of. Please talk to me using full
sentences, as you would a friend. How can I help you?


Me: I'd like to find out about the Cuban Libraries Support Group.


Subjex: Nov/Dec 99 - IFLA condemns Cuban repression of librarians
from Altavista
subSitu home .. to more announcements .. FROM: The Friends of Cuban
Libraries After a 3-mo ...
IFLA Committee Condemns Cuban Library Repression / Friends of Cuban
Libraries from Altavista
Cuba news from independent journalist on the Island and other news
sources...
Cuban Genealogy Center from Altavista
Cuban genealogy resources...
Take a look at these web pages.
What else can you tell me about out about the cuban libraries support
group?


Me: Well, it was started by John Pateman.


Subjex: Do you want more information about out about the cuban
libraries support group?


Me: I would like any information about the Cuban Libraries Support
Group.


Subjex: Nov/Dec 99 - IFLA condemns Cuban repression of librarians
from Altavista
subSitu home .. to more announcements .. FROM: The Friends of Cuban
Libraries After a 3-mo ...
IFLA Committee Condemns Cuban Library Repression / Friends of Cuban
Libraries from Altavista
Cuba news from independent journalist on the Island and other news
sources...
Friends of Cuban Libraries from Altavista
Latest Censorship News. Publishers in the prison of literature.
Friends of Cuban Libraries. CUB ...

You might be interested in these web pages.

What specific details about the cuban libraries support group do you
want?


Me: Any details at all.


Subjex: Do you want more information about the cuban libraries
support group?


Me: You haven't given me any information about the Cuban Libraries
Support Group, also known as CLSG.


Subjex: Why do you think I have not given you any information about
the cuban libraries support group also known as clsg?


Me: Because you suck?


Subjex: That seems reasonable.

..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..

Subjex "current brain limitations":

Subjex(tm) is currently undergoing DEEP BETA debugging and testing.
For best searching results, we suggest that you use full sentences to
talk to Subjex, except when Subjex asks you a question that does not
require it.

As the developers of Subjex, our goal over the first few weeks is to
give you an idea or "taste" of its incredible potential.

For now we suggest that you use sentence structure like:

       Where can I buy a new car?
      What is the definition of Alkali?
       Tell me about MP3 players.
    I want to look up an HTML tutorial.

Thanks for your kind patience.

The developers and Subjex(tm) staff...

..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..

I won't mince words - Subjex really sucks.  It doesn't seem to do any
natural language processing at all - it seems to be little more than
an altavista search that only gives three results.  It's supposed to
help you refine your search iteratively but it doesn't seem to do that
at all.  Supplying more information just gets you farther from the desired
result, not nearer.  I recommend it for amusement.  You might be asked
clarifying questions such as these:

"What information about I would like to to know how long fidel castro
has been in power do you want to know?"

or

"What specific details about okay how successful was the great
literacy campaign do you want?"

I worked for some time at getting some useable results using a natural
language query and not once did it work.  I would have better results
typing in the same natural language query into altavista, without the
artificial unintelligence, because I would at least get a list of hits
more than three items long....

____________________________________________________________________________top


17. Fan mail for Dr. Laura


Dear Dr. Laura,

  Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's law. I
  have learned a great deal from you, and I try to share that knowledge
  with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the
  homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus
  18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need
  some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and
  how to best follow em.

  When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a
  pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They
  claim the odor is not pleasing to them. How should I deal with this?

  I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as it suggests in Exodus
  21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for
  her?

  I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her
  period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how
  do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

  Lev. 25:44 states that I may buy slaves from the nations that are around
  us. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans but not
  Canadians. Can you clarify?

  I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2
  clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill
  him myself?

  A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
  abomination (Lev. 10:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality.
  I don't agree. Can you settle this?

  Lev. 20:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a
  defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my
  vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

  I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you
  can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal
  and unchanging.

  - A Fan
____________________________________________________________________________top


18. Dr. Laura ducks the tough questions


MSNBC has noticed that physiologist and radio personality Dr. Laura
Schlessinger has devised a signal to let her producers know when she doesn't
like the way an interview is going.

Currently touring to promote her new book, Parenthood by Proxy, and
increasingly embattled over sponsor attrition and public outcry over her
forthcoming TV show, Dr. Laura is putting her foot down to make sure topics
she doesn't care to discuss aren't talked about.

In a recent interview with Canadian journalist Arlene Bynon, it was agreed
that questions would not be asked about the Canadian Radio Television and
Telecommunications Commission's chastising of Dr. Laura, but Bynon insisted
upon the right to ask about Dr. Laura's views on homosexuality, whether the
questions were answered or not.

A few minutes into the interview, Bynon asked Schlessinger about the
controversy, and she evaded the question, says the source. Then Bynon
rephrased the question. "Dr. Laura tapped her [earpiece] and said, 'I'm
having trouble hearing you,' " says MSNBC's source. "Then the screen went
blank. Her people in the U.S. cut off the interview. I spoke with one of
them who told me that was her sign to bail out of the interview." A
spokeswoman for Schlessinger denied that the interview was intentionally cut
short.

[I don't know the origin of this story.  -Editor.]
____________________________________________________________________________top


19. Censorware blocks Dr. Laura's hate speech, but her site is immune


From: Ben Ostrowsky <sylvar[at]vaxer.net>
To: juice[at]libr.org
Subject: Censorware blocks Dr. Laura's hate speech, but her site is immune


Quoted verbatim from http://www.peacefire.org/BaitAndSwitch/

"Bait and Switch" is an experiment to find out whether small, personal
home pages and Web sites of large organizations get identical treatment
from blocking software companies in deciding what to block.

Most censorware products attempt to block "hate speech", with "hate
speech" usually defined to include derogatory statements based on sexual
orientation. (The definitions used by the different companies are usually
published on the company Web sites; current definitions at the time of the
experiment are collected here)

We collected some of the anti-gay statements from the home pages of four
well-known conservative sites: the Family Research Council, the Focus on
the Family, the Official Dr. Laura web page and Concerned Women for
America (none of these sites are currently blocked by any of the programs
that we tested). We then created one different "bait" Web page for each of
these organizations, with the "bait" page consisting of quotes taken from
the organization's Web site, without telling the viewer where the quotes
came from. The "bait" pages were submitted for review to each of the
blocking companies (through anonymous HotMail accounts so that the
companies wouldn't know the submissions were coming from Peacefire).

In all cases, the blocking companies agreed to block the pages we
submitted in their "hate speech" categories. We then contacted the
blocking companies to ask if they would block the organizations whose Web
pages were the sources of our anti-gay quotes.

So far, all of the censorware companies in our experiment have been
back-pedaling since then, saying that they will not block the pages which
were the original sources for the anti-gay quotes. Naturally, Peacefire
does not advocate censoring these pages, but only because we are against
censorship in general. If blocking software claims to block sites which
"denigrate people based on sexual orientation" -- as almost all censorware
companies claim to do, in their published definitions of "hate speech" --
then the sites that we listed clearly meet those criteria.


--
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired
signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not
fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.  -- Dwight Eisenhower, 1953
____________________________________________________________________________top


20.

May 10, 2000

The Library of Congress
Cataloging Policy and Support Office


Dear Mr. Berman,

The change from UNTOUCHABLES to DALITS was approved at this morning's
subject heading editorial meeting for Weekly List 00-18.

We presently have no plans to change our heading for GYPSIES.

Sincerely,

Tom Yee
Acting Chief, CPSO


(See Library Juice 3:20, item #11 -
http://libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.20.html#11 )
____________________________________________________________________________top


21. Re: Weeding procedures (song)


Date: Thu, 25 May 2000 21:43:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: Nann Blaine Hilyard <nhilyard[at]lvdl.org>
To: publib <publib[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu>
Subject: RE: weeding procedures

        Kathryn wrote:
 ......  I am looking for anyone who has successfully come up
 with a plan that works and that gets the staff excited about
 weeding.....


 Kathryn,
 You could start with a song!   This was posted to
soc.libraries.talk; my printout of the post is 3/21/96.  It was written by
Carla Toebbel at the Des Moines, IA, PL, and is to be sung to the tune
"Rawhide":

 Keep weedin', weedin', weedin',
 It's more space we're needin'
 Keep at them books a-weedin', DISCARD!
 Thru dust and webs and leather
 In all kinds of weather
 Wishin' my section was all done.
 All the things we're pitchin',
 Both fiction and nonfiction,
 May haunt us but is sure has been fun.

 Chorus:  Pull 'em down,  dust 'em off,
 Dust 'em off, pull 'em down,
 Pull 'em down, dust 'em off, DISCARD!
 Cart 'em out, stamp 'em up,
 Stamp 'em up, cart 'em out,
 Cart 'em out, Stamp 'em up, DISCARD!

 Keep choosin', choosin', choosin,
 Books we must be loosin',
 Can't be no refusin', DISCARD!
 Don't try to understand 'em
 Just pick and pull and stamp 'em,
 Soon we'll have shelvin' we can use.
 Our Head's calculatin'
 The target we'll be makin'
 Be makin' or we'll be singin' the blues.

 (Repeat Chorus)


 HTH,
 Nann

 (who thinks that "Library: the Musical" is a concept someone
        should pursue....)

 Nann Blaine Hilyard
 Lake Villa District Library
 Lake Villa, Illinois
____________________________________________________________________________top


  L I B R A R Y   J U I C E

| http://libr.org/Juice/                  
|
| Library Juice is supported by a voluntary subscription
| fee of $10 per year, variable based on ability and
| desire to pay.  You may send a check payable in US funds
| to Rory Litwin, at PO Box 720511, San Jose, CA  95172
|
| Original material and added value in Library Juice    
| is copyright-free; beyond that the publisher makes
| no guarantees.  Library Juice is a free weekly 
| publication edited and published by Rory Litwin. 
| Original senders are credited wherever possible;
| opinions are theirs.  If you are the author of some
| email in Library Juice which you want removed from
| the web, please write to me and I will remove it.
|
| Your comments and suggestions are welcome.   
|
| Rory[at]libr.org


This page was created by SimpleText2Html 1.0.3 on 6-Jun-100.

un-100.