Library Juice 2:26 - July 5, 2000


Contents:

1. Library Juice Supplements to date
2. The Researching Librarian
3. Publisher's Catalogues
4. Search Full-text U.S. Internet Government Periodicals
5. From a BI-L thread on hoax sites for teaching 'net evaluation
6. Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit
7. Freenet - The Free Network Project
8. ICANN Election
9. Privacy concerns with new live web reference software
10. Sanford Berman Receives the GALE/EMIERT Multicultural Award
11. Online Chat session on Academic Libraries of the 21st Century
12. Survey of Internet Access Management in Public Libraries
13. Dr. Seuss Went to War
14. Pat Holt on Barnes and Noble University
15. Dirty Money: Tracking the PACs
16. Media-junkie Paradise
17. Query from LR Gowri
18. Confutatis Maledictis


Quote for the week:

"Only the educated are free." - Epictetus


Home page of the week: Clara Chu homepage
http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/chu/

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1. Library Juice Supplements to date


CUBA SUPPLEMENTS:

3:25 http://libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.25.sup.html

3:4 http://libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.4.sup.html

2:36 http://libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.36.sup.html

More on Cuba at:
http://www.libr.org/cgi-bin/search.pl?Range=All&Format=Standard&Terms=cuba


CORE VALUES SUPPLEMENTS:

3:17 1 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.17.sup1.html

3:17 2 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.17.sup2.html

3:14 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.14.sup.html

More on Core Values:
http://www.libr.org/cgi-bin/search.pl?Range=All&Format=Standard&Terms=%22core+values%22


HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
3:19 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.19.sup.html

FUTURE OF LIBRARIANSHIP
3:16 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.16.sup.html

JOB SEARCH
3:11 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.11.sup.html

LINKING FROM OPAC TO AMAZON
3:1 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol3/LJ_3.1.sup.html

POST-WTO RALLY
2:48 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.48.sup.html

ALA COUNCIL DEBATES POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT
2:37 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.37.sup.html

DAVID NOBLE ON DISTANCE ED
2:30 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.30.sup.html

Y2K (JUNE '99)
2:24 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.24s.html

SANFORD BERMAN RESIGNS FROM HCL
2:17 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.17.s.html

ALA COUNCIL DISCUSSES FILTERING SUMMIT
2:13 1 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.13.s1.html

LIBREF-L ON PORN, TAP-ON-THE SHOULDER, FILTERING
2:13 2 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol2/LJ_2.13.s2.html

INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND THE ALTERNATIVE PRESS
1:24 http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/vol1/LJ_24.html
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2. The Researching Librarian

Web resources helpful for librarians doing research

http://www2.msstate.edu/~kerjsmit/trl/

>From the website:

This site was created for librarians--new or experienced--who find themselves
needing to perform research.

Intended as a supplement to the print resources available in library
collections, this site gathers links to selected web resources useful for
research: freely searchable citation databases, funding information, relevant
journals, statistics and statistical methods, and useful research tools.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Send them to Kerry Smith at
kerjsmit[at]ra.msstate.edu.

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3. Publisher's Catalogues

http://www.lights.com/publisher/

Provided by Northern Lights Internet Solutions Ltd. (no connection to
the search engine), this database of information on over 6,000
publishers may prove useful to a number of users, including, writers,
librarians, and book collectors and sellers. Users may keyword search
the database by publisher or city or browse by location, topic, or
type of material. Entries for each publisher include a brief sentence
or two from the publisher describing itself and a link to its
homepage. While the database has a decided US-focus, there are
numerous listings for publishers in other countries. [MD]

>  From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
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4. Search Full-text U.S. Internet Government Periodicals

http://198.252.9.95/home/govper.html

        An index providing access to more than 400 periodicals
        available online. Browse for magazines by subject, title, or
        Sudoc (Superintendent of Documents) number. Then search for
        text by keyword. Additional information provided is
        frequency, format (PDF, HTML, or text), and coverage date.
        Developed by Paul A. Arrigo and Dee Barker, government
        documents librarians at Washburn University Law Library. - dl

From Librarians' Index to the Internet - http://lii.org
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5. From a BI-L thread on hoax sites for teaching 'net evaluation


From: Celita DeArmond <DEARMOND[at]utsa.edu>

hello all, and thanks to everyone who sent me their favorite Internet "hoax"
sites. I've messily thrown all the responses together on a web page (to be
better organized at some later date...):

http://www.lib.utsa.edu:8000/Instruction/cdearmond/hoax.html

And, to Martha...I've considered doing evaluation "on the fly" with a list
of hits generated by student's search statements, but prefer the comfort and
safety of selecting 3 "canned" sites that illustrate different things in
evaluation. Sometimes I've found I can do the same search twice in row and
get different results...

Cheers!

Celita DeArmond   *
Reference/Instruction Librarian
__________________________

UT-San Antonio Library
cdearmond[at]utsa.edu
office ph (210)458-4583
http://www.lib.utsa.edu/Instruction

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6. Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit


06/01/00

KNOXVILLE, TN, June 1, 2000 - A new toolkit has been developed to
help both educators and community leaders create locally relevant
education concerning sustainable development. Published by the Center
for Geography and Environmental Education, the Education for
Sustainable Development Tool Kit strives to help both community
leaders and educators develop a curriculum that revolves around a
community's sustainable goals.

Education plays an important role in moving a community towards its
sustainable goals. One of the goals of the toolkit is to reorient the
education system towards sustainable development. According to the
Center, reorienting education requires teaching and learning
knowledge, skills, perspectives, and values that will guide and
motivate people to have sustainable livelihoods, to participate in a
democratic society and to live in a sustainable manner.

The ESD toolkit has four major components:

A description of the major thrusts and components of education for
sustainable development (ESD).
A discussion of 12 major issues that have stymied the progress of ESD
and that need to be addressed for ESD to be successful.
Eight exercises to help schools reorient their curriculum to address
sustainability, five exercises to assist communities develop
sustainability goals and three exercises to help explain the concept
of sustainability.
A case study of the Toronto Board of Education's community
consultation and subsequent curriculum revision that indirectly
addressed ESD as a result of the citizens' vision and desires.
To preview the Education for Sustainable Development Tool Kit visit
the website at http://www.esdtoolkit.org.
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7. Freenet - The Free Network Project

What is Freenet?

"Freenet is a peer-to-peer network designed to allow the distribution
of information over the Internet in an efficient manner, without fear
of censorship. Freenet is completely decentralized, meaning that there
is no person, computer, or organisation in control of Freenet or
essential to its operation. This means that Freenet cannot be
attacked like centralized peer-to-peer systems such as Napster.
Freenet also employs intelligent routing and caching meaning that it
learns to route requests more efficiently, automatically mirrors
popular data, makes network flooding almost impossible, and moves
data to where it is in greatest demand. All of this makes it much
more efficient and scalable than systems such as Gnutella.  To become
a part of Freenet all you need is a computer with an Internet
connection and the capability to run a Freenet server. We are
currently developing a Java server which we have been testing over
the past few weeks, but which is not yet release quality. You can
download a snapshot of the latest code from the menu on the left."

What is Freenet?

Freenet is a peer-to-peer network designed to allow the distribution
of information over the Internet in an efficient manner, without fear
of censorship. Freenet is completely decentralized, meaning that there
is no person, computer, or organisation in control of Freenet or
essential to its operation. This means that Freenet cannot be
attacked like centralized peer-to-peer systems such as Napster.
Freenet also employs intelligent routing and caching meaning that it
learns to route requests more efficiently, automatically mirrors
popular data, makes network flooding almost impossible, and moves
data to where it is in greatest demand. All of this makes it much
more efficient and scalable than systems such as Gnutella.  To become
a part of Freenet all you need is a computer with an Internet
connection and the capability to run a Freenet server. We are
currently developing a Java server which we have been testing over
the past few weeks, but which is not yet release quality. You can
download a snapshot of the latest code from the menu on the left.

What is Freenet's History?

The original Freenet design was created by Ian Clarke as his final
year project in a degree in Artificial Intelligence and Computer
science at Edinburgh University, Scotland. You can read a postscript
copy of his paper here. This project was completed in June 1999 when
Ian made it available on the Internet in the hope that others would
see the potential in the design and use it to make Freenet a reality.
This website and the software you can download here is the result.


Why is Freenet interesting?

- Freenet does not have any form of centralised control or administration.
- It will be virtually impossible to forcibly remove a piece of
information
   from Freenet.
- Both authors and readers of information stored on this system may remain
   anonymous if they wish.
- Information will be distributed throughout the Freenet network in such a
   way that it is difficult to determine where information is being stored.
- Anyone can publish information: they don't need to buy a domain name, or
   even a permanent Internet connection.
- Availability of information will increase in proportion to the demand for
   that information.
- Information will move from parts of the Internet where it is in low demand
   to areas where demand is greater.


The website for Freenet is at http://freenet.sourceforge.net
It has all the software you need to take part in Freenet (Windows, Linux, and
the Source Code), along with articles, a FAQ, documentation, discussion lists,
etc.  There is also a French version of the site.
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8. ICANN Election


CDT POLICY POST Volume 6, Number 12 June 28, 2000

A BRIEFING ON PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES AFFECTING CIVIL LIBERTIES ONLINE
from THE CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY

CONTENTS:
(1) Become a "Cybercitizen" - Register to Vote in the ICANN Elections!
(2) How to Become an ICANN Member & Register to Vote
(3) How the ICANN Election Will Work
(4) More Background on ICANN
____________________________________________________________

(1) BECOME A "CYBERCITIZEN" - REGISTER TO VOTE IN THE ICANN ELECTIONS!

An election vitally important for the future of the Internet is getting
underway.  The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN),
an international nonprofit body that makes important technical decisions for
the Internet, is organizing a global election for its Board of Directors.

The ICANN Board makes decisions on such crucial issues as the addition of
new Top Level Domains (such as ".store" and ".banc") and the resolution of
trademark disputes involving domain names. ICANN also oversees the
assignment of domain names and Internet Protocol numbers, which some
compare to "real estate" on the Internet; they are your "location" online.

Although ICANN's mission is supposed to be strictly technical, its decisions
will indirectly influence the openness of the Internet and have the
potential to raise critical free speech, privacy and other civil
liberties issues.

Moreover, there are some who would want ICANN to take on a broader
role -- one that would directly place it in the position of making policy
decisions affecting free speech and privacy.

CDT is urging all Netizens to register and vote to protect the open,

decentralized nature of the Internet -- and hold ICANN to a narrow,
technical mission.
____________________________________________________________

(2)  HOW TO BECOME AN ICANN MEMBER & REGISTER TO VOTE

Registration is open to anyone 16 years old or over with a valid email
account and mailing address.  You can register to vote at
http://www.cdt.org/action/icann and get important election news, campaign
information and background on ICANN at CDT's web site
http://www.cdt.org/dns/

Voter registration will be shut off at the end of July, so it's important to
sign up NOW if you want to be part of the voting membership. Elections will
begin on September 20, but only those who have registered in advance
will be eligible to vote then.
_____________________________________________________________

(3)  HOW THE ICANN ELECTION WILL WORK

The upcoming election is for five new "At-Large" directors, representing
ordinary Internet users.  The process is intended to select five directors,
one from each of five different regions of the world -- Africa, Asia/
Pacific, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, and North America. The five will
join 9 existing directors that have already been appointed by the technical,
business and nonprofit organizations that participate in ICANN, four members
of ICANN's initial board whose terms have been extended, and the ICANN
president.

This is ICANN's first election, and the first online, global election ever. 
It will set the standard by which future online elections are judged and it
will be an important test of whether ICANN can function as a body
representing the public interest. CDT believes that it is vitally important
that as many Netizens as possible get involved, so that we can ensure the
public's voice is heard in the future of ICANN.

Although the voting process hasn't been finalized yet, in the most likely
voting scheme, you (as a voting member of ICANN) would be asked to indicate
your favorite choices for director from a list of nominees. Some of these
candidates will be nominated by an ICANN committee, others will petition to
get on the ballot. You would list your choices for director in order of
preference, and the winners of the election would be the candidates with the
highest and most consistent ratings.
___________________________________________________________

(4)  MORE BACKGROUND ON ICANN

ICANN was formed in October 1998 to transfer management of the domain name
system from the US government to a private, nonprofit organization. ICANN
consists of a board of directors, three Supporting Organizations, several
advisory committees and an At Large membership. (An organizational chart is
available at http://www.icann.org/general/icann-org-chart_frame.htm)

CDT has been very active in monitoring ICANN and in participating in its
development. In March, CDT and Common Cause issued a report on ICANN in
which we pushed for the direct, democratic election of directors by the
public, and urged ICANN to limit itself to its narrow, technical mission.
The report is available at http://www.cdt.org/dns/icann/study/

Register to vote at
http://www.cdt.org/action/icann/

More background information on ICANN is available at
http://www.cdt.org/dns/icann.

For an introduction to domain-name issues, read "Your Place in Cyberspace",
at http://www.cdt.org/dns/yourplace/

---------------------------------------
CDT Policy Post Subscription Information

To subscribe to CDT's Policy Post list, send mail to majordomo[at]cdt.org
In the BODY of the message type "subscribe policy-posts" without the
quotes.

To unsubscribe from CDT's Policy Post list, send mail to majordomo[at]cdt.org
In the BODY of the message type "unsubscribe policy-posts" without
the quotes.

Detailed information about online civil liberties issues may be found
at
http://www.cdt.org/
____________________________________________________________________________top


9. Privacy concerns with new live web reference software


Date:    Sun, 2 Jul 2000 16:19:33 -0400
From:    librefed <librefed[at]kent.edu>
Subject: Privacy concerns with new live web reference software

===== Original Message From "Jenette Yikles" <yiklesj[at]hotmail.com> =====

First off, don't get me wrong, I have seen a demo of the new live web
reference software that LSSI will be launching at ALA (see previous message
"Live Online Reference Services at ALA") ... and I think it is great stuff,
and my company will probably be purchasing it.  It allows librarians and
patrons to work together live and real time over the Web, and that means the
librarian can push Web pages to the patron, guide the patron's browser
around the Web, fill out search forms togehter, and so forth.  And I tend to
agree with Coffman (for once!) ... that this stuff probably represents the
future of reference ... if there is to be a future for reference, anyway.

HOWEVER,  ... the software also raises some significznt privacy issues, that
I think we all need to be thinking about ... especially if the software does
become widely adopted for reference purposes.   More specifically, the
software saves complete transcripts of all reference interactions (including
all chat and URLs visited) and compiles a patron profile that allows the
librarian to see all the previous questions the patron has asked.  As
Coffman points out, there are some great advantages in this ... it might
allow us to provide the patron with updated information on questions they
had asked earlier (for example:  "Mr. Jones, I just want to let you know,
that there is a new release of the Consumer Price Index which updates the
data we gave you last week") and, of couse, it would allow us to better
understand our patrons and how they use our reference services.  But it also
associates a patron's name with what ... up until now ... has been a pretty
anonynmous process ... and it is not difficult to imagine the possiblities
for abuse  ... just to take an extreme example, could Kenneth Star supenea
our reference records to see if Monica Lewinsky had called to ask us about
spot removal?  Of course, in library circ systems, we have always solved
this problem by expurging the patron's name from the records ... but then
along comes people like Amazon, who prove that there are a whole lot of
people out there ... including myself ... who are more than willing to give
up a little privacy in return for the personalized recommendations, and so
on  ... that those systems can give you.   So, like so many aspects of
modern technology .. this new reference software also seems to be a
double-edged sword.

So, while I am definitely impressed by this new technology, and I would
certainly urge you to check it out at ALA .... I think we all need to be
thinking about the possible privacy implications of the software, and ways
we might address them.  I would be interested to know what others think
about this.

Yours,

Jenette Yikles
Manager, Information Center
ECES Technologies
yiklesj[at]hotmail.com
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10.

Press Release
May 25, 2000
For Immediate Release

Sanford Berman Receives the GALE/EMIERT Multicultural Award

Sanford Berman, retired head cataloger of the Hennepin County Library of
Minnetonka, Minn., is the recipient of GALE/EMIERT Multicultural Award for
the year 2000. The award is presented by the Ethnic and Multicultural
Information and Exchange Round Table of the American Library Association
(ALA).

The award, a $1,000 check and a citation of merit, is donated by the Gale
Group and recognizes distinguished contributions to multicultural
librarianship. Created in 1993, this yearly award focuses on outstanding
achievements and leadership that serve the multicultural community.

Acclaimed for his forty years as cataloger, anthology editor, periodicals
librarian and editorial board member of Multicultural Review, Journal of
Information Ethics and Counterpoise to name a few, Sanford Berman has
consistently and energetically sought to promote greater awareness,
fairness, respect and access with regard to themes and resources dealing
with ethnicity, multiculturalism, gender and other topics. He has tirelessly
advocated and modeled a more user-friendly and unbiased cataloging of
library materials. His dedication in changing the existing model of subject
heading has greatly improved our professionís method in assisting our
communities.

His interests are diverse. He was heavily involved in the anti-Apartheid
campaign within the ALA. He co-authored ALAís ìLibrary Services to Poor
Peopleî policy. He is an advocate for the respect of all people and the
freedom of information and the access of information to all. His outspoken
views have challenged the traditional and outmoded roles of librarians
across the country.

Please join us in applauding Sandy Bermanís lifelong commitment and
contributions to multicultural librarianship at the award presentation at
the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago on Sunday, July 9 at 11:30a.m. in the
Toledo Room of the Inter-Continental Hotel.

Nominations are being sought for the 2001 GALE/EMIERT Multicultural Award.
For forms and more information contact: Bosiljka Stevanovic, Priniciple
Librarian, New York Public Library, Donnell Library Center, World Languages
Collection, 20 West 53rd St., New York, NY 10019-6185 (212) 621-0641 email:
bstevanovic[at]nypl.org

For more information about this yearís award winner or the reception, please
contact
Francesca Hary, Director, Milton-Union Public Library, 560 S. Main St. West
Milton, OH 45383 (937) 698-5515 email: haryfr[at]oplin.lib.oh.us
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11. Online Chat session on Academic Libraries of the 21st Century


Date: Tue, 04 Jul 2000 18:46:14 -0500
From: "Deborah Harrington" <DHARRING[at]lib-gw.tamu.edu>
To: Reference and User Services Association List <rusa-l[at]ala1.ala.org>
Subject: [RUSA-L:637] Academic Libraries of the 21st Century will host
2nd Live Chat Session

Texas A&M University Libraries welcomes your participation in our virtual
learning community available [at] The Academic Libraries of the 21st Century
website (http://library.tamu.edu/21stcentury).
The purpose of the project is to provide a channel that stimulates
creative thoughts and ideas for envisioning and planning for academic
libraries of the future.  The site has been designed as a "virtual
learning community" where anyone that has an interest in collaborating
can network with others, share ideas, learn about issues, and plan
for the future.

During August, the Academic Libraries of the 21st Century website will
host it's second live chat session, featuring three individuals who
have been active in the development and/or implementation of personalization
software:

Topic:   'Personalizing Library Web Pages'

Featured Panelists:

John E. Ulmschneider
Executive Director
VCU Libraries
Virginia Commonwealth University

Eric Lease Morgan
Network Technologies Development Librarian
Digital Library Initiatives Department
NCSU Libraries

Paul T. Adalian Jr.
Assistant Dean for Information & Instruction
Robert E. Kennedy Library
California Polytechnic State University

Date:  August 14th

Time:  2-4 pm CDT

Register via the project website:
http://library.tamu.edu/21stcentury/chat.html
Click on link to registration.

Registration is free, limited to 100 seats. 
For groups, please register for one-sign-on rather than individual sign-ons.

Session Content:

The chaotic nature of the Internet is one of the axioms of today's information
environment. Academic librarians have been deeply involved in creating
Web presences that address the problem by helping to clarify and simplify
the information chaos.  The exponential growth of resources available
on the web, however, make even well designed a library web presence
sometimes difficult for users.  This is especially true for the
Web sites of academic and research libraries that serve a diverse population.
Personalization software for library web pages is designed to allow
users to control the content and presentation of information available
on a website so that it better fits individual needs and preferences.
Examples of such software are "My Yahoo" and several different implementations
of "My Library" services now available in academic libraries.

John Ulmschneider, Eric Morgan, and Paul Adalian will be online to discuss
issues related to website personalization software and other issues
related to technological means of making library electronic resources
more user friendly.  Ulmschneider is currently Executive Director
of Libraries at Virginia Commonwealth University, and before that appointment
he was the Associate Director for Information Technologies at NC State
University Libraries.  Morgan, the chief developer of the "MyLibrary
[at] NCState" software at NC State, is Network Technologies Development
Librarian in the Digital Library Initiatives Department at NC State.
Adalian is Assistant Dean for Information and Instruction at Cal Poly/San
Luis Obispo.  All three institutions have "My Library" services
available for their users.


The Academic Libraries of the 21st Century Website Project Team
Charles Gilreath
Tommy Armstrong
John Paul Fullerton
Deborah Harrington
Xiaodong Li
Daniel Xiao
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12. Survey of Internet Access Management in Public Libraries

http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/gslis/research/internet.pdf

Among other findings, the survey found that almost 95 percent of
public libraries have a formal policy in place to regulate public use
of the Internet.


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
dwood[at]ala.org
http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/index.html


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13. Dr. Seuss Went to War

http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic/

Between 1941 and 1943, Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) was the chief
editorial cartoonist for the New York newspaper _PM_ (1940-1948),
penning over 400 editorial cartoons that commented first on American
neutrality and then involvement in the Second World War. The entire
collection of these cartoons (original drawings and/or newspaper
clippings) is held by the Mandeville Special Collections Library at
the University of California, San Diego. While the 1999 book _Dr.
Seuss Went to War_ reproduced 200 of these cartoons, the remaining
half have not been published or studied since their original
appearance. This amazing collection has now been placed online and is
browseable by year, month, and day. Subject term browsing will be
available in the future. The cartoons are presented as large
thumbnails which link to a full-sized image presented in an
unfortunately cramped frame. The cartoons comment on a wide variety
of topics, including war preparedness, domestic politics, and
isolationism, with particular criticism for the US Congress and
Americans not prepared to sacrifice for the war effort. Caricatures
of the Axis nations, especially the Japanese, reflect contemporaneous
stereotypes. Drawn in characteristic Seuss style, with many creatures
familiar to fans of his best-known work, these cartoons are both an
excellent look into wartime US domestic politics and public opinion
and clever, visually interesting cartoons in their own right. As an
added bonus, the site also features some even rarer cartoons that
Geisel drew for other publications and for war bond drives. This is
simply an excellent resource for students, researchers, and any fan
of Horton, the Grinch, the Lorax, and Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose.
[MD]

> From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
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14. Pat Holt on Barnes and Noble University


From HOLT UNCENSORED - http://www.nciba.com/patholt.html


ZIS BOOM BAH

I'm just about to dust off my pom-poms for the new online Barnes & Noble
University that opens next month, according to PW Daily.

What a tingle goes through the spine to think of the classes that might
be offered - Predatory Planning, Under-the-Table Discounts, One-Fib
Inventory, Publisher Gouging, When 60 Days means 6 Months,
Stomping the Independent and that great graduate seminar, Using Remainders
to Pay the Bills.

Why, you couldn't ask for a more enlightening chain-store curriculum.  B&N
is also knowledgeable about matters outside the book business, which it's
been trying to leave for years, and may offer extension classes in
Cyber Profiteering, Hedging with Video Games, Overpricing Sidelines and
Selling Out to the Germans.

Of course, the classes listed on the BNU site at
http://www.barnesandnobleuniversity.com/bnu?nhid=bn?userid=4NKU6S296M
are equally scholarly. The fact that they're free reflects the kind of
philanthropy that so characterizes the chain's modesty and lack of
self-promotion. The most taxing courses appear to be "Choosing the Right
Diet,"  "Improving Communication Skills to Get What You Want," and  "Dying
of Embarrassment."

This last looks the toughest, and the catalog begins with challenging
questions: "Do you feel you are watching life from the sidelines? Are you
someone who performs required social tasks only when not
doing them would be awkward or conspicuous?" All they need now is Lucy
Ricardo: "Are you tired? Do you poop out at parties? Try a spoonful of
VITAMEATAVEGIMEN . . . "

So good one, B&N! Let's hope the spirit of free academia spreads to other
industries. What's next, the University of California at Burger King?

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15. Dirty Money: Tracking the PACs -- EWG

http://www.ewg.org/dirtymoney/

Though created with a clear political axe to grind, this new site
from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) (last discussed in the
December 17, 1999 _Scout Report_) is an excellent resource for those
interested in tracking contributions made by PACs (Political Action
Committees) that wish to influence environmental legislation.
Launched on June 22 and based on data collected by the Federal
Election Commission, the site allows users to find specific dollar
amounts given by PACs and received by politicians for the 1996, 1998,
and 2000 election cycles. The campaign contribution database can be
searched by PAC or member of Congress. Users can also view state
rankings, see dollar totals for the top ten recipients for each of
the EWG's five categories of polluters, and browse by type of
polluter. In addition, the site offers briefs on the "dirty PACS" and
a listing of the "Top Dirty Money Takers" for 2000.

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

Where to go when your library lets you down

By Chris Dodge, Utne Reader

Imagine a library that archives alternative-press
publications, a radical bookshop where customers use
the free photocopier to create zines, and a neighborhood
center featuring how-to programs ranging from
bookbinding to making your own menstrual pad. Combine
them and you have the Crescent Wrench Infoshop in New
Orleans. This storefront center is one of many such
alternative media oases springing up throughout North
America.

The Long Haul in Berkeley, Chicago's Autonomous Zone,
Arise! Resource Center and Bookstore in Minneapolis,
and New York City's Blackout Books are other "street
libraries." Typically founded and run by young volunteers,
infoshops are more than just an interesting place to hang.
They often also provide concerts, video screenings, and
heated political discussions. To pay the rent, most of
them rely on pass-the-hat donations--and the generosity
of anonymous benefactors.

Infoshops, which are common in Europe, grew out of the
international punk and anarchist movements. Germany has
at least 100 infoladen listed in a directory updated
regularly by infoshop expert Chuck Munson. Chris Attn,
author of Alternative Literature: A Practical Guide for
Librarians (Gower, 1996), writes that in Great Britain,
infoshops "grew out of the squatted anarchist centres of
the 1980s, such as the 121 Centre in Brixton, London."
Many of the infoshops in the United States began as peace
and justice centers during the Vietnam War.

Some infoshops are predominantly bookstores. Others, such
as the Civic Media Center in Gainesville, Florida, are
specialized libraries stocked with countercultural
material--small-circulation political magazines, videos
on controversial issues, books from alternative presses.
Still others are full of alternative (or underground) CDs,
straight-edge punk zines, and other cultural flotsam
unlikely to be found in any libraries, even those that
offer secondary material on punk culture.

Infoshops come and go. Besides financial problems, many
have neighborhood communication difficulties, especially
those organized by white youth in minority-populated areas.
As Munson points out, "residents may perceive the infoshop
as a beachhead [for] gentrification." Internal politics can
also put them out of business. Emma Center in Minneapolis,
founded in 1992, almost immediately began providing free
day care, clothes, and bread; a men's anti-sexism group;
"women-only" and "queer-only" gatherings; a growing zine and
book library; and even concerts. Eventually a split
developed between one group of staffers motivated primarily
by altruism and another interested in making money for the
center. The rift forced Emma to close in 1995.

Infoshops also have been targets of outside oppression.
Last December, "Death to Mumia" fliers (referring to the
imprisoned black activist, Mumia Abu-Jamal) and white-
supremacist propaganda were pasted to the windows at Wooden
Shoe Books in Philadelphia a few days after the shop
received an anonymous phone call from someone threatening
to burn down the "commie, nigger-loving store." Despite
these hazards, new infoshops seem to crop up like
dandelions. Recently the Insur-Recreation Center, a
"radical infoshop and resource center for activists, punks,
and the community," opened in Minneapolis, promising a
weekly "Vegan Cafe" and film screenings.

When is an infoshop not an infoshop? In Journal of Youth
Services in Libraries (Winter 1998), Ann Miyoko Hotta
describes Japanese bunko, typically run by women for
neighborhood children, as a network of "tiny outposts that
may be found in homes, converted train cars, community
centers, or even log cabins." Is this an infoshop cousin?
If so, then so too are the residents' library founded by
K.D. Steward at the Rice Marion Apartments in St. Paul,
Minnesota, in 1994 and anarchist collections such as the
Kate Sharpley Library in London and the Alberto Ghiraldo
Library in Rosario, Argentina. The Copenhagen-based
Tidsskrift-centret (Periodicals Center) is a more distant
family member, while the Durland Alternatives Library in
Ithaca, New York, might be called a clean, well-lit
infoshop. Part of the Center for Religion, Ethics, and
Social Policy (CRESP), an independent entity located at
Cornell University, the Durland library is aided by
faculty advisers and a formal budget.

Librarians generally agree that the presence of infoshops
indicates failure on the part of urban libraries, which are
accused of short hours, emphasizing business-oriented
materials at the expense of everything else, and, as one
critic put it, turning "a tin ear and a jaundiced eye"
to ideas outside the commercial mainstream.

Library bureaucracies also impede dissemination of zines and
alternative literature, but it doesn't have to be that way.
"We do it for books of house plans and car-buyers' guides,
so why not Holy Titclamps and Factsheet Five?" asks
Minneapolis Public Library's Cathy Camper.

Public libraries may be too understaffed and underfunded to
act as local community centers. But until they can serve as
zine archive, distribution point for free publications,
meeting room, day care center, concert venue, free school,
mail drop for activist groups, and bookstore, there will be
a lasting and important place in our culture for infoshops
and the alternatives they provide.

-- Chris Dodge
>From Utne Reader
____________________________________________________________________________top


17. Query from LR Gowri


From: "Gowri ,LR" <lr.gowri[at]in.britishcouncil.org>
To: webmaster[at]libr.org
Subject: Loss of Books
Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 15:22:10 +0530


 Dear Colleague,

 I am writing from British Council, India.  I am looking for
information on
 librarians being held responsible for missing books from the
libraries.

 Do you think you can help me with any article/literature on this
topic?

 Grateful for a reply

 Thank you

 Gowri
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18. Confutatis Maledictis


Subject: New TV ad for Microsoft's Internet Explorer e-mail program

The classically-minded among us may have noted a new TV ad for Microsoft's
Internet Explorer e-mail program which uses the musical theme of the
"Confutatis Maledictis" from Mozart's Requiem.

"Where do you want to go today?" is the cheery line on the screen, while
the chorus sings "Confutatis maledictis, flammis acribus addictis"

This translates to: "The damned and accursed are convicted to the flames of
Hell."

Good to know that Microsoft has done its research.

robrod[at]uniserve.com

> A somewhat old message from AgitProp News - http://www.igc.apc.org/laborart
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