Library Juice 3:7 - February 16, 2000


Contents:

1. Black History in _The Nation_
2. WebSerch - The Web Research Resource
3. Public Library Locator
4. Forget banning books, let's burn the library
5. What's happening in West Virginia
6. Call for support for AIP Free Speech Buffet
7. BiS has a new URL
8. Censorware and Memetic Warfare
9. Speakers needed for "Erotica in Libraries" program
10. Information for Social Change - Call for papers
11. SRRT & CLSG on Cuban Libraries
12. Havana International Book Fair
13. Feminist Promotes New Vision for Hierarchical Libraries
14. Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!
15. Who's Alive and Who's Dead
16. News stories appearing in the February 14 American Libraries Online


Quote for the week:

"In the place of competencies and commonalities electronic spaces
offer swiftly shifting and easily shared particularities.  Web
spiders, search engines, and software agents are the cyborgian
protozoa in an evolutionary scheme that will take us, humans and
machines, toward a coevolutionary world of likewise evolving
questions.  This evolutionary cell-splitting already increasingly
takes the form of what I call gritty searches.  More cautious
creatures are supplanted by more numerous ones.  Smoothly constructed
searches are increasingly displaced by successive quick approximations
that at each turn are cleansed by iterative query refinements, taking
place in virtual and actual communities, involving both computational
agents and human beings, and resulting in idiosyncratic and dynamic
representations of search and searcher alike.  To a contemporary
reference librarian such searches are liable to signal a loss of
clarity.  Even when (or especially because) a machine does most of
the floundering, these searches seem wastefully spatial, gestural,
fuzzy, haphazard, and physical, and thus gritty in the sense that the
particularity of an evolving planet and its creatures are gritty.  Yet
if they herald a loss it is, I think, the cleansing and morphogenetic
loss that engenders a newness."

-Michael Joyce, in _Othermindedness: the emergence of network culture_,
University of Michigan Press, 2000


Home page of the week: Katester
http://www.digitalangel.com/katester/

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1. Voices from History

http://www.thenation.com/historic/bhm2000/

In honor of Black History Month, The Nation has
assembled a package of articles and resource material
online. The selections, all originally published in the pages
of The Nation over the past 135 years, feature articles that
illuminate the magazine's steadfast commitment to racial
justice. The selected pieces take on many different subjects
and come from many different perspectives. What unites
them is not content or style but a particular manner of
engaging with the subject at hand: each is infused with moral
passion and a critical edge. Each deals not just with the
probable or the possible but in what the author thinks and
feels is right.

It is certainly true, as James Baldwin once wrote, that "the
story of the Negro in America is the story of America--It is
not a very pretty story." At the same time, Baldwin and
others in this collection shed light on the ugliness of
American racism to certify that it is intolerable, that America
can--must--do better.
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2. WebSerch - The Web Research Resource

http://www.clubi.ie/webserch/

        This site has been "designed for use by librarians and
        information professionals, and is intended to assist in
        the evaluation and selection of information retrieval
        tools and information sources" on the Internet. The site
        contains information on evaluating search engines and
        Web resources; search engine specifications; search
        strategies and tips; and metadata. The site uses a Perl
        script that allows the user to view the metadata for each
        page. The author of WebSerch is a public librarian in
        Dublin, Ireland. - po

>From Librarians' Index to the Internet - http://lii.org/
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3. Public Library Locator

http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/liblocator/default.asp

The Public Library Locator is a tool to help you locate information
about a public library or a public library service outlet when you
know some, but not all of the information about it. The information
in this locator has been drawn from the National Center for Education
Statistics Public Libraries Survey.
____________________________________________________________________________top


4. Forget banning books, let's burn the library


Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 13:15:49 -0600
From: "Don Wood" <dwood[at]ala.org>
To: <publib[at]sunsite.berkeley.edu>, <PUBYAC[at]prairienet.org>
Subject: [MEMBER-FORUM:1560] Forget banning books, let's burn the library

from free!

Forget banning books, let's burn the library

"The library is a monument to all the best impulses in the human mind
and spirit. It is a tribute to wisdom and understanding. No community
is complete without one.

So why is it that in so many communities across this land mobs are
marching on libraries with pitchforks and torches?"

http://www.freedomforum.org/first/2000/2/14ombudsman.asp


______________
Don Wood
American Library Association
Office for Intellectual Freedom
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
800-545-2433, ext. 4225
Fax: 312-280-4227
dwood[at]ala.org
http://www.ala.org/oif.html
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5. What's happening in West Virginia

David Price, formerly an SFPL bad guy, is presently the state librarian in
West Virginia, and controversy has sprung up around him once again.  Bob
Schwarz of the Charleston Gazette has been covering the issue in depth:

Caution: Library Upheaval
http://wvgazette.com/news/Editorials/2000011926/

Library Director defends role
http://wvgazette.com/news/Other+News/2000012832/

A list of do's and don't's: Library commissioners hear grievances over
money and local control
http://wvgazette.com/news/Today/200002092/

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6. Call for support for AIP Free Speech Buffet


February 8, 2000

Dear Supporter,

The annual conference of the American Library Association (ALA) will
be held in Chicago July 6-13.  More than 15,000 librarians and
library vendors will meet and exchange information within the library
community.  The Social Responsibilities Round Table of the ALA
sponsors a Free Speech Buffet each year as one of the Alternatives in
Print (AIP) Task Force activities.  AIP is a group of library
professionals that works to promote the acquisition and use of
alternative information resources in libraries. The Free Speech
Buffet is an opportunity for independent publishers in the area to
network and meet socially conscious librarians attending the ALA
Convention.

In New York City in 1996, more than 150 librarians attended the first
Free Speech Buffet, which was held at the Mechanics Library, and 25
publishers displayed their periodicals and books. In San Francisco in
1997, 40 publishers and about 200 librarians attended the event held
at the San Francisco Public Library.  In 1998 the Free Speech Buffet
was held at the Washington DC home of Stewart Mott located across
from the Supreme Court near the Capitol.  In New Orleans in 1999, a
cozy French pastry cafe in
the French Quarter hosted the event.

This year in Chicago, the Free Speech Buffet will be held at Ann
Sather, a popular and community oriented restaurant near Clark and
Belmont.  The owner there has graciously agreed to donate the
space.   We expect to host over 100 librarians and independent
publishers.  Since this is a free event, The Alternatives in Print
Task Force needs to raise enough money to cover the cost of food.  We
will ask the publishers for a small table fee, but we'll need a
supplemental source.  We would appreciate it if you would consider
supporting our Free Speech Buffet.  For your generosity, you will be
listed as a donor in the conference program, as well as in a
prominent location at the Free Speech Buffet.

Thank you so much for considering our request for supporting the 2000
Free Speech Buffet.  A committee member will be contacting you in the
near future.

Sincerely,

Julie Herrada, member
Alternatives in Print Task Force
Social Responsibilities Round Tablle
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7. BiS has a new URL


Sweden
Bibliotek i Samhaelle (BIS)
(Libraries in Society)
c/o Lennart Wettmark
Rosenbadsgatan 9
S-652-26 Karlstad
Phone/Fax: 094654 101813 or
Fax: 094654 213787
E-Mail: sve.we[at]xpress.se
Homepage: http://www.bok-form.se/bis/

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8. Censorware and Memetic Warfare


Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 13:42:24 -0500
From: Chuck0 <chuck[at]tao.ca>
To: librarians[at]tao.ca
Subject: Slashdot hands Burt his head on a platter

This is great!

Censorware and Memetic Warfare
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/02/14/2316202&mode=thread

"But his main meme was the number. Armed with his new figure "64", he
performed a division by the largest number in our report, which was
54,000,000. Kind of like dividing apples by hydrogen. Of the 54,000,000
URLs, only 29% were page views; only 0.56% of those were blocked; and
the previously-mentioned 5% of those were blocked incorrectly. From
there he switched from blocks to unique blocks, cutting the actual
figure of 5,000 down to his list of 64."

--
<< Chuck0 >>
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9. Speakers needed for "Erotica in Libraries" program


####### Please forward this message #########

SPEAKERS AND DISCUSSANTS NEEDED FOR SESSION ON "EROTICA IN LIBRARIES"
TO BE PRESENTED AT 2000 SUMMER CONVENTION OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY
ASSOCIATION

This is a call out to librarians and library workers who would be
willing participate in a panel discussion on "Erotica in Libraries,"
which will be held at the upcoming American Library Association annual
conference. This session is being sponsored by the Alternatives in Print
Task Force (SRRT) of ALA. We expect to line up more sponsors, but first
we need to find some speakers and discussants.

As one might imagine, finding speakers for a session like this is not
easy, even if you ignore the controversial aspect. Since there few, if
any, erotica collections in public libraries, this means there are few
public librarians with experience collecting in this subject area. The
librarians who do have experience collecting erotica, have gained that
experience from working at private and special collections. These
collections also tend to be historical, which means that there are even
fewer librarians who have experience collecting contemporary erotica.

The Internet has certainly revolutionized what people can read and view
at public libraries. This also means that all library patrons have been
able to access subject matter that before the Internet was restricted,
outlawed, zoned, suppressed, or, most of the time, just not talked
about. Public libraries COULD have collected erotica before the
Internet, but chose not to do so for a variety of reasons (the biggest
one being the unstated fear of sexuality). Now that the Internet
filtering controversy has starkly highlighted this historical rejection
of a subject area, perhaps it is time to redress this historical
omission.

We will be exploring new terrain, which could be pretty exciting.

If you are interested in being a speaker at this session, please read
the program description that is appended below. If you aren't
interested, but know of someone who might be interested in speaking,
please forward this message to them.

The AIP Task Force does not have the funds to pay for speaker travel,
hotel or meal expenses. However, all session speakers get free admission
to all conference events and activities.

Deadline to be considered for this session: March 10, 2000

Contact:
Chuck Munson
301-220-0938
chuck[at]tao.ca

************ Program Description  *********

EROTICA IN LIBRARIES

Sexy stories and pictures in the stacks?  Given that erotica and all
types of sexually explicit materials are available now via library
computers, isn't it time to address this neglected subject in public
libraries?  If erotica is widely available in chain bookstores like
Towers and Borders, isn't it true that erotic fiction and pictures now
fit within the "community values" of at least some communities?

In this session, we move beyond contentious debates about whether or not
libraries SHOULD collect erotica, to a critical examination of what
erotica a library COULD collect.  The main focus will be on
bibliographic selection along a number of different dimensions.  Options
will be discussed for various levels of explicitness: PG, R, and X.  We
will also address different genres and formats, including for example
poetry, romance, SF, photography, art, graphic novels, and periodicals.
Different sexual subject areas will also be covered:  "vanilla"
heterosexual, lesbian, gay, vampire, SM, anything goes, as well as
factors like literary quality, audience, and trends (such as the current
fad for anthologies and "classic porn" novels like those of Henry
Miller).  Finally, panelists will share tips on developing selection
criteria, finding reviews, and developing relationships with publishers.

<< Chuck0 >>
Homepage: http://flag.blackened.net/chuck0/home/
Mid-Atlantic Infoshop: http://www.infoshop.org/
Alternative Press Review: http://flag.blackened.net/apr/
ICQ# 62766441


Free Leonard Peltier!
http://www.freepeltier.org/

"A society is a healthy society only to the degree
that it exhibits anarchistic traits."
        - Jens Bjørneboe
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10. Information for Social Change - Call for papers

Combating racism in library and information services


The June 2000 issue of Information and Social Change will be devoted
to articles, experiences and views on combating racism in library and
information services.

The need to address racism in libraries is highlighted by Roach and
Morrison (1998) and recommendations of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry.

No forum exists to address the needs of Black  communities and of
Black LIS workers to document their experiences of racism or their
thoughts on improving policies and practices .  The serious nature of
the problem is reflected in the fact that out of over 20,000 personal
members of the Library Association, only 1.2% - i.e. 286 individual
members - are of African, Caribbean or Asian background.  Even more
worrying, only 3 Black members earned over  £27,000 p.a. (Khan, 2000).

What is the solution to this serious social problem?  Real workable
solutions will emerge only from an open debate about the problems and
possible resolutions.  Black LIS workers, black or white policy makers
and managers who implement policies all have a duty to engage in a
debate to address this matter.

It is for this reason that Information for Social Change is devoting
its next issue to combating racism in library and information
services. Contribution  can be experiences or racism in work places,
examples of good practice, ideas on possible policies and practices
to eliminate racism. Research findings and recommendations by Roach
and Morrison provide a useful starting point for a debate on this
issue and are reproduced below to provide a framework for future
action.

Please submit articles to the address below.  They can be
hand-written, typed or  on disc (Word). They can be e-mailed also. 
Closing date for submission is May 31, 2000.  Address for submission
is:

Shiraz Durrani Information for Social Change London Borough of Merton
Library & Heritage Services Merton Civic Centre London Road Morden,
Surrey SM4  5DX

e-mail   shiraz.durrani[at]merton.gov.uk Tel.  020 8545 4061 Fax: 0181
545 3629

References Khan, Ayub (2000)  "Stamping out institutional racism".
Library Association Record 102(1) pp. 38-39.

Roach, P. and Morrison, M. (1998), "Public Libraries, ethnic
diversity and citizenship". Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations,
University of Warwick, Warwick.

The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry; report of an inquiry by Sir William
Macpherson. Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for the
Home Department.  1999. London. The Stationary Office. CM 4262-I.

____________________________________________________________________________top


11. SRRT & CLSG on Cuban Libraries


Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 15:36:58 -0500
To: plgnet-l[at]listproc.sjsu.edu, srrtac-l[at]ala.org
From: Mark Rosenzweig <iskra[at]earthlink.net>
Subject: SRRT & CLSG on Cuban Libraries


The below letter is a press release by the Cuban Library Support
Group (CLSG). It notes that SRRT has joined with CLSG (so has the
Progressive Librarians Guild (PLG)) to work to support Cuban
libraries and to challenge the escalating campaign of Robert Kent and
his "Friends of Cuban Libraries", which apparently intends to provoke
an international incident at the Havana Book Fair.

I urge you to support SRRT, PLG and the CLSG and, if contacted by
Kent, make clear your opposition to his US-based political
intervention being carried out under the cover of a fabricated
scenario involving "independent librarians".

End the Blockade! Return Elian Gonzalez! Hands Off Cuba!

Mark Rosenzweig
_________________________________________
Letter to the Library Association Record

31 January 2000

Dear Editor,

Robert Kent (LAR p83) is unable to provide any evidence to support
his allegation that "independent librarians" are being persecuted in
Cuba. This is not the view of the Cuban Library Association (ASCUBI)
who have stated that none of these people are librarians or members
of ASCUBI and that they "were never subject to arrest or
imprisonment".

Kent refers to the IFLA report but he fails to mention that FAIFE did
not consult with ASCUBI when drafting this report. Marta Terry,
President of ASCUBI, has commented, "What has happened to FAIFE ? I
am a regular member and nobody has endorsed any official answer to
our ASCUBI statement"

If Kent were a true Friend of Cuban Libraries he would be campaigning
for the end of the illegal 40 year blockade of Cuba by the US ; this
blockade includes food, medicine, books and information. As Fidel
Castro said at the Havana Book Fair, "In Cuba there are no prohibited
books, only those we do not have the money to buy".

I will be going to Cuba in April to visit ASCUBI and assess some of
these "independent libraries" The Cuban Libraries Support Group
(CLSG) has joined forces with the Social Responsibilities Round Table
of the American Library Association to progress support for Cuban
libraries on both sides of the Atlantic. For more information call me
on 0181 545 3770.

Yours sincerely,


John Pateman
CLSG
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12. Havana International Book Fair


Cuban Library Support Group sends geetings to the
Havana International Book Fair

The Havana International Book Fair is a testament to the Cuban revolution's
investment in books, libraries, education and literacy. The Book Fair will
attract stalls from all over the world, including Pathfinder Books in the
UK. The Pathfinder representative, Jonathan Silberman, will be reporting
back on the Book Fair to a meeting organised by the Cuban Libraries Support
Group. This meeting, held jointly with the International Group of the
Library Association, will be held at the LA in late February / early March.

Jonathan will give an eye witness account of the Book Fair, publishing and
libraries in Cuba, including the so-called "independent" libraries. This
will be a first hand account, not news that has been recycled through the
"Friends of Cuban Libraries" (sic) / US government propaganda machine.

Pathfinder Books have launched a "Books for Cuba" appeal  to help them
supply books to Cuban libraries. This is necessary because of the illegal 40
year US blockade of Cuba which applies to food, medicine, books and
information. As Fidel Castro said at the last Havana Book Fair "In Cuba
there are no prohibited books, only those we do not have the money to buy".
Cuba is being economically strangled by the blockade - a blockade which the
"Friends of Cuban Libraries" supports, despite their claim to "oppose
violations of intellectual freedom, as defined by the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights", which the blockade clearly breaches.

The "Friends of Cuban Libraries" is supported by Freedom House. which is run
by former CIA agent and Cuban exile, Frank Calzon, and annually receives
hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from the Washington government.
In 1998 an American representative of Freedom House was deported from Cuba
after he was arrested in the act of handing $500 in cash "donations" to
individuals with instructions of how to set up opposition parties. In the
latest issue of "Cuba Si" there is an article on  Calzon's role in funding a
campaign to set up so-called "independent libraries".

"Cuba Si" also quotes a letter from Judith Johnson who works in the
Political Section of the US Embassy in London. Johnson admits that the US
government does fund Freedom House and that its activities consist of
disseminating "writings on democracy" in Cuba. Robert Kent has admitted that
on four occassions he has taken books and pamphlets to Cuba for Freedom
House. On three occassions his travel expenses were paid by Freedom House.
This makes a mockery of his claim that "The Friends of Cuban Libraries" is
an "independent, non partisan" organisation.

John Pateman
Cuban Library Support Group


----------
From: RKent20551[at]cs.com
To: W.A.Forster[at]herts.ac.uk
Subject: PRESS RELEASE: Protest Erupts at Cuban Book Fair
Date: 04 February 2000 05:59


                                PRESS RELEASE
                     The Friends of Cuban Libraries

CONTACT: Robert Kent                               FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tel: (d) 212-930-0871                                  February 3, 2000
Tel: (n) 718-340-8494                                  e-mail:
rkent20551[at]cs.com

                 PROTEST  ERUPTS  AT  CUBAN  BOOK  FAIR

      On February 3, as foreign publishers made travel plans to attend the
Havana International Book Fair (February 9-15), the Friends of Cuban
Libraries released an Open Letter to the publishers signed by more than
thirty authors.  The letter, entitled "Book Fair or Carnival of
Persecution?," urges publishers at the Fair to make protests to government
officials against the "scandalous" repression of Cuba's independent
librarians, whom the authors describe as "the only librarians in the world
who are being subjected to systematic persecution."

      In an attempt to establish a civil society in Cuba, the island nation
has recently seen the opening of more than thirty independent libraries with
the goal of offering access to books that are banned under Cuba's harsh
system of censorship.  Citing reports and statements by Amnesty
International, the International PEN organization of writers, and the
International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), the authors of the
Open Letter condemn the government's effort to suppress the independent
librarians through a campaign of harassment, intimidation, death threats,
police raids, evictions, short-term arrests, and confiscations.  "To remain
silent on this important matter...," the authors admonish the publishers,
"would be an act of moral cowardice and would constitute silent support for
this unprecedented violation of intellectual freedom on the part of the
Cuban
government."  In addition to public and private protests, the authors also
urge the publishers to carry out other acts of solidarity such as visits to
the independent librarians in Havana.

      Another cause of dismay surrounding the Book Fair is the fact that it
will be held in Havana's La Cabana fortress, notorious as the former site of
a harsh prison where the Castro administration carried out hundreds of
executions.  Jorge Valls, one of the authors signing the Open Letter, spent
part of his 20-year prison term in La Cabana prison after being convicted of
refusing to register for the military draft.  In his published memoirs, Mr.
Valls recalled his grim experience in La Cabana: "Night was no time for
rest.
On the contrary, that was when the horrors began.  At nine or so the
executions would start....  We could hear the prisoner being tied to the
pole, his last cries, the command to fire, the volley....   The last sound
would be the screech of the night bird coming to peck at the pieces of flesh
that still clung to the pole and the wall."

      Mr. Valls, now a member of the Friends of Cuban Libraries, says, "A
number of the publishers going to the Book Fair have already agreed to carry
out actions in support of the independent librarians, and we hope others
will
follow their brave example."

      Among the many prominent authors signing the Open Letter are Guillermo
Cabrera Infante, a winner of Spain's prestigious Cervantes Prize for
literature, Heberto Padilla, a renowned poet whose arrest and show trial in
1971 sparked worldwide indignation, Carlos Franqui, a former editor of the
Cuban newspaper "Revolucion," Zoe Valdes, a rising star among the younger
generation of Cuban writers, Maria Elena Cruz Varela, a poet who suffered
permanent injuries after being attacked during a government-directed mob
assault, and the noted Mexican writers Carlos Monsivais and Jorge Castaneda;
the latter is an acclaimed biographer of Ernesto "Che" Guevara.

      The Friends of Cuban Libraries, founded in June, 1999, is an
independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit support group for the independent
librarians.  The organization opposes censorship and all other violations of
intellectual freedom, as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, regardless of whatever administration may be in office in Cuba.  The
Friends are funded entirely by their members and do not seek or accept
contributions from other sources.
                                                          ###
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13. Feminist Promotes New Vision for Hierarchical Libraries

_Women In Higher Education_, March, 1999

From http://www.wihe.com


Deb Nordgren was a feminist and a librarian for 20 years before the
two identities began to merge. As a group, librarians are not
conspicuous revolutionaries. On her office wall at the University of
Wisconsin-Superior, where she's technical services librarian and
assistant professor of library science, a poster quotes Audre Lorde:
"When I dare to be powerful--to use my strength in the service of my
vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid."
Today Nordgren is boldly promoting a feminist vision for her library
staff and students in a world where women are the majority but men
are the directors.


In the feminist spirit of telling one's story, she told hers at
NAWE's 1999 Women in Higher Education conference in Charleston SC.
She began to integrate her librarian and feminist identities after
discovering Christina Baum's Feminist Thought in American
Librarianship (1992). Baum reports that most "feminist" library
studies concern sexual stereotypes and the status of women; their
agenda is gender equality with no basic change in how libraries work.
Few ask deeper questions such as:


-Are librarians elitist or paternalistic in defining "quality?"

-Are funds meager because most staff are women?

-Can libraries counteract economic forces that silence women by
closing bookstores and alternative presses?

-Who decides what information is stored on computer?

-Can we imagine a non-hierarchical library workplace?

-Why are most library directors male, and most staff female?

Reviewing recent library literature and conference programs, Nordgren
still finds little feminist awareness, but more writers cite women in
other fields. She's glad to see librarians getting less insular.
Conferences like that in Charleston and newsletters like WIHE help
build feminist connections across disciplines, she said. She learned
about feminist management and pedagogy largely from women outside
library science.


Few librarians in the feminist forefront

It's odd that librarians aren't the leading feminist activists, since
the fit is so natural. Most are women, committed to making information
available to people of every social and economic group. Like
feminists, librarians value story, clear language and awareness of
context.

So why don't more librarians talk about feminism? Perhaps partly
because the field attracts introverts instead of rabble-rousers, but
that's changing. History may be a bigger factor. Unlike social work,
which began with women, library science began with men like Melvil
Dewey. When he hired women as librarians, he saw them as clerks.
"We've been trying to fight that perception and be accepted as
professionals ever since."


One librarian's story

As a technical services librarian, Nordgren buys materials for the
collection, coordinates operation of the online catalog and
supervises three permanent staff. Although she could stock the
library with radical feminist books, she refrains.


Her feminism is more evident in how she relates to her staff. For
years she felt an internal tension between what the library journals
said she should do and what she actually did. "What I was doing in my
work didn't seem to fit what I was reading about management." Little
in the library science literature supported her, but she got
validation from writers in other fields who described a "women's
management style," which she recognized as her own.


Using intuition and common sense, she had developed a collaborative
management style of asking opinions and working together to solve
problems. She advocated flexible work schedules and work-at-home
options for staff with small children. Her vision for the library
centered on people rather than things. It was exciting to discover
writers who named her feminist style instead of dismissing it as poor
management.


Teaching library science

The biggest effect of integrating her feminist and librarian
identities was in her teaching. The standard library science
curriculum has changed little since her student years with two
exceptions: Rutgers University NJ offers "Gender and Culture in
Children's Picture Books" and the University of Wisconsin-Madison
teaches "Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults."
Course descriptions don't reveal whether faculty use feminist
material in courses with traditional titles; for example, Nordgren
always had cataloging students describe and classify materials on
women's issues, multiculturalism and homosexuality.


When she recently began to teach school library administration, she
decided it wasn't enough just to teach feminist practices: She also
needed to name them in the classroom. Working with women from other
departments to revamp her university's women's studies minor a few
years ago introduced her to literature on feminist pedagogy, which
she now uses in her administration course. For example, she:


-Links theory with practice by having students talk to librarians
about information in the textbook.

-Invites students to share responsibility for their learning and make
choices about their assignments.

-Tells personal stories of her library experiences.

-Discusses power and leadership in non-traditional ways to empower
students as leaders.

-Includes cultural and sexual diversity issues.

-Values intuition and questions, knowing she doesn't have all the
answers.

Calling her approach liberal rather than radical, Nordgren's is a far
cry from a traditional library education and a step toward raising
future librarians' consciousness.


--SARAH COOK

E-mail Deb Nordgren at dnordgren[at]staff.uwsuper.edu
____________________________________________________________________________top


14. Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!

http://tln.lib.mi.us/~amutch/jen/index.html

Created by Jennifer Hubert, Young Adult Librarian at the Queens
Borough Public Library in New York City, and Webmaster Andrew Mutch
of Novi, Michigan, this site offers booklists for young adult readers
"who need a good read, but are wondering if there's life after Judy
Blume and Gary Paulsen." Hubert believes that some adults don't give
teens enough credit when it comes to reading tastes, and she aims to
introduce them to books that are interesting and demand a little more
of them than typical young adult selections. The Reading Rants lists
are accessed via a pull-down menu in the lower-right section of the
Homepage. Highlights include Boy Meets Book: Best Boy Reads, Riot
Grrrrl! Reads, Deadheads and Mosh-pits: Books about being in a band,
and Bare Bones: Honest Fiction about Weight and Eating Disorders. New
reviews and lists are featured on the home page. Hubert notes that
some of the titles listed will be found in the Adult rather than the
Young Adult section of the library, but that's exactly the point. A
fine site for teen readers, teachers, and librarians. [MD]

> From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
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15. Who's Alive and Who's Dead

http://www.neosoft.com/~davo/livedead/

        A "site that helps you keep track of which famous
        people have died and which are still alive!" If they're
        one of the more than 1,700 people listed, you can find
        out if they are still with us and, if not, when and why
        they went. Grouped according to the accomplishments
        for which they are best known, alphabetically, and
        searchable. Information includes full name, what the
        person is known for, and reason for death, if known.
        Maintained by a person with a day job as Director of
        Technology at an architectural firm. - cl

>From Librarians' Index to the Internet - http://lii.org/
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16. News stories appearing in the February 14 American Libraries Online


http://www.ala.org/alonline/

-Professional Librarian to Head British Library
-150 People Trapped in Library During Police Standoff
-Baltimore County School Libraries Eye $10-Million Upgrade
-Schwarzenegger Movie Prevents Vancouver Library Shutdown
-U. of Pittsburgh Librarians Agitate for Same-Sex Benefits
-Utah Lawmakers Tie Library Funding to Restricting Online Smut
-Indiana Bill Mandates Annual Meetings on Community Standards
-Michigan Bill Requires Filtering or Supervision for Surfing Minors
-Arizona House Rejects Filters for State Computers
-Illinois School Takes Aim at Guns and Ammo
-Captain Underpants Banished at Connecticut Elementary School
-Most Scopes Trial Papers Escape Bryan College Fire
-Rogue Fire Sprinkler Destroys 1,100 Books in Maryland Library
-Berman Catalog Records Disappear Mysteriously from Hennepin County
-Copernicus Missing from Russian Academy of Sciences

American Libraries' Web site also features the latest "Internet
Librarian" columns by Karen Schneider; "Technically Speaking" by David
Dorman;  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.
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