Thursday January 22, 2004

   (06:42 pm) Home

    Time to go watch the slow and painful-to-watch demise of Friends. Can't believe they moved The Apprentice to Wed up against Enterprise. Great show but I'm committed to ST:E.

    Goodnight.

   (06:31 pm) Amazon's "Search Inside The Book"

     An interesting article by Joseph Janes on this topic (AL 01/04). Also it talks about OCLC exporting records to be searched by Google. 

     As impressive as these things are I still believe that the number of people who are going to use them for anything other then a curiosity factor are rare. Extremely rare. Rare to the point where its really just not profitable. When all is said and done, if an individual is working on a very unique topic its going to be more cost effective to have let the librarian do the research. 

   Another beef is Mr. Janes suggests boosting the OCLC records so that they show prominently in Google depending on the search. I'm sorry but that's just noise. Google is for quick answers, no one is looking for a book abstract. If anyone is looking for research on a topic that is longer than a page or even a paragraph they should be researching offline at the library.

   (06:12 pm) Shushing

    There is a good  editorial in AL (01/04) by Leonard Kniffel titled "Maybe We Should Shush".  

     The reason I called this site SHUSH is to help bring back the traditional role of Librarians as shushers. We don't just provide access to information, we also provide a suitable environment to process that information. 

   One of the disturbing things in the editorial is the mention of libraries who try to enforce the rules and wind up dealing with violent patrons.  All I can say is don't back down. This goes for kids too, especially kids, because they seem to be the ones who think they can backtalk without consequences. If their bigger than you call the police but don't stop shushing.

  (06:08 pm) Filtering

    Here is a link to that legislating in Ohio requiring filters on children's computers. It looks like it may require it on all computers though.

  Filters are coming whether we like them or not but if we take a reasoned approach we can at least make sure they stay on juvenile stations only.

  (05:58 pm)  Cuba

     I emailed ALA concerning Sparanese's comments (see Sat. 1/17/04). This is their reply.

     There is an attempt on ALA's behalf to make the U.S. partly responsible. Obviously they haven't been watching the news. Our strong positions in Afghanistan and Iraq have caused progress to be made in Palestine, North Korea, and most recently Libya, with the Colonel allowing full inspections of his weapons facilities. 

  (05:40 pm) another email

    Someone asks why a website and not a weblog. Technically I believe this is still a blog even though its not hosted by a blogsite. The problem is I manage my library's website and I use Frontpage. I know it fairly well at this point but for some technical reasons it won't work with regualr blogging providers. Something to do with FTPing which Frontpage doesn't do. For sanity's sake I prefer to stick with what I know.

  (05:29 pm) email 

       I sent out an announcement about SHUSH through LIBREF-L. An interesting reply:

"Anybody who is Pro-Patriot Act is not a patriot. Bush, Cheney, Ashcroft & Co. have trampled on the rights of citizens in the name of a bogus "war on terrorism"--an excuse to bully the world into submission--a decidedly non-patriotic act.  Wake up and start thinking for yourself. Read 1984 if you haven't already done so. Stop being so afraid of people different from you. Get out and view the US as others see us--it will be very enlightening, and something that any free-thinking librarian should do!"

   (05:27 pm) 

       Busy day. We just started a new online museum pass booking system / meeting room management system today. Its pretty to use but inputting all the paper records is going to take some time and patience.

 Wednesday January 21, 2004

    (05:09 pm) Workin' Late

          I have a project that needs to be done today. I do have some stuff to post, hopefully tomorrow. Specifically some Cuba info. Until then, something for your enjoyment...

   (01:05 pm) SOTU and the Patriot Act

   President Bush:

      "Inside the United States, where the war began, we must continue to give our homeland security and law enforcement personnel every tool they need to defend us. And one of those essential tools is the Patriot Act, which allows federal law enforcement to better share information, to track terrorists, to disrupt their cells, and to seize their assets. For years, we have used similar provisions to catch embezzlers and drug traffickers. If these methods are good for hunting criminals, they are even more important for hunting terrorists. 

       Key provisions of the Patriot Act are set to expire next year.  The terrorist threat will not expire on that schedule. Our law enforcement needs this vital legislation to protect our citizens. You need to renew the Patriot Act." 

      99 senators voted for it the first time. Its safe to say that number will go down, but I don't think by much.

  Tuesday January 20, 2004

    (04:00 pm) Home

       Trivia Night practice tonight so I have to head home early.

   (01:11 pm)

    Interesting article in Opinion Journal online on self publishing. Not likely to be the norm in terms of success but still interesting.

   My uncle published a book through a vanity press. I hope to write about it soon. A sort-of non-review review.

 Monday January 19, 2004

   (02:03 pm) Home

     I'm off. The past week's posts have been moved to the READ section. Have a good day.

  (01:43 pm) Censorship Watch

    American Libraries has a regular feature called Censorship Watch. An interesting item in this month's issue is actually one I heard on the news first. Its about the Jesus art that was pulled in the Meriden Public Library, CT. 

    This was a bizarre situation since they allowed paintings by the same artist that showed Moses, the Ten Commandments, and the prophet  Elijah.

     If they are going to show local artists work then this kind of hair-splitting is just asking for trouble.

    In general I'm against art displays. Most local artists are called local artists because their art wouldn't sell past the town borderline. We don't just provide access to information we also provide a peaceful environment to make that access more productive. Who can concentrate when your surrounded by bad art? 

   If you have a special area set aside for that, away from general library activity, then make sure your policy is sound. And you might also want to think about why you have free space available and why it can't be used for something library related.

  (01:32 pm) Presidential

    American Libraries notes that steps have been taken for the privately run Richard Nixon Library to become federally funded. He's the only president between Hoover and Clinton not to have a government-operated library. Not to pick on Tricky Dick but this is getting a little out of hand don't you think? That's 12 libraries, half didn't serve two full terms. Consolidate. If someone wants their own library, they can pay for it. 

  (01:25 pm) A New Reputation  

    No longer will we be pictured as mousy women with eye-glasses and hair-in-buns. Now we'll just be seen as nuts.

  (01:20 pm) She Loves To Read We Get It

      American Libraries (01/04) notes that Anna Quindlen will be the opening general session speaker for PLA's national conference in February.

  (01:13 pm) HUSH

     A big ad in LJ for Batman:HUSH. This was a big 12-issue storyline written by Jeph Loeb and art by Jim Lee and now its being offered in 2 volumes for $20 a volume. 

   ITS NOT WORTH THE MONEY...

    The story was all over the place and the big sale behind it was that big bad Jim Lee was doing Batman. No matter how good some of these artists are or how unique a style they have, it gets old quick if the story's no good. 

  (12:43 pm) Librarian of the Year

    LJ 01/04 has Toni Garvey of Phoenix, Arizona as Librarian of the Year. She has an impressive resume, I'm sure she deserves the honor, but here's a paragraph of note...

    "Access also means serving a diverse population. When a librarian visiting a branch in a Hispanic neighborhood found no staff who could speak Spanish, Garvey immediately discovered which staffers had language competencies. She transferred people into branches with gaps and began to recruit people fluent in Spanish. Most remarkably, PPL hired someone to teach Spanish to the whole staff, and now there are basic and intermediate Spanish classes going on all the time, with teaching geared to library situations and vocabulary."

  Considering the problems Arizona is having with illegal immigration and considering the history of public libraries in America is based on assimilating legal immigrants shouldn't they have hired someone to teach patrons English? Maybe they have, the article doesn't say, but if the staff can speak Spanish why would the patrons bother learning English? 

  (12:39 pm) Globe editorial

   The editorial made the argument that the parent should have asked the child what the books were instead of having the library tell him. 1. Depending on the age of the child the answer most parents will probably hear to any question on any subject is "I don't know." 2. If the materials are controversial in nature do you think the child is just going to say what they are?

  (12:21 pm) Back to Business

     I called Rep. Quinn's office concerning House Bill 2891 and learned that when something is ordered to a third reading there is the possibility that it can just die right there and not be voted on. So email or call your local rep and let them know it should be voted on and that you support it.

  I also found a Boston Globe editorial (10/10/03) on the bill. The Globe is against the bill (surprise!) Quinn filed the bill after a father received a call from his library concerning his child's overdue books. When the father asked what the books were they wouldn't tell him so he called Quinn. I wanted to know whether the father actually went into the library to try and get the information. Its possible the library might have been willing to give the information directly, just not over the phone, which is fair. Quinn wasn't in his office and the person on the phone didn't know so I asked him to find out but somehow I doubt it will be a high priority.

  (12:18 pm) Its Good To Be A Patriot Fan

        14... 14... 14...

    Don't get cocky though folks. Panthers may not have a 'co-MVP' quarterback but they have something better. They're underdogs and they're hungry.

  Saturday January 17, 2004

 (04:52 pm) Home

    Idiot that I am, I brought in my journals and left my notebook at home so the posts from them will have to wait until Monday. 

   Patriots tomorrow! They've won 13 games in a row. I say 14 is a mighty pretty number. 15 is freakin' beautiful.

 (04:48 pm) Voting Records

   An article in the Weekly Standard concerning the Patriot Act gives us the reminder that every Democratic Senator save one voted for it.

  What I did not know was that the Patriot Act has an expiration date, at least sec 215 does. It expires at the end of 2005. This is one of the things I hate about government. It just seems incredibly inefficient to have policies that are on some kind of timetable. They do it with taxes as well. Either its worth doing permanently or its not worth doing.

 (04:45 pm) Re: Cuba

   Turns out Ann Sparanese is also the librarian who started the campaign to get Michael Moore's book Stupid White Men published. More on that fiasco at a later date.

   I couldn't find an email specifically for Ms. Sparanese but since she is on the ALA Council feel free to send your opinions of her to them.

  (01:05 pm) Cuba 

    Via Jay Nordlinger's Impromptus on NRO comes this article in the Village Voice. Here's a lovely nugget to chew on:

As I've written, Castro's locking away of these dissidents, including the independent librarians, has caused considerable debate within the American Library Association. On December 9, one of Castro's defenders, Ann Sparanese, a member of the policy-making council of the ALA, sent a letter to her colleagues on the council, in which she wrote:

"Despite the fact that we as librarians prize them highly, political rights—for instance, intellectual freedom—is only one of a constellation of human rights, some of which Cuba respects in greater measure than the United States." Among those, she added, was "universal, free education."

  To this I give a beautiful quote, one I've been waiting to share in fact, by another NRO contributor, John Derbyshire:

"Wherever there is a jackboot stomping on a human face there will be a well-heeled Western liberal to explain that the face does, after all, enjoy free health care and 100 percent literacy. "

  Be ashamed folks, be ashamed.

  (01:03 pm/lunch) Boondocks

     They border on the rabid when it comes to Bush-hating but funny is funny.