LISNews: Librarian News

Roger Schmitz writes \"
Dear Lady/Sir,

May I draw your attention to a free online basic tutorial on searching the Web developed by Peter van Tilburg and Roger Schmitz, librarians at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. The approach is slightly European and /or Dutch.

Titel: Searching the World Wide Web: a basic tutorial
URL: http://cwis.kub.nl/~dbi/english/instruct/www/indexuk.htm

Thank you,
Roger Schmitz
Tilburg University Library \"

Associated Press writer Erica Noonan wrote this article about what kids are reading now that they have to wait until the next installment of Harry Potter, which is being released on July 8th. Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament will be over 700 pages long. -- Read More

Enterprise Systems Journal has an interesting Article on Data Warehousing. They examine the alternative architectures available, some of the market forces that are shaping the current and future BI architecture environment, and factors to consider when choosing your architectural path. -- Read More

The Union Tribune ,in San Diego, is Reporting Judge William Kennedy, at the conclusion of a one-day, nonjury trial, ruled that the photographs depicting naked young girls in provocative poses constituted child pornography. Bruce Johnson, the arts, music and recreation supervisor at the library, said police at times have requested to see the slips to determine who is viewing books of this genre, but the library has always refused to share the information.

\"It\'s a private transaction,\" he said. -- Read More

Kip DeGraaf writes \"James Billington, the Librarian of Congress gave a speech to the National Press Club (transcript available at http://www.loc.gov/today/transcripts/041400-npc.html on April 14th about the role of the LOC in the Information Age.

http://www.techlawjournal.com/educ/20000415.htm contains some tidbits from the question and answer session conducted after his address. \"

Thomas J. Hennen Jr. writes \"The Washington Post talks about the 10th Conference on Computers, Freedom and Privacy saying, \"Neal Stephenson, a revered figure among the techie set for such works as \"Snow Crash\" and \"Cryptonomicon\" – books infused not just with science and technology, but also with wit and insightful social commentary.\" The whole story is at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24833-2000Apr6.html

Today\'s technology cover story on Salon.com titled \"The Twilight of the Cryptogeeks\" mentions that \"Librarians everywhere\" were given an EFF Pioneer award.

The message: Privacy? Big Brother? Get over it.

It was a heretical point to make at the conference – known as CFP – which has long been the kind of place where online counterculture, cyber-cops and corporate suits all come together to discuss such issues as encryption, the First Amendment and hacking. Earlier in the day, attendees had heard a presentation by Commissioner Mozelle W. Thompson of the privacy-minded Federal Trade Commission; she spoke after a session entitled \"Privacy Commissioners: Powermongers, Pragmatists or Patsies?\"
The whole story is at:
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/04/13/libertarians/index.html

datcalmguy

Thomas J. Hennen Jr.
http://www.haplr-index.com
6014 Spring Street
Racine,WI 53406
Voice: 414-886-1625 Fax: 414-886-5424
thennen@haplr-index.com
\"

Today on Traffick I offer this overview of services dispensing expert advice on the Internet. They now come in many different flavors. I\'m sure this only scratches the surface, so if you have other suggestions, please add a comment. -- Read More

Newsweek has an Article on the new online programs digital diploma mills and online education in general. Libraries and Librarians need to be aware of the push to go online with classes. Are they sacrificing education in the name of profit?

\"Online schools say the instructional faculty (who have day jobs) are better able to connect with working adult students. But traditionalists say full-time faculty are as essential to a university as its library. To fight the practice, the American Association of University Professors is trying to prevent online colleges from winning accreditation.\" -- Read More

Thomas J. Hennen Jr. writes:It may be a still be a great time to be a publisher or a librarian, despite all the problems, it seems.

Jason Epstein has a fascinating article that parallels the recent \'Great Time to Be a Librarian\' thread on PubLib (see digests 1233 to 1236 at http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/PubLib/

Epstein\'s article is on the future of the book publishing business and it is titled \'The Rattle of Pebbles.\'It can be found in the New York Review of Books; Volume XLVII, Number 7; Cover Date: April 27, 2000. It is on also the web at:
http://www.nybooks.com/nyrev/index.html
Says Epstein: \"Twenty years ago when my children and their friends came of age I advised them to shun the publishing business. Today I would offer young people, the opposite advice. The transformation that awaits them foreshadows cultural ramifications that can hardly be imagined but that promise a lifetime of creative adventure...\" -- Read More

3M, in partnership with the American Association of School Librarians, will donate 3M Detection Systems to up to 100 school library media centers in 2000.
Deadline for applications is May 31, 2000
In an effort to help school libraries maintain their valuable resources, 3M, a leader in library security, announces today the launch of \"3M Salute to Schools,\" a program providing up to $1 million in 3M? Detection Systems to school library media centers in the United States. -- Read More

I found This Funny Page on Slashdot today.
Someone did an \"Interview\" with the search
engine AskJeeves
asking VERY simple questions, questions any librarian
would be able to answer. The answers are
outstanding. It shows how far computers (And the web)
need to go to replace librarians.

UpdateAsk Jeeves if He\'s Gay! -- Read More

The Nando Times has yet another great library Story.This one on how in the past few years, libraries have become more aggressive about promoting themselves.

With publishers ever-nervous about the future of reading, libraries offer a large, dependable market. According to the most recent statistics available from the Book Industry Study Group, public libraries bought close to $700 million worth of books in 1997 and are projected to spend almost $900 million by 2002. And because libraries have a mission to buy books that are useful, and not just popular, they accept titles mainstream stores avoid.

\"Publishers depend on libraries for midlist titles,\" said Marcia Purcell, director of Random House\'s department of library promotion. \"The same is true with first-time novelists. Some bookstores are reluctant to take a chance on a first novel. Libraries are willing.\" -- Read More

ML Live has a Story on a little fight brewing in Michigan. Residents in one School District pay $1.6 Million a year for library services; their neighbors pay nothing. So managers are demanding all residents pay their fair share or possibly lose access to the library.

\"What we have said to them is, \'Look, we don\'t think this is fair. We would like you to join (our) district library.\' If they decide not to do that, we will terminate our contract.\"Sherry Hupp, Cromaine library director, said of the northern district residents. -- Read More

TCPalm.com has this Story on the bill introduced Monday would require public libraries in Florida to install software filters on at least half of their computers that have Internet access.

More and more children are accessing pornography on the Internet,\" Campbell said. \"More and more sexual predators are using libraries to access our children.\"
[Sen. Skip Campbell, D-Tamarac] -- Read More

A Story on how the Whitney Point Central School District (NY) has removed Inner City Mother Goose by Eve Merriam from its middle school library after a parent complained about its language and content.The book, The Inner City Mother Goose by Eve Merriam, updates Mother Goose rhymes to make satirical comments on street violence, housing inadequacies, crime and other problems plaguing inner cities. -- Read More

The Nando Times has a nice look at the Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C.

\"On April 24, 1800, President John Adams approved an appropriation of $5,000 to purchase \"such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress.\"

Books - mostly on history, economics and law - were ordered from London. They arrived in 1801 and were shelved in the new U.S. Capitol. The collection consisted of just 740 volumes and three maps.

Next week, on April 24, millions of books and much history later, the Library of Congress celebrates its 200th anniversary as an institution that grew, in the words of one of its biographers, into \"a symbol of American democracy and faith in the power of learning.\" -- Read More

Excite News Has this interesting business-side oriented story on how Encyclopaedia Britannica\'s image has seen a dizzying transformation.

\"The new, gizmo-loving side of the august publisher showed through again Monday with the introduction of a software application that gives users of Palm handheld computers access to all 44 million words of the encyclopedia.

\"Britannica now goes wherever you go,\" said Don Yannias, chief executive officer of Britannica.com Inc., the Chicago encyclopedia publisher\'s digital arm.
\" -- Read More

CIO.com has a nice review of the book Building Wealth By Lester C. Thurow; a book that seeks to define the rules in a Knowledge-Based Economy.

\"Everyone understands what it means to own land or productive equipment and how those rights can be enforced. It is not so clear, however, what it means to own knowledge or how those ownership rights can be enforced\" -- Read More

Finally a Story that admits the web is not going to shut down libraries.

\"It soon became clear that libraries are far from the tar pit - that, in fact, as both Reid and Keith Lance, director of Library Research Services for the Colorado State Library, noted: This idea so many people have, about libraries declining in the age of the Internet, is just wrong. Libraries, in fact, recognized the competition that technology presented and have offered it themselves. -- Read More

This Story from Digital Mass puts an interesting spin on a new web site that offers to respond to a typed-in question with an answer and an attributed source, usually in as little as a tenth of a second. The Web site is Factcity.com and if they do indeed pull this off, could put a few Reference Librarians out of work. Check it out and let us know what you think. -- Read More