March 2000

Hacker cuts library catalog access

MySan Antonio.com has a report on a mischievious hacker that shut an OPAC down in San Antonio, TX.

\”
I warn you before,\” it read in part. The hacker also left greetings for friends and signed himself as the \”Great Magoo.\” He blamed President Clinton for his actions.\”

MySan Antonio.com has a report on a mischievious hacker that shut an OPAC down in San Antonio, TX.

\”
I warn you before,\” it read in part. The hacker also left greetings for friends and signed himself as the \”Great Magoo.\” He blamed President Clinton for his actions.\”he hacker\’s message — including an admonition to vote Socialist — was laced with misspellings and misgivings about the library\’s computer staff.


\”I warn you before,\” it read in part. The hacker also left greetings for friends and signed himself as the \”Great Magoo.\” He blamed President Clinton for his actions.
Beth Graham, spokeswoman for the library, said all in-library computers are working, and that all patron information and internal information systems are protected.


\”The only thing affected (on Tuesday) was access to the catalog information, and that was only on computers outside the library using the Internet,\” Graham said. \”When we discovered the hacking early Tuesday, we simply put up a notice that the catalog was temporarily unavailable. The other databases were unaffected.\”


Databases accessible through the library Web link at www.sat.lib.tx.us include ProQuest Direct, with more than 5,000 magazines and newspapers; KidsQuest Direct, a similar database for children; Gale Literary Resource Center, a compilation of biographies, literary criticism and information; and Facts on File, complete information on major events of the past 20 years.

March 29, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

The Internet is a waste of time

I really wanted to put this one under Humor.
The Times of India has a very funny story by John O\’Farrell, who seems to honestly believe the internet is a waste of time.

\”The usefulness of the Internet has been hyped out of all proportion. All it does is make information more easily available. The downside of this is that in doing so it creates an enormous amount of new material, most of which is just information for its own sake. Clearly, there are some specialist occupations for whom the Internet is a vital resource, but since I am not a white supremacist with an interest in hardcore pornography, I find that most of the sites are not really for me.\”

He does go on to defend Libraries….

I really wanted to put this one under Humor.
The Times of India has a very funny story by John O\’Farrell, who seems to honestly believe the internet is a waste of time.

\”The usefulness of the Internet has been hyped out of all proportion. All it does is make information more easily available. The downside of this is that in doing so it creates an enormous amount of new material, most of which is just information for its own sake. Clearly, there are some specialist occupations for whom the Internet is a vital resource, but since I am not a white supremacist with an interest in hardcore pornography, I find that most of the sites are not really for me.\”

He does go on to defend Libraries….
Clearly, there are some specialist occupations for whom the Internet is a vital resource, but since I am not a white supremacist with an interest in hardcore pornography, I find that most of the sites are not really for me. Knowledge is a wonderful thing, but for the time being I can survive without the latest major league baseball statistics delivered instantly to my e-mail address.


But imagine if a new craze suddenly came over from America called \”the library.\” Inside were these things called \”books\” about everything — encyclopaedias, great works of literature, children\’s stories, manuals, history books, more reading material than you could ever hope to devour. And you could take these texts out of the library for free because these \”book\” things were even more portable than a laptop, you could \”read\” them on the bus, in bed at night, anywhere. We would think it was the most fantastic development in the world.


Yet, today, libraries are closing while funding for the Internet seems limitless. Is this because we have read all the books there are to read? No, it is simply that the Internet is new. It is so new that even the cynical British have failed to see that it is not a super-highway at all, but the information equivalent of the highway in the rush hour.

March 29, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

LITA Regional Institute:

Dan Schweer writes \”The Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) and Nylink are please to present \”A LITA Regional Institute: Proxy Web Servers & Authentication.\”
This one-day program from the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of the American Library Association, provides instruction on the theory of proxy servers and their use in library situations.
This institute is being offered nationally on a limited basis. Seating is limited so please register early. Register before April 1 and be entered into a drawing for an O\’Reilly technology book!


Click below for the Workshop description:

Dan Schweer writes \”The Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) and Nylink are please to present \”A LITA Regional Institute: Proxy Web Servers & Authentication.\”
This one-day program from the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of the American Library Association, provides instruction on the theory of proxy servers and their use in library situations.
This institute is being offered nationally on a limited basis. Seating is limited so please register early. Register before April 1 and be entered into a drawing for an O\’Reilly technology book!


Click below for the Workshop description:

Date and Time:

Friday, May 12, 2000; 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
(8:30 a.m. registration)

Location:

Fashion Institute of Technology, Katie Murphy
Amphitheatre, 7th Ave. at 27th, New York City

Registration fees:

$150 Nylink and METRO Members

$195 Non-members

This one-day program from the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of the American Library Association, provides instruction on the theory of proxy servers and their use in library situations. Practical implementation examples are included.


The background of proxy servers as defined in the HTTP protocol specification will be outlined, followed by a discussion of the application of proxy servers for library uses:


— conserving bandwidth on your Internet link

— providing access to IP address-restricted resources to patrons outside your local network

— only allowing access to resources you specify, or denying access to resources you do not want available from your workstations

Example implementations of these applications will also be provided. Special emphasis will be placed on using proxy servers to access IP address-restricted resources, including a discussion of alternatives to proxy servers for solving this particular problem.


Audience:

Systems librarians and computer professionals with a background in providing Web services. Some technical knowledge about the management of Web servers, such as installing CGI programs, assumed. Knowledge of C and/or PERL recommended.


Presenter:

Peter Murray was recently the Library Systems Manager at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and is now Computer Services Librarian at the University of Connecticut School of Law Library in Hartford. He has served as Programs Committee Chair (1999) and Chair (1999-2000) of the Innovative Users Group. In 1999, Peter was awarded the \”Highly Commended Award\” by MCB University Press for his article \”World Wide Web Technologies in CWRU Libraries,\” published in _New Library World_.


Register online at http://nylink.suny.edu/forms/litaprox.htm.


Cancellation/refund policy: full refund minus $10 handling charge through April 21; 70% refund April 22-May 5; no refund if canceling after May 5. For cancellations and other inquiries, please contact Carol Donato at Nylink by phone at 800-342-3353 or by e-mail at
[email protected].


Registration deadline: April 21. Register before April 1 and be entered into a drawing for an O\’Reilly technology book!

\”

March 28, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

Harper Collins Plans Grand Celebration as Classic Fantasy Tale Comes of Age

Company Press Release




SOURCE: Harper Collins Children\’s Books




In celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of The Lion, The Witch, And the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis\’ best-selling classic fantasy, Harper Collins Children\’s Books announces a massive year-long program of activities culminating in
a celebrity anniversary gala event in New York this November. The program, underwritten by Harper Collins, is anticipated to reach over 10 million American children.




Celebrations will involve every school in the U.S., partnerships with major media sponsors and one of the largest children\’s charities in the country. Libraries, bookstores and a host of non-traditional retail outlets will take part. Fans will be able to follow the festivities on the web-site, http://www.narnia.com, which will be launched this summer. Monthly announcements will reveal the various aspects and details of the plan which include the introduction of a “once in a lifetime\’\’ special collector\’s
edition of the entire Chronicles of Narnia.

Company Press Release




SOURCE: Harper Collins Children\’s Books




In celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of The Lion, The Witch, And the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis\’ best-selling classic fantasy, Harper Collins Children\’s Books announces a massive year-long program of activities culminating in
a celebrity anniversary gala event in New York this November. The program, underwritten by Harper Collins, is anticipated to reach over 10 million American children.




Celebrations will involve every school in the U.S., partnerships with major media sponsors and one of the largest children\’s charities in the country. Libraries, bookstores and a host of non-traditional retail outlets will take part. Fans will be able to follow the festivities on the web-site, http://www.narnia.com, which will be launched this summer. Monthly announcements will reveal the various aspects and details of the plan which include the introduction of a “once in a lifetime\’\’ special collector\’s
edition of the entire Chronicles of Narnia.
A timeless classic, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is a magical tale of four children who push their way through an old wardrobe to the enchanted world of Narnia. There are over 50 million copies in print for this title alone and it continues to make it onto bestseller lists every year.




Harper Collins Children\’s Books is one of the leading publishers of children\’s books. Respected worldwide for its tradition of publishing quality books for children, Harper Collins is home to many of the classics of children\’s literature including: Goodnight Moon, Where the Wild Things Are, The Giving Tree, Charlotte\’s Web, I Can Read beginning reader series and countless others. Harper Collins Children\’s Books is a division of Harper Collins Publishers, one of the leading English-language publishers in the world.

March 28, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

Addition to library inspires awe

Read this Story from the Toledo Blade.




Alonzo Costilla walked away impressed. Kim Johnson walked away wondering if she was still in Toledo.




Both came to see the grand opening yesterday of the 85,000-square-foot addition to the Toledo-Lucas County Main Public Library.

March 28, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

Library festival goes medieval

Read this Story from the Register Guard.




Glen and Zarifah Spain depend on the Eugene Public Library to supplement the courses they teach their two 6-year-old children,Nathan and Jemila, at home.




It\’s not only the books the couple values, but also the educational programs the library sponsors.




This past week, the family joined more than 100 children and their parents for the fourth annual Great Redwall Faire, an event sponsored by the library that examines the medieval period.

Read this Story from the Register Guard.




Glen and Zarifah Spain depend on the Eugene Public Library to supplement the courses they teach their two 6-year-old children,Nathan and Jemila, at home.




It\’s not only the books the couple values, but also the educational programs the library sponsors.




This past week, the family joined more than 100 children and their parents for the fourth annual Great Redwall Faire, an event sponsored by the library that examines the medieval period.The gathering, at First UnitedvMethodist Church, was part of
a weeklong celebration of medieval history that spins off of
a series of children\’s books by Brian Jacques.




\”What\’s exciting about the books is they attract boys – in
fifth, sixth, seventh grade,\” said Maura Scanlon, coordinator of medieval week. \”But people continue to read them through middle school and high school.\”




Glen Spain said his children hadn\’t read the books, but the
fair provided an opportunity to learn more about the food,
clothing, music, writing and weaponry of medieval times.

March 28, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

Pulitzer Prize winner praises power of libraries at Mercer

Read this Story from the Macon Telegraph.




Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough spent more than an hour Monday night singing the praise of libraries.



Read this Story from the Macon Telegraph.




Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough spent more than an hour Monday night singing the praise of libraries.



\”People have some very unfortunate misconceptions about public libraries,\” he told a crowd of several hundred gathered at Mercer University\’s Willingham Auditorium. As one who has used the nation\’s library system extensively in
writing and researching, McCullough said it is among the greatest blessings available to humans.




\”It transcends both time and space,\” he said. \”With books, who needs wings?\”




McCullough also said he was proud there still are more public libraries in the country than McDonald\’s restaurants. There are libraries dedicated to nearly every profession or speciality, he said, noting libraries for students of plywood and old music.

March 28, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

Dialog Refocuses on Fast Growing Technology Divisions; Sells Information Service

Read this Press Release from Dialog.com.




The Dialog Corporation (LSE: DLG, NASDAQ:DIAL), a leading provider of Internet-based information, technology and e-commerce solutions, today announced the proposed refinancing and restructuring of the Group through the sale of its Information Services Division (ISD) to The Thomson Corporation [TSE: TOC] which will enable the repayment of all the Group\’s outstanding senior and high yield debt. Separately, Dialog reported financial results for the year ended December 31, 1999.




The overall effect of these proposals is to reposition the Group – which will be renamed Bright Station plc (http://www.brightstation.com) – to focus on its eCommerce and Web Solutions businesses, with an additional £27.9 ($44) million of new equity investment. These divisions can now be developed to their full potential. The Board is also proposing the creation of an investment business that will focus on developing promising Internet and eCommerce start-ups, leveraging the Company\’s leading edge technologies, management experience and new capital.

March 28, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

Senator Fighting for school libraries

US Senator Jack Reed has introduced a bill to provide $275
million in funding to school libraries to purchase new
reference materials. S.1262, the Elementary and Secondary
School Library Media Resources, Training and Advanced
Technology Assistance Act, would provide critical funding
for school libraries and increase student access to the most
up-to-date library materials.
You can even submit
examples of out-of-date reference books in your school
library Here.

The School Library Bill Page is at reed.senate.gov

US Senator Jack Reed has introduced a bill to provide $275
million in funding to school libraries to purchase new
reference materials. S.1262, the Elementary and Secondary
School Library Media Resources, Training and Advanced
Technology Assistance Act, would provide critical funding
for school libraries and increase student access to the most
up-to-date library materials.
You can even submit
examples of out-of-date reference books in your school
library Here.

The School Library Bill Page is at reed.senate.gov

At a time when access to information is
growing, librarians
throughout the country are struggling to provide
students with up-to-date
reference materials.
Over the past 35 years, funding for school libraries has
plummeted. While
the average price of a new library book is $16, the
average amount spent by
school district per student for books is $6.73 in
elementary school, $7.30
in middle school and $6.27 in high school. As a result,
many outdated books
which were acquired in the mid and late 1960s as a
result of the original
Elementary and Secondary Education Act are still on the
shelf. While many of
these books should be removed from library shelves they
cannot be, since
there is no money to replace them.

That is why I have introduced a bill to
provide $275 million
in funding to school libraries to purchase new reference
materials. S.1262,
the Elementary and Secondary School Library Media
Resources, Training and
Advanced Technology Assistance Act, would provide
critical funding for
school libraries and increase student access to the most
up-to-date library
materials.

I sponsored the legislation after
learning that many books
in school libraries nationwide predated the landing of a
manned spacecraft
on the moon, the end of the Vietnam War and the breakup
of the Soviet Union.

My legislation would be directed to
schools with the
greatest need and could be used to:

  • acquire up-to-date school library
    media resources,
    including books, for the use of students, school
    library media
    specialists and teachers;

  • acquire and utilize advanced
    technology, incorporated
    into the curriculum, to develop and enhance the
    information literacy,
    information retrieval and critical thinking skills
    of students;

  • acquire and utilize advanced
    technology, including
    Internet links, to facilitate resource-sharing
    among schools and
    school library media centers, public and academic
    libraries, where
    possible;

  • provide professional development
    opportunities for
    school library media specialists; and

  • foster increased collaboration
    between school library
    media specialists, elementary and secondary
    teachers and school
    administrators.

An additional provision would establish
the School Library
Access program which would provide students with access
to school libraries
during non-school hours, including before and after
school, weekends and
summers.

March 28, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

LISNews Archives