July 2000

What Librarians Really Say to Patrons

Ever wonder what librarians think when they see patrons every day, every minute…things like…Leave me alone, can\’t you see I am trying to read the new Harry Potter book?Books are not my life. I have a life and it does not involve you.

Ever wonder what librarians think when they see patrons every day, every minute…things like…Leave me alone, can\’t you see I am trying to read the new Harry Potter book?Books are not my life. I have a life and it does not involve you.
Leave me alone, can\’t you see I am reading the new Harry Potter book?

I am busy and can\’t help you. I don\’t know how but if you find someone in here who can help you, do not let me know.

Books are not my life, I have a life and it does not involve you.

Raise your hand if you want to ask a question.

About 10 minutes ago, the same patron asked me your question, go find him/her and find out what I told them.

Read the signs before you ask a question.

Always remember I will forget your question because it made no sense but I will answer it anyway.

No, I don\’t have time to answer questions.

Try to limit the number of words in your question to less than 5.

Once upon a time, there was a librarian who lived in a shoe, got tired of answering questions so they ignored you.

Please be quiet, I hear you asking me a question and I do not hear myself thinking of how not to anwer you.

Attitude is everything. Don\’t give me yours.

To ask a question is human so I\’ll can forgive you for wasting my time.

Respect, let me tell you I get no respect, if you respected me you would find the answer to your own question.

Only you could ask me the question, \”do you work here?\” to which I say, \”no, I only get paid to sit at the reference desk and look like I can assist people like you-it is called compensation for pain and suffering

No, you may not talk in the library, therefore, you must write your question down and did I mention I can\’t read either?

July 27, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

Scientists Spot Net’s Achilles Heel

Internet Week has a cool Story on how weak the internet may be. The trouble lies in relying on a couple large nodes that handle a significant amount of the traffic. The web isn\’t as webbed as we thought.

\”“The reason this is so is because there are a couple of very big nodes and all messages are going through them. But if someone maliciously takes down the biggest nodes you can harm the system in incredible ways. You can very easily destroy the function of the Internet,\’\’ Albert-Lazlo Barabasi, a structural physicist, said in a telephone interview. \”

Internet Week has a cool Story on how weak the internet may be. The trouble lies in relying on a couple large nodes that handle a significant amount of the traffic. The web isn\’t as webbed as we thought.

\”“The reason this is so is because there are a couple of very big nodes and all messages are going through them. But if someone maliciously takes down the biggest nodes you can harm the system in incredible ways. You can very easily destroy the function of the Internet,\’\’ Albert-Lazlo Barabasi, a structural physicist, said in a telephone interview. \”“That\’s exactly the situation on the Internet: there are a couple of hubs that are crucial to the system,\’\’ he explained.

These big hubs or nodes control the traffic in the system.

If the Internet hubs are taken out simultaneously there would be a serious problem but Barabasi said the probability of random errors hitting the big nodes is very small.

In a commentary on the research, Yuhai Tu of the IBM TJ Watson Research Center in New York said the research is a first step towards understanding the robustness of the Internet.

“The good news is that we do not have to worry about random fluctuations of these networks. The bad news is that Internet terrorists could cause great damage by targeting the most connected router,\’\’ he said.

July 26, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

A lesson learned

According to this article from the Union Tribune, a few girls found out what happens when you type in the word \”Shaft\” on an unfiltered Internet terminal.

\”They typed in a few key words and waited for information about the movie to come up. Instead, they ended up at a pornographic web site.\”

According to this article from the Union Tribune, a few girls found out what happens when you type in the word \”Shaft\” on an unfiltered Internet terminal.

\”They typed in a few key words and waited for information about the movie to come up. Instead, they ended up at a pornographic web site.\”



\”Fortunately for the El Cajon woman and her daughters, their home computer has a program that blocks out pornographic web sites and returns the screen to its original desktop setting.\”

\”It will tell me what they see,\” Miller said.\”

\”Today, the county Board of Supervisors will consider a proposal to bring that technology to the county\’s branch libraries.\”

\”Under a proposal from Supervisor Bill Horn, the county would equip computers in branch libraries with porn-filtering software similar to Miller\’s.\”

\”Our goal is to filter out the pornography that comes so quickly on the Internet,\” Horn said yesterday.\”

\”Horn proposes installing the filtering software only on county library computers used by children. To allay concerns about First Amendment rights, the software would not be added to computers used primarily by adults, said Horn.\”

July 26, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

Library of Congress Report

Dadop writes \”The NRC just released a report about LC\’s use of IT and the future. It also includes discussion of copyright issues and the US Copyright Office.\”


This is quite a report on LC, celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. They have more than 9 million books, 11 million films and photos and more than 53 million manuscripts. They also put over a million largely historical things – like the papers of Presidents Washington and Lincoln – on the Web.

\”If the Library of Congress does not make significant progress, it will become a book museum that houses a collection of priceless materials, and the energy of cultural exploration and discovery will fade from its halls and go elsewhere,\” said committee chair James O\’Donnell\”

Dadop writes \”The NRC just released a report about LC\’s use of IT and the future. It also includes discussion of copyright issues and the US Copyright Office.\”


This is quite a report on LC, celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. They have more than 9 million books, 11 million films and photos and more than 53 million manuscripts. They also put over a million largely historical things – like the papers of Presidents Washington and Lincoln – on the Web.

\”If the Library of Congress does not make significant progress, it will become a book museum that houses a collection of priceless materials, and the energy of cultural exploration and discovery will fade from its halls and go elsewhere,\” said committee chair James O\’Donnell\”
More from the report from National Academies.org\”said committee chair James O\’Donnell, vice provost and chief information officer at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. \”It must build a new system for acquiring and preserving materials that includes digital information, especially materials that were born digital.\”


The current processes for adding a work to the library\’s collection, including registering and depositing items with the U.S. Copyright Office (a unit within the Library of Congress), remains focused on physical artifacts such as books, videotapes, and compact disks. It urgently needs a new system for digital objects that is integrated with the well-established system for acquiring and archiving physical formats. This is an essential step toward creating a truly functional, contemporary library, the report says.


The organizational structure of the Library of Congress was designed to handle materials in traditional media. The committee recommended that the library create a new position — deputy librarian for strategic initiatives — to assist the leadership in formulating strategies to effectively incorporate information technology. An information technology vision, strategy, research, and planning group should be established, along with a technical advisory board whose members are drawn from outside the library.


The library also should foster a culture of innovation and learning among its staff. To accomplish this goal, Congress must significantly increase funding for staff-training opportunities, the report says. The library also should encourage staff involvement in professional organizations to promote learning and establish teams of people with different skills to promote further technical development at the institution.


A lack of an adequate technology infrastructure is a contributing factor in slowing the library\’s transition to collecting new forms of information, the committee noted. Computer networking and security capabilities at the Library of Congress, for example, lag behind not only the commercial sector but also other not-for-profit research libraries, and must be upgraded.

July 26, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

Collection agency helps library

A few months ago we ran a story about the Bethlehem PA Area Public Library that tried out a collection agency to collect on overdue materials and fine collections. Well, McCall.com has a follow up Story on how successful this has been.
Unique Management Services has brought in just under $2,000 for the library during the three months.

\”Unique Management Services, which specializes in library work with a soft touch rather than strong-arm approach, has increased returns and fine payments during its 90-day free trial period, said library administrator Mary Kupferschmid.\”

A few months ago we ran a story about the Bethlehem PA Area Public Library that tried out a collection agency to collect on overdue materials and fine collections. Well, McCall.com has a follow up Story on how successful this has been.
Unique Management Services has brought in just under $2,000 for the library during the three months.

\”Unique Management Services, which specializes in library work with a soft touch rather than strong-arm approach, has increased returns and fine payments during its 90-day free trial period, said library administrator Mary Kupferschmid.\”

Once the library formally hires Unique, it will be billed a monthly processing charge but the company recommends adding a processing fee to collections to cover the costs of its own contract, Clere said.

Kupferschmid said the contract is typically written so that collections more than cover the costs of the agency\’s work.

Kupferschmid said the biggest impact has been the reaction of delinquent borrowers: Bills overdue since 1998 have been collected.

July 26, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

Journal Crusade Goes Online

Librarians and researchers have come together to protest high prices for journals at the website, \”Create Change\” at: arl.org/create/home.html


CREATE CHANGE is sponsored by the Association of Research libraries, the Association of College and Research Libraries (a division of the American Library Association), and SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). Funding for this project has been provided by the three organizations and the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.

Librarians and researchers have come together to protest high prices for journals at the website, \”Create Change\” at: arl.org/create/home.html


CREATE CHANGE is sponsored by the Association of Research libraries, the Association of College and Research Libraries (a division of the American Library Association), and SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). Funding for this project has been provided by the three organizations and the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.
While journal publishers claim the high prices reflect higher costs, the librarians claim the publishers have increased their prices to protect their profits. The site includes a list of the 100 highest priced journals, including the $16,000.00 a year subscription to Brain Research and several $3,000.00 per year physics journals. At one point they say: \” For example, while world production of published scholarly research has doubled since 1986, the average North American research library\’s journal subscriptions have actually declined by 6.5%. Monographic acquisitions have declined by 26%, and other kinds of acquisitions have tumbled as well. Smaller university and college libraries have experienced similar declines… A system that has served scholars well for decades is now crumbling…\” The Create Change site includes generic letters on how to resign from editorial boards, refusing to review papers, or simply protesting the high prices of journals today.

July 26, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

Risk Management of Digital Information

R Hadden wrote: \”Risk Management of Digital Information: A File Format Investigation.\” by Gregory W. Lawrence et al. It is impossible today to guarantee the longevity and legibility of digital information for even one human generation. The choices are: to physically preserve the format, to emulate the data, or to migrate the digital data. All these choices have risks. In 1998 the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) asked Cornell University to study the risk management for migrating several different common file formats. This report is the result of their studies, and is a practical guide to assess the risks associated with migrating electronic files in various formats. File migration is prone to generating errors, and this report provides practical tools to quantify these risks, get the .pdf file at
Clir.org

July 26, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

The Troubles with CTEA

ZDNet has an interesting Story on the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. The act works to extend copyright for yet another 20 years. Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard Law School professor, is challenging the law, saying works in the public domain strengthen the \”cultural environment\” and offer potential savings to consumers.

\”Defenders of the CTEA cite the necessity of bringing the U.S. copyright term—previously 50 years after an author\’s death—to parity with European law, which in 1993 extended copyright protection to 70 years after an author\’s death.\”

ZDNet has an interesting Story on the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. The act works to extend copyright for yet another 20 years. Lawrence Lessig, a Harvard Law School professor, is challenging the law, saying works in the public domain strengthen the \”cultural environment\” and offer potential savings to consumers.

\”Defenders of the CTEA cite the necessity of bringing the U.S. copyright term—previously 50 years after an author\’s death—to parity with European law, which in 1993 extended copyright protection to 70 years after an author\’s death.\”
More from ZDNet

\”But Lessig points out that American law stems from a different tradition of copyright than European law.

\”There\’s a conception that a copyright owner should have the right forever to control his work and that it\’s somehow criminal to imagine work being turned over to the public domain. That just sounds un-American,\” he says. \”But the fact is that our constitutional power to grant copyright protection is founded on a fundamentally different principle. That principle was that we create an incentive for people to produce works, and once those works are produced and we\’ve paid off the producer, those works get turned over to the public domain.\”

In his 1997 testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property, Fritz Attaway, senior vice president of government relations and Washington general counsel for the Motion Picture Association of America, claimed the law would benefit the public: \”Term extension will not adversely affect the users of copyrighted material. In most cases the very opposite is true. This is because copyrights not only give owners the incentive to create works, they also provide continuing incentive to distribute them.\”

July 26, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

Harry Potter and the Onion of Satire

Ben Ostrowsky writes \”Satirical mag The Onion.com has an article about Harry Potter books.

\”In 1995, it was estimated that some 100,000 Americans, mostly adults, were involved in devil-worship groups. Today, more than 14 million children alone belong to the Church of Satan, thanks largely to the unassuming boy wizard from 4 Privet Drive.\” \”

If you\’ve never read the onion, you really should!

Ben Ostrowsky writes \”Satirical mag The Onion.com has an article about Harry Potter books.

\”In 1995, it was estimated that some 100,000 Americans, mostly adults, were involved in devil-worship groups. Today, more than 14 million children alone belong to the Church of Satan, thanks largely to the unassuming boy wizard from 4 Privet Drive.\” \”

If you\’ve never read the onion, you really should!Here\’s my favorit line:

\”It\’s almost impossible to find a book that can compete with those PlayStation games, but Harry Potter has done it,\” said Gulfport (MS) Middle School principal Frank Grieg. \”I have this one student in the fifth grade who\’d never read a book before in his life. Now he\’s read Sorcerer\’s Stone, Prisoner Of Azkaban, Chamber Of Secrets, Goblet Of Fire, The Seven Scrolls Of The Black Rose, The Necronomicon, The Satanic Bible, The Origin Of Species–you name it.\”

July 26, 2000 by Uncategorized 0

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