October 2000

The Toronto Star has the Full Report on J.K. Rowling\’s huge reading at Sky Dome in T.O. on Monday. 20,000 folks showed up to hear her do some reading even though seats down in front were $235(I think that\’s about 2 bucks in U.S. Dollars).

\”A young boy, maybe 10, sat between his mother and his sister. He wore no costume and made no fuss, but he carried a copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

As Rowling read, he followed along. The first time she spoke a line as Harry, he broke into an enormous grin. \”

Someone sent in this Story from Wisinfo.com. Things must be pretty boring in Neenah, because the Library Board voted 4-3 last week against the implementation of a dress and grooming code. It says the Library Board struggled to develop an acceptable and enforceable code. The first proposal specified 22 items of inappropriate clothing, including underwear worn as outerwear. Is there a fashion trend starting at the libraries in WI?

\”The consideration of a dress code has generated diverse opinions among library employees and has led to the resignation of one circulation clerk.\”

Kell Yusuf writes \”…the question seems answered by a recent Rosensweig email in the affirmative.
Given his official ALA association, that\’s the only inference to be made when he writes:

\”`masturbation,\’ for example, is not a vice: it\’s a normal sexual outlet and it should be actively described as such to children and they should be taught about it by trained professionals! That\’s pedagogically and medically sound. That\’s in the best interests of the child. We should, to put it bluntly, be sex-positive, in favor of sex education, of providing information about abortion…\” and \”…ALA [should] find allies in the educational profession, in the legal profession, among politicians, in the social work and child development profession…\”

Why not be more blunt or go further? Let\’s recruit librarians to actively locate and collect net porno and train children to find it on the net to support their sexual curiosity and thus encourage them to use this material for jerkin\’ off. What better way to support our allies on these other professions? The full text of his email missive is dated Oct. 11, 2000, a more recent one than the email from him posted before at:

worldnetdaily.com \”

Lois Fundis writes \”Apparently even Congress is beginning to realize that \”The Internet-filtering software pushed by Congress to protect children from smut online is blocking far more than pornography….The software\’s uneven performance puts a snag in the politically attractive solution that Congress is trying to include in an education spending bill before it adjourns.\”

And even a vice-president of SurfCONTROL, maker of CyberPatrol and SurfWatch, admits, \”My chief criticism is that I don\’t think it\’s necessary because schools are already doing what they need to do to protect their students.\”

Yahoo! News has the Full Story
\”

I was doing some house cleaning and thought I\’d share some interesting search terms people have entered on LISNews.com, some are strange, some are funny. Judge For Yourself:

Cliif Urr writes \”This interesting article, referred to from the peterme.com web log, seems to invite professional communicators to undertake tasks that seem virtually identical to what librarians do. Also, distinguishes \”maps\” from \”stories\” as a way to organize information, and claims \”maps\” are supplanting stories for this task. Sample text: \”From a postmodernist perspective, we might instead begin to value the idea that technical communicators\’ talents lie not in their skills at taking (and simplifying) dictation but in constructing novel and useful (if contingent) structures in fields of information. In other words, business and technical communicators do not write documentation or author reports, but make maps. What better job than mapmaker in an era when information is portrayed to users as a confusing, jumbled tsunami of data?\”

Read It Here
\”

News.com has a Story on a new piece of software called ImageFilter from LookThatUp. They say the software classifies visual information by color, texture, shape and spatial configuration, It\’ll then analyze the data to make a sort of fingerprint for each image that is compared to other images. If it finds a questionable image, ImageFilter will email you! All those hours wasted surfing for porn at the local public library are over! Now you can just sign up and let this little baby get your porn for you!
Now, I know your saying to your self, \”Blake, what does this mean to me, the average librarian?\”, well I\’ll tell you!

I have 3 magic words for you….

News.com has a Story on a new piece of software called ImageFilter from LookThatUp. They say the software classifies visual information by color, texture, shape and spatial configuration, It\’ll then analyze the data to make a sort of fingerprint for each image that is compared to other images. If it finds a questionable image, ImageFilter will email you! All those hours wasted surfing for porn at the local public library are over! Now you can just sign up and let this little baby get your porn for you!
Now, I know your saying to your self, \”Blake, what does this mean to me, the average librarian?\”, well I\’ll tell you!

I have 3 magic words for you….Porn Only Terminals!

Yes that\’s right, filter out all that other garbage [you know…. news, weather, and educational junk] on the net, and give your patrons what they really want Hard Core Pornography [three more magic words]. But wait…. there\’s more!

Since it can \”classify visual information by color, texture, shape and spatial configuration\” you can set up a \”Porn Only OPAC\”! [3 more magic words]. Image the profit potential in your brand new database of smut. You can sell access by the minute to save porn starved men and boys [Remeber the ALA encourages you not to stop minors from doing anything] and turn a profit in no time. Who wouldn\’t spend a couple bucks an hour to search through a databse of all the porn on the web?

They say the system costs anywhere from $3,000 per month to $500,000 per year, depending on the usage, but isn\’t this really a small price to pay to keep all your patrons happy?

Remember, you saw it here first!

Disclaimer:
LookThatUp is really targeting this software at e-commerce companies that unwittingly host pornographic images, but why let that stop you?

T. Herman Zweibel, Publisher Emeritus over at The Onion has decded He Will Decide What is Appropriate for Children, so stop worrying about filters and banning books and all that junk, leave it up to Herman!

\”This Republic has once again succumbed to the notion, common in prosperous times, that children are precious porcelain cherubs who should be kept in velvet-lined gilt boxes and protected from the harsh realities of life. They say I should not be publishing the swear-words in my news-paper, nor the teats above the front-page fold, where children may see them.

The Frankfurt eBook Award Winners have been announced. Awards were given out in the following catagories:

Technology Award

Original eBook Category

eBook Converted from Print Category

and The GRAND PRIZE WINNERS. (\”Paradise Square\” and \”When Pride Still Mattered\”)

I know its not Friday, but I found a bunch of articles that I thought you guys might like. Here they are, in no particular order: new Clinton Library, author controversy, library closings, evolving libraries, Filters only a bandaid, and libraries as technology training centers.

I know its not Friday, but I found a bunch of articles that I thought you guys might like. Here they are, in no particular order: new Clinton Library, author controversy, library closings, evolving libraries, Filters only a bandaid, and libraries as technology training centers.

From Cnn

Old auto dealership in Little Rock converted for Clinton library

\”A former auto dealership\’s concrete floors, once grungy and oil-stained, now gleam in preparation for U.S. President Bill Clinton\’s collection of presidential memorabilia.

The first shipment of Clinton materials will arrive within a month or two at the old dealership, where researchers will sort and store the documents before sending them to the presidential library.

From Detroit News


Thriller author surprised by controversy over books

\”Critics of Christopher Wright\’s \”Michigan chillers\” books may be rushing to judge his books by their covers, the author says.
Some parents in Traverse City and other districts have expressed concern about the children\’s books, which have titles such as \”Mayhem on Mackinac Island,\” \”Poltergeists of Petoskey,\” \”Aliens Attack Alpena\” and \”Gargoyles of Gaylord.\”

From Pioneer planet

Library closing, but materials still available

\”Worried about where to get that great new release or the esoteric tome you need for your research project after the St. Paul Central Library closes for two years next week?
Don\’t fret. Most of the downtown library\’s popular collections will be available at other city libraries, and even some of the arcane materials can be plucked from storage if you need them.\”

From the News Observer

Libraries evolve with info age

\”Not so long ago, school libraries were relatively simple places. Basically, they were home to books and magazines, teachers and librarians say. Collections also may have included filmstrips, microfilm and a few other sources of information, but the printed word on paper was king.\”

From Michigan Live

Librarians: Filters only a Band-aid

\”Area libraries are working to comply with a new state law that requires public libraries to prevent minors from exposure to pornography, but librarians say even the best filters are at best a temporary fix.\”

From Civic.com

People can check out tech at libraries

\”The New York Public Library will use a private grant to create public technology training centers at several of their branches.

The library system also is launching a public/private effort, \”Click On @ the library,\” in which volunteers from 14 companies will provide hands-on computer training and other tutorials at 14 branches throughout the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island.\”