November 2000

Jessamyn West (the New Jessamyn West, editor of librarian.net, not the famous author) recently did a guest column in Marylaine Block\’s Ex Libris e-zine entitled SHAKING THINGS UP: PROGRESSIVE AND RADICAL LIBRARIANS.

Marylaine introduced the column this way:

\”I asked Jessamyn West, who calls herself an anarchist librarian, to explain for me and my readers the variety of views and organizations on the leftward fringes of our profession. Trust me, nobody who reads this will ever again think librarians are sweet little ladies in sensible shoes.\”

UNESCO just had its INFOETHICS 2000 conference in Paris, the Third UNESCO Congress on Ethical, Legal and Social Challenges of Cyberspace. A number of papers are available from the conference, some in English. They are available here. The list of papers is as follows:

The information society and the expectation revolution

by David Konzevik

The changing shape of information and the role of government

by Thomas B. Riley

Public sector information initiatives in the European Union

by George Papapavlou

Access to information and \”public domain\” in the post-\”perestroyka\” Russia: a paradoxal experience.

by Ekaterina U.Genieva

Access to telecommunications in the internet age

Arthur Levin

Accessibility to rural and remote areas

by Yasuhiko Kawasumi

Networks and information services: government policy

by Jean-Noël Tronc

Fair use and access to information in the digital era

by Carlos M. Correa

Copyright and its limitations in the digital environment

by Bernt Hugenholtz

How Can Fair Use Doctrine Be Applied For the Appropriate Level of Copyright Protection in the Global Marketplace?

by Euisun Yoo

Preserving fair use in the digital age

by Barry Steinhardt

Copyright and the freedom of accessing information in the cyberspace

by Andras Szinger

Ten commandments to protect privacy in the Internet world

by Hansjuergen Garstka

The legal protection of the right of privacy on the networks

by Amr Zaki Abdel Motaal

The future of privacy : David and Goliath revisited

by Simon Davis

Human dignity in the cyberspace society

by Adama Fofana

Interception capabilities 2000

by Duncan Campbell

Once again, the papers are at http://webworld.unesco.org/infoethics2000/papers.html.

UNESCO just had its INFOETHICS 2000 conference in Paris, the Third UNESCO Congress on Ethical, Legal and Social Challenges of Cyberspace. A number of papers are available from the conference, some in English. They are available here. The list of papers is as follows:

The information society and the expectation revolution

by David Konzevik

The changing shape of information and the role of government

by Thomas B. Riley

Public sector information initiatives in the European Union

by George Papapavlou

Access to information and \”public domain\” in the post-\”perestroyka\” Russia: a paradoxal experience.

by Ekaterina U.Genieva

Access to telecommunications in the internet age

Arthur Levin

Accessibility to rural and remote areas

by Yasuhiko Kawasumi

Networks and information services: government policy

by Jean-Noël Tronc

Fair use and access to information in the digital era

by Carlos M. Correa

Copyright and its limitations in the digital environment

by Bernt Hugenholtz

How Can Fair Use Doctrine Be Applied For the Appropriate Level of Copyright Protection in the Global Marketplace?

by Euisun Yoo

Preserving fair use in the digital age

by Barry Steinhardt

Copyright and the freedom of accessing information in the cyberspace

by Andras Szinger

Ten commandments to protect privacy in the Internet world

by Hansjuergen Garstka

The legal protection of the right of privacy on the networks

by Amr Zaki Abdel Motaal

The future of privacy : David and Goliath revisited

by Simon Davis

Human dignity in the cyberspace society

by Adama Fofana

Interception capabilities 2000

by Duncan Campbell

Once again, the papers are at http://webworld.unesco.org/infoethics2000/papers.html.

I thought that this piece from Hoovers might be of interest. The number of digital textbooks continue to grow at as fast a rate as the distance learning environments. In fact…\”according to International Data Corporation, the number of students enrolled in e-learning courses is growing 30% annually and will reach 2.2 million college students in 2002. Additionally, over 80% of all higher education institutions will be offering e-learning by 2002.\”

I thought that this piece from Hoovers might be of interest. The number of digital textbooks continue to grow at as fast a rate as the distance learning environments. In fact…\”according to International Data Corporation, the number of students enrolled in e-learning courses is growing 30% annually and will reach 2.2 million college students in 2002. Additionally, over 80% of all higher education institutions will be offering e-learning by 2002.\”


\”As online education continues to grow, so will the need for corresponding e-learning products. \”WizeUp\’s digital textbooks and study guides provide students with powerful functionality and efficiency that is the ideal complement to an online education,\” said David Gray, CEO of WizeUp Digital Textbooks. \”This new partnership with MindEdge is perfectly in line with our ongoing e-learning efforts.\”

\”As a result of the new partnership, MindEdge will promote WizeUp\’s e-learning products throughout the MindEdge network, which provides information on more than 80,000 e-learning courses worldwide. WizeUp in turn, will feature MindEdge\’s powerful e-learning search engine at www.wizeup.com. WizeUp\’s site attracts competitive tech-savvy students–the students most likely to take online courses. Now WizeUp students will have immediate access to thousands of e-learning course offerings at Mindedge.\”

Where was this one from Oregon Live 3 weeks ago during halloween?

\”She\’s described as a loving woman who liked to dress in blue. Nobody knows much about her, except that she was a dedicated librarian in Snohomish in the 1920s and \’30s.

So dedicated that some think she\’s still there.\”

Where was this one from Oregon Live 3 weeks ago during halloween?

\”She\’s described as a loving woman who liked to dress in blue. Nobody knows much about her, except that she was a dedicated librarian in Snohomish in the 1920s and \’30s.

So dedicated that some think she\’s still there.\”

\”As the story goes, it\’s Miss Catharine McMurchy who haunts the 1910 Carnegie building.\”

\”They said, \’I guess you\’ve met the ghost of the library,\’ \” she said.\”

The Baltimore Sun has this story about a bookmobile that promotes reading by find those that don\’t go to the library.

\”Harford County Public Library officials have rolled out their latest effort to reach children sometimes left on the sidelines when it comes to library use, launching a $135,000 vehicle dubbed \”Rolling Reader\” and packed with computers, Internet connections and more than 3,000 books.\”

The Baltimore Sun has this story about a bookmobile that promotes reading by find those that don\’t go to the library.

\”Harford County Public Library officials have rolled out their latest effort to reach children sometimes left on the sidelines when it comes to library use, launching a $135,000 vehicle dubbed \”Rolling Reader\” and packed with computers, Internet connections and more than 3,000 books.\”


\”The customized, 25-foot bookmobile will make regular tours of after-school programs, mainly along Harford County\’s Route 40 corridor, with a particular aim of attracting elementary and middle school children from low-income families who might not be in the habit of using the public library.\”

\”The vehicle, partially funded through a state grant, is equipped with two computer stations that will give users access to the library\’s catalog, databases and the Internet. The book collection includes reference material and books for reading for pleasure. And the operation will be staffed by a librarian and a circulation clerk.\”

Computers In Libraries has a nice Story by D. Scott Brandt on the use of eMail in libraries. He talks about how librarians use eMail to make friends and help patrons.

\”E-mail technology really enables librarians to have all sorts of relationships with patrons from around the world.\”

Bob Kaehr writes:

When in the not-too-distant future (five-to-10 years) nearly all
books and periodicals become digital and libraries become archives, what
will happen to academic (even school, public and special) library personnel?

Will libraries be taken over or delivered into the hands of information
services?
Will there be mass dismissals of traditional \”book people\”?
Oh,
that\’s right, we\’ll just re-train? :>}
Will faculty, who can teach \”library
exercises\” from within the classroom (e.g. How to Use Information
Databases), need traditional BI?
Will there need to be circulation
personnel other than a clerk and a few aids to charge and discharge those
oldies but goodies?
Will for-profit companies become the selectors for the
various publics by virtue of the collections they are able to offer?

Continued…

Bob Kaehr writes:

When in the not-too-distant future (five-to-10 years) nearly all
books and periodicals become digital and libraries become archives, what
will happen to academic (even school, public and special) library personnel?

Will libraries be taken over or delivered into the hands of information
services?
Will there be mass dismissals of traditional \”book people\”?
Oh,
that\’s right, we\’ll just re-train? :>}
Will faculty, who can teach \”library
exercises\” from within the classroom (e.g. How to Use Information
Databases), need traditional BI?
Will there need to be circulation
personnel other than a clerk and a few aids to charge and discharge those
oldies but goodies?
Will for-profit companies become the selectors for the
various publics by virtue of the collections they are able to offer?

Continued…
Related questions come to mind: Will ebook/ejournal companies be
able to provide cost-effective collections that serve the needs of the
various communities we serve? Will there be problems in keeping such a
collection (e-collections from various companies) organized for easy
browsing and retrieval? Will people embrace the ebook/eperiodical? Of course
realize that in academe most students do not read much more than those that
are assignment-related. Will faculty and administration accept librarians
(or whatever they are called) as professional necessities in both
selecting/maintaining and teaching the best use and searching of this
database/online world? It might be that (at least in the world of academe)
many professors feel they can teach this library stuff as well as and faster than
the librarians, and many administrators may agree (It certainly would be a
cheaper alternative.).

This is all just food for thought, not a prophesy.

This News.com Story on The Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS) is quite interesting. The trial run began Friday, about 60 libraries took questions from library patrons. The first question sent through CDRS came from a library in England and was answered in Santa Monica, CA. The question asked for the most recent books published in English about ancient Byzantine cuisine.

\”Rather than watch idly as Internet companies like AskJeeves, Google or Yahoo fill the void, librarians believe their expertise, research collections and specialized catalogs not available on the Internet enable them to answer questions quickly and completely–for free.\”

This News.com Story on The Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS) is quite interesting. The trial run began Friday, about 60 libraries took questions from library patrons. The first question sent through CDRS came from a library in England and was answered in Santa Monica, CA. The question asked for the most recent books published in English about ancient Byzantine cuisine.

\”Rather than watch idly as Internet companies like AskJeeves, Google or Yahoo fill the void, librarians believe their expertise, research collections and specialized catalogs not available on the Internet enable them to answer questions quickly and completely–for free.\” From the CDRS:

\”The Collaborative Digital Reference Service (CDRS) will provide professional reference service to researchers any time anywhere, through an international, digital network of libraries and related institutions. The service will use new technologies to provide the best answers in the best context, by taking advantage not only of the millions of Internet resources but also of the many more millions of resources that are not online and that are held by libraries. CDRS supports libraries by providing them additional choices for the services they offer their end users. Libraries will assist their users by connecting to the CDRS to send questions that are best answered by the expert staff and collections of CDRS member institutions from around the world. Local, regional, national, and global: the library tradition of value-added service will be the CDRS hallmark.\”