May 2001

Lee Hadden writes: \”The Atlanta Journal- Constitution has An Article about the favorite
books of Newt Gingrich. If you have admirers of the Newt among your library
patrons, you may want to stock these titles:

His reading list includes the novels
\”Shogun\” by James Clavell, \”The Killer Angels\” by Michael Shaara and \”The
Unvanquished\” by Howard Fast. Nonfiction choices are \”Naturalist\” by Edward
O. Wilson and \”The Effective Executive\” by Peter Drucker.\”

They note:

\”it\’s safe to say that Al Gore\’s \”Earth in the Balance\” was not one of them\”.

Desley writes in from always sunny Australia:
\”I would like to know if anyone on the site has any information on \’Shopfront libraries\’ that is libraries in shopping centres, you call them malls over there. All information, comments etc would be appreciated as we are looking at changing the location of ours as the area has developed away from this site.\”

Email her at :

Mary Minow writes \”Rep. Felix Grucci introduced a bill May 15 to amend section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 to require schools and libraries receiving universal service assistance to block access to Internet services that enable users to access the World Wide Web and transfer electronic mail in an anonymous manner. This Act is cited as the `Who Is E-Mailing Our Kids Act\’.


A library would need to certify that it`(i) is enforcing a policy regarding anonymous Internet connection that includes the operation of a technology protection measure with respect to any of its computers with Internet access that prevents use of such computers to access an online privacy service that enables a user–


`(I) to send electronic mail anonymously; or


`(II) to access the World Wide Web anonymously; and


`(ii) is enforcing the operation of such technology protection measure during any use of such computers.\’;


http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query
Look up H.R. 1846 \”

Lee Hadden writes:\” According to an article in the March/April official newsletter of the
Library of Virginia, there will be projected service cuts there this year.
Under Republican Governor Gilmore\’s budget, the Library of Virginia\’s
funding will be cut 17.75%, starting as early as July 1st for fiscal year
2002.

A 54 year backlog of archival material will be curtailed due to a lack
of staff and funds to purchase archival supplies, delaying further the
release of these historic records. Saturday hours may be eliminated. Money
to preserve and conserve historic collections will be curtailed
significantly. Funding will be eliminated for the construction and
improvement of public library facilities across the commonwealth.

Nolan T. Yelich, Librarian of Virginia, said, \”These reductions are
compounded by the fact that the Library has never fully recovered from a 27
per cent reduction in its operating budget during the revenue shortfalls of
the early 1990\’s…\”

Further information about the Library of Virginia can be found at
their website of: http://www.lva.lib.va.us\”

It\’s called the Awareness Exchange, and it\’s goal is to help protect kids around the world from falling into the more dangerous realms of the Internet, including those inhabited by pedophiles, cybercriminals and racists. Some of the headings include – \”Yahoo! racist chatrooms \’untouchable\’, Supreme Court to consider online porn law, Net crime plans unveiled, DotSafe, dot sure and eSchola, Focussing on filtering, Families… And So On – Tech Week: Protecting Kids Online, Parents believe Internet has positive impact on children, Computer shops to block child porn on internet, Home Office backtracks on its argument that UK laws exist to protect children online.\” There is also a discussion forum, a hotline and other resources available. To visit the site, Click Here.

Bob Cox says Dallas News is running A Story that says 12 percent of its books are gone, and the library system has no collection agency for pursuing nearly $3.5 million in fines for overdue and lost materials.

Is there such thing as an acceptable loss rate?

Stephen Francoeur writes \”The NY Times reports in this story on the findings of a study published this week in the JAMA about the unreliability of health information on the Web. \”

Not too suprising, I guess, they found that most of the time, health information on the Internet is hard to find, hard to read and often incorrect or incomplete, even on the best sites.

Casey writes \”I don\’t know if you\’ve \”caught wind\” of this new scheme to charge publishers for book reviews, but I think it is absolutely the most horrible idea I\’ve seen in the book world. Makes me grind my teeth just to think about it. And to think they actually believe librarians will read these \”reviews\”!


Anyhow, a new Uncle Frank tackles the issue here at
newpages.com
\”

The Chicago Tribune has an article about two alternative distribution channels for literature: the Chapter-A-Day e-mail service; and Travelman Short Stories, which are being sold as fan-folded sheets from a machine in a London Underground station.

A quote from an American short-story author about the vending machine: "I don\’t think it would work here. So few people read short stories in this country. Selling them in the same way you sell gum or condoms, I don\’t think it would appeal to the same people who read short stories."

Rebecca Weiner of The New York Times writes, \”Prodded by high-profile efforts to close the gap between students with access to technology and students without, 98 percent of the country\’s public schools have been wired for Internet connections. But for many low-income students, that access disappears once schools close their doors for the summer.\” [more…] from The Daily News.