June 2002

Normal librarian loves to find the answers

This Story isn\’t really funny, but the headline, \”Normal librarian loves to find the answers\”, really cracks me up.
It\’s a nice little story about Pixie Freymann, reference librarian at the Normal, Indiana, Public Library. She\’s \”as far as you can get from the quiet, prudish, sensible-shoe-wearing stereotype conjured by the word \”librarian.\”

\”I love to be able to find things,\” Freymann says, \”and I don\’t give up easily. I\’ll dig and dig until I find it.\”

I\’ll also add Blake removes controversial book from summer list to the \”Funny Headline\” files. Found @ LibraryStuff.

June 14, 2002 by Internet Librarians Libraries

CIPA decision as censorware FAQ

Seth Finkelstein writes \”I\’ve written an analysis of the CIPA decision,
Here.

Now, why should you read my article when there are so many others on
the topic? The answer is that I focus on the way the CIPA
decision is a handbook of responding to arguments of censorware advocates.
A \”FAQ\” written by a three-judge Federal court has much
respectability.
\”

June 14, 2002 by Web Filters

ABCNEWS.com: ”READ THIS!” Nationwide Book Club to Book Club ‘Handoff.’

Good
Morning America has implemented a nationwide Book Club \’handoff\’ where
(paraphrasing host Charlie), \’one Book Club recommends a book to another
Book Club.\’

Dubbing
it, \”READ THIS!\” ABCNEWS.com kicked off the
recommendations Thursday morning with Ann
Packer\’s novel, The Dive from Clausen\’s Pier, with a chapter at
their website to whet the appetite .

The Jefferson,
Texas, \”Pulpwood
Queens Book Club\” suggested it to the Bernardsville, New Jersey, \”Mostly
We Eat Book Club.\”

They\’re
asking reader\’s to comment
on the book via their e-mail form with the possibility it might be
read on air.  They\’re also asking folk to write
in about their book club, (or one they know about).

Good
Morning America has implemented a nationwide Book Club \’handoff\’ where
(paraphrasing host Charlie), \’one Book Club recommends a book to another
Book Club.\’

Dubbing
it, \”READ THIS!\” ABCNEWS.com kicked off the
recommendations Thursday morning with Ann
Packer\’s novel, The Dive from Clausen\’s Pier, with a chapter at
their website to whet the appetite .

The Jefferson,
Texas, \”Pulpwood
Queens Book Club\” suggested it to the Bernardsville, New Jersey, \”Mostly
We Eat Book Club.\”

They\’re
asking reader\’s to comment
on the book via their e-mail form with the possibility it might be
read on air.  They\’re also asking folk to write
in about their book club, (or one they know about).

June 13, 2002 by Books

Free Library of Philadelphia Celebrates 75th Anniversary

Charles Davis writes \”The Free Library of Philadelphia is celebratin\’ their 75th anniversary. They\’ve started a new
digital collection devoted to the building of the Free Library. You can get to it at
The Site .
There are several components to this online exhibit. The history section provides a series of
short articles discussing the history of the library as it started in 1889 (yes, it is the 75th
anniversary; you\’ll have to read the history for all the details.)
The timeline section is a one-page, mostly-graphic representation of the history of the library, while the architects section contains the biographies of the architects behind the Free Library building. Finally, the exhibition section contains the meat of the site; several brief articles about the library with links to exhibit items, including drawings, portraits, advertisements, newspaper clippings, and more. Worth a look. \”

June 13, 2002 by Internet Librarians Libraries

B.C. banned-books case reaches Supreme Court

Bob Cox pointed to This One that says the Supreme Court of Canada will have a hearing to determine the point where the power of parents and school boards gives way to a teacher\’s obligation to provide moral guidance. Along the route to the top court, the case has become a legal flashpoint for issues of free speech and gay rights. Yet the books that lie at its heart could scarcely sound more innocuous: Asha\’s Mums, Belinda\’s Bouquet, and One Dad, Two Dads, Brown Dads, Blue Dads.

They deemed the material inappropriate for five- and six-year-olds, citing strong religious and antigay views held by some parents. The trustees said the books could be placed in school libraries but not in classrooms.

June 13, 2002 by Books Censorship Legal Issues Libraries School Libraries

A Look At The Law

Bob Cox sent over a couple of ineresting SiliconValley.com stories.


This One says we need to realize that the Internet is a new paradigm and that the old reflex — identify a problem, pass a law — will not be nearly as effective here as it has been elsewhere.


This One says when Congress set out to protect children from the media and the Internet, it used a sledgehammer instead of a surgical scalpel.

June 13, 2002 by Internet Legal Issues

Deep Linking Danish Lawsuit – ”license to link?”

The recent Danish
lawsuit against deep
linking had one
blogger ask \”if link-blocking software is readily available and a website
doesn\’t employ it, does that imply a license to link?\”  Lawmeme\’s
poster took \”exception\” with that, opining that \”the idea that there should
be a license assumes that the owner of the website has some right to control
linking,\” continuing his explanation by reminding me IANAL with, \”but that
for some undefined reason there would be a rebuttable presumption of an
implied license.\”  It\’s a brief, lively defense of deep-linking and
points out the DMOZ
(google
rank) as well as the ALA
deep linking resources (the latter, I\’m sure, to get a LISNews writeup;-).

June 12, 2002 by Google Internet Legal Issues

Grapes of Wrath Might Be Wrong Book For Sour Times

The Mercury News has an Interesting Look at The Grapes of Wrath \”Read-A-Palooza\”.


CA First lady Sharon Davis kicked off a campaign to push
Californians to read the John Steinbeck classic, they ask with the state budget
shortfall at $24 billion, unemployment becoming
California\’s growth industry and the economy
crashing, is “The Grapes of Wrath\’\’ really the book
Californians need these days?

Maybe Dilbert would cheer ya\’ll up over there?

“I got it. I got it,\’\’ the political consultant says, “We have the state read `The Grapes of Wrath\’ all summer.
Then come fall, we roll out our slogan: `Read The Grapes of Wrath? Heck, we\’re writing it!\’ \’\’

June 12, 2002 by Books

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