November 2002

Lei Jin passed along
This LATimes Story [FREE REGISTRATION REQUIRED, and 2 PopUp ads per page] that takes a nice look at what we\’re [Librarians] are up to these days.

They look back at the Pat Schroeder incident, and they say we are enjoying a higher profile than ever before. Though, they say we have long enjoyed an all-American reputation, and that innocent image is now taking a hit as opponents label them everything from pornographers to pirates.

\”If we are going to provide these funds, how will they be used?\” asked Rep. Charles W. \”Chip\” Pickering Jr. (R-Miss.), one of the chief sponsors of the Internet filtering bill that libraries blocked. \”Will they be used to promote a radical, extremist social agenda? Libraries are like Mom and apple pie. Why would they want to squander their goodwill and good reputations to get involved in issues like child pornography?\”

xuening Sent over This One from The Ascribe Public Interest Newswire on the Domino\’s Pizza idea of library service,\” aka, Interlibrary Loan. They say recent innovations at the library have digitized the delivery of journal articles. Requests for materials are sent to libraries electronically, and a scanned image of the article is delivered.

Check out Prospero, open source Internet Document Delivery (IDD) system. It allows libraries to send and receive documents in electronic format from Prospero or Ariel ® workstations.

From the Toronto Star:

Public libraries are among Toronto\’s hidden treasures. Yet they rarely feature in the raging urban renewal debate on how best to raise billions of dollars to bury the Gardiner, fix the waterfront, expand the island airport, or save the schools from the Harris-Eves Tories.

Complete article.

ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table mainstay Fred Stoss has contributed the foundations of a current bibliography on service to, and attitudes toward, poor library patrons to the especially meaty 11/28 issue of Library Juice. Here\’s the TOC:

The Guardian has a small story about France moving the medal clad and mustachioed bones of Alaxandre Dumas to the Pantheon in Paris.

The remains will be taken to Paris this weekend, his coffin flanked by musketeers and actors in period dress.

True, this information *might* be useful to answer a reference query some day, but let\’s get some practical value from this story. I suggest dressing up as a musketeer and making a book display of Dumas\’ works.

The full story.

Steve Fesenmaier writes \”Julian Samuel is a leading Canadian filmmaker, most recently known for his film THE LIBRARY IN CRISIS (which I reviewed on this site.) Now he has written a very powerful review of Michael Moore\’s new film, BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE. I myself love everything that Michael Moore has done, but it\’s still nice for someone who knows how to make films to ask some questions. This does it well…
Full Review \”

Another day, another racist group to hold meeting at a public library story. This One, from Baltimore, where the Baltimore County Public Library system refused a white supremacist group’s request to hold a recruitment meeting at one of its branches next month. They say it would pose a threat to the safety of staff, patrons and property.

Another Story on the Patriot Act, and the the University of Illinois study that said 83 out of 1,200 libraries have been approached by the FBI seeking access to patrons’ records.
This one points out, The PATRIOT Act provides for some reimbursement of costs if it is asked by law enforcement to provide certain types of assistance in data collection.

Here’s A Neat Site, put together by Jess Nevins, that attempts to list some of the Notable and Obscure Characters and Places of popular Victorian Fiction.

“Your Humble Correspondent simply desires to enumerate a number of fantastic and mysterious characters and places. You will also, should you wish, discover Certain Links of Edification And Wonderment, discovered and refined by Your Humble Correspondent (and a small Team of Select and Capable Worthies) for your pleasure.“

Wired is running This Story on plans to create a human mental map — a database that would contain a log of every human idea. Darryl Macer, associate professor at the Institute of Biological Sciences at the University of Tsukuba in Japan,formally proposed in the November 14 issue of Nature that researchers from various disciplines, including genetics, sociology and history, meet next year in Japan to discuss the project.