March 2003

Release of Documents Is Delayed

“The Bush administration last night issued an order delaying the release of millions of government documents and giving the government new powers to reclassify information.”

“The order, rewriting a Clinton administration directive, allows the government to delay until the end of 2006 the release of documents that otherwise would have been out by April 17 under a program of automatic declassification after 25 years. The government now has more discretion to keep information classified indefinitely if it falls within a broad definition of national security.” (from The Washington Post)

March 27, 2003 by Uncategorized

Get Your Free “In My Book” Cards

Robin Blum writes: “The In My Book® line of greeting card/bookmarks is proving very popular with libraries, and we’d like to see them in even more libraries! We’ll be exhibiting at our first library show in June, at the ALA Annual Show in Toronto, June 21-24, 2003. Be sure and visit us there at Booth #4047!


In the meantime, if you represent a qualified library, and you’d like to see a sample of one of our cards, we’d be happy to send you one. Here’s how to do it.

March 26, 2003 by American Library Association Books Libraries

Scholastic Announces Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Retailer Coupon

\”Scholastic today announced that it has redefined its policy regarding Scholastic Book Fair\’s pre-selling of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In a letter to booksellers, Michael Jacobs, Scholastic\’s vice president of trade sales, said the new Retailer Coupon Program is intended to drive Scholastic Book Fair customers who pre-order the Order of the Phoenix to participating retailers.\”

\”Under the new program, students who pre-order Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at Scholastic Book Fairs through the remaining school year, for the full retail price of $29.99, will receive a collectible baseball cap and an official certificate of purchase. Beginning June 21, the holder of the certificate may redeem it for a copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at participating retailers.\” (from Bookselling This Week – Thanks Robin for the submission)

March 26, 2003 by Harry Potter School Libraries

Juggling the books

“Nothing in the state’s budget crunch has been hit as hard, proportionally, as Arkansas’ public libraries.”

“The state’s budget has dropped $363 million in the past three years of economic slowdown. The loss crimps every state program. It has meant 10 percent cuts for most, including education, health care and law enforcement.”

“But state aid to libraries is down nearly 90 percent.” (from NWA News)

March 26, 2003 by Books Legal Issues Libraries

Linux in Education Spring Conference

Stan Gatchel writes “The Linux in Education Conference (LiEC) Spring Conference will offer an overview of Linux and how it can be applied in public education.


The mission of the Conference is to introduce Linux to an audience of educators, students, administrators, IT managers and other interested parties who may have no previous knowledge of Linux nor even any technical understanding of computing.

The conference will be held Saturday, April 5 at the Grand Prairie High School 9th Grade Center, Grand Prairie, Texas. Demos, presentations, and discussions will be held in this capacity-limited event — so register early. It’s free.


Here’s More…

“

March 26, 2003 by School Libraries

Librarians Say ‘Stop the War Now!’

For some odd reason, the previous petition by librarians
opposed to the war failed to
prevent the war from starting. Now that the war is on,
librarians around the world are signing a new petition,
titled “
Librarians Say ‘Stop the War Now!’.” You can add your
signature on the site, or simply leave a message heckling
us.


Translations of the petition into French and Spanish are
on the site.


The petition is part of a larger collection of documents
and petitions at http://libr.org/peace/.

March 26, 2003 by Librarians Libraries

YA Lit — Not Just for Kids Anymore

“Sex, drugs, and other “problems of the month” persist as subjects of Young Adult books, but, according to booksellers who recently spoke to BTW, the YA field is growing more fantasy, getting more fuzzy about labeling, and appealing to more adults.”

“It’s gotten edgier,” said Valerie Lewis, co-owner of 24-year-old Hicklebee’s in San Jose, California. “The line between adults and young adults is thinner than ever.”

“Instead of hinting at sexual situations, books are more explicit and detailed, she noted. YA stories used to refer to kissing until dawn. What was implied is now more explicit in detailing what went on until dawn.” (from Bookselling this Week)

March 26, 2003 by Uncategorized

House Bill Introduced to Terminate E-rate Program

By way of the ALA Washington Newsline, March 25, 2003.

“E-rate issues are heating up again in Congress. A bill was recently introduced in the House with the intention of terminating the E-rate program. Congressional hearings have also been called for to examine alleged fraud and abuse in the E-rate program.”

By way of the ALA Washington Newsline, March 25, 2003.

“E-rate issues are heating up again in Congress. A bill was recently introduced in the House with the intention of terminating the E-rate program. Congressional hearings have also been called for to examine alleged fraud and abuse in the E-rate program.”
First, Rep. Thomas Tancredo (R-CO) introduced H.R. 1252, a bill that would “terminate the e-rate program of the Federal Communications Commission.” At this time there are no cosponsors and nothing has been scheduled for House Commerce Committee or subcommittee action on this bill. Tancredo introduced this bill in the last Congress, and although it went nowhere last time, we must continue to closely monitor this initiative.

Second, Rep. W. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), chair of the House Commerce Committee, announced that he will conduct oversight hearings on the E-rate program focusing especially on “waste, fraud and abuse.” No date has been set for any hearings on this matter, although it is reported that his committee staff has requested volumes of materials from the FCC and USAC about the E-rate program. Tauzin has been quoted that he is not interested in eliminating this telecommunications discount program for K-12 schools and public libraries but does want to clean out any abuses.

March 26, 2003 by American Library Association Libraries School Libraries

1991 Iraq Conflict : Cable :: 2003 Iraq Conflict : Internet

I knew that it was totally mainstream when my mom started getting news online.

This article from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation claims that online news is the new cable news. They posit the notion that the popularity of online news has risen with the proliferation of broadband connections. As evidence, I was surprised (and delighted) to see library patrons gathered around a librarian\’s computer watching a live speech by Mr. Bush the other night.

What\’s really neat about this war being documented online is the variety of sources one can read. Reading \”Why the Gulf War II is an Internet War\” from the Indian Sify Times is much easier than getting an Indian news channel!

Be sure to see Tracking the War Online from The Shifted Librarian.

I\’m probably preaching to the converted here, but it is good to see that other people are noticing too.

March 25, 2003 by Internet Libraries

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