[LISNews] The LISNews For June 5th 2008

Thu Jun 5 11:39:04 CDT 2008

Be sure to check out this weeks podcast! This week's episode brings an interview with Revision3 CEO Jim Louderback about a recent Denial of Service incident they suffered. Another installment of Tech for Techies talks about lessons learned from the Revision3 incident and begins a discussion about the need to consider infrastructure. 

http://lisnews.org/podcast/
or the MP3 is at:
http://www.lisnews.org/audio/download/30264/LISTen_+The+LISNews.org+Podcast+--+Episode+%252324.mp3
-Blake Carver
- LISNews.org

It's the LISNews for June 5th, 2008. 

--- Would you like some books with that tote bag?
--- 1 Reads - 0 Comments 
--- http://lisnews.org/node/30294/ 
--- Front Page Story by Blake Posted:  June 5th 2008 11:36
Ovre On Salon.com Laura Miller takes a look at BEA. This year's Book Expo
America attendees snatched up totes, celebrity autographs -- oh yeah, and
some books.  "I think this could be good for everyone, in a way. What with
the price of gas, everyone I know is riding bicycles more, and even the
teenagers I know are backing away from Facebook and MySpace and all that
stuff, saying they want something more substantial. Who knows? This
recession could be a blessing in disguise for books and for people in
general." 

--- Using biometric data in schools
--- 1 Reads - 0 Comments 
--- http://lisnews.org/node/30293/ 
--- Front Page Story by Blake Posted:  June 5th 2008 11:34
Biometric systems can now be used to speed up lunch queues, remove the
need for children to take money into schools, save time in taking
registers and to prevent unauthorised access to school premises. Mark
Blois considers the legal and practical implications of using biometric
data in schools.  

--- "Library computers must be filtered to protect children" Editorial Cut
Off By Filters
--- 56 Reads - 1 Comments 
--- http://lisnews.org/node/30292/ 
--- Front Page Story by Blake Posted:  June 5th 2008 08:32
This Editorial in The Oakland Press says there's sound, logical reason for
the ordinance in Royal Oak, MI, is wandering into some new territory. It
could be one of the first cities in Michigan to pass an ordinance forcing
the library board to install filters, according to the Michigan Municipal
League. Other libraries leave only one terminal unfiltered as a matter of
policy.   This editorial wouldn't normally be very interesting, but I'm
behind a filter (not sure which) that does some sort of keyword filtering
(not sure how) that automatically stops loading pages with bad words. It
cuts this editorial off midsentence somewhere near the middle (end?) of
the page. That "sound, logical reason" The Oakland Press says will save
our children won't allow me to read this editorial. Should I assume this
editorial has some kind of "obscene material" they say is blocked by those
filters?

--- Don't put age ranges on children's books
--- 41 Reads - 0 Comments 
--- http://lisnews.org/node/30291/ 
--- Front Page Story by Blake Posted:  June 5th 2008 08:18
Jean Hannah Edelstein Says  Don't put age ranges on children's books:
"Because of this life-shaping experience - and a later one when another
teacher went into a panic that I was losing my innocence when I was caught
reading Les Miserables - I particularly welcomed the news that authors at
the Hay festival last week banded together to protest about an outrageous
scheme to print recommended age ranges on children's books. They wisely
point out that slower readers would be dispirited that they were reading
at the speed of children younger than them, while faster readers would
continue to seek out the wild thrills of books meant for older kids or
(shudder) adults."

--- Finally Off the Library Market
--- 86 Reads - 0 Comments 
--- http://lisnews.org/node/30290/ 
--- Front Page Story by Blake Posted:  June 5th 2008 06:12
Sixteen job applications, five first-round interviews, three second-round
interviews, and seven (or so) months after finishing my master's in
library science, Maura A. Smale landed a great position at an academic
library in New York City. She says it's a pleasure (and a relief) to be
writing from the tenure track.  

--- Selling Placement in Library Search Results
--- 157 Reads - 0 Comments 
--- http://lisnews.org/node/30289/ 
--- Front Page Story by Blake Posted:  June 4th 2008 11:19
If you're like me (and you know you want to be) you love ads!  The
Disruptive Library Technology Jester isn't like me, he Writes About
Selling Placement in Library Search Results. All of this still leaves my
vaguely uncomfortable, and I’m not yet sure why. (Writing it all down in
this posting hasn’t helped.) It would be one thing if “preferential
placement” meant “invisibly raising the relevance of such content” in the
search results list. That clearly would seem to be out of bounds:
invisible mucking with search results placement leads to distrust of the
underlying service. Google has shown us, though, that it is possible to
sell conspicuously marked advertisements on search results pages and make
billions doing it. Could the same thing work for libraries selling
conspicuously marked, relevant results that could lead users to an
e-commerce transaction at a publisher site? Is the value libraries (and
our users) could receive in exchange for such placement the free access to
the digital form of the content? 

--- Borrow a Muslim? A 'living library' to prick stereotypes
--- 149 Reads - 0 Comments 
--- http://lisnews.org/node/30288/ 
--- Front Page Story by Bibliofuture Posted:  June 4th 2008 11:18
It works like a conventional library. Tables and chairs are set out for
study. Librarians bustle purposefully, staffing the checkout desk.  
Except these aren't books on loan. They're people.   Welcome to the Living
Library. Here, you borrow individuals who represent stereotypes that often
are the target of prejudice or hatred.   Full story in the Christian
Science Monitor  

--- Firing the Librarians in Humble ISD
--- 285 Reads - 4 Comments 
--- http://lisnews.org/node/30287/ 
--- Blog Entry by Anonymous Patron Posted:  June 4th 2008 10:56
I am a middle school librarian in Humble ISD (Humble, Texas) who taught
English for many years.  This district is seriously considering firing all
of its librarians. (See news article: 
http://www.click2houston.com/education/16488867/detail.html ).  Is there
any advocacy ALA can provide? Jordan Sonnenblick, young adult novelist and
national spokesman for Authors Support Intellectual Freedom, has helped
tremendously by emailing listservs, as well as our board and our local
media.  I have included all the email addresses for our board members as
well as the local media below. Is there anything ALA can do to help us
save our jobs?   Thank you for your help,   Kristen Gladden, MFA, MLS
Librarian Ross Sterling Middle School 1131 Wilson Road Humble, Texas 77338
(281) 641-6006 "What we dwell on is who we become."~Oprah Winfrey   
Superintendent:     guy.sconzo at humble.k12.tx.us      Board Members: 
dave.martin at humble.k12.tx.us   dhuberty at abm.com  
Keith.lapeze at humble.k12.tx.us   bonlongnion at yahoo.com      (Bonnie
Longnion)  charles.cunningham at humble.k12.tx.us   LFields206 at aol.com 
Robert Scarfo (newly elected--email is a form) 
http://www.robertscarfo.com/contactme.php   Local News stations  NBC
affiliate: Click2Houston rkorsgard at click2houston.com or the contact page
at http://www.click2houston.com/contact/index.html  CBS affiliate: 11 News
Defenders jrogalski at khou.com and mgreenblatt at khou.com or the contact page
at http://www.khou.com/defenders/  ABC affiliate only had a contact page:
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/feature?section=resources/inside_station/station_info&id=5763621
 Fox affiliate: canville at fox26.com or the contact page at
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Persons?pageId=5.3  

--- Skynet
--- 135 Reads - 0 Comments 
--- http://lisnews.org/node/30286/ 
--- Front Page Story by Bibliofuture Posted:  June 4th 2008 09:45
On the prowl for non-US library stories I came across the following
headline in the UK.  Skynet 5 Military Defense System in the U.K. Nears
Completion  If you are a fan of the Terminator movies you may find this
headline funny or unsettling. Here is a link to the article about Skynet
and they even mention the Terminator angle.

--- Libraries switch off wi-fi internet
--- 424 Reads - 3 Comments 
--- http://lisnews.org/node/30285/ 
--- Front Page Story by Blake Posted:  June 4th 2008 05:57
Libraries switch off wi-fi internet: Four libraries in Paris, France, have
turned off their wi-fi internet connections after staff claimed they were
causing health problems.   The latest to shut down its wireless network is
the wireless Sainte-Genevieve university library in the 5th arrondissement
after a member of staff threatened to take early retirement on health
grounds.   The library has had wi-fi installed since the end of 2007. All
computer users will now have to plug their laptops into the conventional
fixed-line network.  

--- Library-Themed Short Stories & Book
--- 70 Reads - 0 Comments 
--- http://lisnews.org/node/30254/ 
--- Blog Entry by Anonymous Patron Posted:  June 5th 2008 06:18
Librarian/Author Scott Douglas posted two library themed stories on his
blog (speakquietly.blogspot.com) and announced plans to release an entire
book for free on his blog and website in June.

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