[LISNews] The LISNews For July 15th 2009
The LISNews Librarian News By Email
lisnews at lishost.net
Wed Jul 15 11:55:15 CDT 2009
It's Wednesday and time to highlight the most popular LISNews user blog posts from the past week.
Everyone gets a blog @LISNews.org!
-[1] - Scripting, oh scripting...
http://lisnews.org/node/34045/
-[2] - Conversation at the dentist
http://lisnews.org/node/34069/
-[3] - Harvard cock
http://lisnews.org/node/34088/
-[4] - Virtual Reference Conference in Ithaca, New York - Sept. 24th & 25th
http://lisnews.org/node/34073/
-[5] - PBS Creates Library of Digital Resources Targeted to Classroom Use
http://lisnews.org/node/34086/
And here's the latest from LISNews:
--Residents fight closing of libraries
- http://lisnews.org/node/34122/
-Front Page Story by AndyW Posted Wednesday July 15th at 12:04 PM
-Read 69 times - 0 Comments
Residents in rural and Neighbor Island (Hawaii) communities say they are being unfairly targeted under a proposal to close
five libraries in order to deal with a $5.7 million budget cut to the state Public Library System. The state Board of
Education, which oversees the system of 50 libraries, is likely to vote on the proposal at its meeting tomorrow. But
opposition has been mounting against the library closure proposal since it was first revealed last week. Full story here.
--Granny Finds Porn Flick In Library Movie Rental
- http://lisnews.org/node/34121/
-Front Page Story by AndyW Posted Wednesday July 15th at 12:01 PM
-Read 66 times - 0 Comments
BOROUGH PARK, N.Y. (WPIX) - She wanted Dr. Evil, but instead a Brooklyn Grandmother got an evil she never bargained for.
Turns out, at the end of the Austin Powers movie Esther Klein borrowed from the Brooklyn Public Library was the hard core
porn flick "What Happens When The Wife is Away." Klein borrowed the Mike Myer's movie for her three grandchildren, ages 7 to
15. Luckily, Klein says the children did not see the x-rated images. Full story here.
--LISWire Reaches A Broad Audience of Librarians
- http://lisnews.org/node/34120/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Wednesday July 15th at 10:42 AM
-Read 75 times - 0 Comments
Author Molly Dowd, who's book "Kevin Knows the Rules" was publicized on LISWire last winter knows that the Wire is a
great way to reach a broad selection of librarians. Over 150 librarians accepted her offer of a reader's copy of her book
to examine for their libraries. LISWire Works! Now it's time for you to order copies for your libraries. Here's a
listing on Google. Publishers, authors, vendors and suppliers--register on LISWire today, and once your registration is
accepted, you are welcome to post press releases about new titles, imprints and other products. Librarians...post press
releases about author appearances, exhibits and personnel news...anything of interest to the community. Take advantage of
this wonderful resource (while it's still free!!). LISWire is a website from the guy behind LISNews & LISHost, Blake
Carver, along with assistance from birdie, Robin K. Blum. Member companies and organizations can send their full-text news
releases and multimedia content to librarians, journalists, library professionals and anyone with an interest in libraries.
--Women turning to their library card for erotic fulfilment
- http://lisnews.org/node/34119/
-Blog Entry by Lee Hadden Posted Wednesday July 15th at 8:45 AM
-Read 238 times - 3 Comments
>From The Sunday Times July 12, 2009, by Daisy Goodwin. "This is better than real sex: A survey confirms my belief that most
women of a certain age are better off turning to their library card for erotic fulfilment." According to a survey of women
between the ages of 45 and 60 by the maker of Astral moisturiser, a good two-thirds of us like books “with plenty of sex
scenes” because we find them “titillating”. And a raunchy 10% actively seek out books with sexual content. There is only
one explanation for this and I am afraid it has something to do with middle-aged men... I worry that I am falling prey to
romantic novelist syndrome, in which fiction looks altogether more enticing than fact. Jilly Cooper, queen of the
bonkbuster, once told me her husband had complained that every night he went to bed with Jilly and Rupert Campbell-Black,
her devastatingly priapic hero. There were many headlines last week suggesting that since scientists are close to being able
to manufacture sperm, men are no longer necessary; I would suggest that for novel-reading women of a certain age this has
long been the case." Read more about it at: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/article6688823.ece
--Should Google Be Allowed to Monopolize "Orphan" Books?
- http://lisnews.org/node/34117/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Wednesday July 15th at 8:43 AM
-Read 115 times - 0 Comments
Google may be guilty of antitrust violations for its Book Search initiative, reported several newswire services on Monday.
The Department of Justice has opened an investigation of the search giant's settlement with the Author's Guild as of
Thursday. But wait a minute--didn't Google settle that lawsuit for $45 million? What's the problem, Justice?
--Road Rage At The Elementary School
- http://lisnews.org/node/34116/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Wednesday July 15th at 8:33 AM
-Read 147 times - 2 Comments
EVERETT WA — An Everett man is accused of berating fifth-graders on safety patrol and using his vehicle to knock down an
(unnamed) elementary school librarian during a dispute over what entrance he was supposed to use when dropping off his child
at school. Prosecutors on Monday charged Trevor Wipf, 33, with second-degree attempted assault, a felony. He is accused of
intentionally driving his sport utility vehicle into the librarian at Jefferson Elementary School during this past school
year. Wipf told police he didn’t hit the librarian. He said the librarian slipped when he tried to kick Wipf’s vehicle,
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Janice Albert wrote.
--Librarian starts every day with dip in the bay
- http://lisnews.org/node/34115/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Wednesday July 15th at 8:35 AM
-Read 112 times - 0 Comments
Jeff Gunderson, 55, of Greenbrae commutes to San Francisco where he works as a librarian and swims in the bay before work,
after work or at lunch. Why: Bay swimming is particularly exhilarating - experiencing all of the elements: the cold (which
can dip to the upper 40s in the winter), the ebb and flood tides, the wind, the swell, boats, debris and creatures.
--Building better world a book at a time
- http://lisnews.org/node/34114/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Wednesday July 15th at 8:34 AM
-Read 138 times - 3 Comments
"We heard of libraries having to dump books down a well at midnight because they weren't allowed to even recycle them, but
they didn't have any room on their shelves and they needed a home for these old books. Once we started doing that ... we get
twice as many books from libraries now than we do from college campuses." Building better world a book at a time
--Is Google actually making us smarter?
- http://lisnews.org/node/34113/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Wednesday July 15th at 8:31 AM
-Read 123 times - 0 Comments
Pandemics. Global warming. Food shortages. No more fossil fuels. What are humans to do? The same thing the species has done
before: evolve to meet the challenge. But this time we don’t have to rely on natural evolution to make us smart enough to
survive. We can do it ourselves, right now, by harnessing technology and pharmacology to boost our intelligence. Is Google
actually making us smarter?
--20 most worthless pieces of junk: #10 -- books in a Kindle world
- http://lisnews.org/node/34112/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Wednesday July 15th at 6:22 AM
-Read 220 times - 3 Comments
20 most worthless pieces of junk: #10 -- books in a Kindle world: "The Kindle and its successors promise a reasonably
cheap, easy-to-search, convenient way for me to indulge my favorite pastime. While I'm sure that I will always keep a few
hundred books around -- gotta love those sweet old first editions -- I can easily imagine a future in which most of my books
are on an easy-to-read, easy-to-access tablet!"
--Pondering The Viewing Glass
- http://lisnews.org/node/34111/
-Front Page Story by StephenK Posted Wednesday July 15th at 12:04 AM
-Read 183 times - 0 Comments
An Essay of the LISNews Summer SeriesOne of the issues coming out of ALA Annual 2009 this year is the matter of
transparency. Librarians like technology. Librarians like to use to technology. Price tags are a little daunting, though,
when presented for things that seem to be so cheap as to be almost free as in beer.Norman Oder has a report in Library
Journal that outlines the costs of various options in promoting transparency. Oder's report does not explain too much in
depth as to how the particular figures are derived. The annual cost of posting audio files of Council proceedings seems to
be a bit high on the processing/posting end unless such has included the eventual costs of bandwidth in serving up such
files. In some respects the cost of bandwidth in serving up content can be far greater than the cost of producing
it.Accessibility is also a tremendous concern. Simply put, the process of securing transcripts is not cheap. The work of a
court reporter is not easy, requires specialized training, and they are quite well compensated for their troubles. The
Council's lawyer also quite rightly pointed out that having transcripts of Council discussions could result in lawsuits over
remarks by councilors.Is it really practical to broadcast every waking moment of every panel, session, and hustings at ALA
Annual? Is it really necessary? With hundreds of panels and multiple situations where you have concurrent panels,
attention is easily divided. A vast army of observers would be required to have coverage at every single panel. Having
videographers accompany the observers would only increase the manpower requirements. Post-production would be a situation
more like the investigation by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board relative to the sheer volume of materials to
digest. There is a reason why tech news outlets like CNET have a couple weeks of vacation prior to the Consumer Electronics
Show as they leave a skeleton crew behind at the office as their army converges on Las Vegas. The only known group that
would even attempt this with volunteers is PixelCorps and they have not attempted anything on this sort of scale.Is all hope
lost on covering ALA? No! The technology does not yet exist for proper tele-presence structures so that civilians not
attending ALA in person could still be there virtually. The funds to outfit an army to cover the event, let alone cover the
attendant logistical nightmares, are non-existent. For the cost of hardware to pull this off, one could presumably fully
fund the operation of a rural library for several years. In this case one must look outside the walls of librarianship and
step away from comfortable paradigms. Television networks like Universal Sports and ESPN do show ways this could be better
handled.A paradigm used as of late by Universal Sports is not to provide full coverage. Logistically they cannot wage the
same level of effort all the time that is required for covering an Olympics. This is where the matter of editorial judgment
comes into play. Only highlights of events are recorded for air. Not everything is broadcast in real-time as some events
are shown on tape delay. The FIVB World Cup series for beach volleyball was one example of select matches being shown on a
delay. Coverage of triathalon competitions, rowing, swimming & diving, and more fall under similar presentation
rubrics.Television networks already exist that could carry this programming. One would be ResearchChannel which has
coverage via terrestrial broadcasting, cable television, video on-demand, webcast, satellite, and more. Northern Arizona
University's UniversityHouse channel, University of Washington Television, and University of California Television are all
also available by way of satellite within North America. There are somewhat traditional television-based distribution
channels available for pushing conference coverage outward.In covering only highlights, much of the nightmare of logistics
goes away. If you have a smaller team picking and choosing among panels, you can provide a representative sample to viewers
at home. The question of deciding what to cover is a matter of editorial control that has no simple solutions, though. In
an organization that can seem to outsiders like a confederation of interest groups, the decision-making authority of what to
cover is best held not by a committee but by a single editorial official. It could take years for an editorial committee to
make a decision in creating a highlights reel like this while a single individual might take action more quickly.For all the
costs of bandwidth, streaming, captioning, and more involved in Internet-based distribution, DVD fulfillment through a
publishing arm like what ALA already has may conservatively allow for a start to such. With online video downloads already
quite large and quite costly to transfer in some cases, the use of physical media may allow for easier dissemination. Linux
distributions like Ubuntu and OpenSolaris do this already through physical media distribution for this who lack the
bandwidth to either download their operating systems or download them in a timely fashion. This physical alternative to
virtual distribution could become a new stream of revenue for ALA, too. Selling sets of DVDs of proceedings could
potentially take events to members who could not be there. As Andrew Tannenbaum wrote in Computer Networks: “Never
underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway.All of this discussion may be great
but it points out a separate issue. Is ALA Annual becoming unwieldy in its size and growth? Could more be accomplished if
it was broken down into a set of separate events spread across the entire year? If that were to happen, keeping a court
reporter in-house would be more cost effective and would mean an ALA film team could be utilized perhaps.The matter now
stands at a question point. What is it the membership wants? What is your ALA?###Stephen Michael Kellat received his
Master of Science in Library Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania in 2004. He presently is a librarian in
private practice in southern Nevada after having worked in academic cataloging, private sector retail, and alpaca
husbandry.This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of
this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street,
Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
--New York City's 311 is Online
- http://lisnews.org/node/34110/
-Blog Entry by barland1 Posted Wednesday July 15th at 12:07 AM
-Read 10 times - 0 Comments
New York City's 311 has been deployed online. Rather than using the phone, New Yorkers can now jump online to report
problems, submit complaints, check the status of previously-filed complaints and request city services. The initiative
promises that users can get exactly where they need to go on the Web site using a keyword search. The city also announced
it's operating Skype and Twitter accounts exclusively for accessing 311 service. Tweets will report information like street
parking status, school closures and information about citywide events. Mayor Bloomberg said the city would use Google
search patterns to better understand how citizens use NYC.gov, the city's Web portal. By analyzing trends for New York
City-related searches made by Google users, the city will tailor its content to user preferences.
--New York City's 311 Online
- http://lisnews.org/node/34108/
-Blog Entry by barland1 Posted Tuesday July 14th at 3:59 PM
-Read 34 times - 0 Comments
New York City's 311 has been deployed online. Rather than using the phone, New Yorkers can now jump online to report
problems, submit complaints, check the status of previously-filed complaints and request city services. The initiative
promises that users can get exactly where they need to go on the Web site using a keyword search. The city also announced
it's operating Skype and Twitter accounts exclusively for accessing 311 service. Tweets will report information like street
parking status, school closures and information about citywide events. Mayor Bloomberg said the city would use Google
search patterns to better understand how citizens use NYC.gov, the city's Web portal. By analyzing trends for New York
City-related searches made by Google users, the city will tailor its content to user preferences.
--Panel on Islam Cancelled at ALA
- http://lisnews.org/node/34107/
-Blog Entry by Lee Hadden Posted Tuesday July 14th at 2:37 PM
-Read 292 times - 2 Comments
At the ALA Conference in Chicago, the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) planned a panel
discussion "Perspectives on Islam: Beyond the Stereotyping" on Sunday: 7/12/2009 Their announcement read: "Islam is not new
in America; over 40% of the Muslims in America are African-Americans. The change is within the Muslim immigration trend,
that's grown 38 fold over the past three decades. Arriving from countries all over the world, Muslims are a diverse
population speaking different languages and practicing different customs with a faith, often misunderstood, that binds them.
This program offers a brief overview of the cultures and literatures of the Muslim populations and the ties that bind the
faith with Judaism and Christianity. A General Meeting will precede the program." The three speakers, Esmail Koushanpour,
Dr. Marcia Hermansen and Dr. Alia Ammar withdrew from the panel, so the program was cancelled. What happened seems to be in
dispute and the censorship charge goes back and forth. Here are several takes from different points of view on the situation
at Chicago: Speakers: Esmail Koushanpour, Emeritus professor, Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago Dr.
Marcia Hermansen, Director, Islamic World Studies Program, Loyola University Chicago Alia Ammar, Ph.D. Clinical Psychology,
Loyola University Chicago and member of the Islamic Foundation North. Robert Spencer, International expert on Islam, radio
and TV personality, columnist, best-selling author of 8 books and hundreds of articles on Islam, Director, Jihad Watch.
The three speakers, Esmail Koushanpour, Dr. Marcia Hermansen and Dr. Alia Ammar withdrew from the panel, so the program was
cancelled. What happened seems to be in dispute and the censorship charge goes back and forth. Here are several takes from
different points of view on the situation at Chicago: Library Journal: ALA Conference 2009: Panelists Quit Session
Featuring "Islam Basher" American Library Association Conference 2009: Organization had asked for Robert Spencer to drop out
from panel, says other speakers didn't know he would be joining them. [July 11] The Chicago office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today announced that all other panelists scheduled to speak at an American Library
Association (ALA) annual conference session July 12 on stereotyping of Islam have withdrawn in protest over the
participation of Robert Spencer, which CAIR calls "one of the nation’s leading Islam-bashers." ...[July 10] The Chicago
Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) yesterday called on the American Library Association
(ALA) to drop a speaker it described as an “Islamophobe” from a program at its annual conference in Chicago. Raya Kuzyk &
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 7/11/2009 Read more about it at: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6670156.html The
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has their own article, "Chicago: Library Group Panelists Withdraw Over Role of
Islam-Basher." Posted 7/11/2009 6:57:00 PM. (CHICAGO, IL, 7/11/09) - The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today announced that all other panelists scheduled to speak at an American Library Association
(ALA) annual conference session on stereotyping of Islam have withdrawn in protest over the participation of Robert Spencer,
one of the nation’s leading Islam-bashers. The Council on Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC), a coalition
of more than 50 Muslim organizations, also joined CAIR-Chicago, the other ALA panelists and a number of librarians and
academics in calling on ALA to drop Spencer from the July 12 panel titled “Perspectives on Islam: Beyond the Stereotyping.”
Read more about it at: http://www.cair.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?ArticleID=25993&&name=n&&currPage=1&&Active=1 Robert Spencer
replies with his article on July 11: "ALA, panelists cave to pressure from terror-linked group, panel with Spencer canceled"
The American Library Association invited me to speak on a panel tomorrow, which led the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas terror funding case, along with some complicit, bemused, and Leftist
academics, to kick up a controversy -- previous posts about this here and here. However, now the other three panelists,
caving to pressure from this terror-linked group, have withdrawn from the panel, and the ALA has canceled the panel. The
panel was stacked three against one against my point of view, but even three-to-one wasn't safe enough for CAIR or these
evidently very insecure academics. CAIR has in this won a great victory, one of many, and I am sure there will be many
more, but ultimately time is running out on that unsavory organization anyway, because the truth is not on its side. CAIR
has succeeded in intimidating these academics and the ALA into behaving as if my position were beyond the pale, unworthy of
discussion by decent people. This way they make the ignorant and timid afraid to consider what I say, and they don't have to
go to the trouble of refuting it. And ultimately, there is nothing I can do about this tactic. It has been employed on a
large scale for years by CAIR and others. But consider: my position is based on analysis of the texts and teachings of
Islam, and how jihadists use those texts to make recruits among peaceful Muslims. Everything I say I back up with evidence,
and have repeatedly stated my willingness to discuss and debate these issues -- with CAIR or with anyone else. Thus the best
way to silence me would be to refute me -- censoring me will only inevitably make people curious as to whether or not
they're being lied to (and they are). Yet no one will dare to even try to refute me. Read more about it at:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/026899.php Are there more than three sides? Was this censorship at the ALA?
--Passing Strange or Wondrous Strange?
- http://lisnews.org/node/34105/
-Front Page Story by Name Brand Serials Posted Tuesday July 14th at 1:08 PM
-Read 229 times - 1 Comments
It worked for Led Zeppelin and Tolkien.... The Metal Shakespeare Company of Portland, Oregon, have merged the works of
the Bard with seemingly incompatible heavy metal and created a "marriage of true minds." While it may not be everyone's
taste in music, Shakespeare's subjects and launguage mesh perfectly with the stylings of metal. For your amusement, The
Metal Shakespeare Company's reinterpretation of Hamlet, "2 Bleed or Not 2 Bleed." More information about the band and a
peek into their unique merchandise delivery methods can be found on their MySpace page. Thanks to the Stranger.
--A Solar Powered Library in Taipei
- http://lisnews.org/node/34104/
-Blog Entry by barland1 Posted Tuesday July 14th at 1:56 PM
-Read 131 times - 0 Comments
Taiwan has begun construction on a solar-powered library in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei and could benefit from new
incentives designed to offer solar energy providers above-market prices for the energy they generate. Rooftop solar panels
will provide electricity to the two-story building. Library users will also be able to enter the building and return and
borrow books on a 24-hour basis using Easy Cards, a smartcard system used primarily to pay fares on Taipei's public
transport system. Construction started last week and is expected to be finished by June 2010. The library is a donation by
Cheng Fu-tien, the late chairman of Taiwanese solar cell maker Motech Industries. Story from Business Green.
--A Solar Powered Library
- http://lisnews.org/node/34103/
-Blog Entry by barland1 Posted Tuesday July 14th at 1:43 PM
-Read 27 times - 0 Comments
Taiwan has begun construction on a solar-powered library in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei and could benefit from new
incentives designed to offer solar energy providers above-market prices for the energy they generate. Rooftop solar panels
will provide electricity to the two-story building. Construction started last week and is expected to be finished by June
2010. The library is a donation by Cheng Fu-tien, the late chairman of Taiwanese solar cell maker Motech Industries." -
BusinessGreen
--Granholm closes Dept of History, Arts & Libraries
- http://lisnews.org/node/34102/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Tuesday July 14th at 8:38 AM
-Read 261 times - 0 Comments
More bad news. Gov. Jennifer Granholm has closed the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. The department's
functions will be handled by other state departments under an executive order the Democratic governor signed Monday. She
announced her plan to close the department in her February budget proposal. Chicago Tribune reports. Granholm on Monday
also announced potential plans for the Michigan Library and Historical Center in downtown Lansing. She is establishing a
board to look at transforming the library into a high-tech center in partnership with Michigan State University, the city of
Lansing and others.
--No Spitting @ Your Library
- http://lisnews.org/node/34101/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Tuesday July 14th at 8:31 AM
-Read 314 times - 2 Comments
The unfortunate incident reported by Leigh Reporter (Southern Lancashire UK).
--Predator Working From Library
- http://lisnews.org/node/34100/
-Front Page Story by Bibliofuture Posted Tuesday July 14th at 12:40 AM
-Read 369 times - 2 Comments
Heartland police say a man was using a public library to entice children. Actually it was the Wi-Fi connection at Omaha's
main library. Full story here.
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