Aping Librarianship
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Dear Mr. Wales: Shame on You
Well, What do You Have to Say For Yourself?
Wikipedia Islam Entry Is CriticizedPosted February 8th, 2008 by BibliofutureInternet
An article about the Prophet Muhammad in the English-language Wikipedia has become the subject of an online protest in the last few weeks because of its representations of Muhammad, taken from medieval manuscripts.In addition to numerous e-mail messages sent to Wikipedia.org, an online petition cites a prohibition in Islam on images of people.The petition has more than 80,000 “signatures,” though many who submitted them to ThePetitionSite.com, remained anonymous.
“We have been noticing a lot more similar sounding, similar looking e-mails beginning mid-January,” said Jay Walsh, a spokesman for the Wikimedia Foundation in San Francisco, which administers the various online encyclopedias in more than 250 languages.
I have a sense that this could be another example of Western concepts of free speach clashing with religious law. It would be easy for me to write this away as extremism on the part of those signing petitions.
Yet part of me, the part that has a deep respect for all faiths wishes to step in and be peace maker. The power of symbols and religous teachings is something that is sadly eclipsed by a society glutted on a swell of technology and information. The irony is that we have gotten to be less tollerant of foreign beliefs and traditions. It is a further irony that Americans since 9/11 have left most of their trust in the hands of politicians and journalists. We seem to lack an essential sense of knowing what is fear, and what is ignorance. We equate an abundance of information with quality. We assume today's editorialism is responisble, credible, and ethically motivated journalism because it can always flash the iconic imagery of 9/1. It is the oppression of freedom on our TV screens as a reminder.
It may seem I am off the beaten track. Yet if the story above was about a cartoon of Mary Magdalene kissing Christ or was an attack on the Pope I am certain that there would be an uproar in the press. I also think that it would be treated differently. There is a demonization currently occuring in the Western press of Musilm people. Most Americans are taught wrongly to fear Musilm people. What American's should fear is the loss of their constitutional rights. We should be more afraid of what is happening in Washington.
I am pretty sure that most people would like to stop being afraid. People would like to go on with matters other than the war in Iraq. Small matters like the economy, the national debt, and the upcoming presidential election. So why should we care about a wikipedia entry? Well, good question.
In of itself it has no direct impact on my life. But as an example of a lack of peer reviewed sources, it can be seen as more evidence of the trend of the Internet. With all new technologies there are responsibilities. Most hard core enthusiast in the virtual world equate the Internet with unlimited and open sourced structures in its matrix. Very little thought seems to enter into the dialog about the long term effects of its rubric on culture by enlarge. Educators and librarians (yes I think of them in separate terms-different can of worms, sorry) do seem to be interested in the impact of the Internet on culture, but it remains to be seen what the Internet has to say about its heritage. It seems to busy being the Internet to talk about itself.
Wiki has grown into a kind of corporate poster child of feckless scholarship. Its founder and guru Jimmy Wales defends it as having a charitable responsibility towards have nots of the world. There is a long history of that defense too. This defense offends a lot of professors and librarians, too. It offends publishers of encyclopedias and textbooks. It offends English teachers with red pens flaring away. It is the bounty and bane of the information scene. During my two years in library school I heard at least ten polemics for every sigh of relief from an undergrad when wiki was brought up in conversation.
The point is that it is here to stay. Learning to love it like an underachiever or juvenile class may not be the best choice. It may come a time when we must understand the cost and quality of free things at the cost of everything else that is cherished. Who will? Certainly not Mr. Wales. He seems to enjoy pissing off people. It’s a talent of his.
Is it not strange that by the time I post this the Internet has grown by nearly incalculable leaps, that it has changed the nature of information and exchange for billions? It has created an image of our culture, and others. But who is minding the images. And is anyone stopping to see it done right?
Any thoughts?
Here is a link to the story:
Come on People!
What is the Real Issue Here?
There is a story at Library Journal about the rape of a 6-year-old boy in the New Bedford Free Public Library, MA. Officials now want to restrict children to visiting the library and only under the supervision of their parents or adult guardian. In addition all visitors would be required to sign in with ID and there would be an increase of security and cameras.
I agree with all of these measures. They seem perfectly sensible to me and the response of authorities attempting to restore safety and order to a public sphere. So what's the duff? According to state authorities their is heavy price tag of $50,000 to supply these safety measures and the article goes on to state: The American Civil Liberties Union in Massachusetts cautioned that laws aimed at limiting where sex offenders can go will deter them from registering with local communities, as required, according to South Coast Today. The newspaper editorialized that “I.D. cards have questionable preventative value,” and “Barring any group from using a public library is virtually without precedent.”
There seems to be a sense of unreality to library politics at times. No one questions the absolute paramount importance of making our libraries, schools, and other public venues a haven for children. However, I have noted that some people seem to feel a strange kind of liberal guilt in the face of enforcing order on their environments. I consider myself a liberal. However, I am a sensible one. I understand that we live in a world of dangers. I also know that there is such a thing as evil. If I were a resident of that state I would have no problem with these security measures. I would insist on them. I am almost certain that most honest or like minded people like myself would agree that if that is what it takes it is far better than risking one more child.
Librarians and other civil servants are defensive when they should sometimes trust that the public would understand.I think it is absurd nonsense of the paper to suggest that there is no precedent. The horrible attack on this boy IS THE REASON FOR SUCH MEASURES. I am an uncle, to several nieces and nephew and feel a natural obligation as a librarian to support the cause of parents in making public ways safe. Everyone is familiar with the old saying: It takes a village to raise a child. Does that not mean that a community as a whole takes responsibility in making their public ways safe? If the Civil Liberty Union is so hungry for work may I suggest they go after the real criminals for a change? Why not start in Washington, for instance.
Any thoughts?
Here is a link to the story:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6528982.html
There is a story at Library Journal about the rape of a 6-year-old boy in the New Bedford Free Public Library, MA. Officials now want to restrict children to visiting the library and only under the supervision of their parents or adult guardian. In addition all visitors would be required to sign in with ID and there would be an increase of security and cameras.
I agree with all of these measures. They seem perfectly sensible to me and the response of authorities attempting to restore safety and order to a public sphere. So what's the duff? According to state authorities their is heavy price tag of $50,000 to supply these safety measures and the article goes on to state: The American Civil Liberties Union in Massachusetts cautioned that laws aimed at limiting where sex offenders can go will deter them from registering with local communities, as required, according to South Coast Today. The newspaper editorialized that “I.D. cards have questionable preventative value,” and “Barring any group from using a public library is virtually without precedent.”
There seems to be a sense of unreality to library politics at times. No one questions the absolute paramount importance of making our libraries, schools, and other public venues a haven for children. However, I have noted that some people seem to feel a strange kind of liberal guilt in the face of enforcing order on their environments. I consider myself a liberal. However, I am a sensible one. I understand that we live in a world of dangers. I also know that there is such a thing as evil. If I were a resident of that state I would have no problem with these security measures. I would insist on them. I am almost certain that most honest or like minded people like myself would agree that if that is what it takes it is far better than risking one more child.
Librarians and other civil servants are defensive when they should sometimes trust that the public would understand.I think it is absurd nonsense of the paper to suggest that there is no precedent. The horrible attack on this boy IS THE REASON FOR SUCH MEASURES. I am an uncle, to several nieces and nephew and feel a natural obligation as a librarian to support the cause of parents in making public ways safe. Everyone is familiar with the old saying: It takes a village to raise a child. Does that not mean that a community as a whole takes responsibility in making their public ways safe? If the Civil Liberty Union is so hungry for work may I suggest they go after the real criminals for a change? Why not start in Washington, for instance.
Any thoughts?
Here is a link to the story:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6528982.html
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Needed Funding
LSTA Budget Shot in the Arm
For the third straight year, President George W. Bush has proposed that the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) include $171.5 million for state grants, which would be sufficient to implement a 2003 law aimed at more equitably distributing the grants. For FY07, Congress appropriated $163.7 million for the states and, for FY08, it appropriated $160.9 million.The American Library Association (ALA) applauded Bush’s funding request, which for LSTA grant components replicated his funding proposals for FY08, all of which were reduced by Congress. He proposed $12.7 million for the National Leadership Grants for Libraries, an increase of $556,000 over FY08.He proposed $26.5 million for the Recruitment of Librarians for the 21st Century, an increase of $3.2 million over FY08. He proposed $3.7 million for Native Americans Library Services, an increase of $143,000 over FY08. He also proposed $3.5 million for library policy, research, and statistics (included in the administration total), an increase of $1.54 million over FY 2008.
I am happy to see any increase on the state level to funding. I find it suspicious, however. The cynic in me raises an eyebrow in scrutiny. The Bush family has made as many cuts as it has contributions. Consider the EPA funding cut (2.0 million from the library system's $2.5 million budget for Fiscal 2007), and Jeb Bush's attacks on the Florida State Library come to mind (Florida Gov. Jeb Bush slashed a total of $5.8 million in grants to public libraries). Bush may wish to leave behind a legacy of endowing future libraries, but unlike the Orwellian nightmare that I remember the first 8 years of this millennium, he will be hard press to cover the horrible facts of the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina (remember he cut funding on that score-In fiscal year 2006, the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suffered a record $71.2 million reduction in federal funding) and his human rights violations such as phone tapping and torturing prisoners of war. To me this seems like a bone tossed in the name of public approval ratings which have been low for a long time now.
The picture of the ALA clapping their hands in gratitude to this hand out makes me laugh. It does little to leave a warm squishy feeling in me concerning anyone with the last name of Bush. In fact from now on any object, person, or otherwise that uses the title "bush" shall not be mentioned by polite and conscious tempered individuals. From now on (for example) Moses in the Bible didn't consult a burning bush, but a burning green leafy thing. The eyebrows on Moses are not bushy, they are eye-staches. After wandering the desert old Moses was heard to say he was very tired, in other words, NOT bushed, but damn tired. So let us review. Not Bush, but something (anything but "---") anything else, just not the "---". Perhaps we can learn from J.K. Rowling who created a character who was so wicked and bad that no one dared say its name, except for one, the boy who lived. However, I am not that boy.
The reason for my post is to remind everyone to remember every time a library is closed, or a professional librarian loses their job to a part time employee. Remember when as a librarian you must make cuts in staffing or services. Never forget the past. By forgetting the past we are doomed to be entombed in it.
Any thoughts?
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6529533.html
For the third straight year, President George W. Bush has proposed that the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) include $171.5 million for state grants, which would be sufficient to implement a 2003 law aimed at more equitably distributing the grants. For FY07, Congress appropriated $163.7 million for the states and, for FY08, it appropriated $160.9 million.The American Library Association (ALA) applauded Bush’s funding request, which for LSTA grant components replicated his funding proposals for FY08, all of which were reduced by Congress. He proposed $12.7 million for the National Leadership Grants for Libraries, an increase of $556,000 over FY08.He proposed $26.5 million for the Recruitment of Librarians for the 21st Century, an increase of $3.2 million over FY08. He proposed $3.7 million for Native Americans Library Services, an increase of $143,000 over FY08. He also proposed $3.5 million for library policy, research, and statistics (included in the administration total), an increase of $1.54 million over FY 2008.
I am happy to see any increase on the state level to funding. I find it suspicious, however. The cynic in me raises an eyebrow in scrutiny. The Bush family has made as many cuts as it has contributions. Consider the EPA funding cut (2.0 million from the library system's $2.5 million budget for Fiscal 2007), and Jeb Bush's attacks on the Florida State Library come to mind (Florida Gov. Jeb Bush slashed a total of $5.8 million in grants to public libraries). Bush may wish to leave behind a legacy of endowing future libraries, but unlike the Orwellian nightmare that I remember the first 8 years of this millennium, he will be hard press to cover the horrible facts of the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina (remember he cut funding on that score-In fiscal year 2006, the New Orleans district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suffered a record $71.2 million reduction in federal funding) and his human rights violations such as phone tapping and torturing prisoners of war. To me this seems like a bone tossed in the name of public approval ratings which have been low for a long time now.
The picture of the ALA clapping their hands in gratitude to this hand out makes me laugh. It does little to leave a warm squishy feeling in me concerning anyone with the last name of Bush. In fact from now on any object, person, or otherwise that uses the title "bush" shall not be mentioned by polite and conscious tempered individuals. From now on (for example) Moses in the Bible didn't consult a burning bush, but a burning green leafy thing. The eyebrows on Moses are not bushy, they are eye-staches. After wandering the desert old Moses was heard to say he was very tired, in other words, NOT bushed, but damn tired. So let us review. Not Bush, but something (anything but "---") anything else, just not the "---". Perhaps we can learn from J.K. Rowling who created a character who was so wicked and bad that no one dared say its name, except for one, the boy who lived. However, I am not that boy.
The reason for my post is to remind everyone to remember every time a library is closed, or a professional librarian loses their job to a part time employee. Remember when as a librarian you must make cuts in staffing or services. Never forget the past. By forgetting the past we are doomed to be entombed in it.
Any thoughts?
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6529533.html
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Surving a Change of Command
New Boss Blues
Recently I was speaking by email to a friend who works in a nearby public library. She was telling me about how staff changes, along with most significantly a change in the directorship has left her feeling frustrated. Several of her long time co-workers (who were good friends) had been downsized and even her hours had been cut.
I began thinking of all the bad bosses I have had. Then I remembered the advice I have received over the years. Some of it has been good, some it worthless. But the following is good. Its not easy, but it does work. I brushed up on my points of reference so pay head to the link below. It is written by experts in managing employee relations.
Over all:
You must demonstrate a kind of proactive approach to circumstances in which face you. If you are not on the chopping block straight away there are lots of things you can do to make a difference.
The following is a synthesis from:
http://www.iaap-hq.org/ResearchTrends/same_job_new_boss.htm
1. This new person is not your old boss. Don't think of or treat this new leader like your old one.
2. Learn as much as you can about this new person. Don't bury yourself and hope that you will be left alone. Go to every meet you can and learn how your new boss works. Try and contact her previous employer and staff discretely and get the skinny from them about her.
3. Give her space. The first couple of weeks can be jarring for her as well as you. Don't expect to find her rather busy settling in. Don't be a buzzard. Be approachable, however.
4. Set goals with expected deadlines. As soon as you can, sit with her and discuss what her vision is of the library and what she expects from you. She will be glad to take the time to lay out expectations if she is a good director.
5. Continue to meet. This may be informal chats on the floor but that could be your directors way of communicating important instructions. Study her working habits. Is she out on the floor a lot or is she in her office on the phone all the time or avoiding you. That could be a very important sign. Some manager like to keep it informal. Others like to only discuss performance issues quietly.
6. Evaluating meetings. You may find at some point things change. Go with it. Smile. I have had circumstances as a supervisor myself where I had to enforce policy but did not have the option of explaining why, or even the change of a policy. Do not assume you know all the facts. Work to open communication on your part. Employees must have an open door policy if they want to succeed with their manager.
7. Be realistic. If after all of this you find there is a problem, and that you have remained open and flexible, that you haven't taken this new person for granted and given them a chance to do your job, then you can approach them to discuss your issues. If that doesn't work then your HR department can be approached.
I keep a journal of my work experiences and sometime I will record incidents so that I will have a clearer picture of what occurred. However, do not share your opinions too openly.
Be positive. My mother once told me after I came home from a job in a hardware store. (I had a new supervisor, the nephew of the owner of the store). She said I needed to sit still and stop complaining. She had just gotten home from work and was tired. She needed to cook dinner for us. The sink in the kitchen was full of dishes from breakfast and from that afternoon.She turned to me and said, David, watch closely. Slowly she pulled each dirty dish from the sink. She stacked them up neatly. She divided the spoons from the forks and dirty plates and bowls. She set the skillet to the side and then filled the sink with hot water and dish soap. She began cleaning them one at a time and setting them in the dish drainer. Eventually she finished. She dried the dishes and then put them away. Then she pulled down a glass from the cupboard and poured me a coke.
"You see? Now isn't that better?"
Any thoughts?
Here are some links about dealing with bad bosses. Good Luck!
http://www.techdarkside.com/?p=141
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Goodwin77.html
http://positivesharing.com/2007/01/how-to-deal-with-a-bad-boss/
Recently I was speaking by email to a friend who works in a nearby public library. She was telling me about how staff changes, along with most significantly a change in the directorship has left her feeling frustrated. Several of her long time co-workers (who were good friends) had been downsized and even her hours had been cut.
I began thinking of all the bad bosses I have had. Then I remembered the advice I have received over the years. Some of it has been good, some it worthless. But the following is good. Its not easy, but it does work. I brushed up on my points of reference so pay head to the link below. It is written by experts in managing employee relations.
Over all:
You must demonstrate a kind of proactive approach to circumstances in which face you. If you are not on the chopping block straight away there are lots of things you can do to make a difference.
The following is a synthesis from:
http://www.iaap-hq.org/ResearchTrends/same_job_new_boss.htm
1. This new person is not your old boss. Don't think of or treat this new leader like your old one.
2. Learn as much as you can about this new person. Don't bury yourself and hope that you will be left alone. Go to every meet you can and learn how your new boss works. Try and contact her previous employer and staff discretely and get the skinny from them about her.
3. Give her space. The first couple of weeks can be jarring for her as well as you. Don't expect to find her rather busy settling in. Don't be a buzzard. Be approachable, however.
4. Set goals with expected deadlines. As soon as you can, sit with her and discuss what her vision is of the library and what she expects from you. She will be glad to take the time to lay out expectations if she is a good director.
5. Continue to meet. This may be informal chats on the floor but that could be your directors way of communicating important instructions. Study her working habits. Is she out on the floor a lot or is she in her office on the phone all the time or avoiding you. That could be a very important sign. Some manager like to keep it informal. Others like to only discuss performance issues quietly.
6. Evaluating meetings. You may find at some point things change. Go with it. Smile. I have had circumstances as a supervisor myself where I had to enforce policy but did not have the option of explaining why, or even the change of a policy. Do not assume you know all the facts. Work to open communication on your part. Employees must have an open door policy if they want to succeed with their manager.
7. Be realistic. If after all of this you find there is a problem, and that you have remained open and flexible, that you haven't taken this new person for granted and given them a chance to do your job, then you can approach them to discuss your issues. If that doesn't work then your HR department can be approached.
I keep a journal of my work experiences and sometime I will record incidents so that I will have a clearer picture of what occurred. However, do not share your opinions too openly.
Be positive. My mother once told me after I came home from a job in a hardware store. (I had a new supervisor, the nephew of the owner of the store). She said I needed to sit still and stop complaining. She had just gotten home from work and was tired. She needed to cook dinner for us. The sink in the kitchen was full of dishes from breakfast and from that afternoon.She turned to me and said, David, watch closely. Slowly she pulled each dirty dish from the sink. She stacked them up neatly. She divided the spoons from the forks and dirty plates and bowls. She set the skillet to the side and then filled the sink with hot water and dish soap. She began cleaning them one at a time and setting them in the dish drainer. Eventually she finished. She dried the dishes and then put them away. Then she pulled down a glass from the cupboard and poured me a coke.
"You see? Now isn't that better?"
Any thoughts?
Here are some links about dealing with bad bosses. Good Luck!
http://www.techdarkside.com/?p=141
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Goodwin77.html
http://positivesharing.com/2007/01/how-to-deal-with-a-bad-boss/
Friday, February 1, 2008
The Dangers in Hiring Paraprofessionals
Why did I Even Get my MLIS if They are Going to Hire Clowns Like This?
New EBook Intergration Software
New Options For E Book Users In Libraries
TDNet Launches New eBook Manager
TDNet, Inc. (www.tdnet.com), a provider of e-resource access and management solutions, announced the launch of its new eBook Manager, which is designed to provide libraries with a tool for accessing, resolving, and managing ebooks. It can be used as a stand-alone service or integrated with TDNet’s Journal Manager.
The newest addition to TDNet’s suite of services, eBook Manager currently contains content from leading publishers: Elsevier, Oxford University Press, Springer, Electric eBook Publishing, and Blackwell Publishing; and from aggregators, including ebrary, ScienceDirect, NetLibrary, Knovel Library, IngentaConnect, Oxford Reference Online, MyiLibrary, and many other ebook suppliers. Free ebooks are also represented in the eBook Manager knowledgebase. TDNet’s eBook Manager is a module of TDNet One L2.0 suite of products.
As a stand-alone service, eBook Manager features a customizable A to Z interface that allows users to search and access ebook holdings, or when integrated with TDNet’s Journal Manager, users can perform simultaneous searches of both journals and ebooks. Additionally, users can resolve book citations and link to content at the book level using TDNet’s OpenURL link resolver service.
EBook Manager supports a wide variety of searching options: search for books only, combined book and journal search, or search via an independent book search screen. Users also can perform rapid searches for specific ebook content using book title, ISBN, volume, issue, edition, year, book author, editor, publisher, or vendor.
Source: TDNet, Inc.
I haven't had a chance to look at this yet in action, but it sounds cool. Having more flexibilty in searching is always a plus. The flexibilty of breaking down search into things as wide in options as ISBN, year, and publisher or vendor will also benefit library staff.
Any thoughts?
http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/wndReader.asp?ArticleId=40760
TDNet Launches New eBook Manager
TDNet, Inc. (www.tdnet.com), a provider of e-resource access and management solutions, announced the launch of its new eBook Manager, which is designed to provide libraries with a tool for accessing, resolving, and managing ebooks. It can be used as a stand-alone service or integrated with TDNet’s Journal Manager.
The newest addition to TDNet’s suite of services, eBook Manager currently contains content from leading publishers: Elsevier, Oxford University Press, Springer, Electric eBook Publishing, and Blackwell Publishing; and from aggregators, including ebrary, ScienceDirect, NetLibrary, Knovel Library, IngentaConnect, Oxford Reference Online, MyiLibrary, and many other ebook suppliers. Free ebooks are also represented in the eBook Manager knowledgebase. TDNet’s eBook Manager is a module of TDNet One L2.0 suite of products.
As a stand-alone service, eBook Manager features a customizable A to Z interface that allows users to search and access ebook holdings, or when integrated with TDNet’s Journal Manager, users can perform simultaneous searches of both journals and ebooks. Additionally, users can resolve book citations and link to content at the book level using TDNet’s OpenURL link resolver service.
EBook Manager supports a wide variety of searching options: search for books only, combined book and journal search, or search via an independent book search screen. Users also can perform rapid searches for specific ebook content using book title, ISBN, volume, issue, edition, year, book author, editor, publisher, or vendor.
Source: TDNet, Inc.
I haven't had a chance to look at this yet in action, but it sounds cool. Having more flexibilty in searching is always a plus. The flexibilty of breaking down search into things as wide in options as ISBN, year, and publisher or vendor will also benefit library staff.
Any thoughts?
http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/wndReader.asp?ArticleId=40760
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