Darci Chapman: Future Reads

Thu, 16 Oct 2003 00:56:01 GMT

Radio UserLand Kick Start out this week. I've received a few e-mails from readers wondering when they'll be getting Radio UserLand Kick Start, which comes out this month. I checked with my publisher, and it appears they'll be shipped from the Sams Publishing warehouse to Amazon.Com this week. [Rogers Cadenhead: Radio Userland Kick Start]

100 Great Novels (from The Observer)

Wed, 15 Oct 2003 03:53:44 GMT

The 100 greatest novels of all time. Bob Cox spotted this List and Article from The Observer. They have compiled their own list of essential fiction from the past 300 years. They say the list is fundamentally English and inevitably reflects the age, sex and education of its Observer contributors. They started with an intra-office email, inviting nominations for a top 10. The matrix of replies produced a surprising unanimity. [LISNews.com]

Evaluating Competitive Intelligence Software

Wed, 15 Oct 2003 03:52:52 GMT

Evaluating Competitive Intelligence Software. Assessing Competitive Intelligence Software A Guide to Evaluating CI Technology, by France Bouthillier and Kathleen Shearer Foreword by Chun Wei... [beSpacific]

For the Professional Shelf

Thu, 25 Sep 2003 04:08:14 GMT

Digital Libraries
The September Issue of CIDL (Canadian Initiative on Digital Libraries News) is Now Online
Includes several articles about metadata usage.

[ResourceShelf]

Why the Politics of Search Engines Matters

Wed, 24 Sep 2003 02:52:30 GMT

I'm currently reading Helen Nissenbaum's article, "Accountability in a Computerized Society" for the module on Accountability and Liability in my LIS550 class. Of course I wandered around the rest of her website and want to make a note to read "Shaping the Web: Why the Politics of Search Engines Matters" soonish.

King County Library System

Sun, 31 Aug 2003 06:19:56 GMT

King County Library System Takes Lead on Internet Filtering. Gary Price noticed This Annoucement that says King County, WA, Library System Board of Trustees voted August 27 to adopt Internet filtering protocols in anticipation of implementation of the federal Child Internet Protection Act. According to Jed Moffitt, Associate Director, Information Technology Services, full implementation of KCLS' new filtering policy will take a few months. It requires both software modifications and additional hardware to ensure that the Library's computer systems meet KCLS performance standards while handling the added workload filtering will bring. [LISNews.com]

Internet Use by Region in the United States

Sun, 31 Aug 2003 06:17:53 GMT

This looks to be a fascinating report; need to file away for future use regarding issues around the "Digital Divide."

Internet Use by Region in the United States. This Pew & The Internet Report has been making the rounds. The Pew Internet & American Life Project has tracked the growth of Internet usage in the United States, from just under half of American adults in 2000 to about 59% of adults at the end of 2002. These statistics have continually shown that Internet penetration in the United States has been and continues to be uneven. We have discussed in other reports why this growth has not been evenly distributed among those in various racial and ethnic groups, those of various ages, and among those with different levels of education and income. This report explores the reasons behind the uneven distribution of Internet penetration by geographical region. And it looks at variations in use of the Internet by region. The following table outlines the disparities in Internet penetration among 12 regions of the country in 2002. (California is considered separately because Internet access and use vary dramatically from neighboring states.) [LISNews.com]

Sun, 31 Aug 2003 06:15:42 GMT

Codebreaker reveals a diarist to rival Pepys. Charles Davis writes "A Puritan's journal written in cryptic shorthand to foil the King's men paints a vivid picture of 1600s London, reports Will Bennett A remarkable million-word account of life in late 17th century England which is as vivid as Samuel Pepys's diary has been transcribed by experts after lying largely forgotten for more than three centuries. A specialist code-breaker was brought in to crack the shorthand that Roger Morrice, a Puritan minister turned political journalist, used in part of the diary to stop the King's agents reading it. More at The telegraph.co.uk" [LISNews.com]

Sun, 31 Aug 2003 06:14:14 GMT

The Work of Prison Librarians. I've been intrigued by the prison library stories posted on LISnews in recent months. Here's another, featuring an interview with a librarian in Canada's largest prison. The cardinal rules of prison librarianship, according to the article, "Don't get involved in fights, don't fraternize with inmates and, most importantly, do no favours." Read more about the work of prison librarians at the Toronto Star. [LISNews.com]

Government Information Awareness

Sat, 05 Jul 2003 16:04:18 GMT

Information and the US Government: My subversive little self really loves this!

[via LISNews.com]

In other government information news, I heard Peter Kornbluh speaking on Alternative Radio (via my local public radio station KOPB) the other day. His topic was his forthcoming book, The Pinochet File and how the National Security Archive had finally been able to get a number of documents released (censored, of course) regarding the US Government's involvement in the overthrow of then elected President Allende and subsequent support of General Pinochet (not that I was overly surprised to learn about this). What I found so fascinating is that then President Nixon and Henry Kissinger recorded almost every word they ever spoke and had to know that eventually, some of that material would be released to the public. It was amazing to hear Kornbluh quote Kissinger from his memoirs and then quote directly from transcribed phone calls and hear the outright lies that Kissinger wrote in his memoirs.

I'm not sure why but I've been interested in Latin American politics for a number of years and nothing I learn about our government's involvement down there surprises me. Still, I can only take it in small doses and I tend to focus on Guatemala more than other Latin American countries. Despite that, I might just have to pick up a copy of this one.

New Articles at LIScareer.com

Wed, 02 Jul 2003 01:29:23 GMT

These articles have just been published at LIScareer.com:

Hall, Leigh. "Managing at Home: the Librarian as Working Parent" (Jul 2003)
Osterloh, Cassandra. "Your First Year on the Job: Five Tips for New Librarians" (Jul 2003)
Shontz, Priscilla. "A Librarian without a Library: Staying Professionally Active While Unemployed" (Jun 2003)

If you would like to write for LIScareer.com, please see the author guidelines and contact Priscilla.

Librarians Book Club for July

Wed, 02 Jul 2003 00:49:15 GMT

The choices this month for the Librarians Book Club are:

The Accidental Systems Librarian by Rachel Gordon Singer
Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World by Nancy and Lawrence Goldstone

[Catalogablog]

Jordan and the Middle-East

Sun, 22 Jun 2003 02:55:20 GMT

As I read Leap of Faith: An Unexpected Life (and autobiography by Queen Noor, an American-born woman who married King Hussein, 1935-1999, of Jordan), my interest in Middle East history is re-emerging. In particular, I'd like to read more about King Hussein, so I wandered off to WILInet, selected Biography Resource Center (from the Gale Group) which in turn led me to several biographical entries, one of which included a section for Further Readings:

There are one biography and one autobiography of Hussein, respectively, Peter Snow, Hussein: A Biography (1972), and Hussein, King of Jordan, Uneasy Lies the Head (1962). A more recent, comprehensive book on Hussein's kingdom is Peter Gubser, Jordan: Crossroads of Middle Eastern Events (1983). Hassan bin Talal, Crown Prince of Jordan and brother of Hussein, wrote a perceptive book explaining the Hashemites' thinking and accomplishments which is titled Search for Peace (1984). Other noteworthy books which deal with Jordan and King Hussein are P. J. Vatikiotis, Politics and the Military in Jordan (1967); John B. Glubb, A Soldier with the Arabs (1957); and Benjamin Shwadran, Jordan: A State of Tension (1959).

I should also re-read A Concise History of Middle East (from World War I on), by Arthur Goldschmidt Jr.

Association of Knowledgework

Fri, 20 Jun 2003 02:35:21 GMT

One more site to go back and delve into some day: Association of Knowledgework.

Finding vs. Searching!

Thu, 19 Jun 2003 23:38:58 GMT

I'll need to go back and read the LJ article on Federated Search Tools when my brain isn't so fuzzy. Oh, and add Peter Morville's article, The Age of Findability, to the list while I'm at it.

Government Secrecy in the Age of Information

Tue, 17 Jun 2003 02:08:19 GMT

Something to read some day: Government Secrecy in the Age of Information, by Joe Fitzgerald and Antonia Badway, Biodefense Quarterly, Summer 2003.

Who knew there were Cyberfeminists?

Mon, 16 Jun 2003 16:23:30 GMT

As I skimmed the article, My Son, the Cyborg [New York Times: Technology], I ran across this little tidbit:

"Sadie Plant happens to be a cyberfeminist, with a hip cultural-studies background: her empirical research on mobile phones fits neatly into the visionary view of digital technology, in which it is seen as radical, emancipatory and really cool."

Time to add "Zeros + Ones" to the reading list...