Home > News Archive > March 2005

March 31, 2005

"Marketing" Our Libraries - Resource Links: a series of articles and ressources to make you and your library look good!

source: Marylaine Block's Neat New Stuff

March 30, 2005

Montreal is currently hosting the 7th annual Blue Metropolis: Montreal's International Literary Festival. This year's Grand Prix is given to Carlos Fuentes, author of Contra Bush.

source: Radio-Canada

March 29, 2005

The Alliance Library System of Illinois released a study (commissioned by the Illinois School Library Media Association) called the Illinois Study or "Powerful Libraries Make Powerful Learners". If you need to convince your elementary or high school administration that a library (and a librarian) is essential, this is the study for you. Here are the key findings:

• Schools with better staffed libraries have more students who succeed on tests.
• High schools with computers that connect to library catalogs and databases average 6.2% improvement on ACT scores.
• Students that visit the library more frequently receive improved reading and writing scores.
• Students with access to larger, more current book collections achieve higher reading, writing, and ACT scores.

source: ...

March 25, 2005

As seen on many Canadian blogs yesterday, the Canadian government has released a statement (and FAQ) on the proposals for Copyright reform. Michael Geist and CIPPIC have released their comments on the government statement, and both seem somewhat optimistic. (No news for the CLA yet). The two most interesting statements by the government are:

• that they they won't go ahead with mandatory licensing for the use of free internet resources in educational institutions (they will have more consultation on this)
• that the electronic desktop delivery of certain copyright material directly to the patron would be permitted, (provided that effective safeguards were in place to prevent the misuse of the material or of the inter-library loan service.)

source: danielle

As reported by Peter Suber, a new open access journal has been launched: Open Government: A Journal on Freedom of Information. More info here.

source: Open Access News

March 22, 2005

Anthony Ross and Nadia Caidi of the Faculty of Information Studies at the University of Toronto wrote a paper in Library and Information Science Research (Vol. 27, Iss. 1, 2005) which "examines the legislative environment following 9/11 in the United States and Canada and reviews the reactions to these legislations by the library communities in these two countries." The paper comes down pretty hard on Canadian library associations for having a lack of practical applications to stand by CLA's statements on Intellectual Freedom and Code of Ethics.

It seems that leadership in the library profession should play a role in the integration of ethics and values into the practise of librarianship; however this may be lacking as well. (...) The promotion of causes at the upper echelons of an organization is not as effective if the message does not get across to all the members. As was discussed, the problem appears to be even worse in Canada, where there is a lack of involvement at any level, let alone a comprehensive one.

The issues of involvement, leadership and the practical application (i.e., their translation into everyday practice) of ethics and values are important in that they can help to reinforce or perhaps redefine the role of the library in today's society, and emphasize its importance. (...) Without such education on the issues, informed decisions cannot be made in a practical and operational setting. This training, awareness, and advocacy role should ideally carry over to LIS schools (or start in there, rather), in the form of courses on such topics as information policy, ethical issues in information, or library advocacy.

source: danielle

I was very pleased to see that the University of British Columbia is looking for a Science Collections Librarian that will advocate for Open Access.

The Science Collections Librarian will have the lead responsibility for promoting open access and developments in scholarly communication activities with UBC scholars. They will monitor new developments in publishing and scholarly communication and will contribute to setting the Library’s future directions in this area.

Vancouver is Canada's hotbed of progressive librarianship. Check out BCLA's website for more info about the job.

source: BCLA-listserv

Library boy, a blog with lots of good web and library resources and insightful commentaries (and a canuck to boot!)

source: Technorati

First Brazil, now Manitoba! A post over at Digital Copyright Canada on how the NDP, Manitoba's ruling party, passed a resolution at their convention supporting Open Source Software:

Whereas the NDP and the Manitoba Government should be an example in using free and Open Source software because this type of software is available to anyone with a computer independent of their income.

Therefore be it resolved that the Manitoba New Democratic Party give equal consideration to using free and Open Source software for its internal information; and

Be it further resolved that the Manitoba government ensure that equal consideration be given to using free and Open Source software in all of its departments.

Are there any library associations that have passed similar resolutions endorsing Open Source Software?

source: Digital Copyright Canada

March 21, 2005

The Hunger, Homelessness and Poverty Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the ALA have a blog. They have an excellent first post entitled "Are Public Libraries Criminalizing Poor People?". Excerpt:

We want to clarify that poor hygiene and homelessness are conditions of extreme poverty, not types of behavior—a view inadvertently promoted by “problem patron” literature in recent years.

source: John Gehner

To all of you doing collection development, Anarchy's Cossak is the title of a new book, co-published by the Kate Sharpley Library.

source: Kate Sharpley Library

March 18, 2005

Check out this issue of the newsletter that "focuses on information from the network about different kinds of libraries in Africa that house tools, toys, books, archives and electronic resources and/or theme-based resources, as well as the access of libraries to information communication technologies." From the issue, brief information on an online debate about "Privacy, human rights and freedom of expression in the information age, myth or reality?"

source: PLG-listserv

As reported in many places, on March 10th, the UK's Culture, Media and Sport Committee have put out a report on Public Libraries advocating for more money to refurbish crumbling libraries and to focus more attention on the fundamental role of libraries: promoting reading. However, the Local Government Association disapprove of the report saying that the recommendations:

do not reflect the needs of modern communities and fail to recognise the broader role that they have to play in society. (...) Libraries have enormous potential as the providers of a wide range of cultural and educational services and have the ability to get to hard to reach groups. To go back to basics and focus on a narrow, traditional definition of the role of a library in the local community would be to let an opportunity slip.

source: Google News

March 15, 2005

An excellent article about the future role of the (U.S.) Federal Depository Library Program and how the Government Priting Office is questionning their pertinence in the digital age. A scary look at how the GPO may impose DRM to restrict access and to charge the public for information that they already paid for.

source: Boing Boing

March 14, 2005

Anonymous Coworker reports on a " little place in Baltimore called the Bookthing. They take your old books and give them away to other people." A kind of pre-tech file sharing? Long live the gift economy.

source: Boing Boing

Another great article from Michael Geist that "focuses on Canadian crown copyright, which provides that the government retains the copyright associated with any work that is prepared or published by or under its direction, creating an enormous and unconscionable barrier to Canadian film making, political advocacy, and free speech." He contrasts this to the American system where "federal government does not hold copyright over work created by an officer or employee as part of that person's official duties." But he doesn't mention that access to U.S. government documents is more and more difficult, which is what Sunshine Week is trying to shed light on.

source: Michael Geist law

March 13, 2005

The Senate's Standing Committee on Transport and Communications is studying the state of media in what has been called "the most ambitious enquiry into Canada's media ever", even delving into topics like blogging. The BCLA Information Policy Committee is asking everyone to sign a letter written with some policy directions by the Campaign for Press and Broadcast Freedom. The BCLA tells us why this is an important library issue:

Public interest is served by the availability of a broadly diverse range of information and viewpoints, and one of the fundamental tenets and responsibilities of libraries is to both facilitate and foster this availability. Intellectual freedom, equitable access to information, a commitment to lifelong learning and the fostering of critical thinking skills and media literacy are key library values. The evidence shows that concentration of media ownership and convergence reduces the number of independent voices, the quality of journalism, and the amount of locally-produced and locally-relevant news and programming. Put library values and this evidence together to find only some of the reasons why this is an important "library issue".

You can sign the letter with "librarian" after your name, because the Senate Committee was interested in knowing how many individual librarians - whom one Senator called "reasonable and objective" - share BCLA's concerns about media.

source: BCLA-listserv

That's the title of a press release put out by People for Education. Each year they produce a school tracking report. The Ontario Coalition for School Libraries announced that the preliminary results of the 5th report are "showing significant declines in staffing, accessibility and resources of libraries in Ontario secondary schools." The report shows that libraries:

• are open and professionally staffed less hours (a 20% decline since 2003)
• have with fewer teacher-librarians (a 5% decline since last year), and
• are with 20% fewer books and resources than they had five years ago.
• 20% of schools had only a part-time teacher-librarian, and
• 23% of high school libraries were open but never staffed by a teacher-librarian.

The Toronto Star also reports on the study.

source: danielle, Google News

March 12, 2005

To the wild delight of many I'm sure, factsheet 5, the behemoth of guides to zines and alternative publications, will be hot off the presses as of (tentatively) May 23rd, 2005!

source: danielle

March 8, 2005

By now, everyone has read about the No B-O policy in San Luis Obispo County (CA) public libraries. Since this obviously is targeted at homeless people, I got to thinking how can we reach out to this excluded group. I was wondering if any public libraries help set up small collections in homeless shelters? A quick Google search seems to show that the prevalence is to donate children's books to homeless shelters: which is good to help literacy and social inclusion for children that may be at risk. Another example is the Library Train for homeless children in Thaildand. This would be a nice project for homeless adults... but it might not address the issue of exclusion that they face in public places.

source: danielle, CLA-listserv, Google News

Although within our profession, women tend to have relatively the same pay as men, our profession relative to male dominated professions has a huge pay equity gap. Check out the Women's Work @ Women's Pay section of that link which says:

In 2001, new MLS graduates from ALA-accredited programs earned an average annual salary of $36,818; their median salary was $35,000. The average starting salary for a systems analyst or database administrator with a master's degree in computer science was $61,000. These are professions that are more than 82% male.

Mitch Freedman has a good ressource page on pay inequity in the library profession.

source: danielle

March 7, 2005

The School Library Systems Association of New York State has an Advocacy Toolkit with strategies not only for librarians, but also for parents, students, administrators, directors, and teachers.

source: NYLINE-listserv

March 6, 2005

Today La Presse reports on Montreal, World Book Capital 2005. This event is sponsored every year by UNESCO. The celebration starts on April 23rd to coincide with World Book and Copyright Day. Apparently, the city of Montreal will take advantage of the celebrations to evaluate the state of the 56 public libraries and to question the fate of school libraries. Apparently, at the end of 2005, there will also be a Symposium on Intellectual Property Rights (although the La Presse journalist did not mention who the sponsor is.)

The fact that Quebecor (the world's largest printer) is the main private sponsor of Montreal, World Book Capital, immediately made me question the whole event. Quebecor is not loved by workers in the publishing industry. By reading the idea behind World Book Capital, I understood that World Book Day and World Book Capital was not only created to praise the cultural value of the book, but also to praise everything that is commercial (and capitalistic) about the book as well. Here is what they have to say:

Being one of the oldest means of communication and distribution, books not only have spiritual, educational and cultural implications, but also involve the legitimate industrial and economic aspects of the publishing trade. The association of these two factors - cultural impact and economic interests - results in a complex system of parameters that may seem incompatible. Developing the publishing and reading universe requires understanding of the existing internal relations between the different elements comprising the Book chain : Literary invention, the respective functions of the publisher, printer. UNESCO's programme in this domain aims to support the action of every national and regional actors in the book chain. It is based on a participatory approach and on partnership with all professionals, political stakeholders and beneficiaries implied at both national and regional level.

Having Quebecor as the main sponsor does not in any way "support the action of every national and regional actors in the book chain". It mearly helps legitimize Quebecor's media conglomeration and the poor working conditions of its workers.

source: La Presse

While checking out UNESCO's website, I found that from March 7th to 17th, there will be an International Book Fair in Ramallah! Given the strictness of check points, I wonder how many Palestinians will be able to attend.

source: danielle

Here's an email sent to me today about what's happening at Berkely Public Library:

Berkeley Public Library workers are facing layoffs this year. The Library administrators are buying a .6 million dollar system that they claim will greatly reduce their expenses for Worker's Compensation claims by library workers. The tradeoff? Library patrons will lose ten to fifteen staff who would normally be there to assist them as well as check out all their books. The books and videos, the DVDs and CDs will now all bear a radio frequency ID (RFID) tag. Anyone walking near a low frequency tag reader will have the library materials in their possesion tracked by technology. (...) Anyone with a reader would theoretically be able to tell what books you have in your possession, and exactly where you have them.

The conundrum? Library budget dollars are already .5 million in the red. They borrowed .5 more, and took .1 million out of their budget in a year of shortfall to buy new, experimental technology. Administration says that even though they are planning to lay off several workers, even though those workers don't include the most recent hires, but a scattering of tenured workers from across the job classifications. Even though all of that is true, Library administrators claim that those workers would have been laid off this year anyway because of budget cutbacks.

San Francisco Public Library recently decided *not* to adopt RFID tags for its collection, stating that privacy concerns and health concerns for the dangers involved with reader technology were paramount. ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation join with citizens and workers to protest this technology.

source: Lynda Winslow

March 3, 2005

The Vancouver Public Library and the British Columbia Library Association have started a contest entitled Beyond Words. They are asking patrons to write a story on how their public libraries have made their lives better. Finalists' stories will be published and winners may have the opportunity to read their story on CBC Radio's North by Northwest!

source: BCLA-listserv

That is the theme of this year's CLA conference, June 15-18 in Calgary. Here are some presentations that I find most interesting:

• Three presentations for techies: 1. Keeping Current: Gadgets and Tools; 2. Blogging and RSS: Applications and Technology; 3. Wireless Communities & Libraries (June 16)
• Progressive Librarianship: Where It's Been and Where It's Going in Canada and Around the World (June 16): by Toni Samek
• International Trade Treaties and Libraries (June 16): will discuss a study of the impact of the WTO's TRIPS on libraries.
• The USA PATRIOT Act and Personal Privacy for Canadians (June 16): with panelists Michael Vonn, Margaret Anne Wilkinson and Brian Campbell
• Librarians as Stewards of the Commons (June 17): Keynote presentation by David Bollier
• Community Development Strategies for Library Advocacy (June 17): how two campaigns built support for the library "cause".
• The Role of Public Knowledge in the Future of the Library Movement (June 17): by John Willinsky, on open source ressources for new publishing possibilities
• School Library Advocacy: Let's Get Going! (June 18)
• Laying Librarianship on the Line: Can Libraries be Neutral in the 21st Century (June 18): panelists will debate on the changing and evolving role of libraries, a role that is increasingly shaped by political and social trends.
• Empowering the Underserved: Libraries Work with Non-Users (June 18): panelists discuss models for libraries to work in communities with a large number of socially excluded individuals.
• Open Access, New Roles for Funders and Publishers? (June 18)

source: danielle

For those interested in the state of Copyright law in Canada (and an introduction to Creative Commons), check out the article I wrote for my library's e-bulletin: Internet et le droit d'auteur and Creative Commons ou "certains droits réservés".

source: danielle

March 1, 2005

The South East Museum, Library and Archive Council has commissioned a report on libraries and community cohesion in the UK. "A major section of the report looks at social inclusion and social exclusion and how libraries fit within national and regional "community" agendas." This section is fascinating and it is accompanied by a very useful bibliography. The report first looks at ways in which the library can be exclusive. Here are some examples:

• Unsuitable or unduly restrictive opening hours, or restrictions upon the availability of library services
• Inappropriate staff attitudes and behaviour.
• Charging policies which disadvantage those on low incomes
• Book stock policies which do not reflect the needs of the community or are not in suitable formats
• Lack of a sense of ownership and involvement by the community

There are a string of other barriers, some of which are perception issues, such as: "libraries are not for us".

The main part of the document talks about articles and reports written on social exclusion in libraries and solutions to combat them. In one of the studies mentioned, one of the solutions is for libraries "to become much more proactive, interventionist and educative institutions, with a concern for social justice at their core." These studies are all fascinating both in their findings and solutions.

The last study mentions the case of Finnish and Cuban libraries and their methods of combating social exclusion. In the case of Cuban libraries, they report on one library where:

The librarians visit senior citizen centres and grandparent circles and talk about books and the university for seniors. They give conferences and run contests promoting books. They also visit work centres - at times, reading to the manual workers on shift … Bauta's very active outreach programme is called 'Librarian in the Community'. The town is divided into 26 neighbourhoods, each one being visited by a librarian, bringing books by bicycle.

The last part of the report concentrates quickly on some recommendations. The whole document is really worth a read for anyone working in or interested in public libraries.

source: Google News

On March 15 "the New York Public Library observes Freedom of Information Day with a program/presentation to heighten the public's awareness of freedom of information issues and essentially underscore the importance of freedom of the press, speech and information, and the public's right to know." Rick Blum of OpenTheGovernment.org will be giving a speech entitled: "Freedom Brings Security: Rules of an Open Society (and Why We Keep Ignoring Them)".

source: NYLINE listserv

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