"Need a free, real-time, user-friendly, customizable data source with interdisciplinary capabilities? Try a librarian!"

compliments of Vickey Baggott, Gov. Doc. Librarian

"Here's news. Even though college campuses are some of the most wired places on Earth, printed versions of college newspapers remain far more popular than their online editions." (Find the whole article on LexisNexis).

'Right of first sale' at risk. See below for an explanation. JS

This annotation is from Friday's Scout Report, a great service that clues us [librarians, usually] in on the best of the Web. This is a dictionary site that I have used and like. js

16. OneLook Dictionaries
http://www.onelook.com/
"A search engine for words," OneLook Dictionaries contains over 4 million words indexed in more than 700 online dictionaries. Whether you're looking for a definition or translation, OneLook will provide a list of Web dictionaries that can answer the questions you're seeking. Equally important, for those rare occasions when the spelling of a word is unknown, OneLook allows you to type in a pattern of letters with wildcard symbols such as "*" and "?," and it will retrieve a list of words matching that pattern. In short, everything you could ever want or need in a dictionary is available at this site.[MG]

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2002. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/

Fri. Aug. 16th

A Shortage of Academic Librarians

"Amid the mass of information available today, she says, it is the librarians and information specialists who "know how to organize it, find it, and evaluate the likelihood of its quality." For students, the challenge increasingly will be finding a librarian who can help them do this."

Click on the title above to get to the rest of the Chronicle of Higher Education article about the dearth of academic librarians.

Tues. Aug. 13th

Mooer's Law (Zipf's Principle of Least Effort)--If it is more painful to obtain information than do without it a person will not use an information system.

"Pain" for many people equals—entering a library and asking for help. Why? js

Mon. Aug. 12th

No Water in the University Library from about 12:30 to 2:30 P.M. today, Monday. Workmen are putting in water cutoff valves.

Confused about where things are in the library (so are we), but we will clue you in to what we DO know if you come on one of our tours. Even if you aren't a new student and just want to see what's happening with the construction and renovation, take 20 minutes out for our Grand Tour. JS

Diane Asséo Griliches: Library, the Drama

Selected photos from the exhibit

No water in the Library today--therefore no usable bathrooms! And if you need assistance getting to the library because the contractors are tearing up handicapped access, call Nancy at 460-7096--she pick you up in the "electric library cart."

Information Literacy Item Maybe plagiarism isn't the biggest worry professors should have when students use the public Internet for research. Click here for an article from the Washington Post about "thin thinking." JS

Construction Update from Dean Wood, "As it stands now, the driveway to the library loading dock should be accessible part of Wednesday morning (8-7), but parking will NOT be allowed along the driveway as preparations begin for the work. Weather permitting, the trench for a new water line will be dug Wednesday afternoon. Work on water lines to the addition is planned for sometime Thursday (8-8); however, if weather conditions prevent it from occuring on Thursday, the work will take place on Friday. Whenever the shutoff does occur, there will be NO WATER within the University Library. This will library staff will need to use restoom facilities in the Student Union during the shutdown period. The library will remain OPEN unless otherwise announced. [. . . ]"

If you need assistance to get to the library while the driveway is closed, call Terry at 6-8207 for an open-air limo. JS

Information Literacy Item The FTC is requesting that Internet search engines make a clear distinction between websites that pay them to show up at the top of the results list and legitimately found websites. Be aware that payment may influence your search results. Apparently Consumer's Union has found that 60% of Internet users don't know this.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Just when you learn how to work a database, they change it! Yep, Ebsco has a whole new look, and on or about Aug. 15th LexisNexis (no more hyphen) will roll out their new design. The good news is that Ebsco has fixed a major glitch and now you can add articles to "your folder" and print, email or save more than one at a time. JS

Mon. Aug. 5th

Wow! Two and a half weeks off and I arrived back to drastic changes--the front door and circulation desk are downstairs! How long this will be true is still undecided--it may be three weeks; it may be till January.

Information Literacy Item
While I was gone, Congress passed "The Teach Act," which will make it easier for Distance Ed. instructors to incorporate material into their classes without violating copyright. This is the first EXPANSION to copyright that has occurred in my lifetime! Below is the email and the link to the Bill(as yet unsigned) that was near the top of my email backlog. JS
------------------------------------
SIIA ED-TECH ALERT August 1, 2002 ITEM
"4: HOUSE COMMITTEE PAVES WAY FOR FINAL PASSAGE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION COPYRIGHT REFORM BILL

- Updates Distance Education Copyright Exemptions for Digital/Internet Age
- Reflects Concerns of SIIA Member Software and Information Companies
- Passage Into Law Will Enhance Distance Education Offerings

After a year delay resulting from unrelated Capitol Hill politicking, the House Judiciary Committee last week approved the Senate-passed "Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2001" (TEACH Act). The bill reforms distance education copyright law by broadening the existing exemption to take into account the realities of the digital age. Because the existing distance education copyright provisions were crafted more than 20 years ago, the Copyright Act exemptions did not allow for Internet-based and related digital distance education. The amended bill will now enable educators to incorporate copyright protected works into their online instruction without seeking the permission of the owner, including through elimination of the requirement of a physical classroom and expansion of the categories of works covered.

As a result of efforts by SIIA and other advocates, the bill strikes a proper balance between the need to protect publishers' intellectual property and the goal of easing the ability of educators to deliver robust online instruction. As a core condition, the exception only applies to mediated instructional activities, defined in the bill as those that use a work as an integral part of the class experience and are "analogous to the type of performance or display that would take place in a live classroom setting." The amended bill now also contains a number of new safeguards including: (1) excluding any work "produced or marketed primarily for performance or display as part of mediated instructional activities transmitted by digital networks"; (2) requiring that the performance or display be made under the "actual supervision of an instructor" as an "integral part" of a class session; and (3) requiring the transmitting body or institution to apply technological measures to prevent unauthorized access.

The TEACH Act is expected to be signed into law this year. The Senate Committee report, including a detailed explanation of the bill and its implications and conditions, is available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/z?cp107:sr031.
SIIA CONTACT: Mark Schneiderman, Director, Education Policy (202) 789-4444; marks@siia.net

Information Literacy Lesson

Information Literacy Item
House OKs life sentences for hackers
"The House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would allow for life prison sentences for malicious computer hackers.
By a 385-3 vote, the House approved a computer crime bill that also expands police ability to conduct Internet or telephone eavesdropping without first obtaining a court order. "

Many libraries like ours have long since cancelled print subscriptions to some of these Sage journals and will have no access to them unless we resubscribe to the print and obtain ten years of backlist microfilm. Do you still wonder why librarians are wary of succumbing to the lure of complete electronic access? JS

Information Literacy Item
Do Libraries Really Need Books? from this week's Chronicle of Higher Education--an addition to the ongoing debate about the future of libraries and library design. Where do you stand?

Summers are supposed to be slow and easy-going! Not in the library this year. The Reference staff is moving to Room 5 this week, because the present space is soon to become bathrooms. Circulation will move down shortly in order to facilitate asbestos abatement. Chaos for a month or more!

Librarians are a diverse group of people. Here are some librarian sites that might surprise you! js

The Lipstick Librarian!
Librarian Avengers
The Modified Librarian
Bellydancing Librarian
Laughing Librarian!
The Library Underground
Librarian.net
Progressive Librarian
Library Juice

Information Literacy Item
Do you consider yourself information literate? Information Literacy is not just knowing how to use a computer to find a book or article. Information exists in physical, social and cultural context and this context affects the usability, accessibility and value of information.

If I had been asked, I would have changed the wording slightly to "The information literate student demonstrates an understanding of many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding information." A bit broader than just "use of information." The stated moral imperative, "accesses and uses information ethically and legally" is not actually a part of information literacy, but of another important lesson in "ethical literacy."

All of this is just my way to justify this blog--this blog being a combination of air-conditioning warnings and my information issue of the day.

Information Literacy Lesson

P.S. The air-conditioning is working today! JS

Information Literacy Item
Where do people get their information? Not from libraries it seems! Check out this study.

• No air-conditioning here on Friday and Saturday this week!

The Topping-off Luncheon took place today outside Life Sciences. The full height of the building is in place--a traditional time to celebrate and appease the displaced gods. The ritual is to put a tree on the top, but I heard that it was going to be a flag instead.

• No air-conditioning here on Friday and Saturday!

Information Literacy Item:
Twenty-three years ago the Supreme Court and the IRS changed the business of publishing forever. Because of a major tax change in the case Thor Power Tool Company v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue it no longer was good business for publishers to warehouse backlist books. Here's a good explanation of why you can't find the classics on bookstore shelves anymore (and why libraries are essential public institutions.)

How Thor Power Hammered Publishing
http://www.sfwa.org/bulletin/articles/thor.htm

Tues. June 25

• Just found out the the air-conditioning is going to be off on Fri. and Sat. this week. If you need to do prolonged work in this building, dress lightly.

•Rant: I spent five hours Thurs. last week in a department computer lab on campus hoping to help students find info for their short term papers and projects. Very few takers. Disappointed! Eavesdropped on students using the Internet, using other university websites, choosing irrelevant search terms, being frustrated--it did not cross their minds to ask for assistance. Occasionally I forced my attentions upon them. Boy, did they think that was weird!

I admit it, much of the problem is that library databases are neither intuitive nor easy to use. But that's not the whole problem. Sorry, I wish I could fix it so that students' imprecise language was sharpened and their thoughts focused by the almighty computer. No I don't! Students need to practice thinking clearly and be taught to persevere. Overcoming problems, rethinking, editing, backtracking, close reading, asking for help, and rethinking some more is part of the process of searching for information and it's actually fun to stretch your brain doing this.

And, last, I'm not even sure that students think that finding information can be anything more than a school exercise. Enough. js

Wed. June 19

Information Literacy Item
The reasons that libraries exist at all is because of doctrine of first sale, Title 17, Section 109 of the U. S. Code, which says that once an item is purchased the copyright owner no longer has a claim on the use of that item. It can be resold, rented, leased, etc. Without having the legal right to lend items to our students, we would have no function.

But this situation is changing radically and the future of libraries, as we now know them, will be changing too. Most of our online sources, databases, full-text electronic journals, etc. are not sold to us; they are licensed. The copyright owner therefore gets to write the rules of how the items are used. For several years there were restrictions on home access to many of our databases. Fortunately technology saved the day in the form of proxy servers. Another thorny issue is making copies for interLibrary loan, a common service which may be restricted by the license agreement.

The libraries and consortiums must make very careful license negotiations with publishers who are terrified of losing any profits from rampant electronic copying. These publishers can afford to employ influential government lobbyists to protect their interests. The former Colorado Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, who spent 24 years in the House of Representatives, now serves as now the President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers.

Databases and articles are one issue, but as more and more books become digital, the right of first sale will disappear and licensing agreements will grow. The conflict between the libraries' legal use of information and the protection of corporate profits can only get bigger. Librarians, students, faculty and administrators need to know what's going on in order to shape the terms of the debate. Public awareness is crucial to its outcome.

Who still thinks that libraries are boring places where nothing ever happens! The following link is to an article that explains some of these problems much better than I can.

George H. Pike. The Delicate Dance of Databases Licenses, Copyright, and Fair Use from Computers in Libraries, May 2002: 12+. (If you are off-campus, it is in InfoTrac's Expanded Academic ASAP, Keyword search by title. js

Mon. June 17th

Information Literacy Item
Below is a link to the report of research designed by an instruction librarian to test the critical thinking skills of undergraduates, especially on their abilities/inabilities to do close reading of a popular magazine article, to select facts, to detect bias and other basic information skills they need for everyday living.
"How first-year college students read Popular Science:
An experiment in teaching media literacy skills." by Kate Manuel, New Mexico State University Library
http://www.utpjournals.com/jour.ihtml?lp=simile/issue6/Manuelfulltext.html

From ALA TechSource, June 2002: 4.

Information Literacy Lesson:
The serials prices of academic journals set by for-profit publishers are are eating up library budgets. A group called SPARC (Scholarly Resources and Academic Publishing Coalition) is fighting back. They have just published a manual important to all scholars, universities and academic libraries. http://www.arl.org/sparc/GI//toc/index.html

"The manual's focus is on the online dissemination of scholarly and scientific research, and possibly related information, by a nonprofit entity such as a university, consortium, learned society, or not-for-profit corporation. In addition to electronic journals, the planning process described in the manual applies equally well to creation of such other online ventures as academic servers or institutional repositories, and to the publication of printed and other offline products. " (http://www.arl.org/sparc/GI/sectionA/A_1.html)

•JSTOR (a great example of an affordable not-for-profit enterprise) has just announced that 24 more journals will now be available through its service. See http://www.jstor.org/browse?config=jstor for the whole list to which we have subscribed, organized by subject area. JS

Information Literacy Item
Since Sept. 11th, Government agencies have required Depository Libraries like ours to remove several documents received through the depository program. All agencies are now reviewing their depository items as well as their webpages. Many webpages have just "disappeared." Unfortunately there is no system of appeal that would allow legitimate scholars access to this previously available material. The issue is complex--how do we balance our need for research information with the issues of U. S. security? Apparently the agencies themselves get to decide without any oversight by a objective viewer or even the courts.

If you are at all interested check out this memo detailing the obligations of libraries to submit to this recall.

Information Literacy Item
The Center for Intellectual Property and Copyright, University of Maryland University College has developed an online, interactive tutorial on copyright basics called the The ©Primer . It's fun because it uses FLASH animation extensively and would be a good place to find answers to some of your copyright questions. JS

•New construction pictures are hot off the cameras--http://www.usouthal.edu/univlib/libbuilding21/index.htm

•This week's construction pictures are now up. 10:00 A.M.
•No online access in the University Library tomorrow. Fortunately the books still work!
•No Ground Floor Women's Rooms either. The asbestos guys have taken over most of the ground floor today. Use the second floor or go before you come.js

News at 4 P.M.

Saturday, June 1st, there will be NO (actually IFFY, intermittent, up and down) Internet access in the University Library building -- probably ALL DAY. NO internet access, No Voyager access ........ They are moving the hub room so all the ethernet connections, routers, etc are going to be "unplugged."
Anywhere else (on or off campus) people will be able to access our homepage, voyager, and the databases. The Biomedical Library campus access will be working. We will post signs on Friday.

Information Literacy Item:
Eldred vs Ashcroft

"The Congress shall have Power . . . To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries . . ." Article I, Section 6

•Are you the least bit interested in the battle over copyright. You should be! Mickey Mouse was due to be freed from copyright restrictions after 75 years in 2003, Instead, the late Congressman Sonny Bono, helped Disney get their control extended to 95 years as a corporate creator. Twenty more years of royalties are a lot of mouse droppings. If it was just Mickey maybe we would feel resigned, but you won't be able to sing Happy Birthday freely until 2030. Forget Gershwin or Irving Berlin.

The next interesti/p>

Thurs. May 23rd

•At about 3:00 today, we got word that the anti-asbestos folks were done abating on the 2nd Floor. The elevator opens now, but some aisles are still clogged with furniture and the gov. docs library staff have not yet moved back, but you may be able to get something you need before the long holiday weekend.

•Remember that the library is closed this weekend--and on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday.

•This just came across on my Instruction Listserv:

Factual Error Found on Internet

"LONGMONT, CO - The Information Age was dealt a stunning blow Monday, when a factual error was discovered on the Internet. The error was found onTedsUltimateBradyBunch.com, a Brady Bunch fan site that incorrectly listed the show's debut year as 1968, not 1969."

More: http://www.theonion.com/onion3819/factual_error_found.html
JS

•Right now one of the spiderman guys is right outside my window driving spikes and soldering something into the metal form that will eventually be a suspended walkway from this floor(Lobby level) of the old building to the 2nd floor of the new. The reference offices and ref desk will be right over on the new side. It's exciting to watch our new work area being built--well, exciting for us who have a low threshold for excitement.

•The Instructional Media Center, temporarily housed on the third floor is now back in business after a quick move from the Ground Floor.

•The 2nd Floor is closed, probably until Tuesday, May 28th when classes start. It is being asbestos abated (which seems to mean contained). All the gov. docs./serials staff are working in Room 5 on the Ground Floor till Tues. or so, though they have someone on duty at the main reference desk to help those who are desperate for documents. JS