07.29.06
Posted in News at 1:09 pm by Paloma Cruz
Anyone who thinks librarians are a quiet bunch hasn’t been monitoring their responses to the Patriot Act, CIPA and, now, DOPA.
The US House Resolution 5319, the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), was passed by a 410 to 15 vote recently, creating a flurried response both before and after it was passed.
Some blogs and articles to read to find great info on this
Techcrunch — US House: Schools must block MySpace, many other sites:
If the Resolution becomes law social networking sites and chat rooms must be blocked by schools and libraries or those institutions will lose their federal internet subsidies. According to the resolution’s top line summary it will “amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require recipients of universal service support for schools and libraries to protect minors from commercial social networking websites and chat rooms.”[snip]
410-15 was a shocking vote. I write about it here because it has the potential to impact a huge portion of our readership and the companies we profile on this site. Though the viability of enforcing such a law is open to question, web services offering collaboration in education are looking seriously endangered. Secondary collaborative consequences of commercial web sites used in schools aren’t looking good either. Or perhaps it’s just symbolic of the divide in the US between on one hand those of us who are excited about the incredible potential of web services to enable personal creativity and on-demand global communication and on the other hand those who believe that the internet is just a series of tubes.
I’m not the best person to analyze this though. Here’s who I recommend:
- Declan McCullagh at ZDNet has posted a very thorough background article on DOPA.
- Andy Carvin writes Learning Now, a blog about education and technology for PBS, and has set up a page called DOPAWatch to aggregate blog posts on the topic.
- danah boyd is probably the web’s leading expert in analyzing the politics of MySpace and youth social networking.
- Will Richardson’s Weblogg-Ed is a great source for all things Learning 2.0
- Vicki A. Davis is a Christian school teacher in Georgia who uses blogs, wikis, podcasting and more in her classrooms. Vicki has written a number of powerful posts on DOPA and I would expect she’ll have something to say in the morning.
Tame the Web points to Don Wood’s Tell Your Senators Why DOPA Is Bad for Libraries:
Where do you stand?
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07.08.06
Posted in General at 12:31 am by Paloma Cruz
Special thanks to Metroblogging Houston’s katya for posting her recipe for keeping within her budget while having summer fun: using the local library.
I know this isn’t rocket science, but I’ve been saving money like crazy by skipping Border’s and heading towards the Houston Public Library instead.
The Heights library is the closest branch to our house, but just doesn’t have the majority of the books that we are addicted to. Enter the online catalog, full of pretty much everything (even some out of print surprises) that you could possibly want. Do a city-wide search and have the books delivered to the nearest location to you - and never be book-less again!
Easy as pie and way cheaper than indulging at the bookstore for every little summer reading craving you get.
I’m always amazed when people “discover” the library. Being an avid library user, I borrow DVDs and CDs, download audiobooks to my laptop, use the interlibrary loan to borrow books that my library doesn’t own, and use the online databases to do research. All for free.
Not a bad deal.
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07.07.06
Posted in Resources at 11:35 pm by Paloma Cruz
In a follow up to a previous “cool tools” post, here’s another resource for finding great little tools: Library Web Chic’s Cool Tools Update for Webmasters. Included in the list are link popularity checkers, password keepers and php editors. Worth bookmarking.
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07.06.06
Posted in General at 11:46 pm by Paloma Cruz
Baytown woman arrested for overdue library book
– reported by KTRK ABC Channel 13
A Baytown woman got pulled over, thinking she’d just get a ticket. Instead, she was arrested and you won’t believe why. It’s a story that will have you thinking twice about keeping those library books long after they’re due.
[snip]
“I didn’t know you could go to jail for not returning a library book,” she said.
“It’s a violation of the city ordinance,” explained Baytown Assistant City Manager Kelvin Knauf.
Knauf said both the city attorney and the library sent Ibarra notices about her overdue book and her $118 fine.
After months with no response, a warrant was issued for her arrest and the rest is history. Ibarra says she never received the notices because she moved, but she accepts responsibility for her actions, even though she thinks the consequence was extreme.
[snip]
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Posted in News at 5:17 am by Paloma Cruz
From the ALA Web site:
The Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2006 Best of Show competition, sponsored by LAMA/Public Relations and Marketing Section/Swap and Shop Committee.
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07.05.06
Posted in Resources at 10:15 pm by Paloma Cruz
Here’s an oldie but goodie, a powerpoint presentation presented at Computers in Libraries earlier this year. The download time sucks, but it’s worth it.
(Found via LibrarianInBlack.)
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