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Catching up

Published by Iris on Sunday, June 4th, 2006

While I was “off line”:

I also clipped a whole bunch of really thought-provoking posts (library blogs were definitely active while I was away) that I’ll be reading, digesting, and thinking about today. Two of these are Lorcan Dempsey’s post of federated searching, John Blyberg’s post on the SocialPAC. Man, this is a GREAT time to be a librarian!

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Connecticut Librarians vs. Patriot Act

Published by Iris on Wednesday, May 31st, 2006

The “M” Word, Libraryola, and The Librarian in Black have all picked up the story. The New York Times did a piece on it, as did the ACLU Press. Here’s The “M” Word’s version:

In case you didn’t hear, the “Connecticut Four” are finally able to speak out after enduring the months-long gag order they had been restricted by when the FBI demanded records about their library patrons under the Patriot Act. See the articles in the NY Times this morning, Four Librarians Finally Break Silence in Records Case and Librarians Decry Patriot Act Gag Order (free subscriptions required).

According to a statement released by ALA, “The Plaintiffs were finally allowed to speak publicly after lawyers representing the government withdrew an appeal to keep their identities hidden after Federal District Court Judge Janet C. Hall declared the perpetual gag order that accompanies National Security Letters unconstitutional.”

The four librarians were:


The librarians expressed “frustration about the sweeping powers given to law enforcement authorities by the USA Patriot Act.”

”I am incensed that the government uses provisions of the Patriot Act to justify unrestrained and secret access to the records of libraries,” said George Christian of Windsor, Conn., executive director of the Library Connection, Inc., a consortium of libraries in the central part of the state.”

George Christian was the first one to receive the confidential request from the F.B.I. He was quoted as saying:

“I was shocked by the restraints the gag order imposed on me,” said Mr. Christian, who said that after receiving the request he was unsure whether he could consult a lawyer or his board of directors.

“The fact that the government can and is eavesdropping on patrons in libraries has a chilling effect, because they really don’t know if Big Brother is looking over their shoulder,” he added.

Being free to speak now, weeks after the Patriot Act was reauthorized for several more years, was “like being allowed to call the Fire Department after the building has burned down,” he said.

According to ALA’s release, incoming president Leslie Burger hopes that the stand they took will have an effect in creating new laws that “better reflect what this country stands for.”

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A Fine Old Brouhaha

Published by Iris on Saturday, May 27th, 2006

You know you’ve ruffled some feathers when a single blog post gets 200 comments (some of them quite vulgar) in one day, and it’s follow-up post already has more than 50 comments (again, many of them are quite vulgar). It all started when O’Reilly Media sent a cease and desist letter to IT@Cork because the IT@Cork was planning to put on a conference called the “Web 2.0 Half-Day Conference” and (apparently) O’Reilly has applied for a service mark (both here and in the UK) that prohibits anyone other than O’Reilly to have a live conference or event that has the words “Web 2.0” in the title.

Others have noted that O’Reilly wasn’t the first to use the term, so he doesn’t really have a claim to it.

Michael Casey has assured everyone that, whether you love it or hate it, the “Library 2.0” term is in the public domain.

It’s kind of funny because just the day before this whole thing blew up, a co-worker and I were talking about the Library 2.0 concept and name. She expressed concern that whenever someone puts a new and catchy name onto something that we’ve already been doing you have to worry what they’re selling you. This turned out to be so true with the Web version of the name!

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A Less Modest Proposal: DUCAS

Published by Iris on Sunday, May 14th, 2006

I’ve been inspired by Congress’ care for school children. The idea that they’re willing to take radical and questionably popular steps to safeguard these developing minds really gives me the warm-fuzzies. So, in the spirit of safeguarding school children from influences that could harm them, I propose my own bill: DUCAS. DUCAS has the potential to save children from a leading cause of death. Yes, that’s right, I will save these children from obesity. I will Delete Unhealthy Calories At School.

Here’s my thought process. Calories cause us to be fat. Not all of them, I know. But you never know which calorie will glom on to your ribs or stomach. In fact, I would argue that while children are unlikely to meet an online predator very often, they are quite likely to ingest one of these fat-causing calories fairly frequently if not every day (thinking of the kind of food they serve in schools). In order to save children from these potential killers, I propose that we shield students from all calories at school. Who’s with me?

Are you ready to stop obesity and all the negative health and social effects associated with that condition? Do you love this nation’s children? Then join me in proposing legislation that will radically change our nation’s future; join me in proposing DUCAS.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Congress for drafting DOPA (PDF), which continues to inspire me. I would also like to thank Jonathan Swift for keeping imagination alive and for not being afraid to take radical measures to solve national problems.

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