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From: "PUBYAC: PUBlic librarians serving Young Adults and
Children" <pubyac@prairienet.org>
To: "PUBYAC: PUBlic librarians serving Young Adults and Children"
<pubyac@prairienet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2001 11:01 PM
Subject: PUBYAC digest 543
PUBYAC Digest 543
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) BESS vs The Google Search Engine (Cache, Groups, Images)
by "Don Wood" <dwood@ala.org>
2) Kid friendly circulation Policues
by Diana Norton <norton@midyork.lib.ny.us>
3) RE: Storytime Etiquette
by carrie@nysoclib.org
4) Re: censorship acc.
by Jennifer Baker <jbaker93711@yahoo.com>
5) STUMPER: Fire Truck Picture Book
by "Megan L. Gill" <gillme@oplin.lib.oh.us>
6) Stumper: Boy and tiny (3 in.) girl
by kuntzj@carnegielibrary.org
(Jennifer Kuntz)
7) Adirondack stumper
by "Robin Benoit" <rbenoit@mcls.rochester.lib.ny.us>
8) book about ancestors, lineage
by "Prophet, Katherine" <KTProphet@city.surrey.bc.ca>
9) FEN Newswire: Subpoenaed Bookstores Successfully Defend
by "Don Wood" <dwood@ala.org>
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From: "Don Wood" <dwood@ala.org>
To: <ifaction@ala.org>
Subject: BESS vs The Google Search Engine (Cache, Groups, Images)
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Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 10:34:54 CDT
Available at: http://sethf.com/anticensorware/bess/google.php
BESS vs The Google Search Engine (Cache, Groups, Images)
Abstract: This report examines how N2H2's censorware deals with
archives of large amount of information. Three features are examined
from the Google search engine (Cache, Groups, Images). N2H2/BESS is
found to ban the cached pages everywhere, pass porn in groups, and
consider all image searching to be pornography. The general problems
of censorware versus large archives are discussed (i.e., why
censorware is impelled to situations such as banning the Google cache).
--
Seth Finkelstein Consulting Programmer sethf@sethf.com
http://sethf.com
http://archive.nytimes.com/2001/07/19/technology/circuits/19HACK.html
BESS's Secret LOOPHOLE: http://sethf.com/anticensorware/bess/loophole.php
------------------------------
From: Diana Norton <norton@midyork.lib.ny.us>
To: "PUBYAC@prairienet.org"
<PUBYAC@prairienet.org>
Subject: Kid friendly circulation Policues
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Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 17:58:55 CDT
A library serving a city of about 60,000 in upstate New York is looking
for suggestion of kid friendly circulation policies. Currently many
kids' cards are not useable because of unpaid fines and fear of fines
or lost books is often means that parents' won't allow children to get
cards. We are looking for policies which balance a library's
responsibilities to care for public property and children's natural
tendency to forget deadlines and sometimes be careless. Do any of you
have circ policies you think work well.
Diana Norton
norton@midyork.lib.ny.us
Mid-York Library System
Utica, NY 13502
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From: carrie@nysoclib.org
To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: RE: Storytime Etiquette
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Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 17:59:19 CDT
Pat-
In addition to a brochure (which may or may not get read), you might want to
address parents during a program, as you would for a disruptive child.
I
try to use humor saying something like, "Mommy's in the corner, we need
to
see your listening ears on too." That usually gets the point
across.
Carrie Silberman, Children's Librarian
New York Society Library
carrie@nysoclib.org
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From: Jennifer Baker <jbaker93711@yahoo.com>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: Re: censorship acc.
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Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 17:59:36 CDT
Andrea,
Unfortunately I missed your original post (must have
zapped it) but I think I get the jist. I wouldn't
consider what you did censorship, just good management
of a potentially sticky situation.
At our library we have a young man (14-15 years old)
who has created a similar situation. Since he's been
coming here since he was a little kid most of the
staff is friendly with him--although he can
occasionally try our patience. He has been caught
looking at porn sites before and has been talked to
and even had his privledges temporarily revoked.
The problem I've had with him lately is trying to
teach him what is and isn't appropriate for viewing in
the children's area. We had a patron complain that he
was looking at a "bad" site. When we investigated, he
was looking at a site with pictures of people who had
been in motorcycle accidents, etc. (I can't remember
the name of the site but blood & gore is apparently
its speciality) I told him if he wanted to look at
that stuff he'd have to go to the adult area and he
didn't understand why.
This was a new one on me. He honestly didn't see why
it was offensive. When we caught him looking at porn
he was embarrassed and apologetic but in this
situation he was adamant that he had done nothing
wrong. I explained to him that he wasn't in trouble,
he was not being punished, he just needed to be
mindful of other patrons and what *they* might find
inappropriate and he was perfectly welcome to look at
those sites in the adult computer lab.
It was actually an interesting experience. I'm not a
mom, so talking about a sensitive topic like this with
a teenage boy was educational for both of us.
I don't think what I did was censorship either. When
we are talking about computers that can be seen from
across the room by anybody casually walking by we have
to consider the rights of everyone, not just the
person who is sitting in front of the monitor.
Jennifer Baker
Fresno Co. Library
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From: "Megan L. Gill" <gillme@oplin.lib.oh.us>
To: PUBYAC@prairienet.org
Subject: STUMPER: Fire Truck Picture Book
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Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 18:00:54 CDT
A young patron lost a favorite picture book in a house fire and his family
wants to replace it. They can't remember the title, but the following is
their brief summary of the book. The main character is a female fire truck
that just comes off the assembly line. After she is assigned to a fire
station, she saves fireman Gus during a house fire. Our patrons thought the
book was old, and the pictures appeared in black and white. Does anyone
have an idea what the title might be? Thank you in advance for your help.
------------------------------
From: kuntzj@carnegielibrary.org
(Jennifer Kuntz)
To: PUBYAC@prairienet.org
Subject: Stumper: Boy and tiny (3 in.) girl
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Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 18:01:17 CDT
Oh sagacious ones,
I don't have much to go on with this. A patron asked about a book he
remembers from the 60's about a normal sized boy who befriends a tiny
(about 3 in. tall) girl. He doesn't remember much more, except he
remembers something about her sailing away in a tiny hot air balloon.
He says it's not The Borrowers or The Littles. We've checked Amazon,
What Do Children Read Next and NoveList as well as our own catalog.
Thanks in Advance.
-Jennifer Kuntz
Squirrel Hill Branch Library Children's Room
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
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From: "Robin Benoit" <rbenoit@mcls.rochester.lib.ny.us>
To: <pubyac@prairienet.org>
Subject: Adirondack stumper
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Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 18:01:42 CDT
Thank you to all who gave me the title Cold River by William Judson to fill
my patron's request for a book she remembered which was set in the
Adirondacks and involved the father's death during a canoeing trip. I
so
appreciate all of you taking the time to answer me!
Robin Benoit
Children's Librarian
Fairport Public Library
1 Village Landing
Fairport, New York 14450
716-223-9091
rbenoit@mcls.rochester.lib.ny.us
------------------------------
From: "Prophet, Katherine" <KTProphet@city.surrey.bc.ca>
To: pubyac@prairienet.org
Subject: book about ancestors, lineage
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Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 18:01:59 CDT
A stumper from my colleague Gayle Harris:
"I was forwarded a query today that's stumped me and now I must figure
it
out! A patron wants to send this book to her grandkids in England. She heard
a boy and his dad talking about it on the Grouse Grind. She thinks the boy
was around 9 and was raving about a book about, as she described it, lineage
- I gather the character went back to his great, great, great...etc
relatives. She thinks the title is something like The Long Long Tale or the
Long Journey. The only one that came to my mind was the Neverending Story,
but she didn't think that was it. (And it doesn't match the
description.)"
Any suggestions can either be posted here on PUBYAC or emailed to:
gjharris@city.surrey.bc.ca
Thanks!
------------------------------
From: "Don Wood" <dwood@ala.org>
To: <ifaction@ala.org>
Subject: FEN Newswire: Subpoenaed Bookstores Successfully Defend
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Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 18:02:20 CDT
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, September 4, 2001
For further information, contact:
Chris Finan, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, (212)
587-4025
SUBPOENAED BOOKSTORES SUCCESSFULLY DEFEND CUSTOMER PRIVACY
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The federal government has agreed not to pursue the
production of customer records requested in subpoenas issued to three
bookstores in connection with an investigation of U.S. Senator Robert G.
Torricelli of New Jersey, Chris Finan, president of the American Bookseller=
s
Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), announced today. The
government's =
decision came after the bookstores said they would file a motion to quash =
the subpoenas on First Amendment grounds. "It is a victory for
customer =
privacy and First Amendment rights," Finan said.
ABFFE agreed to assist the bookstores - Books & Books, Coral Gables,
Florida, Olsson's Books and Records, Washington, D.C., and Arundel Books, =
Los Angeles, CA - after they received subpoenas seeking all records =
relating to purchases by Torricelli and seven other people since January =
1, 1995. Finan said that the subpoenas were extremely broad and would have =
required the bookstores to turn over personal information about their =
customers, including the titles of the books they had purchased, that =
would have a chilling effect on the First Amendment rights of all =
bookstore customers.
At ABFFE's request, Daniel Mach, a lawyer in the Washington office of =
Jenner and Block, notified the Justice Department that the bookstores =
intended to file a motion to quash the subpoenas on First Amendment =
grounds. At that time, the Justice Department agreed not to seek any =
title-specific information. The bookstores stated that it was
not =
feasible to produce the other information being sought by the government.
Finan said there has been an alarming increase in efforts by law enforcemen=
t authorities to gain access to titles of works purchased by bookstore =
customers. The Torricelli case is the fourth attempt in the last 16 =
months. Earlier this year, law enforcement officials in Cleveland =
attempted to force Amazon.com to produce the purchase history of potentiall=
y thousands of its customers in northeastern Ohio. In April 2000, four
=
police officers attempted to execute a search warrant at the Tattered =
Cover Book Store in Denver. Several months later, a subpoena was
issued =
to several Borders Books and Music Stores in the Kansas City area.
The Borders' subpoena was quashed on First Amendment grounds and the =
search warrant issued to the Tattered Cover was narrowed by a judge for =
the same reason. (The judge ordered Tattered Cover to turn over some
of =
the information sought by the police, but the store has appealed to the =
Colorado Supreme Court.) The search warrant issued in the Amazon.com
case =
was never executed, and the related investigation has been closed.
ABFFE has been leading the fight to protect customer privacy in bookstores =
since 1998 when it helped Kramerbooks, a Washington bookstore, protect the =
privacy of White House intern Monica Lewinsky's records from a subpoena by =
Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr.
------------------------------
End of PUBYAC Digest 543
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