Kol Safran קול ספרן

Customer Service

2012-01-24T22:55:00.000-06:00

New President Interview -- Part 11 Customer Service*

Q> I read an article by Norm Brodsky, “The Inspector” concerning how a hotel
should treat their guests. When the hotel owners wanted to join a trade association they needed to have a superior level of service. Since they never knew when the inspector would visit they started treating every guess like the secret inspector. In many colleges, students, staff, and faculty grumble that they are not treated properly. They complain about people who don’t treat them nicely. How are you working to change the culture of the College?

A> Changing a culture of mistrust takes a lot of work. A well run organization depends of trusting everyone to do their job with excellence. Even when they believe they are doing a good job, there is room for improvement. It would be great if we could learn some ideas from entrepreneurs. We need to let people take risks without fear of reprisals. We have to let people fight for what is right without fear for their jobs.

In the College community taking chances has not been rewarded. For example if the staff in one department is not doing their jobs of helping students, the students may grumble to a sympathetic faculty or staff member. However, that person may have no power to make a change. If the person listening to the complaint takes initiative to solve the student’s problem, the person should be thanked and praised.

Even when you think you are doing the best you can, there is room for improvement. We never should lose sight of the goal of education is to prepare students for the next step. Education really never ends. Once a goal is achieved a new one appears.

Q> Pretend the College was being inspected for membership in a prestigious organization what areas would you work on? Consider that failure could be based on ignoring a small detail.

A> A hotel has to be meticulous in appearance. While the College does not have the same standard, our appearance is the face we present to everyone walking in the door. We need attractive buildings and grounds to attract new students and faculty. A campus in disarray will give a signal that our academic level is not very high.

The whole staff and faculty must be involved in the process of making the campus a pleasant place. The library staff sometimes need to remind library users not to eat meals in the library public areas. Staff should not be eating their meals in public areas such as computer labs, open offices, and science labs.

Pride of accomplishment should be instilled on everyone. Pride is contagious and can help everyone feel better about themselves and the institution. Students will notice a difference when people are able to help them.

Since everything can change over time, improvement needs to be done every day. “Reinvention” is a buzz word in some institutions. We don’t have to reinvent pride of accomplishment and empowerment to accomplish the best. People who aren’t doing their jobs will get annoyed. They will even complain that I am “not nice” enough to them. Pointing people in the right direction is sometimes difficult.

Q> What concrete steps would you encourage to improve customer service with every contact outside of the classroom or teacher-student interaction?

A> In the business offices, departmental offices, administrative offices and the library we must greet everyone when they come in. Just as retail stores greet customers, we must say hello or offer assistance. If a person looks lost or like they are searching for something, offer help. That also means we have to give people the institutional knowledge to be able to help them. If the person seeks directions to a room or event, we must be able to know or find the answer.

Every manager, supervisor, and department head should be responsible for teaching, monitoring and mentoring great customer service. They should be figuring out how to get to “yes.”

Q> A friend who teaches students to be librarians said that are trained in public service and to be advocates for readers. Have you done anything to help the librarians spread this knowledge?

A> Librarians are really the most versatile faculty members. At any given moment they can be teaching the newest freshman or the most senior campus scholar. The have to be able to give help for any subject taught at the College. I hear complaints that faculty don’t consult with the librarians enough. When professors prepare for class they should make sure the Library has the resources for the assignments. I’ve heard many comments from librarians concerning syllabi with incorrect citations for the class required readings. I am going to do my best to help the librarians get the word out that they are ready to help. When we work together as a team the students and faculty feel like winners.

In future professional development sessions we plan to learn more from the librarians.

Q> Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts.

*Part eleven of an imaginary interview with the recently appointed president of the College. Note this is just for your information and edification. Any connection to a real college president is strictly coincidental.

Finding My Father

2012-01-22T17:50:00.001-06:00

For the past couple of weeks I have been editing letters that my father wrote from June – August, 1945 while stationed in Italy. As a good historian I have been trying to put these letters into some kind of context. He mentioned movies, operas, and USO shows that he attended along with some of his friends. I was able to put some context to the entertainment activities. I was amazed that while a soldier stationed near Naples he bought a season ticket to the San Carlos Opera House. He mentioned that he saw the opera, Faust. He compared the actor in the role of Méphistophélès to when he saw the opera in St. Louis with Enzio Pinza. The only time he could have seen Enzio Pinza was on April 24, 1939. He thought Pinza did a better job.

This led me to investigate some of the names of people whom he mentioned to his sisters. Some of them were only mentioned by first names as if his sisters knew. One person, Naomi, my cousin Chaim was able to tell me her lat name and the city where she lives. I called her and made contact today. Her grandmother and my grandfather were sibling, making us 2nd cousins. She said she has a grandson who lives in Chicago. I called him. Her brother, Arthur also talked with me today.

I still need to put some context to the story of soldiers after the war ended in Germany. Some soldiers were needed to occupy and de-Nazify Germany. The US Army took control of Rome on 4 June 1944. The war with Italy was over. For the soldiers in Italy the war was over almost a year when my father wrote these letters. He was anxious to get home as he had been away almost 5 years.

I still have unanswered questions that would help put the letters in context. In my research I have not found any books that talk about the logistical challenge of returning all the soldiers to their homes. I do not want to spend the time digging through newspapers and original documents to tell that story. I just want to read someone else’s research. The story of the soldier’s relationship with his home and family has not been well told, but I am not the person to tell that story. I only want to understand a little about my father in the years before I was born.

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Picture was taken in May 1945.

New President Interview -- Part 10 Management Style

2011-12-26T21:48:00.000-06:00

Q> Student-centered education is frequently mentioned as a way to center the process of learning on the student rather than on those teaching or administering the schools. What place does this theory fit in the way the College operates? *

A> Student-centered learning needs to be focused on making the students active participants in their education. There is a difference between student-centered education at the post-secondary and the education at the elementary and secondary levels. College students need to take more responsibility for their learning than younger students. As students play an active role in the learning process, they should become students who gain critical thinking skills and participate in life-long learning.

Another aspect of student-centered education is administrative. As an administrator I have to balance the needed of all academic and business departments. I want to train the business and administrators to think of the students in their plans and programs. For example if a noisy building project is needed, students and staff should be informed far in advance so that they can make alternative plans if needed. If possible, the project should be done during vacation times or when students will not be affected. If the city decided to repave the street in front of the school with a lot of noisy operations, staff, the students and faculty should be informed. The information would help them cope with the noise and make people feel better and less helpless.

We need to listen to the students’ needs and offer reasonable alternatives. Teachers need to recognize multiple learning styles. However, that does not mean the students are always right. Sometimes the voices of wisdom, reason and experience trump student desires. In the formulation of any administrative decision or rule we must think of the impact on the students and those who teach and administer to the students. The job of a good manager is to pick the best people for the job and then clear the way for them to do a good job. When they are doing a good job, push them to do an excellent job.

Q> I hear some people want higher education to be more on a business model. They point to proprietary schools that make money. How does the profit motive fit into the College’s education goals?

A> The business model is fine for the financial and business operations. We should be managing our money as well as the best businesses. We should pay our bills on time and not waste time with getting budgeted items through the system. I have always been bothered by the amount of time a bill takes to be paid and the wasted staff time to check on the progress of an invoice.

The College is not in the business of making a profit. We will not cut a department just because they have too few students. College students should be able to pursue their academic interests. We need to teach philosophy and anthropology because they are worthwhile academic disciplines not because they will directly lead to a job placement. On one hand businesses complain when graduates are not prepared and on the other they demand that students be able to think critically and creatively. Critical thinking, reading and writing can be learned in any major. We don’t want all of our students to be business and education majors. The world needs technically savvy graduates, but also those who can adapt to new challenges. The liberal arts degree prepares students to be well rounded and able to think. The sciences and technology disciplines are also important. They teach students a way of thinking about how the world works. The potential scientist should know how to think critically in many areas because so many aspects of knowledge are intertwined.

For example archeologists need knowledge of the human body to understand human remains and tools. Historians need to understand all aspects of the human endeavor from psychology and sociology to technology. Engineers need to know how tools will be used from a psychological and sociological point of view. When I was a computer programmer I needed knowledge of mathematics, business, politics, and human relations. The most innovative firms are those who have experts who are fluent in multiple disciplines.

Q> The skills of a good teacher or professor are difference from those of an administrator. What are some of the skills you had to modify or adapt from your teaching days?

A> Visibility -- As a professor and a member of a larger group of professionals I did my best to be visible. I wrote papers, talked to people, and attended meetings within the College and within the profession. Professors who want to advance in rank and prestige need to be visible. The president needs to balance visibility and working quietly behind the scenes. There are conflicting opinions as to how to balance visibility. The president is the symbol and official representative of the College to campus groups, the board of trustees, and the community. I have to deliver words of greeting and welcome to many groups. The president sets the tone for all of the College’s work. The members of the College community need to see and know me so that we can work together. Some administrators create a well-oiled machine and stay in the background. The College has administrators with a very public face who walk around and greet and meet people and some work behind closed doors most the day.

Administrators should not stick out like “sore-thumbs.” They should be there when guidance and encouragement are needed. They should never miss an opportunity to say something nice or encouraging. Giving thanks and recognition are always remembered and help when the president needs support.

Collaboration -- The way people collaborate as professors and administrators is different. Professors need to collaborate on research and in administering their departments. They don’t need to collaborate with many people outside of their department unless they are on committees. Librarians are the only faculty who work with all of the academic disciplines. Much of the class preparation and class work is done by themselves. Administrators must work as a team in almost all their projects. One of their skills is assembling a team that will be effective and get the job done. Another skill is keeping the team focused, motivated and on task.

Glory -- Many successful academics seek the individual glory of authored papers and conference participation. People need to be appreciated and recognized. This is an important part of being an administrator. A president does not need to take individual credit for successful projects. A good leader will find ways to share the glory or even make everyone think the project was done without the leader’s help. When I was a camp counselor I mastered the technique of guided decisions. I told the youngsters they cold decide among several options. I already decided what options were available. This worked a lot better that telling them what to do even when the result was exacting the same.

Administrators need to help those involved come up with ideas and make decisions. If two departments have conflicting space needs it is better to give them the parameters and options rather than issuing a rule by fiat from the top. Change is part of the process of making an institution better. The people who have to live with the decisions, should be part of the decision process and the glory of success.

Compromise -- Administrators have to compromise in ways that will serve the best interests of the College. Academics are often rewarded for strong arguments and debate in professional discourses. Students and faculty can argue the minutiae of an academic problem. If they sit on the fence their academic view can be perceived as lacking a spine. In administration extreme positions are viewed as a negative. The extreme positions do not take into account significant minority positions. The College has diverse stakeholders including students, faculty, staff, and community. The administration must sometimes take a middle ground decision to accommodate diverse interests.

On matters of safely, security and ethical behavior there can be no compromise. One must balance interests so that the course of action is principled and ethical with diverse opinions taken into account. Sometime different ethical systems are in conflict. In Jewish law the principle of “saving a life” could push aside other laws. In the ethics of lawyers, “saving a life” is not a defense for violating the rules.

Personal Privacy -- The personal life of professors at some institutions is private. Many professors separate their home and professional lives. I believe that teachers are leaders and mentors for their students. They have to model behavior they want to the students to learn. Some aspects of personal life are none of the students’ or College’s business, but if they behave toward their students, colleagues or the College in ways that are harmful to the persons or institution, they need to be disciplined or terminated. If the outside behavior brings unwelcome attention to the College, the activity must be stopped. The administrators have higher standards because they are not only employees at will of the College; they are also supposed to be setting the example for the faculty. What may be a mild indiscretion for a professor may be grounds for termination of an administrator. If the board decides one’s actions are not appropriate for the good of the College, the administrator may be terminated faster than any tenured professor.

Setting schedules -- Many people outsiders think academic work allows a flexible schedule. Professors can decide when they teach, do preparation, and perform research. Professors typically do not have a 9 -5 schedule. Administrators have schedules that are more connected to normal business hours. Since the College has courses that meet as early as 8 am and end as late as 9:30 PM, someone has to be on duty all of those hours. We need administrative and other staff on duty at all times. One can work 9 – 5 and then have an evening meeting or event. Administrators have more scheduled meetings than professors, but professors have scheduled classes. I just had to learn how to keep track of my schedule in a different way than when I was a professor. I have to schedule thinking and planning time.

Reporting hierarchy -- The reporting structure for faculty and administrators is different. Professors in some aspects do not view themselves as having an immediate supervisor. They report to a departmental head who reports to the provost. They are required to submit syllabi and some reports, but in many aspects of their day-to-day activities they report to no one. Some may think they are intellectual entrepreneurs. They try to stay out of the way of the deans and chair-people except when they need more resources. The administration has a clearly defined reporting structure. Since they are not tenured, they try to please their supervisors. If they fail the board may send them walking.

Dress code -- I always wear a tie when I’m “on duty.” I learned a long time ago to dress the part or dress the part you want to be. When I was a professor I always wore a tie and depending on the weather a jacket. Administrators are expected to wear business attire and act in ways that show they are beyond the “hippy days.” Professors dress more casually, even though I wish they wouldn’t. Since we have a large student age range, I would never want a professor’s clothing to label him/her as a student or non-professional. I saw one teacher wearing a plain T-shirt and torn pants and told him privately that was not acceptable. He grumbled, but I view this as a matter of public image. We don’t have a formal dress code, but I have appointed committee for investigating the best way to approach this subject. Even student workers should not dress in a manner inappropriate to the kinds of tasks they perform. Professors may be individualistic or idiosyncratic in their dress or actions, but administrators must act at a more formal level.

Work of teaching -- Academics may focus on their teaching, work or research. Even in a business setting business people talk about their jobs or work. It is a common way for people to get to know one another. Professors after telling some about their work may solicit a comment such as, “What do you think of this project or idea?” Professors and teachers in general may talk about their students. They may compare notes about the best, the worst, and those with the best stories. This is the way they learn to cope with difficult situations. They learn that problems or excellence are not unique. I even wrote articles based on some of the more interesting questions or people I encountered.

The faculty goals are more personal than the goals of the administration. Faculty like to be the center of attention in and out of the classroom. Administrators are expected to support the educational process. Their goal is to help the faculty be better faculty, not promote themselves. If they focus too much on their accomplishments they are not viewed as successful administrators.

The reward system for faculty and administrators is different. Faculty are rewarded by the recognition of their peers and success of their students. Their rewards are individual. Administrators are rewarded by communal and board recognition. Their reward is based on how well the College as a whole is succeeding. Their rewards are communal.

Q> Thank you very much.

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*Part ten of an imaginary interview with the recently appointed president of the College. Note this is just for your information and edification. Any connection to a real college president is strictly coincidental.

Part of this article was inspired by, “!0 Bad Habits” by Robert J. Sternberg that was posted December 21, 2011 on the InsideHigherEd.com web site (http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2011/12/21/essay-professorial-traits-administrators-need-drop) Other parts were inspired from conversations with Professor Harvey Abramovitz of Purdue University.

Stuhlman and the iPad – Follow up

2011-12-23T12:52:00.002-06:00

Many people wrote comments to concerns that I wrote in my Dec. 18th review of the iPad. I was not trying to make a comprehensive scientific study of the iPad. I was just delivering my opinion based on how I would use the device in my computing environement. I changed part of the text of the blog to reflect these comments. Today I received from Jacquie Henry these comments. (It is reprinted here with permission and edited for clarity)

I found this [guide book] after our recent conversation on your blog about iPads. An iPad certainly is a different animal than a desktop or a laptop -- PC OR Mac. This [guide] helped me find some of the annoying "missing" elements. It is not free, and it should be since the user has already paid plenty for the iPad. The tips I got from it were worth the price.

I am most puzzled by the problems you have experienced with the touch screen. Mine never has a blip. I wonder if an Apple technician should have a look to see if there is a flaw.

Check out this application on the App Store: Tips & Tricks - iPad Secrets (iOS 5 Edition)

I acknowledge that the iPad is a different class than desktop of laptop computers. The iPad is a limited function machine compared to the general function machines. As a limited function machine, it cuts corners for size and function. It is an addicting machine, but not a replacement for a full service computer. The screen image is breath taking compared to the much bigger LCD and CRT screens attached to my desktop computers. The touch screen has its strengths and limitations. The instant on feature is a great time and aggravation saver.

Apple claims the battery life is 10 hours, but I did not test this.
The iPad price starts at $499, which is more than similar machines from other companies with other operating systems. Apple wants you to spend another $30 or $70 for a protective cover. Even with the cover carrying positions of the iPad are limited. One may also purchase a blue-tooth keyboard.

Unless one has a grip larger than 7.5 inches you can not hold the iPad without the support of your write or arm. I can grip the iPad because I have a larger than normal (9 inch) grip. This feature makes the device hard to carry from room to room with one hand. I wonder how resistant to dropping, falling or heavy use Apple has designed the iPad.

This is illustrated by the following two pictures. In the picture on the left my fingers are at the top and bottom. My son who has a smaller grip can not hold the iPad in one hand. He owns a larger netbook and if he walks around the house with it while in use he uses two hands.

Jacquie probably has smaller and more delicate fingers than I do. This probably explains why she has never had problems with the tactile response of the iPad screen. Also the correct touch zones for web pages or programs vary. My email web client has a very small area for a touch to open a message.

Every machine has a learning curve. I help people with software all the time. I have more than 35 years experience using computers. I should not have to use trial and error to find all the answers concerning everyday use of a new device. Part of learning is figuring out not only the right question, but knowing that a question should be asked. I was trying to attend a class via WebEx. The tech people for the class had no idea that the iPad wouldn’t connect. WebEx did not give any helpful error messages. I knew that Apple does not allow Adobe Flash 10 to work on the iPad. I knew that WebEx required Adobe Flash. What no one told me until a week later was that WebEx has an app that allows the iPad to work with WebEx sessions. While this is not entirely an Apple problem, I do find a problem with a system that does not even tell you an error message so that you can ask the right questions to solve the problem.

Playing with the iPad taught me what I really wanted in a small portable computer. It should be a device that I can carry when traveling or commuting, allow me to check e-mail, let me check the library catalog or databases, do research on the Web, and act a portable entertainment device. It should easily connect to my other devices and share files. I ordered an Android based computer that includes Wi-Fi connectivity, a keyboard, USB ports, memory card port, an ethernet port, and other connection options. The cost including shipping, a detachable camera and extra memory cost less than $100. I will review it in about a month.

Judging a Science Fair – Lincoln Park

2011-12-22T08:46:00.001-06:00

On December 20 I was a judge at the science fair for Lincoln Park High School. I was recruited by my daughter who attends this school. There was no conflict of interest because she was not participating. Since I was a judge for the Central Region Chicago Public Schools Science Fair in January 2011, I wanted to compare the two experiences. This is an article about my impressions, not a comprehensive review. My college senior son also came with me and was a judge. Since I see many graduates of Chicago Public Schools in the City Colleges, I wanted to meet some of these high school students.

The exhibits were set up in the gym of the freshman building with an over flow in the hallway. There were two sessions of about 200-250 students each. The areas were very crowded with lots of people narrow aisles. The atmosphere was noisy because of all the conversations.

The whole judging process was very organized. Each project/exhibit was judged by four judges. Each project had judging sheets of four different colors assigned to each judging cycle. The sheets had a rubric containing four areas (written report, oral presentation, quality of display, and review of literature) to judge the project. The points totaled 100. The scale was: 80-100 Outstanding; 50-79 Excellent; 0-50 Honorable Mention. There was no option for “not acceptable.” Only five projects could go on to the next level.

Last January I was not impressed by the level of science experiments and reporting by the student scientists. This time the reports were much better written and some of the projects showed some creativity. However, one of the teacher sponsors, she said too many students did experiments with lima beans. I only judged one project that used lima beans, but there were about 60 others.

I asked every student about what library resources the used in their literature study and when they were finished with their prepared description of their project what would be the next step or what would someone learn from your project, Most of the students used the data base Questia for articles and electronic books. All the students are supposed to have access to Questia. Other sources included books and web sites. My son reported many papers included information totally unrelated to the experiment or methodology. I found students who said they were doing one measurement in the paper, but then did not test for that parameter in the experiment.

Many of the projects presented information that I suspected was inaccurate, but I was unable to check facts while at the school. One project was supposed to be measuring the amount of saturated fat in several kinds of oils. The student used a reactive test agent and I found no evidence in the paper that this agent would really measure what she claimed it would. Another used iodine as an indicator. The review of literature did not really show the reader how the experimenter knows this is a valid test.

One experiment that showed creativity wanted to measure the effect of temperature on musical pitch of glasses. The student wanted to make tuned glasses. She filled glasses with water at three temperatures and measured the pitch. She was careful to control the amount of water and used the same kinds of glasses. One of her pictures was a glass harp instrument. There were two problems with her methodology. Temperature would be hard to maintain during a practice or performance. She could tune the glasses before the concert, but the temperature would stabilize to room temperature. The second methodological problem is how she measured the pitch. She is a trained musician. She played a pitch pipe and used her ear to assign notes from the scale. I asked her why she didn’t use a digital tuner. She said that she didn’t have one. I went online and found tuners that would do her job for about $7-15. That does not sound like much to pay for precision measuring devices.

While a skilled musician can tell when a pitch is correct, the brain has a threshold of perception of differences. That threshold, called just-noticeable difference (JND), depends on the tone’s frequency. The A above middle C is 440 hz and is the reference for the other notes. The problem with labeling results with just the notes of a scale is that the C on a piano is not the same pitch as the C on a transposing instrument such as a Bb clarinet.

Another student wanted to measure amount of saturated fat in three oils – canola, olive, and peanut. The student added an indicator to 20 ml of oil and counted the number of drops. The more drops, he reasoned, the more saturated fat. I have no idea if this is a valid test. The review of literature did not convince me either way.

Lactose intolerance is common enough to encourage the food industry to produce lactose free products. Lactose is the sugar found in cow’s milk. People avoiding dairy products for health of kosher reasons (separating meat and milk) will not want a product that contains lactose. Even products labeled as “non-dairy” according to the Department of Agriculture’s rule can contain lactose and be according to Jewish law considered “dairy.” One student wanted to measure the amount of lactose in fluid milk, reconstituted dry milk and soy milk. I can’t give the entire methodology because I didn’t take notes, but the hypothesis is flawed. The experiment was performed to remove the lactose and it was measured. The results showed that soy milk “contained” lactose. I questioned the student and he stood by the results. At home I looked on the soy milk label. It said, “Lactose free” and it was kosher and parve (no dairy or meat ingredients). Since I believe the label over a high school experiment, the experiment should have been redesigned. The student should have read the labels on products to determine better candidates for testing.

Most of the experiments suffered from too few samples. Three or five samples are not enough for a statistically significant result. Some were closer to an observational report than experimental results. It is hard for a high school student to choose and design a project that will show originality and creativity. Most questions will take more time than students have allotted to the project. Students should spend a significant amount of time reading and exploring ides before they even choose an experiment. They should read published experiments to learn how scientists report their results. Many of the experiments and papers could have been improved with a consultation with a teacher or other knowledgeable adult. Science fair is an opportunity for students to explore the world, develop research skills and hone their critical thinking skills. We need to encourage creative minds.

Stuhlman and the iPad

2011-12-18T14:28:00.002-06:00

Apple Computers has sold close to 4 million iPads. I was very curious as to why so many people think this is a worthwhile device to purchase. When the library purchased four Apple iPads, I wanted to evaluate how they could be used in the library. I have been a computer owner since 1979 and this is the first time that I have written a hardware review.

I have never liked Apple products -- from the moment I used the Apple II to the latest machines, Apple products have one trait in common – they are proprietary and don’t follow industry standards. My first computer was a NorthStar Horizon. One major reason to purchase it was the S-100 bus. (The bus is the hardware connection to the peripheral devices such as I/O cards and memory.) I was convinced that multiple manufactures would supply parts. If NorthStar didn’t sell a card another company would. Apple peripherals only fit Apple computers. Apple squashed any compatible machines or alternatives to their operating systems. The same is true for the iPad. The operating system is only for the Apple. They don’t allow any software (know as app[lication]s) to be loaded without first getting Apple approval.

First, I should say some nice things about the machine. It is a really “cool” and addicting device. I find myself looking at it constantly. I stayed up very late many nights using the machine to watch videos and play games. The screen colors and picture quality are great. It takes pictures and can be used for visual presentations. To the left is a picture taken in the library.

Several days in my patrols around the library I carried the iPad to see if I could be used to help people. The iPad could connect to the Internet and library catalog. It is a great mobile device that keeps a connection with a Wi-Fi signal. No one needed the help I could provide with the device. In one library the Wi-Fi signal stopped at the office door, but this is not an Apple problem.

For taking the library to a student or faculty member the iPad has potential. Some libraries are using the device for on the spot instruction. Gretchen Maxeiner in an Autocat (a listserv for catalogers) posting (Dec 16, 2011 1:28 PM) said that The Health Sciences Library System at the University of Pittsburgh provides iPads to faculty librarians. Their librarians have found a lot of uses such as demonstrating library resources and one-on-one instruction outside of the library. They can use it for personal productivity such as checking for messages, consulting and reading documents, and supporting the activities of a meeting. At professional meetings the agenda and schedule can be saved on the iPad.

I used the iPad at a meeting to take notes and to look up information on the Internet. While taking to someone I was able to research a quick answer at a meal without waiting until I got back to my office computer. Many people at the meeting had iPads and claimed to like them.

The touch screen is great for some programs and annoying for others. When checking e-mail, the screen did not always respond to checking the mail that wanted to open. Very often a mail before or after the one I wanted would open. Sometimes I needed to tap many times before the window would open. Typing a message is tedious and editing is next to impossible. Sometimes entering passwords would take a much longer time that with regular keyboard because I can’t type as fast and the Apple iPad is more prone to mistakes. I can’t touch type or use two hand techniques with the onscreen keyboard. When the web site requests checking a box or similar choice, the iPad does not always read my gesture as the one I want. Some of these limitations are solved by an external keyboard that connects via Bluetooth.

The Apple Safari web browser on Apple’s website (http://www.apple.com/safari/what-is.html) claims it is fast, elegant, and innovative. It is not fast, elegant, or innovative. Apple claims one can navigate with touch and gesture. The iPad version of Safari is a limited version of the browser. Frequently I had to repeat the gesture to make it understood. Tapping twice is supposed to make the screen zoom, it does, but many times I wanted the tap to move me to another page. The double tap gesture both zooms and opens a live link. However, one can not control which action the browser will take. A cached page loads very quickly; new pages load much slower than with my desktop computers running Firefox. Firefox has many more options and control features than Safari, but is not available for the iPad. (Mac version are available.) In Firefox and Internet Explorer I can control the colors, fonts, and start page. Not in Safrari. Safari will not remember login information and not display the address information on a potential link. There is an option for Safari to autofill login names and passwords. Most of the time Safari will not close a window on the first try.

Safari does not allow the setting of a home page. I heavily use the home page button. In the library I want to return to the library home page after helping a reader. At home my home page has news and stock feeds. It is a window to other web sites that I may want to visit. The version for the PC or Mac has many more features that are comparable to Firefox and Internet Explorer. Printing is available only from compatible wireless printers.

Some of the apps are down right awesome. The AccuWeather app gives the local conditions and forecast. However, some of the links are accessed with hidden gestures. The Huffingpost app is a great way to read and retrieve their news feed. However the speed to load is not consistent. This app makes reading the articles a lot better than using Safari.

I wanted to attend a class that used WebEx for the presentation and Safari would not allow it. Since Apple refuses to allow Adobe Flash video many sites with video will not work. Some sites have workarounds for video content. ABC and NBC Television have apps that allows one to view content for their TV shows. CBS does not have an app and their program material will not display on the iPad; but the commercials are able to be seen. The viewing experience is mixed. Hulu requires one to be a premium member to use their app. The screen presentation has vivid color and a picture superior to many dedicated televisions. The built in speaker is mediocre. To get stereo one needs ear or head phones.

The headphone jack is not easily visible. I did not know one was present until someone showed it to me. It does not look like a place for jack. The other buttons are also not labeled.

Reading books on the iPad is inconsistent. When I first searched, I didn't find a Kindle app, but two commenters pointed me to the app. Reading with the Google Books apps is easy. The letters are very legible and page turning is intuitive. However, Google does not allow the user to alphabetize or organize my book collection. This is not an Apple specific comment.

For accessing the library databases, Ebsco has an app for mobile devices, but the screen display is more appropriate for the smaller screen of an iPod. The results are hard to read because of the size. The size can be doubled but the clarity is diminished. Reading the article on the regular search page is easier and more legible, but not as clear as Google books. Proquest does not have an app.

In summary, the iPad has limited usefulness in library or other business environment. It has limited flexibility and features. The gestures on the touch screen are inconsistent and sometime the response is not what I intended. It lacks standard ports and many features are not intuitive. It is not a replacement for a full computer. However, if one finds useful applications its use can be addicting. It is a convenient device to check email, search the Web, watch movies, play games, read and do short demos.

Golden Haggadah (Formerly Golden Frame)

2011-12-13T21:56:00.001-06:00

It does seem like the wrong season to write about haggadot shel Pesah, but I write about what crosses my desk. This is a follow-up to the last article about finding a page from the Golden Haggadah. I ordered a copy of the 1997 reproduction edition of the Haggadah published by the British Library. A dealer was selling this edition for $1.74. My copy came last week.

We compared this edition with the picture the professor had in his frame. The measurements were close, but not exactly the same. The colors were not an exact match. The blue in the printed edition was more brilliant and the gold was more golden. The measurements were very close to the original manuscript as text mentioned their size. The book was printed with the continuous tone process, which allows the dots to be printed an almost unlimited range of colors. This is how the gold color can be so brilliant.

Since we couldn’t remove the picture from the frame, we can not be certain of the origin. It does not look as if it came from the 1997 printed edition. The date of the frame was 1997 and this would make it less likely, though not impossible that someone bought the book and cut it for the picture. This will remain a mystery.
===================

The library is always getting book donations from estates. Much of the time few of the books are added to the collection. Sometimes there are books that the library is happy to receive because they fill in gaps to the collection. Books that aren’t added are sold or given away. Recently as part of a large gift were some old prayers books, Bibles and a haggadah. The prayer books and Bible were sold for about $20 each, but we were only offered $60 for the haggadah. I wanted to investigate before I approved the sale.

I looked at the title page. It said Amsterdam, 1780. This is a significant edition that is on plate #75 on Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi’s Haggadah and history : a panorama in facsimile of 5 centuries of the printed Haggadah from the collections of Harvard University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (Yaari #199) It is illustrated with engravings and has both the Askenazi and Sephardi texts. It has two title pages. One has Ma’aleh Bet ḥorin : ṿe-hu seder Hagadah shel Pesaḥ ‘im perushe Maharam Alshikh and the other has Hagadah shel Pesaḥ ki-minhag ashkenaz u-ki-minhag sephardim.

I wanted to find the value and search for auction records of previous sales. I found a record of a sale in 2007 for $6000. I wish the library could keep the volume, but we have no safe place to store and preserve this treasure. We will have to be satisfied with a photocopy of the title pages and the knowledge that we once had a piece of haggadah history.

The Golden Picture Frame

2011-11-24T22:32:00.002-06:00

The chairman of the humanities department stopped by my desk in the library and asked for help with a picture that he bought at a garage sale for $5.

The gold frame contained a page with four pictures that looked medieval. Because the picture was under glass we could not determine the material.[fn 1] It could have been velum or paper. It was hand drawn, without brush marks. The professor told me that when he bought it he didn’t notice the hand written Hebrew lettering.

The pictures in French gothic style lacked depth and perspective. The people seem to be dressed in medieval clothes. Only the bottom left panel made any sense. It seemed to be fish in a red body of water.

The first part of the search was to look for books on medieval Jewish art. I checked the catalog and found three books. I was able to confirm that the period was medieval. I read up on Jewish art in the Middle Ages. The bottom left picture reminded me of the ten plagues. After several searches that didn’t work, I constructed a Google image search with the words Jewish art medieval ten plagues. After examining 100s’ of hits I found some pictures that looked similar in a book known as the “Golden Haggadah.” I found the full book of 86 leaves was digitized by the British library (identified as: Add. MS 27210)

(http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/hagadah/accessible/introduction.html) I examined the pages until I found the match. This is a page from an illuminated manuscript created in approximately 1320 near Barcelona, Spain. The binding was done in Italy in the 17th century. Since the British Library owned the complete copy, the professor’s copy must be a facsimile.[fn 2] The smudged letters in the picture and in the British Library copy are exactly the same.

Next I searched for a facsimile edition using WorldCat. There were 15 hits for a 1970 facsimile edition. Most of the records were not helpful. Below is the best record. It lists the libraries of Spertus Institute, Hebrew Union College and Columbia University as owners of copies.
.
סדר הגדה של פסח :‏ ‏עם שירים מיוחדים על כל הנפלאות והניסים, שנעשו ביציאתם ממצרים בני חורין
Seder Hagadah shel Pesaḥ : ‘im shirim meyuḥadim ‘al kol ha-nifla’ot ṿeha-nisim she-na’asu be-yetsi’atam mi-Mitsrayim bene ḥorin.
Author: ‏Bezalel Narkiss; British Museum.; Zaehnsdorf (Firm)
Publisher: [London : Eugrammia Press, 1970] [fn 3]

The edition was limited to 520 copies of which 20 unnumbered copies are not for sale.

I then searched for some sort of value for this edition. I found one copy for sale at $2700. WorldCat had another edition of this book published in 1997. I searched on Amazon and found used and new copies for sale, costing $1.75 to $999.00. I went to Northwestern University Library and found the 1997 edition. It contained the reproductions of the pages, but it was mostly commentary by Bezalel Narkiss. He described each panel in the picture and give the Biblical text that was the basis for the picture.

Upper right -- Pharaoh commanded the task masters to not give straw to make bricks. Ex. 5:6-13
Upper left -- They built for Pharaoh the store-cities of Pithom and Raamses. Ex. 1:11;
Bottom right – Aaron, your brothers hall speak to Pharaoh. Ex. 7:2
Bottom Left – The words are unreadable, The is based on the verse: The Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink, because they couldn’t drink from the river. Ex. 7:24.

These pictures are interesting from a costume point of view. The artist gave the people contemporary (i.e. 14th century) costume, not costume from the Biblical era. Pharaohs did not have beards did not have crowns as pictured. The illustrations found in museums of Egyptian pharaohs have false beards and nothing on their heads like a crown.

While this search took a lot of specialized knowledge of books and searching, I was lucky. If the British Library had not posted a digitized version, I would have never been able to figure out the source or meaning of the pictures.

=============
Notes:
1. When I was discussing this search with some fellow librarians, one said opening up a frame is a "no,no," One should not take apart an object to determine it's worth. She said that she learned this from the TV show, Antiques Road Show.

2. On Nov. 25, 2011 I received an e-mail from Dr. Barry Dov Walfish, Judaica and Theology Specialist of the University of Toronto Library, who suggested that the picture in the frame may be from an art calendar produced in the 1990's or 1980's. This is possible. However,the facsimile edition is 26 centimeters and so is the picture. If this was from a calender, I would expect the dimensions would not be the same are the original. I examined many art calendars and found none of the pictures match the original size of the objects. The facsimile was printed on specially manufactured paper made by Tullis Russell and Co Ltd. If I were to open the frame and examine the paper, I would immediately know if this was a framed picture from a calendar or the 1970 facsimile. As mentioned above, since opening the frame would diminish the value I will not be able to examine the paper by holding it. I ordered a copy of the 1995 reprint edition for my collection.

3. I was not able to find out anything about Eugrammia Press. Searches of the Web and business databases did not yield any information except for a directory listing stating that the company no longer exists.

Improving Student Services -- New President Interview -- Part 9 *

2011-11-13T22:19:00.000-06:00

Q> In the November 2001 issue of Campus Technology, Michelle Fredette [fn 1] writes about customer service improvements that would help the technically literate student have a better customer service oriented experience. I am talking about the interactions the students have outside of the classroom such as registration, housekeeping, and transportation. What is the college doing to improve these services?

A> Students when registering are customers; in the classroom they are not. Let me address my remarks strictly to the non-classroom experience. In today’s information rich and connected society customers expect to know the store’s inventory. The College has an obligation to supply students with the information they need to enhance their student experience. That information is our inventory.

1. Transportation is always a challenge. The campus is served by three bus routes. One connects to the rapid transit system. Students can get downtown in about 45 minutes via public transportation. The College participates in the regional program that offers a student transit pass for use the entire semester. For $200 the student can ride without further payment. Our College makes the purchase process easy at registration time.

For students driving to campus, we have adequate parking. We collect no parking fees and there is no problem with enforcement. Last summer the parking lots were sealed, remarked, and routine maintenance was performed. The only problem times are in the late morning when the highest number of students are on campus.

2. Textbooks are a big expense. I read an article about American Public University’s policy of not charging for textbooks. [fn 2] Their professors are writing e-books for class use. This policy is controversial as stated in Paul Fain’s article from Inside Higher Ed.[fn 3] We recognize that for some of our students the textbook costs more than they pay in tuition. Some universities rent textbooks to students. Eastern Illinois University has been renting textbooks for students since 1899. Their system required IT work to modify scripts to match inventory and student’s needs. Since student may choose to purchase books, inventory needs to be sufficient for everyone taking the class. See http://www.eiu.edu/textbks/ for their policy. They collect a set fee each semester for textbooks. Once the student knows what course s/he is taking they go to the textbook building to select their books. The books have an RFID (radio frequency identification tag) to enable a modified library circulation system to check out and track every book. At the end of the semester they return the books. The list of textbooks needed by each student is prepared by matching their schedules from Banner. Students spend an average of 10 minutes from the time they enter the textbook building to the time they leave with their books.

There are several challenges with textbook rental programs. The textbook publishers frequently include CDs or web based materials that can only be used for one semester. Publishers create frequent new editions that both update the text and discourage the used book market. I have set up a task force to investigate whether we can set up a rental program. The challenges include logistical, technological, and intellectual property. The task force includes people from the building and physical plant, IT staff, library faculty, and faculty from several disciplines. They will need to investigate student needs and wants as well as the faculty needs. With a rental program faculty will have less freedom to choose texts for their classes.

3. ID cards are not obtained by all of our students. For some strange reason many skip the final step in their registration. Since students don’t need IDs to enter the buildings or most campus events they just don’t get one. This causes problems for the security of our campus because we don’t know who is authorized to be here. The ID is also their library card. This is not a new concept. Colleges have been issuing IDs that are used for library cards for more than 80 years. The librarians at the College report that students think their state issued ID is their “regular ID.”

Q> Are there any changes in the housekeeping activities at the College?

A> Housekeeping staff was complaining that food left in the library and classrooms were problems with odors and vermin. We are now limiting food to approved areas.

Q> Thank you very much.

=========
*Part nine of an imaginary interview with the recently appointed president of the College. Note this is just for your information and amusement. Any connection to a real college president is strictly coincidental.

----------------------
Notes:

1. “7 ways to streamline student services,” by Michelle Fredette in Campus Technology, Nov. 2011 p. 33-40. (On line version: http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/10/31/7-ways-to-streamline-student-services.aspx)

2. See http://www.amu.apus.edu/tuition-and-finance/tuition-and-fees/book-grant.htm for their undergraduate book grant policy.

3. “E-Book, In-House,” November 7, 2011 Inside Higher Ed, http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/11/07/american-public-university-enlists-faculty-write-e-textbooks#ixzz1d8XStqzz

The Electric Eraser

2011-10-31T12:34:00.003-05:00

Last March I wrote about the card sorter as a piece of older library technology that many younger libraries don’t know how to use. Card sorters are used for catalog cards that need to be ordered before filing. Cards could be typed locally or purchased from a vendor. One reader suggested that I write about using the electric eraser as a lost art in preparing catalog cards. I never actually used an electric eraser. When I was a library page as an undergraduate I saw the technical services staff using electric erasers when correcting catalog cards.

I liked gadgets and wanted to try it since it seemed a lot easier than using a manually powered eraser.

[fn 1]

Electric erasers are still sold by library and art suppliers. They are used mostly by artists, architects and others who draw or write manually a lot. One would think that correction fluid and the computer delete key would make the eraser obsolete, but it is not. People still use their hands to write, draw and create and have a need to change and correct their work.

A digital agency in Germany, Jung von Matt/Next, created the “Museum of Obsolete Objects“ (http://www.youtube.com/mooojvm). They claim that as our world becomes more and more digital some old technology devices fall by the way side as they are replaced by newer, “better” devices. Their “Museum” is a YouTube series of videos. Each video tells the device’s date of creation and the date they claim it became obsolete. Many of the devices in their display are not obsolete. Fax machines and quill pens are not obsolete. Their choice of objects shows a lack of understanding of the meaning of “obsolete.”

Sometimes a newer device or technology replaces an older one and sometimes it adds to our options. For a device to be obsolete it must be replaced by something that is functionally better. Better usually means that the new device can perform the function faster, less expensively, or has more capacity. For example the 8” and 5.25 “ floppy disks were replaced by 3.5” floppy disks in a hard plastic shells. The 3.5” disks stored more data in a smaller space and could be put in a shirt pocket. At first the 3.5” disks costs $14 each. When the price matched the older 5.25” disks on a cents per byte basis the older disks became obsolete. Except for historical purposes the 5.25” disks had no use. No one had a use for the older technology because the newer technology did more for less money and was easier to use. In turn the 3.5” diskettes were replaced by thumb drives and other compact memory devices, collectively called USB mass storage devices.) These newer memory devices are less expensive per byte to store data and easier to use. Most pictures files could not even fit on a 3.5” disk. One could have several gigabytes of files in a device about 2.5 inches long. My first device (64K capacity) was part of a working pen. When I went through airport security in June 2005 with it the guards had no idea what it was.

Some newer technologies have added to our choices. CDs replaced vinyl LP records, but there are still some being made and bought. CDs can store files inexpensively, but the sound is not the same as an LP. For most people the digital sound is superior, but some music fans like the analog sound that only LPs produce. Just because a device has passed from popular usage does not make it obsolete. Both the newer and older device can exist.

The electric eraser was never a must have device for every home or school child. Most had rubber erasers on the end of pencils and several kinds of rubber erasers. At the right is an example of a pink eraser.

They are still sold by office suppliers. Several videos on YouTube show how to make the pink eraser into a holder for a thumb drive. (For example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prMHooF7RAo)

To use an electric eraser take the card that needs changing and place it on a flat surface. With your non dominant hand hold the card firmly. If needed use an eraser guard to make sure you erase only what you intend. Turn on the eraser and carefully touch it to the words on the card you want to obliterate. Do not use too much pressure or the card will be ruined. When the words are gone, blow, brush, or wipe the dust away from the surface. Inspect, if you are satisfied that the card is ready for retyping, you are done. If not, repeat. Retyping can be problematic since the erasing process removes the surface finish of the card stock. You may need to type the new text multiple times before it is legible. If a name, subject, or heading was changed you will have to repeat this process for every card that needs changing.

Aren’t you now glad that you have a library management system that can make global changes with a few keystrokes?

==============================

Received from Kevin Roe on Nov. 1, 2011

Great article. We still have several electric erasers in our "archive" cabinet here at work. My favorite artifact is the glue machine, a very heavy behemoth that applied paste to the back of book pockets long before anyone thought of self-adhesive pockets. It did a great job, but wow, it was a pain to clean, and had to be done at the end of every day of use. For that reason, we only used it once or twice a week.

Another great piece of equipment we still have is the Gaylord Minigraph machine that reproduced catalog cards. We typed a shelflist card on a stencil that we then put on the minigraph drum that was filled with ink. The drum would rotate and ink would permeate the holes in the stencil made by the typewriter, allowing us to print cards. We would then roll the printed cards through the typewriter and add subject headings (in red of course) and added entries to the tops of the cards and voila! A full set of cards.

It's unbelievable how labor-intensive everything was. We still used all these artifacts back in 1986 when I started, and one of the first things I convinced our district to do was to let us join OCLC and get printed cards from them. The big worry was what would our students and staff do without red subject headings and (worst of all), no more salmon-colored cards for the nonprint items in our libraries!

Times have certainly made things easier. Thanks for the memories!

Kevin Roe
Fort Wayne Community Schools
Fort Wayne IN 46802

Received from Kay C. Schlueter on Nov. 2, 2011

I used to use a Polaroid camera mounted on a camera stand with a special lens to shoot pictures of NUC (National Union Catalog) entries for items that did not have any LC card availability. The camera would be mounted lens-down and the NUC would be placed under the lens. You would then adjust the distance and focus, snap the picture, pull out the film, and wait for it to develop. After that, the photo would be cut and mounted on library card stock, photocopied with enough cards for all the headings (on large card stock sheets, which then had to be cut), then sent to student workers to type headings. Early days, subject headings in red, then later in black but in ALL CAPS. This was in the early 1970’s at Southern Illinois U.-Carbondale, Morris Library.

Lots of people would be at the NUC area searching for catalog copy, and sometimes lots of pics waiting to develop would by lying around on tables. Sometimes you had to wait your turn to snap a photo. We had one cataloger who was fluent in Vietnamese (he was not of that culture), and if he were searching the NUC for copy and found some transliterated entries, he would put all the accent marks in their proper places in the NUC itself! Very thorough. Even if it wasn’t the copy he wanted!

By knowing this “early days” stuff, it makes me feel somewhat empowered. I’m sure many people who have risen up through technology and recollect the “old ways” feel a bit empowered over new people just entering the field, no matter what it is.

Kay C. Schlueter
Vermont State Colleges
Waterbury, VT 05676

========================
Notes:
1. Photograph from Cheryl Youse. Other photographs are from the author.

New Dean for the School of Education 2

2011-10-10T11:31:00.001-05:00

Q> It’s been four months since you were appointed dean and now that your first semester is close to half over, what can you tell us about the registration process and getting started?

A> All beginnings are hard because one does not have the experience of the past school year cycle. No matter how much one knows about the process, living through it has no substitute. This semester from what I am told was much easier and faster than previous years. The vast majority of returning students were able to register online or on the computers in the registration areas. We worked with faculty, IT staff and administration to remove as many barriers to the whole registration process. As a result we had no fires to put out.

Q> Now that you are in to the day-to-day operations how has the preparation as a librarian helped you in your work? How have the skills transferred?

A>

1) The reference interview experience taught me how to listen. Much of the time people do not know what they exactly want. I learned to use probing questions and friendly conversation to help people formulate better questions. With better questions I can help them find satisfactory answers.

2) I have learned to be exact. When someone wants a card, I make sure that I am giving them the correct card. When someone wants help I try to figure out the best way to help.

3) I learned to be flexible. The first answer may be technically correct, but not what they needed. The first answer or plan may not work and so a second or third plan is needed. I learned to think both inside and outside the box.

4) Nothing beats having access to the best and most up-to-date knowledge. I have helped people get the right knowledge so that they can appear to be experts. One of the frustrations when I was a librarian was that I couldn’t always find information about the college. I learned from being a librarian our task is to get readers to the right information. I have improved the way information comes and goes to the dean’s office. Previously we had a hard time keeping track of the offices for adjunct faculty. Now the list of all faculty and staff is now available online for everyone—faculty, staff, and students. This list has done much to show the administration cares and values students and all faculty. Any teacher or staff person can help a students find a professor or office. The security desk has a list of all activities so that they can direct people to the correct place.

5) We are a learning based institution. My background in teaching and scholarship directly translates to how I can help teachers improve their classrooms and students improve their quest for knowledge.

6) No one is an expert on everything. I seek help and advice from anyone who could help. When I was a librarian I sought advice from my colleagues in my library and through my professional contacts. As a dean I consult and build consensus. I know from experience where to go for answers. I learned that I before making a decision I need the correction information, knowledge and facts.

Q> What is the hardest type of decision to make?

A> When the information needed for the decision is limited, ambiguous, or involves conflicting interests, the decision is hard. When there is a choice between difficult outcomes, the decision process is hard. When the mayor needed to balance the budget, jobs were cut. So far I have not needed to make decisions to cut jobs. So far I have only needed to tell people “no” when it was a question of time or limited resources.

When the questions are well defined, the decision process is easy. Sometimes I won’t tell people what I think is best answer; I’ll help them clarify the situation and let them decide.

============
The second interview with the newly appointed dean of the University’s School of Education. Part 1 appeared in this blog on June 1, 2011. Note: this interview is just for your information and amusement. Any connection to a real university, college, school, or dean is strictly coincidental.

Positive News I

2011-10-09T01:05:00.003-05:00

We all seem to complain too much. It is just more fun to complain than to tell a story of someone who is happy when we just do our normal everyday job. Two weeks ago a librarian on the LM_net listserv suggested that every Friday we share some good news. The next Monday the college vice-president’s office asked us to share any good news. I had an “aha” moment. I should stop kvetching and show something from the library in a positive light.

On Tuesday September 27 a reader wanted the book, The Warmth of the Other Suns. I helped her find the book in the catalog and sent her to the stacks to find the book. The book was not on the shelf and so she asked for help. I couldn’t find the book either. Since it was a recent book I checked the new book shelf and it wasn’t there. I told her that when we found if I would put it aside. She went away before I could get her name. Five minutes after she left I found the book. I told the other staff to give her the book if she returned. She didn’t return for a week. When I gave her the book she was so happy. She told us the reason she felt connected to the story because her family had a similar story. I took her picture but she was too modest to show her face.

On the same day while walking through the stacks I found another woman sitting and reading a book on the floor in what I thought was an uncomfortable position. I told her that we have lots of comfortable chairs to sit in. She asked, “Can I check out these books?” I said. "Of course, just take them to the circulation desk and present your school ID. She was so happy that I took her picture, too. She was too modest to show her face.

I prepared a display of the pictures of these happy readers.

On another day a reader asked for some books on mental illness. After trying to find out more about his quest all I could do was a keyword search on “mental illness.” One of the first books on the list that I thought would help him was, Nursing diagnoses in psychiatric nursing. He asked honestly without any sarcasm, “What’s nursing?” I explained “nursing.” I tried another approach when he said that he wanted to know why and how people become mentally ill. I gave him a couple of medical books including, The Harvard guide to psychiatry. When he asked “What’s a Harvard?” I almost lost it. I pointed him to the area where the books were shelved and he didn’t return. I think he was trying for a self diagnosis. Can any college student be that clueless?

Next week I’ll look for some more satisfied readers.

Infrastructure

2011-10-01T23:15:00.002-05:00

I rarely hear administrators talk about infrastructure. Infrastructure includes all of the administrative, logistics, and back-office support that allows faculty to do their jobs. Last week a vendor supplied database was turned off because the bill was not paid. The librarians knew the bill was overdue yet the approval process is so slow the check was never cut. This is an example of how the bean counters are out of touch with how administrative tasks intersect with instruction. An organization can not be excellent without a management philosophy that sets the table so that teachers can teach and other staff can get their jobs done. Good management clears the way for staff to do their jobs with excellence.

Another example occurred between a teacher and her students. The teacher announced to her class that a document was behind a tab in Blackboard. The teacher did not enable the tab. This is a class management issue that was under total instructor control. Perhaps the teacher never learned enough about Blackboard to do the task? While we may complain about district office, management starts at the lowest levels.

Excellence can only occur when we ask ourselves, "How is this task demonstrating excellence?" If the task is not completed with excellence how can the next one be improved? How do we get to "yes?"

Preparing Labels for Library Books

2011-09-27T12:18:00.000-05:00

The spine label is not a lost library skill, but some earlier methods are no longer used. The challenge is that no one label fits all the needs. [fn 1] Libraries need labels that are inexpensive to create and apply, stick to books, easily removable, never damage the book, and never fades, dries out or deteriorates. Such a label doesn't exist. One must choose which of these qualities is most important.

Let’s examine the situation.

Naysayers are telling us that electronic books are so easy to buy that people will no longer need libraries. In her September 14th blog, [fn 2] “The Annoyed Librarian” wrote that the public libraries are doomed. She claims that electronic books will replace the need for anything from a library..

Amazon may drive libraries out of business the way it did a lot of bookstores, and the only ones likely to be disappointed are the librarians. Everyone else will be too busy reading whatever book they want, watching whatever movie or TV show they want, and listening to any music they want.

How does this relate to labels? Cataloging a collection building are what separates a bunch of books from a library. In the first picture below is a shelf of books. They are ordered alphabetically by title, but they have not been cataloged, systematically acquired or labeled. Note there are two copies of one of the titles.

I am sure that the average person will have no trouble buying a few books in electronic format for recreational reading. Libraries spend a lot of time building collections. This is a daunting task. According to R.R. Bowker publisher of Book in Print, the record of all commercial book publishing in the United States , [fn 3] 316,480 titles were projected in traditional formats, and 2,7776,260 titles were non-traditional (according to Bowker reprints, public domain, and print on demand) This does not include titles published by organizations and governmental bodies that are not in the commercial book trade. In 1993 there were 104,124 titles published. [fn 4] The biggest academic libraries purchase 50,000 or more titles per year from world-wide sources. Someone has to select and approve those purchases. Depending on how you use the numbers, they are purchasing less than 2% of the titles that Bowker lists. This does not even include titles from other countries.

Once the books are in the library and cataloged they need labels. A long time ago, even before I was in college, librarians were taught a type of writing called “library hand.” The two pictures below have spines written by hand. In the blue label, I can not even read the whole label. The first line looks as if letters were written on top of each other to correct a mistake. The second line could be a class number. The book is in Hebrew and the last line corresponds to the author’s last name. This was written on blue tape that is now old and no longer sticks to the book.

This label is written on a spine that was repaired. The tape is still viable.

Label making gradually became more systematic to ensure uniformity. In the picture of a shelf below there are four kinds of paper labels, 1) Vendor supplied as part of a catalog kit, 2) Typewritten on paper using an electric typewriter, 3) Typewritten with a computer word processing program; and 4) Prepared automatically with the library management system. The later two are indistinguishable on the spine. Paper labels are easy to prepare and have good durability for my home collection. They are covered with permanent tape. Some labels applied in the late 1960’s are still in excellent condition. They have not faded, dried out, yellowed, or fallen off. The computer prepared labels are bigger and more readable and use the same paper base with tape for protection. They last better than labels printed on label stock.

Durability is a big concern in libraries. They need labels that won’t fade or fall off. Sellin labels were typed from a roll of tape and later dot matrix printed. The labels had a white surface for the text and an adhesive back. The adhesive was heat activated. Below is a picture of the iron and the process of heating the label. The label was applied to the book and then the iron was applied to heat adhesive. The labels were durable and were hard to remove. Over time the letters faded.

There is no perfect label. For ease of preparation and economy I choose paper labels for my home collection. For ease of production of labels in the library I choose to print the labels on label stock. I know those labels will age and fall off, but I hope by that time we will have found another solution.

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Notes:
1. This article is supposed to be tongue in cheek. For a more serious discussion of labels see “The Quest for the Perfect Spine Label” by Cheryl D. Walters. http://www.computype.com/en/Case%20Studies/Spine-Label-Printing-System.aspx?src=Libraries.

2. “Public Libraries are Doomed” in The Annoyed Librarian blog found in Library Journal Sept. 14, 2011. http://blog.libraryjournal.com/annoyedlibrarian/2011/09/14/public-libraries-are-doomed/

3. See” New Book totals and editions, 2002-2010”.
http://www.bowkerinfo.com/pubtrack/AnnualBookProduction2010/ISBN_Output_2002-2010.pdf

4. U.S. Book Production. http://www.bowker.com/bookwire/decadebookproduction.html

Attribution and Fair Use – Copyright part 9

2011-08-09T19:26:00.001-05:00

Attribution to sources goes back at least to the time of the Talmud, if not earlier. Frequently one rabbi will say something in the name of one of his teachers or quote a Biblical verse. While this is not the same as an academic citation, it does acknowledge that we are students of our teachers and we draw our ideas from reliable sources. In rabbinic law as well as contemporary jurisprudence decisions and rulings are based on the precedence of previous decisions. In academic writing, sources add support and credibility to what you say. Sometimes what is “new” is based on an interpretation of sources. We teach students to take from many sources and synthesize them into something new.

Attribution is not just a matter of derekh eretz (good manners) but also indicates intellectual honesty and respect for our teachers, who can be anyone we have encountered in person or from their writings. Attribution is a way to say we are “dwarfs on the shoulders of giants.” [fn 1]

Many times the insider is at a disadvantage for creating and expressing new ideas. The local insider is not considered to be an expert. The management or co-workers see this person every day and do not respect his/her opinion and advice as much as the expert from the outside. If the insider brings outside support in the form of attribution his voice is no longer alone.

Early copyright protection was afforded to rabbinic books by local rabbis and local municipal authorities before a national copyright law existed. Copyright protection has at least two aspects—protection of intellectual property and commercial protection so that creators, printers and publishers could make money from their labors. Early protection favored the printers and publishers rather than the creators. Without the limited monopoly of copyright, writers and publishers would have no incentive to create new works. People are entitled to compensation for creating artistic and literary works.

Intellectual property rights and commercial rights to created works are two aspects of the creative process. Sometimes the rights are intertwined and sometimes the rights are separate. The intellectual property right to own recorded ideas lasts with the creator forever. Commercial rights have a time or place limit. While you may copy freely something with an expired copyright, you can not claim that you wrote it. For the purpose of encouraging commerce copyright protection is a limited monopoly. The written law (i.e. statues) and common law (court cases and administrative rules) govern how we use the intellectual property of others and how we protect our intellectual property. Creators have the right to earn money, control how their work is used, control quotes from their works, and control the creation of derivative works such as paperback reprint, electronic versions, videos, and audio books.

Many aspects of copyright are unfair to scholars, students, teachers, libraries and librarians. That does not grant license to ignore or break the law. Even if I could get everyone in Congress to agree with me the problems would not be solved because the Europeans have a different way of looking at copyright protection.

Attribution of ideas is a way of showing the author is honest and trust worthy. Academic excellence is based on trust. Even outside the academy one needs to build a reputation of trust. In business one needs internal and external customers to believe what you say is correct and trustworthy. One can not steal the intellectual property of others and be taken seriously. I use the word “steal” in contrast to learning from the best practices of others. A discussion of how we learn from others is a topic discussed other articles. [fn 2]

Plagiarism is the act of taking someone else’s creative work and claiming it as your own. Presenting a work as your own that is not is a matter of profession or artistic ethics. Plagiarism is not always illegal but if caught you may lose your reputation, your grade in a class, or your job. Intellectual honesty is just as important and monetary honesty. In teaching this to children we say that stealing something from a store is just as dishonest as stealing the work of authors.

Fair Use

Copyright is tradeoff between the public who want to consume creative efforts and the creators who want to earn reward from their efforts and control use of the material. The statute gives guidelines for the use of copyrighted materials. The law says nothing about attribution. Attributing sources with a correct citation does not absolve one of following the laws concerning fair use. The law is a guide that leaves room for interpretation. Fair use is a way to allow the public use of copyrighted materials. Some cases have even gone to the courts in order to decide if fair use was followed. [fn 3]

Here are the full text of the Israeli and American laws, a summary of the U.K. laws concerning fair use and a license to deal with how one can use materials.

Israeli Copyright Act of 2007

19. Fair Use
(a) Fair use of a work is permitted for purposes such as: private study, research, criticism, review, journalistic reporting, quotation, or instruction and examination by an educational institution.
(b) In determining whether a use made of a work is fair within the meaning of this section the factors to be considered shall include, inter alia, all of the following:
(1) The purpose and character of the use;
(2) The character of the work used;
(3) The scope of the use, quantitatively and qualitatively, in relation to the work as a whole;
(4) The impact of the use on the value of the work and its potential market.

American Law Title 17 Chapter 1

§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include
(1) The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) The nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

U.K. Copyright

The text of the British copyright law called Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 is more extensive in what is permitted under fair use than the American and Israeli law. Chapter III [fn 4] deals with what is permitted to do with copyrighted works without infringements. To summarize the law had provisions for use of works under the following topics: 1) for research or private study; 2) criticism, review and news reporting; 3) incidental inclusion of copyright material; 3) educational use; 4) recording of a performance; 5) photocopying in schools, archives, and libraries; 5) public documents such as parliamentary and judicial proceedings and public records; 6) designs, models and other artwork; 7) electronic copies; 8) sound recordings; 9) computer programs; 10) radio and TV broadcasts;

To summarize what is permitted – Making copies for private study or research, instruction is allowed. Copying sections for review, criticism or news reporting is allowed with acknowledgment and limited to no more than necessary for the purpose. Incidental use such as news broadcast or video capturing a copyrighted work in the background is allowed.

Creative Common License

The Creative Common License (full text: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode) is a way of dealing with use of copyrighted materials. The creator gives anyone the right to use the work with certain limitations. One limitation is attribution. The user must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work.) The right to use, adapt or translate the work is world-wide, royalty free, non-exclusive and for the duration of the copyright.

2. Fair Dealing Rights

Under Creative Common here is the paragraph for fair use

Nothing in this License is intended to reduce, limit, or restrict any uses free from copyright or rights arising from limitations or exceptions that are provided for in connection with the copyright protection under copyright law or other applicable laws.

Discussion

The law concerning fair use is purposely vague leaving room for interpretation and adaptation to individual circumstances. Most people including teachers have not kept up with the latest changes in the copyright law. People who graduated before 1988 think that registration is required for copyright protection; it does not. They don’t understand that neither publication nor a copyright notice is required for protection. Any work in a tangible form is protected automatically under American law and all countries that are part of the Berne Convention. Tangible form means the work is written, recorded, or saved in a computer file. An email, web site, and blog, are as equally protected as a printed or recorded work. Ideas not put in tangible are not protected. I’ve explained this many times to faculty and students. Because they don’t understand the protection aspect, they don’t understand what they can or can not use in their papers.

The nature of law suits for copyright infringement is different than other damage suits. The court may award up to $150,000 damages for each separate act of knowing infringement. Unlike other cases the court can order the losing party to pay the legal fees of the wining party. If you don’t know that you were infringing, this will only affect the amount of damages and not responsibility or liability. Since good faith compliance to fair use is a defense, it makes sense to understand how to comply. Institutions make policies to guide their people in compliance. Following the policy makes one less likely to be sued. Ignoring the policy makes one a good target for a law suit.

Writers frequently base their writings on the work of others. In the Renaissance playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlow borrowed material from history and literary works. [fn 5] Today lots of works are based on folklore or common themes. In 2012 and 2013 rival film companies, Disney, Universal, and Relativity, will be releasing new films based on Snow White. One will be a retelling of the Grimm Brothers fairy tale and the other two will be far removed from the original story. [fn 6] This is not plagiarism and not even part of a fair use question. One is allowed to use a well known theme. One is allowed to base a current work on common knowledge or a folk story. Since lists and government documents are not protected with copyright, if you wanted to make a video or Broadway musical based on the reading of document you would not need permission, but you would need attribution.

To facilitate following the laws concerning fair use many libraries have written policies and guides for users. Here is a sampling: From Stanford University Library: “Measuring Fair Use: The Four Factors” http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/9-b.html. The four factors are taken directly from the law as I quoted above. From the University of Texas Libraries: “Fair use of copyrighted materials” http://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/copypol2.html . I don’t intend to repeat what they have written.

Purpose. If the copy is for educational purposes rather than making a profit you have a stronger case for fair use that if you charge for copies. Remember the U.S. Constitution is the authority for all copyright law. The copyright clause is: “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. “ The clause permits Congress to make laws; it does not state the limit or nature of the promotion. One test is whether or not the purpose is for the promotion of “science” (i.e. educational purposes.)

Nature of the work. Quality of the work, merit, and artistic quality or any other measures of judgment have no bearing on the copyright or the fair use of a work. Whether the work is fictional, non-fiction, or a parody will have some merit on how you can use the work under fair use. I am freer to make up ideas for a work of imagination than a work of non-fiction. But even the line between fiction and non-fiction is gray. For example in my interviews with a college president, all the facts were from my imagination, but the philosophy and content of the ideas had an underlying truth. An essay, editorial, or op-ed may be the opinion and work of the author’s imagination, but that does not mean it is not true.

See my blog article of Monday, November 15, 2010, “What is Copyright? Part 2” for a longer discussion of what is protected.

Amount of copied materials. The law does not state the amount of material that may be copied from the original. Generally libraries say that a reader may copy an article or chapter for personal use. The copying of an entire book is not allowed. However, if someone copied one chapter today, a second chapter next week and a third chapter another time we don’t tell the person no. We say that the person copying is responsible for copyright compliance, not the librarians. If you copy a couple of paragraphs of a larger work into your article, there is generally no problem. If your article consists of copied paragraphs and very little analysis, you have a problem. Permitted copying is independent of the need to attribute your source. Copying one paragraph then making comments is allowed.

Systematic copying and distribution is not allowed without permission even if the work is out of print. This is a big problem. If the publisher is still in business they could control the reprint rights. If the publisher or owner of the work is impossible to find, it is hard to advise the potential reprinter what to do. Libraries are allowed to make archival copies. This kind of problem is faced by Google and other systematic digitization projects. Since the law is gray in this area, the copyright law should be amended to make the copying of orphan works easier.

Marketability. This is the protection of the commercial rights of the creators and publishers. If what you are copying interferes with the ability to sell copies, this is not a fair use. If what you do does not interfere, the creator would have only the argument of protecting intellectual property. That is control over how the work is used. For example when reviewing a book you copy the cover. This is a free advertisement for the publisher. They shouldn’t mind. If you copy a published picture from a book or magazine without permission, this is possible infringement. If those pictures are licensed from the owner, the right to copy must be secured from them. This is not an area we are careful about when teaching students. While it may help a student’s paper to have an illustration, it should not come at a cost of stealing.

Common misconceptions

1) The lack of a copyright notice means the work is not protected. Before 1976 this was the law. Many works passed into the public domain because the little © was missing. While I think it is important to notify your readers that you claim copyright, the law does not require it. With or without a copyright symbol or formal registration, your work has protection. Registration for works has some advantages such a proving a claim, but it is not required. Copyright deposit copies are one way national libraries obtain copies of every work produced. This is important for cultural history and documentation of a time or place. Research libraries depend on lists of copyright deposits to assemble systematic collections.

2) Publication is the key to protection. This was the old law again. The current law provides for protection from the moment the work is put into tangible form. A memo, a scribble or class paper has the same protection as a book printed with 10,000’s of copies.

3) If it’s on the Internet, it’s free to copy. Wrong, wrong, and wrong. Material on the Internet is in a tangible form and is published. It is protected by every law that applies to printed and recorded works. Easy of finding and copying material has no bearing on fair use or copyright. This is one area that creators and providers should be more careful about providing notification. If someone already believes that lack of notification of copyright notice means public domain, providers should make sure to make a claim of copyright in clear language. They should help educate the public to know that creators of content have the protection of copyright. Some creators give notice of Creative Common license. That means you can copy the work without fee, but still need to give proper attribution. The work is still protected with copyright.

4) One paragraph of less than 300 words is OK to copy. What is permitted depends on the nature of the work. If the paragraph is one from a long novel, 300 words is minimal and should be no problem. If the original work is only 350 words, then copying 300 words is a substantial part of the original and this is not fair use. If you copy a 4” x 6” section of a 500 square inch mural this is not the same as copying a 4” x 6” complete photograph.

5) A disclaimer can absolve you of fair use violations. No, copyright of a work is not set aside by a disclaimer on the part of the end user. A license agreement from the copyright owner may over ride some provisions of fair use. The license or contract will take precedence over the statutory rights.

Summary

We must help students, scholars, faculty, and other library users understand what is permitted and what is not under copyright so that they can be better users and creators of knowledge.

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Notes

1. This aphorism is discussed at length in several articles including. Leiman, Shnayer Z, “Dwarfs on the Shoulders of Giants,” Tradition Spring 1993. Leiman claims that the earliest mention of this aphorism was recorded by the Italian halakhic writer, Isaiah di Trani ben Mali (the Elder) (c. 1180 – c. 1250). The aphorism could be based on a synthesis of several Biblical sentences – Psalms 119:46 “I will no be ashamed of your decrees, and not shamed in the presence of kings” and Kohelet 2:9 “I gained more wealth than anyone before me in Jerusalem.” Leiman lists in footnote #10 an exhaustive list of sources for who cite this aphorism. I leave a full discussion of the topic to Leiman. The aphorism also is used in Latin and English literature.

2. See my web pages: “Knowledge Management Terms “ http://home.earthlink.net/~ddstuhlman/defin1.htm and read the sections on knowledge and learning and the page, “Knowledge Management Experts” http://home.earthlink.net/~ddstuhlman/kmexpert.htm see the section of sharing knowledge.

3. Stanford University Libraries has a web page with a list of fair use court cases. http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/9-c.html These examples include the points of law that were deciding factors such as marketability and control of intellectual property. An author who paraphrased from unpublished letters of J.D. Salinger was denied under fair use because of control of the intellectual property rights of the material. The Nation magazine was denied use of unpublished letters from Gerald Ford because of marketability concerns.

American Library Association lists more cases on their web site: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/copyright/court/index.cfm

4. Full text of Chapter III http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/part/I/chapter/III

5. The first copyright law was the Statue of Queen Anne (1710). Before then works were protected by common law or local stature not by a national law. In my blog of Tuesday, November 2, 2010, “What is Copyright? Part 1” I discuss some of the history of copyright and give sources for more information. In a comment to that posting, Barbara Braxton, a librarian in Australia, explains the difference between how Australian schools and teachers are able to use materials in classroom based on an agreement between the schools and publishers. This compares to the lack of such agreements in other countries.

6. See “'Snow White' Movies: Here's What We Know About Them” by Peter Hall http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/02/08/new-snow-white-movie/ for more information.

Copyright of Art Objects 2 – Copyright part 8

2011-08-03T17:32:00.000-05:00

In a comment to my blog article of February 17, 2011 I mentioned a case before the British Supreme Court of George Lucas v. Andrew Ainsworth. The case was argued in

March 2011 and the judgment was given on July 27, 2011. Ainsworth was the designer of the Storm Trooper costumes in the 1977 movie, Star Wars. Ainsworth was selling (fn 1)replicas of the costumes made from the same molds (fn 2) and designs as the ones in the film. Lucas claimed that Luscafilms owned a copyright on the costumes. Ainsworth claimed the costumes were clothing and not protected by copyright. My February 17 article dealt with the copyright of clothing. Objects that have a utility purpose such as clothes, shoes, and furniture can not be protected with copyright. The article has references for more information.

On July 27 the British Supreme Court made their ruling public in a press summary (http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/docs/UKSC_2010_0015_ps.pdf) . Both sides feel they have won something and the Court set some precedents for the enforcement of copyright and jurisdiction of the British courts. The case is discussed in the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jul/27/star-wars-helmet-court-case on July 27, 2011. The Supreme Court stated that the costumes are not art. If the costumes were protected as a design, the 25(fn3) year duration of design protection has long passed. The Court rules that Ainsworth may continue to sell his costumes everywhere but the United States.

The Court dealt with two legal issues that set precedent in the British legal system and may have implications in American law.

(1) The definition of “sculpture” and the correct approach to three-dimensional objects that have both an artistic purpose and a utilitarian function;

(2) Whether an English court may exercise jurisdiction for infringement of copyright committed outside the European Union in breach of the copyright law of that country?

If you create or purchase a three-dimensional object and place it in your home or business, there is no doubt it is a protected sculpture because it has no utilitarian function. The way you display the object would make it perfectly clear that the object is art and without any practical use. If you wear it, it can not be copyright protected.

Lucasfilm argued that the helmet was an important part of the character. The Court said the same argument could be used for a 20th century military helmet used in a film. They used the example of the film depicting a war of the past (paragraph 43) with soldiers wearing helmets made of plastic, but painted to look like authentic steel.

The Court also claimed jurisdiction over the infringement of a foreign copyrights. While this does not obligate U.S. courts to do the same, it does show a precedent that may be used in other jurisdictions. The case was first presented in California, but the U.S. judgment was unenforceable in England.

The Court’s decision was based on several other cases that defined a sculpture. For example a 1962 case in New Zealand concerning Wham-O’s Frisbees. The Court of Appeal of New Zealand ruled that flying disks were utilitarian and not sculpture for the purposes of the Copyright Act. The wooden models of the discs were sculpture and protected. (Full ruling: http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/decided-cases/docs/UKSC_2010_0015_Judgment.pdf)

The questions of jurisdiction were based on cases in the U.S. and other counties. This opens the doors to suits in the country where the defendant is domiciled rather than the home country of the plaintiff. This may help protect copyright holders in foreign countries.

These legal points are interesting, but far removed from my primary interest of copyrights as they relate to print, intellectual property and libraries. Sculptured objects are rarely collected in any great quantity by libraries. Library users general will not need to copy three-dimensional objects. However, the conflict of the British and American intellectual property rights reminds me that at one time American and British authors had no protection in the other’s country. It took The International Copyright Act of 1891 (also called the Chase Act) to afford foreign writers and publishers copyright protection in the United States. In today’s global economy the flow of words transcends borders so quickly that we need to protect our intellectual property on a global basis.

My next article will be on fair use or “fair dealing” in British law.

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Notes

1. Andrew Ainsworth has a web site (http://www.sdsprops.com/) for selling the costumes from Star Wars. He has several helmets in addition to the Imperial Storm Troopers. It states that they products are not for sale in the United States.

2. Since he was British, he used “original moulds.”

3. The press summary has “15 years” which is a typo. According to the text of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 section 52 the duration is 25 years.

Mistaken Attribution part 2

2011-07-24T22:38:00.000-05:00

In my previous post, “Mistaken Attribution,” I was trying to show that scholars and those who claim to be serious intellectuals need to properly cite and credit their sources. One can not just put words in someone's mouth. One needs to make proper citations for everything. Many writers claimed that Milton Himmelfarb made the aphorism, “Jews earn like Episcopalians and vote like Puerto Ricans.” Since last week I’ve had an e-mail conversation with his daughter Miriam Himmelfarb, who did additional research.

In his July 15, 2011 column in the Jerusalem Post, "The "vote like Puerto Ricans" question " (http://blogs.jpost.com/content/vote-puerto-ricans-question) Shmuel Rosner, writes about my blog article. (1) He does not mention my name or give a plain text citation for my blog article. I wrote in a comment that he as guilty of not citing sources as much as all those who pretend to quote Milton Himmelfarb. All of the comments to his article talked about voting. None understood my point concerning lack of citation.

Let me give examples of what students have tried to use for citations. 1) "Yahoo News" as an author; 2) a publisher as the author; 3) not able to figure out which name was the author's last name or first. One may quote a news story, but it does have an author. If no author is given, it should be entered under title. It seems that teachers don’t understand this concept. My training in cataloging means my basis for entering authorship or attribution uses Anglo-American Cataloging Rules.

Except when the author is a corporate body, the author and publisher are not the same. When the student wanted to list a book published by Alcoholics Anonymous in the bibliography, I guided her to the library catalog and showed her what the professional cataloger recorded for the entry. The author’s name is “Bill W.” The correct entry in the bibliography is: W., Bill.

The third case is a ringer. Even looking at the abstract and what ProQuest advised for the citation, we couldn't figure out which name was the author's last name. The author had a foreign name that was not familiar to us. We found his Facebook page. After seeing he was born in Bangladesh and living in England, we then could figure out the correct order to his name. We then knew the ProQuest citation suggestion was not correct.

Over the weekend I talked to some of my professor friends. They all say that getting correct citations is important. One told me about reviewing students' works and spending a lot of time telling them to write down their sources and correctly cite them.

I heard from David Pollack (Associate Executive Director, Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) in New York), via e-mail who knew Himmelfarb. David said that perhaps Himmefarb used the quote in his speeches after all it was similar to what he wrote in several places. If he did say something in a speech, those who wanted to use his quote could have cited the speech. The citation could be something like, "in a speech on July 17, 19xx Milton Himmelfarb is reported to have said, 'XYZ.'" No one referred to a speech.

I received an e-mail from Milton Himmelfarb's daughter Miriam Himmelfarb. She asked him directly in a January 2004 e-mail if the quote was his. He did not confirm that he said the exact quote.

I quote from her e-mail and his reply:

In January 2004 I wrote my father an e-mail to ask if he had actually said that Jews earn like Episcopalians and vote like Puerto Ricans. His reply:

Analyzing the vote in the 1968 presidential election, and relying on the demographer Donald (?) Bogue's Population of the United States, I wrote--as near as I can remember--"Jews have Episcopalian bank accounts and Puerto Rican voting habits." (2)

Dr. Donald J. Bogue worked for Population Association of America and the University of Chicago. Currently is a professor emeritus. He was well known for his studies of population, demography, and human ecology. For more information see the web sites about him http://www.populationassociation.org/sidebar/paa-fund-campaign/honored-members/donald-j-bogue/ and http://sociology.uchicago.edu/people/faculty/bogue.shtml

Himmelfarb is referring to the book Population of the United States (Glencoe, Ill., Free Press [c1959] ) It has been updated and the most recent version is dated 2010.

In talking to a lawyer friend at breakfast last Monday about correct citations he told me of a case he worked on. The opposing attorney wanted to use a case as a precedent. Not only could she not produce the correct citation or a copy of the case, she incorrectly interpreted the legal situation. She did not know the law or the relevant cases. The judge couldn't allow an argument without a basis.

While academic writing is not the same as a court case, scholars need to be care to document what they write and create citations for their quotes. Remember Stuhlman's Rule of Citations ==>; Citations must be reversible, meaning I should be able to look up and verify your citation. The corollary is APA style does not follow Stuhlman's Rule.

Here is the summary of what Miriam Himmelfarb reported about her father’s quote.

Miriam was able to discover some more sources concerning the quote. In Jews and Gentiles (New York : Encounter Books, ©2007. a collection of Himmelfarb’s essays edited by his sister, Gertrude Himmelfarb), there is an essay called "Jews, Episcopalians, Puerto Ricans."

On p. 211 it says: "After the 1968 election I wrote what was eventually to become an anonymous aphorism, that Jews had the incomes of Episcopalians but voted like Hispanics ('Is American Jewry in Crisis?' in Commentary March 1969)."

This indicates that "'Is American Jewry in Crisis" is the source we are seeking. That article appears as "Crisis" in The Jews of Modernity (Basic Books, 1973).
On page 91 Bogue is mentioned, and there are some sentences related to this issue, but not identical to the famous line:

1. "But on the one hand, we know that Jews have voted left of their bank accounts."

2. "Jews voted like the Mexicans of the West and the Puerto Ricans of the East--the poor, racial minorities."

I also found this in the Introduction to Jews and Gentiles (the Introduction, including the footnote, were written by my aunt Gertrude Himmelfarb):

On page vii, footnote 2: In “Jews, Episcopalians, Puerto Ricans,” the “anonymous aphorism,” as Himmelfarb described it (p. 211), refers to Hispanics rather than Puerto Ricans. In an earlier article making the same point, the reference was to Mexicans and Puerto Ricans (“Crisis” [1969] in Jews of Modernity, p. 91). He himself generally used the term Puerto Ricans, and it is in that form that the aphorism is now familiar.

Miriam tried to find out more about her father generally using the term Puerto Ricans (3)but had no success.

This leaves two possibilities according to Miriam and I agree:

1. He used the line orally but did not record it in writing.

2. Someone else paraphrased what he said.

There is no way of making this determination with 100 percent certainty without documentary evidence. No one has admitted to have heard him say the exact quote and his e-mail does tend to indicate that that phrasing was not his.

As in the first article the statement is a reasonable summary of what he said. Just because Himmelfarb was right and others summarize or paraphrase his words it does not release people writing about him or his work from giving proper citations.

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Notes:

1. For Shmuel Rosner and everyone who want to cite my article here is my advice. For a bibliography use: Stuhlman, Daniel D. “Mistaken Attribution” Kol Safran July 7, 2011. Web. [date of access] http://kol-safran.blogspot.com/2011/07/mistaken-attribution.html

“Kol Safran” is the name of the blog and corresponds to the name of the publication. If one does not know the authorized version of my name, check my name against the author authority entry in Library of Congress. MLA style does require a city of publication. Since the author and publisher are the same there is not need to use “n.p.” or repeat the name. MLA does not require a URL since they claim the URL could change. I recommend using the URL for a blog because as long as the blog exists, the URL will not change and after the blog ceases to exist the URL can be used with the Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org/index.php) to find the article. The Internet Archive only indexes web sites by URL. The access date is important because sometimes the articles change.

I do not advise the use of APA style because it violates Stuhlman’s Rule for Citations. For an in text citation I recommend : “Mistaken Attribution” by Daniel Stuhlman found in the blog Kol Safran, July 7, 2011

2. In Bogue’s book on pages 705-708 he discusses the income levels by religious group. The median income of heads of households for Jews is $5954. The closest Christian group is the Episcopalians at $5000. The next group, the Presbyterians, is $4586. However, Bogue summaries his finds as: “Education is a much more potent factor than religious preference in determining the income level of households …” Since Jews have a much higher level of education compared to other groups the income level is higher. This is not a 100% correlation. 23.% of Episcopalians completed at least 4 years of college while only 21.8% of the Jews completed 4 or more years. The Presbyterian rate was 12.8%. Himmelfarb was right to say that Jews and Episcopalians had similar incomes.
The general Kol Safran blog comments now include a recommendation for citation.

3. In a recent exchange with catalogers on AUTOCAT, they discussed the problem in the ambiguity of the terms Spanish American and Hispanics. In conversation nuance and context can clear some of the ambiguity, in library subject headings there is no easy way to distinguish an immigrant from Spain , a person who speaks Spanish , and someone from a Latin American country. Using a search engine to search by keywords would lead to even more ambiguous results. The first hits are for the Spanish-American War because results are based on a algorithm of popularity or likelihood of correctness. On screen six of the search results we finally get a hit for a site not related to the war.

New President Interview -- Part 8

2011-07-11T23:07:00.001-05:00

Creating a Community*

Q>; Jonathan Sacks in his book, The home we build together said, “ Society is the home we build together when we bring our several gifts to the common good.” Previously you said that Sacks’ theory of society has influenced your theory of management. Would you elaborate?

A> Sacks talks about how we live in a diverse society and need to build a community. His lessons work for the classroom as well as the administrative

Visiting scholar, Asher Lopatin, giving a lecture

aspects of the College. In the classrooms when I was in elementary school, the teacher was the authority and the students were the sponges to absorb knowledge and the soldiers to follow orders. Many college classes were large lectures where the teacher gave a lecture on the model of the “sage on the stage.” These classrooms did not consider diversity. Students who didn’t comply were either disciplined or made to leave.

Now I tell faculty that most courses should be on the model of respecting the knowledge and gifts of each student. If the teacher wants to pour in knowledge, the lecture hall is an inefficient venue. Students do not retain enough form lectures. In the “common good” model, students are given assignment to prepare them for the classroom. In the classroom the teachers guide the students to understanding the materials and learning to be critical thinkers. Part of the class time is lecture but a bigger part is the exchange of ideas. Assignments are given to enable students to learn on their own and explore the subject in depth. The balance between the learning activities will vary with the subject being taught. For example the humanities lend themselves to more discussion than the lab sciences.

There is a passage we say in the Jewish prayer book based on the Talmud Berakhot 64a. “Students increase peace in the world ... great shall be the peace of your children. Read here not your children, but your builders.” The words in Hebrew for “children” and “builders” vary only by the sound of the first vowel. This is a profound lesson for both teachers and managers. First, we have to teach our students and staff the basics or groundwork. By turning them into people who can create we increase peace. For American society that means we working toward a nation of learners who can live together in peace. On the institutional level it means we create a College that is creative in solving our challenges as members of a community. The goal of the College is education, but along the way we are community members with family and personal lives. The College community is not built for us, but with us as contributing, creative members.

Sometimes the “sweat equity” of students is the hard work of studying and learning so that they master a subject. They earn their role in the College community and the larger community with their actions outside of the classrooms.

Q> Is the College a society, a community or both?

A community is a group of people who build something together. At a meeting (administrative or classroom) the encounter is face-to-face. Meetings can be times to complain, report on previous actions, exchange ideas, or build. For the organization to be effective the meeting has to give people tasks for working together toward a goal. They have to walk away from the face-to-face meeting with something to work on side-by-side. Side-by-side activities accomplish more for community building than talking to people. The ideal administrative meeting would have a common goal and at the end a clear procedure for the next step. For example everyone would have a task to perform before the next meeting.

We just celebrated Independence Day. The United States, unlike most countries, was based on a dream. The Declaration of Independence was the codification of that dream. It was a covenant for a community to be united for a common good. It had no force of law. Rejoicing in the memory of the event that created this county is not a religious event. A college is not a state, but we have some of the aspects of a community based on a covenant.

The covenant is written in our mission and in the idea of what education is for the city, state and country. Education’s goal is to create informed citizens for our multiple intertwined communities. The College’s mission is to provide the resources for education. The resources consist of the physical (buildings, grounds and equipment), the human, and the intellectual. The College does provide a large range of services to help students and faculty do their job of education. However, the College is but one agency within the city and large community.

As a community, the College seeks to provide its members with a co--responsibility for justice, kindness, and compassion. We are not all equal. There is a hierarchy in the organization and students have different role in the organization that faculty and staff.

We are not a society. A society is a self-perpetuating home. Our goals include insuring students graduate. They have a limited time on campus and then must move on to the next step in their lives.

As a community we do have to recognize the diversity of individual gifts. Rule is not by fiat. Consensus building is an important part of leadership.

Q> On an everyday practical level what is being done for community building?

For students any club, sport, or student group is an opportunity to make a community. I learned a great deal about cooperation and team work from participating in a team sport and from playing in musical groups. The star player or performer can go only so far without support from a team.

For faculty and staff I will encourage them to participate in committees and groups that share in the governance and planning for the college. I will encourage groups to implement decisions so that we can move forward in a way that works rather than stumbles.

While the mission is to graduate students, we hope to have a lifetime connection to the students through alumni associations. We offer several kinds of services for graduates and hope they will support us with many kinds of support. We office library privileges and placement help for members of the alumni association. We offer networking opportunities for connecting graduates for business, professional, and social opportunities.

Q> How has the concept of peer reviewed journal articles evolved?

A> The standard in academia especially in the sciences is for professors and researchers to seek peer review of research. The manuscripts submitted for publication are reviewed by experts. Usually the process is blind review with neither party knowing the identity of the other. A prestigious publication will receive many more manuscripts than they can use. For example the New English Journal of Medicine publishes about 5% of the articles submitted. Replication of results of experiments is an important part of scientific process. This reminds me of the reasons God didn’t get tenure. 1) His only written work did not have any citations and was written in ancient Hebrew; 2) His only experiment, creation of the world, can not be replicated; and 3) He refuses to meet face-to-face with any students or colleagues.

In the social sciences and humanities blind peer review is less important. Experiments cannot be replicated like recipes. In the era of blogs, web pages and Wikipedia peer review can be almost instantaneous. For example: earlier this week, a professor in Brooklyn and a librarian in Frankfurt read my blog article. They sent comments and I was immediately able to verify the comments and make changes to my article. If this were a print publication changes would take months and the reader of the unchanged article would probably not know about the changes. I am doing a better service to my readers by making immediate changes. While I did not make a mistake, the added information clarified two points I made. Sometimes letting people read or hear preliminary results enables me to make corrections before publication.

While academics like peer-reviewed and scholarly journals, we have to look at additional types of publications. Professors who publish blogs and web sites that are connected to their teaching and research interests should get the same recognition and credit as those who publish in the more traditional venues. However, a short 500 word blog entry is not the same as a 5,000 word article 50,000 word book. A 500 word carefully researched and documented article is not the same as 500 word opinion piece written in a half hour. A stream of conscience or opinion blog entry is not the same as an academic entry. A blog can be less formal than a journal article, but still needs evidence and citations to be taken seriously. We have to judge the publications on their own merits not on artificial designations.

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*Part eight of an imaginary interview with the newly appointed president of the College. Note this is just for your information and amusement. Any connection to a real college president is strictly coincidental.

Mistaken Attribution

2011-07-07T12:03:00.002-05:00

If enough people claim something is true, can we believe it to be true? Recently a query on H-Judaic, a list serv for Judaica, asked for the source of the “Jews earn like Episcopalians but vote like Puerto Ricans.” Many people have attributed this statement or aphorism, “Jews earn like Episcopalians but vote like Puerto Ricans” to Milton Himmelfarb.

When quoting someone usually we put the statement in quotation marks and in academic publication a citation or source is supplied. However, no one can give a citation probably because he never wrote it. Milton Himmelfarb (October 21, 1918 – January 4, 2006) worked for the American Jewish Committee for more than 40 years. He was one of the editors of the American Jewish Yearbook and a contributing editor of Commentary Magazine. Commentary frequently published his editorial opinions and commentary. Even the New York Times obituary (“Milton Himmelfarb, Wry Essayist, 87, Dies” / by Joseph Berger, January 15, 2006) and an article in the New Republic (April 21, 2005 “The Bashing of Bolton, &C / Jay Nordlinger http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/214251/bashing-bolton-c/jay-nordlinger ) attributed this statement to him.

Table from American Jewish Yearbook 1983 p. 117

Himmelfarb's observations on Jewish voting patterns goes back at least to an opinion in the December 1960 issue of Commentary, “In the community: Jewish vote?” In this article he talks about Jewish self-interests and voting. In general he says that Jews take liberalism as their own because it is in their self interest. He never mentions “Episcopalians” as a group. In June 1973 in the Commentary article, “The Jewish Vote (Again)” he talks about the Jews voting according to their own self interests. He says, “… American Jews had become economically to resemble the Episcopalians, the most prosperous of all white groups, their voting behavior continued to be most like the voting behavior of one of the least prosperous of all groups, the Puerto Ricans.” Which is the closest to the aphorism that everyone claims Himmelfarb wrote. Himmelfarb stated that if Jews were voting by economic self-interested they would have overwhelmingly voted for Nixon. They did not. Some of his ideas on Jewish voting also appear in his book, The Jews of modernity (New York, Basic Books, 1973).

Why do so many people think that Himmelfarb said the aphorism? First, it seems to be a concise condensation of many of his writings on Jewish voting patterns. Second, it gives credence to the observation. However, I question the need to put the statement in quotes. I could find nothing in American copyright law that forbids false attribution of statements or works. Some statements that were made famous by Benjamin Franklin were no created by him. Some statements attributed to Mark Twain and even famous rabbis were never authored by them. By attributing a statement to a famous person the true author is both modest and trying to make the statement more important than it is. False attribution and misrepresenting an author’s is not allowed under the Australian Copyright law. (Copyright Act of 1968 section 195 AD).

The statement does not misrepresent Himmelfarb’s ideas, but I question if it is even protected by copyright. Obvious facts, lists, and directories are not automatically protected. If you make a list of ingredients, a shopping list, or list of facts they are not automatically protected. If you were to read a table that had a voting report of elections broken down by groups and made the statement, “Jews vote like Puerto Rican New Yorkers,” this would be a reports of facts. It would not be protected by copyright. Likewise if you read government earning statistical report and said “Jews are in the same economic earning group as Episcopalians,” this would be an obvious fact that is not copyrightable. Before you jump on my case, the context of how you use the facts may make them copyrightable. If the statement was part of a larger work and this was analysis, it would be probably be protected. Short sentences out of context are usually not protected.

Searching for the Prussian Emancipation Act of 1812

2011-07-06T14:25:00.006-05:00

On H-Judaic, a list serv for professors of Judaica, a retired professor who is writing a book wanted to find the text of the Prussian Emancipation Act of 1812. I thought this would be an easy search using Google. I was mistaken. A search in English yielded many books and articles that mention this edict and portions of the text, but not the full text. The professor said that she had a summary of the text in English, but wanted the full text.

Since this was a complicated search, I hope that you can learn some of the search tricks that I need to use to find the text. I first had to read up and understand this edict. This was the document of emancipation for the Jews of Prussia issued by King Friedreich Willhelm III. The people of Prussia felt this was a reward for the achievements that Jews accomplished in Prussia. In other countries the rulers imposed citizenship and rights to the Jews. The edict eliminated most of the anti-Jewish laws that had existed from the Middle Ages. This edict ended the Middle Ages and its limitations on human rights. It was a great step toward modernity. . The edict allowed Jews most freedoms of citizens and required them to adopt family names. Strangely, since they couldn’t be university professors, some Jews were encouraged to convert. Foreign Jews who married Prussians were not granted all the rights as citizens. The provisions of the 1812 edict were not enforced uniformly in the Kingdom. For example the city-state of Lübeck expelled Jews who has settled there during the Napoleonic era.(1)

Prussia in 1812 was a German kingdom that included the cities of Berlin, Brandenberg, Hanover, and Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt an der Oder, Koenigsberg, and Breslau. Prussia existed from 1701 until Germany’s defeat in World War 1 in 1918. It had very irregular borders and islands of other states were completely surrounded by Prussia. It was the biggest and most populous of the German states. The borders changed in 1805 and 1807. Today parts of Prussia are in Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. During the aftermath of World War 2, many areas no longer had a German character. For example the city of Königsberg, largely destroyed in the war, was renamed Kaliningrad (Калининград)in 1946. Königsberg was the city’s name from the year 1255.(2)

Since the edict was Prussian law I searched for a law book with the text. I found the compiled law of Prussia in Gesetz-Sammlung für diu Königlichen Preussischen Staaten., (Collected Royal Laws of the Prussian State) but strangely the volume that covers 1812 is either missing or never existed. The volume covering 1806-1810 was published in 1822 in Berlin. (3)

After I understood something about the edict I could return to use Google. By doing a search in German using Google books I found the complete text of the 1812 Emancipation Act in the book, Der Entwurfeiner Verordnung über die Verhaltnisse der Juden in Preussen und das Edikt vom 11. Marz 1812 / von Moritz Veit. Leipzig : F. A. Brockhaus, 1847, starting on page 27. It is printed in German Fraktur font. Here's the link for finding the book with Google books:

Here is the link for finding the book with Google books http://books.google.com/books?id=w4pDAAAAcAAJ&pg=PR3&dq=Der++Entwurfeiner+Verordnung+%C3%BCber+die+Verhaltnisse+der+Juden&hl=en&ei=12kTTp27BabL0QGjuvy2Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Another copy is available from Freimann-Digital-Collection of Frankfurt University Library http://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/freimann/content/titleinfo/96788

The Salomon Ludwig Steinheim-Institut für deutsch-jüdische Geschichte at the University of Duisburg-Essen has a digital archive of text that includes a plain text version of Moritz Veit’s book (http://www.deutsch-juedische-publizistik.de/pdf/1847_Veit.pdf)

According to WorldCat, this book is only available in electronic format. However, I have learned that the book is available in Frankfurt University Library-Judaica Division.

This was not a quick search. Google is a great tool, but the search required an understanding of the search terms in both English and the original German and a brief lesson in what this document is and its significance. During the search process I read many articles on the topic and checked encyclopedias for background. Without the background I would not have known that the result was correct.

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Notes:
1> There are many articles and books that discuss the emancipation of Jews in German lands, Examples are: “The process of emancipation from the Congress of Vienna to the revolution of 1848/49,” by Arno Hertzog in Leo Baeck Institute year book XXXVII 1992 p. 61- 69 and “The terms of emancipation 1781-1812,” by H.D. Schmidt in Leo Baeck Institute year book I 1956. Modern Judaism and historical consciousness : identities, encounters, perspectives, by Andreas Gotzmann and Christian Wiese ( Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2007) see chapter 12 Jewish historical culture and Wissenschaft.

2> One of the challenges of the geography of Europe is that cities have changed countries and names very often. Frequently cities had German, Polish, Russian and Yiddish names. The catalog of Jewish Theological Seminary Library list more than 150 books published in Königsberg and none from Kalingrad.

3> Note added on July 7. Since the original publication I received additional information from Bonnie Anderson: the University of Iowa Law Library has a copy of the Gesetz-Sammlung fűr die Königlichen Preussischen Staaten, 1806-65. Thanks also to Rachel Heuberger of Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt a. M (Frankfurt University Library) for providing information about this item in their collection.

Notes received from Reina Wiliams:

The subject line of this email grabbed my attention immediately. I am working as an Online Librarian at a proprietary school. Yesterday, I was helping a student in chat, and he was angry he could not search the library databases like Google. He even submitted a feedback form saying how dissatisfied he was with the library web resources. He stated he could just Google his topic. This student fails to realize that the web resources may not be credible or accepted by his instructor. Librarians at the very least have to be present to teach students how to evaluate web resources.

Where is WorldCat when you need it?

2011-06-29T23:45:00.003-05:00

On a recent Sunday night rerun of the TV show Criminal Minds (episode "The Fisher King: Part 2" Original Air Date: 20 September 2006 ) the Behavior Analysis Unit (BAU) was presented with a code. Dr. Spencer Reid recognized it as a book code. A book code uses a book as a key. The plain text message has a location in the book for the word. In the show the plain text had three numbers representing the page, line and word within the line. The sender and receiver both need the same edition of the same book.

Dr. Reid figured out that the book was The Collector / by John Fowles (fn1) published in London in 1963. The title of the book was derived from other clues given by the suspect. This is a well known book with more than 100 editions and translations. It was a television moment. That means ordinary people would not connect a 1963 baseball card and a shadow box containing a butterfly to the title or a book and its date of publication. To decode the message he needed to find the book. The book has a plot similar to the TV episode (a woman is held captive in a cellar by psychopathic suspect).

The BAU’s data analyst, Penelope Garcia, was asked to find the book. She specializes in accessing secure databases and creating quires that compare two or more databases. According to her biography, she is self taught and never went to college. She is able to enter secure databases that she does not have official credentials faster than I can enter a database that I have full permission to use. Her computers give her results faster than my computers can respond to the enter key. I guess that is just because the show operates in television time. The book query had her flustered. She said that she didn’t know what database to check. She was stuck. Eventually Dr. Reid reported that he was checking some libraries. He never said they he needed a librarian for help.

WorldCat (WorldCat.org) is the database to check for this book. It is a publically accessible database that does not require a fee. However, an ordinary end user search would not find the correct edition. WorldCat has an advanced search that allows one to use multiple search parameters. I entered the title “collector,” author “fowles” and the date “1963.” Worldcat gave me three hits; all were for the 1963 Little, Brown edition published in Boston. I wondered if the show’s writers were creating a fictional London edition.

I went to search the catalogue (fn2)of the British Library (http://catalogue.bl.uk/). Using the advanced search option and I found the 1963 London edition published by Jonathan Cape. The TV show did not say which British city was the city of publication, but the London edition was the only one from Great Britain. This proved that the book exists. Dr. Reid would need to find the book in a library nearby. WorldCat not only gives the bibliographic information but also the names of the libraries that own it. The list is ordered by the closest library.

I returned to WorldCat and refined the search to include London, 1963. This search gave me the London 1963, edition. The list of libraries included many within 10 miles. However, after searching their catalogs I found only the Little, Brown 1963 edition. I thought WorldCat had a glitch in their search algorithm.

WorldCat did not match the exact edition. They could be figuring that as a Chicago resident I would want the American edition. Scholars sometimes need exact editions as do TV crime fighters. Since the American and British editions did not have the same number of pages there is no way Dr. Reid could use the American edition to solve his coded message.

My error was that I missed selecting the option to search for this edition only. Once I selected that option I found the book in the University of Chicago Library. Its copy has a note on the cover "Uncorrected proof" The library of the University of Michigan and Indiana University also have copies without the note.

The reason American libraries generally only have American editions is because the British editions would not be sold in this country. London editions would only come from gifts, bequests or purchases of used books. The law covering the importation of English language books is under Title 17 Copyright Chapter 6. Prior to 1986 books offered for sale were required to be manufactured in the U.S. or Canada (exceptions are noted in the law.) The TV episode did not say anything about a British connection to the suspect. I assume they were just trying to make puzzle harder to solve for the audience. Dr. Reid found a library with the book and talked to someone by phone who had the book in hand.

This search information and knowledge of the book trade would be common knowledge to a librarian, but I did not hear the word, “librarian” mentioned in the episode. An ordinary searcher would have missing the London edition because it was not found with the first search. Too many patrons want instant answers and don't take the time for a through search. It is really no small wonder that the self taught, Penelope Garcia, did not even think of calling a librarian for help.

On June 24, 2011 the New York Times had an article “In Lean Times, Schools Squeeze Out Librarians” by Fernanda Santos (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/25/nyregion/schools-eliminating-librarians-as-budgets-shrink.html?_r=2) about the vanishing school librarian. Budget cutting is eliminating school librarians. In New York there is a law requiring schools to have a certified librarian (http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/excerpts/finished_regs/912.htm)

§91.2 Employment of school library media specialist Each school district shall employ a certified school library media specialist, unless equivalent service is provided by an alternative arrangement approved by the commissioner, in accordance with the following standards:
The article pictures a school library in shared by Public School 9 and Middle School 571 in Brooklyn that was recently renovated, but has no librarian. Apparently the schools don’t care about breaking the law.

Is it any wonder that a non-college educated TV character does not know to ask a librarian? What happens in the real world? I hope the next time Garcia has trouble finding a book, she turns to the expert librarians.

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Notes:
1. John Fowles (1926 - 2005 ) was born and educated in Great Britain.
2. British spelling is used on purpose.

Steven Arakawa of Yale University Library wrote in an email, " The Yale University library has generally purchased modern British authors from British publishers." Research libraries frequently have deals with foreign publishers or agents to acquire books. Some major universities do a better job of acquiring foreign imprints than Library of Congress. I did not mean to imply that British imprints are in any way illegal to import. The copyright law and treaties make provisions for foreign imprints. Some of the limitations on British fiction go back to the time when no copyright treaty existed between the U.S. and Great Britain. Charles Dickens and Mark Twain were very unhappy that publishers in the other country were selling their books without paying royalties. Some of these issues I discussed in my blog entries on copyright.

The point in the TV episode was the coder and the decoder needed the exact same edition to get the message.

I have never done a line by line analysis of the differences between an American and a British edition. I assume that the American editions have American spellings and the British have British spellings and sometimes concepts, idioms, or terminology may be localized. Sometimes the title of the book is different in other countries. For example the first Harry Potter book was called Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone in the British edition and Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone in the American edition. Since the Chicago Public Library has both editions, some significant differences must exist.

Arakawa assumes that Yale wants the British editions of British authors because it is closer to the author's intentions.

Marketing and Public Relations -- 13

2011-06-15T20:31:00.004-05:00

Personal Connections to Your Public

Every contact with the public is an opportunity for either making positive or negative connections. Last Sunday I visited the regional public library as it is the only library on the north side open on Sunday. The experience was not positive. It was as if they staff had no training in public relations. They should read my blog entry from September 1, 2010 “Staying connected to your public.”

Point number 14 in that article stated “Think positively and put on a happy face. View it as your job to look happy. Stuff happens that is beyond your control. In the face of a challenge remain clam and in control. Remember we are in the business of doing good things and serving the public.”

Previous to my visit I checked the online catalog for books on my subject, Ubuntu Linux. The libraries I work in didn’t have anything on the topic, but this public library had several books. The libraries where I work had none. The catalog indicated the books were not checked out. I looked on the shelf; my son looked at the shelf. None of the books were there. Reference librarians do not leave their desks. They are also not very approachable.

I decided to check if the library owned a particular video. The computer available to search the catalog near the video collection had a wireless connection. The connection was intermittent, making a search hard to do. The computer searched for a connection. I went to search for another computer. A clerk in a very unfriendly voice said, “That computer is only for searching the catalog.” I answered “I was trying to search the catalog.” She answered, “No, you were doing something funny.” I identified myself as a librarian who knew a lot about computers and libraries. I offered to explain what was going on with the computer. She refused to listen.

This is my site report.

1. Friendliness and helpfulness – Needs improvement. Staff needs better training.

2. Ease of finding materials – Needs improvement.

3. Books in the collection – Fine for my son who checked out 10 books, terrible for me. My son is less particular than I am. He didn’t have a particular book or subject in mind.

I work as a reference librarian. I do not stay at my desk. I offer help before students ask. I walk around and if I see someone perplexed I offer help. I greet people with, “May I help you?” One should investigate before accusing anyone. I have told people not to eat dinner in the library and not to talk loudly. I do not yell at people; very quietly I tell people what they need to know. Not everyone is aware that their behavior is bothering another user. No one has ever been belligerent after a quiet reminder. We try not to argue with patron. This is the same kind of behavior we expect in a retail environment.

The patron will remember positive connections, but will tell the story of negative impressions to many people. Because the negative will get wider attention, we must do our best to put on a smile and give positive impressions at all times.

Additional Connections

Give your patrons something to take away. Yesterday I worked on a business card that has instructions for using the library remotely and included the library phone number. I use the cards as giveaways when I do a class orientation to the library. Students love the cards. Some libraries may want to giveaway pencils, pens, book marks, or other stuff with the library name. You want the patrons to think of the library as “their” library.

We will also be updating our library brochures and web pages. I want to promote the idea of partnership with the students and faculty. Jonathan Sacks in his book, The Home We Build Together (Continuum US, 2007) talks about how it is better to work together side-by-side than talk face-to-face. What he means is that I can talk to faculty and students, but the ideas may not sink in. I need to act as a partner with a common goal. If the goal is finding information for a paper, work with the student to find the answers; don’t tell them all the answers.

It is also important for a librarian to be multilingual. That does not mean learn Spanish or French. It means learn the professional and technical languages of the people who use the library. Learn their languages and how to translate them into the language of the layperson. The languages of professionals, such as the health and legal fields, need to be precise. Our first language needs to be Standard English (or the language of our country) and our second language is the language of our group. The group may be an ethnic, professional, or cultural group. These languages may even share part of a common vocabulary, but when used within a group the meanings change.

Ed Dean Interview -- Part 1

2011-06-01T22:46:00.002-05:00

New Dean for the School of Education*

Q> The dean you are replacing has been with the University for more than 40 years and 25 of those years he was the dean of the School of Education. Any second thoughts about filling those shoes?

A> Education is the glue that connects one generation to the next. The School has a long history of excellence in teaching and research. Many of our graduates become leaders in their schools. We enthuse them with such a great love of learning, that most who graduate our undergraduate programs earn a masters degree within 5 years of graduation.

We are facing an ever widening gap in our country’s educational process. Too many students are dropping out of high school and too many are not reading or understanding math at grade level. While the Federal government has tried to mandate changes, they do not have the knowledge and scholarship to make change happen. We are struggling as a nation to keep up our math, science and humanities literacy. Comedian Jay Leno has a segment called, “Jaywalking.” While I’m sure that the producers and editors find people who make the funniest remarks, some of the lack of knowledge is indicative of widespread ignorance. We expect people to know there own jobs. In a recent segment (http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/jaywalk-phrases/1252534) Jay asked a waitress about some expressions that are connected to the restaurant business. Jay asked, “Has anyone ever ordered `a la carte?” “No, our restaurant is `al dente” (1) The waitress had no idea what either term meant.

Education gives children the tools to become members of society. We have many layers of society based on location, gender, ethnic group, religion, intellect, and many more. The School has to give students the tools to deal with diversity. I hope to spread some of the teachings of James P. Comer, founder of the School Development Program. He said schools should stress: consensus collaboration, and no fault. I hope that we can set the example so that our students take the ideas back to their classrooms and schools.

I have no second thoughts. We will be building a team at the School so that we can progress and accomplish our mission.

Q> What is the School’s mission? Are you going to change the mission?

A> The current mission statement is:

The School is committed to:

1) Encouraging and supporting excellence and professionalism;

2) Creating opportunities for collaboration and partnerships;

3) Helping students, faculty and staff achieve their potentials; and

4) Creating a community of scholars and lifelong learners.

I wouldn’t change any words at the moment. I would change the way people think about a mission statement. I encourage everyone to think about their actions and ask themselves which part of the mission statement you are following with that decision. For example if someone wants to make a suggestion they should ask: “Is this action going to help with creating a community or fostering excellence?” If the action can’t be justified, then perhaps it should never be vocalized.

I’ve seen many “penny-wise / pound foolish” proposals in organizations. Some “bean counters” think they are saving the organization money, but have not done their investigations properly. The proposal ends up costs much more in the end and the cost saving is non-existent. I hate wasted time and money for paperwork. However, paperwork is essential for the management of the system. The question for any or bureaucratic procedure or paperwork is, “What part of the mission is being followed?”

Before any large expenditure for equipment, the parties involved need to figure out the return on the investment. I recently read of CIO (chief information officer) of a company who was not very technically oriented. One of the sales people didn’t like the 3.5 pound laptop computers they were lugging to client sites. The salesman wanted an Apple iPad. When the CIO heard the cost was only $500, he ordered one for every salesperson. No one tested to see if the iPad would work on the corporate network. The network needed to be secure because they have sensitive data on the system. The iPads needed custom configurations to work and login to the company’s private network. By the time the IT people got everything working the added cost was more than $1000 per unit. This cost was a lot more than the laptops they had which could be configured in less than 15 minutes. Because the iPads were never able to access all of the corporate software programs, many stayed in the office and never went with the salespeople on customer visits.

Not only do I want to make sure this kind of poor behavior does happen in our School, but I want to set an example for our students to learn about management. They should learn about school management so that they know why some forms and numbers are important and some are not. They should learn that there are valid reasons not to follow a fad, how to make management decisions, and how decisions affect all the stakeholders.

Q> What is this Comer School Development Program (SDP)? I never heard of it.

A> Dr. James P. Comer is the Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry and the associate dean of the Yale University School of Medicine. He developed SDP as a comprehensive program to address the issues that have an impact on student performance, development and well-being. The program includes help for school organization and climate, curriculum and instruction, and parent and community involvement.

His model addresses many variables connected to the student’s welfare and progress. Some of the issues here addresses include family, child physiology, classroom management, and self esteem. Early in his research he found teachers who had no idea of child development and were teaching material that was not age appropriate. He stressed the positive, community and no fault. In his book, Leave No Child Behind, he tells a story about a substitute teacher who was yelling at the students. Finally one student stood up and said, “This is a no-fault school. We don’t talk like that here.” In addition to Comer’s book you can also visit the program’s web site: http://childstudycenter.yale.edu/comer/index.aspx

The Comer program sets up team for parents, school management, planning, support, planning, assessment and staff development.

Staff development and life long learning are important aspects of the program.

Q> What makes a good teacher?

A> The question is not easy to answer and the answer varies by the subject taught. President’s Bush “no child left behind” program did not create better teachers. Measuring success solely via test scores does not work. There have been many quests for the one trait that would identity a potential good teacher. I can tell you some of the factors that don’t predict a new teacher will succeed: a graduate degree, a high score on standardized tests, any one personality trait, confidence, warmth, enthusiasm, or passing the teacher-certification exam on the first try.

Elizabeth Green wrote an article, “Building a Better Teacher” (2) about issues concerning training to be teachers. She included a section of the history of schools that train teachers. In 1800’s teachers were trained in “normal schools.” These schools were not part of the college or university system. Between 1870 and 1900 the number of teachers increased from 200,000 to 400,000. The normal schools turned out graduates quickly and didn’t concentrate on either a subject knowledge or methodology of instruction.

There are two major aspects of teacher education—subject knowledge and methodology. These aspects are not new. When I went to undergraduate school even though the word “teacher” was in its name, subject knowledge was extremely important. Students had to major in a subject; education was a minor. A teacher could have wonderful charisma and a magical personality when dealing with children, but if s/he does not know math or science not only will the students not learn the subject, but also they will not gain the correct basic knowledge for the next educational step. Learning about the management of instruction, pedagogical theory, and educational practice are needed to apply the academic subject knowledge to the classroom.

Strangely no matter how important the training program makes these aspects of the teacher education program; we still don’t know the best balance or the relationship to student learning. We only know when teachers give the wrong information or teachers can’t control the class, students suffer.

There's a popular framework for developed by Charlotte Danielson that has four domains for profession training and competence. The domains: planning and preparation, the

Classroom, professional responsibilities and instruction, are further subdivided on the web site. Danielson also states the importance of lifelong learn for students and faculty.

Aaron Pallas, a professor at Teachers College (New York, NY) told me in private communication on May 30, 2011, “[Teacher success] depends on the grade levels, school subjects, and family and community contexts in which the teaching is to take place. There are things that may be important for teachers to know if they are not knowledgeable about the communities in which they are teaching. …Teachers, generally, are not well-prepared to assess student learning, and to understand the strengths and weaknesses of different forms of assessment, and in the vacuum, others have stepped in to define what counts as learning (e.g., performance on standardized tests.) “

To enter our undergraduate programs a student must complete at least 19 courses of the required basic education requirements set by the University. The courses must include at least four in a single subject area. The subject areas are: 1) Physical sciences; 2) Social sciences; 3) Fine Arts; 4) Mathematics; 5) World languages and literature; and 6) History or regional studies. To enter a graduate program the student needs a major in a field other than education that includes at least 33 semester credits.

I talked to many teachers and they said that a good teacher has to have a passion for the subject and the students. Teachers not only need to present the academic material of the subject but also give a bit of themselves. While they could tell me qualities that describe great teachers, no one could give me a predictor that would indicate which teacher candidates would be the most successful. While past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior, the signs are not easy to read.

Q> Has the School done anything to give more practical knowledge to students?

A> Several years ago some music education students went to the dean and said they couldn’t join the University’s performing groups and they wanted to form a school jazz band. The dean liked the idea and helped them get started. The band became a laboratory for music educators and a creative outlet for the students. It was a very open education situation—there were no grades or academic requirements. Students and faculty learned from each other. The band benefited the school with their performances. Since then a school orchestra and a choir were created. These are top notch performing groups open to all students and faculty, not just the music education students.

Students in the science education programs are encouraged to do work in a lab. Visits to businesses, classrooms, potential vendors, and other places are arranged to give the students a chance to learn from the experts on their home turf.

We have internship programs in co-operation with the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. These programs give student practical work experience that can be translated to the classroom.

Some people have accused professors teaching subjects without any practical knowledge of the K-12 classrooms. We have programs for professors to visit K-12 classrooms. They visit as both observers and consultants. Both our school and the schools visited gain from the experience. Some professors teach a few hours per week in our lab school. Some professors are involved with ongoing teacher training or research projects with the local public schools. Many of our professors act as experts for policy makers in local and state government.

We believe in learning by doing as well as academic learning in the classroom.

Q> Some critics have stated that we need to attract more of the brightest students to the field of education. They would like some of those engineering students to become educators. How do you answer them?

A> According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2010 report let me tell you some of the numbers. In all areas of education including schools, training and libraries there are 8,457,870 workers. In the life, physical, and social science occupations there are 1,064,510 workers. Approximately 1,454,420 work in engineering positions. While the number of education bachelor’s degrees is similar when it comes to graduate degrees education conferred in 2008 175,880 while 34,592 were awarded in engineering. (Source: U.S. Statistical Abstract 2011)

By the numbers of teachers and graduates we are doing ok, but these are only numbers. There is nothing stopping the brightest students from choosing a field that is best suited to their skills and desires. Some may be a brilliant engineer, but that has no connection to being a great teacher. I do however; encourage schools to make connections to people in the work force. Business people, engineers, skilled trades people, etc. should visit schools to share their stories and expertise. These people could be parents of current students or other interested members of the community.

Q> Thank you for your time and remarks. I look forward to continuing this conversation. Any closing comments?

A> Thank you. Teachers and parents are agents who connect children to their community. The School gives tools to the community tools help them be better teachers and leaders.

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* Part one of an interview with the newly appointed dean of the University’s School of Education. Note: this interview is just for your information and amusement. Any connection to a real university, school, or dean is strictly coincidental.

Notes:

1. Just in case the terms are foreign to you -- to order `a la carte means to order a single dish rather than a full meal. `Al dente refers to pasta that is a little hard but still edible.

2. New York Times Magazine, March 2, 2010 (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html)

New Dean Interview -- Part 2

2011-05-29T17:21:00.001-05:00

University Appoints New Dean for SLIS* -- Replies

Many people made comments on last week's column and they warrant replies.

1) One person said that computer science should be covered in library school in depth.

In many library schools "information science" includes courses in web design, data base design and management, networking and other computer science courses. When I went to library school in days before personal computers, learning SNOBOL4 (a computer language for text and string manipulation) was offered as a non-credit elective. I made a pledge to myself that I would soon have a computer of my own for running programs. I did not want to punch cards, submit them and then wait for the report to tell me in the program worked or didn't. I purchased my first personal computer five years later, two years before IBM made their first PC. I was then able to write and test hundreds of iterations of my programs.

The difference between a computer science course in the math department and one in library school is a course in the math department is concerned with the "what and how" while the graduate library school course is more interested in the "why" and management issues.   The library school produce graduates who know more about how information is stored, processed and retrieved than the students in a math department program concerned with algorithms.

2) What school does this dean work for?

The note at the bottom of the interview says that this is for your information only. The comments are my own and any connection to an actual school are coincidental. The is follows the tradition of the Kuzari, in which Yehudah Halevi uses the interview format to write about his philosophy. If you should want to hire me as a consultant or faculty member, I am available.

3) Why is the dean so optimistic?

The dean's job is to promote the school and its mission.   We are an information society. Almost every job today is based on information systems. The world needs more critical thinkers who know how to organize, store and retrieve information. Unfortunately we are in difficult financial straits. We can't guarantee any graduate will find a job in their first choice library or location. In the ancient times of the 1960's jobs applied to library school graduates instead of students applying for posted jobs. That time is long gone. Graduates have to constantly retrain themselves for the next job.   What I say privately to individuals is not the same as what I want to put into print for everyone.

4) What jobs are open to library school graduates?

As I mentioned before many graduates never work in libraries. Just this morning I talked to someone is a college dean who once worked as a librarian. We have to open the world to the understanding that librarians are flexible and can learn lots of jobs that depend on critical thinking, organization of information, and helping people out of complex information overloads.

Many librarians are losing their jobs today. Now is the time to do more public relations, more writing about the field, and more public service advertising. Now is the time to share your wisdom. The skill to look up facts and information still valuable. The challenge is that Google, TV, and instant gratification have clouded the systematic seeking of the reliable information needed for wise decisions.

New Dean Interview -- Part 1

2011-05-24T01:02:00.003-05:00

University Appoints New Dean for SLIS*

Q> You joined the administration at a very challenging time for the profession and the world of information. Any second thoughts about what you’re walking into?

A> One challenge of the School is that it is both a graduate school introducing students to the world of serious scholarship and a professional school teaching students how to be librarians and other information professionals. This is not a new challenge, but those outside the profession don’t seem to understand the scholarship and management skills required to be a librarian. Sometimes these goals of education complement each other and sometimes the goals conflict. I am going to emphasize both aspects of the process and encourage faculty to include components of scholarship and professional practice their courses. Librarians need to understand the history and theory of the profession and learn the management skills to manage information and organizations.

Libraries and information professionals have changed more in the years since 1990’s when the Internet proliferated than in the previous centuries. We will be expanding the mission of the School to include more aspects of the information professions. I am proposing the following as the revised mission.

The mission of the school is to understand the history and sources of the information arts and sciences and to advance the theory, art, science, and practice of professions specializing in the use, creation, storage, organization and dissemination of information in any recorded form or format.

I have no second thoughts about this position and university. While previous to my appointment, I had no direct connection to the University, many of the professors in the School were known to me professionally in person and by reputation. We are very lucky to have many long term faculty members who will continue to teach, do research and contribute to the University and the profession. We hope to hire some younger faculty to bring in new ideas and excitement to complement the current faculty.

Q> Has the University committed to hiring new faculty?

A> The School currently is recruiting to fill an existing vacancy. We will be evaluating our role within the University and how we can expand our course offerings. Some of our courses will be cross listed with other schools. We plan to offer credit courses for graduate and undergraduate students who want to better understand scholarly research and how library searches and resources can help them in their studies. As our role within the University changes we will need to think about our staffing.

Q> What kinds of librarians does the School currently educate?

A> There are four basic types of libraries who hire our librarian graduates, but some graduates work in other information professions and never work in a library. Students may pursue a course of study to work in schools, academic libraries, public libraries, or special libraries. Some libraries are combinations of these types. For example a university library is an academic research library but also supports the curriculum like a school library and may have special collections like a special library. A special library in a business may also have aspects of a research or archive collection. We have programs to train medical, law, theological, and science librarians.

As a graduate school we want students to have solid subject knowledge before they start. When I was in library school we debated whether education to be a librarian started in kindergarten or the first day of college. I voted for first day an infant learned a word. One never knows when what you learn today will help you with a library task or working with readers tomorrow.

Some skills such as cataloging, searching, and administration are valuable in every library. It does not matter which library one works in. Skills such as children’s literature are valuable for those who work with children; a business librarian would not need to know the latest novels for teenagers. We have a program to train archivists. Archivists look at cataloging and collection building in a different light than academic and school librarians.

Q> Outside of libraries where do librarians work?

A> Our graduates know more about the flow of knowledge and information than any computer science or arts and science graduate. We teach more about the theory of knowledge than any school in the University. Some graduates work in IT departments as data base managers, information architects, and webmasters. One graduate from ten years ago is now the chief information officer (CIO) at a multi-billion dollar company. Some graduates help businesses organize and better understand their corporate knowledge. Some work as writers and teachers. Some work in the publishing business or other aspects of the book trade. One former librarian is now a college president.

There are lots of jobs for those trained in our School, but one challenge is to help the world outside of academia to understand what we can do. The research agenda of several of our professors includes ideas on how we can improve the use and understanding of knowledge. We will be encouraging students to learn about marketing and public relations. This is one area we can learn from the Business School.

Q> You talked about teaching management skills as important for librarians. Would you elaborate? What is your philosophy of management?

A> One of the most common reasons for people to be dissatisfied with their jobs is they feel they are not supported by the administration. They feel that comments, suggestions, and complaints are ignored. Before I was a manager I said, “Sometimes when you bang your head against the wall, you break down the wall and sometimes you just hurt your head.” People with their experience and knowledge are the organization’s most valuable asset. Some schools with administrations who rule by decree are full of unhappy faculty and students. So far this School has a great history of collaborative planning and problem solving. The corporate culture ingrained on the faculty is co-operate and work as a team or leave. I would not have accepted a position in an organization that did not believe in trust, collaboration, and shared planning. The president and board of trustees have made it clear that faultfinding, blame, and finger pointing have no place in this institution. There is always room for improvement. Cooperation requires lots of meetings. I hate wasting time at meeting. I hope to create paths and systems to share information and solve problems with a minimum amount of time in meetings. Everyone will be required to prepare for large group or formal meetings.

I hope that our way of dealing with planning and problem solving can be an example for the students. I hope to be transparent when there are challenges and opportunities by telling students and faculty what is happening. Social media and e-mail make this much easier today than when I was a student. We must recognize that part of the education process is social. I’m talking about the opportunity to be near great minds. We need times for people exchange thoughts and learn from each other outside of the classroom. We need to see each other experts and to meet each other. This applies to distance learners, too. I will encourage faculty to conduct on-line smooze sessions. I plan to schedule a smooze session once a week using conferencing software. The details have yet to be determined.

Basically my management philosophy is: 1) No one has a monopoly on the truth; 2) When I don’t know the answers I will seek to find them or someone who can help me find them; 3) To succeed together, we must learn to share, co-operate, set good examples by our words and actions, and work as a team; 4) Dream for the best; 5) Make goals and plan for the future; 6) Have a backup plan; 7) Seek the truth; 8) Always find opportunities to learn; 9) Never stop learning; and 10) Never stop learning.

No fault, no blame methods of problem solving create an atmosphere of trust and help people avoid excuses and defensiveness. The emphasis is on solving problems, accepting responsibility and shared accountability. At this time our problems and challenges are routine. We always have to balance the demands of time, money, logistics and real estate. I will have to keep reminding everyone of the”no fault” guidelines. In a collaborative, teamwork environment, accountability rests with the individual(s) responsible rather than with the supervising authority. We try to do the right things for the good of the students, the School, and the University. We want everyone to look good.

Q> One of your tasks will be to recruit new students. Given that some states are letting librarians go because of budgetary concerns, what can you advise an undergrad seeking to attend your school or any graduate school?

A> We will always need information specialists. Almost every job today is an information job. That includes jobs that were once only skilled labor such as repair people and unskilled labor such as cleaners of hotel rooms. Literacy in multiple languages and several academic disciplines is more important now in a world economy than ever. Someone is going to need to act as the catalogers and organizers of knowledge while others are going to help people search and become fluent in information seeking behaviors. We will always have too much information. The librarians’ skills are to help others find the information needed in a timely basis.

We will need the brightest individuals to understand this complicated world. I have to be realistic. No graduate is going to have an easy task finding a decent job. One may have to be open to moving to another city or taking a second choice position. No one is going to be rich with money as a librarian. No one going to law, business, or journalism school will have it easy either. Perhaps the top lawyers or business people will earn more than the top librarians, but many of them will also struggle for a decent job. Most will wonder at some time in their careers if they made the best choice. Some of them will wonder why they didn’t become librarians. One should enter a profession where they will not have to sell their souls to earn a living.

For most librarians the pressures of the job are a lot less than lawyers and business people. We don’t have to worry about billable hours or sales. I did write and article, “I am not a lawyer.” I give information advice and point people in the correct direction. I am not allowed to give legal or medical advice.

Hopefully, librarians will feel rich because they have made a difference in this world. Perhaps their advice encouraged someone to learn and go on to greatness; perhaps they even saved a soul or a life?

Q> Thank you very much for your time. I hope that in a few months we can share some more of your ideas. Will your ideas change by then?

A> You are most welcome. My basic philosophy has not changed in many years. But as I learn, the expression of the philosophy has improved. I am always open to learning new ideas and perfecting the old ones. I like to think that my actions build and improve on my past.

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* Part one of an interview with the newly appointed dean of the University’s School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS). Note this is just for your information and amusement. Any connection to a real university or dean is strictly coincidental.

New President Interview -- Part 7

2011-05-09T20:40:00.000-05:00

Search Committees and New Hires

Part Seven of an imaginary interview with the newly appointed president of the College. Note this is just for your information and amusement. Any connection to a real college president is strictly coincidental.

Q> Many years ago you wrote an article about the hiring of teachers in which you suggested lines of questions that went counter to conventional practice. Would you please revisit this topic and give some advice on how you would handle the interview process?

A> When I was in the Boy Scouts as a teenager, my father was on the Board of Review. When a Scout passed all the requirements for a new rank, he went before the Board. The Board’s task was to question the scout to make sure he was worthy of the new rank. The Board was not interested in how well someone could do the tasks such as fist aide or tying knot, they wanted to know if the Scout had the thinking skills needed to be part of the team and a member of the troop. Sometimes this was a learning experience and the scout did not pass the first session. One example of a question was, if someone is bleeding what color handkerchief does one use to stop the blood. If the Scout answered, “I don’t know I’ll have to go look it up.” That boy was sent home to look up the answer and failed to get his rank. If the answer was, “The red one.” The Board would question why and probe to find out why red. If they were satisfied the boy passed. If the boy answered, “The first one I found.” The boy passed because that indicated he was thinking about preventing further injury and possibly saving a life. Skills to work under pressure are very important.

My father was trying to teach us that there are important life skills that one can not learn by reading a book or sitting in a lecture. If I have two candidates with equal academic preparation, I want to find the one who is best match. I want a team player, but not a “yes-man.” I want someone who can share the College’s goal and add to the diversity of thought, culture and wisdom already on campus. I want someone who will set an example of the best we want to teach the students in and out of the classroom. I want someone who knows his or her subject, but also knows when to ask for help.

After the search committee chooses the best candidates based on their examination of the resumes and the paper documents, then we can work on determining whom to call for personal interviews. I want to know if I can depend on this person on a daily basis and in a time of urgency.

While I don’t want to dictate the exact words of the questions I would ask would cover these topics:

1> Who are your mentors now? Tell me about a teacher, supervisor, colleague, etc. who helped shape who you are today. Who has a role in guiding your thinking and actions now?

I’m not looking for the name of a person, but the type of person and their role. I am looking for a candidate who knows when to ask for help and when to seek advice from an expert. While there are multiple right answers, someone who answers in an arrogant or haughty way would not make a good team player or good teacher for our College.

2> How would you handle the unexpected? How would you handle emergencies?

I’m looking for someone who plans for contingencies and knows what do when the situation is urgent. Answers could include, “it depends on the emergency.” In that case give an example and ask what they would do.

3> How do you overcome or compensate for your limitations? Since I want people who can recognize they can’t do everything, they should learn to compensate. For example someone who can’t spell well should learn to ask someone to proof-read any document, assignment, etc. “I don’t… very well. “ is not an excuse.

4> How do you plan to keep learning and maintain current knowledge in your field? In other words what is your learning plan? Everyone in the College needs a learning plan. Depending on the answer, the search committee may educate the candidate to the need for continuous learning and improvement or say this person is not for our College.

5> Ask questions related to diversity, variant opinions, and multiple right answers. Candidates should be comfortable in a diverse population. Diversity takes many forms. It is not just about the diversity of the backgrounds, cultures, and origins of the students and faculty. Academic pursuit of excellence is about the search for truth. We need to agree about the goals, but there could be many paths, options and opportunities.

6> At the community college level we are not as concerned with publications as a research university, but we are looking to see how the candidate’s work has improved over time. Has the person matured personally and academically? Does the person see both the big picture and small picture of their academic discipline? Does the candidate know how their subject fits into a full curriculum?

Has the candidate’s work matured, advanced beyond elementary questions, and focused on issues of wisdom and consequence? Hopefully these questions will help find the best new faculty who can follow the College's goals and teach with excellence and distinction.

==================

Please send more questions for the new president.

---- to be continued

Wilbur Wright College

New President Interview -- Part 6

2011-04-21T18:15:00.011-05:00

Teaching, Research and Detractors

Part Six of an imaginary interview with the newly appointed president of the College. Note this is just for your information and amusement. Any connection to a real college president is strictly coincidental.

Q> When the College was in the hiring process how did you handle those who said librarians don’t know about teaching or research?

A> Those kinds of thoughts were never part of my experience. I have been both a teacher and researcher. My dissertation is available electronically and still receives more than 1000 hits per month. Just last week a student asked a question that is answered in a chapter of my dissertation. Some librarians have doctorate degrees and most teaching experience. For tenure, librarians in many institutions require 30 credits beyond a library science master’s degree. Many librarians in academia have a subject master’s degree. We see a wider range of students than any other faculty member. Librarians are comfortable helping the youngest freshman and the most senior scholar with their research. What detractors don’t understand is the librarian’s expertise is information. As a group librarians need to know about all the disciplines in the College, not just one.

The route to help students and faculty understand the role of information in society is a long and difficult one. When I taught data base searching I held up a 900 page directory and said, “This is the directory of the data bases available from one source and none of them is searchable with Google.” I repeated the demonstration with two additional directories of data bases. I also showed them the paper indexes that are the source or antecedent of the electronic data bases. Some of the ways we search is based on what data base designers learned from the process of creating paper indexes and bibliographies.

In some schools the library building is a showcase with ornate entrances and reading rooms. Look at the pictures of the reading room in many of the old and prestigious universities on the East Coast.

In some institutions (non-colleges) the library is the best room for meetings. While I like the idea that people enter and use the library, these meetings do not increase library use. Frequently the librarians complain that these users do not respect the main purpose of the library.

In the job recruitment ad for a college president in a major metropolitan area, an earned doctorate was mentioned as an ideal, but not a requirement. “A proven leader” was a requirement, but not any particular education or experience. The person eventually appointed to this position has as his highest degree a master of public policy. He has no experience as an educator, scholar, or college administrator. His most recent experience was as a manager at a consulting and outsourcing company.

I have a passion for learning and I want that passion to be contagious to staff, faculty and students.

Q> On the other end of the scale, there are people who belittle and demean others in their own department as well as others in other departments. Some department chairs or senior faculty use their position to bully underlings and even colleagues in their department or other departments. How do you propose to handle them?

A> It’s sad when people go through graduate school without learning the basic manners taught in elementary school. Dealing with people is a constant learning process. There are difficult people in every place. I just saw a training video for dealing with difficult situations. Part of the solution is diagnosis. Is there an identifiable trigger? Is the behavior endemic or epidemic? While there are more possible situations for me to deal with here, I’ll offer some of my strategies.

1. Remain calm. Yelling and screaming will not work with students, faculty or anyone else. Speak clearly and with authority. That means don’t be hesitant or “wishy-washy.”

2. Clarify and try to understand the problem. Listen and rephrase until both parties are clear as to the difficulty.

3. Identify a source or trigger for the behavior.

4. Help the parties come to an understanding as what they really want.

5. Offer alternatives or options so that both parties can at least get some of what they want.

6. When the above fail, call for more expert advice or help.

Q> I heard that a major city’s community college district has a chancellor who comes from the business world. Many academics assume that no one outside the academy is qualified because only someone with teaching or research experience knows the demands, challenges, and pitfalls of the academic life. How do you feel about non-academics as administrators?

A>I have heard many people criticize that chancellor and I would like to believe it is an individual case and not because of the business background. I wrote an article more than ten years ago about how libraries need to think more about acting like a business. However this was more about marketing and dealing with the public, not about the financial bottom line. The for-profit colleges heavily advertise their institutions to gain more students. The College defiantly has to follow solid marketing and public relations principles. This chancellor does not have the credentials on paper to do the job. However, I have been wrong in the past concerning people without the paper credentials. These people, however, knew their limitations and strengths. They worked hard to build on their strengths to serve their institutions with wisdom and leadership.

We should be interested more in student success than in the number of students who fill statistics. While I believe in the need for educated people and an educated community, our College and college in general is not for everyone. Graduation rate is not the only criteria for measuring success. Some students attend classes with no intention of graduating.

After seeing the behavior of the chancellor that you mention I would say that teaching experience is essential for a college administrator. That is because every supervisor is a teacher. Every parent is a teacher. Only through close contact with learners on a regular basis can one learn about different learning styles and how students progress from nothing to something. However, some of my greatest teachers were not my classroom teachers. Books, lecturers, and conferences are good places to learn. In high school one great influence on me was a teacher whom I heard only one lecture. His theme was, “we need more men of God and fewer men of war.”

If a non-academic is appointed to a college administration position that person needed to be willing to learn what takes to be an academic and a student. While some of that knowledge, can be learned from readings and listening to others, the systematic nature of a class should be required. There are several graduate programs at the certificate and degree levels for these people to gain a theoretical basis administering a college. In general I feel that any new administrator needs to learn a great deal about the institution and administration in general. I will be enrolling in a program to gain more expertise in areas that I weak in.

Q> How do you propose to handle your detractors?

A> With patience, honor, dignity, and wisdom.

Q> I've heard professors say it's time to shutter the library because it's outdated -- everything's on the Internet, after all -- the college needs the space, and the library's a money pit. How do you propose to handle those critics? Remember, too, you'll be accused of undue bias toward the library if you give too much consideration to it.

A> I’m for the students. If making library improvements helps the students, I’m bias toward helping people be better students. That is not undue bias; it is what is required for educated students. Some professors will complain about anything. If they can’t suggest an improvement that we all can live with than they are speaking empty words. If they think “everything is on the Internet” I’ll just show them the directories of data bases that I mentioned above. Some teachers seem to take a long time to learn about libraries and information services. Many professors when they write books thank the libraries and librarians who helped them with their project. They are the norm, not the detractors.

Libraries do cost a lot of money, but it is cheaper than not having a library.

---- to be continued

Wilbur Wright College

New President Interview -- Part 5

2011-04-10T10:21:00.001-05:00

Innovation, Excellence, Passion for Learning

Part five of an imaginary interview with the newly appointed president of the College. Note this is just for your information and amusement. Any connection to a real college president is strictly coincidental.

Q> What is the role of innovation with the College?

A> At one time in IT (information technology) or MIS (management information services) the conventional knowledge was, “if it’s not broken, don’t fixed it.” This type of thinking kept systems running. Administration counted up time as good and down time as bad. This kind of thinking led to a certain amount of stagnation and complacency. Innovation and improvements were done only when a business case could be made. Maintenance became more important than thinking of new and better ways of doing business.

Innovation can best take place in an atmosphere of taking chances. People need the freedom to try ideas. Sometimes the ideas fail and sometime they don’t. In a learning institution we have to nurture new ideas in both our instruction and administration. I told my students that the class is for learning; it is better to make a mistake in class and have me correct it than to make a mistake in front of your boss or a customer. We must teach students to constantly explore and find answers where none existed before. Likewise in the administrative area of the College we must encourage new ideas to save money, time, or effort. We must use information technologies to enable faculty and staff better serve our students and institution. We must overcome some of the poor learning habits that students encountered in their previous schools.

Schools and IT departments run best when they follow standards and well tested methodologies. Consistency helps people do their jobs without thinking of new ways of accomplishing the tasks. The doubters think that following rules is the antithesis of innovation. Rules and standards have a place within the organization. When I was teaching about computer programming, I preached, don’t break a rule of programming until you thoroughly understand it. Rules are written to maintain order. We could not have a library catalog or any data base without following strict rules. One could not sign in or send e-mail without following the rules and spelling the names and passwords correctly.

In order to have innovation, we must define it rather broadly and nurture a culture where innovation and learning thrive. We have to instill in all our people the idea that innovation leads to excellence. Innovations include all efforts to do a better job, lower costs, improve the physical plant, or make the mundane more palatable. In a culture of innovation and learning we need to recognize our faculty and staff who demonstrate it. Innovation can be minor, affecting a small place in time or major, affecting the whole way we do business. Not all innovative ideas will be implemented. Great inventors had many ideas that never left the talking phase. By catching, examining, and nurturing the minor innovations, we can train everyone to be better innovators. I will try to find people who think out of the box and recognize them as well as their teachers or supervisors.

As I mentioned before I plan to encourage everyone to be part of professional organizations and share what they learn from publications, listservs, conferences and meetings. We will publicize to the community these activities. If one can’t be the innovator, they can learn from others who do innovate. Innovation is part learning and part sharing. That does not mean one can be reckless with time, people or materials. We change the organization to think and create new ideas within a framework of standards.

Showcasing achievements and innovation, no matter how small, is aimed at changing the institutional culture to one where more people see themselves as innovators and strivers for excellence. Encouraging people to improve their domain is a step to organizational improvement and better team cohesion. This is part of the educational and administrative process.

Q> You entered the presidency directly from a librarian position rather than passing through the typical intermediate administrative positions. What makes you think you're ready?

A> I bring a scholar's passion, a student's eagerness to learn, positive energy, knowledge of many disciplines, and a deep sense of calling to this work. I love the constituency of the College, its students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends. Although I'm not an alumnus, my years working for the College and in other institutions of higher education, give me an understanding of the College's DNA and higher education. I've studied it, I appreciate it, and I embrace it.

For someone to be effective as a college President one must draw on years of personal and institutional experience and create a passion to make people and systems work better. I will take graduate courses to fill in the knowledge that I am missing. My love of education and community will, hopefully, add real value to the students’ experience.

Q> Your mother was a reading teacher. Did she instill your great love of books and learning?

A> My mother did not become a reading teacher until I graduated college. I cannot attribute my love of reading to her position. When I was in elementary school I remember buying books from a school book club. I was excited about the ability purchase and own my books. By the time I was in sixth grade I had more than 300 books in my collection. However, I don’t remember visiting any book stores. My father frequently bought books and took us to the public library to check out books and records.

My father was a business owner. He taught us that his bosses were his customers. His sense of service to his customers was one big influence on my theory of management. In 8^th and 9^th grade I helped in the school library. I learned how to help students find the books they needed. You might say that public service and love of learning were imprinted on me from my earliest years.

New President Interview -- Part 4

2011-04-02T23:43:00.004-05:00

Part four of an imaginary interview with the newly appointed president of the College. Note this is just for your information and amusement. Any connection to a real college president is strictly coincidental.

Q> Many years ago you wrote an article on education by example. Do you still believe in that theory of education and if so how does this relate to your management style?

A> When I was in my early years of teaching I was the librarian, assistant principal and a classroom teacher. My mentor, the schools principal, taught the faculty to teach not just with our words, but with our actions. The prime example was do not shout at the students when you want them to be quiet. Talk softly and get them pay attention. Yelling louder than the students teaches them to yell louder and louder. If talking softly does not work, quietly walk over to them and talk to them directly or lightly tap them on the shoulder. I learned quickly not to yell or get upset. I learned to wait. I learned to repeat instructions such as “please sit down.” I learned to treat the student with respect. Results were not immediate. Students seemed to get trained by parents that being loud or threatening punishment was the way to prove one is right. It took a long time to train them that the principal was right.

When my children were in elementary school I went to a school assembly. Students from each grade made a presentation of songs or short plays. It took concentration to understand the youngest students. The teachers tried to tell the students in the audience to keep quiet. They did so by yelling at them. In another area teachers were congregating and talking about non-school matters so loudly they could be heard many rows away. I discussed this behavior with the principal because the teachers were not setting a good example. The principal agreed to speak with the teachers since it was not my job to teach them how to behave. I did speak to my children about the incident and encouraged them to act properly even when the teachers were not.

Unless someone’s life is in danger or there is another kind of urgent situation I do not yell at people. I try to set a good example by my actions and make sure my actions agree with my words, I try to retain control by showing calmness.

When I was a school principal one of my tasks was to check all teacher materials before reproduction for students. I believed that students should not be given materials with mistakes. I corrected typos and informational errors. Most teachers thanked me and were glad I helped. Some teachers thought I was picky about all the grammatical errors that I found. I reminded them about how we teach with our example. How can we teach them to write carefully when the teachers have mistakes in the handouts? Teachers made mistakes in the use of punctuation, spelling and capitalization as well as fact. One teacher tried to promote the school musical to parents. The handout misspelled the name of the production and did not tell details about the time and place of the performance. The piece missed my quality control and teacher sent it out without showing to anyone. The piece reflected badly on the teacher and the school.

Since I want my children and students to learn, I set an example for them. I attend regular classes, write papers, and discuss ideas with them. I expect the faculty and staff of a learning institution to always be learning. I am going to encourage staff development, attendance at professional conferences, participation in professional organizations, and writing of articles. While, we don’t have the same kinds of research that would be present at a research university, we do have to encourage everyone to learn new ideas and share them. There will be no requirement for publication, however, we will encourage faculty to publish and when they do we will publicize the fact.

I would like everyone to create a personal learning program. It could be as modest as regular reading of newspapers or magazines or as complex as completing a scholarly book. My personal learning program includes attending at least three regular classes a week, reading scholarly and professional literature, and writing articles. One recent area of study was copyright law and its history. Some day perhaps we can have a lunch and learn program? This would a series of informal discussions on current topics such as ethics, customer relations, communications, or other issues that foster a give and take. The sessions would be more focused than ad hoc lunch conversations and less formal than a class.

We must teach both with both words and actions. That is teaching by example.

Q> When you were a student at Morningside University there was a lot of campus unrest. Some students occupied the president’s office. How did this affect you and what was your role in the campus unrest?

A> When I was in high school and I already accepted to the University I had to travel to Morningside City for a youth conference. Since the conference was near the Morningside campus I wanted to visit and see where I would be going to school. When I was already on the airplane someone told be that the campus was closed. I was able to only see the outer walls of the campus. I took pictures and this became the basis of a short story. I was not happy.

University administration building during a calmer time

The following spring when I was a student, there was again campus unrest. Classes were cancelled and I tried to protest the cessation of learning. I went to college to learn, not protest against the university. At another time I did go with a group of students to Washington, DC to lobby Congress and I did march outside the UN for causes I believed in. My picture was in the newspaper during one protest. I was never arrested and I did not miss class for my activities. During a strike by employees of a nursing home, I went to help the residents. That was an act that needed to be done to save their lives. We were not strike breakers.

This is another era. Students today are not as active in politics as during that period. This is both good and bad. I would like to see students who care about making the world a better place. I would never want them to see the College as an adversary and occupy the campus in protest. The actions of the students at Morningside University and other universities at that time were wrong, but their goals were lofty.

The goals of education include teaching students to be members of society, their communities and how to strive to make this a better world. The starting point of change should be communications, not protests.

Q> You have no significant experience in academic administration. What would you say to critics who question your ability to judge things like tenure?

A> It's a big advantage to have been a faculty member and librarian for several universities. As a librarian I had contact with students from all levels and faculty from all levels. As a professor of online courses I essentially started a community of learning that lasted only a semester. I had to manage all the learning activities. Part of teaching future librarians is teaching the techniques and skills needed for management. Every class had a management skills component.

Tenure decision activity is a small part of the job of the president. I have no doubt with the help of others we can make the right decisions about tenure. By the time the tenure decision reaches my office, others will have vetted and examined the case. I will be the final judge, but others will make sure that only the best candidates even reach my desk.

Hiring and firing is always a joint decision. I hope that collectively we can make the right decisions for the College and the individuals.

Q> What are some of the challenges facing you and the College in this upcoming year?

A> I'm spending a considerable amount of time listening - to faculty, students, staff, alumni, and other friends of the college. I have a deep respect for the strengths that already exist here. I hope to synthesize a shared vision of where the College sees itself currently and where we need to go. We need to encourage excellence in administration and academics in the College.

We have to learn to respect the learning of the past and discover ways to avoid the mistakes of those who came before us. Growth comes from a synthesis of great ideas of the past with a vision for the future.

Diversity is everyone's responsibility. We reflect the full range of citizens in our city. We will need to share ideas and be thoughtful about the way we can approach all the implications of a diverse population. We need to respect each other for the power of our intellect, not ethic background or the color of one’s skin.

Q> How does one balance arts and sciences in society?

A> It's important for students and later citizens to understand the value, the power, the usefulness and the appropriateness of the scientific method. Everyone is a scientist when they realize actions have repeatable consequences. If one sees a fire, it is always hot. If one steps on the floor, you feet will not fall through. Daily life is filled with experimentation, results, applications, and decisions. People must learn not to make assertions without proof or evidence. The value of a scientific education even for the 'non-scientist' is in learning that way of thinking. An informed citizen knows how to be skeptical and find reliable answers. People make decisions about their personal safety, their surroundings, the environment, and other issues based on evidence. Sometimes it's difficult to know the right response, because the evidence is contradictory, not available, inaccurate, or imprecise.

The arts are based on feelings. When someone creates a picture, a drama, or music, there is no precision. For example two companies can take a text of a play and the will create two interpretations with the exact same text. I love classical music and the visual arts. Arts deal with uncertainties and fuzzy kinds of thinking.

Science is about precision and reproducibility. Every time an experiment is performed the results need to be the same. My background in computer science and psychology give me a respect for experiments, experience, and results. Colleges need to nurture the logical precision of science and math, fuzzy imprecise thinking, and the beauty of the arts.

Q> How has the role of president affected the ways in which you address ethical issues?

A> In a lecture to a class on topic of ethics I showed a short clip from the TV series 24. The main character, Jack Bower was brought before the U.S. Senate and accused of treason because of his handling of a situation. Bower testified that sometimes one has to take extraordinary measures to protect society. Hopefully, at the College we don’t have to deal with problems of life and death or the freedom of the citizens.

Morals and ethics are not absolute. In talking to English classes I tell them about the practice of 19^th century publishers who published novelists from other countries without paying royalties. A British publisher could publish Mark Twain and an American publisher could publish Charles Dickens without signing an agreement with the author or paying a royalty. This was not illegal. It is debatable if they did anything wrong. Sometimes people need to do what is right even if the law does not tell them what is permitted or restricted.

The president needs to be a both an example of moral and ethical behavior and advise others to the correct legal and moral path. Commission of plagiarism, may cause you to lose a grade or your job, but it is not a criminal act. The president has a greater responsibility for what one might call the “ethics of stewardship.” A president may be held responsible for the actions or inactions of the people of the College. A president must consider a very wide range of ethical issues and moral responsibilities. With expert advice a president is able to view them from a great variety of perspectives. As the president I must be careful when and how I make commitments for the College. I manage expectations and am more aware of the importance of balancing competing forces.

For example, we have a strong group of student, faculty, and staff advocating the issue of living wages. I have a strong moral commitment to providing a living wage including raising the salaries of those at the lower end of our salary scale. As president I also have to worry about balancing these demands on our fiscal resources. We have to plan carefully how to use our monies including efforts to address non-competitive salaries, financial aid, and physical plant maintenance and improvements.

As president I have to balance the sometimes conflicting paths we could follow. The law is not always enough. One must understand the history and intention of the law as part of a moral system. I will continue to remind people of the moral path that is right for our people and the College.

Q> In the Supreme Court case Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal Co., No. 08-22, Justice Antonin Scalia quoted the Talmud. He studied Talmud while in Harvard Law School because he saw those seeped in the study of Talmud were better able to understand the American legal process. Do you personally study Talmud and what does the methodology teach us?

A> I attend a weekly Talmud class. At one time I participated in the program to study one Talmud page per day. We finished the entire Talmud in 7.5 years. This type of study teaches me how to observe texts and situations from many points of view. It teaches a respect for the letter law while trying to apply the intention of the law to a current situation. Many of the “what if” cases discussed are so unusual that perhaps they never happened in real life. This teaches one to think of many possibilities. It can also lead to making a plan and back up plans. When I was a computer programmer/analyst, this ability to think of multiple possibilities for all input was a distinct advantage over other programmers. Even when creating questions for surveys, I learned to make choices that everyone could find an answer. For example “none of the above” or “other” is a legitimate when the choices don’t cover every possible answer.

Justice Scalia in his dissenting opinion wrote:

Divinely inspired text may contain the answers to all earthly questions, but the Due Process Clause most assuredly does not. The Court today continuesits quixotic quest to right all wrongs and repair all imperfections through the Constitution. Alas, the quest cannot succeed--which is why some wrongs and imperfections have been called nonjusticiable. (Legalize for: not appropriate or proper for judicial consideration or resolution.)

We are not going to teach Talmud at the College, but I hope some of the methodology of examining text and law can be part of the way I think and work with others.

---- to be continued

New President Interview -- Part 3

2011-03-29T22:50:00.001-05:00

Part three of an imaginary interview with the newly appointed president of the College. Note this is just for your information and amusement. Any connection to a real college president is strictly coincidental.

Q> Is the economic impact of academic programs a factor in your decisions?

A> Absolutely, the economic impact is a part of every decision. Everything we do has economic implications. Money is the medium to cause actions. We have to be engaged with the community and listen to their input. But we still need the ivory tower that respects learning for the sake of learning. We have to give value for the taxes and the tuition we receive. We have to be responsible in our spending and also realize programs and buildings cost money to run properly. We have to be enablers, not bean counters.

Students and communities don’t always realize the need for some kinds of learning. Faculty members know more about learning their discipline than what occurs in the everyday class activities. We need places where people can think, dream, plan, and share because this results in ideas; sometimes great ideas and sometimes mundane. These ideas are what make our community and country great. We have to recognize the importance of excellence, knowledge and research and how they can be translated into economic drivers for our city and communities.

Q> Which employees are most at risk of losing jobs?

A> I can not say with any certainly anything before examining the total situation. Certain non-academic staff members may have to change their duties and job descriptions. However, we must keep in mind that we are here to help students succeed. We can’t serve more students without more employees to help. To create excellence in the work place we must have stability and an atmosphere of support for excellence.

Q> You’re trying to improve retention and graduation rates, yet many entering students require remediation. How can you address that?

A> That’s a challenge. Many students enter to the City Colleges without adequate preparation. We have to start working with the high schools on some long range solutions. I find it hard to understand how the public school system could be failing so many students. My high school aged daughter says the literacy deficiency starts in elementary school. If students don’t succeed in high school, we have to offer the opportunity to work toward the goal of a college education. It is situation of correcting a deficiency on the supply end and at the same time fixing what is wrong after they enter our system. Perhaps we can reduce the amount of time spent in remediation courses if we do a good job of working with high schools to produce students who are ready for college work?

We should deal with student success rates rather than focus on the numbers who graduate. Students who move from our courses to four year universities or other rigorous programs should be counted as success stories even when we don’t grant them a degree or certificate. As an open enrollment system perhaps we need a matriculating and non-matriculating path. The matriculating path would be more selective than the non-matriculating. Students will need to be “college-ready” to be accepted for matriculation. Students in both paths may be in the same course, but the goals of their academic career may differ.

We need to work with students to create multiple pathways for success.

We are dealing with demographic shifts in this country. Many students in our city do not have English as a first language. The lack of English skills needs to be addressed. We need to serve students who increasingly are first-generation college-goers and have a lack of a learning tradition. These students and parents come from a totally different from the place where I came from. I was expected to go to college. These students don’t necessarily have the benefit of that kind of background. There are going to be some transition issues that we’ve got to pay attention to. We must recognize and respect cultural differences and how they effect the learning environment.

Q> Where do you stand on the question of closing a campus?

A> Our College has more students than any previous year. We should be talking about how we can add space and /or buildings to better serve our students. Perhaps we can offer some classes off campus to reach students without the need to build new spaces? We probably need to examine the ways we use our space. At times we are at the limit of parking lot and classroom space. We have a lack of meeting rooms and relaxing rooms.

We are growing because more students are outside of the traditional college-age. We need to offer continuing education for professional growth and for personal growth. We are going to need more resources to serve a changing mission and population.

We are seeing that the world changing in a hurry. Information and entertainment are moving in more ways than imagined even ten years ago. The Internet has changed the way we communicate. Higher education is not investing at the same pace as the rate of change in the rest of the world. In part, our challenge is to always be part of the solution and not the problem.
We have to retain the edge. Higher education in the United States today is still better than anywhere else in the world. We have to make sure that in 10 years we have improved at a rate worthy of our community.

Q> Do you have a plan to improve student success rates?

A> We have to work on out definition of “success.” As an open enrollment institution we give students a chance to take courses and prove they are ready for college work. At a selective institution students who couldn’t succeed in the program are denied entrance. We have programs such as remedial classes, tutoring, writing center, advising, and mentoring to help students. Even I had to take preparatory classes in the summer before I entered college. However, the subject material I covered was not taught in a public school. The language of instruction of one college was not English and I needed help to get the level of the school. We spent eight weeks at a summer camp learning language and texts so that we could be successful in the college program.

We have a mission to support three kinds of learning -- preparation for transfer to a bachelor degree program, training for a specific career, and continuing education. Continuing education includes adult education, basic skills, and career enhancement classes and programs.

Institutional core values include: Learning and education have the power to change our lives and improve our community; we value and are enriched by the diversity of people, places and ideas; we prize excellence and the pursuit of excellence; courses should be relevant, current, and designed to help the student master critical thinking skills; educational programs should be affordable; the physical plant should support and enhance the atmosphere of learning.

I plan to implement new certificates to recognize students who have accomplished personal goals without graduating. The deans are investigating requirements for a certificate of achievement that students could be awarded if they transfer before earning an associate’s degree. We plan to create a certificate for those who attend a certain number of continuing education classes. Students who receive these certificates will be counted as part of our success story.

Q> Before coming to the College you were recognized for your work in knowledge management. How will knowledge management ideas affect administrative procedures?

A> When I worked for a state agency I wrote a computer program that enabled anyone in the agency to know the phone number and office of every employee. The data base was updated every morning. At the College we have no such list. When students try to find part-time faculty, there is no list to check. This kind of directory should be conveniently available to everyone in the College. As a president I want to know where I can find everyone who works here.

The first step in a knowledge management system is to find out who knows what and make a list of who is responsible for systems, actions, people and places. I plan to tell all mangers to start paying attention to this knowledge. I will assign someone to investigate what we need to record and then create a system to store and access this information. This will give us a strategic advantage to get projects done with the right people. Hopefully this will lead the way to creating knowledge that can help us make wise decisions.

New President Interview -- Part 2

2011-03-27T17:38:00.000-05:00

Part two of an imaginary interview with the newly appointed president of the College. Note this is just for your information and amusement. Any connection to a real college president is strictly coincidental.

Q> What are you hearing on campus?

A> There’s anxiety about budget cuts, uncertain future, lack of clear learning goals, and about what it means for them. The morale among the faculty and staff is not at its highest level. People do not trust the administration. Employees want to be dedicated to the work, the College, our students, and our mission, yet they feel under-recognized and under-appreciated. Appreciation is more about psychic rewards than monetary raises. They have seen jobs eliminated and the uncertainty about their own future diminishes their ability to serve students. They see district administration hiring upper level administrators with little return to the College. They have taken on more responsibility and more work without the tools to do the new jobs optimally. They see the number of students growing and the lack of resources to serve them properly. It is a stressful time and we have to work on improving morale.

However, there is a spirit and commitment to our mission that is really phenomenal. Many employees have a sense of commitment and demonstration of energy that contributes to student and institutional success. They want to believe in what we’re doing. Administrators have to nurture the commitments and reward those who contribute to the organization. The picture is not all negative; we have some great people with great ideas. These ideas must be nurtured and encouraged if the faculty and staff are going to lead in creating excellence and serving the students better.

Q> The City Colleges have some duplicate programs; how closely will you look to working with the other Colleges.

A> As a commuter college district many students attend the college that is geographically most convenient when the program is offered in multiple places. While each college has its own identity and unique place within the system, we have to look at areas of cooperation and sharing of our best practices. We have to look closely at every part of the academic program to make sure the goals and expectations of a class (such as English 101) are uniform throughout the system while preserving the ability of faculty to weave in their skills and expertise. For administrative areas we have to make sure there is commitment to communications and sharing of information. Department heads need to have lines of communications that are consistent and regular. We need to make sure everyone has the information they need to do their jobs and serve our community. To do a better job, we have to know what we know and know how to find out what we don’t know. Perhaps a district administrator could supervise similar programs at several colleges freeing the local college to concentrate on classes and students? Perhaps some administrative tasks are redundant and can be combined? Perhaps some areas have too much time wasting paper work?

For the long haul, we need to think about further improvements. We are going to have to look at academic programs and devise ways to encourage continuous improvement.

We have to use the word “duplication” carefully. Sometimes the duplication is needed and the best way to deliver our services.

I graduated from a dual liberal arts undergraduate experience that was very, very good. One college was very small and focused on a relatively small set of disciplines while the other was a very large comprehensive university that offered the widest range of academic resources imaginable. The course offerings did not overlap. I was able to include a year of study abroad and finish two bachelor degrees in less than five years. Both institutions co-operated and accepted each other’s credits. Liberal education helps people to learn to think critically, speak effectively, analyze data correctly, and understand how to do research what they don’t know.

This was before the days of online research. First class institutions had first class libraries. Today Google helps, but it is not the answer to serious research. While I won’t be able to duplicate my undergraduate experience at the College, I do want a college that focuses on teaching students to achieve their goals and in the process to direct them toward life-long learning. We need to work with student to define success and then lead them on the correct paths.

If there are programs that are not helping the students or the community in general perhaps they should be eliminated?

Q> In 1922 Detroit Junior College was the third largest institution of higher learning in Michigan. They were granted four-year degree status in 1923 and became the College of the City of Detroit. In 1959 they became Wayne State University. Do you see the City Colleges becoming bachelor degree granting colleges or becoming full universities?

A> There are some programs that could benefit from offering courses beyond the associate or career certificate programs. I would love to be able to offer continuing education programs for professionals such as teachers, lawyers, accountants, and librarians. For these programs to work we would need faculty with the proper training and experience.

The two year programs have an important role in our community. We should concentrate on a job we can do well and then send our students to a job or another institution of higher learning. It is not in our plan to become a university. However, the nursing program is investigating what is required to grant a bachelor’s degree in nursing. An RN degree is not enough for most of the nurses in a hospital. I don’t have any details as this matter is still under investigation internally and with the accreditation bodies.

We have many great universities in this city and will continue to work with them on transfer programs. Many of them recruit our students. We are always proud to send student to prestigious universities to earn their bachelor degrees.

New President Interview -- part 1

2011-03-23T22:53:00.002-05:00

The City College system is looking for a new College president. In order to help the search committee choose the best candidate, I would like to imagine an interview with the newly appointed president of the College. Note, this is just for your information and amusement. Any connection to a real college or librarian is strictly coincidental.

Q> You come in at a very challenging time for the City College system and you had what could be considered a dream job as a reference librarian. Any second thoughts about what you’re walking into?

A> While I love being a librarian, I need a chance to spread my wings and help more people achieve their goals. I’ve been blessed in a lot of ways, and so far the College is a terrific experience. I love being on campus and interacting with faculty and students in both formal and informal situations.

Librarians have a unique position at the college. They interact, teach and lead anyone from the youngest freshman to the most senior faculty member. Librarians teach students and faculty new ways to use information and library resources for any class offered at the College. They have organization skills and aware of current thought in many fields. Cataloging and other library tasks teach an understanding of following and interpreting rules. We understand the consequence of our actions much better than most faculty members. It was a natural step to go from librarian to college president. I had day-to-day contact with students and faculty and I have management skills to run a large organization.

While I grew up and attended universities in other cities, I choose to move and live in this city. The success of a city is dependent on an educated population. No one has a magic wand that can make everything and everyone succeed. I hope that I can make the presidency my new dream job and encourage everyone in the College to want their job to be a dream job while always preparing for the next step in their careers and lives. I want them to think about how to get to “yes,” to know when to follow the rules to the letter, and to know when to bend them to help our people and College succeed. I want to revise approval procedures to save time and help our faculty and staff better serve the students.

I’ve always believed in the role public service plays in the organization. Librarians, teachers and staff are all in the business of providing public service. Even those working in back rooms have to deal with the public. Public service is something that was inculcated in me from my earliest teaching experiences to my college student days and continues to this day. We are put on this earth to make it a better place. Today is one of those times in life when fulfilling a public responsibility to build a new future is more important than letting other people dictate the future. I have no regrets about taking this new position.

Q> Is “Getting to yes” going to be a new catch phrase for your administration?

A> No, but the thought will be part of the way I want us to do business. I don’t want to have any catch phrases. Every employee should have the information and tools to do their jobs with excellence and commitment to the goal of educating our students. We have to build trust into our administration. If we have a common goal and the skills to achieve this goal, we can work as partners in the education process.

Q> Peter Drucker talked about "excellence" in his essay, "Managing Oneself." How have Drucker's ideas shaped your view of organizations?

A> In this essay Drucker says,

"One should waste as little effort as possible on improving areas of low competence. It takes far more energy and work to improve from incompetence to mediocrity than it takes to improve from first-rate performance to excellence. And yet most people--especially most teachers and most organizations--concentrate on making incompetent performers into mediocre ones. Energy, resources, and time should go instead into making a competent person into a star performer."

As an organization the College needs to find the good performers and turn them into stars so that they can set positive examples. No one can be a star all the time, but from the star performers hopefully there will be a trickle down effect. Even the mediocre performers today will learn some of the behaviors that lead them on the way to star performances. I interpret Drucker to mean we shouldn't waste time on incompetence. We should work with our people to help all of them achieve excellence.

In Sayings of the Fathers 2:6 from the Talmud, Rabbi Hillel says," In a place where there is no man, strive to be a man." For the College this means two things -- take a leadership role and do the right things. Don't wait to be told to act to solve the problem. Second, substitute "excellence" for "man" and we learn to be constantly aware of opportunities for excellence.

In the search for excellence we need to encourage staff, faculty and students to understand their strengths, challenges, values and goals. Students need to explore a wide range of ideas and thoughts; faculty and staff need to grow and understand how they fit into the organization and community.

--- to be continued

Filing Catalog Cards

2011-03-22T22:42:00.000-05:00

Filing cards in the catalog is another “lost” library art. The card sorter for those who have a computerized catalog seems like a relic of the past, but since it is still being sold I should have explained how to use it before explaining the rod in a card drawer. This column is co-written with the help of Tim O’Shaughnessy.

Bagels

Since filing cards is potentially more tense than removing a drawer rod, I’m offering a plate of bagels. Bagels are round – without beginning or end. This indicates what was once an endless task, filing cards. Today we still think cataloging never ends, but the physical filing of cards is a dying art.

This is card sorter. Some people called it a “sorting stick” but the suppliers call it a “card sorter.” Today it costs about $44.00 new. This well used item had to be dug out of storage. The sorter helps divide the task into smaller pieces and makes the process more organized than sorting with bare hands. It measures about 23” x 3.5” (58 x 9 cm)

There are 24 plastic coated “leaves” or “flaps” ; one for each letter of the alphabet except the letters “XYZ” which are combined. Each "leaf" is about 4" tall, and is also has the numbers 0 – 9 for numeric sorting and 000-900 for Dewey numbers. It also has the words “fiction,” “travel,” and ”biography” as you can see for those sorting options. The top, or leading edge, of each leaf is rounded and very smooth to prevent cards "catching."

To operate you take standard catalog cards one at a time and slide the cards up the stick until you are just past the correct slot (let's say slot "L") and then move back down, catching the card under the lip, and releasing the card as it hits the bottom of the slot.

The pictures below show this action.

When you sort quickly, the card sliding over each leaf end sounds like a card pinned to your bike spokes...brrrrp, brrrrrp, brrrrrp. This process is so easy that I was able to teach my son to alphabetize card when he was in first grade. For the rough sort all he needed to know was the first letter of the card needed to match the letter on the sorter. He was able to quickly do the *initial* alpha sort. When all the slots are filled, empty them. Use rubber bands or put the cards into piles to keep them together for further sorting.

Now is the time you need to refresh your knowledge of files rules. Take out your copy of ALA Rules.

Take each deck of cards and refine the sort using the second letter or the whole first word on the card. Repeat until the cards are in exact order to make your time at the drawers more efficient. Yes, it is actually more efficient to spend the time sorting than wasting time at the drawers.

If sorting shelf list cards in Dewey sort using the numbers. Do the 0-9 sort, then sort all the 100s, 110s, 120, etc. If using Library of Congress Classification, use the letters as before. Repeat ad nauseum.

It's 10x faster to do it, versus telling you *how* to do it.

Some people hated filing; others loved it; most thought it was just a tedious, necessary task to help the patrons and librarians and find items.

After you finish the task you deserve some sweets. Enjoy some chocolate.

Catalog Card Drawers

2011-03-16T00:18:00.005-05:00

There are some skills that are not taught in library school that were discussed recently on LM_net. Library school does not teach some of these skills because they not academic. Some require institution knowledge; some require knowledge of how things work.

One person said that food can ease a tense work situation, “when in doubt… eat” Since Purim (Feast of Lots) is coming soon this morning I baked hamentaschen. I made the cookie dough variety and filled them with two options -- pumpkin and chocolate/peanut butter. Here’s a picture to let you enjoy while I talk about a lost skill – removing the rod from a card catalog drawer.

A school librarian from a secondary school in British Columbia asked how to remove cards from a catalog drawer. Since this is a lost skill, I will attempt to explain. The short answer is, “It depends on the model.” Below are three kinds of drawers.

This is a metal drawer. They are not generally used for library public catalogs. The rod is screwed in with threads. To remove the rod, twist counter-clockwise and wiggle the rod out.

This is wooden drawer. The front and tray are made from wood. On the bottom there is a release. Gently use your finger to move the release and the rod will easily come out.

This is wooden front plastic drawer. The bottom is closed not like the open wooden drawer. There is no release button. To release the rod push up; wiggle out. The final drawer is empty to show how easy card removal can be.

The final drawer picture is empty to show how easy card removal can be. This drawer is ready for re-purposing.

I don't have any pictures of drawers with release buttons on the front or inside the front of the drawer. If you find one, just push in or push the release to the side and remove the rod.

If none of these methods work, then use a big hammer.

As a last resort, the heavy equipment is waiting only a block away.

Thomas Jefferson Books

2011-02-23T18:27:00.007-06:00

Yesterday there was a AP story on Thomas Jefferson's books that was picked up by major newspapers and services including the Huffington Post and the New York Times. See click here for the full story. Briefly, they reported 28 books that once belonged to former president, Thomas Jefferson, were found in the Special Collections of Washington University Library.

I wondered why this was news. Did the library suddenly decide to catalog books that were sitting around since 1880? As a good researcher, I went to the library catalog. The books are all in the catalog. The cataloger made local added entries, Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826. Former owner. and Dwight, Ellen Randolph Coolidge, 1826-1894. That means the library always knew the provenance of these books. While I can't tell when the books were first cataloged from information in the public areas of the catalog, these are good cataloging records done to the latest standards. The MARC 005 field includes a date of last change. From these dates we know the records were edited between 1991 and 2007. Some have a note that they appear in the Catalogue. President Jefferson's library (1829.) This book is available from Google Books, Click here

Washington University's catalogers did a great job on preparing the catalog records for these books. Anyone who checked the catalog of Jefferson's library could have found these books. Anyone could have checked WorldCat to find that Washington University Library owned these books.

Why is this news? Why did no news organization check the library catalog?
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Comments received via e-mail

From Patrick Cates, General Theological Seminary

MARC tag 005 (Date and Time of Latest Transaction) should provide an
answer. A check of 2 records from Washington University's catalog
shows dates in 2007 and 1991, so I think we can safely assume these
notes and added entries predate the current hoopla.

I didn't know this about the 005 tag as it is not in the OCLC list of tags. I heard from others who said that not all systems use the 005 field in the same way. Some will enter the first time the book is cataloged and some will update this field when the record is edited. In either case the 005 field date indicates these records were done at least before 2007.

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02/24/2011, from Esther Mandel, Sarasota County Public Libraries

1. I'm inclined to feel that sloppy research methods following the advent of Google doesn't do much to cover the time from 1880 to the new millennium.

2. If the cataloging is so up to date, it must be recent. Who's to say if there was anything in the catalog previous to the recent discovery?

3. Before search engines, a scholar could only have found these if they appeared in a bibliography, in Mansell, or by browsing the shelves. It's a case of not found because never found, I think.

4. J'accuse. The head librarian, history professors, lit professors, scholars at the university appear to have been better administrators/teachers than scholars. Interesting that no one looked at the items before, although I can think of a dozen reasons why not. Unless, of course, they had actually been in some university catalog somewhere.

5. When I was in library school, the rare books class professor sent his classes out into the pre-recon stacks (we still had quite a chunk) to search for rare and unusual books, although he warned us that he'd been doing this for years, and pickings were getting slim. I found a Danish Hamlet from about a hundred + years ago, printed on paper made from chopped straw, and a 1797 V. 2. of a British novel in French written by the first woman to actually make a living as an author: Elizabeth something or other, in the original paper-covered boards with a text block in simply magnificent old paper, watermarked, signatured, with depressed
print. Lovely. Every school should have some such project. Everyone in class found something interesting.

6. If the cataloging came before the "discovery," shouldn't the cataloger have brought the items to someone's attention? Maybe he did. Maybe that's how they were "found."

Thanks for your comments. If the news came from the library after a special project, I would react differently. The library would have presented the story in a different light than a journalist. I don't have a way to look at an old version of the catalog. This is one time that I wish there was a book catalog.
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02/24/2011, John F. Myers, Schaffer Library, Union College wrote:

While the cataloging records found in the WUL catalog are delightfully upgraded to AACR2 and have a full range of local added entries for the provenance history, we cannot determine the editorial history of the records. Numerous records have evidence of being recon additions to the online catalog, during WUL's time with a DRA ILS. As recon records, it is doubtful they were in such beautiful AACR2 condition, so the AACR2 upgrades and the provenance additions have occurred at some indeterminate point since recon. Curiously, the Hippocrates title, Peri aeron, hydaton, topon, lacks the recon data in the 910 field, but has indication of Marcive authority review in 2008 -- indicating a recent addition to the catalog. The catalog indicates 28 records with the Jefferson provenance, but the article states that there are a total of 74 now known to be in the WUL's collection. My suspicion therefore, based on the incompleteness of the provenance ascription and the quality of those records with provenance ascription, would be that the edits are relatively recent and due to the closer examination of the material engendered by the research process that led to their recent "discovery".

The library cataloged them, yes, but its positive and active knowledge of the Jefferson provenance up to now is questionable and the point of the reporting. I would take the reporting at face value, which quotes the WUL's Rare Book Curator that the discovery came from "out of the blue".

I looked at the first 10 or so records myself; they exhibited the markers I mentioned.

Thanks for your comments. You add some ideas that I did not consider.
---
I finally heard from a librarian at Washington University Library.

02:05 PM 02/25/2011, Masha Sapp, Catalog Librarian/Russian & Spanish Bibliographer
Olin Library, Washington University wrote:
Only two of the 28 titles had previously been identified as belonging to Jefferson (with the appropriate tracings in the catalog records). The other records were updated with the correct provenance information only last week (by me), as the University prepared to announce the discovery. Until a couple of months ago, we had no idea these books had belonged to Jefferson (there was no announcement of his former ownership when the gift was made in 1880), so the information was not in the records.

This ends the mystery as to why the announcement was made at this time. However, the AP wire story that was picked up by many newspapers gave a slant to the article that seemed to diminish the role of the library catalogers.

Copyright of Art Objects – Copyright part 7

2011-02-17T19:17:00.000-06:00

Can Clothing be Protected from Copying?

Revelers in the New Orleans Mardi Gras make elaborate Indian costumes that could cost more than $1000 to make. They want some of the profits when photos are sold and end up in books and on posters. On February 8, 2011 an AP wire story by Mary Foster [1] appeared in many newspapers about the costume creators’ desire to protect their work with copyright. The article has pictures that I can’t reproduce here because AP holds the copyright, Click this link to see one picture. Rather than deal with the factual errors in the article, I want to discuss the copyright issues.

U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 section 101)[2]includes protection of art. Clothes and costumes can not be included in the definition of art.

“Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works” include two-dimensional and three-dimensional works of fine, graphic, and applied art, photographs, prints and art reproductions, maps, globes, charts, diagrams, models, and technical drawings, including architectural plans. Such works shall include works of artistic craftsmanship insofar as their form but not their mechanical or utilitarian aspects are concerned; the design of a useful article, as defined in this section, shall be considered a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work only if, and only to the extent that, such design incorporates pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features that can be identified separately from, and are capable of existing independently of, the utilitarian aspects of the article.

Have you ever wondered why legal knock off designs of dress famous designers appear within days of the viewing on a fashion runway? [3] Since fashions appear on the runway several weeks before appearing in stores, knockoffs can be readied for market at the same time. I have even seen segments on the Today Show about knockoffs fashions. (See: “Look like a celeb without breaking the bank” Today Show 7/21/2006 http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/13819062/ns/today-today_fashion_and_beauty) Objects that are “useful” can not be protected with copyright. Clothing, furniture, automobiles can not be protected; however, they can contain portions that are protected. Art work on a”useful article” is protected. For example a carving on the frame of a chair, picture on a shirt, or the figurine on a car’s hood can be protected. The drawings to make a car or dress can be protected as works of art. The photograph or sketch of a dress or automobile may be protected, but that protection applied to the artistic aspect of the picture. It does not give the artist exclusive rights to make a dress or automobile. [4] To the left is an example of a dress with artwork.

On March 30, 2006 H.R.5055 was introduced to provide copyright protection for fashion design. This amendment of Title 17 (copyright code) would allow fashion designers three years of protection. In the amendment is a definition of apparel that includes any kind of garments, handbags, belts, and frames for eyeglasses. On July 27, 2006 the United States Copyright Office issued a statement concerning this proposed legislation. [5] They stated that they do not have enough information to determine if the fashion industry and designed have suffered from the lack of copyright protection. They could not make a judgment as to whether this bill would be desirable. They did offer some amendments to improve the bill.

Patent protection for fashion designs would not work for several reasons. The application procedure takes 18 months and only about half get approved. Even if the designers could prove that clothing was a new invention, the value after 18 months would be diminished. If granted a patent and the designer found someone infringing on their rights, they could sue, but fewer than 50% of the suits succeed and that would eat more time. Since the useful lifetime of high fashion is one season, designers rarely seek patent protection.

If a trademark such as the double G for Gucci is copied, the offending copier can be suit for trademark violation. See Magdo’s article, section “Trade symbols – trademark and trade dress” for a fuller discussion. Trademarks registration can protect a symbol or mark that clearly identifies the creator. The symbol is artwork that has no utilitarian purpose. If the symbol was removed from the item, it could still be used. This protects companies from pirating and sale of counterfeit goods.

As long as a work is in a tangible form, it can be protected. If a costume could not be worn and it was just on display it is a type of sculpture. Barbie Dolls are protected by copyright. They have defended their copyright on several occasions. In 2008 Mattel was awarded $100 million from MGM, the maker of the Bratz dolls. Barbie’s clothing may be protected because it may be considered art, not fashion.

The question remains for the Mardi Gras Indian costumes as to whether they are art of fashion. Makers don’t care about individuals taking pictures for their personal use; the care about sales of photographs by professional photographers. Even though the Indians have legal advice, I still think that copyright protection is not certain. One lawyer suggests that they have some sort of notice of a copyright claim. If they want protection trademarks would work better than copyrights. Just as Gucci, Chanel, and other companies protect their products with unique symbols, the Indians costumes could have some sort of art or mark that could be protected. That way if someone published a picture with this mark visible, the owner could sue to protect his rights. Note this is not legal advice. It is based on the above examination of what is fashion and what is art.

-------------------------------
Notes

1. “Mardi Gras costumes inspire photographers - and a copyright claim” / Mary Foster. Source include: Washington Post’s web site: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/07/AR2011020706635.html NPR’s site: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=133571113.

2. http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html

3. For more information see: “Protecting works of fashion from design piracy” / by Christine Magdo http://leda.law.harvard.edu/leda/data/36/MAGDO.html from documents in the Harvard Law School Library [2000?]

4. See: Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts, Circular 40 Copyright Office, 2010. http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ40.pdf

5. For the full text see: http://www.copyright.gov/docs/regstat072706.html

Privacy in the Library -- Part 2

2011-02-13T23:38:00.001-06:00

Should Librarians Respect Research Secrecy?

My son asked me for research help on an historical topic. I was more than glad to help him, but he requested secrecy. He did not want anyone outside of his team to know they were even studying these historical questions because this was for a competitive conference. This question had not been debated in competition before. His question had four parts. Since it was a topic that I was very familiar with, I told him that three parts of his question were debated in and out of the government at the time. One part had to be dismissed because the issue had no valid arguments based on the historical facts.

I have taken graduate level courses in this historical era; while not an expert I have done a significant amount of research in the subject. I have more than 100 books on the topic in my library. I examined the catalog and out of more than 1000 books I found I selected 10 that were most appropriate for these questions. I also found journal and year book articles.

I am really amazed at how much research they need to study to prepare their subject. This easily covers more reading and analysis than a semester college course. I assured him that I would respect his right of secrecy. There is no similar team at my college, I doubt anyone would research this question at the level of sophistication that his team requires, and I have no contact with his rival universities.

What do I really need to keep secret? He said the conference is on March 5 and so after he makes his research public, I will be able to share the questions. If a young girl came to the library, asked about birth control books, and said that she didn’t want her parents to know, I would not be able to tell her parents or anyone else what books she requested or is reading. If a young student asked for help with a report on Illinois government, and later the parents asked, “Did my children talk to you about her report? Did she get any books on the topic?” I would have no problem sharing my advice.

There are times when the librarian should help two researchers connect in their research. Sometimes a scholar may ask for help finding someone who is an expert in the area of investigation. Sometimes teachers give such narrow assignments that many students want the same materials. In those cases the research is not secret because all the students know the assignment. In some of the classes I taught students were encouraged to share what they learned.

When a library user asks for help on a sensitive subject, librarians need to keep this interaction private. When a library user requests that his whole area of study a secret, especially when the limits of secrecy are reasonable, we should respect the request. "Secrecy" and "privacy" are not synonymous. "Secrecy" is a request of the researcher or a legal requirement of the institution or government. "Privacy" is an issue of ethics or sensitivity to the people involved. However, when the topic is not sensitive or privacy is not requested, we may share if there is a good reason.

The knowledge that I learn from answering one question is frequently used for other reference questions. I would have no problem recommending the same books and articles to more than one person.

Judging a Science Fair

2011-01-30T14:46:00.004-06:00

Last Friday (January 28) I was a judge at the Central Region Chicago Public Schools Science Fair. This was the first time that I was a science fair judge. I went to the science fairs at my children’s elementary school, but not to the high school ones. Sometimes one hears about some outstanding science fair projects that were award winning, but I was sure most of the projects would be unexciting.

I have seen many CPS graduates as students, who needed help with high school level English and math skills when they enrolled at Wright College. Before Friday I wondered what high school students really know. My daughter’s science fair project was carefully prepared, researched and written up, but she did not win a place in a regional fair. One part of science fair projects is a literature review. The student must not only learn about the scientific method, but also read what others have written on the subject. As a librarian I am always careful about citations of materials and how these sources are used as a basis for the student’s project. While the citations only accounted for 2 out of 99 points, those who had a weak review of the literature had experiments that were not solid. I pointed out some problem areas in the research and frequently the students didn’t understand why I questioned their methodology or hypotheses. For example one project concerned what liquids would dissolve an allergy pill better. I asked why this was important or worthy of investigation. The student said that she has allergies and wanted to know the best liquid to drink with the pills. She could not adequately explain why it was important to dissolve a pill faster. She did not concern herself with how stomach acids would dissolve a pill or even if it was a good idea to dissolve faster. She did not mention time release pill or the fact the same medicine could be in pills, capsules, liquids, etc. Indeed this type of investigation was not well conceived and did not have any indication that the problem was understood. If the real question was, “What is the best way to take allergy medication?” this would be beyond the ability of a high school student to measure and test.

Another project concerned measuring the sugar content of carbonated soft drinks (Experimenter called it “soda pop”). The experimenter carefully weighed 10 ml of distilled water and then made standard solutions of 5%, 10% and 15% as made of chart of their weights as base to compare the soft drinks. The experimenter could not explain why 10 ml of distilled water weighed 9.9 grams [1] or 10 ml of diet soda weighed 8.9 grams. He should have measured the 10 ml of water several time to determine why there was a 0.1 gram error. The diet soda could have been less dense than water due to the dissolved carbon dioxide. These two measurements should have triggered additional investigation and a revision to the experiment. He should have also measured plain carbonated water and compared that weight to distilled water, diet soda and sugared soda. My high school aged daughter picked up this error immediately. I had not asked the experimenter why plain carbonated water was not measured. The bibliography to this project consisted of: Google, Wikipedia, and Glencoe Science. No exact source was mentioned. I gave no points for the review of literature or citations. I can’t believe a teacher signed off on this project. While the student did a lot of work, it was not done under the guidance of a skilled teacher-scientist.

I discussed my experience with a fellow librarian, who was planning to judge the science fair, but was unable to make it. She wanted to ask every single exhibitor what library resources were used in preparation for their project. I didn't think of asking everyone this question, but I wish I did. None of the projects I judged seem have used the library or its resources. Is that saying teachers aren't guiding the students to the library? I know that Chicago Public Schools have subscriptions to library data bases, but do teachers and students know how to use them?

The projects were judged on rubric with points awarded for each element of the rubric. They were not in direct competition with each other. Any project could obtain a perfect score or no score at all. For a librarian this event just confirmed what I knew about teachers not knowing how to search for reliable sources, incorporate research in the learning process, and how to cite sources. However, it was a worthwhile learning experience for me.

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Note:
1.A milliliter of distilled water at room temperature should weigh exactly one gram. Since the experimenter used an electronic scale this error was not due to imprecise reading of a dial.

Can Hairstyle be Protected with Copyright? Copyright Part 6

2011-01-21T12:14:00.001-06:00

In the current issue of Entertainment Weekly (Jan. 28, 2011 #1139) on the last page titled “The Bullseye” [sic] is a picture of two pairs of people with similar hair styles the text asks “Are hairstyles protected by copyright laws?” This page is not inline and I can’t reproduce it here. This is another case study written as follow up to part 4 of my “What is Copyright?” series.

Does hairstyle pass the test of what can be protected by copyright?

Since hairstyle is not a government document it does not fall under that exemption. Even if the owners of the hair were government employees and their hair was cut and styled in connection with their job, I don’t think anyone would confuse hair with a government document.

Hairstyling is a creative act when based on a plan or idea. One pair of pictures, the styles looks as it were based on a plan and other it looks as if the people just rolled out of bed. For the later they can be no copyright because there is no creative act. For copyright protection a creative act must be followed with a fixed form. For example when one writes the words of thoughts, the writing is the fixed form. Since everyone’s head of hair is slightly different, I don’t think any hairstyle can have a fixed form. If someone claimed to work on the creation of a hairstyle, time spent is not a criterion for setting a fixed form.

If the hairstyle was created for a stage or film production, it may possibly be eligible for copyright protection based on the fact that the photograph of a character is a fixed form and can be protected. Also if the hairstyle is an important part of the character, if can be protected as part of the whole character.

Even if protection was claimed for the hairstyle, it would be hard to know exactly where the line is drawn for derivative, imitative, or parody styles which are allowed. Hair moves constantly and has no fixed form. One would have a hard time figuring out what is the fixed form. Would one hair in another place or a slightly different hair color qualify as a new work? There is no way to measure if the hair infringes on the first person’s claim.

Clowns can register a trademark for their face and hair and receive protection. See http://www.stuff4clowns.com/registry.html for more information.

To summarize – hairstyling is a creative act, but has no fixed form. Copyright protection can’t be claimed. This is only my opinion and I am not a lawyer.

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Privacy in the Library

2011-01-19T20:05:00.002-06:00

Do library users have an expectation of privacy?

"We can protect privacy, even in light of all the collection, dissemination, and use of our information. And it is something we must do if we want to protect our freedom and intellectual activity in the future." Daniel J. Solove

After the Patriot Act was signed into law on October 26, 2001 many libraries were concerned about the confidentially library records. The act gave the law enforcement agencies the right to demand a library turn over records in an investigation. Libraries simply stopped keeping circulation records after the items were returned. American Library Association created a privacy policy. [1] Even a parent couldn't ask what books their child borrowed.

What about other areas of privacy? Is the library allowed to discuss what is revealed in a reference query? If a patron revels something during a reference interview is there an expectation of privacy?

The library is a public place even in a private school. In a public place conversations may be overheard by people nearby. Two people talking in the library have no expectation of privacy. Common courtesy dictates that conversations should be quiet enough to not disturb anyone, however, courtesy and privacy are not the same issue. There is no mention of privacy in the faculty handbook.

Using computers is also not private; anyone can see what is on the screen. Library users are not always careful to close the screen after reading sensitive e-mails or web sites displaying their private financial records. Printouts of a personal or sensitive nature are routinely left at public printers.

Copyright laws are an example of how we limit the use of information, but limits have nothing to do with privacy. Health information given to care providers is strictly regulated by law for privacy reasons.

Reference Interviews

For an effective reference interview I need only information relevant to the search. Today a lady, old enough to be the grandmother of most traditional post high school students, came to the desk. She told me her age, her grades on all her sociology quizzes in the first semester, her difficulties learning algebra, how much she paid for two books at a book store, and much more about her life that I didn't know. I felt that I was her therapist because she did need help. While I commend her on the desire to learn and earn a degree, as a librarian I had no ability to give her the help she needed. She needed help to navigate the rules and regulations for math placement tests and graduation requirements. I sent her to student support services because I the library can't advise on those topics. The session took more than 20 minutes. I shared a story of an uncle, who went to community college for 35 years and because he never took algebra, he didn't graduate. She thanked me for listening and went on her way.

There are no records of reference interviews, but does this mean someone couldn't ask me about this person? In my opinion if a patron does not request privacy or confidentiality, there is no expectation of privacy. While I can't think of any reason why anyone would care about the information this lady told me, I feel no requirement to keep it confidential. However, putting a person's name after a face-to-face contact, who is not a public figure name and has not given me permission, is a breach of privacy. If the remark has already appeared in print or another public media, there is no expectation of privacy. While we always have to act with professionalism, friendliness, and courtesy, when someone reveals more than we want to know while at the library, there is no expectation of privacy.

Bibliography

Balas, Janet L. "Should There Be an Expectation of Privacy in the library?" Computers in Libraries v. 25:6 June 2005.

Solove, Daniel J. "The future of privacy - With privacy under attack from all quarters, many wonder whether it's an outdated expectation" American Libraries vol. 39:8, September 2008.

Note

1. ALA Q&A on the Confidentiality and Privacy of Library Records http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/advocacy/federallegislation/theusapatriotact/questionsonprivacy/index.cfm

The Patriot Act (Public Law 109-177) is set to expire on February 28, 2011, however, legislation (Public Law 109-177; 50 U.S.C. 1805 note, 50 U.S.C. 1861 note, and 50 U.S.C. 1862 note) has been introduced to extend it one more year.

What is Copyright? Part 5

2011-01-11T15:15:00.000-06:00

Not all sources on copyright are well written. Since I don't want to embarrass an author who is a professor at a Midwestern state university, I won't give the source of this quote. "... courts have ruled that consumers are allowed to make copies of compact disks for use in their tape players..." It is not not physically possible fit a CD into a cassette tape player. The author may be referring to boom boxes that used to have both a tape cassette player and a CD player, but today boom boxes generally only play CDs. However, I would like to see the original court ruling on this question.

Fair Use

The copyright law in section 107 allows use of materials "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright." The limits of "fair use" are subjective. Generally if the copies don't effect the potential market for the whole work, there is no problem. Systematic copying, copies of whole works, and the selling of anthologies consisting of copies from other works need the proper permissions from the copyright owners. Acknowledging or citing the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.

Fair use is defined in a the 1961 report, Register's Report on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law (1961) Section B Special Rights

The general scope of fair use can be indicated by the following examples of the kinds of uses that may be permitted under that concept:
- Quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment.
- Quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author's observations.
- Use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied.
- Summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report.
- Reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy.

Fair use is supposed to allow students, scholars and others to quote works. Scholarship would grind to a halt if every short quote required the author to seek permission from the copyright owner.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the copying of another person's work and claiming it as your own. Plagiarism is not against the law. It is an ethical, academic, or professional indiscretion. One can not turn to the court system for remedy. It is up to a teacher, professional group, editor, etc. to make sure all quotes are correctly cited and the author is really the author. Plagiarism is often confused with copyright or contract violation. Ideas are not protected by law but may be protected by contract. If you discuss an idea for a movie with an associate and later without your permission he makes a movie similar to your pitch, you have no recourse under law unless you have a contract to protect your ideas.

An example of the protection of ideas is the 1990 breach of contract lawsuit case of Art Buchwald v. Paramount Studio. (For fuller details see Wikipedia "Buchwald_v._Paramount" and O'Donnell, Pierce; McDougal, Dennis. Fatal Subtraction: How Hollywood Really Does Business: the inside story of Buchwald V. Paramount. New York: Doubleday, 1992.) In 1982, Art Buchwald wrote a screen treatment that was pitched to Paramount. Paramount optioned the treatment in early 1983. Since the preparation of a suitable script was not successful, Paramount abandoned the project in March 1985.

In 1988 the movie Coming to America was released by Paramount. Eddie Murphy was given sole story credit. Buchwald was not paid or credited as co-writer. Buchwald sued Paramount for breach of his contract with Paramount which stated that he would be paid if his treatment were made into a film. California Superior Court decided in 1990 that Buchwald was correct and should be compensated. The parties settled and there was no appeal.[1]

While the case has implications in many areas of intellectual property and how Hollywood studios do business, I'm only concerned with the copyright issues. The case would not exist without a contract. A contract can modify the rights of the author beyond what the law states. Copyright law does not cover ideas, but contracts may. Paramount and Eddie Murphy did not violate copyright law and perhaps they didn't plagiarize. A copyright violation suit would have been very hard for Buchwald to win. The case got considerable media coverage at the time and was mentioned in the New York Times obituary for Buchwald (Art Buchwald, Whose Humor Poked the Powerful, Dies at 81 / By Richard Severo. January 19, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/19/obituaries/19buchwald.html?_r=1 )

Copyright Defined

Copyright law allows a limited monopoly for exclusive rights to sell, publish, perform, translate, derive, record, etc. works that are fixed in a tangible form. Theoretically the public policy behind the law is to balance the interests of authors, publishers, and consumers/readers. Over time the copyright law seems to favor one group over the other. The first laws seem to favor the publishers as a system to protect a commercial enterprise. Since the publishers invested the money, they have a right to earn a fair return. In the 19th century the laws seem to favor the author. The readers and customers, who actually pay the bills, seem to have fewest rights.

The word "rights" is problematic because we connect it to the inalienable rights from the Declaration of Independence. or the Bill of Rights. We should use a term that indicates intellectual privileges granted to authors, creators and their partners. Copyright law should be a partnership between the creators and consumers. In exchange for a limited monopoly, the publishers and creators of books and non-print materials agree to spread the ideas, stories, analysis, data, facts, and graphics for the public's entertainment and education. The privileges granted by law are supposed to be an incentive to create, explore and share the results with the world.

-----------
Notes

1. While Art Buchwald won the suit, both Paramount and Buckwald lost money. Buchwald won a $150,000 settlement, but spent $200,000 in legal fees. Paramount's defense cost almost $3 million.

What is Copyright? Part 4

2011-01-04T15:24:00.001-06:00

What can you protect under copyright law?

In the last blog entry I left you with the question -- You are wondering in the Judea Dessert and you find a scroll that turns out to be the work of a previously unknown prophet. What are the copyright issues?

This is the story of the Dead Sea Scrolls. But I am only discussing copyright issues here and what can be protected. [1]

The US Constitution gives Congress the obligation to create laws to protect intellectual property. “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,” [2] This, however, creates two competing social needs –1) The right of the public to use and learn from the knowledge of the past and present; and 2) The right of the authors and publishers to benefit from the fruits of their labor and capital investment. Public policy is at the heart of copyright legislation and common law.

Since the Constitution clearly mentions “authors” and “inventors” examination of what is an author is worthwhile. [3] An “author” of a work is the creator of the work. Authorship can be shared by individuals or corporate bodies. “Creation” implies that the work shows some creativity. For some works “authorship” is very obvious. If an individual writes a book and the publisher puts the name under a by line on the title page, the author is obvious and indisputable. Well, perhaps not? The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books were attributed to Franklin W. Dixon [4] and Carolyn Keene [5], respectively. These were series books written from character and plot outlines provided by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. The publishers even prevailed on Library of Congress not to reveal the names of the individual authors. The actual creators sold the stories for as little as $125 per book. The publishers retained the copyright. Creators are allowed to sell or assign their copyrights to other persons or corporate bodies. A person can choose to write a work under a pseudonym for any of several reasons. That does not detract from their part in the creation of the work.

Corporate bodies can also be authors. An organization, government agency, business, etc. can prepare a publication. The work is prepared by many individuals who may or may not be named. A name is very important for a person and for cataloging works that will be included library catalogs. The rules for library cataloging (AACR2) devote two chapters to help librarians assign proper headings for personal and corporate names.

Peter Jaszi claims that authorship is one of the fundamental concepts of copyright doctrine. [6] He says that the concept of “author” in the 18th century was associated with the Romantic movement in art and literature. The concept and value of the self was gaining importance. The American Revolution and Construction were part of the results of important of self determination and inalienable rights.

Before printing the idea of authorship is somewhat limited. Many of the Psalms are attributed to King David. Other books of the Bible are attributed to authors, but this does not mean they were the individual authors as we call authors today. Was Homer, Aristotle, or Plato the name or an individual who wrote books? Homer dates of existence are not certain and vary by as much as 300 years. The dates for works attributed to him also vary by hundreds of years. The Greeks considered his their teacher and attributed works to him. He was a collector of stories and traditions.

Aristotle was a poet, philosopher theoretician. Plato was his teacher. Their philosophy was known to the rabbis of the Talmud. Greek literature had no concept of “fiction” or work of imagination. They had philosophy, “wisdom” and “authoritative knowledge.”

Betzalel was the artisan commanded by God to build the tabernacle. His skill and genius was highly respected, but he only carried out orders. He is not a creator of an original work.

At one time photographs were not considered works of art and could not be protected with a copyright. The law was changed to recognize photographers as creators.

The word “science” today refers to fields such as chemistry, physics and biology that are different from the fields of literature, history, philosophy that are the “humanities.” In the time of the Constitution, “natural philosophy” was used for what we call the above sciences. If we take the meaning of the Constitution into 21st century usage, “science” refers to the domain of technology and process while “art” refers to works that are recorded, written, sounded, printed, or displayed. They have some physical manifestation including computer codes and visual displays.

The threshold for copyright is low when compared to patents. Both are legislated monopolies protecting intellectual property and the investment of time and capital to sell and distribute the works. Patents have to prove they are innovative; copyright has no such requirement. The work does need creativity and originally. Betzalel and other builders with all their skill and time are not considered creative or original. They can not hold a copyright on their buildings.

If one copies a geometric form or a computer program creates a geometric form lacks originality. A simple drawing of a circle lacks creativity. However, a figure with five circles, each a different color is the Olympic symbol and is protected by trademark law.

Consider the following cases

1. Inspiration. Michael Neuman loves archeology and is inspired on a visit to Masada and Qumron to write a story based on the events of time when the scroll MMT was created. He invents all of the characters and dialog.

2. New Psalm. In his epic novel based on the life and times of King David, Ya’akov Bar-Nof writes a poem in the style of the Biblical Psalm.

3. New Translation. Rabbi Yosef Klein does like the exact translation of the MMT he read in Biblical Archeology Review. Going back to the original Hebrew, he creates his own translation and includes notes explaining the translation.

All of these works, a story, a psalm within a novel, and translation are protected by copyright from the moment they are in fixed form. Assuming satisfaction of any legal requirements, they are entitled to the full term of protection. Authorship of these works is clear.

The following cases are revised from David Nimmer’s article mention in note 1.

4. The fountain. In Almodovar del Rio, Spain a fountain was unable to be used from 1492 until 2010. After the Moslem and Jewish subjects were expelled no one was left who could understand the complex machinery. In 2010 M.C.A Wassermann succeeded in restarting the fountain. Does Wasserman have a copyright to a flowing fountain?

5. The atom. Everyone is familiar with the depiction of an atom with electrons flying round a nucleus. This miniature solar system design is based on the model developed by Sir Ernest Rutherford in about 1911. Does Rutherford have a copyright on the design?

6. The phone book. A local phone company decides to make the phone directory that takes into account rules of library name authority. The company has references to take care of alternative spellings, hyphenated names, foreign names and other surname variants that no phone company ever listed. The names are in alphabetical order according to library rules, not computer rules. The company calls the directory “a work of art.” Is this a work of art? Does it deserve copyright protection?

7. The skeleton. A gifted paleontologist excavates a complete skeleton of an Apatosaurus. She assembles the skeleton in a way that was not the same as previous skeletons. Casts were made of each bone. A rival paleontologist assembles the bones in a slightly different way. Can the first paleontologist claim copyright and sue the second?

8. Composite work. An artist takes two pictures from the motion picture, The Wizard of Oz and combines them into a single image that never existed in the motion picture. Is the result protected? Can the artist be considered the author?

Commentary on the Cases

In Case 4 Wasserman used considerable expertise and ingenuity in the fields of hydrology, architecture, history and archeology to repair the fountain. While he succeeded where others had failed and he restored someone else’s creation, he is not the creator and not entitled to copyright protection.

Case 5. Rutherford, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1908, clearly made original and valuable contributions to the understanding of atom. He could secure a copyright protection over drawing the contained shading or coloring of an atom claiming it is graphic art. Another person could make another representation of atomic structure with spheres and orbits that does not infringe on his copyright. One can make a photograph, drawing or other graphic and copyright the artistic features, but not the structure itself. Two people could take pictures of the same sunset. They could both claim copyright protection only on their work, not the underlying landscape. The Rutherford case is moot, because any his works are now in the public domain.

Case 6 is similar to Feist Publication, Inc v. Rural Telephone Service Co. [7] Justice Sandra O’Connor, writing for a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court held that while a telephone director could contain introductions and other copyrightable materials, the alphabetical arrangement of names and numbers is not entitled to protection because a listing does not meet any requirement of originality. It is admirable that a phone company pays attentions to some of the concepts of name authority. This effort should appreciated by those using the directory, but it is not subjective or creative. Likewise making a directory of anything using objective criteria is not copyrightable, but using subjective criteria is protectable. For example a list of all businesses on Main Street is not creative, but a list of your favorite restaurants can be protected.

Justice O’Connor further stated, “The “sweat of the brow” doctrine had numerous flaws.” Copyright protection is only granted to material beyond the arrangement of information.

A shopping list of things you need from the store is neither creative nor original. [8] But if a list is part of your novel, it is protected.

Case 7. Although sculptures are protected by copyright, reconstructions are objective based on her knowledge of bones and anatomy. Her reconstruction could be challenged by another scholar. She did not choose materials or shapes. Since no subjective decisions were made, there is no copyright protection.

Case 8. This is the case of Gracen v. Bradford Exchange [9] Jorie Gracen created a painting of Dorothy superimposed over the Yellow Brick Road. The Court ruled her painting was derivative, lacked originality; therefore her copyright registration was invalid. The right to use images from The Wizard of Oz was not disputed as Gracen was authorized. The Court ruled that for a valid copyright, “a derivative work must be substantially different from the underlying work to be copyrightable.”

We have two criteria for copyright creativity and originality and the need for an author. The lack of one or the other would invalidate a copyright registration. Returning to the Dead Sea Scrolls—can a reconstruction be protected? Can a commentary or translation of the texts be protected?

Similar to the cases of the reconstructed fountain and Betzalel making the Tabernacle, the act of construction, repair or reconstruction is not a copyrightable event. No matter how long or what skills are required, the repair person has not met the criteria of authorship or creativity. They are trying to return the object to what someone else wrote, created, or designed. Translations and commentary are original and can be protected.

If you find an ancient text you can study it, translate it and comment on it and receive protection for your creative work. However, the text represents some challenges. Before 1978 works that were not published were protected by common law copyright. Once published, they needed to follow the law for protection that includes registration and a copyright claim in the work. Since the authors are long dead and the descendants are unknown, no one is going to claim to own the copyright on the text.

There are still more questions to be answered concerning authorship and public domain, but that is material for another column.

Notes:

1. For the full story read David Nimmer, “Copyright in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Houston Law Review 38:1 2001) and the articles by Hershel Shanks in Biblical Archeology Review, such as “60 Years with the Dead Sea Scrolls” (May/Jun2007, Vol. 33 Issue 3), Shanks also covers the topic in chapter 4 “Freeing the scrolls” in his book, The mystery and meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls (New York : Vintage Books, 1998)

Shanks lost his suit against Elisha Qimron, but he won in the court of public opinion. Shanks published reconstructions of a document from the Dead Sea Scrolls known as 4QMMT. (4Q is the fourth cave in Qumran. MMT is the abbreviation usually used. It means Miqsat Ma’ase ha-Torah or Some Precepts of the Law. It is also referred to as the Halakhic letter. )

For the responses to Nimmer’s article see: “The Dead Sea Scrolls: a live copyright controversy” / Jams L. Oakes. http://www.houstonlawreview.org/archive/downloads/38-1_pdf/HLR38P219.pdf and “Response to David Nimmer / Martha Woodmansee http://www.houstonlawreview.org/archive/downloads/38-1_pdf/HLR38P231.pdf Both are from the Houston Law Review 38 2001.

2. U.S. Constitution Article I, Section 8. Capitalization is from the original.

3. The idea of authorship under law is not the same under all jurisdictions. American law and Jewish law are very close in their understanding while French and German laws take a different philosophical view. That discussion is a topic for another paper.

4. Leslie McFarlane (1902-1977) wrote many of the books as works for hire. For more information see “Who wrote the Hardy Boys? : secrets from the [Stratemeyer] Syndicate files revealed” by James D. Keeline http://www.keeline.com/Hardy_Boys.pdf

5. Millie Benson, 1906-2002, write 23 of the first 30 books. http://articles.cnn.com/2002-05-29/entertainment/obit.benson_1_millie-benson-carolyn-keene-original-nancy-drew?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ

6. “Toward a theory of copyright: the metamorphoses of “authorship”” in Duke Law Journal 455 1991.

7. 499 U.S. 340 (1991) http://www.law.cornell.edu/copyright/cases/499_US_340.htm This case overturned a lower court decision.

8. In Copyright’s highway by Paul Goldstein (Stanford University Press, 2003) on page 13 Professor Goldstein disagrees with me and David Nimmer. He is mistaken.

9. 698 F.2d 300 (7th Cir. 1983) http://www.tabberone.com/Trademarks/CourtCases/7thCircuitCOA/GracenVsBradfordExchange.shtml Jorie Gracen won a contest for the best painting of Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. She sued the Bradford Exchange for using the likeness on porcelain plates.

What is Copyright? Part 3

2010-12-12T17:50:00.001-06:00

For the past few weeks I have not posted anything about copyright because I have been busy studying the issue. The more I read, the more I learn about the complexity of the issue. On Friday night I was talking to someone who is close to completing law school. Someone over heard us talking about copyright law and started to ask a question. He wanted to know if he could use a picture from a book. I stated that I am not a lawyer and even if I were a lawyer, the answer would depend on nature of the book and picture. "It depends," according to my sister, the lawyer is a common answer lawyers (and scholars) give.

Copyright is a very complex issue that involves intellectual property, financial rights, and reputation. Yes, some people sue for copyright violation when the monetary damages are insignificant.

The words "public," "publicity," and "publish" come from the same Latin source. When a work is "published," the public can read and learn from it. In my next article about copyright I will talk more about what is the public domain. Here is an imaginary scenario. Later this week, I'll give another.

It is the year 1438, Gutenberg has not yet started to use movable type. You have just completed your magnum opus. You have created the greatest novel of the 15th century. (Reality check-- the modern novel did not yet exist. Yo have created the world's only novel.) Your book is ready for the publisher. [fn 1] The publisher hires an army of scribes to create ten copies. You are given two copies, one for preservation purposes and one to use. One copy is sent to the British Museum Library and one to Oxford University's library. Library of Congress does not exist because this is before the United States was even a dream in British mind. The publisher hopes to sell remainder of the copies.

What do you do to publicize your work? How do you protect your copyright? How do you earn money for the fruit of your labor?

Answers: There is no copyright protection. Once the book is finished by you, there is no copyright protection. It is not within your right to prevent people from copying your words. In fact you may be happy that people copy your work and distribute it. However, it is your intellectual property and people who don't attribute the work to you are guilty of plagiarism. You are not mad when you see accurate copies since there is no tradition of being paid directly for your printed work; you don't even know what you are missing or losing.

To earn money your publisher organizes public readings. You travel around London giving private, dramatic readings of your book. Soon you have people coming to weekly readings and paying you modest, yet satisfactory compensation. By the end of 1439 300 hundred people are listening to you each week. To earn more, the publisher hires other readers for public readings. Even though you get very little additional compensation you are thrilled to find by 1445 10,000 people have heard about your book and at least heard one chapter.

Your publisher learns about movable type and sets up a printing press in 1446. Since he knows your book has an audience, he decides to print your book for his first year in the printing and publishing business. What are you entitled to: copyright protection, fees, royalties, nachas (bragging rights) points, rights to derivative works?

Sorry, the answer is none of the above, save a little fame and publicity for your public readings. There is no common law or legislative copyright. Not only is there no economic protection, there is nothing to stop another publisher from printing and selling your book. You are not protected from someone who wants to make a derivative work such as a drama or musical based on your work. Once the book leaves your hand you have no rights and once the book is published it is in the public domain. To secure fair compensation for both author and publisher, the law needs to be changed. Since people have a right to profit from the fruit of their labor, laws were needed to protect the authors' and publishers' rights to earn a living.

For next time -- You are wondering in the Judea Dessert and you find a scroll that turns out to be the work of a previously unknown prophet. What are the copyright challenges?

======
fn 1 This picture is for demo purposes only. It is copied from The Friedberg Genizah Project Website http://www.genizah.org/Manuscript_Samples.htm. It is a page of poems by Donash.

Goodbye Ol'e Mixer

2010-12-05T11:44:00.002-06:00

After more than 25 years my stand mixer wore out. It was making a lot of noise. Before I pronounced it dead I opened it up to see if I could fix it. I cleaned the flour and chocolate dust out of the motor area and found the source of the noise -- the gears had slipped from their holding places. I readjusted them. It didn't help; the teeth of the gears were just too worn. The lack of a proper alignment had caused the teeth to wear away. Besides the worn gears, the speed control no longer worked.

I don't exactly know when I bought this mixer, but I'm think it was between 1979 and 1984. That makes it at least 26 years old of making cakes and other goodies. Previously I used a hand mixer. This stand mixer meant I could add ingredients without stopping and resting the machine. This mixer was made in the U.S. with a yellow plastic housing.

It took a a couple of weeks before I could decide which model to purchase. I thought Kitchen Aide machines were the top of the line for home mixers. Besides the fact they cost more than I could afford, one of my neighbors reported they had owned several Kitchen Aide machines that wore out after about 4 years. I searched for the best balance of features, cost and availability. I found the descendant of my mixer. A classic stand mixer from Hamilton Beach. I found the best deal on November 24 on line. I got a discount for ordering on line and saved shipping by picking it up in the store.

Here's a picture of the new machine. The case is brushed stainless steel and the machine is made in China. This machine looks stronger and better made than the 26 year year old machine. Is it going to last 25 years? The old machine goes the the garbage can today. Good bye sweet memories. Hello to new ones.

Apples for Teachers

2010-11-29T17:56:00.001-06:00

Last week I received the following question: "A question of earth-shattering importance that occurred to me ... When and why was it customary for students to bring an apple for the teacher?"

He asked the question of me because he though this was a linguistic question. We have expressions such as, "an apple for your teacher." I speculated that giving an apple to the teacher was a supplement to their small salaries. That was incorrect.

As a crop apples began to be cultivated in the mid-19th century. It didn't take long for people to discover how to keep apples edible for many weeks after harvest. Apples became a convenient snack for school children. They were easy to carry and became a sweet ready-to-eat treat. Teachers even gave them out as rewards.

Eating apples did have one problem for teachers who wanted disciplined, silent classrooms, students couldn't eat them quietly. Apples snap when bitten. Look at this quote relating what went on with an apple in the classroom from The Ohio educational monthly, Volume 34 page 257 1885 “ A Bit of Experience” by R. M. Streeter, of Titusville, Pa.,

Now, I like apples; and I suppose I have done what that boy has just been doing a good many times in my life. I saw him when his head went into the desk; when that big bite left the apple I heard it, and I saw every eye in that neighborhood turn to me to see if I knew what was going on. From that day to this the rest of those schoolboys believe that I never knew about that apple being eaten.

Students would hide their heads and eat snacks. In order for teachers to prevent this noisy behavior, they would require the students to leave their apples on the teacher's desk. Students who ate apples in secret would also drop the apple cores on the floor or throw them against the walls causing a mess and a walking hazard. (see The R.I. schoolmaster: Volume 7 1861 Page 235.)

From this it is a small jump to bringing an apple for the teacher.

Getting to Yes

2010-11-21T00:52:00.002-06:00

On Friday I was at a meeting at another college. Since I needed to take notes I used one of their computers. The background screen had a big "NO" -- no food, no cell phone use and no hats. The institution does not allow hats to be worn in the building.

The security guards will ask you to remove your winter hat, your baseball hat, fedora, Borsalino, Homburg, knit cap, sweat shirt hood, etc. It was interesting that the person running the meeting wore a straw cowboy hat.
A kipah or hajib (Muslim woman's head covering) is not considered a hat for this prohibition.

What really bothered me as well as a fellow librarian was the size of the word "no." The whole screen presented a negative image. Both of us said that restrictions could have been phrased in the positive such as : "Please respect the rights of others using the computers. Use your cell phone and eat in designated areas only."

I understand that food can get into the books and keyboards. Conversations on cell phone could disturb someone viewing a scholarly article. But please tell me how a quiet hat disturbs others. I did think of some amusing reasons for wearing a hat -- 1)Improper thought waves can be filtered through a hat and escape harmlessly rather than being forced to exit through the mouth; 2) Since the school's brain scanning device can not penetrate a hat, mind control is more difficult; 3) Computer users can hide flash drives in their hats or hair; 4)Baldness or buzz haircuts can be hidden; and 6) Teachers can say, "keep that idea under your hat."

Seriously -- in a well managed organization getting to "yes" is much better than forbidding an action. If one figures out a way to permit something it can be more easily controlled. If an action is forbidden that people want to do, they will find ways to hide the activity. Saying "yes" indicates more trust than "no." If one can't trust their people, they have bigger problems than hats.

What is Copyright? Part 2

2010-11-15T10:45:00.005-06:00

Since writing part 1 of this series I have been humbled by the massive amount of research that others have done in the area of history of copyright. Copyright protections developed over a long period time starting in about 1489 and continuing to the most recent copyright laws. However, all the laws left areas that unclear or ambiguous. There are many gray areas of copyright and intellectual property protection.

Public domain

Public domain is the designation for works not protected by copyright. Public domain works include: 1) Works for which the copyright has expired, lost or never acquired; 2) Works not eligible for copyright (e.g. works written by a government agency); 3) Works designated by the author as public domain; 4) Works without tangible forms (e.g. ideas, words spoken in private); or 5) Common knowledge or facts (e.g. a recipe for chocolate milk or French toast). Titles of books can not be copyrighted, but under some conditions they can be trademarked. While the individual facts or data points may be in the public domain, the data base and its access software may be protected.[1]

Authors before the beginning printing did not see a need to protect their intellectual property. Josephus used the uncredited accounts and descriptions of events to write his histories, but we can’t find fault because he did not write with the same rules of scholarly citation that we use. In the Talmud rabbis frequently said something in the name of their teacher or rabbi. They also quote the Bible. This is a way of adding credence to the statements; standing on the shoulders of giants.

Intellectual Property

Until recently people didn’t understand intellectual property in the same way as physical property. For example: if someone steals John’s wallet, John doesn’t have anymore. It someone steals John’s words, John still has them. No one thought copying of ideas was a problem. Once printed and published many works were considered in the public domain. [2] When money was associated with intellectual property, authors, creators, and inventors wanted protection.

Several streams of legal protections developed. The commercial rights of businesses were protected from ancient times. See part 1 where I mention two cases from the Talmud. In medieval times the guilds protected their members. Since printing didn’t exist before the 1450’s no guilds developed. Patents were granted for a limited period for processes and technology. Trademarks are words, phases, or graphics that are associated with a business. The beginnings of copyright were for the business and commercial rights. The second stream protected authors and creators of works. This author protection was not fully developed until the 19th century. Before then, authors had not control of their words and derivative works.

Protections for intellectual property and the right to print and publish materials are similar, but sometimes competing philosophies or protection. Intellectual property rights reside with the author or creator while the commercial rights for the production and sale are protections for the printer and publisher. Both aspects of protection recognize the right to be compensated for the fruits of one’s labor. Copyright protections developed very slowly and at first only protected the printer/publisher.

Reading from an open Torah scroll

Before the printing press in order to “publish” a work, one needed an army of scribes. To give you some idea of the costs involved let’s examine the production of a modern manuscript. A Torah scroll that is used in the synagogue must be written by the hand of a trained scribe. The scroll has more than 10,000 lines and could take 850-900 hours to create and get it ready for the end users. The cost of a scroll with its wooden holders and cover varies from about $25,000 to $80,000. A printed book with the vocalized Hebrew text of the Torah, an English translation and commentaries costs about $30, which is probably less than an hour of preparation time. The printed book is about 1/850^th (.001176%) of the cost of the hand written scroll. Is it any wonder that printed books and periodicals soon became the first mass media?

Shakespeare copied many of the plots of his plays from history or other people’s work. He has been accused of copying long sections of earlier works and inserting them into his plays. His plays while in their original production had a fluid text. No contemporary thought he was guilty of plagiarism. On the flip side; many of our common phrases find their roots in Shakespeare and no one thinks twice about using them. If you say, "True is it that we have seen better days," do you think of the play, As You Like It Act 2 scene 7? However, if one says, “To be or not to be,” most people know this from Hamlet.

Common law derives its force from the consent or public policy of the people. Since common law is based on the decisions of the court, it is also called case law. These decisions amplify, define, and interpret statutory law. Common law is sometimes thought of as the “unwritten law,” but court decisions in state and federal courts are published in decision reporters (e.g. Illinois Decisions and Northeastern Reporter) and Jewish law decisions are published as books of responsa. Common law remains in effect until a legislative body passes a law making the rule null and void or another court decision overrules a previous decision.[3] Most countries that were colonies of Great Britain (including the U.S., Canada, and Australia) adapted the English common law. [4]

Plagiarism is the uncited copying of someone else’s work. A pirated work is copied and sold without permission of the author, creator or original publisher. A pirated work does not deny the author. Since in the 19th century American works were not protected by copyright in other countries, British publishers printed and sold pirated copies of American works and American publishers pirated British works. This was legal. Copyright is limited by time and place. The need to cite an author’s work is forever.

For a work to be considered copyrightable the creator must have intent to create a new work. For example:[5] Case A. A girl has a doll protected by copyright such as “Barbie.” Her brother takes a hammer and crushes the skull. The girl throws the doll into the trash amid the other broken toys parts, papers and debris. Case B. An artist takes a “Barbie” doll crushes the skull and uses the crushed body with some common household trash to create a sculpture. In case A, the girl had no intent to create anything new. This is not a copyrightable event. In Case B the artist has the intent to create a new work. The new work is copyrightable.

Case C. A printed copy of classic work accidentally had two chapters missing. Case D An editor revises, abridges, and comments on Tolsky’s War and Peace. Case C is not copyright because there was no intent to abridge. The editor in Case D has intent for a new creative work and the result is copyrightable.

On August 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Martin Luther King delivered his moving and historic, “I have a dream” speech. King was a master of rhetoric and delivery. Parts this speech were delivered at other times and places. The end of the speech departed from the prepared text and became something list a Baptist sermon. [6] He includes Biblical references and allusions. Under the 1909 copyright law in effect then, speeches were in the public domain, but not performances or published speeches. Spoken words were not considered tangible and not protected by statutory copyright. Because Dr. King distributed copies of his prepared remarks at the time of the delivery and the delivered version was different, the copyright status of the speech was disputed. [7]

In 1994, CBS, Inc. produced a historical documentary series entitled "The 20th Century with Mike Wallace." One segment was devoted to "Martin Luther King, Jr. and the 1968 march on Washington. The speech was recorded by CBS. Other radio and TV networks also broadcast and recorded the speech. That episode contained extensive footage of the speech; CBS never sought permission to use the speech or offer to pay royalties. Dr. King did register the speech and the Copyright office issued a registration of copyright on October 2, 1963. For the next twenty years King and his estate had copyright protection and did license its use.

The Estate entered into litigation. CBS obtained summary judgment for dismissal from the district court. The Estate appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals 11th District. The Copyright Law of 1909 was the source of analysis for this case because that was the law when the speech was given and Dr. King obtained copyright registration. According to the 1909 statute common law copyright existed from the moment of creation until general publication, when works had to fulfill the statutory requirements. The Court of Appeals reversed the District Court and sent the case back to the lower court. The Court held that a public performance of a speech is not the same as publication. The Courts did not rule on all the issues because the parties settled. This case demonstrated that delivering a speech is a performance. No matter what the size of the audience a performance is not considered publication.

The case of Walter v. Lane ([1900] AC 539) was seminal case in the rights of an author for copyright of his own work. Reporters from The [London] Times newspaper took down shorthand notes of a series of speeches given by the Earl of Roseberry. The notes were transcribed, edited, and later printed in the newspaper as verbatim speeches. The Respondent in the case published a book including these speeches, taken substantially from the reports of those speeches in The Times. The court was asked whether the reporters of the speech could be considered "authors" under the terms of the Literary Copyright Act of 1842. After several court cases The House of Lords, said the rights to the speech reside with the author.

How does strong copyright protection benefit to society? Which of the divergent viewpoints of copyright benefit the reading public? Protection should reward effort, capital risk, and creative effort. Since publishers who put up the money for publication, they get a much larger share of the book’s sale than the author. The contrasting viewpoint is that the work must be new and show creative intent i.e. the copyright belongs to the author or creator.& The law of the United Kingdom roughly follows the publisher’s viewpoint; in the United States the law roughly follows the second. In the end the reading public who funds or purchases the works pays the bills. In theory if the public gets value for their payments they will buy more books and other protected works, then both the publishers and the authors can succeed. Without fair remuneration, the authors will quit creating and the publishers will go out of business.

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Notes:

[1] For example MARC catalog records are in the public domain, but vendors such as OCLC and Library of Congress charge for data base services and forbid the copying of the data base or significant parts.

[2]For a fuller explanation of public domain and advise on how to use public domain materials see: The Public Domain: How to Find & Use Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art & More / By Stephen Fishman. 5^th ed. Berkeley, CA, Nolo, 2010. Some chapters are available online from Google Books.

[3] For example a case may be appealed to a high court or a new court ruling of the same court may, based on new laws or circumstances, over turn an earlier ruling. Some Supreme Court cases radically changed the way we do things. The web site http://www.lectlaw.com/tcas.htm Historic Court Decisions has a list of case that are historically significant. Included are Marbury v. Madision, (1803), Dred Scott v. Sandford, (1857) and Miranda v. Arizona (1966).

[4] Louisiana and Quebec are two exceptions. Since they were settled by French settlers, they adopted the French Napoleonic Code.

[5] The ideas for these cases come from “Copyright In The Dead Sea Scrolls : Authorship and Originality” by David Nimmer (Houston Law Review 38:1, Summer 2001. Retrieved from: http://www.houstonlawreview.org/archive/downloads/38-1_pdf/HLR38P1.pdf)

[6] See: “I Have a Dream“ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_a_Dream for more details.

[7] See: Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc. (194 F.3d 1211 (11th Cir. 1999)) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_of_Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.,_Inc._v._CBS,_Inc.

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Discussion
(Received via e-mail and reproduced with permission)

At 01:33 AM 11/17/2010, Rich Stiebel wrote:
Both articles are very interesting on the history of, and the need for copyright protection, but they do not seem to address the current problem of "Under what circumstances can a Library that purchased VHS or cassette tapes copy (transfer) them to CD or DVD formats to enable circulation to users." A similar question is "just around the corner" with Blue-Ray DVDs, and will continue into the future as new media are developed. It would seem that the authors would have been compensated for their efforts when the original tapes were purchased.

Can you shed any legal light on this question?

Dr. Stuhlman's reply--

Even though chapter 1 paragraph 108 of the copyright law "Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction by libraries and archives" addresses this issue, so far in my research this is a gray area. The writers of copyright laws did not imagine all the ways we have of digitally sharing and copying content. In the beginning of printing the printers just wanted to recoup their investment from the first printing. As a non-lawyer, I do not give legal opinions. As a librarian, in a future article I will give my opinions from a librarian or scholar point of view. One solution may be a library licensed copy that would give the library rights for copies. Libraries would have to pay a higher cost than home users. Cash strapped libraries won't like that idea.

Rich Stiebel--

While having Libraries purchase an item with a "special" license that would allow them to copy the information to a more modern media would seem to "solve" the question I posed, it would not answer the question about all the existing material on CDs, DVD, VHS, or cassette tapes that were purchased prior to such special licenses being available.

It would seem that any solution to the problem would have to satisfy all the "stake-holders" currently in the business and meet a set of fair standards. Since I'm not an expert in the media production and distribution, a starter set of standards might include:

- Allow a library to copy purchased media to a newer media format with the result being only one format would be circulated at a time.

- Assure that the creator of the media received their fair royalties, but only once.

- Assure that the original producer of the original media received fair compensation, but again, only once per item.

Yes, you may use my prior comment as well as this one, if you choose, for your blog. We DO need a reasonable legal resolution to these questions. Thanks for researching the history.

Dr. Stuhlman's reply-

I agree that we need some better solutions. Perhaps the law could include a reasonable time limit (say 10 years) to insure the producers sold out their first printings?