Librarians Split on Sharing Info

"In the year following the passage of the Patriot Act, librarians' response to law enforcement requests for patrons' records has been sharply divided, according to a nationwide survey.

The Patriot Act allows investigators to seize patrons' book-borrowing and Internet-surfing records to investigate terrorist leads; it also prohibits library staff from publicizing law enforcement requests for such materials.

The survey (PDF) of 906 libraries by the Library Research Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found that in the year following the Sept. 11 attacks, federal and local law enforcement agents visited at least 545 libraries to inquire after patrons' records.

When asked to voluntarily forfeit patrons' records, roughly half the librarians cooperated with investigators without demanding a subpoena or court order, the study found.

"What surprised me most was real tension between personal beliefs and concern about what librarians are obligated to do under the law," said center director Leigh Estabrook.

Estabrook said librarians -- traditionally fierce guardians of free speech and information access -- have been forced to juggle conflicting obligations: protecting patrons' privacy as good librarians and collaborating with law enforcement requests as good citizens....

Nevertheless, 60 percent of the librarians who responded said they believed the gag order precluding them from publicizing visits from investigators was an abridgement of their First Amendment rights. Indeed, Estabrook allows that the gag order may have skewed the survey results." [Wired News]

Congratulations to Rachel Singer Gordon on the publication of her book The Accidental Systems Librarian, available now!

No Charge: Public Libraries Provide Full-Text Access to Databases!

"A persistent myth says that you can find "everything" on the web.  Not even close!  Fortunately, many public libraries offer free access to a wealth of online databases that are often much higher quality than what you can (or can't) find on the web....

Other resources  can potentially provide an answer -- often a much better answer than the web offers -- that satisfies your information need. One place that you could potentially find this type of material is your local public library.

For most of you, the library is a familiar place. However, what you might be unaware of is that many public libraries in the United States and Canada offer free access to databases that contain full-text magazine and newspaper articles, biographical profiles, full-text books, and much more. These databases also contain large amounts of material that you would never be able to access using a web engine.

What's even more exciting is that these databases are available remotely. That's right, with a library card you can access these resources from any computer connected to the Internet, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. In other words, you have total access to the content without having to visit the library building.

It's impossible to list every database available from every public library since resources vary amongst libraries. Simply visit your local library's web site, or give them a call and ask what's available and how to gain access.  It's a painless process that can be accomplished in a matter of minutes....

Some of these databases also provide full-image reproductions of the material. This means you can access a pdf (Adobe Acrobat) version of the article directly from your desktop. In some cases, these articles are the same ones that you might have to pay for if you went directly to a publication's web site." [SearchEngineWatch.com, via TVC Alert]

And if you're at a SLS library that doesn't provide remote access to your databases, give me a call. We can provide authentication scripts for you or help you work with your vendors to implement their solutions!

"The New York Public Library's Image Gate is currently in Beta. However 80,000 images so far out of 600,000 isn't too shabby. Of remarkable interest are the collections (also some here) they have put up so far for your browsing pleasure. Anna Atkins cyanotypes are beautiful, and the Art of the Cigarette Card is joyously quirky. Be sure to check back in 2004 when its all done."[MetaFilter]

Photographs from the Chicago Daily News: 1902-1933
"The Library of Congress in collaboration with the Chicago Historical Society has added to their American Memory Web site over 55,000 images of urban life taken between 1902 and 1933 by photographers employed by the Chicago Daily News. Search by keyword or browse by subject." [What's GNU]

Smartphones to Dominate by 2008

"A migration trend is emerging among wireless users toward feature rich devices that incorporate color screens and advanced data and messaging applications, including navigation, multimedia messaging (MMS), and instant messaging, among others. According to a new Allied Business Intelligence study, this trend will by 2008 almost have eradicated mobile phones as we know them today - leaving Smartphones as the evolutionary winner....

The study claims that the number of replacement handsets shipped will grow from 211 million in 2002 to 591 million units in 2008, representing nearly 85% of all shipments worldwide at that time.

Only about 15% of the estimated 406 million handsets shipped in 2002 incorporated color displays. The study expects this number to jump to 97% by 2008, signaling a goodbye to monochrome handsets - hopefully with improved battery life for color handsets, as one of the major drawbacks of current smartphones relates to poor battery life." [infoSync]

Resistance is futile. Your library had better be prepared to offer its services to smartphone users well before 2008. It's already 2003....

WebWords

"The webwords project aims to enrich the quality of the experience of choosing an audio book for visually impaired visitors. It will do this by allowing users of library catalogues to listen to a small sample of a book they might want to enjoy, to hear what it sounds like - to listen and experience not only the essence of the book, but the quality and style of the narration.

The audio clips will be directly accessible by a hyperlink from library catalogues. Ultimately the system will work with all library authority’s catalogues and there will also be a website (this one) from where the samples may be searched directly." [via Library News Daily]

Out of the U.K., but I'd love to see the idea spread to the U.S., too. Why shouldn't libraries be able to offer samples?!

Virtual Reference Service Launches Nationwide in Australia

"From the announcement, 'AskNow!, a collaborative service provided by the Council of Australian State Libraries – the state and territory libraries of Australia and the National Library, is a virtual reference desk where answers are provided immediately by librarians expertly searching library catalogues, databases and the Internet. Key features are that the process occurs in real time using chat software, and its ease of use by anyone with Internet access. Customers click on the AskNow! icon, prominently displayed on all participating web sites.' The service has been online since September but the NLA is making an announcement today. AskNow uses 24/7 Reference Software." [The ResourceShelf]

This is very cool!