Unshelved	by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum

OCLC legal action involving the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) System

This was released by OCLC concerning the recent issue with the Library Hotel in Manhattan, posted here with permission of OCLC.

OCLC has received several inquiries regarding a recent legal action filed by OCLC involving the Dewey Decimal Classification® (DDC®) system. OCLC would like to provide some background on that legal action.

On September 10, 2003, OCLC filed a trademark infringement complaint against The Library Hotel. The Library Hotel (New York), which opened in August 2000, makes extensive use of and reference to the Dewey Decimal Classification at the hotel and in its marketing materials.

OCLC is disappointed that legal action had to be taken against The Library Hotel. This is an unusual event for OCLC. However, trademark law imposes affirmative obligations on trademark owners to protect their trademarks, or risk losing all rights in those marks through legal abandonment. We felt that abandoning our rights in the Dewey trademarks was an unacceptable result for the OCLC membership. OCLC attempted to avoid litigation by repeatedly requesting attribution of our ownership of the Dewey marks from The Library Hotel. They have refused to do so. Unfortunately, that refusal left us with no other recourse than to file a legal complaint.

Since 1988, OCLC, a non-profit library services organization, has assumed ownership of and responsibility for the Dewey Decimal Classification system (including all associated trademark rights) on behalf of its membership, and therefore has an obligation to manage the use of the Dewey trademarks to preserve them for the benefit of the cooperative. Accordingly, between October 2000 and October 2002, OCLC made three written requests to The Library Hotel asking the Hotel to acknowledge and attribute ownership of the Dewey trademarks to OCLC. The Library Hotel refused to do so.

In appropriate situations, OCLC has established licensing arrangements that permit the use of the Dewey Decimal Classification trademarks while protecting OCLC's trademark rights. OCLC accommodates licensing requests whenever possible.

The Dewey Decimal Classification exists to help libraries and other organizations and companies organize their information materials so that users may find information easily. The DDC is the world's most widely used library materials classification system. Over 200,000 libraries in 135 countries use the DDC to organize their collections. The DDC has been translated into over 30 languages. OCLC sells thousands of print and electronic editions of the DDC each year. These funds are used to continue the development of the DDC.

The DDC is a general knowledge organization tool that is continuously updated and revised to keep pace with knowledge. For example, recent additions to DDC include: "extreme sports," DDC classification number 796.046; "Web publications," classification number 070.57973; "laser surgery," classification number 617.058 and "digital television," classification number 621.38807. Over the past decade, OCLC has invested more than $6 million to continually update and maintain the effectiveness and relevance of the Dewey Decimal Classification in a modern world. It is important work. OCLC has seven full-time staff dedicated to the creation and management of the DDC. OCLC is supported in this effort by the Dewey Decimal Classification Editorial Policy Committee, a ten-member international board whose main function is to advise the DDC editors and OCLC on matters relating to changes, innovation and the general development of the DDC. Appointed by various organizations, EPC members represent the interests of libraries around the world as they help guide the ongoing development of the DDC.

Eilir raved on 14:30

Nifty

The University of Kentucky Libraries in partnership with the Kentucky Virtual Library is pleased to announce the availability of digital versions of a collection of rare and imperiled books on Kentuckiana. The project, entitled Beyond the Shelf: Serving Historic Kentuckiana Through Virtual Access, is funded with the support of a National Leadership grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The first 200 books of the 900 book project are available to the public from the project website at http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/BTS/.

Beyond the Shelf: Serving Historic Kentuckiana Through Virtual Access is creating a fully searchable digital page image archive of rare historic Kentuckiana books using a microfilm to digital methodology. Students, teachers and scholars will use this material to support their research and teaching. Microfilm ensures preservation and the digital images ensure easy access and wide distribution. This hybrid, standards based non-proprietary approach can serve as a model for cost effective access and preservation for published materials.

Titles for Beyond the Shelf were selected from J. Winston Coleman’s landmark compilation, A Bibliography of Kentucky History. Published in 1949 by the University Press of Kentucky, Coleman’s Bibliography includes 3,571 titles divided into 76 categories, including county histories; early explorations and settlements; military expeditions, battles and campaigns; reminiscences, recollections and memoirs; and speeches and debates. For researchers, Coleman’s work is the indispensable starting point.

Since 1992, the UK Libraries have participated in the NEH-funded SOLINET/ASERL Cooperative Preservation Microfilming Projects. 3,500 titles in 6,500 volumes from the Libraries’ comprehensive Kentuckiana collection have been filmed during this Project. The UK Libraries selected approximately 1,500 titles from Coleman’s Bibliography. This corpus of microfilmed titles will form the target collection for Beyond the Shelf.

More information on Beyond the Shelf can be obtained at the project website or by contacting Becky Ryder, Head of Preservation Services at 859-257-0500 ext. 2047 or Mary Molinaro, Director, William T. Young Library at 859-257-0500 ext. 2090.

Eilir raved on 11:01

Good lord!

Yahoo! News - Texas-Fried Oreos, Anyone?

Eilir raved on 10:51

Wow!

This blog is valued at $1000 on BlogShares with outgoing links worth $25.58. Nifty.

Eilir raved on 03:00

Somehow quizzes seem to perk me up

: 'Beautiful' by Christina Aguilera; 'Bigger Than My Body' by John Mayer
: Better


My Immortal.

Your Lyrics

I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone

These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me

You used to captivate me
By your resonating light
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts
My once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away
All the sanity in me

These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me
I've been alone all along

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me


What Evanescence song are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Eilir raved on 02:21

Sometimes it doesn't pay to think too hard

This struck me the other day in the bath: If I had had a child at last opportunity, it would be eleven now. Eek! I don't know which freaks me out more...the fact I could have a kid that old (actually, I could have a 17-year-old at my age, just like my mom) or that, well, and this may be too much information, but it's been that long.

On the more morbid front: There was a show about entertainment shockers on this weekend, and I found out that I am the same age now as Marilyn Monroe was at her death. And I'm not that much younger than Elvis was at his death--he was only 42. I somehow thought he was older. I guess all that hard living made him seem older--and when he died my parents were just hitting 30, so he seemed ancient by comparison. But I don't feel that old. I kind of feel like I'm just hitting my second wind. When did I become middle-aged? Argh! I. Really. Need. A. Quiz. Now.

Eilir raved on 02:01

So how did your week start?

: 'The Remedy' by Jason Mraz; 'Blurry' by Puddle of Mudd; 'Going Under' by Evanescence
: A little worried

Mine was alright, except I forgot to drop my electric bill payment by KU this weekend, so I didn't get it in until after work and they'd already turned off the electricity. But it's back on. I'm just kicking myself--I was in area three times this weekend and just literally forgot, even though I had it with me. I did call this morning to see if I could get a reprieve, but no such luck.

On the good news front a couple more jobs opened in the area, so I'm going to send in my applications tomorrow (and hopefully I've used up my quota of procrastination this week on the electric bill).

Dwana called me this morning. Flying with sinus problems seems to have made her feel worse, so she was staying home today. This time of year, although beautiful, wreaks havoc on people with allergies or sinus problems.

Today was nippier than it has been in awhile. I actually wore a sweater today, and I'm fairly warm-natured. As I was waiting for the bus to go downtown, I was struck by the beauty of the wildflowers (some would say weeds) growing along the little stream that wends along the golf course. Yes, this is the same one I blog a lot...it's just on the other side of the road at that point and smaller. But it had masses of pink jewelweed and some other airy flowers that were white. I could hear crickets and various other insects; they almost drowned out the sounds of traffic. The flowers rather reminded me of masses of heather you see in Britain.

I managed to get downtown, pay my bill, and get back on the bus headed out before they left. But I hadn't been on the Woodhill bus since the routes changed and didn't realise it was going to turn right before the stop I had planned to get off at. Since I didn't want to get out on the busier road, I went ahead and rode it on around and back. Then I picked up some bread from Great Harvest, paid another bill, and went home. I took Cerys out and she enjoyed a long roll in the grass and sunning herself in the courtyard. Then, I took a nap. I think the whole trying to make do with the reduced hours and pay bills, etc. is starting to get to me. I'm a little worried. I hope one of these jobs pans out. I'd be making nearly twice what I make now, with good benefits, and I'd get to increase my experience and scope of library service. I keep telling myself that every day I'm doing a little to help things improve. But it's not very encouraging.

Okay, that's a little depressing. I may go check out a Monday quiz.

Oh. 'Unwell' by Matchbox 20 just came on the radio. How appropriate. I love that song, though. It's good to remind me that compared to how I was a year or two ago I'm doing much better. Even with the stress. I did find myself crying yesterday despite the fact that I couldn't blame PMS, etc. I think it's just been getting to me, so I need to keep a handle on distress tolerance and mindfullness.

:) I just looked over at my aquarium (one nice stress reducer). I have a new crop of baby mollies, and my plecostomus, which tends to hide a lot and then come out at night, is out foraging. I sometimes go weeks without seeing him. Her? How can you tell? Mollies I can sex...glass-sucking algae eaters are harder. Anyway...I know it's just a little thing, but it's kind of helping my mood.

Eilir raved on 01:34

When I was a kid, I hung out with Brown, Trixie Belden, and the Three Investigators

The Onion | Idaville Detective 'Encyclopedia' Brown Found Dead In Library Dumpster

I know, when you think of children's mystery series, you think of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. They were okay, but I couldn't relate to them as well as to the above. So glad The Onion gave a fitting tribute to an old friend.

Eilir raved on 01:05

Add your voice

US News & World Report is taking votes on the usnews.com: The People's Vote: 100 Documents that shaped America; you can vote for up to 10 documents.

Mine were (and it's hard to choose just 10:

Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Louisiana Purchase, 13th Amendment, Keating-Owen Child Labour Act, 19th Amendment, Social Security Act, GI Bill, and Civil Rights Act

Eilir raved on 13:33

Want to learn how you can support the study of history...

Check out: National History Day

Eilir raved on 13:27

Life's Unanswered Questions

Reference questions librarians dread: Life's Unanswered Questions

Eilir raved on 13:16

Subversive Reading

Interesting commentary for the day: Subversive Reading piece from the NY Times on reading, librarians defending our freedoms, and the square off with the government over the USA Patriot Act.

Eilir raved on 13:09

Amazon.com: Books: The Dewey Decimal System of Love

The Dewey Decimal System of Love by Josephine Carr

So...um...I wonder if OCLC knows about this? I haven't read it; someone enquired regarding opinions on a list, but it sounds mightily stereotypical and apparently attempts to make it into book groups with pre-packaged discussion questions. Still, I won't pass judgement until I've read it.

Eilir raved on 11:25

Hmmm...

:Pre-release of Sacred Love by Sting at VH1.com)
: Tired with a headache

1. I saw the movie Underworld today. It did a decent job with the action and special effects, although it didn't really have much in the way of plot or development. Unfortunately I haven't read the Nancy Collins short story that inspired the folks at White Wolf to sue, but I must admit, it has a very World of Darkness feel to it. If your aim is to watch Kate Beckinsale run around in black leather for the duration shooting lots of things and check out some good action moves, though, it was fine, and I enjoyed that part. :) I first saw her in Cold Comfort Farm, which is absolutely hilarious. So, this was quite a different role, but I think she did a decent job. The film itself lacked depth, but what little it had she imparted. Oh, and the werewolf changes and vampire mansion were very spiffy. There is one move, at the climax, where my years of playing in the game made me know exactly what she had done, although it was not immediately apparent. It was a great move. If you took Kate Beckinsale and a young Mädchen Amick and put them together, with grey-green eyes instead of blue, you'd get my character Tessa that I've blogged about. I could see Tessa doing that move. She's the one who once lept over a crowd of cultists and somersaulted to the top of an interdimensional gate to seal it and save the day.

2. Dwana left a message for me this evening. They were at Logan airport getting ready to come home. They won't be in until late, so I guess she wanted to let me know things were going well. Here's wishing them a safe journey.

3. I saw a great pillow at Jo-Beth. It had a screenprint of Munch's The Scream on it, and if you squeezed it, it screamed. Not a bad novelty item.

4. I watched Dido's 'White Flag' video on VH1.com again, and I didn't realise the first time that although David Boreananz' character has a shrine to her in his apartment, she has pictures of him all over her apartment, too. So I guess it's a matter of mutual attraction, rather than stalking. Thought I should point that out, since I'd mentioned it before.

5. Random question for the day...why is it that when you get a bag of cat litter, especially the pine litter, your cat decides he must sleep on top of it? Those pellets must give it a bean-bag quality for the kitty.

6. Never mix Irish and Jewish traditions together. Otherwise you nosh the Salmon of Knowledge with a little cream cheese on a bagel. Finnegus becomes Finagle. It really hurts the brain. So does assigning people in Harry Potter various tribes from Werewolf: the Apocalypse, but this is what happens when people spend too much time typing in stuff for the game (if anyone is interested in the results, let me know; that was a little too esoteric to post here, I think).

7. Part of me wants to play online and do a little writing, but I really have a bad headache and I think I may turn in early. Time to dislodge the cat and let the doggie out, although with the rain starting and it getting a little nippy, I'm not sure she'll go. 'Night.

Eilir raved on 21:38

Days before the moose hunt, bull goes on a human hunt

This is one reason even as a bleeding-heart liberal vegetarian, I'm not particularly against hunting, so long you're hunting for meat and using as much of the animal as possible and the hunter is actually sporting (animal has a chance to get away, is being hunted in the correct season by a hunter with a permit, etc.)

Days before the moose hunt, bull goes on a human hunt

I agree with Deb Thompson that hunting should be a full-contact sport. I mean, you have to give someone who's charged by a moose (and survives) a lot more he-man credit than someone with a high-powered rifle who just hides and shoots, right? I think he would have done better tangling with the bear.

Eilir raved on 02:29

Beautiful music

: 'Love Song' by The Cure; 'Old Ways' by Loreena McKinnitt; 'Cat's in the Cradle' by Harry Chapin
: Yes!

Three great songs one right after the other. One thing about Launch Yahoo! is it learns your musical taste, so most of what you listen to is either stuff you like or similar.

I heard the Cure song on the radio earlier, and for the life of me couldn't blank on the name of the song or the artist (hey, I've felt crappy today, give me a break) and when I tried to put the chorus into various lyrics search engines, I came up with either nothing or too many hits, mainly because I've heard it wrong all these years. So...it was driving me crazy. I'm so glad Yahoo! played it. :)

I love 'Old Ways'. It's a beautiful song, as is much of Loreena McKinnitt's work. I first heard it--and this version is from that--on a CD I have, Live in Paris & Toronto. It's got a very ethereal quality, a song of loss, and (because music always affects me emotionally) I always cry, particularly for that version. You see, that CD is one that the proceeds go to a charity, the Cook-Rees Fund, begun by McKinnitt and others after losing loved ones who were killed on a sailing trip, including her fiance. The charity raises money to get rescue equipment in that area of Canada. And I always feel, in a way, that the song is for her lost love.

The last song, by Harry Chapin, was always one of my favourites as a child. I think I was drawn to it because of the estrangement I felt with my own father. I feel the same way about Genesis' 'No Son of Mine' (how I felt from my father) and Tori Amos' Winter (what I wanted from my father). I know, I sound like I was a depressed kid. I was. I didn't realise it, then, though. But my two favourite songs, the ones I identified most with, were 'Shadows' by Simon and Garfunkel and 'Shilo' by Neil Diamond. Suffice to say I was a very lonely child. When you move every couple of years, it's hard to form bonds. And I grew up in a family where the three of us were all wrapped up in our separate worlds. My mom and I did bond, mainly driving together, singing to the radio, talking, etc. But at home, we all did our own things. I asked my mom about the one time I can remember us all together outside the house when we weren't moving. It was a government surplus sale out in California. That's it. My dad once took me home to my grandparents' instead of my mom because she'd had some oral surgery. But usually if we drove back to Kentucky from wherever we were living, it was just her and me. We never had vacations, really. We visited family. But I never knew that was different, because I really didn't have anything to compare it to. My dad did take me to see Empire Strikes Back but I think that was mainly because he wanted to go. We never saw Star Wars when it came out. My dad just never seemed to relate well with a kid. I can never make up my mind whether he was just a total ass or if he was just a screwed-up person trying to get past a dysfunctional family, too. I think it's a little of both.

My mom, I think, wanted to go to places, even though she had some of the same social anxiety issues I do. Right after I graduated from high school, she took me to my first circus. She told me recently that some of her favourite times were the places we went to when I was in the Gifted & Talented programme down in Louisiana. We went to see a Sousa operetta, to museums, etc. She needed to go to places like that, too, but for whatever reason, we didn't outside of the school trips, and unfortunately we moved two months after I started the programme.

It's funny how the disappointments of childhood sometimes haunt you. But the great thing about being an adult is that you can do stuff on your own and not have to rely on anyone else. My biggest problem in terms of going places is lack of transportation. But that'll eventually work out, and I plan to actually go on weekend trips to some of the places I've wanted to see.

And I am excited about the prospect of serving on that library advisory board, not just because of the issues involved, but if I'm selected, that means going to Boston, Washington DC, and San Antonio. Dwana's in Boston right now. The game has made me especially keen to go, but also because I've discovered my earliest immigrant ancestors came to that area on the ship right after the Mayflower. I was originally supposed to go to Washington with that G&T programme, but never got to go because we moved. And here I am, 36, and I've never seen the capitol of our country. So that will be a great experience. As for San Antonio, my uncle and his family live down there, and I want to meet my cousins' kids and spend some time there. I miss travelling. If I ever had a lot of money and fewer responsibilities, I think that's what I would do all the time, so long as I had a place to call home and come to between trips.

Well, I guess that's enough for now. I'm going to wait for 'Everybody Hurts' (R.E.M.) to finish and then head to bed.

Eilir raved on 01:25

Okay, I'll admit it...I took this one twice

since, if I admit, a slight, rare tendency to lisp...I wind up as The Clergyman. Well, I did accept a bribe from the bride the one time I officiated at a wedding to do that quote....

Princess Bride Quiz Results:
Which Princess Bride Character are You?This quiz was made by mysti

Eilir raved on 00:22

No new Friday Five this time...

: 'Kodachrome' by Paul Simon
: :(

They're taking a break till next week. They do that every now and then, and I can see why. So, in lieu of FF here's a similar get-to-know-you-kind alphabet thing:

A- Appetizer of choice: spinach artichoke dip and pita bread
B- Best friend: Starts with D :)
C- Choice of meat: None, actually, seeing as fish is parve.
D- Dream date: Nestled together under the stars at the beach watching meteors fall and listening to the water ebb and flow.
E- Exciting adventure: My life is an ongoing adventure. And going anywhere with Dwana, it seems.
F- Favorite food: A garden-ripened tomato with a bit of salt.
G- Greatest accomplishment: Learning to love myself.
H- Happiest day of your life: The day my divorce became final.
I- Interesting fact: The Joshua Tree, which grows in the Mojave Desert, is not a tree but is actually a yucca, and therefore a member of the lily family. When I was in junior high school, I lived in the Mojave and I remember their wild deranged-spider arms fondly. A lot of older science fiction movies were filmed in the Mojave. I guess the plants look alien and helped make the landscape look otherworldly.
J- Joke: I'm really not good at telling jokes. I always screw up the punchline...I prefer to see the humour in every day life.
K- Kool-Aid: I'm still scarred by those nasty capsules my mom put in my Kool-Aid as a kid; thank you, no. How about juice?
L- Lover: of chocolate. Preferably on a lover.
M- Marriage: I did that once. I don't think I ever will again unless I'm sure. And I'm a romantic with high standards.
N- Name: Lisa, Elisabeth, Eilir, depending on who you are.
O- Obsession: Names and their meanings. Well, and blogging, apparently.
P- Pizza toppings: Tomatoes and spinach. Green peppers and onions are optional. Mushrooms and olives are doable. Anchovies are right out.
Q- Question asked to you the most: Can you help me with the copier?
R- Radio station: CD 106. Launch Yahoo!, which isn't really radio, but still...
S- Sex: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
T- Television shows: MI5, Charmed, Without a Trace, CSI, that sort of thing
U- Underwear: Cotton.
V- Video: The Mummy/Mummy Returns
W- Winter: Um...can we skip that this year? Last one was enough for awhile.
X- X-ray: Vision? Cool. Can I have it?
Y- Year born: 1967
Z- Zodiac sign: Aries

Grabbed this randomly from Nic's blog.

Eilir raved on 00:11

Lighting a candle

Today would have been my grandfather's eightieth birthday. His name was Edgar Craig. He died three years ago after a long battle with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). He was a smoker, even sneaking a cigarette when he'd go out to the store so my grandmother wouldn't fuss at him. When I was little, he seemed to smoke a pipe more than cigarettes. He spent his last years attached to oxygen bottles. I hate what smoking did to his quality of life, and if I sometimes seem a little rabid on the topic, he's one reason why.

He was a man who worked hard all his life. He was born in Parksville, Kentucky, and grew up on Persimmon Knob near Junction City. He lived with his brothers and sisters (there were 14 altogether), his parents, and grandparents through the Depression. When he was 17, his father died and he quit school to go work in Dayton, Ohio so he could send money back to the family. He barely made it back on the train in time to marry my grandmother, the 'little black-haired girl' back home. He was a US Marine who'd served in a tank division on Iwo Jima. Later, he did construction. In the 1950s he fell from a bridge and landed on top of his jackhammer, breaking his back. The doctor who treated him did such a poor job that by the time he had the back surgery he needed, they told him that if he'd stepped on a piece of gravel the wrong way, he could have been paralysed. He had a near death experience there, and thought he'd heard nuns singing.

For years he managed the G.E.M. Supply store in Danville, Kentucky. He seemed to know everyone in town because of this. Then he turned to sales. Once the store had closed, he found that his lack of a high school education kept him from most management positions. Yet he was the most financially smart man I've ever known. I wish I had a tenth of his ability.

He passed on great loves to my mom and me. Gardening. Keeping fish. A love of history. He read a great deal, especially once he retired. He introduced me to the National Geographic. One of my favourite Christmas gifts I found for him was a book on Danville history mentioning his mother, Virginia, who had sons in the Navy, Army, and Marines. Pa was the Marine. He is the reason I know that the famous picture on which the monument was based was actually the second flag raised; the first was considered too small. I also heard descriptions of what it was like to be in tanks on volcanic sand. And he once told me of how an officer tried to get him to volunteer, but he said, 'if you order me to go, I will, but I won't volunteer'. When the officer asked why, he explained that he had a wife and child at home. He was willing to serve his country and follow orders, but he wasn't go to get gung ho and throw his life away. He lived his life a lot like that...working hard, fairly gentle, making choices by looking ahead. The only times I ever heard him seem angry or raise his voice was if he described someone he thought was an abusive bully. He had no use for that kind of man.

In some ways, he was a surrogate father for me; my main positive male rolemodel. When I was little, and my dad was in Vietnam, we lived with my grandparents. I sometimes got confused and called him 'Daddy' like my mom did. It became a family joke, 'Daddy Pa'. I was apparently so like my aunt when I was little, in terms of being a chatterbox and even a little in looks, that he sometimes called me 'Sharon'. It drove him crazy that he did it, but I got to where I'd just respond anyway. I knew he saw me for myself. He was one of the few who did. He was my buddy. He'd get his boots on to go out to the farm and I'd say 'I go with you Pa!' and grab my little boots, too. I was three, and he was the best guy in the world.

I still feel that way. And I miss him. So, tonight, Pa, I'm thinking of you.

Eilir raved on 23:56

Federal Probes of Libraries Have Long History

Check out this story for more.

I remember stories back in library school of the CIA recruiting librarians back in the 1970s, too. I don't know if that was part of the Library Awareness Programme, or just good sense. (Okay, you may think of librarians as a strange pool of spies, but intelligence is based on information, after all.) Every now and then I've played with the idea of working for the government, but I figured that I probably couldn't make the cut at, say, the FBI Academy, amongst other things.

But I found the story interesting. I think that AG Ashcroft tends to play it as if the government is not and has never been interested in the activities of library patrons--but of course it makes sense to check out libraries for possible terrorists or spies, from a security point of view. If we had no civil rights, it wouldn't be a problem.

I do think that librarians sometimes go a little far towards the 'must protect all information access' canon. I've been in several discussions about the PATRIOT Act and other ethical issues. There's always someone who's ready to become a martyr to civil liberties in the bunch. But I think most of us would agree that if we discovered a threat to life or infrastructure, we'd be calling 911, as hopefully anyone else would. So blindly following either camp can be a problem, don't you think?

Eilir raved on 23:32

I'm against smoking in most public spaces, but I have to admit...

I'm sort of surprised that when they passed the smoking ban, they didn't exempt cigar bars along with tobacco shops. It would seem like they would be similar businesses; nor do most people go to one for any reason other than to smoke. But they didn't, so one local downtown bar is going to go to a British pub format rather than continue as it is now. Nicholson's, which I think is part of DeSha's restaurant, is going to the new format in November. In the meantime, they're having a last hurrah this weekend and then will still sell cigars, especially since the Keeneland meet is coming up, although they won't be able to smoke in the bar.

If I'd had a hand in drafting the ordinance, I'd probably exempt cigar bars or any other business that revolves around tobacco in some way. Of course, as a non-smoker who particular hates the smell of cigar (pipes okay, cigars yucky and make me want to throw-up), I probably wouldn't have thought of it, either, so I really can't blame the council on that one. Or, maybe they thought bars might use it as a loophole; if they called themselves 'cigar bars' they could get around the ban. I don't know. But the people at Nicholson's seemed to have the situation in hand.

Eilir raved on 23:19

L'Shanah Tovah

Here's hoping for a peaceful new year, for my Jewish friends and the rest of us as well.

Eilir raved on 21:30

Am I the only one out there who finds accents sexy?

: 'Interview with Stuart Adamson' (Big Country)
: Sniffly, sneezy, coughy without rest

I'm listening to an interview with Stuart Adamson of Big Country. I love listening to a Scottish man (note Sean Biggerstaff's site, on the blogroll, too. One of these days I really must get a Scottish man. :) I just melt and it makes me feel like I've come home. Irish is lovely. Welsh soft and endearing. Virginia Tidewater is sexy in it's own right. But nothing is quite so wonderful of a rolling Scottish accent saying something like 'world' (worrelled)--but I'm probably biased due to my Scottish roots and the fact that our family still calls ewes 'yoes'. Ah. I don't know why some women just fall over accents, but I do. Nearly every time I hear a particularly pleasing one. Do guys do this? Does anyone fall for an American or Canadian accent? I can remember listening to my geology professor, Ciaran O'Hara, and his lovely Irish lilt, and very little of the lecture matter. Fortunately I'd had a long history of rock collecting as a hobby, so I didn't fail, but if I had, I'd have to blame the accent. I swear, you could probably get the most pimply, wretched-looking guy with an accent in America, and girls would fall over him as long as he kept talking--especially Brits, Irish, and Aussies. Even Dave Matthews, who has a fairly slight South African accent, sounds sexy. So guys...take note.

And now the Chieftains are playing. Ah. It's better than medicine.

Eilir raved on 17:04

Ready, set, NaNoWriMo!

Ah, autumn, the time when aspiring novelists turn towards that beacon of self-discipline, NaNoWriMo.org. See, November is National Novel Writing Month, and thousands celebrate by trying to write a 50,000 (175 page) novel in 30 days. All participants who mangage this feat are considered winners and can get T-shirts commemmorating it.

Last year I got a late start and didn't really have an idea of where I wanted to head, so I think I managed about 7000 words. :( But it was still fun. :) This year I've already got a decent idea in mind that I think I'll be able to outline quickly and coherently and then just start writing. So stay tuned.

Eilir raved on 16:50

US to allow feeding aides to work in nursing homes

Feeding aides to help in nursing homes

I've never worked in a nursing home, although I sort of grew up in one, since I went with my mom a lot overnight when we were down in Louisiana. I'm going to have to ask my mom, Dwana, and Eric--all of whom have worked in nursing homes--what they think of this. On the one hand, it could free up nursing aides for other things...but there's already a problem within nursing home with neglect and abuse concerns, and I don't know about letting people who aren't well supervised and with little training (just 8 hours) around such frail patients. I agree with the concerns of the National Citizens Coalition for Nursing Home Reform.

Eilir raved on 16:43

Virent ova! Viret perna!

Yay, yet another instalment from the professors Tunberg!

Green Eggs and Ham translated into Latin

I was fortunate to have both of these authors as instructors whilst at UK. Jennifer Tunberg taught me Latin paleography. Terence Tunberg taught Latin literature. He's especially an advocate for teaching Latin as an oral language and is one of the reasons that the UK Classics Department has an annual immersive workshop on spoken Latin, Conventiculum Latinum. I haven't been able to attend since they started, but I would really love to...maybe next year. I've had the basic Latin language classes plus reading Mediaeval Latin in the history programme; I think I'm considered fairly fluent given that it is not usually considered living, spoken language these days. I can read it with only a little dictionary look-ups needed. But speaking's a totally different matter.

I'm glad the Tunbergs have added this to their other Seuss translations (Quomodo Invidiosulus Nomine Grinchus: How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Cattus Petasatus: The Cat and the Hat have also been done) and their Alma Arbor: The Giving Tree. I have Lenard's translation of Winnie the Pooh and the (Grinch. But I do need to get the others, definitely...and Vere, Virginia, Sanctus Nicolaus Est! and Harry Potter in Latin.

Ah. I love Latin. It makes me happy. Which is not most people's reactions. They probably think of that one section of Monty Python's Life of Brian where the Roman soldier makes Brian conjugate things correctly and write the graffiti on the wall a hundred times. Does that make me insane? Or just a language/classics geek?

Eilir raved on 16:38

Funeral Services Held for Former UK President Otis A. Singletary

: 'Remedy' by Jason Mraz
: Beyond Sleepy

One last thing. Promise. Funeral Services Held for Former UK President Otis A. Singletary

Dr Singletary was president when I started school. Yeah. I know. I'm still working on a degree. If I finish that one last year and get my PhD, I'll actually have been at UK about as long as he was--and he was president for 18 years!

He made it into our school history for a lot of things, but I remember him as being tough in the winter. See, the rule was that if Dr Singletary could walk from his home, Maxwell Place, to the library (which at that time was M.I. King, which was right behind his house) in the snow, we wouldn't get our classes cancelled. In the entire time he was pres