PLGNewsletter_Summer08.pdf

Here is the draft of the PLG Newsletter.  Please note any edits that need to be made below.  Thanks! --Sho 

 

 

Sorry.... I have a number of comments.....

-Me (Nicole) wrote the class review on 533, medical online searching... Rebecca (Bliquez) is listed.... just a heads up -- wondering if we should axe this for now since both reviews only discuss the online searching class... I thought we were going to?

 

-Can we add an update that the Rad Ref blogathon was listed in Library Journal and two of our suggestions were noted in the brief list of examples? Pretty neat...

-Should we definitely go with "Ex Libris" for book reviews? No offense at all to Amy -- just wondering since it seems to be the name of a lot of groups and websites?

-The dues are listed incorrectly for joining..... it's $10/yr students, $20/yr regular for chapter membership only, and $15/yr students and $25/yr regular for chapter and parent memberships

-Were we going to make a list of upcoming events for fall or put a calendar up? Should we mention when our meetings are regularly with a list of officers and contact information on a page?

-The PLG Yoga Fundraiser says "PLY Yoga Fundraiser"

-Rebecca's last name for her book review is spelled incorrectly (Bliques instead of Bliquez)

-Should links be made active after editing for the electronic version?

 

 

Otherwise looks really good! Nice pictures and layout....and glad you included pics of the books in the reviews-- yay! Maybe we should just plan on printing after ALA.... maybe that Wednesday after some of us going get back?

 

I, too, have a few comments (Jacy)

• as far as the listing of dues, it's only incorrect on the parent org membership form, which is exactly copied from the one we have linked form their website to the how to join on the wiki...if we can change it on their form (has a revision date at the bottom - so don't think that's really kosher), we need to link that one instead of the one from their website to the wiki page or we need to say it's an additional $5 from the parent org fees listed on their site and forms on the how to join Yeah, we should note something that our dues are different and that there's the option to only join our chapter and not both if someone wants to save $5 for some reason --Wait no, I knew I wasn't going crazy.... on PG 10, when dues are listed again, right before saying where to send checks, it lists the incorrect amounts, which don't match up with what is listed from how to join.... so those should match up. -- "Membership Dues: (Please make checks payable to "Progressive Librarians Guild: UA Chapter") Students/low-income: $10/year Regular Rate: $20/year"  --OK, I'm confused, I thought the dues for our chapter membership only is $10/students and $20/regular as you even list above in your comments...page 10 is the UA chapter only membership form and page 11/12 is the parent form...if you want both (complete membership as listed on the how to join) you only fill out the parent org form and if you want partial (ua only) you fill out our form on page 10...this is how it's all linked on the wiki from the how to join that way people don't have to fill out 2 forms to have complete membership.   I can add the word "ONLY" to the title of the form: Progressive Librarians Guild: UA Chapter ONLY Membership Form if that will make it more clear. "2. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

• Dues are annual; current rates are:

  $15/year for students & low-income and $25/year for the regular rate for membership in both the parent organization and the UA chapter. (Complete)

  $10/year for students & low-income and $20/year for the regular rate for membership in only the UA chapter. (Partial)

   

  Right, but this is what it says on page 10: "Membership Dues: (Please make checks payable to "Progressive Librarians Guild: UA Chapter") Students/low-income: $10/year Regular Rate: $20/year Submit Form and Dues to: School of Information Resources and Library Science PLG: UA Chapter -- C/O Treasurer 1515 E. 1st St. Tucson, AZ 85719" I understand that is for the UA chapter only, but it doesn't give the option then for full or partial membership, and most people will probably want full membership. Maybe note that there is the option for fees, and if joining both, they should fill out both forms -- it doesn't seem clear... I think both prices should be listed on our chapter membership page so they know they are not submitting a check to us and then also to the parent organization is all.

   

  3. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF JOINING?

  •         Complete membership: As the parent organization of PLG states, "Membership in Progressive Librarian's Guild (PLG)  includes a subscription to the PLG journal Progressive Librarian, announcements about activities, the membership directory, and - most importantly - the opportunity to be part of a network of like-minded colleagues."  To obtain complete membership, you must pay the appropriate dues, fill out the parent organization's membership form, and be willing to agree to PLG's Statement of Purpose. Benefits also include those for partial membership, as listed below.
  •         Partial membership: PLG: UA is one of only six student chapters of PLG in the country, and currently the newest, so you would have the opportunity to shape the direction of our chapter and help build our programs, events, and structure. You would be able to participate in creating our newsletter, work with Tucson community groups to create ties and organize events, and get to know fellow students in the SIRLS program, alumni, and community library workers. It probably wouldn't look bad on your resume, either. Please complete the UA Chapter Only membership form and pay the appropriate dues."

   

• the parent org membership form has some spacing issues with the lines - if possible get the forms all on the last pg (I recognize that you made the parent 2 pages to get an even number for the entire newsletter)
• my biggest worry is that there are several pages that are solid text which is harsh on the eye and could use some graphics or pics to break it up This is actually a good point -- that would be excellent if we could get more pictures/graphics
• the page with the yoga is the only one that's framed
• maybe we should have a little blurb about Dorothy, if nothing else a sentence or 2 just to say she created our insignia, she does Cat and Girl and a link to her website - especially since its on every page (love the watermark) OMG yes we really should write something about her -- I will contact her and ask if there is anything specific she wants and/or if she might want to include a comic. If there's time, I could even do a brief interview with her via email...

Sho, you've done so much and overall it looks great.  With you all leaving for ala and all, I would be more than happy to help with this.  I can gather some relevant pics/graphics, help with the edits, and play with the spacing (especially so we can limit the tear out page to one instead of 2).  It's something I can do at work over the next couple of days (have had a lot of down time lately) so it wouldn't be an inconvenience.  And I'm just trying to be helpful with things being busy for most and not trying to step on anyone's toes...so let me know if I can be of service ;) Thanks for offering, Jacy! This is obviously up to Sho, but thanks!

 

 

 

Please copy and paste your submissions for the newsletter on this page.  The deadline is Monday, May 12th.  Also include any suggestions or anything you might like to see on the newsletter. 

---

 Let's create a little rough-draft table of contents here so we can see what all the sections will be:

-Recommended classes (all)

-Hello/introduction from President (Nicole)

-What is a Progressive Librarian & review of Whirlwinds (Nicole)

-Featured community group (Jacy)

-LCSH blogging party recap/discussion (Nicole)

-What contributors are reading (all)

-How to join (last page before membership form?) (Jacy)

-Interview with Tom (Danielle)

-Recap of social event w/ pictures (Jacy)

-Maybe a glossary at the back so we don't have to define many terms multiple times throughout the newsletter?

 

---

 Just in case: Rachel  Amy  Nicole  Jacy

 

Suggestions for featured community group? Anyone want to volunteer to write this? I could but, I'm already writing a lot--this would be great (this write-up or something else) for distance students or people who are unable to attend the meetings!

-Dry River? BICAS?

 I'll do the featured community group article on Dry River

 

 

Recommended classes (I have NO clue what a snazzy headline for this would be! Headline="Take this! NO! Take that, sucka!"  Sorry, I couldn't stop myself.  Amy)

Have you ever wondered, "Geez, I wonder which classes would good for me to take?" Well, we at PLG have pondered this from time to time, and this corner will be dedicated to helping you with this need. In each edition of the PLG newletter, PLG members will highlight a couple of classes that were taken this past semester as an elective that were particularly helpful for a variety of library types. *if these classes should be discussed with a "which classes to take that have a progressive bent", my review is set, otherwise, I should edit it to be more general... let me know...

 

• IRLS 532 - Online Searching This class would be helpful for a school, public, or academic librarian. If you are going into archives or cataloging, this class could also be helpful to you in terms of making researching a lot easier. I now have a much better feel for how to research in a variety of free and for fee databases. This class is going to make me both a better librarian, and student!

 

• IRLS 533 - Medical Online Searching For those interested in infilitrating PubMed and other medical literature databases. These skills can transfer over to general database searching, however it truly is a specialized class. Many say PubMed is a mystery or sometimes even a mystery wrapped in an enigma, but with clear instructions and extra information to better understand vendors and how these systems work, it's much easier to comprehend. Execellent for those interested in medical librarianship, and/or learning how to get important information into the hands of the people who need it (those without health care options or insurance, those distrustful of big pharma looking for CAM, or those wanting background checks on their prescriptions, etc.). <-- final copy

   

 

OK...y'all add what classes you think were cool... I think if we just leave it at distributed and free electives, then we won't get into which prof is better than another, but, rather, which classes are better than others... I am thinking if we have four suggestions per issue, we should be pretty good~ from Rachel, the purple (aka Donatello)  I have no electives this semester other than my Practicum, so sadly, I won't be able to help in this section. :(  Amy

 

What Contributors are reading (Possible Headline:  "Ex Libris"?)

 

Aside from "King Lear" I have been reading Live Alone and Like It: A Guide for the Extra Woman (this is the title of my personal 1st edition copy from 1936 ($12 on Ebay!  Ebay rocks!), but the link is to a reprint of the same book (supposedly), just with an insulting pink cover and a slightly changed title).  It's a guide book for single women living on their own in the late 1930s and it is hilarious and actually has great common-sense advice (of the type which is missing from today's women's magazines) and really cute line-drawing illustrations.  There's even a chapter called "A Lady and her Liquor" which teaches you how to stock a basic proper bar and mix highballs, Cosmos, Martinis and Old-Fashioneds!  It's seriously way more progressive than any women's "self-help" book published in the last 20 years, but I am a little afraid of recommending it when I haven't seen the reprint copy and don't know if they've changed anything but the title.  I don't want to recommend it if it has been dumbed down!  I'll try to get to Barnes and Noble and see if they have a copy I can look at to see if it's the same, but for now I just wanted to get the ball rolling!

 

I've read/am reading: Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture , Psychic and Ufo Revelations in the Last Days, Plant Based Nutrition and Health, and Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?: Reflections on the Liberation of Animals (Paperback)

-Are each of us picking a certain number of books to discuss or should it just be one? I think it might be nice to have a couple pages of very brief reviews... maybe each of us can choose anywhere from 0-5? Then, we can each have our own sections, or we could just list the books in alphabetical order and have our initials by the reviews....?

 

Okay here are my reviews:

1. Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? : Reflections on the Liberation of Animals

Edited by Anthony J., II Nocella

-This book chronicles the beginnings and current state of the Animal Liberation Front, an anonymous group of individual "cells" of activists who commit to no violence against any animals (human or non-human), and use direct action to rescue non-human animals from conditions they are in, such as mink farms, medical and cosmetic testing labs, and factory farms. Eco-terrorism and animal-enterprise terrorism are terms thrown around often by the government, especially after 9/11, and these essays debate whether direct action by the ALF to rescue animals being used and abused for vivisection, factory farming, the fur industry, and others can truly be considered terrorism or not; the main focus here is a discussion on if destruction of property should be considered terrorism, and if aiming to only rescue these non-human animals consists of trying to terrorize human oppresors. Comparisons are made to the Abolitionist movement, feminism and women's rights, and actions taken against Hitler's Nazis by Jews and other groups. It is oft a delicate situation to compare anything to the Holocaust or slavery, but if one views animals as living, breathing creatures with feelings, both physical and emotional, what we as humans do to exploit these non-human animals is shocking; because there are people who feel non-human animals are objects belonging to humans to exploit, there are also essays discussing, philosophically, how and why animals should be considered comparative to humans, and why it is then possible to relate animal exploitation, torture, and slaughter to slavery, the holocaust, and issues taken up by the Women's Liberation Movement. This book is fascinating and really explores issues involved in the animal rights movement, its connections to other movements, and how far the government should really be allowed to go in using the terms terror and terrorism as vehicles for intimidation and arrest. <--- final copy

 

 

2. The No-Nonsense Guide to World History by Chris Brazier

-This book lives up to its title... it really is a no-nonsense guide to world history. Brazier gives an excellent overview with just enough detail to keep the reader engaged. This version of world history also examines information left out via white, Christian, upper class male privledge (terms describing those who usually wrote history), and fills the reader in on what women were doing and how some Europeans created opinions and "facts" about non-white groups to justify brutalization and pillaging, while providing further information explaining the truth about these civilizations and their advancements. The book is living and breathing--not stale--and provides an excellent overview of the history of our world. <--- final copy

 

 

 (Rebecca - am I violating Amazon copyright by copying pics of their books? :)

 "The Bachelor Girl: 100 Years of Breaking the Rules - a Social History of Living Single" by Betsy Israel 

I spotted this book on the sale table at the ASU bookstore and decided, hey, why not.  It was only $5 and had cool action figures on the cover!  All joking aside, this book is a fascinating read.  As the title suggests, it chronicles the lives of single women and perceptions of single women throughout the span of American history.  What I especially loved about this book is the way it describes of single and working women incorporating impressions from a variety of sources including personal diaries, the press, film and other popular media.  Very cool and interesting to note the different stereotypes about singles, working girls, spinsters, "Old Maids", etc.    Reading this book made me realize that society's perception of the single lady, although very different from the 19th century, is still laced with stigmatization.  I still see a lot more concern and hand-wringing over the "singleton" status of ladies than that of guys - even from the most liberated of quarters.  A great read, highly recommend it! - R.B.

 

"Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper" by Nicholson Baker

This book is actually a required text for my IRLS 541 (Preservation) class but it's definitely worth a read for anyone that is interested in history and the preservation of material culture.  This book describes a trend in libraries (both U.S. and abroad) of destroying paper copies of historic journals and newspapers and replacing them with microfilm or scanned copies. The Library of Congress and British Library are both cited as "culprits" in this document destruction effort. According to the author, the microfilm copies are often incomplete, difficult to read and deteriorating from exposure to light, fungi or poor storage with no original paper copies extant to replace them.  The author argues that the justifications for paper destruction such as lack of storage space and cost-effectiveness, are inadequate.  I found his research and arguments to be very compelling and as a future librarian, I found the "gorey" scenes where original documents are hacked apart in warehouses by "guillotines" to be pretty disturbing.  Another great read! - R.B.

 

 

 

 

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