Info service? Bad name

I came in this morning to find the latest series of posts on PUBLIB about a new text answer service. If you go to the PUBLIB archives, look for the posts which have "Text to 542542" in the subject.

The second post mentioned the name of the service: kgb.com

My reaction was visceral and immediate. What kind of dummy would choose that as a name? But before I posted to PUBLIB, I checked. Yes, KGB is the Russian abbreviation of Komityet Gosudarstvjennoj Biezopasnosti (Committee for State Security). also known as the Soviet secret police.

As a quick reference (rather than wander downstairs, and to get "clippable quotes," I went to Wikipedia. Here is one quote which reflects part of the reason for my reaction:

During the Cold War, the KGB played a critical role in the survival of the Soviet one-party state through its suppression of political dissent (termed "ideological subversion") and hounding of notable public figures such as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Andrei Sakharov.

Here is a second quote:

One of the KGB’s chief preoccupations during the Cold War was the suppression of unorthodox beliefs, the persecution of the Soviet dissidents, and the containment of their opinions. Indeed, this obsession with "ideological subversion" only increased throughout the Cold War, primarily due to the rise of Yuri Andropov in the KGB and his appointment as chairman in 1967. Andropov declared that every instance of dissent, including for example religious movements that rejected the Communist Party, were a threat to the Soviet state that must be challenged. He mobilized the resources of the KGB to achieve this goal. Soon after Yuri Andropov's appointment one of the KGB departments was assigned to deal with religious leaders, churches and its members. Most dissidents were apprehended by the KGB and sent to gulags for indefinite periods, where their dissent would lack the strength it might have had in public.

Why would anyone in their right minds choose this as a name.Even worse, they call the people who work for them "agents." As a friend of mine would say: Holy cats!!

Now.....I have some other issues with the service including the fact that they pay the huge sum of 10 cents per answer. How trustworthy are the answers at that price.

I am about ready to begin a campaign against them on multiple levels.

Amost Friday Funny

For a while, there was a PUBLIB tradition that jokes, gags, etc. would be reserved for Fridays. (Actually if I remember, there was also a discussion about putting [Job Ad] as part of the header, and maybe only certain days, etc. It was back in the 1990's!) Even today, if something humorous is posted, a reference is made to it either being Friday or not.

That is what inspired my title.

Here is what I have to offer:

Don't click here!

Came to me from Twitter, but the "tiny url" which was imbedded was blocked!

Have fun, don't say I did not warn you!

ALA Councilor Elections

The first thing I noticed, was the number of people running! There are ninety-four (94!) people on the ballot for ALA Council. We get to vote for 35. The top 34 vote getters will have three year terms and the 35th will have a one year term to serve a vacancy (Rochelle Hartman's?). That means that roughly one out of three on the ballot will have the opportunity to serve.

I make my choices differently each year. This year I have broken the names into categories.

Library 2.0 Friends (Blogs, Facebook [primarily]):

Trevor A. Dawes
Aaron W. Dobbs
Christopher G. Harris
Dale K. McNeill (also PUBLIB)
Linda Shippert
Courtney L. Young

PUBLIB:

Diedre (Dee) Conkling (also Current Councilor)
Christine Lind Hage (also former Councilor)
Sally Decker Smith

Current and former Councilors I would like to continue to work with:

Monika J. Antonelli
Barbara A. Genco
Judith A. Gibbons
Marilyn L. Hinshaw
Ling Hwey Jeng
Carol Ritzen Kem
Margaret L. Kirkpatrick
Bonnie L. Kunzel
Norman L. Maas
Stephen L. Matthews
Linda Mielke
Robert R. Newlen
June A. Pinnell-Stephens
Barbara K. Stripling
Bill Turner

Others:

Arlene C. Bielefield (my board chair in a former life, past chair of
the Library School at Southern Connecticut State University, but
don't hold that against her; she has also been on the Committee on
Legislation's Intellectual Property committees)
Wei Jeng-Chu (cataloger, Worcester)
Michael J. Miller (member of the Resolutions Committee with me)
G. Victor Johnson (Trustee)
Mable W. Robertson (Trustee)

What exactly does "Library 2.0" mean?

My friend Karen Schneider posted a comment on my recent ramblings on this topic. In it she says "I've commented on my blog, but basically I've concluded, well, you're wrong and I'm right. ;-)" Well, I went off to look at what she said, because Karen is not only a friend, but a great writer, and often makes me think enough to sometimes change my mind.

First, let me note that she only really comments on the second half of my post, the part about the Annoyed Librarian. I posted to her blog that I think we actually agree. Her comments about the "us/them" language are very compelling, and is a perspective about which I had not thought. She is correct in that using that kind of inflammatory language sets up the kind of false dichotomy that makes it harder to build any kind of team.

She also includes a great quote from a mutual friend, Sara Weissman [Sara and Karen are the co-moderators of the long running PUBLIB electronic discussion list]:

If you want an enterprise-wide initiative, if you want everyone to be involved, at some point, as leader, you have to accept a certain bumpy, uneven quality of work and just lead them through it to comfort and consistency.

I sure have thought about Sara's words, and even acted in that way at times without having had the ability to put the thought into words.

I still maintain, that while some focus the Library 2.0 discussion on "only" the technology aspects, libraries that are genuinely "2.0" libraries will address all of the customer service/user-centered issues. That is among the places where I think that Karen and I agree.

A new hero - Filters still don't work!

I may have a new hero. A recent PUBLIB post alerted me to Cory Doctorow's column in the Guardian.

Here is the key paragraph from his column:

But every filtering enterprise to date is a failure and a disaster, and it's my belief that every filtering effort we will ever field will be no less a failure and a disaster. These systems are failures because they continue to allow the bad stuff through. They're disasters because they block mountains of good stuff. Their proponents acknowledge both these facts, but treat them as secondary to the importance of trying to do something, or being seen to be trying to do something. Secondary to the theatrical and PR value of pretending to be solving the problem.

How many times have we as librarians said this? I know I have! Thanks Cory!

ALA Council Candidates - PUBLIB

I have been active on PUBLIB for many years now. For those who are not familiar with it, it is an electronic discussion list for public librarians. There are over 5,000 subscribers.

In a private email after a recent comment about folks on the list running for ALA Councilor-at-Large, ALA Executive Board member (and good friend) Nann Blaine Hilyard identified the following as current PUBLIB subscribers who are on the ballot for Councilor-at-Large.

They are:

• Catharine Cook (Chickasha, OK)
• Nann Blaine Hilyard
• Michael McGorty
• Dale McNeill
• Melora Ranney Norman
• Marti Goddard (a friend from a prior ALA life!) [added]
  
• Sue Kamm (whom I misunderstood was standing for election again -- even if I now remember signing her petition) [added, link added 3/4]
• James Casey (whom I misunderstood was standing for election again [added]

If I missed someone, let me know. I will do a full list of my personal endorsements after I see the ballot.

[Added 2 more names at 12:15 pm CST]
{Added link to Sue Kamm's "I am a Councilholic" post on Sunday, 3/4}