Ministry Of Truth : Whitehouse Web Site

Ministry of Truth

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

"Reality Control" ...if all records told the same tale-then the lie passed into history and became truth. "Who controls the past", ran the party slogan "controls the future: who controls the present controls the past."

This Process of continuous alteration was applied...to every kind of documentation which might conceivably hold any political or ideological significance.

....[documents] were recalled and rewritten again and again, and were invariably reissued without any admission that any alteration had been made.

George Orwell 1984

Changes in White House documents raise concern about rewriting history

news bureau
University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign

11/25/08

Craig Chamberlain, Social Science Editor
217-333-2894; cdchambe@illinois.edu

The Bush White House has been rewriting part of its history, according to University of Illinois researchers Scott Althaus (ALL’-touse) and Kalev Leetaru (KAHL’-iv lee-TAR-oo). It “has quietly deleted or modified key documents in the public record that are maintained under its direct control,” they write, in a report posted online this week and cited in a story in The New York Times.

They argue, however, that “updating lists to keep up with the times is one thing. Deleting original documents from the White House archives is another. Back-dating later documents and using them to replace the originals goes beyond irresponsible stewardship of the public record. It is rewriting history.”

Airbrushing History American Style (Full Report)

The authors of the report show how to locate altered or deleted documents from the public record on the White House web site. You will need to hurry because in January the site will be gone. It could be deleted or put in an archive with restricted access.

Print, books, cultural literacy, and "the classics" are as relevant today as the day the were first written.

R. Philip Reynolds preynolds (AT) sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy, Religion, Political Science, Geography, Kinesiology

Thanksgiving: My Favorite Holiday

What’s your favorite holiday? One of my favorites has always been Thanksgiving. Who hasn’t been in a school play dressed up as a Pilgrim (or a turkey) reenacting that first Thanksgiving Day in 1621 when the surviving Puritans gave thanks for their bountiful harvest ?

According to CHASE’S CALENDAR OF EVENTS (Ref 4803 .C48), the first US holiday by presidential proclamation was issued on Oct. 3, 1789 when George Washington (at request of Congress) proclaimed November 26, 1789 “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer…”. The most famous Thanksgiving Proclamation is the one issued by President Lincoln in 1863. The beautifully written proclamation was actually penned by his Secretary of State, William Seward. http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/thanks.htm

Since 1941 the fourth Thursday in November has been our official Thanksgiving Holiday. Most of us celebrate it by watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and eating turkey, dressing and all the trimmings. http://www1.macys.com/campaign/parade/parade.jsp

Learn more about Thanksgiving and other US holidays on USA.gov’s American Holidays page. http://www.usa.gov/citizens/holidays.shtml

	We Gather Together

Bernice Wright bwright@sfasu.edu rm. 202j 936.468.1528 Subjects - Agriculture, Forestry, Human Sciences, Human Services, Speech/Communication

Was Shakespeare an Identity Thief?

Could Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, have been the true author of the plays attributed to actor William Shakespeare of Stratford-on-Avon? Was Shakespeare involved in a conspiracy to conceal his identity?

SFA grad and former Steen Library employee, Pamela Lynn Palmer,(MySpace page) explores that theory in her award-winning play, "Eclipse of the Sun: A Play in Two Acts." The promotional brochure explains, "Sex, violence, and intrigue in the court of Elizabeth I conspired to mask a grievous case of identity theft, perpetuating what may be the greatest literary hoax of all time."

USA Book News named her play a Finalist in the Theatre Arts:Drama/Play category of the National Best Books 2008 Awards. "Eclipse of the Sun" won “Best Play” in the Spring 2004 WriteMovies.com international competition.

"The University of Southwestern Louisiana kept sponsoring a contest for a play about the life and works of Edward de Vere. I finally looked up the name and realized he was the Earl of Oxford some believed might be the true author of the works under the name William Shakespeare. I did some research and found the theory fascinating, . . .and wrote my play.” She won the contest, the Miller Award Drama Category from the Deep South Writers Competition.

A prolific writer and award-winning poet, Pam Palmer authored the young adult novel, "Horse of the Dawn," now a talking book.

Born in Shreveport, LA and raised in Houston, Pam graduated from high school in Houston, TX in 1969. She finished two degrees at SFASU in just 4 years and added, “Of course my social life suffered!” She earned a B.A. in English (with honors) in 1971 and an M.A. in English 1973.

Pam Palmer worked at R.W. Steen library from 1976-1997; first, as a Library Assistant in Humanities, then in Special Collections (now the ETRC), and later in Reference/Documents. She currently resides in Valencia, California and would love to see “Eclipse of the Sun” debut at SFA!

Photo by permission of Ivan Murray, PIO, Palo Verde College

Carol Scamman cscamman@sfasu.edu rm. 202e 936.468.1710 Subjects - Art, English, Modern Languages, Social Work, Sociology, Theatre

Sweetest Industry on Earth: The Sweet Industry Group

What do Russia, Thailand, South Korea, India, and Portugal have in common?

They are part of the "sweet industry group, chocolate confectionery". In fact, I don't think there is a country in the world that doesn't have a confectionery company making some kind of chocolate chocolate candies. A great place to find out about the chocolate industry around the world or any other type of industry, is the library resource, Marketline. Marketline currently provides 3,024 industry profiles. Each offers all sorts of info such as market volume, segmentation, forecasts, and leading companies for each industry.

As for the Russians; the sweet industry group report reveals that they favor packaged or boxed chocolates. Is their romance in the air?

	Marthea Turnage mturnage@sfasu.edu rm. 202c 936.468.1896 Subjects - Accounting, Criminal Justice, Economics and Finance, General Business, Law, Management/Marketing/International Business, Nursing, Psychology

Is the Whole World Going Broke?

Over the past couple of weeks many of us have been growing more and more concerned about the fiscal crisis on Wall Street that is spreading to what the pundits call "main street" (in other words, all the rest of us who don't work on Wall Street). Over the last couple of days it has become apparent that there is now an international crisis. This morning everything sounds so bad that a worldwide depression is being talked about.

For sometime now our university faculty has added international studies to the curriculum in a growing number of disciplines. International business, hospitality, nutrition, political science, anthropology, communication, etc. I won't even attempt to name every program that includes international or intercultural components. All of us have become more aware of how internationally intertwined so many aspects of our lives have become.

Here in the library we often have questions from students looking for demographic, trade, and cultural aspects of other countries. This semester we are pleased to announce the addition of a database to our library that will help immensely with the cultural aspect of these assignments. The database is called CultureGrams Online. Aside from the population and government statistics that you can find in a number of country profile products, this database includes information on family, housing, diet, recreation, dating and marriage customs and several other aspects of lifestyle. Check it out when you have a chance. You'll find that it will not only be helpful academically, it will also be useful for Scout Troops, university and civic organizations, or planning your next vacation. Everything from recipes to common courtesies and greetings is covered. As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing."

Bernice Wright bwright@sfasu.edu rm. 202j 936.468.1528 Subjects - Agriculture, Forestry, Human Sciences, Human Services, Speech/Communication

Kid's Reading Levels

Did you ever wonder if a book would be appropriate for your child, or the class you are teaching? There is a way to find out. It is a tool that we have recently discovered called Scholastic Book Wizard http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/homePage.do

If you put the title of a book in the Scholastic Book Wizard you will find the recommended grade level equivalent or interest level for that book. If you put in an author's name, the site will list the author's works that are available, along with the grade level equivalent, interest level, and whether or not it has a Scholastic Reading Counts! Quiz or an Accelerated Reader Quiz. Click on the book's title and you get even more more information about the book. If you are looking to build your collection of childrens' books this site will be an invaluable help. Student Activities and Teaching Resources tabs are also available and allow you to use the site when developing lesson plans.

Check it out!

Tina Oswald toswald@sfasu.edu rm. 202f 936.468.1861 Subjects - Elementary Education, and Secondary Education/Educational Leadership

Beyond the Pale and Toad and the Wet Sprocket

The phrase "beyond the pale" appears frequently in writing; many guess at its meaning or just read past the phrase without looking up its meaning and move on. However, it could be central to the point the author is making. Its use extends through the lexicon of western civilization for at least 1000 years. If we ignore its origins or meaning of this and other phrases shared by our culture it hinders our understanding. Not knowing the shared fundamental knowledge of educated members of western society renders us illiterate regarding many of the things we read and hear throughout our lives. David Hirsch describes this concept of the need to know a standard set of facts and knowledge shared by all members of western society as "Cultural Literacy."

Wanting to be a literate and reasonably educated person, I often turn to reference sources to understand what I am reading or the world around me. One source many turn to Google. I tried it. After entering [Define:pale] Google retrieved several definitions. One was from Wikipedia: "Pale is the second album by Toad the Wet Sprocket released in January 1990.” This was not what I was looking for, so I turned to my all time favorite reference resource: "The Oxford English Dictionary” (OED).

The OED has two pages of text defining the word pale, its origins, and definitions for it from its first appearance an English text to the present. This multi volume work is comprehensive however; I will admit it did not mention "Toad and the Wet Sprocket.” The OED did reveal that a Pale was a poll or log lodged into an embankment with a pointed tip facing outward at an angle to act as a fence or defensive barrier impaling any attackers. This barrier defined the boundary of the civilized camp or village, from those who lived outside the defended area (or, beyond the pale) who were the "uncivilized" or "barbarians”. Eventually these boundaries became stone walls and then just lines on a map.

The meaning of beyond the pale also evolved from referring to the crude physical barrier to a conceptual line surrounding social behavior or set of shared ideals. Today it refers frequently to an individual or group that acts in a way beyond the accepted values, mores, or behavior of respectable or civilized members of society. This is beyond bending the rules or offending someone, but is an action so outrageous that society cannot accommodate or excuse the behavior. The offender traveled past the protective boundaries of civilization into barbarism; going "beyond the pale" of all reason and moral judgment.

I have nothing against Toad and the Wet Sprocket or Google, but I think the OED's definition is what I needed.

See: Rudyard Kiplings short story "Beyond the Pale", where a "man who willfully stepped beyond the safe limits of decent everyday society, and paid for it heavily".

The Oxford English dictionary.Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1989.
call no. SFA Ref nc PE1625 .O87 1989

The dictionary of cultural literacy [electronic resource] / .D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, James Trefil. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1993.
Online at Net Library
print version, call no. SFA Ref nc E169.1 .H6 1993

Cultural literacy : what every American needs to know / E.D. Hirsch, Jr. ; with an updated appendix, What literate Americans know [by] E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph Kett, James Trefil. New York : Vintage Books, 1988, c1987.
call no. LB45. H57

"Pale" by Toad The Wet Sprocket (Audio CD - Jan 16, 1990) Amazon

R. Philip Reynolds preynolds (AT) sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy, Religion, Political Science, Geography, Kinesiology

Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin, new VP candidate for the United States, and her opponent Joseph Biden ...

NEED TO KNOW MORE -

Use the library to find out more about the candidates and other influential people. Look in the library resource, Biography Resource Center (Sorry, only SFA folks can use it). When trying to find information about a person, the Biography Resource Center can offer accurate info in addition to journal articles and websites. When you need to know more about a person, go to the library. Ask a librarian.

	Marthea Turnage mturnage@sfasu.edu rm. 202c 936.468.1896 Subjects - Accounting, Criminal Justice, Economics and Finance, General Business, Law, Management/Marketing/International Business, Nursing, Psychology

Elections 2008

It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the plethora of political web sites and blogs available on the net, and yet having up-to-the-minute reliable information about burning issues, candidates, and all things related to the election process is extremely relevant right now.

The folks at the Documents Center of University of Michigan Library have provided a great comprehensive web site that organizes this huge mass of information so that by using the quick jumps at the top of the page, you can navigate to Presidential and Congressional candidate profiles and financial disclosures, political advertising, public opinion polls, campaign finance reports, debate transcripts, and information about lobby groups. Major policy issues are covered with a variety of materials such as congressional bills, agency reports, speeches, laws, and policy papers. All of the information is continually being updated and will be for the next year.

These folks have been providing election information online since 2000 and historical information is available as well.

Check it out at: http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/elec2008.html

Kayce Halstead halsteadkay@sfasu.edu rm. 202g 936.468.1574 Subjects - Government Documents, Collection Development

Losing a Friend and Colleague

He was almost eighty years old, but the call on that Sunday afternoon informing me of his death was still a shock. Don had been on vacation for three weeks and was scheduled to return to work on Monday. I still remember the first day I met him because it was my first day at work at SFA. Even though I intended to arrive early, several librarians were ahead of me as I rushed to the university wide faculty meeting held at the beginning of each new academic year. "There's Bernice, there's the new librarian." I was greeted by Don, Elizabeth Wallace, and several other new colleagues. as we walked together to the meeting. That was 32 meetings ago, and I'm certainly not the new librarian any more.

Back then I worked in Technical Services, and I soon got to know Don well. No one was more persistent than Don in making sure that the materials needed by his faculty and students in the sciences were ordered, checked in, and processed as quickly as possible. Waiting for the invoice to arrive or setting aside a tough cataloging problem was not an option if one of Don's students needed the book, geological survey, or map that he was tracking down. Music collection responsibilities were added to Don's job description a few years later. For Don this was not a burden, it was a joy. The sciences were Don's job and he was very good at it, but music was his passion.

I joined Don, Marty Turnage, Carol Scamman, Kayce Halstead and others in the Reference Department in 1991. There were no online end-user databases in those days. Printed indexes for undergraduates and expensive Dialog database searches done by librarians for graduate students and faculty were the order of the day. I worked with Don on Tuesday nights. We were almost always busy, but there were short breaks between questions when I could ask Don to show me how to use one of the reference books or compare notes with him on vacations to Big Bend or Mesa Verde.

On Tuesdays, Don would come in at 7:30 a.m. and work until 10 p.m. He took off an hour for lunch , but often just ate a sandwich in his office for supper before joining me at the Reference Desk at 6 p.m. The rest of us took afternoons off when we were scheduled to work until 10 p.m., but Don didn't start taking the afternoons off until he was forced to. There was some newfangled rule about not earning more than 80 hours of comp time per year. Ten comp days for weekends plus a year's worth of Tuesday afternoons added up to considerably more than 80 hours! Don complained about his new schedule for weeks, but a few years later turned down the option of having no night duty every other semester. By this time, being free on Tuesday afternoons was essential!

Fifteen years past the age when most people retire, Don was still arriving at his office shortly after 7:30 each morning. Don enjoyed traveling and going to operas and other musical performances. He had plenty of vacation time to do that. He still loved his work and was not ready to retire. He wasn't up on all the newest technology. He couldn't name the newest pop stars. He didn't blog or twitter. But for some students and faculty in chemistry, geology, or music, he wasn't just the best person to ask, he was often the only person that could help them.

Don was a valued colleague and friend. I won't soon forget him, and neither will many others.

Bernice Wright bwright@sfasu.edu rm. 202j 936.468.1528 Subjects - Agriculture, Forestry, Human Sciences, Human Services, Speech/Communication

Would You Like to be an Award Winning Director or Have $1000?

Attention SFA students!! Submit a short video and be eligible to win a SPARKY Award and $1,000!!! This year’s contest theme is “MindMashup: The Value of Information Sharing.” You can work individually or as a team. Contest deadline is November 30, 2008. See contest Rules and Requirements under Details at http://www.sparkyawards.org/details/index.shtml

The SPARKY Awards are organized by SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition. Many of SFA’s librarians belong to the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). ACRL is co-sponsoring this video contest for college students with SPARC. Winning entries are screened at national conferences. For details about prizes and national exposure see http://www.sparkyawards.org/awards/index.shtml

The librarians in RIS (Research and Instructional Services) would love to see you win! We know you’re creative, and you have what it takes (especially if you managed to wade through all the previous acronyms). We also know you don’t need another assignment, but if you want to get some course credit, it’s within the contest rules for you to ask a professor to make it an assignment for a class where it would be appropriate. For more information go to http://www.sparkyawards.org/

Carol Scamman cscamman@sfasu.edu rm. 202e 936.468.1710 Subjects - Art, English, Modern Languages, Social Work, Sociology, Theatre

In Memory of Don Richter

In Memory of a

Colleague
Friend
Gentleman
Professional
And Scholar

Don Richter
1928 - 2008

Ransom Seaborn: Book Review

Singer/songwriter Bill Deasy http://www.billdeasy.com/, captures the essence of the freshman year in his award-winning first novel, Ransom Seaborn. Deasy recounts a college coming-of-age story with a troubadour’s love for the music of language.

Dan Finbar, aka Fin, struggles to find his place as a big-city Catholic freshman attending a rural, small-town, conservative Protestant college. From “meet the roommate” and parting with his parents to the stunning ending, this slim book recalls the new freedoms, turmoil, and longing to fit in common to the first-year college experience. Humor, poignancy, and mature themes abound as the author stirs memories of each readers’ college experience.

All references to persons living or dead are purely intentional. Deasy’s fictional Harrison College is Grove City College, in western Pennsylvania, where he graduated in ‘88. He dubs The Gedunk, Grove City’s popular student hangout and snack bar, the Podunk. Despite the name changes and decades since I graduated (‘75), his descriptions of the locale and Dr. Exley’s provocative classroom challenge ring true (flashback to the lone C in my major; Dr. Donnelly’s not-so-Romantic Lit at 8:00 A.M). For the source of the title character’s name plus campus references, read an article profiling Bill Deasy in The GēDUNK: Grove City College Alumni Magazine .(p.16, Fall 2007)

Ransom Seaborn won the former literary blog POD-dy Mouth’s 2006 Needle Award for Print-On-Demand books (out of a field of over 1,600 entrants).

At last count, 21 out of 23 customer reviews at amazon.com gave this book five stars with two four-star reviews.

Attention: once and future college English professors, if you teach a course on The Campus Novel, Creative Writing, or American Literature, this is one for the syllabus. To mashup lit crit speak, Ransom Seaborn is a timeless Bildungsroman á clef in the academic novel genre complete with road trip quest (via Greyhound), intertextuality, and a powerful denouement.

Warning—it will take willpower not to devour this book in one sitting.With its echoes of and critical comparisons to The Catcher in the Rye, Deasy’s work will whet your appetite to re-read J. D. Salinger’s novel and have a second helping of Ransom Seaborn.

Carol Scamman cscamman@sfasu.edu rm. 202e 936.468.1710 Subjects - Art, English, Modern Languages, Social Work, Sociology, Theatre

If a picture is worth a thousand words, can I turn one in for my English assignment?

What exactly is a word? The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, second Ed. (Unabridged of course) defines a word as follows. A word is “a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation that functions as a principal carrier of meaning.”

It seems that with one sentence the dictionary has wiped out American Sign Language (ASL). The word on the left is neither written nor spoken but it acts as the principal carrier of meaning.

When does a symbol, icon, or gesture gain the status of a word? When does a picture of a fish become the word fish?

When do they cross over into a lexicon?

For instance if I write “I hate midterms. We get so much d@#% work I cannot think straight.” Did you understand all the words?” You are darn right you did. Everything in that sentence except the punctuation was a” written representation that functions as a principal carrier of meaning.”

So the next time I am in a club or crowded get together and an attractive lady gives me “the look” and then winks at me, I will not be wondering if that constituted a word, symbol, sign language or body language. I will just be trying to think of what words I can say to her and not sound like an idiot. Then when she tells me she was saying hi to the guy standing behind me I will go home thinking about how people should communicate more clearly and effectively. Then I will watch Bruce Willis in a Die Hard movie.

R. Philip Reynolds preynolds (AT) sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy, Religion, Political Science, Geography, Kinesiology

We Can Do This The Easy Way Or The Hard Way

So you want to use RefWorks. Some would pay up to $300 for access to software that will keep track of all your sources and write them in any style (MLA, APA, Turabian) and then insert them in your paper your bibliography and footnotes for you. In this limited time offer you can use RefWorks not for$300 not $100 dollars, not for even three easy payments of $19.95 RefWorks is available free at Steen Library. Look at what else it can do.







Its 12:01 AM your paper is due in the Morning at 9:00 what do you do? What do you do?




Visit RefWorks Today.

R. Philip Reynolds preynolds (AT) sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy, Religion, Political Science, Geography, Kinesiology

Kiss Bow or Shake Hands:

This may sound like the beginning of a sexual harassment lawsuit but actually, it is a handbook on polite behavior in over sixty countries. Whether you need to know business practices for International Marketing and Management or the customs and tastes for decorating an office in another country, you will find it in this book. Even if you have guests visit from another culture you can learn the customary way to welcome them and any gifts that may be appropriate to give or receive. This book can be the window looking out from Nacanowhere to Nacaeverywhere. Kiss, bow, or shake hands: how to do business in sixty countries, by Terri Morrison, Wayne A. Conaway & George A. Borden. Holbrook, Mass. : B. Adams, c1994.

R. Philip Reynolds preynolds (AT) sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy, Religion, Political Science, Geography, Kinesiology

HUMINT, IMINT, MASINT, SIGINT, OSINT: Finding What Shouldn't be Found

The October - December 2005 issue of the Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin, focused on Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). It referred to finding valuable and sometimes secret information in the library and in public databases. The issue provides an amazing number of excellent internet sources for information on almost any topic. It is surprising how much is available, for anyone to use.

Some of the training and research for military intelligence occurs at Fort Leavenworth Kansas, home of the Combined Arms ResearchLibrary(CARL). Right from the home page you stumble into an amazing amount of authoritative information. The navigation button at the top Find Books & More leads to the library's catalog. On the catalog page is a link to the full texts of 185 books and monographs on Counterinsurgency. A literal goldmine of information of years of thought and research on a topic that is relevant right now.
If you select the Digital Library link, you are immediately taken to a collection of full text databases which cover topics on military history, or lead to obsolete field manuals , as well as the latest research publications from the Command and General Staff College or the School of Advanced Military Study Monographs.

There are other free sources for government data containing excellent information. One of my favorites is the Google Custom Search Engine(CSE) called Naval Open Source Intelligence
(NOSINT). This source provides information on supposed secrets, covering material that will never attract the attention of the news media. Much of this information would be difficult to locate using a refular Google search.

R. Philip Reynolds preynolds (AT) sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy, Religion, Political Science, Geography, Kinesiology

From Librarian to Leader

This mild mannered turned radical librarian became a political leader whose status as a revolutionary in world history is matched by few others. He was highly literate and sensitive, and dedicated to a relentless struggle against inequality and injustice.

Born on Dec. 26, 1893, he did not venture outside his home province until he was 25. A visit to the capital city in 1918 broadened his view. Although his life there was miserable, he was working under the chief librarian of one of the countries largest Universities. Reportedly, the university passed him over for a promotion and he returned home following year.

In this stage of his life, this librarian started making a living as a primary schoolteacher. He also edited radical magazines, organized trade unions, and set up politically oriented schools of his own creating agitation among city workers and students.

After a long convalescence, he discovered the revolutionary potential of the peasants, who had in such great numbers been displaced and pauperized by the misrule of the warlords. From then on, he focused his attention to this vast underprivileged class of people. He studied them, tried to understand their grievances, and agitated among them.

Eventually a personality cult grew around our famous librarian. His ideas and philosophy became part of his party’s constitution. Finally, in 1949 he took power of his entire country. He would reassert is power over the military and with their help and the help of young students, he waged a fierce struggle against what he called the revisionists in power. In this struggle it was revealed how elitist, bureaucratic, and brittle the government had become since 1949.

After reaching his late 70s, his lifework was essentially done, although he retained power until the end. One of his final major acts was to reopen contact with the United States. In September of 1976, he died as undoubtedly 20th century's most important movers and reformers. This was the end of the life of the librarian known as; Mao, Tse-tung or (Mao Zedong).

R. Philip Reynolds preynolds (AT) sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy, Religion, Political Science, Geography, Kinesiology

You Can Run but You Can't Hide From an Overdue Fine

Seinfeld is tracked down by library cop Mr. Bookman, for a missing book he checked out over twenty years ago.

R. Philip Reynolds preynolds (AT) sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy, Religion, Political Science, Geography, Kinesiology

Information R/evolution, by Mike Wesch

The following YouTube Video is part of an interesting and growing genre of animation / film projects centered on video anthropology. This particular short communicates a stinging commentary on libraries while extolling the virtues of the we.

While the "Hive Mind" and the intelligence of the "Group" are extolled there seems to be no counterpoint in his file of the "Ignorance of Mobs". In addition his entire search would have gone better if he would have asked a librarian. Enjoy the show.

R. Philip Reynolds preynolds (AT) sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy, Religion, Political Science, Geography, Kinesiology

Super Tuesday and What it Means to be a Citizen

Once again, several individuals in many states participated in an American ritual reaffirming for themselves their status as citizens. One thing they might ask something we all might ask; what does citizen mean? If you want to know what a word in English, you check a dictionary. The mother of all dictionaries is the OED, aka The Oxford English Dictionary. The OED does not just give you a current definition. It gives you every definition that the word has had since the first evidence of its use in text.

In 1314, a citizen inhabited a city or town and had certain civic rights or privileges. By 1514, a citizen was a townsman as opposed to someone living in the country, or a tradesman instead of a member of the aristocracy. In 1799, Webster Washington wrote of citizens as an enfranchised resident of a country either born there or naturalized this is close to what many consider the definition of citizen is today.

The French aristocrat Alexis De Tocqueville in the middle of the 19^th century wrote a classic two-volume study about America, its people, and politics. Its title is Democracy in America. He wrote that he saw the inevitability of political equality for all citizens. He thought that there could be “no middle course between the sovereignty of all and the absolute power of one,” and that any discussion of “political laws in the united States must always begin with the dogma of the sovereignty of the people.”

These definitions and descriptions of the word citizen are completely accurate. Despite this, they fail to convey the true, complete, or the marrow of the meaning of the word. These disembodied concepts fail to convey any knowledge or depth of understanding. As librarians move toward becoming curators of electronic databases and resources we run the risk of leaving behind the knowledge and understanding that comes from reading an entire narrative as contained in a book. If Gandhi or Martin Luther King had Googled the word citizen, would they have ever developed the beliefs and convictions necessary for them to accomplish their heroic achievements? I doubt it. Instead, they read monographs such as Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience. This was not a collection of sound bites strung together from several different sources and thoughts of others. It was a carefully crafted philosophical framework that Thoreau could use to guide or justify his actions and beliefs.

He did not believe that a citizen acted from dogma, to do so was to surrender one’s conscience or sovereignty to a tradition. A citizen also could not act just because the law said he must. A true citizen maintained their sovereignty above that of all other people or institutions. When a true citizen obeyed a law, it was because they chose to concede that part of their sovereignty to the lawmaker not because of any authority the lawmaker claimed but because they thought it was right or just. Ultimately, the authority to govern resides with the governed. This also meant the responsibility for the laws and actions of the government resides squarely on the shoulders of the governed. Therefore, if there was any law or any action taken by the government that ran contrary to the conscience or sovereignty of the individual it was their responsibility as a citizen to disobey that law.

Thoreau’s essay laid out this and other concepts in detail. Each part of his argument built upon the part written before. When summarized or chopped up into quotes that sound good, the essay loses its meaning. People may agree with or enjoy what they read or heard from these disembodied pieces, but are unlikely rededicate their lives to being better citizens. That type of change, requires an in depth connection and understanding of the thoughts and feelings of others. It does not come from chunks of electronic text, but from seriously reading the entire narrative of a great thinker and writer.

Once again, we find ourselves in an election year. This year half or more of America’s citizens will lose their rights and be disenfranchised. This will not be because of the actions of their Secretary Of State. It will not be from rigged, hacked, or faulty computer voting machines. It will not even be from U-haul trucks full of ballots being lost dumped or otherwise removed from the count. It will be because they will disenfranchise themselves by staying home instead of voting.

“Citizen” that is the word to learn this year. It can be Googled, plagiarized, described, and talked about, but ultimately to understand it, it must be experienced.

R. Philip Reynolds preynolds (AT) sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy, Religion, Political Science, Geography, Kinesiology

I Prefer My Gadget Porn to My Climate Porn

I Prefer My Gadget Porn to My Climate Porn: New Words from 2007 ( Word Spy )

In his book WORD SPY: The Word Lover's Guide to Modern Culture Paul McFedries identifies "...new words and phrases that tell us something about our world." He collects "snapshots" of our quickly changing world with words, then adds context and a definition of their meaning. These words are like the gray literature of dictionaries. They are a step above slang because of their use in professional publications or circles, and their pervasiveness in current culture. Despite this they still lack the sanction of a respected dictionary.

The words and phrases McFedrise selects from our spoken and written interactions, provide an interesting gauge of current culture. They represent changes in society by society's need to create a new word to more accurately or succinctly describe either a new concept, or an old concept that previously did not seem to warrant its own word.

The WORD SPY: The Word Lover's Guide to Modern Culture web site contains a Subject Guide, Archives, and an Quotation Section organized by author and quote, and a list that "...shows the top 100 Word Spy words (as measured by page views) from the past seven days (The list below came from December 25, 2007 to January 1, 2008)."

New additions from 2007 include:

Rank	Previous	Word	Posted On
2	2	vajayjay	January 26, 2007
6	5	Christmas tree allergy	December 13, 2007
7	7	intensivist	December 18, 2007
12	11	Frankenstein veto	December 14, 2007
14	12	stroller envy	October 25, 2007
17	16	push present	December 12, 2007
18	20	lifestreaming	November 6, 2007
20	15	fixie	December 5, 2007
21	18	dropout factory	December 6, 2007
22	19	womenomics	December 11, 2007
61	54	upcycling	October 11, 2007
68	55	pack-year	September 13, 2007
90	82	climate porn	March 2, 2007
96	87	gorno	June 15, 2007

An interesting quote from the site about a current issue.

"Above all, a book is a riverbank for the river of language. Language without the riverbank is only television talk — a free fall, a loose splash, a spill."
—Cynthia Ozick, American novelist, essayist, critic, and playwright, Portrait of the Artist as a Bad Character, 1996.

	R. Philip Reynolds preynolds@sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy/Religion, Political Science/Geography

Who was the Sexiest Librarian to Ever Live

All right, all right, I mean the second sexiest librarian to ever live.

As everyone knows librarianship is one of the hottest and sexiest professions in history. Popular culture is awash in librarian fashion accessories (like the ever popular librarian glasses), images of irresistible librarians and even using the librarian mystique to sell products.

Books and those who care for them have always had a special place in society. They were often priests, scholars or imperial officials. Then in 1966 in a journal article from Psychoanalyst Dr. Norman S. Weiner wrote an article called “The Bibliomaniac.” He described a bibliomaniac as a person “with an inordinate desire” for books “who will “pursue a volume in an active or seductive way; he will use intrigue and stealth; he will hazard his fortune and he will journey around the world, or even marry for the gain of a coveted book.” At first it almost sounds like an addiction, but as the article goes on it sounds more like an obsessive compulsive disorder. “Bibliomania is a problem solving complex of activity that relieves anxiety or directly gratifies certain instinctual drives.” “The book is a talisman for its owner but it is a temporary and fleeting passion.” Then in an interesting twist Dr. Weiner compares the disorder with a “hyper sexual male hysteric who must constantly reassure himself he has not been castrated”

Now there are a lot of people who collect and like books however, it is unlikely that they fit that last description. Interestingly though the author points out that our famously sexy librarian settled down after his legendary amorous adventures and became a librarian. He worked (or hid out) as a librarian in the castle of Count Waldstein at Dux in Bohemia for thirteen years until his death in 1798. Who was he?

Giacomo Casanova (1725 – 1798)

For an excellent read on the subject of peoples’ passion for books get a copy of A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books by Nicholas A. Basbanes.

	R. Philip Reynolds preynolds@sfasu.edu rm. 202b 936.468.1453 Subjects - Computer Science, Military Science, Philosophy/Religion, Political Science/Geography