528 Bike or walk? Will it help? Reviewers are doubtful

Who knows? Rosabelle finds reader who suggests plain English for research.

527 Another top library job goes to non-librarian

The 2003-2004 GSLIS newsletter arrived last week and I’m just now getting a look. The new Dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, John Unsworth, is featured. He is a specialist in humanities computing, not library science. He also became a tenured English professor without publishing a book. Here’s the notice of his appointment from the Champaign-Urbana, Illinois newspaper:

“John Unsworth may not be a librarian, but many at the University of Illinois think he is the perfect leader for their top-ranked library school.

Unsworth is an English professor who specializes in 20th century fiction, has an interest in the cultural aspects of publishing, and is director of an institute supporting computer-based humanities research.” News-Gazette, March 26, 2003

So I’m listening to him this morning on RealOne give a presentation at a March 2004 Library Colloquium. Although he says in his “Letter from the Dean” that his mission is to underline the “and” in the school’s name--planning to hire two faculty in the traditional library areas of cataloging/classification and youth services--I suspect that eventually libraries may just become an extension, in heart if not in deed, of the computer/technology departments of our various institutions.

I also noticed, what has slipped by me before, that U of I GSLIS refers to its Master’s degree as MS, rather than MLS, even for those of my era. In my bio and resume, I’ve always written, MLS. So I pulled my diploma off the shelf, and sure enough, it clearly says, Master of Science. Not a word about which graduate school. No mention of “library.” Truly, I’d never really looked that closely.

Still, I think it would only be wise for Dean Unsworth take the equivalent of those "core" courses that used to be required before you could officially take the graduate level courses. They were used both as preparation and to weed out the faint of heart.

526 How do you fix a broken zipper?

It all began on a Thursday in 1982 and ended on a Saturday in 2004. That’s a long time for a pair of khaki slacks to survive homemaking, career, travels, weight changes and fashion trends. I found them in a small “dress shop” in Kenny Center (it disappeared years ago along with dresses) that carried over-stocks and out-of-season sportswear. The zipper broke sometime during last Saturday’s yard sale when the metal clasp jumped the track of the nylon treads. Out of season--yes, indeed, twenty two years out.

The children were not only out-growing their clothes that year, but becoming very conscious of fashion faux pas and fads. So I probably really debated about the extravagance of buying something for myself. Straight leg slacks and jeans with a natural waist and small front pleats were all the rage. My hip hugger flares were definitely out of style, so they were off to the “missionary barrel.”

My daughter calls the 80s our “beige years.” I was driving a 1977 beige Buick, and our second car was a lighter beige Fiesta. We were living in a beige house, with beige walls and carpet. So why not beige slacks to complete the ensemble? I was a Democrat and Ronald Reagan was President. The children both entered high school that year, 9th and 10th grade as the school system changed from a three year to a four year high school.

That was most likely the year our son started smoking--it was allowed in school in those days, and it was a way for a lowly Freshman to hang out and be accepted by the upper classmen. Thank you, UA Board of Education, for a habit he still can’t kick.

I’d need to check a resume to see if and where I was working--but I think I was clerking at Pickwick Discount Books on Lane Avenue to see if I really wanted to open a book store. I didn’t, I discovered. Being a librarian was far easier, and less physically demanding. I couldn’t figure out the cash register, or the ordering system and I learned that the truck drivers delivered those heavy cartons of books only to the front door and dumped them. We employees had to carry them to the basement. We had to accept the pornographic magazines along with the regular consumer titles (we hid them in the basement until it was time for returns).

I do remember the day my daughter called me at the bookstore (I had ridden my bike to work and she had the beige Buick) and said, “Mom, don’t worry, I’ve cleaned up all the blood, but we need to go to the ER.” Her brother had forgotten his key and in an attempt to crawl through a window, he had broken it and sliced his wrist on jagged glass.

So maybe I bought myself those slacks as a reward. I didn’t know in 1982 the worst was yet to come with the teen years, but we all survived and so did the slacks. The khakis traveled to library conferences in Boston, Missouri, and Texas; went on summer vacations at Lake Erie and northern Illinois. Last year they rode Amtrak to California and back, and this year they traveled by bus to Buffalo and Canada.

There’s probably a few good years of wear left; they are hardly broken in. Anyone know how to fix a zipper?


Leaving california 

525 The third place pie

My apple pie received third place out of forty-five entries in the contest at the Fall Festival. I've had two pieces, and actually think it isn't as good as some I've made. The prize is a week of sailing lessons. Can you sense my excitement? Hmmm. I don't even own a swim suit. I don't put my toe in the water. I love to look, but not touch big bodies of water. I'm hoping I can exchange it for a car pass for 2005.

The program, the first ever for a fall evening at Hoover, was the Air National Guard Band of the Great Lakes, the "triple nickel," the 555th Air Force Band. They did a wonderful job--had several smaller ensembles, like a jazz band, a flute sextet, a winds group, a popular music group that did a wonderful rendition of "I can only imagine," and "American Soldier," and then a full concert band that provided the ever popular Armed Forces Medley when all the veterans in the audience stand up and I cry.

524 The Librarian's Job

Robert Dodsley was an 18th century publisher who "discovered" Samuel Johnson. But first he tried his hand at being a Footman, then a poet. He wrote a poem called "Servitude" about his life as a servant. Using his poem as a model, I wrote about being a librarian. When I wrote this, the Veterinary Medicine Library was located in Sisson Hall (torn down in 2001), located across the river from the main campus and Library, and was furnished with its original equipment made by prisoners. You'll see references to these things in the poem.

Servitude, a la Dodsley ( Robert Dodsley, 18th cent. British publisher and poet)
By Norma J. Bruce(1)

If it be worth your while to know
A true librarian's business woe,
I'll try to tell in easy rhyme,
How I, in C'lumbus, spend my time.
As soon as laziness will let me,
I rise from bed, and down I set me,
To read journals my head above
Which (by the bye) is what I love.
This done; with expeditious care
To dress myself I straight prepare,
I clean my teeth and black my lashes
Powder my nose, and put on glasses.
Take off to McDonald's, a cup of Joe,
the paper, and I'm ready, set to Go.

I with uniformity and care
Open the library and prepare
10 keys and 3 wrenches releasing gloom
In book drop, hall doors, and cluttered back room.
Chairs are arranged; orange, black, yellow and red--
Built by prisoners now probably dead. (2)
I leap from copier to terminal to phone
To answer quick questions before I roam
Across the river where colleagues wait
In meetings that run 'til dinner plate;
Disputes maintained without digression,
With ready wit, and fine expression.
And seem to understand no more
Than what was said the week before.

To Sisson Hall on Reeboked feet
The trip across I then repeat (3)
To teach a class on BVD
(You'll be sorry, just don't ask me)
I hear, and note incredible phrases,
"Who was Art Nouveau" amazes,
Or, "I'm looking for a book,
Please just tell me where to look".
Whilst I at keyboard begin to pour
Out reports, booklists, and guides galore,
SilverPlatter from my hand,
MESH advice from where I stand.
Then with book trucks piled high and creaking
It's into the stacks, for night is creeping.

1. Written while Head, Veterinary Medicine Library, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
2. Built by Prison Industries of Ohio Penitentiary.
3. Sisson Hall was named for Septimus Sisson, whose personal library was the foundation of the Veterinary Medicine Library. It was separated from the main Ohio State campus by the Olentangy River.

523 John Edwards on the Iraq War

John Edwards on Iraq, September 19, 2002, (remember he saw all the same intelligence reports that the President saw):

“Here's what I believe the resolution should say. First and foremost, it should clearly endorse the use of all necessary means to eliminate the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

Second, the resolution should call for an effort to rally the international community under a U.N. Security Council mandate. The president's speech last week was an important first step, and his belated diplomatic efforts have already borne fruit. At the same time, we must not tie our own hands by requiring Security Council action. Congress should authorize the United States to act with whatever allies will join us if the Security Council is prevented from supporting action to enforce the more than 16 resolutions against Iraq.

Third, Congress should demand that the administration take real steps to win the peace. The only chance for Iraq to become a democratic, tolerant state -- and a model for the Arab world -- will be through sustained American involvement. We will need to help provide security inside Iraq after Hussein is gone, work with the various Iraqi opposition groups, reassure Iraq's neighbors about its future stability and support the Iraqi people as they rebuild their lives. Congress also should consider authorizing funds now to support such efforts, rather than waiting for events to force us to act with emergency spending.”

Look at that! “We will need to help provide security inside Iraq after Hussein is gone, work with the various Iraqi opposition groups, . . Etc. From Roger Simon blog. Glenn Beck on Wednesday was impersonating Edwards, "Fiiavvve Points," but there seems to be only three here. The photos on Beck's web site of the Star Wars connection to the compaign are awesome.

521 Ten things to do before the election

The Sojourner's Magazine has a commentary on "10 things to do before the election," in the October 2004 issue (selected articles on-line).

Number 2 is: "Register to vote. One out of four people of voting age weren’t registered to vote in 2000. For information on how to register, visit a public library or contact the Federal Election Commission (www. fec.gov). If you are already registered, get five other people to register."

I was reading an editorial in the Ogle County Life (Illinois) about the excuses people give for not voting, "Most will stay home on election day". My own son has never voted--he will be 36! How will I get five other people to register, if I can't even persuade him? I've even handed him the form that I picked up at church. All he had to do was fill it out and mail it. How hard is that?

How hard is it to think about young American men and women dying so people in Afghanistan and Iraq can vote?

520 Kanye West's Jesus Walks with Me

Bunnie Diehl's blog parses the words of Kanye West's Jesus Walks With Me, a popular Christian rap number. She says, "Not your, how do we say, traditional Christian song, Kanye discusses strippers, coke and drug dealers in his ode to the Savior. Profanities, too." This one I've actually heard--and like.

Making peace with the culture is the unending song of Christian music. My grandparents thought "Old rugged cross" (waltz music) and "Onward Christian Soldiers" (they were Anabaptists) were not fit for the hymnal.

519 Boys are fragile

About 125 boys are conceived for every 100 girls, and by birth there are about 106 males to 100 females, at least in the United States, and that figure differs by ethnic group, with black males being more fragile than white males. Because boys are more susceptible to childhood diseases and are more likely to be involved in accidents or violence, the ratio is about even by the teen years. Into adulthood, women steadily outpace the men in longevity. So, apparently, men needed that head start at conception. A new study in Italy shows that there is a premium time of the year for the conception of males--apparently the cooler months. There is also some concern that the birth ratio is changing with fewer boys being born, but no one knows why.

In many developing countries like India and China, boys are valued more than girls, and now with sex selection possible before birth, more girls than boys are being aborted. By the age of marriage, this is creating terrible social problems, with not enough women available. This doesn't improve choices for women--it makes them more susceptible to kidnapping, rape and violence.

518 Just a bagel and cream cheese

Two young 30-something married women (big rings, left hand) sat down near me at the coffee shop Wednesday morning. I watched them slice their bagels, open the plastic containers of cream cheese, spread the nutritious calcium and protein onto the wheat product and open bottles of fruit juice. Not bad nutrition--although more calories than two donuts.

They were eating, not dying, unless you think negatively that we are all using up our time here on earth. Terri Schiavo is a young married woman who uses a tube for her nutrition and fluids. She can't experience the texture and flavor of dairy and wheat products, but she can get the same nutrition. Terri is eating; not dying.

To withhold a feeding tube from a dying person may be an act of kindness because you aren't prolonging the death process. To withhold nutrition from someone who isn't dying is cruel, and a painful murder. Terri's husband wants to legally murder her by pulling out the tube.

If the husbands of the women I saw at Panera's came into the shop and grabbed away their food and locked them in a closet for 10 days, I suppose they might die. The husbands would go to jail, I hope. And what would those of us sitting around enjoying our coffee and bagels do?

517 Cat Lovers of Lakeside

A group of cat lovers here in Lakeside in 2003 developed a simple plan to control the growing feral cat population. The components are, 1) place kittens in loving homes, 2) spay/neuter the adults and return them to the community, and 3) feed the feral cats.

The feeding allows the helpers to get the feral cats to trust them so the adults can be caught and neutered and the kittens can be handled. It also prevents the cats from becoming sick and spreading disease. Over 30 kittens have been placed in homes. After the adults are neutered (small ear notch so they can be identified), they are returned to the community because cats are territorial and will prevent new cats from coming into the community.

The volunteers work with Noah’s Ark pet store in Port Clinton after having the kittens checked by Harborview Animal Hospital which also gives them a discount on the necessary surgeries. So far, 36 cats have been spayed or neutered, 25 of which are females. Since each female cat can have 10-12 kittens a year, these volunteers are contributing a significant service to the community.

In honor of our sweet kitty, and in memory of our two dear deceased felines, I will make a contribution to this group.

Saving babies is more complicated

You can’t speak out for baby-life on your license plates.

You can promote NASCAR, the Girl Scouts, or Saving Feral Cats, but if you want to “choose life” on your license plates, you’ll have a problem. Aren’t those plates made by prisoners? If given a choice between a less than perfect life and the electric chair, I wonder which they’d choose.

I guess the feminists deep down believe their position is so weak that a license plate slogan might convert a NOW member or make a young woman feel bad while driving to an appointment with the abortionist (if you google this topic hundreds of left web sites bounce up decrying this violation of the first amendment--these folks are really terrified they might lose an abortion). Tennessee and other states are trying to stifle this freedom of expression according to USAToday, Oct. 7, 7A. The anti-life-for-babies crowd must really be afraid of bumper stickers--bigger print.

516 The Sports Cafe

Tired from a day of painting the bathroom, we went to the Sports Cafe for supper (he painted, I blogged). Looking over the menu, I noticed that after sandwiches we could order "deserts."

515 Lakeside is humming

The neighbor to the north is having a driveway widened and a new car port roof built; the neighbor across the street is repairing the tree storm damage to the roof with new shingles; another neighbor is repairing a chimney that has pulled away from his house. Down the street the big house with the round porch is being wrapped in its blue winter underwear with snaps and is having the air blown out of the pipes; two restaurants are open for either lunch or dinner; the Fountain Inn is entertaining guests; Marilyn's shop is open; the movie theater will be open this week-end with "De-lovely" and there will be a program in the auditorium Saturday evening--The Air National Guard Band of the Great Lakes; and the weather is gorgeous. The Third Annual Fall Festival will begin Saturday at 3 p.m.--the Marblehead Festival ends at 4 p.m. Miniature golf and shuffleboard will be open and there is a pie contest--apple only. I'll submit my sugar free pie. The apple sour cream is a secret.

We are doing our part; we are painting the bathroom. I always use "we" for physical labor. I don't paint, wallpaper, or drive 500 miles, but I love to say "we are. . ." We bought the cottage in 1988, and "we" spent about 12 week-ends driving up from Columbus to repair, paint and have appliances repaired and carpet installed. However, the wall paper border with a cute nautical theme was drooping and mildewing, and the paint chipping around the windows after 15 years. I couldn't find a border as sweet and precious as what I had (have you noticed how HUGE borders have become?), so I had to settle for blue and pink flowers, but it will be fresh.

514 I heard it on the radio, pt. 1

While driving to the coffee shop this morning, Chocolate Cafe, I was listening to WJR out of Detroit. Apparently there are some local problems in the 'burbs with political signs. A caller to the show yesterday complained that his Bush-Cheney signs were being torn up or stolen. The radio host checked it out with the police who told him that 85% of the complaints they get about this are because the Bush signs are being vandalized or destroyed. Must be that ABB crowd. Hatred overpowers the normally honest person.

The host also reported that he was flooded with e-mail and calls after he interviewed a columnist who pointed out that despite what we're hearing here in Ohio (and Michigan) about out-sourcing, that isn't the problem. Only 1% of the lost jobs in 2003 were a result of out-sourcing, and in-sourcing is providing much higher paid jobs (in the car capital, that would be firms like Toyota, Hyundai, BMW, etc.). People had apparently believed the screed of Kerry-Edwards. Technology is the big cause of job loss, as it has been for the last 200 years.

While at the coffee shop (did I mention the chocolate theme?) I read in USAToday there has been a net increase of 36 million jobs in the last 20 years. "Studies show that the migration of U.S. jobs overseas is a tiny factor in weak employment growth. A Labor Department study of job losses in the first three months of the year found that only 2% went overseas. Other studies have put the figure closer to 1%. . . .Technology lets companies do more with fewer people. In 2002 and 2003, output for each U.S. worker increased by more than 4% a year, the first time productivity was that high two years in a row, according to the Labor Department. Health care costs. Federal Reserve Board surveys show rising medical expenses — more than 10% annually for four years running — are dampening hiring as firms worry about paying for new employees' benefits." So apparently the USAToday op/ed was using the same Commerce Dept. report.

I heard it on the radio, pt. 2

"When I'm 64" is a Beatles song written by Paul McCartney; John Lennon would be 64. It is the basis of an article in USAToday about how much more active and valuable to the economy older people are today than in the past. After bulleting a few choice statistics (all good), the editor suggests: "It seems clear that older adults today aren't, as the Beatles song goes, "wasting away." They won't be "knitting sweaters by the fireside." And they won't be fitting easily into other stereotypes, either. "

Let's hold on a minute here. My four grandparents lived into their 80s and 90s; six of my eight great-grandparents did too. There was no retirement for farmers and housewives in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One of the myths we live with today is modern longevity. Actually, if you lived past the dangerous childhood years, your chances of having a long life, busy life, were excellent, if I read my genealogies correctly. Stop by any cemetery--after you get past the babies and the women who died in childbirth, you'll find "old people."

Ours is not the first generation to remain healthy and useful past 60. People remained busy and useful to their family and society long before the 21st century. They were happy and although they didn't have medical care as we think of it today with check-ups and testing, they weren't so unhealthy. They may have had fewer self-induced diseases caused by obesity, nicotine and alcohol.

Great aunt Rachel is a good example. A widow, she travelled the midwest taking care of new babies and infirm elders, assisting with laundry, the garden, cooking, and canning, staying six months or a year at the homes of her siblings and nieces. Then she would return to Pennsylvania and take care of those relatives. My great grandmother in the early 20th century shared her home with her mother-in-law and the retarded step-son of her daughter. I'm guessing her mother-in-law helped with the babies, the garden and the canning.

I'm grateful for the many conveniences and miracle drugs that give us a healthy life, but let's not pretend we're the first to have useful, active senior years.

We're following in some mighty big footprints.

513 What are your librarians buying for your library?

If you are a Democrat and think your library is doing an outstanding job with the "newest arrivals" shelf, or if you are a Republican constantly submitting suggestions for purchase and think you are getting lame excuses, Tomeboy has crunched the numbers and found out why you are both correct. In his article 223:1 (the ratio of Democrat librarians to Republican), he has taken the best seller lists of politically biased books, left and right, and compared them to OCLC WorldCat holdings records.

If you're not a librarian [what in the world is an OCLC? what is a holding?], some of this will seem a bit arcane, but you'll understand the conclusions--twice as many current, best-selling liberal books will make it to the shelves of your local library.

512 Credit for lunch

Joanne Jacobs points out an article about students at Berkeley public schools which reports they will be getting credit for lunch. They’ll be eating, and learning about nutrition and organic foods, as well table manners and the art of conversation. Big deal. When I was in junior high school, we called that class home economics and we had to eat what we cooked.

511 Mount St. Helen's volcanocam

Mount St. Helen’s volcanocam. We used something like this to track the fires at Glacier National Park last year. When we left Ohio (Amtrak) stopping in Arizona and California, we thought the fires would be gone before we got to Glacier in two weeks. We were wrong.

510 A Spat about Beer

About a month ago I wrote about updating my blogroll at Church of the Acronym and adding some Lutherans, rejecting some Christian sites because of trash talking. With some reluctance, I added Daniel, a Lutheran, http://beerisforamateurs.blogspot.com/. Daniel loves beer, but doesn’t think much of non-LCMS Lutherans. He has also taken the word “Lutheran” out of Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the synod to which my church belongs, and replaced it with an asterisk. Nice guy, huh? (Christians don’t need enemies; they’ve got each other.) But, I reasoned, maybe he is Gen-X or an Echo-Boomer and thinks it is cute. Generational differences, you know, so maybe he would mature.

I left a comment for him (e-mail) that I didn’t think much of his promotion of beer on a site intending to speak to the claims of Christ. (His only graphic is a grinning beer babe.) Now, according to one of his rants about me and my church, (“Who is Norma,” Oct. 3) Daniel the LCMS blogger has demanded to be removed from my blogroll. It is really tough to leave a comment at his website, or track back to his articles--you get e-mail or a web address, but no way for your comment to show in the context of the original.

I’ve got four blogs, a journal and three 3-mail addresses, and all my blogs are comment enabled. I’ve never received a message from Daniel. Somewhere in blogland another Norma is puzzling over a very odd message about beer.

509 Another September 11 story

“Michael Jacob was officially adopted by Karen and Pat Moan on September 11, 2003. He lives with his family in Southern California and is looking forward to celebrating his third birthday on March 31st.”

Read about an amazing charity, The Garden of Angels, that pays for burials of babies thrown in the trash and creates a safe haven and finds adoptive homes for newborns who could have ended up there. Their stories will leave tiny footprints on your heart.

Thanks to Sherry for the tip.

508 Adding photos

Through Picasa and something called Hello I can now add photos to my blog. The teeny-boppers do it all the time, but so far I keep taking pictures of the instructions and adding that. But I have successfully added one of my paintings to the Catablogging topic from last week. Scroll down. That's my cat sitting on the porch at our Lakeside house. Since I retired, I've been painting small, topical watercolors. I scan them onto notecards and sell them at a local gift shop. If you want to add my cat painting to your blog, you can (it's copyrighted, but I'm giving you the artist's permission), but please credit me and give this URL. Thanks.

And for your added enjoyment, I've added a wedding photo to my September 11 blog. We look like children playing dress-ups! That's my childhood friend and college roommate JoElla, as maid of honor, and my husband's childhood friend Tom, as best man. This is fun. I'll have to dig through some more old pictures.