August 1999Electronic Picture Archiving - Pleasure or Pain? I recently rifled through my dusty pile of old copies of Deadline and racked my brain to attempt to remember the AUKML Conference Programmes (through the hazy memories of some of the worst hangovers ever endured!) and couldn't come up with a single mention of the issues surrounding the archiving of images. Considering that the development of electronic picture archiving has had as big an impact on media libraries as that of electronic text archiving I find this fact extraordinary. I know for many of the larger media organisations the function of the picture library is totally separate from that of the information unit but for many of us pictures are an integral part of what we do every day. So this short article is an attempt to redress the balance a little by opening a dialogue on some of the issues surrounding picture archiving. Background In September 1996 here at The Scotsman Publications (TSPL) we had our new electronic archiving system installed. After an initial training period the system went live and we were quickly having to adjust to a whole new way of working. We currently archive all the published pictures for our three titles The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News. This includes all agency and freelance images as well as those on which we hold the copyright. This works out at around 1,000 published images a week. In addition to this the picture desk for each title select unpublished images that they also want us to archive. This also works out at around 1,000 images a week but can be much more depending on current events. For example the current war in Yugoslavia and the election for the Scottish Parliament have had a massive impact on the amount of unpublished images we are currently archiving. We currently have well over 200,000 images stored in the archive. Basic decisions The main function for the archiver is to check the IPTC header for each image and make the appropriate corrections and additions before archiving takes place. The basic decisions that must be made are: Checking all spellings. Make sure that the caption adequately describes the image. Record publishing information - paper, edition, date and page number. Check that the file type is the relevant one for the system e.g. ours is .jpg Add additional keywords as and when necessary. Assess copyright status of the image and add relevant payment information. Sometimes you are working with well captioned images and the additional work necessary takes only seconds before the image can be archived. At other times the caption may be very poor or even none existent and therefore the captioning will take much longer. At all times there is a compromise with what you would like to do with the images and what you can do given the restraints of staff and time. Keywording The main goal when archiving images is to correct errors and enhance the caption information. One way to enhance the information is through the addition of relevant keywords. There is a lot of discussion surrounding the use of keywords, from whether we should bother at all to more focused discussions on the actual keywords to use. Here at TSPL we use a controlled list of words that are based on our old hard copy classification system. We simplified them and adapted them for use with the electronic archive. The system works well for us most of the time. We feel we are adding relevant information that greatly improves the accuracy of searching. The controlled list we use is updated and checked for errors about once every two months. Workflow With an electronic archive you are obviously limited by the amount of hardware you have available. At the moment we have two Apple Mac's that are used for captioning and archiving and a third that can only be used for captioning. We have a member of staff working virtually all day every day on the published images for our two dailies and the Sunday edition takes a member of staff about two full days to archive. To make more efficient use of this hardware we have taken on extra staff at evenings and weekends who deal specifically with unpublished images. They can caption and archive about 40 images an hour. Staff who are used to dealing with photographs and have good computer skills can be trained within a couple of weeks. For staff with no background knowledge of working with photographs the training process can be much longer probably taking about a month with regular ongoing sessions. The two main areas which need the most amount of work while training are keywording and assessment of copyright and payment. Pleasure or pain? So to return to my initial question - electronic picture archiving pleasure or pain? Obviously the biggest pleasure is that the end users now have direct access to the archive from their own desktops. The increased flexibility that an electronic picture archive offers is beyond question. If an image is well captioned and keyworded it can be accurately retrieved for use in many different situations within seconds. We also love the end to mountains of picture retrieving and filing! On the down side: We still don't receive 100% of all published images. This is because our system is not fully automatic and still relies on a person to physically "tag" an image as published- inevitably they forget to do this. Users of the electronic system often don't read the caption information. With a print the most natural thing in the world is to turn it over and check the information on the back. Scrolling through information on an electronic system does not seem to come as naturally. This has caused us many problems especially in relation to copyright and payment. We now have a limited access database where "expensive/unusual" images are stored. This database is controlled by the library staff with users made fully aware of any conditions of use before they are allowed to access the image. Correcting mistakes - inevitably mistakes in the captions occur and they need to be changed. Our system does not cope too well with images being deleted as they eventually corrupt the database and lengthy repairs have to be run. Finally I would like to state something of which you are probably already aware. Picture Editors never forget! This is the same for an electronic archive - that one image that didn't get archived among the hundreds of Monica, or Bill is the exact one that they want and heaven help you if they can't find it! Have you got anything to add to the debate? I would welcome your comments and contributions - Are you using keywords? Are they plural or singular? Do you archive agency pictures? How do you deal with picture selection? .... Let me know via e-mail or post. If I get a positive response I will summarise for the AUKML list. Those interested might also like to check out the following web sites. The VisualEdge '99 programme will appear at: http://metalab.unc.edu/nppa/ve/ there is also a link to the '98 programme. The SLA discussion site on keywords can be found at: http://metalab.unc.edu/slanews/conferences/sla1998/photokeywords.html An article on picture indexing by Stephanie Willen Brown appears on the SLA website at: http://metalab.unc.edu/slanews/archiving/VE98/presentation.htm The Picture Agency Council of America also has some discussion and is at: http://www.pacaoffice.org/ Fiona Boyd fboyd@scotsman.com
Alexandra Erskine reports and highly successful AUKML visit to the Public Records Office on 13 May. The tour was adjudged a great success and we all thought that it was not long enough. We were welcomed by Anne Crawford, Press and Public Relations Officer, who gave a half-hour introductory talk before the tour of the Office, which has about 96 miles of documents and a growth rate of a mile a year. This represents only about 5% of the documentation generated by the government. The building dates from the seventies and is light and spacious, in attractive landscaped grounds. As the PRO has a website (www.pro.gov.uk) I will not go into too much detail about its history. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1838 to preserve the records of central government and courts of law and to make them available to the public. The earliest document is the Doomsday Book of 1086 and there is an unbroken record from then to the present, subject to the thirty year rule. The collection includes the originals of Shakespeare's will, Captain Bligh's account of the Mutiny on the Bounty and Edward VIII's abdication instrument. It is the national archive for the United Kingdom and for England and Wales (Northern Ireland and Scotland have their own Records Offices for documents that relate specifically to these legislatures) However, many documents created locally are stored locally; there is a network of city and county record offices. The PRO does not keep private collections. Those of you who worked in the environs of Fleet Street may have visited the Public Record Office's exhibition hall in Chancery Lane, now closed. Resources problems meant that the proposed exhibition hall for Kew was scrapped, but it is planned to have an Education and Visitors' Centre, which will include a museum, for the Millennium. The documents are arranged according to the archival principle of provenance; all items are listed under the Department that created them. The PRO is now capturing government e-mails, as they are public records, to which the public is entitled to have access. At present they are printed for storage, but they will be stored electronically in future. As with media libraries, the PRO has been involved with electronic data for several years. The nineties have generated more recorded information per year than ever before. However, while the archival standard for books is 500 years, floppies last up to 20 years and optical disks perhaps 50 years, nobody knows. An item can usually be located and made available in about half an hour from giving the PRO the document reference number. There are about 450 staff employed by the PRO, of which about 5 are librarians, 50 archivists and the rest are civil service intake trained on the job. Provided that you are at least 14 and have some ID you can use the PRO. There is no admission charge. They have about 450 seats and so far no queues. The late opening days, Tuesdays and Thursdays are busiest and Saturday is the quietest. For the future, there is space to last until 2010. By 2001 all searching aids will be on their website. All their detailed class lists should be on their website by the end of June, 1999. The guides will take longer. The early "Calendars" - compilations of a précis containing all the key information of each document which cover mediaeval and early modern documents - will not be on-line. Public Record Office, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Surrey TW9 4DU. Free tours take place on the second Friday of every month. For research it is open Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm (7pm Tuesdays and Thursdays). Telephone: 0181 392 5200, Fax: 0181 878 8905, e-mail: enquiry@pro.gov.uk They respond to enquiries by sending leaflets or giving you a list of independent researchers that you use at your own risk. Fiona Tennyson, a member of AUKML Committee, looks at the possibility of forging a closer link between AUKML and the Library Association. Initially fearful of being taken over, she now thinks that the offer of observer status on the Special Libraries Group could be beneficial. What's going on at the Library Association? First the AUKML committee is approached by Mark Fisher, the LA Special Libraries Group representative, asking if we are interested in developing links with the LA. Then word gets out that the LA and IIS (Institute of Information Scientists) are talking seriously about unifying. Is the Library Association trying to take over the information world and are they aiming to make AUKML another notch on their bedpost? According to Fisher the aim is to construct a 'network of networks', to provide a forum for those working in special libraries to share those aspects of their work which may be relevant beyond the confines of their particular industry and, as Fisher said, 'to prevent us all reinventing the wheel'. There are three levels of affiliation on offer. First and most extreme, full membership of the Library Association – Fisher appeared to assume that we would dismiss this out of hand. The second option would be to become 'an organisation in liaison' . This would mean AUKML having formal links with the LA, but stopping short of being a constituent member. The third option was to have a place as an observer at the committee meetings of the Special Libraries Group. The AUKML representative would be able to contribute to the discussions but obviously wouldn't be able to vote on decisions. Traditionally AUKML has been wary of any links with the LA. We've seen ourselves as independent and non-aligned, and have jealously guarded against any attempt to compromise this stance. I suppose an underlying fear is of being subsumed and losing our identity within a larger organisation. One of the strengths of AUKML is that we are independent: we don't have to toe any party line. An obvious point but one worth making is that being a member of AUKML doesn't preclude membership of other groups. So why is it necessary to formally affiliate ourselves with an organisation of which many of us are already members? Writing as a lapsed member of the LA I feel I need to declare my prejudices. I'm not sure that what the membership gets from the LA is enough to justify the large subscription fee and know that I'm not the only person to feel this way. However, there may well be members of AUKML who feel the same way about this organisation! AUKML was founded through a mixture of idealism and pragmatism in order to provide a forum for media librarians to meet and discuss common experiences and problems; to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas and enable us to keep up with developments in our industry. The ideal which propelled the organisation was the belief that although we work in differing structures, the things we have in common are more important that the things which separate us and that we can learn from one another. The pragmatism is that when one needs the inevitable favour, other librarians working in the media will be more likely to say yes, if they've met through AUKML. When links with the LA were originally proposed I was instinctively opposed. I felt that AUKML was doing fine and couldn't really see what we had to gain from links with any other organisations – after all, what could organisations not involved with the media teach us? At the AUKML conference in Brighton last year Margaret Wallace spoke about marketing your service. One of the statistics she mentioned was that the overwhelming majority of public librarians felt marketing would be of no benefit because public libraries didn't have any competitors. I began to feel very uneasy because I recognised I shared the same lager mentality. My feeling now is that this is an opportunity the organisation should grasp. If we take up the offer of a place as an observer at the SLG meetings we don't compromise our independence but gain the opportunity to find out what's happening in other sectors of the industry, to make new contacts and to raise the profile of AUKML . I was involved in organising the conference this year and learned a lot from the experience. The conference doesn't happen if there aren't any sponsors and it is boring for delegates without good speakers. Getting good speakers and sponsors depends on contacts. Any opportunity which gives AUKML the chance to increase contacts, should be taken. An informal link with the LA will increase out potential contacts. The committee felt that this was a decision they shouldn't take without opening it to the membership. What do you think? Send your letters to the Editor or email Fiona or, best of all, share your views by posting them to the AUKML discussion list: aukml@brighton.ac.uk Richard Nelson of the Guardian & Observer Research and Information Department is not one to turn down the chance of free drink. So, on a June evening he took himself to Clerkenwell to sample the drink and wisdom to be found at the Institute of Information Scientists' Free Pint lecture. It was an invitation that was hard to refuse - the man from Free Pint offering to buy everyone a free pint. William Hann, Managing Editor of the email newsletter Free Pint, in a bid to get people to come and hear him speak, had promised drinks all round. Around 40 people took Hann up on the offer at one of the Institute of Information Scientists' (IIS) regular meetings. Perhaps not surprisingly in a room full of IIS members, a show of hands indicated that most already used the service. For those who hadn't, Hann explained that Free Pint is a free fortnightly newsletter about the Internet written by information professionals. As well as practical searching advice it includes subject-specific articles. These have ranged from Environmental Information, Understanding Cookies to Coffee Resources on the Web. Since being launched in November 1997 it now has over 23,000 subscribers. The actual Free Pint idea came to Hann while he was having a drink on London's South Bank. This inspirational moment though came after a lengthy period of research and preparation and his advice to anyone planning to embark on a similar project is do your homework first. The key to any website's success he revealed was that while it was free, it should still be a valuable product that users want to return to. To achieve this you should at the very least know who your audience is. For example, Hann knew that there are approximately 30% Free Pint subscribers in the UK, 30% in the US with the rest scattered around 120 countries. From a simple occupation question, (with a 90% reply success rate), he knew exactly the types of knowledge workers who use the service. Promotion had come from word of mouth rather than press adverts. Hann's advice was to get people passionate and talking about your site so as to build up a community. This then leads to cross-promotion with other sites and the generating of feedback . It is also useful to check the log-file so as to find out what browsers people are using to look at your site as well seeing how many pages they view. Judging from the questions asked, it was how the whole thing supports itself that people were interested in. After all a great resource like this could hardly be run for altruistic reasons alone? Well for a start, Hann explained, authors write for free (a common feature to many information related publications). In the beginning it was supported by Willco, his Internet company, but now with four adverts per edition, it's self-supporting and he can afford to employ someone to help run it. Surely though there must be some sort of grand plan behind Free Pint beyond that of improving Internet search techniques? When asked about what he proposes to do in the future with such a valuable collection of the email addresses, the normally ebullient Hann was momentarily stuck for words. With the skill worthy of a seasoned politician though, he replied that it wouldn't be worth his reputation in the information business world if he were to sell it and he had no plans to do so. Developments in the immediate future included The Bar, the appropriately named chat room and the Internet Guide, a Yahoo-like search engine. To the average searcher, such questions about the future are probably irrelevant. Free Pint is a truly valuable source of information especially the entire archive going back to 1997 can be searched from the website. Free Pint: www.freepint.co.uk Institute of Information Scientists: www.iis.org.uk A week before the first AUKML meeting in the north of England Jan Holliday through she was in for a lonely time. But in the end six souls headed for Huddersfield for an interesting and thought-provoking evening. The first ever northern meeting of the AUKML was in jeopardy of being cancelled. Nine days prior to the event we had only one delegate, Jane from the Northern Echo. I thought it might be better to call her and suggest we forget it. Then I got a call from David at the Yorkshire Post to say he would be coming. -Great, I thought -we'll move the venue to the pub. . A couple of days later Brian from the Liverpool Echo rang to say he would be coming. That made THREE - wow! Indranee de Silva rang to ask how things were going and I told her. So, bless her, she got on the phone and managed to round up three more from the York Evening Press, the entire library staff in fact. This made six and at the end of the day these were all the northern AUKML members that came. Do you gather from the previous comment that we had a thoroughly good time? We did! We decided to keep the meeting informal and although an agenda was prepared we didn't follow it closely. We began with a tour of the Examiner starting with the Library itself, which is not large, then the Archive Room and through the News Room. I think everyone was envious of our pleasant working conditions. We are situated at the top of the building, with plenty of light through skylight windows, and air conditioning that works (well most of the time anyway). After the tour we discussed various topics and common problems pertaining to newspaper libraries. For example, how we keep tabs on photographs. Has anyone a foolproof method - if so please let the rest of us know. We all use different systems for archiving, the Examiner being the only non electronic library present at this meeting. How we are all continually fighting to keep standing still, trying to keep up the levels of finance and maintaining a good service. The end result of the meeting was that we all felt we had gained something by talking to one another and that it was very useful to see how different newspaper libraries tackle the same problems and difficulties. The main message was that in most of our difficulties WE ARE NOT ALONE. We were so busy discussing everything that we forgot to arrange another meeting. We did talk about it briefly as everyone was leaving and the consensus of opinion was that we must carry on now that we have started to meet. David from the Post has offered the Yorkshire Post as the next meeting venue - time and date to be fixed. I did think that Huddersfield was pretty central but maybe the lack of interest means that we need to pick somewhere else that is easy to get to and Leeds I think fits the bill fairly well. I think that these meeting should continue. If more people attend it should lead to better solutions to our common difficulties. I realise that each library is different and needs to use different methods but I firmly believe that if we communicate with one another we may be able to pick up new ideas and solutions to enable us to move forward. It would help the committee of AUKML to know why more people did not attend this inaugural meeting. Was it cost, time, venue or agenda? If you let them know (see back page for contact details) we can adjust the next meeting which we hope will be in the autumn. Elaine Dawson, Ian Bucknell and Nicola Cowen, all trainees with the Guardian Research and Information Unit, found the AUKML Graduate Trainee Open Day a nourishing experience, for the brain and the stomach! The 1999 AUKML Graduate Trainee Open Day did not begin well for the delegates from the Guardian. The mirrored hallways confused us and for a while we were unable to find the lift. Luckily, these proved to be minor obstacles. We were looking for reassurance, from the event, that we had made the right decision to pursue a career in this field. Worries about the increase in course fees, reduction in bursaries and uncertain prospects had dominated our thoughts. Would our fears be allayed? Would it be interesting? Would there be any decent food for lunch? The first speaker was David Nicholas from City University. He offered advice on how to choose a library school, taking into account the reputation of the institute, final destinations of previous students and course content. For example, a university like City concentrates mostly on new technology whereas some courses also offer more traditional elements such as cataloguing. Therefore, course decisions should take into consideration career aims. Moreover, he gave an insight into the attributes he would look for in a potential student. Communication skills, enthusiasm and self-confidence were all emphasised. While we thought that his advice was sound, it was slightly too late since most of us had not only chosen courses but had actually accepted a place. It would have been more beneficial to have heard this speech before Christmas while in the process of making these decisions. You could almost smell our trepidation as Ophelie O'Hanlon was introduced as a representative of Lexis-Nexis, whose overwhelming software we were all too familiar with. But on an emotional roller coaster of a day, we could barely suppress our delight when we were introduced to the web version of their wares. As Ophelie demonstrated, this user-friendly package would be an asset to any media information library, providing a wealth of sources from which to search. (NB the promise of 10% commission from any new subscribers has in no way influenced this article) Professor Charles Oppenheim of Loughborough University addressed the prospects for the information scientist. He discussed the issues of navigation, security and quality of information on the internet as well as the expanding role of intranets and push technology. He believes that advances in technology will change rather than endanger the profession, leading to the information specialist as a trainer and evaluator. (As he said, end-users are lazy) Although the content was thought-provoking, his speech was most memorable for his numerous anecdotes and extravagant tie. But there was no tie in the popularity stakes, Charles was a clear winner. The contrasting experiences of the three speakers who described 'a day in the life' of a media library gave further evidence of the breadth of possibilities the profession offers. Jill Tulip from Time Out who heads a department of two - housed in what used to be a broom cupboard- says she loves the intimacy with the journalists that a small library offers. She is Jill, not just a librarian, not just a voice at the end of a telephone line, but Jill. And for that we grew to love her. Representing the BBC was Panorama's Annabel Colley who told of her ascent 'from gopher to guru' status. From humble beginnings, her role has evolved to incorporate primary source research, net training and seminar presentations. Though it is possible to remain with Auntie's celebrated archives, her story indicates that a larger organisation proffers multiple career paths. The News International Centre is relied upon by four national newspapers with diverse needs. John Turnbull explained that he may be digging up the historical context of a political crisis one minute and asked for the latest celebrity gossip the next. Apparently, some tasks are more gratifying than others. All three of these speakers had carved very different niches for themselves. The lesson of the day was that information science can be, within reason, whatever you want it to be. Vive la difference! Finally, Lucy Wingar from TFPL consultants gave a positive account of employment opportunities in all areas of information science. (Despite having her visual aids destroyed by a thunderstorm on her way to the conference) Although they deal less frequently with media organisations, who tend to recruit directly, the agency can still provide help with CVs and interview technique. Our thanks must go to Amanda Watson from News International for organising and chairing the conference. Thanks also to the speakers for sharing their knowledge, experience and enthusiasm. As far as the food was concerned, it exceeded all our expectations. We were presented with a dazzling array of sandwiches (not a soggy one in sight), little sausages on sticks, cakes and fruit. This feast was much appreciated. We left the Open Day in high spirits, with our fears far behind us and our pockets full of leftovers. TRANSPORTS OF DELIGHT. Over the years I have clocked up a fair mileage travelling to London from North West Kent. Rail travel from this neck of the suburbs has always been notoriously bad. My local train the 8.14 from Barnehurst to Blackfriars became legendary for it's lateness and cancellations. To the extent that after all the radio announcements informing travellers that the 8.14 was yet again cancelled a record was made to the tune of Day Trip to Bangor called The 8.14 from Barnehurst to Blackfriars. In my Fleet Street days we had to work nights and did not finish until 4am. This is fine if you have a car. If however you are not so fortunate then you have problems as the last train leaves at 11.30 pm. One Saturday afternoon I jumped into the old jam jar to begin my shift at 5pm. - You have guessed it, Genevieve did not want to go to London. Trying every trick I knew to coax the old girl into life I eventually resorted to John Cleese type actions. I kicked it. Swore at it. Threatened it with the knackers yard. All to no effect. In desperation I searched for an alternative means of transport. Eventually I found a rusty old push bike belonging to my sister which had not seen the light of day since Queen Victoria's coronation (The bike not my sister) After mending a dozen punctures I managed to stir the machine into some form of life. The plan was simple. For the outward journey I would put the bike on the train. For the return trip I would cycle the sixteen miles. After getting the bike off the train at Charing Cross and cycling the short journey to Fleet Street I could now see what a daunting task the return journey would be. Man and machine were not in perfect harmony. 4 am Sunday morning eventually arrived and I wheeled the contraption on to the street. The day started as a perfect summers morning with the dawn breaking. My adventure was about to begin. On reaching Blackfriars Bridge the first rain drop the size of a dinner plate hit me. Then the sky lit up as snake tongued lightening cracked the dawn sky. ( This is good stuff Ed. You could pay good money for this) Within seconds the road had become a river. There was no point in sheltering as it was impossible for me to get any wetter. I put my head down and pedalled harder. Then - PING. Looking down in horror at the noise coming from somewhere near the back wheel I discovered the cable which operated the Sturmy Archer gears had snapped (Who remembers them?) and was trawling along in the river behind me. I assessed my current situation. It was 4.10 in the morning and I was fifteen miles from home in a thunder storm on a push bike stuck in top gear. The speed of my pedalling was like a slow motion film. My legs resembled Heathcliffe running across the moor to meet Kathy. As I struggled on I drew a mental picture of my journey ahead and of Blackheath Hill and Shooters Hill. These had now taken on the proportions of Everest and K2. I kept thinking of other alternatives and decided on a different tack. All my previous journeys by road however had been by car, and the thing about driving a car is that you do not appreciate distances and inclines in the same way as when you are struggling along on a clapped out push bike stuck in top gear. (Dunno though - You should see some of the cars I've driven.) I managed to avoid Shooters Hill and Blackheath Hill by travelling on the A2. Only thing was I had now increased my journey by another five or six miles. Man and machine eventually reached their destination just as the rain stopped and the sun was high in the sky. Strange as it may seem this experience did not put me off - A reflection on how bad British Rail was. I reasoned that if I had a decent bike it would be a great way to commute and I would be quads in. Passing the local bike shop I first saw her. The dream machine. In the window before me stood a metallic powder blue racing bike. Reynolds tubing. Umpteen gears. Wheels the width of razor blades and shod with tub tyres. For those of you who don't know, tubs are tubular tyres which do not have inner tubes. In the event of a puncture you just remove the quick release rimless wheel and roll on the new tyre. The deal was made and we were united. Of course I had to have all the right apparel to go with my new love. The first day saw me cycling like crazy. Dressed to kill in my lycra shorts and top Chris Boardman would have been proud of me. (If I wore that gear now I would look like a burst tea bag.) Head down and pumping my legs furiously. I then heard "Good morning" in my right ear. A man twice my age on an upright bicycle, pin striped suit and cycle clips slipped effortlessly passed me. Horrified I started selecting various gears in an effort to catch him. I was hopelessly outclassed. My ego had taken a mortal blow. On the third day I heard a crack from beneath me. Looking down I discovered my rear tub tyre was like spaghetti. No worries. Within minutes the wheel was removed and a new tyre rolled on. On the fourth day the suede saddle disintegrated and had to be substituted for a common plastic version. The following day saw me performing the most amazing gymnastic feat as the straps holding the saddle bags came loose and jammed in the spokes. I left the saddle and cartwheeled over the handlebars. Monday the following week saw my second puncture. This was followed by another on the Thursday and again on Friday. The local bike shop was making a fortune and would soon be able to buy a bigger shop on the proceeds of tub tyres. I soon realised that tub tyres were great for the race track but useless for commuting to London. The rimless wheels had to go and be replaced by conventional wheels and tyres. My bike was now just an ordinary bike and costing me a fortune. I was no longer in love. How else could I get to work? Hoop and stick might be worth a try. Apologies if I caused offence in my last article in which I mentioned Ronald Bedford. On reflection I realise this was in bad taste. O.K so Charlton Athletic are relegated. After winding up orders. Ground sharing. Standing in local elections as The Valley Party in order to get Greenwich Council to allow us home. Fans having to raise nearly two million pounds. - Relegation is a mere trifle. Anyway I had trouble reading the team sheets in the Premier Division. - Am I xenophobic? My advice is transfer allegiance to the Faroe Isles - great team (- Ed)
Michael Brunton at Time Magazine MAY 1999
Monday.
Cycle to work? Brettenham House at Waterloo Bridge. The place
is a mess, clips, folders,newspapers and books litter the reference desk that sits in the
centre of Time Magazines' library in London. Gone thankfully are the Cheesy Wotsits bags,
Hobnob crumbs and other incriminating evidence of unhealthy Friday night cravings.
Friday is our deadline, and this wasw a bad one with late-night breaking stories that kept
the two late-shifters there till 2 in the morning. There have been better closes and worse
ones, but ever since TIME began publishing its Atlantic edition out of London, our junk
snack intake has rocketed. And every Monday, towering proud of the debris are the papers
for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Resolve yet again to tackle the question: do we really
need to clip any more? Tidy up and dig in.
Tuesday.
Cycle to work. Mark some papers, answer mail and email, catch up on some news so I can nod
sagely at the 11am story conference. This is the week's first gathering of editors,
writers, reporters, researchers, plus the pix, art and production departments, where we
decide what's going into this week's issue: who's writing, who's reporting, who's
researching and what the cover options are. (This list is honed and refined as the week
goes on, then typically thrown out of the window by events or by editor's whim on Friday.)
Mayhem it may be, but it's terribly important, I think, for the library to be involved in
every aspect of the mayhem.
2pm. Cycle home? my afternoon for picking up daughters from school.
Wednesday.
The eye of the storm. While TIME's correspondents around the globe are busy writing and
interviewing to meet their Thursday deadline, we wait breathlessly. A good day for
updating the library's intranet pages that form the core of our key objective? to reshape
and revitalise the company through the implementation of information management strategies
and technologies that will collate, channel and disseminate mission critical information
into the darkest corners of the company. (Note: must find out what Knowledge Management
is. Is it even cooler than Information Management? Does it pay better?)
The library pages dribbled into existence almost a year ago but it was only after the
company's assorted netheads got together to form an intranet project team that they began
to acquire a measure of legitimacy. Then the Man from Del Monte (aka the Publisher) said
'yes' and lo! we now have a full-time intranet co-ordinator (aka Robert).Thanks to Robert
we no longer have to make do with my primitive grasp of HTML, for while we may not
understand Robert, Robert understands scripting in many tongues and can make our pages do
wondrous things.
Thursday.
Writers' first drafts of stories are beginning to accumulate in the system and the
researchers assigned to each one can begin the TIME-honoured process of checking and
rechecking. (the terms 'red check' ,'black check' and 'greening' have their origin in the
different coloured pencils used to make TIME stories fit to print.) And whatever damage
the television age has inflicted upon news magazines, TIME still cherishes and relies upon
its reputation for accuracy. This in spite of the erosion over the years of the laborious
interplay between top editor, senior editor, writer, correspondent, reporter and
researcher that earned that reputation (and not a little ridicule).
Gone too, in London at least, is the distinction between librarian and researcher: fellow
librarians Kate Noble and Mairi Ben Brahim both steer stories through the checking
process, trimming stories to fit and adding headlines, subheds and captions. Each week
they also have responsibility for assembling statistics for the 'Numbers' section, writing
copy to accompany the Image of the week and putting dots in just the right place on the
World Watch map. The buzzword in media libraries these days is of 'computer-assisted
reporting'. We prefer to think in terms of 'library-assisted reporting'.
Friday.
Printing presses around the world stand ready to roll off TIME through Saturday and delays
can be hideously expensive. That's why Friday is a tightrope walk between updating or
late-starting stories and putting them to bed. We huff and moan about it of course, but as
any news junkie will tell you, there's no denying the buzz of a deadline. Call home to say
goodnight to the children. My 6 year-old wants to come to the office during half-term.
Katherine's been here a few times and has decided she wants my job when she grows up. Why?
"Because you do cutting-out and sticking and stamping, and you write stories and play
on a computer." She's right of course but she can't have it, because it's mine!
by Michael Brunton Information Manager Time Magazine
Charles Oppenheim's comments: Jonathan Leigh-Hunt's article, whilst correct
in most regards, is misleading in two places. In particular, the statement that
"Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 multiple copying of literary and
text works is not permitted unless permission is obtained from each individual copyright
holder" is untrue. It is a defence to make copies under fair dealing (and this
can include multiple copies) for the purposes of research, private study, criticism,
review or reporting current events.
Whilst each case would be considered on its merits, the more copies that are made the less
likely it is that that fair dealing applies. But the presence of book reviews which
appear in newspapers and which include reproduction of some original texts shows that
making millions of copies of some texts is possible under fair dealing. The
statement that CLA helps lobby "on behalf of rightsholders and users" is also
misleading, as its primary focus is to support rightsholders, and not users.
I am a supporter of CLA and I warmly welcome its work in developing a licence for
electronic copying. However, there is no need for it to mislead users to
promote its work. Professor Charles Oppenheim Dept of Information Science Loughborough
University Loughborough Leics. LE11 3TU Tel 01509-223065 Fax 01509-223053
As practising librarians and highly qualified information specialists, AUKML members
should be more aware than most of copyright law, and the Copyright Licensing Agency's
(CLA) role as a licence provider. The trial of persuading senior management to take
copyright issues seriously probably strikes a familiar cord with many AUKML members, as
does the possibility of being held personally liable for breaking the law. Under the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 multiple copying of literary and text works is not
permitted unless permission is obtained from each individual copyright holder.
Alternatively a licence can be taken out with CLA. CLA, a non-profit organisation, was formed in 1982 by the Publishers Licensing Society (PLS) and the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), and issues licences on behalf of rightsholders permitting the photocopying of extracts from books, journals and periodicals to business, education and government.
A licence from CLA will permit multiple copying from an extensive
list of UK publications, and from publications in seventeen other countries where CLA has
reciprocal agreements, such as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United States
of America. The licence fee is then used to compensate owners of intellectual property for
the use of their work and all monies recouped are forwarded directly on to authors and
publishers on the basis of sound statistical surveys and transactional usage. Fee
distribution approached £17 million for the year April 1997 ÷ March 1998.
The arrival of the digital era has not only rewritten the traditional notions of copyright
and extended the parameters, but also will have far reaching effects on the management and
accessing of information. Not surprisingly therefore, CLA has made this its biggest
priority. In response to demand from its licensees, CLA is currently developing a licence
for the digitisation and electrocopying of existing print material. Licensees will be able
to scan, store and electronically send extracts from copyright material.
The signing of an inter agency agreement by CLA and the Design and Artists' Copyright Society (DACS) was also an historic event, being a major step towards the possibility of clearing the rights of different owners all through one agency. For the first time, under the agreement, the photocopying of artistic works within textual works will be permitted. Peter Shepherd, CLA's Chief Executive said: "This is an example of our commitment to providing both new and existing licensees with what they have been asking for.
We see the addition of artistic works to CLA's licences as
completing the circle of rights that can be offered to users."As well as developing
new products in response to the needs of its licensees, CLA takes an active international
role through its membership of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights
Organisations (IFRRO), including lobbying on behalf of rightsholders and users with
regards to copyright legislation.
In particular CLA has been monitoring the progress of the European Commission's Draft
Directive on Copyright through the European Parliament. As well as providing firmer
protection for rightsholders and strengthening the position of knowledge-based industries,
the Directive should clarify copyright law across the European Union, and thus make it
substantially easier for business to trade intellectual property, particularly as the
potential of e commerce is realised. So CLA is in the position of being able to offer a
range of licences that both serve the needs of information users, whilst ensuring owners
of intellectual property are fairly rewarded.
CLA is confident that AUKML members, as information professionals,
will have no hesitation in reminding their colleagues and managers about the implications
of copyright compliance. CLA has always preferred voluntary agreements and believes AUKML
members will need little persuading of the necessity of taking a licence. Jonathan
Leigh-Hunt PR/Marketing Executive For further information on the CLA licence, or any
other aspect of copyright, please contact Claire Blake, Business Development Executive,
The Copyright Licensing Agency Limited, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P
0LP. Tel: 0171 631 5513. Fax: 0171 631 5500. email: claire@cla.co.uk
website: http://www.cla.co.uk
How do Internet Mailing Lists and Internet Newsgroups differ?
In December's Deadline, Annabel Colley explained the value of email for finding and
communicating with people with expertise that you need. In this edition she looks at
another of the internet's great inventions: Newsgroups or UseNet to give it its
proper name. Way back in the dawn of time, yes before even the World Wide Web in its
current form existed the Internet was used primarily as a communications tool. Academics
used it to exchange information and some would argue that this is still in fact it's best
use.Newsgroups bring together people with common and sometimes esoteric interests.
In the early day of the internet they provided a simple means
through which those setting up the network could discuss problems and suggest
solutions. The idea spread and there are now thousands of groups on everything from
nuclear physics to pet ownership to music for all tastes. The really great thing
about a newsgroups is that you can be reasonably sure that the people reading it are
passionately interested in the subject. You are quite likely to find expert
opinion, although I tend to find that you are more likely to find serious research and
discussion on mailing lists than in newsgroups.
Unlike email, which arrives in you mail box, newsgroups are passive: you read them
when you want and participate if you want. Newsgroups are public discussions
that anyone with newsreader software can subscribe to and participate in.. You read what
other members have written and can post a reply if you choose. You can jot down an email
address from a newsgroup discussion and contact someone privately - I do this for
potential Panorama contributors.
If I want to find impassioned opinion, potential programme
contributors interviewees, grass roots discussions on a disease or a new drug, I will
search newsgroups. However, if I want to monitor long term, legislation, (the
Department of Trade and Industry have a mailing list on the progress of the Competition
Bill for example) tap into groups of professionals; scientists, barristers or journalists,
I will join a mailing list. I monitored the emergence of antibiotic resistant diseases by
subscribing to PROMED - a list run for just that topic by the World Health Organisation.
I keep up to date on new web sites via the UKOLUG list. A good place to find out what
groups exist is www.dejanews.com on the Web. The best advice is to start using email,
mailing lists, newsgroups. See back page for details on how to use the AUKML list.
Use it to experiment!
Membership Secretary Sara Margetts reports on the findings of the post conference
survey. Did you find the overall theme of the conference relevant? Reading through
the conference questionnaires was heart warming. It seems that all the hard work paid off.
Most of the comments were very positive, with everyone saying that they felt the
conference was a great success. Overwhelmingly people thought the conference was
relevant…."the best one ever"…."Refreshing change". A few
people were concerned that the conference title and programme had not encouraged senior
management to pay for staff to attend.
Your views on the speakers: Margaret Wallis received the highest marks for
being both an excellent speaker and of most relevance. Sue Hill got good positive
comments but a number of people felt that, although the presentation was fun and highly
polished, it was low on content and went on too long. Virtually everyone's comment about
Carol Harris' talk was…"very interesting"….."good",
"useful"…."but needed more time!". Poor Phil Bradley - almost
everyone who filled in the questionnaire did not attend the Sunday morning session, those
who did found it "comprehensive and informative".
Was the salary survey useful? Almost 100% said they found the salary survey useful.
Sue Hill's report back on the survey was also very good but people found the links with
surveyors and other professions distracting. A couple of people thought the report back
would have been better if it had been done by the person who compiled the survey. There
were a number of remarks about making this a regular feature, perhaps repeating it every
two or three years. It was suggested that London and regional salaries should be compared
separately.
Was the workshop useful? Views on the workshop centred on the organisation of the
groups. Many found the groups disproportionate and some people ended up in the same group
as people they worked with. Everyone enjoyed the interaction and particularly listening to
the report backs at the end of the session. Only the smallest group did not find the
exercise stimulating and fun. A note for further reference, some people lost their
conference notes because they did not know the chairs were going to be moved around and
would have liked some prior notice.
Were the hotel facilities satisfactory? Being fun loving types we enjoyed staying
at the hotel and particularly liked the hotel bar but once again would have enjoyed a
chance to swim (presumably not in the sea!). We didn't like the small beds or for the
unlucky few with rooms at the front the noise. Alcohol seems to be essential for us - even
in our rooms with the lack of a minibar being keenly felt. I'm sure this has nothing to do
with the amount we drink but …"water, water and more water" was also
requested by a large number!
Thoughts on the food: Food being the next most important item on our agenda, I
approached your comments with interest. The hotel breakfast seems to have been the big
success. Otherwise most people felt the food was good or ok apart from the veggies who
thought the choice uninspiring. China Garden and Royal Pavilion Food and wine at the both
the China Garden and the Royal Pavilion were much enjoyed. The veggies did have a long
wait at the China Garden with their food arriving later than the rest.
General Points Some very good points were made under the general criticism section
of the questionnaire. "Too many speakers in the morning"……."need
to review the Sunday morning session"……"could we have a different time
slot for the exhibition, say Sunday morning……"We need to end on a more
upbeat note with the Sunday morning session". There were some that thought of
starting the conference on the Friday evening and leaving the Sunday for a visit or
travelling home. One person found the after dinner speaker irrelevant. Other concerns
where the high cost of the conference for small libraries.
General plaudits included "very well organised" "new conference
format worked very well"."the layout of the chairs was very effective" and
a number of "well done and thanks to the team for all their hard work".
Suggestions for next year include a session on CAR (computer assisted research),
electronic picture archiving – tips, guidelines and developments, multi - skilling,
law, can we manage without paper? – are electronic press sources sufficient? can
libraries make serious money?
Recommendations for possible venues were Manchester, Jersey, Leicester, Newcastle
and Glasgow. Other ideas raised were for the conference to be held somewhere central, that
doesn't change every year, so that travel costs can be planned. London also got a couple
of votes with visits to main news libraries for example: BBC, News International and the
Guardian. The following comment on the speakers, sums up how many of you felt "please
can we have speakers of the same quality. The lectures were pitched at the right level
neither confusing or insulting the audience
" ELVIS in NEON
AUKML visit to BBC Broadcasting House 12.1.99
Some of our snowbound colleagues up north couldn’t make it but there was still a good
turnout for the AUKML visit to BBC Information and Archives at Broadcasting House on
January 12th. The winter chill was soon dispelled by the lashings of wine and
refreshments provided by our hosts led by Jenny Martin, Research Services
Manager at the BH Research Centre. We were very lucky in having so many people from
Information & Archives and the Dialog Corporation on hand to tell us about their
work and give demos.
Everyone was intrigued to see NEON (News Information Online) the new ‘electronic
cuttings service’ custom designed by Dialog for the BBC. The NEON service (in
its final development stages) will give desktop access to the full electronic text (rather
than images of actual cuttings) of articles from over 80 UK and international titles
by April 1999. And what titles: although some of the sources are available to
other users via Dialog, many have been specially requested by the BBC for NEON and
therefore they will have exclusive text feeds from publications such as Hello and the
Express.
In some cases, where a direct electronic feed is not possible due to
the method of production, Dialog converts the original document to electronic format
using optical character recognition. Some of these publications are happy for the
BBC to have their material but don’t want to give public access via commercial hosts.
In many cases, also, the information will be available to NEON users
before it is loaded on Dialog’s commercially available services.
Information and Archives decided on this customised route because they wanted to be able
to have subject access using the same controlled terms across all their resources. So the
NEON thesaurus is closely allied to the headings for the paper cuttings collection.
Articles are automatically subject indexed by firing them against a profile of words and
phrases commonly associated with a topic: if enough are present in the article in the
right patterns, then that article will be retrieved when the topic is
requested by the searcher.‘Navigator’ buttons guide the user through the
thesaurus of subject headings. So far there are about 17,000 thesaurus terms compared with
10,000 terms used in the manual cuttings system.
Searching can also be by free text or a combination of search tools
e.g. subject headings and free text. Another useful feature is the scope search which will
apply generic terms to a search e.g. a subject search on police can then be scoped for
‘comment and criticism’ or ‘accidents’ or
‘youth’. A navigator button brings up the full list of generic terms
available for searching.
NEON will be made available to BBC users via the corporation’s Intranet on a
commercial basis using designated passwords. Obviously a lot of work has gone in to
setting up NEON but everyone was staying mum about the cost! There were so many other
resources on show it’s hard to do them all justice. ELVIS attracted a lot of
attention - the Electronic Visual Image Store gives access to 83 thousand electronic news
stills (no doubt a few of them are of the late great Mr P).
Access via theIntranet is free - a charge is made when an image is
downloaded - delivery is by ISDN or hardcopy. A traffic light colour coding system alerts
the user to the copyright status of the image. Images can be linked thematically so that a
search for pictures on Clinton’s impeachment brings up stills of all the people
involved.
Also available via the Intranet, the Anniversaries database is added to daily and covers
births, deaths, and every other kind of significant event. Information can be
extracted in many different ways: so for example, the system calculates when it will be 5,
10, 25 years after Princess Diana’s death and can list significant milestones
in Tony Blair’scareer. The Forthcoming Events database will soon be combined
with the anniversaries giving a very powerful tool for programme makers always on the look
out for inspiration.
A tour of the Sound Archives (covering BBC output) and the Gram library bought-in music
and sound) revealed some fascinating facts: it’s only since 1984 that BBC news and
current affairs radio broadcasts have been comprehensively recorded. (The BBC radio
series of ‘On this day’ came to swift end as a result!). The
criterion for selection for detailed indexing to enable retrieval by anything other than
the bare basics such as programme name and date is: what might programme makers want
to use in the future?
So the Sound Archives librarians need to be expert in anticipating
their users’ demands. One way they do this is by producing compilation
CD’s - for example, there are 24 CDs covering sound from the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait and the Gulf war starting with the first urgent pleas for help going out on Kuwait
radio. These CDs are for BBC users only as a lot of the material is not BBC
copyright (CNN commentaries for instance) and producers are aware of this.
There is also an ongoing project to convert old vinyl LP recordings of BBC material to CD
format. About 20 vinyl copies were originally made and in many cases, especially for
much requested items, the Archives are down to their last few. Since radio news
journalists moved to Television Centre in west London, the Sound Archives have the
facility to play recordings over to TC: they are downloaded onto minidisk at the other
end. There is a similar link to Brentford where drama and entertainment recordings
are stored. Recordings date back to Florence Nightingale but the most requested tend to be
Margaret Thatcher, Kennedy and Churchill.
Recently, Peter Mandelson’s resignation led to a request for a
sound package covering his career ‘Things can only get better’ sung at the
election victory party and so on. All in all, a very interesting and enjoyable
evening was had by all leaving us with plenty to think about not least how making
resources available via the Intranet is seeing a growing trend towards
‘generic’ librarians able to index and retrieve any type of material. And the
takeaway info./stationery packs were much appreciated by all!
TV REVIEW: SHOOTING THE PAST BY STEPHEN POLIAKOFF: BBC2
If you've ever wanted to kill someone you've worked with, those memories
maywell have come flooding back to you if you've been watching Stephen Poliakoff's
Shooting the Past. For Oswald Bates is the most infuriating librarian you're ever likely
to come across although sadly, not the only irritating thing about the programme. Both
plot and situation are highly improbable and it is difficult to watch, particularly
as a Librarian, without shouting at least one sneering comment at the television.
The whole story hinges on Picture Librarian Marilyn Truman who is given one week to find a
home for 10 million photographs in order to make way for an American Business School.
Although it is clear that the collection is both unique and valuable, she is unable
to find a buyer. Instead of considering obvious solutions, such as offering it for
auction or splitting it up to sell to picture agencies, she resorts to increasingly
desperate and devious means. The supporting characters which make up Marilyn's
team of misfits, sorry staff, are irritating not only because each one represents the
usual variations on the familiar librarian stereotype but also because it is hard to
imagine any of them actually functioning in a work situation.
Both Nick (Young, Quiet Librarian) and Veronica (Tweedy, Spinster Librarian) suffer from
memory loss while the special skills of Spig (Young, Wacky Librarian) consist of stalking
around in leather pants pouting and being able to find a picture when you're stoned.
You can only feel sympathy for Christopher Anderson, the American setting up the
business school, when he tries in vain to find a useful skill between them which would
make them reemployable at the school. Marilyn herself appears cool and competent yet runs
the library in a most unbusiness like manner. None of the staff appear to have
proper jobs but hang around drinking tea, smoking and going all dreamy when anyone
produces a photograph. Usually at the same time the music starts.
There is no sense of urgency or work pressure with everyone clearing off at lunch time for
a three course meal, supplied by full catering staff, and they don't receive a customer
until half way through the last episode. This obviously takes them by surprise with
Veronica practically dropping the telephone in shock. Oswald, (Loose Cannon
Librarian) seems to have his own special job which involves spending all day `making
connections` out of the pictures. Does he have time to answer the phone, you wonder.
And despite the size of the collection, it is not even online. Heaven forbid.
Having said all of this, if not taken too literally, Shooting The Past is compulsive
viewing. Although unrealistic, it does serve as an effective metaphor for passing time and
changing values. It is also interesting how the central characters, Marilyn, Oswald
and Mr Anderson interact and develop with Mr Anderson being reunited with his past while
Marilyn is allowed to progress into the future. Both Lindsay Duncan as Marilyn
Truman and Timothy Spall as Oswald Bates are very impressive in their performances and
there is plenty in the script to keep you on the edge of your seat. On top of this,
the many sequences of photographs are fascinating and along with the music, add an extra
originality and moving quality to the drama.
Sue McTeer Guardian Research@Information Dept
THE THINGS THEY SAID by Father Webb (Bishop of Wapping)
Our grand editor Ian Watson has now returned from his Christmas visit to
Russia.
I hope his secret rendezvous with the stripper Eva Vestoff went smoothly. Had to put the
old confessional in for a 5,000 mile service and an M.O.T. (Minister of Truth certificate)
this month and so I thought it a good idea torummage through the files.
In 1969 the broadsheet Sun was up for grabs and one of the contenders was Robert Maxwell.
On the 4th June 1969 the Daily Mirror published a letter from Robert Maxwell
to the then chairman of The Sun Hugh Cudlipp of his plans. In paragraph five he said
the following "The new company owning The Sun would be a company limited by guarantee
whose members would not participate in its profits. Profits will be used first to
provide an adequate pension scheme for the employees and then to establish reserves for
continued publication and development."
On the first day of publication of the new tabloid Sun (17th
November 1969) they published the following under the headline A Touch on a button and the
new Sun is born. This carried a picture of smiling Mrs Murdoch doing just
that. The article went on to say the following "So now it's thank you to the
trade unions who bent over backwards to get the paper into print"
I now move on to 1971 when the Daily Mirror printed an article on Idi Amin headed The
guileful lamb. The article begins "A thoroughly nice man. That was the
diplomatic summing up in London last night after a three-day look at President Idi
Amin."
Back now to the 9th April 1958 and the Yorkshire Post carried the following story
headlined BBC backroom boys produce television tape recorder. Picture and
sound without loss of original quality. "Eight of the BBC's backroom boys have
produced a giant tape recorder - six feet high and five feet wide with 150 valves.
Hmm. Maybe a bit tricky to fit it under the telly. However at the foot of the
story the journalist asked whether a smaller edition of the machine (VERA) would
ever be available for home use. Sir Harold Bishop was optimistic and said that it
could be a practical proposition in five or ten years. Not too far out. They were
selling them in the US in 1972 and in the UK in 1973.
Remember the Austin Allegro. This was the car in 1973 that was launched on a wave of
optimism. The cruel reality was that it virtually killed off the British motor industry.
The Daily Mail on the 17th May 1973 carried the headline Heralding the bright new
generation that will carry British Leyland's flag. The article
began"Booming British Leyland today launches it's most important new model since the
Mini - the Austin Allegro."
The article went on to describe all it's virtues such as Wax
injected body sections. Hydragas suspension, square steering wheel etc etc.
Michael Kemp the writer kindly gives a woman's view at the foot of the story (his
wife.) She said " I like the Allegro. It's exciting and different."
She was not so sure if the five gears were necessary for lazy motorists, and she
liked the square wheel. - Yes well the reinvention of the wheel never did really take off
did it. I have been told though that they make excellent window frames.
The broadsheet Sun on the 22nd February 1965 ran a very worrying story headed Scientists
study 7,500 Pictures for clues to moon - crust peril. The article was written by Ronald
Bedford. Science Editor. - I remember him well - he was as blind as a bat and had a speech
impediment. Schtill I digress. "Scientists examining the photographs sent back by
American Ranger 8 spacecraft were last night debating the big question: Is it safe to put
a man on the moon? The 7,500 pictures have already convinced some scientists that the
answer is No.
They believe the moon may be like a meringue - hard in appearance
but soft just below the surface." (Sounds like someone I know.)
"They fear that the 12 – ton spaceship now being built to land the first
Americans on the moon by 1970 might disappear without trace in a mushy layer 60ft
deep." If only. The famous quote could have been " That's one small
step for man, one giant leap forward for mankind - and I've got a boot full of
meringue."
The year is 1964 and the Beatles have played the Royal Variety Performance and taken
America by storm. The News of the World in their gossip column published the
following " I hear that Lady Home, ( wife of P.M. Sir Alec) who likes to
deal with the post in person, was going through the mail at No. 10 Downing Street the
other morning when she came upon a letter asking for the Beatles autographs. She returned
it marked 'Not known at this address."
And so to the present. All the newspapers have predicted that Charlton Athletic who
gained promotion to the Premier Division will go straight back down. How ridiculous. Even
if they have changed their name to Charlton Athletic Nil.