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Deadline |
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December 2003
Editorial The Association of UK Media Librarians is weak on aspiration and has no clear vision about where it is heading. That was Professor Charles Oppenheim's brutal assessment of the organisation at last month's annual conference. Speaking in the keynote Justin Arundale memorial lecture, Charles said that while the membersip was loyal and friendly, AUKML's early dynamism had been replaced by passivity and it was now time to ask what exactly it stands for. The lecture included many positive things about AUKML, but the message that we must change reverberated throughout the weekend. That said, it was a useful and enjoyable conference and in this edition of Deadline we've got a number of reports including the diary. We've also got reviews of all the recent AUKML events as well as a couple of books that you might like to put on your Christmas list. Instead of the usual day in the life diary, AUKML honorary member Inranee de Silva writes about life in Ilfracombe away from world of news libraries. The questionnaire will return in 2004 with a new set of questions. Deadline is produced by Richard Nelsson, Alan Power, Katy Heslop and Linda MacDonald from the Guardian Research Department. Please send news, reviews and letters to: richard.nelsson@guardian.co.uk or deadline@aukml.org.uk The opinions expressed in Deadline are not necessarily those of the AUKML.
News Libraries catching up on digital revolution Something new at the British Library Also this month, the Library has put online the full 748-page text of the Canterbury Tales. The original collection of tales told by pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral, which is stored at the Library, is believed to be the first book printed in England in 1476. So rare is the book, visitors to the Library are not allowed to touch it. However, you can now get your virtual hands on it at: http://www.bl.uk/treasures/caxton/homepage.html. Back in the physical world, the Library is planning to create a massive new entertainment venue in its piazza. The new space, described by a spokesman as a "glint in the eye", will be a marquee-like structure and is to accommodate up to a thousand people for various events. The Man Booker Prize may be one of its first customers after it emerged recently that they would not be returning to the British Museum, where this year's prize evening was held, owing to its bad acoustics. Librarian seeks ultimate promotion Communist 'propaganda' chucked out of Russian libraries
This year's conference kicked off at The Newsroom, Guardian and Observer Archive and Visitor Centre (http://www.guardian.co.uk/newsroom). There we had a short lecture about the history of the archives and their importance to scholars and historians, what is missing and why. We then got a chance to look round the exhibition about George Orwell and catch up with old friends. On Saturday morning it was an early start at the London Studios on the South Bank. Having admired the views across London from the 18th floor we settled down to listen to some good talks and lectures. First up was Charles Oppenheim from Loughborough University giving the inaugural Justin Arundale Memorial Lecture, "News Librarianship and how it has changed". Charles talked about the history of News Libraries beginning with news morgues in the basement of newspapers on to the start of the online databases in the mid 1970s up to the full text databases of today. This has led to a decline in keeping cuttings files, physical books and journals but to a greater interaction with IT departments and training journalists to do their own research. What has not changed is the urgency of the request. Charles then went on to look at the future of AUKML. Laurence Bebbington, a Law Librarian from the University of Nottingham, gave a most interesting lecture of copyright issues of electronic material under the title of "Online News Archives ? Identifying and Managing Legal Risk Areas". It was a detailed and closely argued talk full of case studies and Acts of Law. This lecture itself could have easily filled an entire day. (It would have done, if Charles hadn't forced him to wind up. ed) After a short coffee break Zena Woodley did a talk entitled "Fossicking for Information or how to find everything for only 6d...". Zena started off by asking "what do they really want to know - and why?" and then explained how a solo librarian with no in-house resources or money went about finding information for her customers. It is talks like this that make you appreciate the resources that most AUKML members work with. We then had a great talk by Carole Andrews and Tim Youngs from the House of Commons Library. The pair explained their role, including how much time and work goes into a briefing document (http://tinyurl.com/yye2) and what type of questions a back bench MP would ask. Both Carole and Tim work for the International Affairs and Defence side of the Library to provide information to parliament at times of international crisis. Carole said at the time of the Falklands conflict the first thing she needed was to find a map that would show MPs exactly where the islands were. Tim told us about burning the midnight oil over the UN inspectors' report on weapons of mass destruction so he could distil it into a clear, concise brief for MPs to understand. We started the afternoon off with a talk by Francis Muzzu from Sue Hill Recruitment titled "New Library jargon, is it all emperor's new clothes or a valid move forward?". One of the new job descriptions that Francis said had been used was that of "Data Warrior" and everyone there thought that would look good in their job title. We then had an impressive demonstration of the Times Digital Archive (http://www.galeuk.com/times) given by Mark Holland from Gale. He showed us how the site worked, and the problems in filming from microfiche and bound copies. Mark also explained that they had recently found some very old copies of the Times in the House of Lords Library that were then filmed for the site so that the online archive has more content than the microfilmed copies. There are even some more missing editions that Gale would like to get their hands on if anyone knows their whereabouts. Anyone who was there and wanted it could have a free month's trial of the new site. Then in the evening we had our dinner and drinks reception in the People's Palace at the Royal Festival Hall. Over the meal my table chatted about electronic copyright, database search problems, and how easy it would be to leave London by rail on a Sunday. All in all a very interesting conference with lots of ideas being exchanged. It was great to catch up with friends made at past conferences and to make new ones, to find out what is happening in media based libraries up and down the county and to go back to your own library feeling we are not doing so bad after all. Lindsey Sellors is a BBC research.gateway Guide
Freepint review Taking a look at media information professionals and asking: what makes a successful conference? An in-depth review by Annabel appears in the latest edition of FreePint http://www.freepint.com/issues/111203.htm#tips
Since flying down to London for the weekend for my first ever AUKML conference I have been the envy of all my fellow students (and lecturers) at the Information and Library Studies department at Strathclyde University in Glasgow. I was looking forward to my first ever AUKML conference but was a little nervous about being the only library student there. The theme was Conquering the past: embracing the future and for three days it would touch on some of the most important issues currently facing media librarians. I assured myself media librarians were some of the nicest people to ever grace the earth and that I would blend in just fine. After settling in and having a quick nosy about the Guardian Archive and Visitor Centre on the Friday night I made my way to the introductory talk by AUKML organisers Jill and Fiona. From there it was all systems go and for two days and two nights I lived and breathed the non-stop world of the media librarian. On Saturday morning I arrived at the London Televison studios to rays of sunshine and screaming girls trying to find their way to the CD:UK studios. The delegates had to meet at the registration desk beforehand where a warm welcome and conference pack was issued out. Once the name badges were on people started to natter and introductions were made. Everybody felt right at home. At the conference there was a wide variety of speakers from a broad range of organisations talking on important contemporary subjects facing media librarians. Embracing the future was the key objective and all the talks hit the mark in discussing this. Charles Oppenheim delivered the first ever Justin Arundale Lecture with great panache and enthusiasm. I had never met Justin but by the way his name was continuously brought up I can only imagine how much of a respected figure he was within AUKML and within the information community as a whole. All the presentations were equally effective with the double act from the House of Commons stealing the show with the amount of information actually conveyed. Likewise Julian Jackson was pounded with questions about the future of picture research in the digital age which he handled with a wink of the eye. Another double act from The Times Digital Archive gave a well-presented talk about digital newspaper content. The talk veered from a 50 per cent sales pitch to I might just take you up on that later mate. It was interesting to view all the different presentation styles used by the speakers. Oppenheim and Holland were more of the front runners of the pack whilst Bebbington, Woodley and Muzzo stayed at the back preferring the al fresco approach. Unfortunately Ian Gleave from ICG Associates had to cancel his talk because of a flood but ICG did leave a lot of goodies for the great conference pack given to all delegates at the start of the conference (which also included powerpoint print-outs of all the presentations). I really enjoyed the lunch. Often you imagine a lot of food at conferences etc is wasted because it is coldish and you don't know what it is. However the food at the 18th floor of the London Television Studios hit the spot. To be washed down by a strong cup of coffee served by a delightfully swearing Irish barman capped it off. Over dinner on the Saturday night I was sharing conversations with people who had been library studies students themselves in the past and who were only too happy to offer advice and help in how to shape a decent future library career. There was a strong Scottish contingent at the conference with delegates travelling south representing The Scotsman and The Herald newspapers. Likewise Irish, Geordie and Country accents were heard from different tables. I found it a great learning curve to find out what these information people actually did, how they got to where they are, and what they thought about the media library world. What better way to do this than over a glass of wine, a bit of fish and a view of the Thames. From the first night everyone was friendly and delighted to talk with a mere student. I get the impression that a lot of people in the information world either run around chasing their tails or walk around like the walking wounded but the delegates at this conference were on their toes, excited and encouraging towards information media libraries and what they could offer. Most importantly the conference showed me that there was a massive amount of innovation and development happening within the field of media librarianship which was being dealt with right now. It is bad luck to hold any conference without the chance for some late night drinking and glazed eyed conversation. Both nights presented such menacing behaviour and all the delegates were impressed by the hospitality and nibbles in Al's bar on the Friday night and by People's Palace restaurant on Saturday night complete with artwork on loan from the Tate Modern just up the road. On the Sunday there was a lovely little trip organised to the Shakespeare Globe Theatre. A leisurely tour of the theatre finished off the conference in the best ever style. After fond farewells and buying a few Measure for Measure postcards I headed back home happy as Larry. Such an event could not have been so memorable without the aid of the AUKML staff and committee members who made me feel welcome and comfortable from the very outset. The conference raised for me as many smiles as new ideas. I have kept my name badge. Good work AUKML! Graeme Boyd is a student at Strathclyde University.
Charles Oppenheim, our amiable and unflappable Chairman, caused a frisson with the revelation of his attempt to get on the 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' identical twins special. Gasps of 'What, two of them' floated round the room and brows furrowed under the strain of conjuring up an image. The diary, however, had no trouble, having witnessed the pair of them together in a pub some years ago. Nearly gave up the drink. Giving up the drink might not be such a bad idea for some delegates, as there were some suitably befuddled heads on Saturday. Overheard conversation during the morning break: "What's that big windmill doing there?" answered by "I think it's called the millennium wheel". Meanwhile only a well-oiled librarian could seriously think that the late-night fireworks on the South Bank had been arranged by Jill and Fiona. There were nearly fireworks at Al's bar when some of our younger members tried to check out the 'toons' being played at the party downstairs. The "local gangsters", to quote one anonymous source, made it clear in no uncertain terms that there would be blood on the floor if they didn't disappear asap. The Times digitising project was stunningly impressive, especially in its handling of spelling variants. It was unkindly suggested that the Guradian might benefit from a project that could correct decades of tyops in one fell swoop. (enough of that. ed) The conference attracted its customary collection of colourful characters. One older delegate, no doubt trying to keep up some kind of pretence of involvement with modern culture, decided that Paul Fairclough from Time Out and the eldest son in the Robert Lindsay / Zoe Wanamaker TV sitcom, My Family, would make a good 'separated at birth' feature (http://tinyurl.com/egb3). Shame on you - and you know who you are - a Margaret Hodge style retraction is surely in order. Speaking of the lovely Ms Wanamaker, her father was the driving force behind the recreation of Shakespeare's Globe, this year's Sunday morning activity. The turn-out on the Sunday after the night before is always notoriously unpredictable. Even a gentle 11am start failed to get the attendance above three (excluding our ever cheerful organisers, Jill and Fiona, who really had no choice). And an extra thousand points to Jill and Fiona's other halves for really going above and beyond to swell the numbers over the embarrassment threshold. The silent auction brought forth the usual collection tat, sorry high quality executive give-aways. We all love Freepint and think Will Hann's a great guy, but a stack of beer mats just two days off their sell-by date? At the quality end, our Danish colleagues topped the lot with some classy lycra cycling gear, snaffled in jig time by Jill Tulip and Annabel Colley: pics on the website please. Full marks too for Alexandra for The Telegraph's hip flask and golf umbrella for the outdoor-loving fraternity. In 'slightly baffling' category, we had stop watches from RTE, and from the same folk some Vivaldi CDs. River Dance or Daniel O'Donnell next time please, chaps. Back at the quality end, the Coronation Street jigsaw attracted suprisingly little interest. I know we're a highbrow lot but isn't someone interested in how Hailey and Roy interlock? And speaking of highbrow, full marks to the couple who arrived late for dinner with the entirely believable excuse that they had been enraptured with the delights of the Tate Modern. (The diary was compiled from a number of sources)
Gary Price: A chat with AUKML For the past couple of years, Gary Price, an internet research consultant, has talked to AUKML about improving the way we search (and it must be said, much, much more). This year, he spoke to us in the associations room at the Online exhibition about how information professionals can develop and market skills and services in the age of end-user web searching. A link to the talk can be found below, but one point that stuck out was to always stick the word Google into any promotional material. It's a sure-fire way of attracting custom. A chat with AUKML http://freepint.com/gary/aukml2003.htm
A demonstration of research.gateway, the BBC Information & Archives intranet site, was well attended by members of both AUKML and the Special Libraries Association (SLA). As well as showing off its main features, Matthew McDonnell, Content Manager of the site and Lindsey Sellors, research.gateway Guide, talked about how it had been launched in March to replace Research Central. The presentation looked at the various stages and factors involved in the process of redesigning such a resource. The planning stage was crucial in redeveloping the intranet. The library undertook a complete audit of user needs, interviewing users and analysing user logs in order to assess the preferences, opinions and expectations of its target audience. They also stressed the importance of prototyping and testing different formats to determine which would work most effectively. During this stage it became clear that many useful sources were buried too deeply within the site. User research identified the most popular resources which could then be made more visible on the new site. It also became apparent that users didn't even realise that some resources existed. As a result it was decided that the new site would have improved navigation features such as Amazon style tabs and labelling. Less use of library jargon was also seen as a good way of making titles and sections more obvious and less confusing to users. A key feature is the ability to search many databases at one time, making the access of information easier and less time consuming. Most worryingly it was revealed that some people in the organisation did not know that Research Central even existed. As a result a major marketing campaign was launched to promote research.gateway to existing and potential new users. This involved placing leaflets and posters in visible locations such as near water coolers and lifts. To those intending to create or redesign their own library intranet, the redevelopment and launch of research.gateway clearly demonstrated the importance of planning, getting to know your users, presentation of information and marketing resources effectively. Representatives from the online information service Know UK were also present to discuss the redevelopment of their own site. The new version, to be launched in the New Year, will have improved searching facilities and functionality. More details: http://www.knowuk.co.uk/
Last month over forty graduates from across the country assembled at the Friends Meeting House in London for the AUKML/ICLG open day. The aim of the gathering was to provide graduates considering a career in librarianship with an opportunity to hear from people working in various information sectors. These included law, charity and government libraries as well as a newspaper research department and a picture archive. The day also included advice on choosing the right postgraduate course and finding a job, plus visits to the British Library and the Wellcome Trust library. The first talk of the day was given by Professor David Nicholas from City University's School of Informatics, who spoke about what an information postgraduate course involves. He told us that City is an innovative institution with a five star research programme and a strong focus on the media. We also learnt that City University, in Professor Nicholas's opinion anyway, is the one to attend if you want to be "a promiscuous information user". His final point was that to succeed in your career it is important to be a networker as the experience of meeting people is vital. Meeting people and impressing them, especially in an interview situation, was the subject of the next talk which was given by Nicola Franklin, who works for Sue Hill Recruitment. The main issues to be aware of when being interviewed are: be positive not negative; do not just answer yes; expand your answers; know why you want the job; and don't say something which isn't true. For example, if you're going for a media job, you will need a good knowledge of current affairs so don't just pretend you know what is happening in the world as you will get found out sooner or later. Lastly, you need a positive, professional and prepared state of mind to have a successful interview. To give us all a break from sitting, there was a choice of tour to either the British Library or the Wellcome Library. Everyone agreed that both of these were interesting and informative.It was then lunch and a chance for some hobnobbing with other like-minded librarian "wannabes", and an opportunity to make contacts. Once the appetites had been satiated, we returned to our seats for the recommencement of the day's proceedings. First up to the stand in the afternoon was the rather fastidious Bona Ruocco, Data Manager at News International, a man who initially seemed more like an accountant than a librarian. As the talk progressed though, his deft touches of "inspired" librarian humour and wisecracking soon convinced us otherwise. He seemed a bit unsure of the librarian side of things, as his background was in computers and IT - an indication perhaps of the way the discipline has changed and progressed throughout the years. Next to speak was Peter Knight, Media Manager at the BBC, a man whose bashfulness was perhaps heightened by his awareness of having turned up to the meeting late and clearly being unprepared for the sea of faces that greeted him. His staccato oratory manner that littered the opening of his speech soon gave way to comprehensive facts and intimate details of life as a data inputter, interspersed with the reality of working for one of the bastions of English society, the BBC. From Mr Knight's address it dawned on me, and perhaps others, that maybe working for the BBC was not one of the most thrilling experiences life can bring, but still a fruitful one nevertheless. The last talk before afternoon tea was given by Jill Halford, Information Officer for management consultancy Charles Taylor & Co Ltd, who, as they themselves say, "nobody knows what we do and we'd like to keep it that way". At the time this received a ripple of laughter, but it did raise the question, what exactly do librarians do? Jill answered this by saying that it should not be what we DO do, but what we CAN do. She then went on to describe a varied career that backed up the claim that librarianship provides you with a good set of transferable skills. Law librarianship was the next specialism to be talked about. As Assistant Librarian at Baker & McKenzie Solicitors, Karen Cox is relatively new to the profession. However she had worked for many years at the firm in an administrative role and already had detailed knowledge about working in a solicitors firm before deciding to change her career path. The firm paid for her to complete an information MA at City University and she now works in a specialist library providing research support and an archival service for the firm's solicitors, especially the professional research solicitors of which there is at least one in each department of her firm. The Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) Library is in an "almost unique" position in that it is funded by two bodies with very different needs: University College London and the RNID itself. Mary Plackett provided an extremely interesting account of the problems that posed for her as Head Librarian, trying to cater for the different needs of the diverse groups who use the library whilst at the same time answering to two funders with often very divergent ideas about how the library should be run. Next came a lively introduction to the roles of information professionals within Central and Local Government, delivered by the most immaculately dressed member of our congregation, James Denmead, the Information Services Librarian at the Department for Education and Skills. He described his career working within different government departments, and how he had even met the head of the library service for the Secret Service. The phrase "Spooks with Books" raised a few smiles. The emphasis again and again was upon the variety of areas of information management which working in the government libraries could take you, from providing a briefing on a history of the A-level for Tony Blair, to looking at the "highly confidential" interests of the Maxwell Empire shortly after this well-known face took a long swim. The energy of James Denmead's presentation and the demonstration of the variety of career options with the government whetted our appetites and broadened our minds. After a very long day, the final presentation was about life in a news library, given by Richard Nelsson and Alan Power, Information Manager and Assistant Librarian respectively for the Guardian and Observer newspapers. Richard began by saying that at university he had not considered becoming a librarian, but a work placement at the BBC had converted him. After a short spell at the Daily Mirror library, he had moved to the Guardian in the early 1990s. He described developments within the world of media librarianship, such as the transferring of the archiving of the Guardian from manual clippings files to an easily accessible internet-based text archive. On the research side of things he explained about the deadline pressures, accessing resources as quickly as possible, knowing the business and delivering information to users in the form that they requested. Alan then gave us a brief overview of a day in the life of a research librarian at the Guardian. This began with the unique workings of the Guardian editorial meetings, through to the constant workload with phones ringing all the time with requests for information from journalists, as well as the barrage of emails, to the ultimate pay off of seeing your name in print next to the fact boxes you had slaved over. There was also the satisfaction of providing accurate, concise information to support the stories of the day. The conference was interesting and informative and all in all a success. The speakers were diverse and provided useful insights into aspects of information management. Feedback, post-open day has been very positive. Many thanks to the organisers, Gertrud Erbach and Katharine Schopflin. The authors are all Guardian research department graduate trainees.
BBC Information & Archives has announced another restructure to its research services, in response to dwindling enquiry income and forced accommodation moves (most of Broadcasting House is to be demolished early next year). The main change is the merging of the TV and Sound archive teams with the general Information Research Team, who will be located at Television Centre and the White City building, and the creation of a Music Research team, covering recorded music (grams), sheet music and music information, who will be in Ariel Way, an industrial estate near White City station. There will be 16.5 redundancies over two years.
In an attempt to keep up with the Times and the Independent, Deadline has dug up a few "human interest" stories that would make any tabloid editor proud: SEX! DRUGS!! AND ROCK 'N' ROLL!!!
The scintillating cutting edge of AUKML is known, feared and revered. I salute its masterly members, whose deep pool of expertise elevates editors into the ether of infallibility, and mortal journalists to immortality. The only cutting edge I could lay claim to as a media librarian was the pre-industrial revolution technology of a long-bladed pair of scissors. Wielded dextrously, it could mutilate newspapers into fileable fragments of the urgently required but easily lost type. To leave this technology behind was no great heartache. But I still feel an insuppressible buzz when I read of colleagues reaching into the stratosphere of information management. It was therefore both a proud and humbling experience to be made an honorary member of AUKML. Thank you everyone! I revel in the stimulation that even occasional contact with AUKML brings, and feel warmed by the continuing sense of belonging. Now however, I write from a different perspective. The soft, sea-stroked edges of the Devonian coastline typify the alternative life I've adopted. The Southwest is more than clean beaches, good surfing and family friendly campsites. When the mist roles over wide, stark moors and secretive coombs, old myths and legends lurk in the wavering light. Inaccessible caves lie entombed in high cliffs and the salt air within is spiked by long consumed casks of bootleg brandy. A legend in her own time was Rowena Cade, who built, literally with her own hands, the spectacular Minack Theatre at Porthcurno in Cornwall. It is a five hour journey even from Ilfracombe, but I had long wanted to see it, and this summer was fortunate enough to make two performances there - Henry V and The Jungle Book (Kipling not Disney). The stage is perched dramatically on the cliff edge and the grass-covered tiered seating rises steeply along the contours of the cliff. Open to the sky and surrounded by turquoise seas, it was a mind-blowing experience. Richard Nelsson calls Ilfracombe 'Damien Hirst country' and while the Rick Stein syndrome has not yet hit us, the building of Hirst's new restaurant draws near to completion. It has a charming Victorian exterior but rumour speaks of an upturned boat on the roof and glass ceilings, but mention of stuffed cow! It is located close to the Quay and I hope to be able to crunch my chips and watch the beautiful people meander from yachts to restaurant. But will I even be able to afford chips then? My wage earning days financed one last splurge. Curiosity and a dark fascination took me to Russia, and I found to my great surprise and delight that it was, in a visual sense, a golden land! With visions of dank dungeons and threatening grey buildings in my head, it was a wonder to see large squares, elegant architecture and myriad shimmering gilt onion-domed churches with glowing iconostasis. The fearsome images of the Kremlin and Red Square seemed to have little connection to the striking, and often riotously coloured buildings they contained. Even the weather conspired to convey the golden theme as it was warm, and at every turn the variegated autumn foliage of numerous parks shone in the sunlight. I saw a bewitching performance of 'La Bayadere' in the opulent surroundings of the Bolshoi Theatre and returned, quite safely after midnight, on the extraordinary Russian Metro. Sailing Russia's awesome rivers, lakes and canals, and visiting the richly historical towns of the Golden Ring, I was overwhelmed by the sheer immensity of the land. At St Petersburg, there was so much more to wonder at, not the least of which was seeing a bride in her wedding gown having her picture taken as she raced a horse across the park! If you haven't already been, do go before McDonald's takes over - it is unforgettable! Happy Christmas! Indranee de Silva used to be Librarian at the Newsquest (Wiltshire) group of papers
Morgue Mama: The Cross Kisses Back by C.R. Corwin. Poisoned Pen Press. October, 2003. ISBN: 1-59058-075-5. £14.70 (Amazon) Dolly Madison Sprowls is the 67-year-old news librarian at the Hannawa Herald-Union, a small Ohio daily newspaper. Known as Maddy or Morgue Mama behind her back, she has maintained and fiercely guarded the paper's cuttings collection for over 40 years. Maddy's ordered world is turned upside down when the paper hires Aubrey Mcginty as its young new crime reporter. Eager to make a name for herself, Aubrey is soon questioning the conviction of Sissy James for the murder of TV evangelist Buddy Wing. Maddy is enlisted to help and by searching through the paper's records, a whole host of suspects is revealed, each adding an intriguing dimension to the ever more complex case. Along the way, there's smalltown politics, the bizarre world of TV evangelism as well as a passionate - if short lived - affair between Aubrey and a young librarian. This in turn leads Maddy to dwell (rather too much) about her own "exhausting" couplings with a journalist, some 22 years ago. Through the eyes of the Morgue Mama, former journalist C.R Corwin perfectly captures the world of news libraries, or at least the ones that used to exist. That isn't to say that Maddy is a typical librarian. This is after all a person who takes old filing cabinets home and spends her evenings reading random files. As she says herself, "I simply love those old files: The Mushroomy smell of old newsprint. The quiet way the old clippings unfold. The bylines of reporters long retired if not dead." However there are elements of the library that most will recognise. There's the comment that "reporters are always thinking of doing a story on something", getting someone to do the research and then dropping the idea; the debate between online and hard-copy cuttings; and of the thrill of finding a fact in some old file that can make a story. This is all very well, but is the plot any good? On the whole, the answer is yes. The story develops at a steady pace and while it begins to sag a little in the middle as yet another case against a suspect is built up and then dismissed, there is a totally unexpected ending that makes the whole thing work. Whether you work in the media or not, this is an enjoyable book. For the news librarian though, as well as the familiarity of the situation, it gives a good insight into how an investigative journalist goes about building up a story. So, go and put this book on your Christmas list. Even if Maddy is intensely irritating (her favourite phrase is "good gravy"), it's worth a read if only for the journalistic detail. And if you enjoy it, it's rumoured that this is but the first in a Morgue Mama series.
It's debatable whether these snippets are good or bad for the image of information professionals, so have a look and make up your own mind. Talking about the relaunch of the Erotic Review, Rowan Pelling, the editor, told the UK Press Gazette that, "Whereas before, it (the Erotic Review) was visually a bit like a sexy librarian, now it's taken off its glasses, let down its hair and donned a satin negligee". Very nice. Perhaps when she said this, she had librarians such as the groovy bunch at Dalhousie University, Canada, in mind (http://is2.dal.ca/~mdelia/tees/definition.html). Shame we've missed the Christmas deadline, but there's bound to be a new batch on sale next year. There again, Pelling may be on to something, as a quick shufty at http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~hblack/sexylibrarians.htm will prove. Hot stuff, so why not cool down by checking out the site that lists Minnesota government librarians' choice of favourite documents (http://govpubs.lib.umn.edu/forum/read2003.phtml). And so to media librarian references in popular culture. Actually it's business librarians this time, but this tale should be of interest to anyone who has ever felt they've been cheated out of research credit. In the 2003 film, Shattered Glass (http://virgin-net.imdb.com/title/tt0323944), star reporter Stephen Glass dupes his publication The New Republic by making up facts in several of his feature stories. In the film, it's the reporter at Forbes Digital who writes about all the errors, missing information and bad data that he tracked down to expose Glass. Apparently though, much of this work was actually done by the Forbes' librarian. All is explained in an article by Linda Stenson in the January 1999 edition of Searcher magazine. Here she covers the topic of fact checking and her case study (beginning on page 5-6) on how she was instrumental in tracking down Glass's fraud at Forbes Digital. Fact Checking 101: http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0DPC/1_7/53657083/p1/article.jhtml?term.
New members A prospective member tries to prove why he should be allowed to join AUKML: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saddam/photos/10.html
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