Holiday Dinner

End of year get-together. It was nice to see everyone. Alas, being the cook, I was cooped up in the kitchen for way too much of it. Next year, I'm ordering out!

P.S. Managed to do all the dishes within 24 hours of the event. Yes, I know, a miracle.

Top 10 Reasons Not to Compile a Top 10 List

1. Everyone's doing it.
   
2. What about 'Top 3' or 'Top 12'? What's with '10' all the time?
   
3. I'd feel better about this if it didn't happen in December. Who's got the time? Better in August.
   
4. Sorry, I'm not going to bring up the iPhone or the Kindle again under any circumstances.
   
5. I'm still waiting for my Avatar to arrive from Second Life.
   
6. I'm thinking of doing a 'Top 3,000' over the course of the next 10 years and don't want to commit myself to a measly 'Top 10' this early in the process.
   
7. Got no time: My new book, Everything As Conversation, either goes to the publisher this month or my goose is cooked.
   
8. In a year where Vladimir Putin and 'woot' are top picks, maybe the less said the better.
   
9. It's not my problem if you're the last person on earth to hear about '2.0'.
   
10. 2007? Wake me up when it's over.

Current Cites for December 2007

 

Current Cites for December 2007 is out!  I even managed to put something in myself this month -- an interesting article by Ben Shneiderman on the promise of "creativity support tools". You can find the issue here...

A Modest Suggestion : LibrarySandbox.org

I got an interesting request a little while ago. A librarian wanted to know if she could get administrative access to a website I was running so she could see how Drupal works.

Naturally I had to say no, but it got me thinking that a "sandbox" version of Drupal -- based on a library website -- might be useful to people who wanted an idea of the "look and feel" of the thing.

Drupal has a module called "Demo" that makes sandboxes possible. So now I'm thinking this might form the basis of an interesting collaborative project.

The goal would be to create a model library website (representing a fictitious institution) that people would have administrative access to.

The website would have events, a list of resources, plus all the other accouterments a modern day fictitious institution would have.

If you'd like to help out or have any advice, feel free to leave a comment here. Or just email me.

I've already registered the domain, www.LibrarySandbox.org, though there's not much up there at the moment. 

eReader of the Future

Repeat after me:

• The eReader of the Future will play popular formats without the need for conversion.
• The eReader of the Future will be in color.
• The eReader of the Future will be an "open" networked device.
• The eReader of the Future will allow the user to download and install applications.
• The eReader of the Future will allow the user to mix and match information any way the user pleases.
• The eReader of the Future will not come from a company heavily invested in media ownership or sales.
• The eReader of the Future will boast access not simply to tens of thousands of works but to millions on the internet.
• The eReader of the Future will look a lot like the UMPC of the present.

DRUPAL4LIB Tops 200 Subscribers

Announced less than two days ago, I'm happy to see that we now have more than 200 subscribers!

What better indication of the need for a Library ListServ on Drupal than this?

DRUPAL4LIB, a ListServ for Librarians Interested in Drupal

I just sent out the following announcement to various library-related email lists:

Hi All,

I'm pleased to announce a new ListServ for librarians called 'DRUPAL4LIB'.

As the name implies, 'DRUPAL4LIB' is for those interested in Drupal, a popular open-source CMS, as it relates to libraries and librarians.

The idea is to have a forum to exchange ideas and advice, share experiences, and maybe even collaborate on a couple of projects that highlight the use of Drupal in a library context.

TO SUBSCRIBE:
Send the command 'SUBSCRIBE DRUPAL4LIB First_name Last_name' in the body of an email to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU.

Alternatively you can subscribe by selecting 'Join or Leave the DRUPAL4LIB List' from the DRUPAL4LIB Archives Page:

http://listserv.uic.edu/archives/drupal4lib.html

Everyone is welcome, whether beginner or pro!

LEO

UPDATE: Six hours later and we already have over a hundred subscribers.

Silly Security Questions on Online Forms

People who don't drive might have a problem with the "security" question I came across while applying for a subscription to "Streaming Media": "What was the color of your first car?"

Messing with Leopard

I upgraded my computer to Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) over Thanksgiving. I'm now getting used to some of the "over 300" improvements in the system.

I think the absolutely best new feature -- in fact the feature that sold me on Leopard -- is Time Machine where back-ups are built into the operating system. For years we've gone around telling people, "Always back up your computer" -- with the likelihood of anyone actually doing it around nil.

Here comes Apple and they make it part of the operating system! Really I think this is the most remarkable thing I've seen since they incorporated iLife into the OS. Amazing stuff.

Happy Blue Beanie Day

 

I support web standards and accessibility -- and so can you!

Kindle Swindle

 Please stop talking about the demise of the traditional book! To do so in the same breath as the Amazon Kindle gives this contraption way more credibility than it’s due.

The defenders of this device say we shouldn’t rush to judgment while at the same time they make such extraordinary associations.

It’s marketing. That’s all.

UPDATE: Ultimately, we're going to describe all the hype surrounding the Amazon Kindle as "The Little Bandwagon Effect That Couldn't".

I mean, Amazon said to the media, 'jump', and the media responded, 'how high'? (Here's a particularly embarrassing example from Businessweek.)

But the public won't have any of this. The level of resistance is due in large part to how far the claims for this device simply defy common sense.

Kindle Schmindle

So every time some new 'ebook' device is announced, we're 'sposed to drop everything and proclaim it a paradigm shift? At least that's the routine.

This week's candidate is the Amazon Kindle -- at least as presented in an article in Newsweek extolling its virtues titled "The Future of Reading" by Steven Levy.

The article is nothing but an uncritical paean to Amazon. The thinking behind it literally is: because Amazon has released the device, ipso facto we're entering "an exciting -- and jarring -- post-Gutenberg era". "The e-book reader," he declares, "is coming of age".

On the other hand, there's no serious analysis of why similar devices have failed in the past or why alternatives such as smartphones and laptops continue to prove more successful.

Instead what we get is a mis-mash of every technical buzzword and concept in the book. Words like "milestone" and "revolution" are mentioned. There's the obligatory iPod analogy. The device is possessed of a "disruptive" nature (well, what isn't these days?) and there's even talk of "Book 2.0".

From there, the author gets totally lost in a discussion of paper vs. electronic and the joys of hypertext (the "always-on book") that could have been written by Vannevar Bush.

All you have to know about the author is that he plunked down $1.99 for an electronic copy of Dickens' "Bleak House" -- a work long out of copyright and available for free at close to a million other sites -- and thinks he got a bargain ("You can also get classics for a song.")

This is gonzo tech journalism at its worst -- repeated for a day only to be replaced by the next new (under-preforming) device that some media giant wants to shove down our throats.

Update: Here's another example of uncritical stenography -- this time from CNET ...

TECH cocktail 6 (Chicago)

Thursday (11/15) was Tech cocktail 6. It's always great to see so many geeks located in one place. This like earlier Tech cocktails was at John Barleycorn in Wrigleyville.

LISNews Now All Drupal

Blake Carter completed the (momentous) transfer of LISNews from Slashcode to Drupal a while back but I just noticed that he was kind enough to put in a special thank-you to me.

All I did was send him a comment every once in a while. Every system has a specific learning curve. Drupal is no exception. So what I added was easy stuff that by now, he'll have gotten on his own.

The truly herculean task was what he did. Still, it was nice to get a mention.

Um, Welcome to Chicago?

I know the Metra Station at Roosevelt is under construction but can't we do better than this ramshackle shack? You literally have to walk through this structure, hoping it won't tumble over, in order to get from the train platform to Downtown Chicago.

Nov. 4, 2008

Today is a milestone of sorts. It represents the beginning of a year that hopefully will see the departure of the Republicans from the White House and a Democrat elected to take their place. It hopefully will also see gains for the Democrats in the House and Senate.

It's hard to imagine a period in our recent history when there was so much to clean up. On the bright side, polls look good for us. On the not-so-bright side, polls don't elect Democrats to office -- people do. The short version of American Democracy ought to read: It's not going to happen on its own.

So in a sense, today marks a day when we all should be thinking about our own role in the coming year. We all have loads of other responsibilities to take care of. That's a given. But many of us are lucky enough -- or maybe crazy enough or pissed off enough -- to have a little time left over to dedicate to things like this.

The question then is how we want to allocate the time and for whom. Whatever we decide, our country is a better place as a result of our participation.

Three Days Till Doomsday (Mass Transit in Chicago)

Love the subtle messaging of the Chicago Sun-Times. This graphic greeted commuters somewhere halfway in Thursday's paper. The headline read, "3 Days Until Another 'Doomsday".

UPDATE: Doomsday averted. Praise the Lord!

Big Web Project on the Horizon

I'm gearing up for a humongous site development project at the moment. It's going to take a lot of work and since we're only at the initial stage, it's kind of chaotic as well.

Everything needs to be done yesterday!

Happy Days Are Here Again

The Adobe Creative Suite 3 just came in.

Ethics in Illinois

The annual online State of Illinois Ethics test is coming round again. All State of Illinois employees have to take it.

This is the test that famously disqualified thousands of participants last year not for getting the answers wrong but for getting them right in too little time.

So this is how I plan to 'game' the system this time round: After answering the first bunch of questions, I'll go out and rob 5 banks, shoplift enough school supplies to last me a whole year, steal the identities of six dozen people, and swallow half a pound of grapes at the supermarket without paying for them. This will still leave me enough time to get back to the office and complete the test.

Problem solved.

Cubs Victory? It's in the Lord's Hands

The Chicago Sun-Times is invoking a higher authority in its efforts to bring victory to the Cubs.

UPDATE: Alas, Lord doesn't come through (or even worse, prefers Arizona). O Tempora! O Mores!

LibSite.org to Be Featured in ProQuest Publication

I just got word from Tina at ProQuest that they're going to use LibSite.org in one of their training publications as "a good example of library-related website design".

Needless to say, I was delighted to hear the news and look forward to receiving a copy of the final product!

Do Banned Books Matter?

Today is the first day of Banned Books Week. There are hundreds if not thousands of events happening throughout the nation.

In Chicago we had a Read-Out which mentioned, at least in the report by NPR, the usual suspects ("Catcher in the Rye", "Of Mice and Men" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn").

Censorship (particularly of the state-sponsored variety) is unquestionably one of the clearest attributes of a society out of control. I recognize that. And I'm proud as hell that librarians have taken a leading role in opposing it.

Yet I feel the focus on books is somehow inadequate to the challenge that we're facing.

We have the example of Burma before our very eyes. One of the first moves that the military took in its effort to quell democratic protest, was to pull the Internet.

We've had examples of Google censoring its search results and Yahoo handing over confidential information under extremely questionable circumstances. Even in our own country which is second to none in tolerance and free speech, web pages and other forms of online content have been censored either unintentionally or not.

My point is not to ignore the Books. Rather, it's to argue for including the ever expanding suppression in electronic form as well.

I've said elsewhere that issues of bandwidth and access will increasingly define what we mean by censorship. In order to combat censorship, we need to go where the Censors are. And increasingly, that's online.

Chicago Cubs Win Central Division

Talk about baggage! The Chicago Cubs "clinch" the Central Division and the Sun-Times has to remind us of the following unhappy legacy:

"...[P]layers insisted this is only the beginning of their quest to end 98 years of empty and heartbreaking Octobers."

"98 years of empty and heartbreaking Octobers"? Who wants to hear this? Bring on the Parties! Break out the kegs! On to October!

Current Cites for September 2007

Current Cites for September 2007 is out! You can find the issue here...

Innovation Good and Bad

Aaron Schmidt rightfully quotes himself with pride from an article in the Chicago Tribune:

"There's a lot of dead wood in libraries, and I think there's a lot of administrations that are kind of just biding their time for retirement and don’t feel like putting forth a lot of effort," he said. "I think there’s a general culture of resistance to change. That needs to go away."

He's right of course but I think the problem is a bit more complicated.

"Dead wood" after all is an easy enough concept to grasp: You're either dead or you're not.

But if you go back and survey the record, you'll find that almost as common as the resistance to new ideas has been the lack of resistance to bad ideas. I mean, it's not as if we've been sitting around all these years doing nothing.

All you have to do is look at the very subject of the article that Aaron is referring to, namely, IM in libraries.

For years, we had no IM in libraries. Instead we had "Chat Reference" using quite pricey applications that promised such wonders as "page pushing" and "co-browsing". All I can say is: Où sont les Neiges d'antan?

It'd be an interesting (if painful) exercise to go through the library literature of the past 10-15 years and catalog the initiatives that failed, were abandoned or never quite got off the ground.

I don't bring this up as some sort of argument against change -- I mean, me? Rather it's healthy in understanding how true and meaningful change can occur, to acknowledge or at least to be aware of the boo-boos of the past. On occasion, the same dynamic can still be at work today.

OneWebDay (Video Taping at UIC)

[From my UIC Announcement:]

OneWebDay is a global online event celebrating the importance of the Web (website: http://www.onewebday.org [archived site]).

As explained by the event organizers:

"The essence of OneWebDay is to create a global constituency that thinks of itself as responsible for the future of the Internet, so that when negative things happen (censorship, restricted access, heavy-handed law enforcement control) people will act." (http://www.onewebday.org/?p=228)

This year they're encouraging people to make "short videos". As a personal project, I'd like to invite faculty, staff & students to come to the Quad (East Campus) on Wed.-Thurs. (9/19-9/20, 11:30a-2:30pm). There I'll be videotaping responses to any of the following suggested topics:

• how the web has changed your life
• how you’d like the web to change the world in the future
• highlights of what you’ve seen online the day you make the video
• your favorite online event ever
• something you’ve done online with other people in other countries

I'll take highlights from the taping and put together a 10-minute clip, then upload it on YouTube on Sat. 2/22 (the "official" day) with the tags "UIC" and "onewebday2007".

OneWebDay is a great idea and it's sponsored by academics and experts like Susan Crawford (currently at UMich) who believe in an Internet as wide open and accessible as possible. Help contribute to the day by relating your experiences!

Contact: Leo Klein, Tech. Coordinator, Partnership READ, COE, UIC

Note: I'll be on the south side of the Quad. Look for the camera mounted on a green tripod. Alternative location (in case of inclement weather, etc.): just outside the west-side exit of Student Center East.

You can read more about the event at: http://www.onewebday.org [archived site]

Censorship 2.0

ALA just sent out an email about "Banned Books Week" which this year will be running 9/29-10/6.

This got me thinking of access to the Internet and other bandwidth issues, and how the absence of access/bandwidth might relate to more "traditional" forms of censorship.

With books, you can simply do away with them or alter them to fit your world view. That's censorship old-style.

In a networked world, it's all about access and bandwidth. This opens up a whole new set of vulnerabilities.

If a site is blocked, it becomes like the proverbial tree in a forest. You don't have to chop it down -- just keep people from seeing it.

This problem only increases as we begin to depend on the network for all our information, entertainment and communication needs.

Eventually if the pipes aren't working, it's we who'll become like the trees in the forest, isolated and cut off from the outside world.

For this reason, we need to be increasingly vigilant over the quality of that connection and treat any threat to it whether governmental or corporate as a censorship issue of the highest priority.

Second Life - Stick a Fork in It

This isn't a post trashing Second Life. (For that, go here...)

Rather it's about allocating resources in the face of constantly changing technology. It's about which pony to bet on in the race for relevance. We can't bet on all the ponies so what should we look for when choosing a favorite?

SO SUCCESSFUL IT HURTS THE EYES

First, there ought not to be a debate over whether something is successful or not. It ought to be obvious. Tens of thousands -- even hundreds of thousands of people use FaceBook and MySpace every day. Millions use Instant Messaging.

There's no dispute that these are successful technologies or social networks.

Librarians shouldn't have to pick winners and losers. We shouldn't have to be in the prediction business at all. That's what we've got our users for. Once they've decided on a winner, that's when it's time for us to rush in.

It's smarter to jump on a bandwagon than off a cliff.

DON'T KNOCK YOURSELF OUT

We can't be everywhere at once. The whole point of Web 2.0 is to duplicate our efforts in as many places as possible without actually having to recreate the work.

That's what's meant by syndication and mash-ups. In a sense we're getting all this increased exposure "for free".

If something requires more of our time and budget, then it should stand up to greater scrutiny. There's a proportionality to these things.

Just adding an email or web address is one thing. Having to return day-in day-out is another.

DON'T KNOCK YOUR USERS OUT

We're living in an environment where we can't even get our users to try "Advanced Search". How are we going to get them to drop everything, slip into an Avatar and spend the day with us?

Again, if they were already there, it'd be different but we're setting ourselves up for a huge disappointment if we think we're going to be the ones defining the environment rather than leaving it up to them.

INNOVATION ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS

Whenever I hear claims that librarians are adverse to innovation, I want to tear my hair out.

The field of librarianship is positively littered with the carcasses of still-born initiatives and abandoned projects.

These came about not because of any aversion to innovation but simply because the unfortunate institution bet on the wrong horse.

By far the best protection against such a fate is to improve our critical thinking when it comes to technology. We need to embrace technology and understand it sufficiently to separate out what's hot and what's not.

This doesn't mean to sit back and do nothing. Rather it means to go out there and hone our skills so that we make wiser decisions.

Chicago Reader Hands Keys Over to "New Generation"

From Bob Roth, Chicago Reader:

We’ve had a great ride. Now we’re happily handing the keys to a new generation, Creative Loafing and their CEO Ben Eason. We’re confident they will build on what we’ve established and carry it ably into the future. ["Creative Loafing Inc. Acquires Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper", Romenesko: 7/24/07]

Grids Are Good

I've wanted to link to this for quite a while now. It's a PowerPoint presentation by Khoi Vinh called "Grids Are Good". Khoi Vihn is the lead designer at the New York Times and he gave this presentation along with Mark Boulton at SWSW.

The importance of the topic, namely that grids are essential to how we lay out information can hardly be overemphasized.

Look at the image below from Vihn's presentation. Note how easily the page fits into a grid.

Next, look at the home page of Cornell Library. (It's what got me started on this.) Note how the boxes in the center columns don't line up.

On Cornell's page, this isn't a big deal but it's easy enough to find examples that are far worse.

Whatever the degree, it's clear they hadn't seen Vihn's presentation. If they had, they would have known that visual order is an aide to cognition and that it conveys meaning. The less of it we have, the less clear our design.

You can download the presentation here... A podcast from SWSW is available here...

July 4th BBQ

Living the High Life at the Lake in Lincoln Park -- with relatives and old friends from both coasts in for the occasion. A perfect day.

Current Cites for June 2007

Current Cites for September 2007 is out!  You can find the issue here...

iPhoney -- Your Virtual iPhone for Free

As a personal contribution to iPhone-mania, I'd like to present 'iPhoney' -- a software program (mac only) that gives you "pixel-accurate" views of how your site would look on a real iPhone (if you had one). This may be of slight consolation to those of you who'd rather have the unit itself but hey, iPhoney is free for the downloading!

Meanwhile in other mobile news, you can also try out your website in Operamini's new online Simulator.

ALA in DC (6/23-6/27)

I'm stuck in Chicago with the ALA-DC Blues again.

ALA along with the annual LITA Conference is one of my favorite conferences -- particularly when it's in a town like DC.

Unfortunately I'm too mired down with projects here in the Windy City to make the trip.

I look on with complete envy to everyone who's going.

Update on Redesign of LeoKlein.com

Well, this is taking me a hundred years.

I'm happy to say that I'm at the stage where I've developed the comps and cut the graphics in a layout that's remarkably consistent from IE7 and FF2.0 to my mother's ancient version of IE5 on her equally ancient iMac.

I've got a little more graphics work to do on 2nd tier pages -- plus I have to put together the portfolio gizmo (powered by Javascript). If I can get this all done by July, all I can say is hallelujah!

In any case, you can judge the results so far (and if you wish drop me a line) by going to www.leoklein.com... [2008]

Some Things Never Change: Bibliothèque de la Sorbonne

I was a student at the Sorbonne for two years. For most of that time, I was in the library. This was in the early Eighties -- way before "automation" (i.e. computer catalogs). You'd look the book up in the Card Catalog, fill out a form -- literally in triplicate, and then hand it to one of the attendants at the "guichet" (i.e. service window).

"Vingt minutes", they'd invariably say, and you'd sit around looking at the mural of Francois I while they fetched your book. "Vingt minutes" -- I'll never forget it. I'm happy to see things haven't changed a bit...

Daddy Was a DJ to the Germans in WWII

Family History note: my father, William L. Klein, had a very popular German-language radio show in Chicago called the "Germania Broadcast". He had been doing it in one form or another since the 1930's and it consisted mainly of music with the occasional skit, etc.

Anyway, once WWII came along, he shifted gears, going to London and doing essentially for the Allies what he had been doing so well in Chicago -- namely producing German-language radio shows -- only now beamed into the homes and barracks of enemy Germany.

So I knew all this. What I didn't know was the extent of his activity. In a letter written by his superior, George M. Hanfmann, that I just came across while looking for something else, it states that "[h]e organized the entire production of our radio programs...".

This would make sense. George M Hanfmann, my father's superior, was chief of the German Section of 'ABSIE' (American Broadcasting Station in Europe). He was a Harvard Don with no experience in radio (see 'George Maxim Anossov Hanfmann, 1911-1986').

The letter states that my father produced over 1,000 broadcasts in between V-bombs and the London Blitz. Among the most popular was a "half-hour musical program" beamed to German forces. It featured major American talent like Dinah Shore, Bing Crosby and Glen Miller along with commentary in German.

Hanfmann calls it the "most effective program".

Time Magazine in a contemporary account of both the program and ABSIE's efforts in general had this to say:

ABSIE's pride & joy were its musical programs, as American as pie à la mode. According to captured Germans, the favorite Allied program heard in Germany was Music for the Wehrmacht, which featured songs by topnotch performers like Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore. Beaming almost a third of its air time to Germany, ABSIE had solid assurance that its efforts were not wasted. The Nazis tried jamming ABSIE broadcasts, answered ABSIE's news comments on their own stations. ["OWI's ABSIE", Time Magazine, 7/16/1945.]

The article goes on to say that over 80% of Occupied Europe tuned into ABSIE in the months leading to the end of the War.

My father quickly returned to civilian life. He led a successful career in film and recording as well continuing his first love which was broadcasting. He passed away in 1986.

See below for full text of the letter.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

American Embassy, London

June 18, 1945

To Whom It May Concern,

This is to certify that William L. Klein has rendered magnificent service to the cause of American psychological warfare against Germany during the decisive period of military operations in Europe. Entering on duty with the American Broadcasting Station in Europe on March 16, 1944, Mr. Klein served with this station as Chief Producer of the German language section until the final defeat of Germany and beyond, staying on even after his release on June 3rd, 1945. His period of service was one of the longest in our station and included the most intensive time of German V-bomb air attacks against London. In 1944, during the summer months of most intensive alerts he unflaggingly fulfilled his duties, never leaving the studio during the air-attacks.

William L. Klein held the position of Chief Producer for all German language broadcasts, but by virtue of his long professional experience, his influence and his advice were of greatest value to the entire production division of ABSIE.

The services which he rendered to the German language output of our station are unsurpassed. He organized the entire production of our radio programs, bringing it to the most exacting standards of professional excellence. He trained producers and announcers, bringing out their best potentialities; and many observers, both within the Allied information services and outside have complimented ABSIE on the excellent performance of our announcers who were made available to Radio Luxembourg and to other American and Allied radio stations in liberated countries and in Germany. Thus William Klein has contributed to the general improvement and expansion of the American radio in Europe.

Beginning, as it were, from scratch, Klein trained the entire production staff, has immeasurably enriched and diversified the programs offered by our section and has attained and maintained the highest traditions of American broadcasting during the months of his service. He produced and supervised during this period more than one thousand broadcasts and is thus entitled to a considerable share of credit for the success of such psychological warfare campaigns as the campaign to promote surrender of the German forces, to instruct the German population about the true facts of the war, and to support the measures of the Allied Military Government.

I should like to emphasize that only a producer of his caliber could have achieved such feats of speed and complete program revision as those which enabled ABSIE to be continuously abreast of even the most unexpected and sudden developments especially during the invasion period, and during the last weeks of the war in Europe. To give just one example: on the evening when Hitler's death was announce, Klein cancelled a complete half-hour program which had been prepared and recorded and went on the air with a completely new half-hour program, while Doenitz was still making the announcement; starting with material for exactly three minutes, and putting on the air one item after another in the smoothest fashion, as they came off the ticker.

[page 2]

It would be impossible for me to enumerate the variety of new ventures in radio technique which Klein introduced into our programs. But I should like at least to mention the program which was acknowledged to be the most effective program by a test made with German prisoners of war -- our half-hour musical program for the German forces. Initiated by Klein in October, 1944, this program primarily presented American music with German-language continuity in lively and attractive form. Many topnotch American performers made special recordings for this series, including 13 special broadcasts by the Allied Expeditionary Forces Band under the late Major Glen Miller, programs with Dinah Shore, Bing Crosby and the American Army Air Forces Band. These broadcasts also included a series of special programs on American composers. A number of German language entertainers made special recordings of American music with German language text for this program; over 300 recordings were made, all under the direction and supervision of Klein. These recordings, for which the exclusive rights belong to the American Broadcasting Station in Europe, have been requested by and sent to many outposts. We have also been informed that in certain cases they were used in the teaching of German by Allied military authorities.

Another series of weekly features, written and produced under Klein's supervision which has been most popular with our audience, according to unsolicited testimony received from Switzerland, was the feature "Herr und Frau Adabei", a dialogue skit with music which appeared on our weekly programs on Austria via BBC. This series ran for 57 weeks and presented the directive points in the guise of a humorous dialogue with songs and music. It may be mentioned that one of the episodes of this program was used and illustrated by the Russian army paper "Red Star" with full attribution to ABSIE.

There are many other features, the direction of which we owed to William Klein, such as our series on "Words and Facts" and "What the German Should Do", both of which were pronounced most effective propaganda by our listening outposts in Sweden and Switzerland. A number of special features, reporting the events of world history and presenting the best of American radio reporting and production were planned and executed by Klein. I mention, at random, such features as "Christmas with the American forces in Europe", features on Stalingrad, on the fall of Vienna, on the fall of Berlin, on the death of President Roosevelt, on American Memorial Day, on the American-Russian link-up, on VE-Day in London, on the German U-Boat at Westminster, all of which went on the air immediately after the news broke. A monumental series of nine dramatized broadcasts depicting the history of the war in Europe formed the crowning achievement of Klein in this field.

To sum up: during his activity at the American Broadcasting Station in Europe, William L. Klein has rendered distinguished patriotic service to the cause of the United Stated in the decisive period of the war in Europe.

George M. Hanfmann
Chief, German Radio Section
American Broadcasting Station in Europe

Library Websites by Google Map on LibSite.org

Social Mapping has come to LibSite.org! All library websites listed on LibSite.org will be laid out according to location using a modified version of Google Maps.

You can see the map by going here...

Not all sites have been converted and the mapping still needs a bit of work, but the basic function is up and running.

The addition of social mapping reflects one of the primary goals of LibSite which is not simply to list library websites but to organized them in multiple ways as far as our current technology will allow. More info here...

AL Direct Trinket Watch for 6/6/2007

This week's edition of AL Direct was surprisingly free of trinket and bauble recommendations. Is this a sign of the Editors getting serious or did no one have time to scan Engadget and Gizmodo this week?

'Maiden' Post on LISNews.org

 I managed to put up my 'maiden' post for LISNews without too much difficulty.

The headline is "Vote for Video That Best Expresses 'Love of Libraries'" and it's about the contest by Gale called "I Love My Library" where they got 177 original video submissions on their YouTube Group "Librareo".

With this post, I guess I'm an official "author" at LISNews. That together with my monthly contribution to CurrentCites ought to keep me out of trouble.

Berlin 1987: Summer of Hönkel

With all the talk of anniversaries, I thought I'd mention the "Summer of Hönkel" which happened in West Berlin twenty years ago.

It was a hectic period of cultural ferment and turmoil. "Hönkel" -- which I think was a beer -- was supposed to represent this vast chaotic mix.

I was reminded of it most recently by this picture in Flickr. The picture is of a supermarket that went up in flames in the course of a riot on May 1 1987. My house was across the street from the supermarket.

The turmoil on that day would be repeated annually every May 1 for years to come. But equally as intense as the conflicts in the street was the vibrancy and creativity of every other aspect of life in Berlin.

That's why people -- particularly young people -- moved there. It was a wild and crazy place to live. It was also a huge amount of fun. You had squats and clubs and a lifestyle that went 24 hours a day.

Some of this existed elsewhere but in Berlin you had the added context of being an island of exuberant freedom completely surrounded by a communist dictatorship.

Just about the best description of it I ever read was spray-painted appropriately enough on the Wall. It read:
"Berlin Ost : KZ;
 Berlin West : Bonnie's Ranch"

In other words: 'East Berlin - Concentration Camp; West Berlin - Nut House'.

Update:  Thanks to 'Ruebenkraut' for giving me permission to post his image. You can see a larger version by going to his Flickr Page.

He mentions in a note to me that "Hönkel" wasn't a beer but rather a reference to the sound of rocks hitting a metal surface.

Zeldman Turns 12

Jeffery Zeldman celebrates 12 years of blogging on the Web.

My earliest introduction to him and other "web" people was through the ur-important Web List WebDesign-L run by Steven Champeon since 1997.

I did an interview with Jeffrey and NYPL's Carrie Bickner for LJ a couple years back.

All I can say is, Congratulations on the 12th! And here's looking forward to the 25th!

American Libraries Direct: Getting Carried Away?

 

It's nice getting the American Libraries Direct newsletter but I have to wonder if they're not getting a bit too carried away with things.

This week under the heading "Tech Talk" (of all things), they've got a post on a laptop from Dell, a cell-phone for "Boomers" and a link to a review of "point-and-shoot cameras". The question is, do we need a discussion of consumer products coming from a publication of the American Library Association to its members? Would this be any more appropriate in American Libraries (i.e. the monthly print issue) -- and if not there, why here?

Editorial restraint should be observed whether online or in print. Publication of something like this shouldn't be the moment that you lose it all -- just because the thing's going out via email.

Leo's Limo

The world-famous limousine that shuttles Leo back and forth from work every day. (Also known at the #8 Halsted Bus -- chauffeur-driven service courtesy of the CTA).

Current Cites for May 2007

Current Cites for May 2007 is out! You can find the issue here...

NY Times: "Web logs"?

Time to update the NY Style Guide? From the today's paper:

"In February, a story and accompanying video by The New York Times reporter Damien Cave — and a photo taken by Robert Nickelsberg — that depicted the grievous wounding and eventual death of a soldier on Haifa Street, drew both praise and condemnation on Web logs and in the military about what constitutes appropriate imagery for the breakfast table." [Emphasis mine]

Diversey Harbor

I had lunch at my house with a couple of old friends. Afterwards we went out to Diversey Harbor. It truly was a beautify spring day.

Javascript is the 'Lingua Franca of the Web'

Jeff Atwood of Coding Horror composes a love song to the popular scripting language:

Despite all the pretenders to the throne, JavaScript isn't going away any time soon. JavaScript is the world's most ubiquitous computing runtime. It's time we learned to accept and embrace JavaScript rather than blindly fighting it. That doesn't mean we can't explore alternatives-- but the best way to transcend the limitations of JavaScript is to immerse yourself in those limitations. At least that way you know what you're fighting for, and what the alternatives really mean.

Read more here...

Total Bummer: Our Galaxy to Go Bust

As if we didn't have enough trouble:

"Scientists think galactic mergers are one of the primary ways galaxies form. Like heated wax in a lava lamp, two small galaxies can come together to form one larger one, or a blob of gas and stars might pinch off during a particularly messy galactic smash-up and, over cosmic time, the result evolves into a diminutive dwarf galaxy."

"Our own Milky Way galaxy is expected to collide and merge with its neighbor Andromeda in a few billion years to form a large elliptical galaxy some scientists jokingly call "Milkomeda" or "Andromeda Way." When that occurs, a black hole merger similar to that of NGC 6420 could occur." [Source: Merging Black Holes Observed in New Detail]

Podcasts on Drupal by Lullabot Hit 40

Lullabot.com celebrated their 40th Podcast appropriately enough by listing "Top 40 Projects" associated with Drupal.

Lullabot.com is a Drupal shop and if you're interested in getting into the thick of this content management system, these Podcasts are a lot of help. You can access all of their "broadcasts" by going to their Podcast page...

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (Not in Illinois)

Mayor Daley has famously said that the law banning fois gras in Chicago is the "silliest ordinance that was ever passed".

I kind of look at the recent vote by the Illinois State Senate banning horse slaughter in the same light.

The head of the Illinois Department of Agriculture says horse slaughter "is inhumane because our society considers horses to be companion animals or pets".

That's one perspective.

My approach comes from the years I spent in Paris when they served it on a regular basis in the student university restaurants. I was short of money and this meal would literally be my only one of the day. Sometimes they'd serve something really gross like rognons, tripes or cerveaux fouettés which I was unable to eat no matter how hungry I was.

So you can imagine my relief when they'd have something like cheval which kind of resembled boeuf in color if not completely in texture. The truth is, I ate it with relish.

I haven't had the dish since then but it doesn't strike me as the end of Western Civilization to contemplate it being produced here and sent out to the four corners of the world. At least we've got something we can still export.

Illinois House Votes for Internet Filtering on Library Computers

The Illinois House just passed a law to require internet filtering on all computers in the public libraries.

From what I understand this would affect all public access computers -- not simply those used by children.

If that's the case this is really setting up the public library as a third rate service for adults who don't need government telling them what they can and cannot look up.

I'm not talking porn here -- I'm talking about the right of adults to unfettered access to the Net for legitimate purposes.

If there's an illegal site, fine, tell the FBI! But don't impose on us some fake watered-down version of the Net just because we're at the library and not at home or at Starbucks.

libSite: One Month Birthday!

I can remember it as if it were only last month... Actually it was last month, April 10 to be precise, when I announced to the world that LibSite was open and ready for business.

I've got a write-up of where the project stands and where I think it's heading in the first issue of LibSite News. You can read the online version by going here. (You can subscribe to LibSite News by going here...)

No Outside Influence in Hiring of Branch Library Managers

Columnist Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune has raised a fracas because CPL Commissioner Mary Demsey wasn't nice enough to him when he suggested a possible hire for Branch Library Manager.

He quotes on his blog the offending email from Demsey:

You suggest that outside individuals should be allowed to influence the city's hiring processes. You are wrong.

...

Your suggestions that outside influences such as community mobilization or aldermanic input should be involved in the particular situation about which you write are absolutely inappropriate.

Zorn of all people should realize how sensitive an issue this is. Opening up hiring decisions of people supposed to run branch libraries to outside pressure groups _is_ inappropriate.

You can imagine what a can of worms this would open up -- here in the city of Chicago.

It's not surprising then that Commissioner Demsey is so adamant in her reply. She's got 50 aldermen and a mayor who'd love to do the same thing (and that's just the elected officials).

UPDATE: Note, this might be the dumbest hiring decision ever made but if that's your 'beef' then argue it as such.

The notion that you're going to have outside pressure groups involved in the hiring of library branch managers is an administrative nightmare.

The Pots of Leo Klein

The Pots of Leo Klein: I knew there was a reason why I started this site: it's to show off my collection of All-Clad LTD pots!

Matt over at Signal vs. Noise wanted "Cookware advice" and that got me started! I see he went in for All-Clad Stainless but mon cher, it's LTD that separates the men from the boys!

You can't pull me out of a department store the moment I see these babies on the shelf. When I depart from this life (hopefully no time soon) I want them buried with me!

Mayor Daley Speaking at UIC Forum

Mayor Daley Speaking at the UIC Forum: Mayor Daley was the first speaker yesterday at a UIC Forum named after his father, "Richard J. Daley Urban Forum". This year's theme was "Visions of a Future City". For more info, see the Forum's Page...

My Gift to UMICH Libraries

I happened upon the University of Michigan Libraries Website today and the icons it uses for RSS Feeds made me wince.

I mean I'm not a purist or anything but you'd figure an institution with those kind of resources ought to be sporting something finer -- especially for a link to something that's increasingly as important as RSS.

So out of the generosity of my heart, I spent all of five minutes (or roughly 1 sec./pixel) to put together the following kickaZZ 24x12 icon to be shared by the entire University of Michigan community.

Yes, I know, generosity abounding.

Current Cites for April 2007

Roy has just posted Current Cites for April 2007!

Our ranks have been swelled with such luminaries as Keri Cascio, Frank Cervone, Susan Gibbons, Brian Rosenblum, and Karen Schneider.

I had three cites (as usual) with one on Erik Arfeuille that's worth quoting here:

"Anyone interested in digital libraries over the past 10 years is sure to recognize the name of Erik Arfeuille. His regular compendium of articles on library-related topics, New Technologies in Libraries, was a welcome source of current awareness. It certainly gave me pointers on what to read (and recommend). Alas in a farewell message dated 4/5/07, he announces that his "workload" no longer allows him to produce the lists. While this is a shame, the nature of his contribution for so many years is appreciated."

You can find the issue here...

All-Time Favorite UIC Announcement

 Aaaaaaaiiiiiieeeee:

"Human Cadaver Workshop for Massage Therapists"

Don't they have rubber dummies? My student-dentist had three rubber dummies for patients before he got me. What's wrong with that?

SaveNetRadio.org

SaveNetRadio.org is where you ought to go if you've ever listened to Internet Radio and thought it was a welcomed contrast to all the crap (pardon my French) on Broadcast radio.

Unfortunately this nascent medium is about to be wiped off the face of the earth -- at least in the U.S. -- thanks to an extremely punitive and destructive increase in royalty fees approved by the Copyright Royalty Board.

Richard MacManus from Read/Write Web who has a post on the subject, quotes from Pandora Radio:

"The new royalty rates are irrationally high, more than four times what satellite radio pays, and broadcast radio doesn't pay these at all. Left unchanged, these new royalties will kill every Internet radio site, including Pandora."

In other words, those who can least afford it are being forced to pay the most. This is nothing but an attempt to stamp out innovation and choice in the one medium, namely the Internet, that we have left.

Happy Birthday: SaveTheInternet.com

SavetheInternet.com celebrates its first birthday:

"Backed by growing support on Capitol Hill and at the grassroots, the SavetheInternet.com Coalition marked its first anniversary today by renewing its call to make Net Neutrality the law of the land. The campaign was praised by leaders in Washington, who pledged to carry on the fight for Internet freedom in the halls of Congress."

Survey for Web Designers

Jeffrey Zeldman's got a Survey for Web Designers over at Alistapart.

As he explains:

The information it collects will help us form a long overdue picture of the ways web design is really practiced around the globe.

The thing is pretty much a breeze to get through. You can take it by going here...

Bad Design, Thy Name is Haworth

Can anyone tell me where the Table of Contents is located on this page? Is it that they just don't want anyone to find out?

'Disruptive Innovation' About to Edge Out 'Conversation' in Platitude Sweepstakes

It had to happen. The long-reigning champ of "Uber Platitude" may be about to cede its title to a brawney new upstart.

Long a favorite on the Sincerity Circuit, the "Conversation Schtick" received a blow to its mid-drifts after trend-setting "The Onion" declared: "Let the conversation end".

This set the stage for a possible upset in the "Platitude Sweepstakes" with new-comer "Disruptive innovation" (child of plain old Innovation) about to gain the upper-hand.

Its use among geek commentators to indicate innovation that changes everything (as opposed to innovation that leaves everything exactly the same), is growing so disruptively that it looks set to overtake rival "Conversation" in no time.

Springtime in Chicago

Belmont Harbor Looking South: Belmont Harbor looking south
with the skyscrapers of downtown in the distance.

Wrigley Field: Wrigley Field from Clark & Addison.
The Score is 0 & 4 - Top of the 7th (against the Cards).

Happy Illinois Library Day!

 A couple of interesting links:

• http://www.illinoislibraryday.info/
• https://www.ila.org/events/reg_ild.htm

Totally Cool : LibSite Image Gallery!

With all the sites coming in on LibSite, I thought it'd be nice to set up some kind of image gallery. People could see thumbnails of the sites they're sending in grouped together like on Google Images or some image database.

Well, as it turns out, it was easier putting it together than I thought.

So check it out: "LibSite Image Gallery..."

TECH cocktail 4 (Chicago)

TECH cocktail 4 (Chicago): Free drinks and a bar full of geeks. What better recipe than that? This time round it was at John Barleycorn in Wrigleyville.