View of Times Square at dusk.Photograph Copyright information...

Vol . 1 30No. 2

Summer1996

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erru

nALA:

Summer Campfor Librarians22,000 l i b ra r i ans f r om a round t he wo r l d

ga thered in New York C i ty fo r the 120 th conference o f the Amer ican L ibrary Assoc ia t ion—inc lud ing 24 w ide-eyed v is i to rs f rom R iver Bend , Iowa.

I t was l i ke summer camp for l ib rar ians as t hey a t t ended pane l discussions and poetry readings, hobnobbing with authors, workshopping concep t s , exp l o r i ng new pa rad igms , and ne two rk i ng l i ke c razy, ce leb ra t i ng a l l th ings l ibrary-re lated.

Times Squa re i s be i ng r e -bo rn i n a con t r ove r s i a l p rocess known as “Disneyf icat ion, ” and the ev idence was a l l around us.

500s:Science

We came to know the neighborhood wel l dur ing our week in the city. Thanks to a generous donation from our new partners at KeyCo, rooms were reserved for library staff at the fabulous Hotel Millennium.

Most l ibrar ians st i l l found time for shopping, sight-seeing, and watching shows, both on and off Broadway—a road with 350 yea rs o f h i s t o r y.

The street that Walt Whitman compared to life itself is alive as ever, bu t changed in eve ry way, no more so than a t t he i n te rsec t i on o f Broadway, 42nd Street, and Seventh Avenue; known s ince 1904 as Times Squa re . A f t e r decades o f dec l i ne ,

The Millennium Broadway HotelWest 44th Street, New York City

Microsoft CEO Bill Gates announces the launching of “Libraries Online,” July 8, 1996. At right is New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. (AP Photo/Adam Nadel)

2 riverrun SUMMER 1996

B ro a d w a y , 1 8 5 5Thou por ta l—thou arena—thou of the my r ia d l o ng -dra w n l ines a nd gro u ps ! … Tho u , l ike the pa r t i -c o l o red wo r l d itself—like infinite, teeming, mocking life!

—Wa l t W hi tma n

R BP L

river raftersEditor:

Jeremiah DiAngelo

Art Director: Jamie Petrie

Webmaster: Barney Rubble

Unix Guru: Stanley Livingstone

Vigilantee Coordinator: Stacey Cartwright

Managing Manager: Franny Andzoey

Preefrooders: Merriam Webster

Zelda Fitzgerald

Editorial Board: Keystone College:

Dr. Jefferson Davis

Dr. Steve Canyon

Dr. Mephistopheles

Library Director: Helena Montana

Printer: AVATAR Press

riverrun is published by Friends of the

River City Public Library. All Rights Re-

served. No part of this publication may be

re-printed without written permission except

for excerpts used for purposes of Review

Articles, © 1996 River Bend Public Library.

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Vo l . 130 No . 2 Summer 1996

Vex imus es tum en r i v i e ra u rb i .

4. Tr ip Repor t

8-9 . L IVE! f rom New York

10-11. L IVE! f rom Jav i ts Center

12. Pee-Dee-Ef f ing

13. ‘Z ines Scenes

14. A Visit to the National Digital Library

r iverrun recommends

riverrun SUMMER 1996 3

Do-It-Yourself Bookmark

Me l v i l Dewey1851––1931

Melvi l le Dewey invented the Dewey Dec imal C lass i f i ca t ion (DDC) sys tem when he was 21 and wo rk i ng as a s t uden t assistant in the library of Amherst Co l l ege . H i s wo rk c rea ted a r evo l u t i on i n l i b r a r y sc i ence and se t in mot ion a new era o f l i b r a r i ansh ip .

Dewey changed librarianship f r om a voca t i on t o a mode rn profession. He helped establish the American Library Association (ALA) i n 1876 ; he was i t s secretary f rom 1876-1890 and i ts president for the 1890/1891 and 1892/1893 terms. He a lso co- founded and ed i ted Library Jou rna l .

A pioneer in library education, Dewey became the l ibrar ian of Columbia College (now Columbia Univers i ty ) in New York Ci ty in 1883, and founded the wor ld ’s first l ibrary school there in 1887. I n 1889 , he became d i r ec to r o f t he New Yo rk S ta te L ib ra ry i n A l bany, a pos i t i on he he l d un t i l 1906 .

A l l copy r i gh t r i gh t s i n t he Dewey Dec ima l C lass i f i ca t i on sys tem a re owned by OCLC. Dewey, Dewey Decimal Classification, DDC, OCLC and WebDewey are regis tered t rademarks o f OCLC.

ht tp : / /www.oc lc .o rg

KeyCo® & Your LibraryRiver Bend Public Library was established in 1866 by a grant from munitions

manufacturer Munificent T. Keystone for the Veterans of the Civil War and for the resi-dents of River Bend, Iowa. Operated by the City of River Bend and partially funded by the Keystone Trust, the library is a wholly owned subsidiary of KeyCo®, the corporate entity now calling the shots.

D rucke r, Pe te r. Pos t -Cap i t a l i s t

Soc i e t y. New Yo rk :

Ha rpe rCo l l i n s , 1993 .

W iegand , Wayne A . I r r ep ress i b l e Re fo rme r : A B iog raphy o f Me l v i l Dewey. Ch i cago : ALA Ed i t i ons , 1996 .

D rucke r, Pe te r. Manag ing i n a T ime o f G rea t Change . New Yo rk : Ha rpe rCo l l i n s , 1995 .

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Times Square by ____ Regnier, © 19__, used by permission.

Trip ReportWednesday, July 3rd

597 F i shes

Trapped for two hours in a machine des i gned t o p rocess peop le wh i l e wa i t i ng f o r ou r connec t i ng f l i gh t t o New York at Saint Louis Internat ional A i rpo r t , Te rm ina l 2 . The re ’s a P i zza Hu t , a Taco Time , a sandw ich shop , and a ba r su r rounded by pa r k i ng ga rages and emp ty t a rmac v i s t as .

I t t a kes an ac t o f w i l l t o s i t s t i l l and jus t be where you a re . The s tee l ce i l i ng beams sp rayed w i t h cheesy f i reproof ing , accented by l ime green l i gh t i ng . Th i s i s how f i sh mus t f ee l , t r apped i n an aqua r i um .

598 Aves

S i t t i ng i n t he f r on t r ow, f ac i ng backwards, watching people fly—packed t oge the r i n s i de an a l um inum tube .

As we t ake o f f , ha l f t he passenge rs l ean back , c l os i ng t he i r eyes , as i f the p lane ’s f l igh t might be caused by an ac t o f t he i r co l l e c t i ve w i l l .

540 Chem is t r y and a l l i ed sc i ences

Fou r o f us sha red a t ax i f r om LaGua rd i a A i r po r t . I was s i t t i ng up f r on t w i t h t he d r i ve r, Abdu l Osama f rom Is tanbul . He was tak ing c lasses a t NYU, poss ib ly in po l i t ica l sc ience. I t was ha rd t o unde rs tand because o f h i s accen t and t he r ad i o on f u l l vo l ume , t uned t o news abou t t he exp los i on a t a f i r ewo rks s t and :

“E IGHT PEOPLE K ILLED AT A F IREWORKS STAND OUTSIDE CHICAGO TODAY, ” t he r ad i o news guy was announc ing .

“Happy Fourth of July,” said Abdul . “Boom! You’re dead. Amer icans don’ t

know wha t t o do w i t h a l l t he i r f r eedoms . ”

After he unloaded our baggage a t Howard Johnson ’s , Abdu l p ressed a ca rd i n my hand , say i ng , “You a re no t l i ke t he o the r s . I f you wan t t o know more abou t ou r o rgan i za t i on , p l ease , t ake t h i s . ”

The f i r s t o f t he dozens o f bus iness cards I was to rece ive that week, i t said: Al Qaeda Cab. There was a 1-800 number and an e-mai l address: AbdulOsama@ao l . com.

572 Human races

We had a New York minute to d rop o f f ou r bags in our rooms, t hen we were hus t l ed back ou t on to t he s t ree t , d i v i d i ng i n to a f l ee t o f t ax i s f o r t he r i de t o a d inner be ing hosted by our new f r iends a t KeyCo. The Typhoon

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Cybe r Cowboy , b y _______________ .Smo lan , R i ck . 24 Hou rs i n Cybe rspace : Pa in t i ng on t he Wa l l s o f t he D ig i t a l Cave , 1996 . (W i t h CD-ROM )

Brewe ry l i ved up t o i t s name . Sounds f r om the open a i r k i t chen echoed off ga lvan ized s tee l tab les and m i r r o red wa l l s wh i l e vo i ces shou ted t o be hea rd i n t he r ush hour a tmosphere . F lames sho t up from the central brazier where three cooks made pe r f o rmance a r t ou t o f cook i ng ove r an open f i r e .

As we samp led t he f i ve bee rs brewed at Typhoon, the menu—simple ye t p ro found—was t r ans l a t ed f o r us by Sunny Yin -Yang , Techn i ca l Se rv i ces L i b ra r i an a t R i ve r C i t y Library. Born and raised in Thailand, Sunny exp la i ned t he ph i l o sophy o f f ood f r om he r na t i ve l and .

“F i ve f ood g roup ! ” Sunny sa id , ho l d i ng ou t he r l e f t hand and coun t i ng on he r f i nge r s , f a i r l y shou t i ng ove r t he r i ng i ng d i n o f t he r oom, “Saw ty ! Swee t ! Sou r ! B i t t ah ! Ho t ! Wha t you r i ke i s who you a re ! Ba rance i s key ! M i x and ma tch ! Ro t s a r uck ! ”

“ I ’m swee t and sou r. ”“ I r i ke i t ho t . ”“ I r i ke i t ho t and

sa l t y. ”“You ’ r e a sa l t y

dog . ”“ I r ike i t hot and sal ty

and sweet and sour, with b i t t e r b rewed bee r. ”

“Try the green squishy stuff , ” Marian enthused. “ I t ’ s g rea t ! ”

522 Techn iques , equ ipmen t , ma te r i a l s

Wh i l e S tan l ey L i v i ngs tone , Ch ie f Techno logy O f f i ce r, was a t a spec i a l

mee t i ng w i t h KeyCo t echn i c i ans , I was up t i l l m idn i gh t r ev i ew ing s t r a t egy w i t h ou r bookmob i l e d r i ve r, Emerson B lake . A ve te ran o f pas t ALAs , Emerson sys tema t i ca l l y wo rked t h rough t he t e l ephone -book - t h i c k con fe rence p rog ram, h i gh l i gh t i ng spec i a l even t s i n ye l l ow, seconda ry even t s i n g reen , and manda to r y even t s i n r ed . He s t uck s t i c k i es ma rk i ng each day and made su re he had r eady a map o f t he c i t y and a mass t r ans i t gu i de , a l ong w i t h a supp l y o f bus i ness ca rds , pens , and pape rc l i p s . Then Emerson pu t on h i s pa j amas and h i s b l ack sa t i n eyeshade and wen t t o bed .

Too excited to sleep, I went downstairs and down the b lock to the d rugs to re t o buy a pocke t comb . The s t r ee t ac t i on con t i nued unaba ted—i t ’ s a b lock pa r t y eve ry n igh t i n New York . No l i b ra r i ans i n s i gh t . Somehow, f o rgo t t o buy comb .

New York Skyline, Circa ‘96 Photograph copyright information.

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4 t h o f J u l y577 Gene ra l na tu re o f l i f e

Early a.m. taking the elevator down to p ick up a comb f rom the concierge. Fu l l y d ressed , excep t ha i r looks l i ke I have j us t s t epped ou t o f showe r, wh i ch i s t he case . E l eva to r keeps s t opp ing as p ro fess i ona l l y d ressed f e l l ow l i b ra r i ans boa rd and depa r t .

“ I t hough t I was up ea r l y, ” I sa i d .“A l l l i b r a r i ans a re up ea r l y, ” one

woman cheer fu l l y ventured. “And we a l l wo rk l a t e . L i b ra r i ans j us t neve r have any f un . ”

573 Phys i ca l an th ropo logy

Walked six blocks to the Mil lennium Ho te l whe re I had co f f ee and t i n y poppy seed mu f f i n s i n t he l ounge whi le wai t ing for the rest o f the group t o a r r i ve . A pub l i c wa l kway passes through the bui lding, connecting West 45 th S t reet to West 44 th S t reet , so the t r a f f i c i s cons tan t and d i ve r se .

As the days pass, you get bet ter at recogn iz ing l i b ra r ians . They a re no t those perfect ly groomed mannequins in s leek business su i ts , and cer ta in ly not among those women in t ight skirts, cu t - o f f a t m id - t h i gh o r unbu t t oned t o t he c ro t ch and ado rned w i t h go l d cha ins . By t he i r canvas book bags and sens i b l e shoes , you w i l l know t hem—bu t t he re a re mo re va r i e t i e s o f l i b r a r i an t han you m igh t t h i nk .

During the opening general session I was s i t t i ng nex t t o a young woman who d i dn ’ t l ook l i ke any k i nd o f

l i b r a r i an I had ye t seen . She was wea r i ng a sho r t f l ounced sk i r t and h i gh hee l s . When she spoke t o he r compan ion en f r anca i s , I began t o deve lop a l a rge r v i ew o f t he wo r l d o f l i b r a r i ans .

There are mother ly l ib ra r ians and techy librarians and Lipstick Librarians. Academic l ib ra r ians d ress in tweedy su i t s , we l l - used and comfo r t ab l e -look ing . There are a l l d i f fe ren t k inds o f l i b r a r i ans , was wha t I f i na l l y had to conclude. The most re l iab le way to recogn ize a l i b ra r ian i s by tha t inner g l ow sha red among t hese se r van t s a t t he f on t o f know ledge . Tha t , and t he f ac t t ha t 82% o f l i b r a r i ans a re women . Tha t ’s a c l ue , f o r su re .

569 Foss i l mamma l i a

We had to s ign up fo r a t l eas t one t ou r be fo re be i ng r e l eased t o ou r own dev ices fo r the remainder o f the day. I chose t he L i b ra r y o f Thea te r His tory tour and took the oppor tun i ty t o r esea rch The Mus i c Man .

I t ’ s amaz ing how much Me red i t h W i l l son go t r i gh t abou t sma l l t owns and pub l i c l i b r a r i es . Bu t so much has changed s i nce t hen , I can ’ t he lp th ink ing—in th i s age o f t hea te r rev i va l s—how coo l i t wou ld be to do an upda te .

Central Park at Night by Adolf Dehn, 1934.Craven, Thomas, editor. A Treasury of American Prints: A Selection of One Hundred Etchings and Lithographs by the Foremost Living American Artists. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1939.

534 Sound & re l a t ed v i b ra t i ons

Standing On The Verge of Getting It On“The na t i ves the re d ressed in b i rds ’ fea the rs o f va r ious co lo rs , and they

came t owa rd us j oy fu l l y, u t t e r i ng l oud c r i es o f wonde rmen t . ”

—Giovann i de Ve r razzano , l and ing on Manha t t an , 1524

That descr ip t ion cou ld a lso app ly t o Geo rge C l i n t on and t he P -Funk A l l -S ta r s head l i n i ng a 4 th o f Ju l y bene f i t conce r t f o r Cen t ra l Pa rk Summers tage .

The re we re up t o twen t y o f t hem ons tage demons t ra t i ng “ t he f unk , ” d ressed i n cos tumes o f t he i r own des ign. Bootsy Col l ins was re-un i ted w i t h Be rn i e Wor re l l , who k i c ked o f f t he conce r t w i t h a t en m inu te so l o t ha t r anged f r om gospe l t o j a zz t o funk , to psychede l ic son ic nonsense and back aga in . Boo tsy jo ined in fo r sho r t r i f f s , shou t i ng f o r “ t he who le damn bu i l d i ng ” t o s i ng . Wh i ch was s t r ange , because we we re ou t s i de , on the lawn, the sun go ing down over

t he hea r t l and .The weather was dodgy with periods

o f pa r t i a l c l ea r i ng . I was danc i ng w i t h D juna , Be t t y, Ve ron i ca , Cody, and Ma r i an when t he r a i n s t a r t ed pou r i ng .

I was head ing fo r t he she l t e r, bu t D juna g rabbed my w r i s t . He r o t he r w r i s t was be i ng he l d by Cody wh i l e h i s o t he r a rm was l i n ked i n t he a rm o f Ma r i an . Ma r i an was t i psy, t i l t i ng , laughing, l ink ing arms wi th Bet ty and Ve ron i ca . Ma r i an seemed t o wh ip -saw us a l l a round her p ivo t po in t and the ra in was rea l l y coming down. We jus t kept danc ing. They were p lay ing Stand ing On t he Ve rge o f Ge t t i ng I t On and t he r a i n was com ing down .

8 riverrun SUMMER 1996

Rocke fe l l e r Cen te r, New Yo rk C i t y , copy r i gh t 1996 Sean Doughe r t y.ht tp : / / sean .dougher ty.o rg /exh ib i t 2 .h tm l

Au thor M ichae l Wo l f :“The In te rne t i s s im i l a r t o wha t t he l i b ra ry was one hund red yea rs ago . I t r ep resen ts who we a re , how we ac t , t ransac t bus iness and engage in re la t i onsh ips . The In te rne t i s abou t i n f o rma t i on empowermen t . I t h i nk i t w i l l change wo r l d cu l t u re . ”

– I n ves to r s Bus i ness Da i l y, 9 / 21 /95Chase, E la ine Raco ; Winga te , Anne. Amateur Detec t i ves : A Wr i te r ’s Gu ide to how pr i va te c i t i zens so lve c r im ina l cases .

New Yo rk , N .Y. : Wr i t e r ’ s D iges t Books , 1996 .

Ten Women by Peter L i ndbe rg , 1996 Sch i rme r / Mose l , 1996 .http://www.peterlindbergh.n e t / p u b l i c a t i o n s .h tm l

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Top : Med ia Wa l l a t S IBL , Sc i ence and Business L ibrary, New York Ci ty, former ly t he B . A l tman Depa r tmen t S to re , bu i l t i n 1919 and r emode led f o r $85 m i l l i on do l l a r s .www.nyp l . o rg / r esea rch / s i b l /

Above , l e f t : En t r ance Ha l l , S IBL .

Above , r i gh t : Jav i t s Cen te r

Bottom: S teve Per lman, CEO o f WebTV, in t roduces h is company ’s new produc t in New Yo rk Wednesday, Ju l y 6 , 1996 . (AP Pho to /Ma rk Lenn ihan )

Re c o m m e n d e d Re a d i n g

Bar l ow, John Pe r r y. “A Dec la ra t i on o f I ndependence

o f Cybe rspace . ”Elect ron ic Front ie r Foundat ion ,

Feb rua ry 8 , 1996 .http:/ /homes.eff.org/~barlow/

Dec la ra t i on -F i na l . h tm l

Jacobs , Ka r r i e . “U top i a Redux, ” WORD.com, Apr i l

18 , 1996 .www.word.com/textword/machine/

Jacobs / i ndex .h tm l

LIVE! From New York

10 riverrun SUMMER 1996

545 Quan t i t a t i ve ana l ys i s

Board BooksAre Big

“K ids a re the fas tes t g row ing marke t for just about everything,” said the Minnie Mouse l ady a t t he D i sney boo th . She wore a Minnie Mouse blouse and a polka-do t sk i r t w i th a s i l ky b lack ta i l a t tached that she tw i r led absent -minded ly as she cha t t ed w i t h us .

“Baby Boomers a re r e - l i v i ng t he i r ch i l dhoods t h rough t he i r k i ds , ” sa i d Ve ron i ca Lake , Ch i l d rens Depa r tmen t , R iver Bend L ibrary, wear ing an I HEART NY t ee - sh i r t , sens i b l e wa l k i ng sho r t s and r ed Reeboks ®.

“But wi th way cooler toys and books,” sa i d a l i b r a r i an wea r i ng a f o rm idab le co l l e c t i on o f bu t t ons and badges f r om p rev i vous ALA conven t ions a t tached to he r da r k g reen j umpe r. L i ke a m idd le -aged G i r l Scou t a t summer camp , she wo re sanda l s and ank l e socks , sho r t , sensible hair, and was stuff ing souvenirs i n t o an eno rmous bookbag .

“ Indu lg ing the i r k ids ’ every wh im and cap r i ce , ” sa id Ve ron ica , consu l t i ng the even t s schedu le . “We l l , wha t ’s nex t? Tea Wi t h E l o i se a t t he P laza Ho te l ? O r do you wan t to check ou t Fun Wi th D ick & Jane a t t he G rande Ma r r i o t t ? ”

“Wha t ’s ‘ Fun w i t h D i ck and Jane? ’ ” I sa i d .

“ I t ’s a Smi thson ian exh ib i t ion , sa id Ve ron i ca , “ and i t ’ s com ing t o R i ve r Bend f o r s i x weeks i n t he f a l l . ”

“ I don ’ t suppose you have E lo i se ye t in a board book?” , the Gi r l Scout l i b ra r i an asked M inn ie Mouse . “We cou ld use a dozen cop ies . ”

“Boa rd books a re b i g ! ” , M inn i e Mouse en thused . “E lo i se i sn ’ t a va i l ab l e , bu t we ’ ve go t a who le ser ies w i th mov ie t ie - ins . S ign up fo r the se t and we ’ l l th row in f ree t ickets for a matinee performance o f The L i on K ing . ”

506 O rgan i za t i ons & managemen t

At the KeyCo ® Booth

“So whe re ’s t he home o f f i ce? ” I asked. “Redmond, Washington? Or Sil icon Va l l ey? ”

“We ’ re f r om a l l o ve r, ” Jason sa i d . “Mo re v i r t ua l t han ac tua l . ”

Jason was wea r i ng t he KeyCo go l f sh i r t and spo r t coa t combo ove r you r bas ic be ige Dockers . He had g rea t ha i r, and he men t i oned t ha t he was m i ss i ng h i s k ids ’ AYSO soccer tou rnament to be i n New Yo rk f o r t h i s g i g .

“KeyCo i s an on - l i ne p resence w i t h a back o f f i ce i n t he ou tback , ” Jane exp la i ned .

Jane had Peter Pan hair, big red plastic f rames on her g lasses, and a p in-s t r iped bus i ness su i t w i t h an ap r i co t s ca r f .

“Austra l ia. New Hebr ides. Republ ic of Brunaire,” Jason shrugged. “It changes as cond i t ions change. Tha t ’s the beau ty o f satel l i te transmission and ful ly networked pee r t o pee r compu t i ng . ”

“ I s t i l l don ’ t get what i t i s that KeyCo makes . ” I sa i d .

“We don ’ t make any th i ng , ” sa i d Jane , squ inch i ng up he r nose d i s t as te fu l l y.

“We ’ re enab le r s . ”“Supp l i e r s o f demand . ”“B roke rs o f i n f o rma t i on

r e t r i e va l and d i spe rsa l s ys tems . ”

“Whatever you want—we can get it for you wholesale, ne two rked , and c ross -p l a t f o rmed . ”

“Open U-R-L and inter-ope rab i l i l t y. ”

“Innovative interfaces are wha t we ’ r e a l l abou t . ”

“When t he needs o f you r cus tomers go beyond t he book . ”

riverrun SUMMER 1996 11

544 Qua l i t a t i ve ana l ys i s

L IVE ! F romJav i t s Cen te r

Q: I s con ten t K ing? Or i s i t a l l abou t the in te rne t por ta l?

“Ne t scape ru l es . I n l e ss t ha t a yea r, i t has ach ieved ub i qu i t y. ”

“Wha t e l se i s t he re bes ides t hem and AOL? ”

“AOL i s t he suck i es t , and I mean t ha t l i t e ra l l y. ”

“Yahoo , Exc i t e , I n f oseek , Cne t and P rod igy…”

“Lycos and A l taVis ta , MetaSearch and B ig foo t , t he e -ma i l d i r ec to r y. ”

“Don ’ t fo rge t e -Vi l l age , the App le web commun i t y. ”

“Commun i t y f r om ano the r p l ane t i s wha t App le use r s a re . ”

“ I l i k e t he new s imu l t aneous sea rch engines, such as Nl ightN and In fonaut ics ’ E l ec t r i c L i gh t . ”

“Who - t he -wha t - t he? ”“Those guys down a t t he end o f t he

ha l l ? Looks l i ke t hey j us t s t a r t ed up t h i s week . ”

526 Ma thema t i ca l geog raphy

Q: Do you o f ten use Pa th f inder, the T imes -Warner webs i te por ta l?

“Oh yeah , wheneve r I have a t r i c ky r e f e rence ques t i on you know I a lways c l i c k on Pa th f i nde r f i r s t . NOT ! ”

518 Numer i ca l ana l ys i s

Q: Have you heard o f M ic roso f t Exp lo re r?

“Netscape may rule now, but once Explorer takes off i t ’s gonna be l ike The Emp i re S t r i kes Back . ”

“The M i c roso f t boo th i s t h i r t y feet long on both s ides of the a is le . They’ re pass ing out f ree CD-ROMs w i t h W indows NT and Exp lo re r. ”

“What I hate is all the damn banner ads on webs i t es . I wonde r i f you cou ld have the op t ion fo r ads—but on l y i f you wan t mo re i n f o? ”

“How hard would i t be to create a search engine based on a lgor i thms t ha t t r ack mos t - c i t ed s i t es? You know? A re fe rence t oo l o f mos t -r e f e renced s i t es? L i s t ed i n o rde r o f r e l evance? ”

“You ’d ge t a googo l - l o t o f answers f o r each ques t i on , t ha t ’s f o r su re . ”

“Wha t ’s a googo l? ”“A f l o ck o f geese? ”“No, i t ’s the number one fol lowed

by a hund red ze ros ”“You cou ld ca l l t he webs i t e

Googo l ! ”“Tha t ’s a s i l l y name . ”“So is Yahoo, but they’re worth three

hund red m i l l i on do l l a r s now. ”

12 riverrun SUMMER 1996

501 Ph i l osophy & t heo ry

Pee-Dee-Ef f ing“Pee -dee -e f f i ng i s t he way t o

go i f you wan t a pub l i ca t i on w i t h down loadab le t ex t and embedded g raph i cs , ” sa i d t he f i r s t sa l es r ep a t t he Adobe boo th .

“That ’s the genera l idea, ” I sa id . “We want an on-line serial publication w i t h d i s c re te chunks o f p i c t u res and t ex t . We ’ l l have r epo r t s f r om cu r ren t even t s m i xed i n w i t h an ongo ing na r ra t i ve and r e f e rences t o ou r l i b r a r y co l l e c t i on . ”

“One p ic tu re ’s wor th a thousand wo rds , bu t t hey ea t up megaby tes l ike crazy,” sa id the other sales rep. “Go ahead . Take a p i c t u re . ”

8 :43 a .m . , Sa tu rday, Ju l y 6 , 1996 :ALA exh ib i t o r s se t t i ng up a t Jav i t s Cen te r.

“Two-po in t - th ree megaby tes fo r that photo,” said the other sales rep. “Two-po in t - th ree megabytes wou ld ho l d t he en t i r e wo rks o f To l s t oy, because—hey—a l l i t i s i s t ex t . ”

“You’re suggesting that one picture o f t he Jav i t s Cen te r t oday i s wo r th a l l t he wo rks o f To l s t oy? ”

“No , I ’m say i ng t ha t i f To l s t oy was here today, ” sa id the f i rs t sa les r ep , “ he ’ d be pee -dee -e f f i ng h i s pamph le t s and r e l i g i ous t r ac t s on the i n te rne t . Those essays tha t he pub l i shed i n h i s l a t e r yea rs , such as My Confess ions are jus t the k ind o f s t u f f t ha t PDF does bes t . ”

riverrun SUMMER 1996 13

“About ten years…” “About ten years,” said Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft, in response to the question of how long it will take until Internet Explorer has total con-trol of the world wide web. (AP Photo/Adam Nadel)

“Z

ine

s a

re a

form

of fo

lk a

rt,” s

aid

Ch

ip.

528 Ephemer i des

‘Z ines ScenesAbou t seven t y o f us we re j ammed

i n t o t he r oom a t t he Ma r r i o t t Ma rqu i s Ho te l and we a l l had ou r own ‘ z i nes . The pane l d i scuss ion was mode ra ted by Chr i s Dodge , a par t - t ime ca ta loger a t the Hennep in County L ib ra ry pub l i c l i b r a r y and pa r t - t ime ed i t o r o f t he Minneso ta L i b ra r y Assoc i a t i on Soc ia l Respons ib i l i t i e s Round Tab le News le t t e r .

What is a ‘zine? was the first question t o be add ressed by t he pane l .

“A ‘zine is what you do for yourself—it becomes a magaz ine when you s t a r t cons i de r i ng wha t t he r eade r wan t s , ” responded pane l member Ch ip Rowe.

Ch ip i s an ass i s t an t ed i t o r a t P l ayboy magaz ine and pub l i she r o f Ch ip ’s C lose t C leane r , a ‘ z i ne o f pop cu l t u re , humor, t r i v i a , and f un . As Ch ip exp la i ned , “ I t ’ s subs i d i zed by a l a rge Amer i can co rpo ra t i on . He f won ’ t m ind . Tha t ’s how he s t a r t ed . ”

Chip has experienced the di lemma of be ing too successfu l . Af ter contract ing to have h is ‘z ine d is t r ibuted nat ional ly, a l l unso ld cop ies we re r e t u rned t o h im w i th t he i r cove rs ca re fu l l y r i pped o f f t o ensu re t hey we re no t so l d by anyone e lse . “Somehow, tha t took the fun ou t o f t he pub l i ca t i on , ” sa id Ch ip .

Gradual ly, Chip real ized that he was changing the content of his ‘zine, adding i tems of general interest to make i t more popu la r. He dec i ded t o qu i t na t i ona l distr ibution and return to publishing only what was t ru ly important to h imsel f . No l onge r wo r r i ed abou t mak ing a p ro f i t , h i s goa l now i s j u s t t o b reak even .

“ ‘Z i nes a re a f o rm o f f o l k a r t , ” sa id Ch ip . “ I t ’ s an eas i l y l ea rnab le sk i l l t ha t peop le p rac t i ce f o r t he i r own amusemen t . L i ke f o l k a r t , t he qua l i t y of the product ion is extremely var iable. Ve ry ra re l y, ac tua l f i ne a r t may be the resu l t . Most o f th is s tu f f i s c rap. Out o f two hundred ‘zines, only one is Nancy’s!”

Ch ip was r e f e r r i ng t o Nancy ’s Magazine , publ ished by fe l low panel is t Nancy Bonnell-Kangas of the Columbus, Oh io Me t ropo l i t an L i b ra r y. Nancy ’s Magazine started twelve years ago in San

Francisco, hotbed of underground pub l i sh i ng . As she r eca l l s :

“ ‘ Z i nes we re appea r i ng , b reed ing l i ke bunn ies and r oaches . Bu t t he re was no publication that called my name.”

So she star ted her own ‘z ine and i t has changed he r l i f e .

“ I t ’ s l i ke a cha in l e t t e r t ha t wo rks ! ” Nancy exc l a imed .

Nancy suppo r t s he r a r t by work ing as a l ib rar ian . She s tar ted ou t pub l i sh i ng mon th l y, bu t as t he i ssues go t b i gge r and be t t e r and c i r cu l a t i on increased up to 1,200 handmade copies, she had to cut back her rate of production.

“About one issue every two years is the current schedule,” says Nancy. She once produced a Dewey Dec imal issue i n wh ich each a r t i c l e rece i ved i t s own classification. For the Ground issue, Nancy i nc l uded seed packe t s i n eve r y copy. For the Trac t i ssue , Nancy d is t r ibu ted envelopes containing no sequential pages.

14 riverrun SUMMER 1996

A Vis i t to the Nat ional D ig i ta l L ibraryOur gu i de l ed us ups ta i r s t o a

ga l le ry where we cou ld observe the scho la rs and c reden t i a l ed v i s i t o r s s tudying in the Wri ter ’s Room of the New York Pub l i c L ib ra ry. F rom th i s insp i ra t ional v is ta , we crowded in to an an t i que ca rgo e l eva to r. The re were about a dozen of us, and when no mo re o f ou r g roup cou ld f i t i n the e leva to r, ou r gu ide sa id , “Push the CELLAR but ton. We’ l l meet you down t he re ! ”

The e l eva to r seemed a lmos t as s l ow and o l d as t he one back i n R i ve r Bend i n wh i ch a l l o f us had spent so many med i ta t i ve minu tes , bu t a f te r a l ong , c reak ing descen t , i t f ina l ly se t t led down to the ground f loo r. There was a d ramat i c pause , then the doors ro l led back to reveal a da r k , g ray co r r i do r.

“ I t looks l i ke my basement , ” sa id Mer r iam, sound ing k ind o f p leased t o see some th i ng f am i l i a r.

“ I t smel ls l ike. . . l ike a f ishburger,” sa i d D juna .

“Somebody ’s been down he re ea t ing f i shburgers , ” sa id Veron ica , i n a s i ngsong vo i ce .

We wa i t ed , and wonde red i f we had go t t en o f f on t he w rong f l oo r, ou r g roup cohes ion d i ss i pa t i ng as some were ready fo r a l unch b reak and talking about where to eat, when sudden l y ou r gu i de came rush ing pas t , l ead ing a pack o f l i b r a r i ans , ra ther l ike the Whi te Rabbi t leading A l i ce i n t o Wonde r l and . We had no choice but to fo l low her down, down into the maze of tunnels underneath t he s t r ee t s o f Manha t t an .

“Fo l l ow t he f i shbu rge r t r a i l ! ” , sa i d Be t t y, ge t t i ng a b i g l augh .

Ou r t unne l soon j o i ned a ma in unde rg round t ho rough fa re w i t h be i ge wa l l s and ce i l i ng , bus t l i ng wi th l ibrar ians, secur i ty guards, and maintenance workers. Overhead were

527 Ce les t i a l nav i ga t i on

riverrun SUMMER 1996 15

Ci t y Ha l l Pa rk pano rama , c i r ca1913 , copy r i gh t ; I r v i ng Unde rh i l l , New Yo rk . No . M-48 . A i rp l anes i n sky and t a l l bu i l d i ng a t r i gh t sp l i ced i n to nega t i ve . Pho tog raph i c p r i n t : ge la t i n s i l ve r ; 17 .5 x 33 .5 i n . LOT 12475 , no . 9 , Pano ram ic Pho tog raphs , L i b ra r y o f Cong ress P r i n t s and Pho tog raphs D i v i s i on . ht tp : / / hd l . l oc .gov / loc .pnp /pan .6a3660 8

exposed duc ts and g rea t ske ins o f w i r es and f i be r op t i c cab les .

We turned r ight at an exi t s ign for Bryant Park , pass ing by a cafe ter ia and an esp resso ba r. We we re c ross ing 42 nd S t ree t unde rg round , headed toward the genera l v ic in i t y of Grand Central Terminal, being led to a bu i l d i ng whose exac t l oca t i on I am no t a l l owed t o r evea l . I n t he event o f a nat iona l emergency, th is secure command post w i l l serve as America’s l ifeline to freely distributed on l i ne i n f o rma t i on .

No na tu ra l l i gh t i n t r uded i n t o the aud i to r ium, a square room wi th glass wal ls three stor ies high. I t was eeri ly l ike being inside an aquarium. Sound baff les, carpets and padding w i t h aquamar i ne co l o r s made f o r an under-water l i ke s i lence. On the other side of the glass were corridors

and o f f i ces and somet imes peop le pass i ng by. We sp read ou t ac ross the seats, whi le on the smal l stage a woman in t roduced herse l f as Laura Wh i t e , ou r d i g i t a l t ou r gu i de

Lau ra s t ood a t t he s i de o f t he stage using a computer whose image was projected for the audience. She demons t ra ted how to nav iga te t he Nat ional Digi ta l L ibrary websi te and then began select ing i tems f rom the Amer ican Memory col lect ion. Using web-based “st reaming technology,” Laura created a multi-media production by comb in i ng an aud io r eco rd i ng f r om 1912 w i t h a f i lm f r om 1903 o f a danc i ng l ady.

“ I n t he ve r y nea r f u t u re peop le won ’ t need t o go t o t he l i b ra r y, ” sa i d Lau ra , “ because t he l i b ra r y w i l l come t o t hem. ”

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