the pod bay door

:: More news about the OCLC-Library Hotel lawsuit is emerging. According to the Sept 26 Library Journal Academic Newswire (to which I have no e-access, and which I cannot quote for 60 days according to its redistribution rules, and therefore am paraphrasing), OCLC has tried, for three years, to get the owners of The Library Hotel to sign a simple agreement regarding use of the DDC. The agreement would in effect acknowledge that The Library Hotel’s use of the DDC was done with permission of OCLC. The owner of the hotel is a man named Henry Kallan, and according to the OCLC lawyer, Joseph Dreitler, they heard nothing from him for two years. Then, in 2002, Dreitler noted that, “He basically told OCLC to get lost.” At the moment, the hotel has denied any wrongdoing, and the General Manager, Craig Spitzer, has advised that Kallan is on vacation and will speak with the press when he returns.

At this point, I think I’m siding with OCLC.

Stay tuned. Who would’ve thought that the library world could get this exciting? I wonder what Melvil would do? Why doesn’t OCLC have a press release about this on their web site? And what’s up with the Library Hotel Erotica Package, and its special Erotic Literature Room? Mmm…classify that under, “rrrrrrrrrrr“.

:: Randy Cohen writes perhaps my favorite column, The Ethicist (ID and PW: podbay), for the NYTimes Magazine. He is the author of The Good, The Bad & The Difference: How to Tell Right From Wrong in Everyday Situations. In the Sept 7, 2003, issue of the NYTimes Magazine, he responded to a question from a high school student regarding the use of online resources at a university attended by her brother, by using his password to gain access. I work at a university with a large number of online resources, and wonder how often this happens, since we are unable to patrol who actually is using passwords when off campus. Here is the question and Cohen’s response:
Read more »

:: Well, I am proud, actually, but lately, my profession is doing what it can to make itself look, er, stoopid. First comes the librarian action figure, in which the action involves telling you to, basically, shut up. (Other superhero action figures save the world – our action figure tells you to stop talking.) Now comes word that OCLC, the Online Computer Library Center, is suing The Library Hotel in NYC for using the Dewey Decimal System as its theme. The Library Hotel divides each of its floors according to the DDC, meaning that each floor and room on that floor is dedicated to a specific subject in the classification.

OCLC owns the rights to the DDC, is concerned that people visiting the web site might think the hotel is connected with the owner of the classification system. From the hotel’s website:

Most library users know the general structure of Melvil Dewey’s decimal classification. First published in 1876, the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) divides knowledge into ten main classes, with further subdivisions. More than 200,000 libraries in 135 countries use the DDC to organize their book collections. Its simple and logical framework is based on the principle of decimal fractions as class marks, which are expandable to make further subdivisions.

The Library Hotel in New York City is the first hotel ever to offer its guest over 6,000 volumes organized throughout the hotel by the DDC. Each of the 10 guestrooms floors honors one of the 10 categories of the DDC and each of the 60 rooms is uniquely adorned with a collection of books and art exploring a distinctive topic within the category or floor it belongs to.

OCLC must see this explanation as a threat to the integrity of the DDC. Sheesh. Apparently OCLC is willing to settle with the hotel’s owners, according to its lawyers. I hope this happens quickly, so that OCLC can go back to its own business and end this nonsense. Interesting that there is no mention of this lawsuit on OCLC’s web site. I wonder why suing the Library Hotel is important to OCLC, but not important enough to merit one of OCLC’s press releases. (Thanks, Derryl.)

:: Megatunes, perhaps the best independent record store in Calgary, has opened up a store in Edmonton, on Whyte Avenue, in the old Greenwoods Bookshoppe space. (Their website leaves a lot to be desired, however.) Anyway, it is a primo location, and Edmonton was long overdue for such a store. I was in the store last Saturday when it opened, and noticed that local musician Jen Kraatz was working there.

Jen told me about her new album, Ashes, which I bought and have played a number of times now on the car stereo. It’s a great little record, with a tight, clean production, and it really showcases Jen’s writing and singing styles. The highlight of the album is Square, a song with a driving, repeating four note riff (B-C, G-F#, over low A and E strings) that I can’t get out of my head. However, what makes the song is the haunting melody Jen sings over top of this rhythm. I can’t say enough about this tune. I’ve already spent some time with my guitar, playing along with a few tunes on this record, most notably Square.

The songs on the album are rife with subtle musical spaces, a few notes here and there from various instruments, which adds to the pleasure of listening to it.
If you’re looking for high quality product by a talented Edmonton musician, pick up Ashes, by Jen Kraatz. Information on purchasing a copy of Ashes is available on Jen’s website.

:: I’m backed up answering e-mails, and checking out web sites and articles of possible interest.

:: This Scientific American article discusses the Six Degrees of Separation theory, suggested by sociologist Stanley Milgram in 1967. The project at Columbia U is called Small World, and you can participate if you like.

:: Michael Moore‘s new book, Dude, Where’s My Country?, is due out on October 3rd. Hot on the heels of Al Franken‘s Lies and The Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look At The Right, the book is sure to continue to tick off the right and get them dutifully steamed. Franken, of course, was sued by Fox for using the expression,”fair and balanced” in the subtitle of his book. Interesting that Moore’s book title is a play on the movie, Dude, Where’s My Car?, which happens to be a Fox production. Lawsuit, anyone? Franken’s publisher, Penguin, moved up the launch date of his book from mid-September to late August, in hopes that the publicity and fallout from the lawsuit might help sales. Duh. The book opened at #1 on the NYTimes Best-Seller List, and remains there to this day.

It’s an interesting time, where we are seeing more books from the left attacking the right. Also out there are Joe Conason’s Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth, and Eric Alterman’s What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News, among many other titles.

:: While it appears this site may no longer be updated, check out The Useless Pages.

:: I discovered this afternoon, by serendipity more than anything else I suppose, that I had the wrong binaries loaded for NetPBM. Er, duh. Like, how would I know? Anyway, I uploaded them to my server, and Gallery started working on my site. I’ve loaded a handful of photos so far, and will continue to work on tweaking things in the next few days.

:: I’m feeling slightly better than yesterday. Bones and muscles not aching as much. It was very cool in town here today, and is 1^oC at the moment. Apparently snow has been falling heavily in other parts of Alberta. Still, I’ll take this over what Hurricane Isabel is about to give the eastern seaboard.

:: Some time back, during an NYC trip, I was introduced to Rainsong guitars. They haven’t been available in Alberta, but a rep for the company was scheduled to come through Edmonton this week and visit Avenue Guitars, far and away the best guitar shop in Edmonton, and the only one I frequent. I’m looking forward to playing one again soon.