Friday, September 11, 1998

08:32:34 AM

ACLU Enters Loudoun Suit

In a news release issued Friday, the ACLU has entered the suit claiming filtering software at Loudoun County Public Library in Virginia is unconstitutional. New language presented by the group; "the government cannot prevent Internet speakers from communicating with interested library patrons". The library is currently using X-Stop filtering software; regarded to be one of the better in an all around bad lot. The case must be a nightmare for the library's sys admin. The library webpage is getting overun with people curious about the case and is frequently unavailable.

Boston U. Back in Court With Term Paper Companies

26 years ago, BU sued and one against companies who sell ready made term papers in Massachusetts. Now, it is taking up the challenge again over papers sold on the Internet.

From Filtering to Spamming

Another filtering company is taking some heat today; after claims from a Massachusetts woman that the company mail-bombed her. After sending some complaints to the company that makes the Cybersitter product, about the effectiveness of its software, Sarah Salls says her email account was flooded with mail from solidoak.com. Her ISP had to shut down the account due to the traffic.

Searching for Information

Enough with the legal stuff already. How about a great article about the current status of Internet search engines and the future of online indexing

Project to Combat Science Illiteracy

The American Museum of Natural History is hoping to increase knowledge through the National Center for Science Literacy, Education and Technology.

"The mission of the project is to combat science illiteracy, a problem perhaps best exemplified by two statistics uncovered in a survey commissioned by the museum in 1994: 65 percent of respondents did not know how many planets are in the solar system and 46 percent did not believe that human beings evolved from earlier species of animals." Read a NYTimes article here. Learn about Velociraptors here.

Items submitted by:
Kenneth S. Bell - Email
NOLA Regional Library System

Communication Critical

It is very important for any organization to communicate with its members. NOLA uses The Desktop, the Desktop News, E-mail, the NOLA Notes, Interest Groups, the Membership Luncheon and Council Meetings, Board Meetings, Committee Meetings, special memos, reports, flyers about programs and services, and catalogs (e.g. The Continuing Education Catalog) to communicate with our members. But I am sure that there are some staff in member libraries who feel that they do not receive the latest news about various NOLA happenings. One way that you can learn about the latest plans and information about what is happening in NOLA is to check the NOLA Board Minutes on The Desktop at http://www.nolanet.org/information/board/home.htm You will find a DRAFT of the minutes of the very last Board Meeting - these are usually added within a week following a meeting. They are later corrected and moved to the archives once they are approved by the Board at their meeting.

But good communication is a two-way street. The Board and the staff want to hear from you. Feel free to contact me by E-mail ([email protected]), phone (330.847.7744 ext. 11) or fax (330.847.7704) or any staff member with suggestions, ideas for new services and programs, concerns, or complaints. Every complaint is an opportunity to improve customer satisfaction. We will make every effort to keep in touch with you. Let us hear from you.

Items submitted by:
Millie Fry - Email
NOLA Regional Library System

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