The emergence of the anti‐hero in the contemporary drama

A brief discussion of the protagonist as he appears in the Western Theatre of today. An examination of new conditions of heroism as envisioned by playwrights in the Contemporary theatre.     

Addressing the Needs of the Homeless: A San José Library Partnership Approach

Describes an urban joint-use library's approaches to library programs for homeless children, teens, and adults as well as agencies the library could partner with. Proposes that libraries put more effort into reaching out to the homeless community instead of assuming the normal expectation that people will come to the library.     

Documenting the Efforts of the Home Countries: Poland,the Czech Republic,Slovakia and Émigré Collections in the United States of America

The article discusses work by Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia with Polish-American, Czech-American, and Slovak-American collections in the United States.     

Clinical librarianship in the UK: temporary trend or permanent profession? Part I: a review of the role of the clinical librarian

BACKGROUND: This paper is the first of a two-part series of articles presenting the role of the clinical librarian (CL) in the UK today. It situates the CL concept historically, and specifically reports the findings from a study in 2002 (Skinner, The Role of the Clinical Librarian in the UK. MSc Dissertation. Loughborough University: Department of Information Science). RELEVANCE: The impetus for the 2002 study was the awareness of an increase in job advertisements within the NHS for roles seeking to enhance the practice of evidence-based medicine, which included elements of clinical librarianship. Therefore the research was undertaken to establish whether this increase was coincidental, or the beginning of a new professional role for librarians. METHODS: A content analysis of CL job advertisements, examining job titles and duties was undertaken. Twenty-three advertisements were scrutinized, and these results are presented here. As a complementary investigation, a postal questionnaire was sent to a sample of practising CLs in the UK. RESULTS: Several duties can be classified as core to the role of the CL. However there is a great diversity of duties attached to this core, reflecting an absence of nationally accepted practice. CONCLUSION: Further work was necessary to assess current practice and how clinical librarianship can continue to grow at local and national levels. This is addressed in Part Two of this series.     

Analysis of a natural history exhibit: Are Dioramas the answer?

The results of this study indicated that small but significant amounts of knowledge gain did occur upon visiting the Living Land Living Sea gallery, that attitudinal change was not measured, and that exhibit type clearly affects attracting power and holding power.It is only fair to say that the results have left the RBCM staff with mixed reactions. Knowledge gain did occur, but still the majority of intended messages were not communicated. Attitudinal change did not occur, yet this was a stated museum goal. Does this mean the gallery has failed? The attracting power and holding power values for the gallery seemed low. Visitor flow did not follow the designed pattern, nor did visitors stay in the gallery for the intended period of time, whilst key exhibits did not receive the necessary attention, and visitors were attracted to and held at certain exhibits for other than the intended purpose. Are these matters of a serious enough nature to be of concern, or does the overwhelming positive enjoyment reaction outweigh the fact that the visitor did not view the gallery in the manner or sequence intended?Is the Living Land Living Sea gallery a success or not? Are dioramas the answer? These questions demand that the exhibits be studied both from the museological perspective and from that of the visitor. In relation to this gallery, the visitor would vote an overwhelming ‘yes’, but we are fearful that if one is being honest, the museologist must answer ‘no’.One surprising result of this study is that those exhibits judged to be the most successful in behavioural terms, i.e. the larger ‘concrete’ exhibits, were not the most successful in educational terms. The negative relationship between knowledge gain and minimum viewing time, and the implied negative relationship between knowledge gain and Concrete Index scores, leads us to conclude that dioramas are not the best vehicle for communicating ideas. This finding reinforces the concept that large diorama-type exhibits be used to ‘wow’ visitors, but if we want to teach them anything, we should probably go for the small exhibit whose message can be gleaned in a relatively short time.All museums, not just the RBCM, need to re-examine their motives for public exhibits. As ‘tourists’ become increasingly our most important market (since visitation seems to be an indicator of success), more and more museums are contemplating the use of large dioramas to attract visitors. As these data indicated, dioramas are not the answer to all our problems and thus should be used carefully and cautiously.     

“Moving” the Pyramids of Giza: Measuring the Effects of Ethics Education in a Visual Communication Curriculum

As mass communication scholars and educators, we should be greatly concerned about how we teach ethics to our students. This research posits improving the quality of mass communication education with the intention of producing top-notch journalists who are dedicated to raising the credibility of the profession. Specifically, the research assesses the effects of integrating ethical content within a visual communication course, focusing on two critical and timely issues in visual journalism: the acceptability of graphic photographs and image manipulation. Findings showed significant differences in how participants viewed selected ethical issues in visual journalism from time 1 to time 2.     

Off the Campaign Trail and Into the Courthouse: Does a Political Candidate's Use of a Song Infringe on the Performer's Trademark?

As the use of popular music in political campaigns has skyrocketed, so have complaints by musical artists who do not want their songs associated with candidates they do not support. Recently, musical artists have asserted that this constitutes trademark infringement by falsely suggesting that they endorse a candidate. Relying on court decisions and statutes, this article analyzes song-based performer trademarks and whether campaign's uses of music constitute infringement. Ultimately, this article concludes that typically musical compositions and sound recordings cannot be used as performer trademarks and, in any event, political uses would not amount to infringement.     

A Preliminary Discussion of Russian Émigré Materials at the Library of Congress

Materials at the Library of Congress (LC) by and about Russian émigrés take every form and are distributed throughout the library's many custodial divisions, classification schedules, catalogs, and Web pages. Identifying and locating these materials, whether in print, archival, or even digital collections, may require creative thinking and an understanding of the library's sometimes complex organization. The author attempts here to provide a preliminary overview of the library's Russian émigré collections and some guidance for beginning research on these collections. She includes examples as illustrations and inspiration for further research.     

‘What a setting for a mystery’: Yaddo, the Yaddo records, and the memory of place

‘Yaddo’, recalled composer Aaron Copland, ‘became so much a part of my life that I tend to forget how strange the name sounds to those not familiar with it.’ By its very delineation, vagary of purpose, and posture of cloistered withdrawal, Yaddo is defined by a meticulously cultivated and carefully guarded tradition of community and cultural identity; one that was carefully preserved (and, in turn was informed by) the formation of an archive. My point of query centers on the particular consequences of the bond between historical trace and physical place being severed (as perhaps it always must be) when the very materiality that informs an institution’s ‘memory’ is irrevocably distanced.     

Weaving a Web Within the Web: Corporate Consolidation of the Web, 1999–2008

Scholars have repeatedly debated whether the Web serves as an alternative to traditional media consolidation. To explore this issue further, the author examines Web site ownership trends over a 10-year period, finding evidence of ownership consolidation among popular Web properties. In addition, the author finds that traditional media corporations have consolidated their influence over the Web. In the end, the author suggests that the Web does not serve as an alternative to media consolidation.     

End of the Line?: A Case Study of a Cataloging Department Achieving BIBCO Status

The Cataloging and Metadata Services Department of the Pennsylvania State University Libraries successfully achieved full participation in the Library of Congress’ Monographic Bibliographic Record Cooperative Program of the PCC (BIBCO) in 2010. Reaching this goal means that the catalogers at Penn State are now fully engaged in all of the cooperative cataloging initiatives overseen by the PCC, as well as participating in cooperative quality control efforts for three formats within the OCLC Enhance Program. This article describes the journey toward achieving both BIBCO status and full participation in all cooperative programs and the importance for doing so. It also serves as a means to invite other institutions to take the next steps on their journey toward full participation in cooperative cataloging, or to join us in these important efforts.     

I Believe in a Thing Called Bot: Perceptions of the Humanness of “Chatbots”

The way humans and robots interact is no longer in the realm of fiction, because robots have seemingly gained the ability to respond to others, including humans. Communication research can be at the forefront of examining these interactions. This study used a “chatbot”—run by a researcher—to respond to a pre-generated set of questions asked by participants. An experiment varied the presence of typos and capitalized words in the responses. Significant main effects were found for typos in the responses, which had a negative effect on the perceived humanness of the respondent, as well as other perceptions. These findings, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.     

The Future of the Library: What Is a Public Library For?

The author suggests that libraries have been transformed a third time. Originally, libraries were the only place that valuable, handwritten, rare books could be found. As mass production kicked in post-Gutenberg, the library became an efficient way for the community to access knowledge. Today, though, in a post-paper world, the library must adopt a new role, a place where the community finds ideas, inspiration and others on a similar journey. The librarian is no longer a guardian of valuable books, but a curator of curiosity, passion and interest.     

Weed to achieve: a fundamental part of the public library mission?

Weeding or deselection of materials has become an integral part of library management. Based on a nineteen-question survey about weeding practices in public libraries, this article discusses the personal perspectives of public librarians on weeding as well as the weeding practices of their institutions. The three most common criteria for weeding are circulation, physical condition, and accuracy of information. Librarians overwhelmingly believe that weeding increases use of books and patron satisfaction. In addition, the public library was framed as a venue that offers safe, clean, and fresh “product lines” with various natural life cycles and expiry dates. This discursive formation raises questions about the extent to which public libraries and their collections are becoming commodified, homogenized, and ephemeral, and whether such ephemeralness and homogenization serve the interests of all community members.