Analyzing the Contemporary Czech Literary Web

ABSTRACT

It has become difficult to evaluate and gauge the extent of the ever-expanding Czech literary web. This article focuses on analyzing the current status of the Czech literary web and associated online repositories. For purposes of this article, the author examined twenty open access Czech sites whose subject matter is Czech literature. Out of these twenty websites, the author analyzed five sites in great detail. The data for the analysis was extracted initially in December of 2014.     

Stevie: An aesthetic convergence

This essay examines the film “Stevie” and its integration of cinematic, literary, and theatrical form and technique. The film is viewed as an example of the emerging of forms in the performing arts.     

Book Reviews

The Invention of Journalism JEAN K. CHALABY, 1998 London, Macmillan pp. x, 212

Grub Street and the Ivory Tower: literary journalism and literary scholarship from Fielding to the Internet JEREMY TREGLOWN and BRIDGET BENNETT, eds, 1998 Oxford, Oxford University Press

Gramophone, Film, Typewriter FRIEDRICH A. KITTLER, 1999 GEOFFREY WINTHROP‐YOUNG and MICHAEL WUTZ, trans. Stanford, CA, Stanford University Press pp. xli, 315

Writing and Society: literacy, print and politics in Britain 1590–1660 NIGEL WHEALE, 1999 London and New York, Routledge     

The evolutionary sublime and the essay of natural history

The rhetorical foundations of social change may be found, not only in polemical discourse but in popular literary discourse as well. A case in point is that of the concept of the evolutionary sublime, an amalgam of the rhetorical/aesthetic theory of the sublime and scientific evolutionary theory, which had significant implications for personal morality and social policy. This reservoir of concepts was transmitted to its readership, the American middle class of the nineteenth century, through the popular literature of natural history; it subsequently served as a basis for the persuasive arguments of the conservation movement. This study traces the emergence of rhetorical argument from bases in popular literary and intellectual culture.     

Polska Biblioteka Internetowa (Polish Internet Library) <http://www.pbi.edu.pl>

ABSTRACT

The article describes the website Polska Biblioteka Internetowa (Polish Internet Library), currently a collection of many full texts of major literary works in Polish. The site will eventually also include musical scores, maps, paintings, and photographs. Title and author keyword searching is available, along with a browsable index of authors. The site is in Polish.     

Real options theory,flexibility and the media industry

Abstract

This conceptual paper is based on two propositions: 1.) An efficient flexibility management is a critical success factor for media companies. 2.) The concept of real options theory (ROT) aims at improving a company's flexibility management. As a consequence, it is analysed how ROT can contribute to the flexibility management in media companies. In this context, two research issues are investigated. First, it is shown that real options as substantiations of flexibility are of great importance for media companies: In doing so, it is outlined that options which focus on a company's fixed costs management and options which aim at improving a company's sales situation are of high relevance for all segments in the media industry. Contrarily, options which focus on a company's variable costs are only relevant for media companies engaged in the print segment. Second, it is illustrated how ROT can contribute to the reactive and proactive management of flexibility in media companies.     

The Value of Fiction as Management Training

ABSTRACT

Reading fiction can teach sophisticated management skills. The difference between paraliterary fiction that focuses on escaping reality and literary fiction that analyzes reality is important. All reading can help improve basic literacy including increased comprehension and reading speed. Intermediate skills provide the manager with specific lessons on how to manage. Advanced skills, obtained from reading literary fiction, include empathy, the ability to interpret and create sophisticated texts, and an increased possibility of recognizing the “truth” in any environment. Traditional business publications offer more direct training but often overlook the complexities that the experienced manager will encounter and overemphasize the possibilities for success.

Column Editor’s Note This JLA column will consider issues of education and training for management positions in libraries and other information organizations from the perspectives of both the provider and the recipient. The column will appear in odd-numbered issues of the journal and focus on management education/training at various stages of the individual's career including the effectiveness of these efforts, their content, and the specific challenges of teaching and learning within the field of librarianship. The column will address both theoretical and practical concerns. Prospective authors are invited to submit articles for this column to the editor at aa3805@wayne.edu.     

Diversity Literary Awards: A Tool for Assessing an Academic Library’s Collection

Abstract

Diversity literary awards and other sources were used to create a list of high-quality titles written by and about underrepresented groups. This list was used to assess the diversity and inclusiveness of the library collections of a land-grant university in the Pacific Northwest and compare it to peer institutions. Gaps in the collection and acquisition processes were identified and will be used to improve the processes to increase the number of diverse titles added to the library’s collections.     

The Diversification of Russian Scholarly Publishing, 1995–2005

SUMMARY

Russian scholarly publication has doubled since 1995, led by private scholarly imprints, which have tripled. The increase in the publication of monographs, in which private publishers now dominate, is particularly noticeable. The majority of private scholarly publication is in history and literary studies, but private presses account for a relatively larger share of publications in philosophy and religion. Scholarly publishing is to a considerable extent funded by a robust network of government and private foundations.     

Material-Mind-Method: On the Teaching of Reference beyond the Lecture: In-Class Hands-On Contact with Reference Sources

ABSTRACT

Reference librarians need to know how to use a vast array of reference sources. How do they acquire this knowledge? How can students arrive at their entry level positions with an arsenal of known sources and strategies for advancing this knowledge? Various strategies can be employed to provide students with options on how to launch their understanding for how and when to use specific sources. This column provides examples of how to incorporate active learning activities devoted to providing students in a group setting with options on how to begin and share their learning about reference sources.     

The Archivists' Toolkit: Another Step Toward Streamlined Archival Processing

SUMMARY

The Archivists' Toolkit is a software application currently in development and designed to support the creation and management of archival information. This article summarizes the development of the application, including some of the problems the application is designed to resolve. Primary emphasis is placed on describing the application's functional requirements and architecture, as well as options for its sustainability.     

Brian E. C. Schottlaender: Politics and Philosophy of Bibliographic Control,A Conversation

ABSTRACT

This study examines the recent trend towards the provision of subject access to imaginative literature, particularly fiction. Results of the research include: (1) an enumeration of theoretical problems associated with the provision of multi-dimensional subject access to imaginative literature; (2) an investigation of literary criticism's relevance to the subject analysis of works of imaginative literature; (3) an analysis of the denotative and connotative topical elements constituting works of imaginative literature; and (4) an evaluation of the non-standard practice of formulating access points from criticism.     

Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield as Information Object: A Case Study of Serial Literature in the Victorian World of Documents

ABSTRACT

Documents reflect the historical contexts of their creation, and in doing so, become information objects. The serial novel is a type of information object, but due to re-editioning, reversioning, and digitization, most readers have lost touch with its historical significance. This analysis of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield (1849–1850) uses the lens of information theory, in relation to literary criticism, historiography, and the history of the book, to grasp the serial novel as an information object, arguing that doing so requires intimate familiarity with the physical nature of the book in parts and the historical context of its production.     

E-Journal Management Systems Panel

Abstract

This panel discussed various options and subsequent implications for the management of full-text electronic journal resources. Librarians, commercial vendors, aggregators, and integrated library system representatives shared different perspectives on this rapidly evolving area. It became apparent that regardless of the needs and resources of an institution, viable e-journal management alternatives are available that could address a wide range of functionality and budgetary commitments.     

Starbucks in the Stacks

Summary

Teams can be effective tools to evaluate electronic collections and implement new services. With rapidly changing technologies and the availability of new options, teams provide a way to share information, learn new skills, and develop a greater appreciation for the work, concerns, and needs of staff throughout the library. This communication and involvement can be critical to implementing new library services.     

Evolving Concepts and Business Models for Acquiring Electronic Resources

ABSTRACT

Libraries, publishers, and agents all face unique challenges related to the acquisition of electronic resources. Among the many variables that figure into the acquisition of an e-resource are access rights, pricing models, and packaging options. This article looks at several of these variables from both the publisher's and the agent's view, evaluating the current state of affairs and addressing forthcoming developments.     

Woke skin,white masks: race and communication studies

ABSTRACT

This essay questions whether resistance and resignation are the only options available to Communication scholars whose work is focused on race. Resistance can only be understood in counter to Whiteness while resignation takes Whiteness at its word, both reactions center and re-center Whiteness. Ultimately, this piece starts down a path of self-definitions and determinations created outside the confines of Whiteness, building solidarities and kinships along the way.     

St. Louis Public Library Employee Scholarship Program

ABSTRACT

The text of a successful employee scholarship program policy at the St. Louis Public Library is presented in this article. The policy covers rationale, application and renewal procedures, content and degrees covered, levels of financial support, approval and disapproval process, appeal procedure if application denied, work time and monetary repayment options, for single classes and associate's degrees along with Bachelor's and MLS degrees as well.     

The triumph and failure of Sheridan's speeches against Hastings

This re‐examination of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's two speeches against Warren Hastings appraises the spectacular success of the impeachment speech of 1787 and the relative success of the rephrased version delivered at Hastings’ trial in 1788. It also assesses factors that may have influenced later observers who reacted to the speeches with considerably less enthusiasm than did Sheridan's listeners. In maintaining that Sheridan's view of Hastings was consistent and justified, the author questions the continuing criticisms of Sheridan's motives in the Hastings affair. The conclusion considers why Sheridan's two speeches have probably failed as literature, and hence indirectly suggests why other speeches may have gained literary stature.