You can't Get There from Here,or How Do I Become a Slavic Studies Librarian?

ABSTRACT

New librarians looking to enter the field of Slavic librarianship soon discover there is no clear template for how to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in this field. This article attempts first to define those skills and knowledge, and then to map out the opportunities for acquiring them in North American institutions. Toward this goal, it summarizes and analyzes the results from a survey of the educational and experiential background and current responsibilities of 128 working Slavic librarians. It then details the North American academic institutions offering specialized training or degree programs for Slavic librarians and those institutions where the component parts are all available to be assembled by the proactive student.     

Center for Czechoslovak Exile Studies in Olomouc: Survey of the Past Twenty Years of Activity (1993–2013)

The article describes activities of the Center for Czechoslovak Exile Studies in Olomouc particularly for the period 2004–2013. During this period the center acquired many significant archival collections.     

Thinking Culture and Cultural Studies—from/of the Global South

ABSTRACT

This essay invites us to consider the need to rethink culture and some theoretical/intellectual assumptions in Cultural Studies when we bring up the issue of the “Global South.” The essay makes a case for “going South” in Cultural Studies. It advances a notion of the South that is based on a frame of dispossession. The first section offers a historical overview of the Global South and considers where the Global South is today. The second section attempts to rethink the notion of ‘culture’ and some intellectual orientations in Cultural Studies when we move to the Global South.     

Finno‐Ugric‐Language Books and Periodicals in the “Soviet Literature in Minor Languages” Collection of the Slavic and Baltic Division of The New York Public Library

The New York Public Library's collection of rare Finno‐Ugric books and periodicals from the Russian Federation date to the early1920s. The unique holdings include materials in the Mari, Komi and Udmurt languages, Estonian, Finnish, and several Finno‐Ugric dialects. These materials are of particular value to linguists, who wish to trace the process of Sovietization on the minority languages of Russia's autonomous regions.     

Employee attitudes toward the broadcasting industry: A report from the APBE‐NAB employment study

A 1965 Journal article by James W. Carey, “Variations in Negro/White Television Preferences,”; aroused considerable discussion when it appeared. The following article is on a similar topic, using a different sample. Alan D. Fletcher earned his Ph.D. in Communication at the University of Illinois; this article is based on a section of his dissertation. He presently is associate professor of marketing at Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois.     

Concerns about the Disproportionate Use of Economic Research in the FCC'S Media Ownership Studies from 2002–2007

An analysis of the studies used by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in its media ownership proceedings from 2002–2007 found a disproportionate use of economic research to support the agency's rule changes. The use of this research in policymaking is important because the FCC's reliance on economic literature may have helped justify a “procedural” definition of what constitutes the public interest, and a “neoliberal” faith in the wisdom of market forces to ensure that the public interest is being served. The findings suggest that the inclusion of a broader range of scholarship, especially media research, would not have supported the FCC's decision to further relax media ownership rules.     

Can I Have Your Attention? Implications of the Research on Distractions and Multitasking for Reference Librarians

The media have identified the past decade as “the age of distraction.” People today find it harder to work on long, sustained tasks because distractions are eroding their attention spans, fostering a culture of discontinuity. Fields as diverse as psychology, business, education, human-computer interaction, and communication studies have produced a wealth of studies on interruptions, distractions, and multitasking—research that has important implications for reference librarians. The nature of our jobs invites interruptions by the public, requires familiarity with the latest technology, stimulates curiosity about a broad range of subjects, and demands adeptness at multitasking—all factors that can atomize attention.     

Trends in global communication policy‐making: Lessons from the Asian case∗

This paper surveys current trends in the restructuring of global communications since publication of the MacBride Commission Report on NWICO. Focusing on a specific region, Asia, the analysis addresses implications of the shift in communication policy from the dominant, twentieth century democratic conception of the ‘public’ as a community of free citizens, to a more archaic conception of the ‘public’ as individual consumers in a laissez‐faire’ market. The paper inquires into evidence of this policy shift in the Asian context as well as into the contemporary relevance of concerns expressed by NWICO advocates. Based on a substantive examination of recent literature, it is argued that since communication is a precondition to development, access to and control over the means and processes of communication are properly questions of great social importance. The paper further argues that current Asian trends converting communication into a commodity run counter to the possibilities for rational and autonomous public communication necessary to the practice of liberal democracy. A headlong rush to a global economic market as the definer of communication processes has forced governments to share power with national and multi‐national private commercial interests, thereby radically altering the very structure of institutions shaping communication policy and practice. Consequences of this restructuring have been to virtually eliminate any influential national or global setting where these issues may be debated and addressed.     

Reinvisioning and redesigning “a library for the fifteenth through twenty-first centuries”: a case study on loss of space from the Library and Center for Knowledge Management,University of California,San Francisco

The University of California, San Francisco, is an academic health sciences campus that is part of a state public university system. Space is very limited at this urban campus, and the library building''s 90,000 square feet represent extremely valuable real estate. A planning process spanning several years initially proposed creating new teaching space utilizing 10,000 square feet of the library. A collaborative campus-wide planning process eventually resulted in the design of a new teaching and learning center that integrates clinical skills, simulation, and technology-enhanced education facilties on one entire floor of the building (21,000 square feet). The planning process resulted in a project that serves the entire campus and strengthens the library''s role in the education mission. The full impact of the project is yet unknown as construction is not complete.     

Integrated Reference à la Carte: Evaluating,Selecting, and Implementing the Best Features for your Library

Integrated reference systems, such as SpringShare's LibAnswers, operate on a single, easy-to-use platform for providing virtual reference services and recording transactions. This article discusses the evidence-based decision-making carried out by librarians at Auburn University's main library and a branch library when deciding which aspects of the LibAnswers platform to incorporate at the two separate locations. Evaluating, selecting, and implementing appropriate components of LibAnswers resulted in complementary but separate systems that met the needs of both patrons and staff. This article adds to the body of literature on integrated reference systems by expanding the focus to include a branch library and its unique considerations and reasons for implementing LibAnswers.     

Problems in finding qualified employees: A report from the APBE‐NAB employment study

The following report is one of a series based on People in Broadcasting, the initial report of a research study by the Association for Professional Broadcasting Education and the National Association of Broadcasters. An introductory article appeared in the Spring 1962 issue, and one on “Broadcasting Management” was published in the Summer 1962 issue of the Journal of Broadcasting. Glenn Starlin, Professor of Speech at the University of Oregon, is coordinating suggestions for additional analysis of the data collected in this study, and volunteers for conducting such additional analyses are urged to write Dr. Starlin.     

Free‐association responses and the investigation of meaning: A technique for instrument development

What is described in this paper is the development of a technique for the measurement of meaning. This technique avoids some of the undesirable features of traditional measures. It is easy to employ and does not require large samples. It is highly relevant to the concept being measured and appropriate to the population under examination.     

A descriptive investigation of the possible communication‐based reasons for effective and ineffective group decision making

The present study sought to compare the nature and content of interaction within a number of “effective” and “ineffective” decision‐making groups in an effort to identify consistent differences which might account for the differences in the quality of their group decisions. The goal of the investigation was to generate data which will help us better understand the communication‐based reasons for “effective” and “ineffective” group decision making. Using basically a qualitative approach, six “effective” groups and five “ineffective” groups were compared. The study found that the discussions of those two sets of groups can be distinguished on the basis of at least four communication‐related characteristics: (1) The manner in which the groups examined opinions and assumptions advanced by group members; (2) The manner in which the groups evaluated alternative choices; (3) The nature of the premises which served as the basis for the groups’ decisions; and (4) The nature of influence exerted by the most influential members of the groups. These four differences are discussed in terms of specific empirically‐testable propositions regarding the relationship between group interaction and quality of group decision making.     

Listen to the Music: Lessons for Publishers from Record Labels’ Digital Debut Decade

Multimedia EBooks present a tremendous growth opportunity for publishers. Yet, industry executives might be cautious after witnessing the astounding collapse of the record business during its digital transition over the last 10 years. This article looks at what went wrong for Big Music, what lessons book publishers can learn from the recording industry’s mistakes and also some visions of the future. And why digitally, for books—at least—it can’t get here fast enough.     

Goals for cross‐sex first dates: identification,measurement, and the influence of contextual factors

Three studies identify goals that college students have for cross‐sex first dates, develop a scale to measure them, and determine how contextual factors influence reports of these goals. In study 1, college students identified goals for their most recent first dates. Study 2 developed a scale measuring have fun, reduce uncertainty, identify romantic potential, friendship, and sexual activity goals. In study 3 contextual factors (sex of initiator, alcohol availability, and partner knowledge) systematically influenced first date goals. Men and women differed in first date goals in all three studies. These goals highlight the importance of first dates as important relational events, and include multiple types of uncertainty reduction, in early relational stages.     

Mythology,narrative, and discourse in Javanese wayang towards cross‐level theories for the new development paradigm

This study is aimed mainly at portraying the profiles of the visitors to presidential candidate's websites in Taiwan's 2000 election. An online survey was conducted, initiated by visitors' clicking button ads on different candidates' websites, which linked them to a questionnaire. The results reveal that mainly the site visitors were male, young, and highly educated. Most visitors agreed that their motive to visit candidates' websites were to acquire candidate‐related information, and to better understand the candidates' standing on policies. Those who visited a particular candidate's site tended to be supporters of that candidate.     

“That's just a basic teen‐age rule”;: Girls’ linguistic strategies for managing the menstrual communication taboo

Powerful social taboos dictate that menstruation should not be discussed socially. Adolescent girls, however, frequently feel a need to talk about menstruation and to share information about it, but they are usually embarrassed to talk about menstruation. Their efforts to avoid and prevent this embarrassment while meeting their communication needs have led them to develop creative linguistic strategies such as slang terms, circumlocutions, pronouns, and euphemistic deixs. Based on extended interviews with adolescent girls (ages 12–16), this article discloses how these communication strategies allow girls to maintain norms of menstrual concealment as they simultaneously violate taboos against menstrual communication.