Pretending to Be Japanese: Artistic Play in a Japanese-American Church and Family

This article highlights the potential of symbols, specifically those David Tracy calls “religious classics,” to anchor both dialogue among people of differing beliefs and the formation of young people by their religious communities. Symbols present a particularly propitious focal point for such dialogue because of (1) the congruence of symbolic expression with the dynamics of human cognition and (2) the suitability of this mode of expression to the present cultural context. A dramatic example illustrates the process of shared reflection on classic religious symbols through which and for which religious communities should form their youth for responsible participation in public spaces.     

Whose Knowledge?* 1 Gender,Education, Science and History

What forms of knowledge are deemed worth possessing in any period and who is allowed access to them are crucial questions for the historian of education. Science, now a core subject of study, has long been seen as ‘masculine’, especially at its highest levels, although the historical reasons for this have been somewhat neglected in education. This paper compares and analyses the interrelationships of education, gender and science at both the end of the long eighteenth century and in the early twentieth century in order to explore issues of knowledge and gender and demonstrate the use of a historical perspective     

The hope of biography: the historical recovery of women educator activists

UNESCO formed the concept of fundamental education in hopes that the programme could end poverty, bring world peace and serve indigenous people. When UNESCO’s first pilot project appeared to fail, the organisation developed centres where fundamental education workers learned to use such techniques as libraries, museum displays, films and radio, instruction in vernacular languages, and literacy campaigns. Modelled on progressive education, these techniques shared four tendencies that contradicted the aims of fundamental education. First, the programmes seemed to impose a modern scientific culture on indigenous societies. Second, the fundamental education workers found themselves manipulating indigenous people to accept what the programmes offered. Third, when officials used words aimed at helping, they seemed to mask the cultural traits that the programmes implied. Fourth, the fundamental education workers tended to translate failure as an indication of the need for increased efforts rather than as events questioning the wisdom of the programmes.     

Collective Success: A Phenomenological Case Study of Ohio Public Libraries

This study examines the collective success and Best in the Nation status of Ohio public libraries as indicated by the Hennen American Public Library ratings (HAPLR), the “Star” libraries statistical rankings, and expert suppositions in the trade literature. This study is a phenomenological case study design that utilizes in-depth, semistructured interviews with a purposeful sample of former and current Ohio public librarians. The analysis indicates that equitable state-based funding and organized library autonomy are the overarching drivers in setting the Best in the Nation phenomenon for Ohio public libraries. This phenomenon is abetted by supportive public and professional communities within a hospitable geographic region. Altogether these qualities are the basis of a dynamic ecosystem of success for Ohio public libraries. The sharp funding reduction of 2009, however, has called the sustainability of the Best in the Nation library ecosystem into question. Additionally, the research revealed the specific nature of the phenomenon, which was not initially perceptible.     

A Survey of Cataloging Education: Are Library Schools Listening?

ABSTRACT

In recent years a number of surveys of cataloging education have been conducted, and each of those surveys has suggested changes in library education. This survey reviews the current state of cataloging education by evaluating courses taught by 47 ALA accredited programs and compares the results to previous studies. This study examined the types of cataloging courses offered in LIS programs to determine if the type of course taught has changed over time. Additionally, this study examined course offering frequencies to determine if LIS programs are making the kind of courses needed to train cataloging librarians available to their students. It is concluded that although LIS programs are continuing to offer and require introductory courses in cataloging and bibliographic control, they are relying more heavily on these introductory courses to provide the bulk of cataloging education.     

Academic Libraries as Digital Gateways: Linking Students to the Burgeoning Wealth of Open Online Collections

ABSTRACT

Digital collections of full-text e-books are proliferating on the Web and provide a wealth of open content for students. To examine whether academic libraries are providing a digital gateway to these resources, ten e-book titles from open digital collections were searched in the online catalogs and Web pages of ten academic libraries serving distance learners. Only three of the digital collection e-books were available from any of the library catalogs, and none were found on library Web pages. Availability of the ten e-book titles through Google and other digital discovery tools also had mixed results. Continued projects for improved delivery of open online content are necessary. In order to fulfill their role as digital gateways for their academic communities, libraries must pursue metadata standards to support cross-searching, collaborative projects, and development of e-resource search software, which integrates with the library catalog.     

Communications Research

Thomas F. Gordon and Mary Ellen Verna Mass Communication Effects and Processes: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1950-1975 (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1978—$15.00),

Charles Winick, Deviance and Mass Media (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1979—$18.50/8.95),

Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method by Don A. Dillman (New York: Wiley-Interscience, 1979—$19.95)

Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and Education by J.P. Guilford and Benjamin Fruchter (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979—$16.00)

Jane T. Bertrand Communications Pretesting (Chicago: University of Chicago Community and Family Study Center, 1978—$3.50, paper)

Gary Gumpert and Robert Cathcart, Inter/Media: Interpersonal Communication in a Media World ( New York: Oxford University Press, 1979—$S.95, paper)     

Libraries and reference

AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE [website] (http://www.afionline.org), reviewed 9 June 1999.

GOING DIGITAL: STRATEGIES FOR ACCESS, PRESERVATION, AND CONVERSION OF COLLECTIONS TO A DIGITAL FORMAT edited by Donald L. DeWitt (New York: Haworth Press, 1998—$45.00, ISBN 0–7890–0521–2, 232 pp., index)

ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION [website] (http://www.eff.org), reviewed 17 April 1999. Founded in 1990 by John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor (of Lotus 1–2‐3 fame)

FACT: FIRST AMENDMENT CYBER‐TRIBUNE [website] (http://w3.trib.com/FACT), reviewed 17 April 1999. FACT is hosted by Wyoming's Casper Star‐Tribune and edited by Charles Levendosky (a columnist and editor for that newspaper)

THE HISTORY CHANNEL [website] (http://www.historychannel.com), reviewed 11 June 1999.

THE NATURE OF THE BOOK: PRINT AND KNOWLEDGE IN THE MAKING by Adrian Johns (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998—$40.00/no paper price, ISBM 0–226–40121–9 hard, 0–226–40122–7 paper, 753 pp., bibliography, index)

K.I.S.S. OF THE PANOPTICON [website] (http://carmen.artsci.washington.edu /panop/home.htm), reviewed 12 May 1999.

THE MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION STUDIES SITE (MCS): CONSTRUCTIVISM AT WORK [website] (http://www.aber.ac.uk/‐dgc/media.html), reviewed 23 April 1999.

MEDIA AWARENESS NETWORK [webstite] (http://www.media‐awareness.ca/), reviewed 11 March 1999.

CIVIC SPACE/CYBERSPACE: THE AMERICAN PUBLIC LIBRARY IN THE INFORMATION AGE by Redmond Kathleen Molz and Phyllis Dain (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999—$30.00, ISBN 0–262–13346–6, 259 pp., appendix, notes, bibliographical references, index)

RADIO VATICAN CITY [website] (http://www.wrn.org/vatican‐radio/), reviewed 12 May 1999.

SARAH ZUPKO'S CULTURAL STUDIES CENTER [website] (http://www.popcultures.com/), reviewed 12 May 1999.