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Friday, March 07, 2003

Friday Notes 2. An on-line resource for NEILSA Librarians

DEADLINES & DATES:
I'll try to list all the upcoming dates of importance here, you will have to mine for the details.

Iowa Library Association and Iowa Educational Media Association
invite you to our Statewide Legislative Day
Wednesday, March 12th, 2003

Briefing by State Librarian, Mary Wegner and State Public Policy Group Lobbyist, Amy Campbell 2:30 p.m. at the State Library of Iowa
(Olga Babcock Miller Building E. 12th and Grand – Des Moines)

Legislative Reception begins at 4:00 p.m. in the State Law Library at the Capitol (Refreshments will be provided.)
Featuring a demonstration of E-Info (the EBSCOhost suite of databases)
by AEA 15 Media Specialist, Kristin Steingreaber

Please bring your Friends members, Trustees, College and School Officials!
from ILA Governmental Affairs Committee and the IEMA Legislative Committee

NEILSA vans going to Legislative Day:
Each van will hold up to 6 passengers, make certain you call NEILSA and reserve a space.
Van I: Leaves Grundy Center Public Library at 8:00 arrival circa 9:45
NOTE: Group may be dropped at a common location for the "free time", for example the Mall or Historic Society Building.
Van II: *** FULL ***Leaves Waterloo Public Library at 11:00 arrival circa 2:15 at SLI
NOTE: There will be a very short stop at a fast food joint circa 12:30 for lunch.
NOTE: This van has handicapped parking privileges and will park at the SLI handicapped area, and transport to the Capital handicapped area.

Late spring/early summer workshops. March 24, 25, and 26

Upcoming Grant Application Deadlines

National Leadership Grants for Library/Museum Collaborations: April 1, 2003.
http://www.imls.gov/grants/l-m/l-m_lead.asp
All IMLS grant and award program deadlines can be viewed at:
http://www.imls.gov/grants/dedln/index.htm

    County Meetings Scheduled:
If your county meeting is not on the schedule please contact NEILSA
•    Allamakee County Meeting
•    Black Hawk County Meeting - When called - seldom
•    Bremer County Meeting - April 8, 2003 @ 7:30 in Readlyn
•    Buchanan County Meeting - April 22, 2003 @ 7:00 in Fairbank PL
•    Butler County Meeting - April 1, 2003 7:00 Shell Rock PL
•    Chickasaw County Meeting - April 14 at 9:00 in New Hampton.
•    Clayton County Meeting - April 22 @ 7:30 McGregor PL
•    Delaware County Meeting - May 13, 2003 @ 7:00 Edgewood P L
•    Dubuque County - DALINC meeting will be held in Cascade at the Cascade PL on march 20th at 9:00 a.m.
•    Fayette County Meeting - April 10th at 10:00 @ Fayette Library
•    Grundy County Meeting - All meetings start at 9:00 am - 2003 schedule
        4/28 @ Dike, 6/28 @ Grundy Center, 10/27 @ Reinbeck
•    Howard County Meeting   - April 7, 2003 @ 7:00 Elma PL
•    Winneshiek County Meeting
CE:

Special Workshops:
One & two hour workshops at Fall & Spring county meetings, item specific workshops.

    OTHER CE: You must register with the listed provider. Check: http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/for_ia_libraries/continuing_ed/index.html

Display & Merchandising Workshop Offered
On March 31st the Central Iowa Library Service Area will be sponsoring
the workshop "Show Me the Books! (and the videos, DVDs, magazines,
games, puppets and more)." The workshop, dealing with library displays &
merchandising, will be held at the Pioneer Heritage Library in LeGrand.
The workshop will be from 9:30 am - 3:30 pm.
For more information and to register, please go to:
http://www.cilsa.lib.ia.us/calendar.htm#display

    Self-Directed Learning Opportunities: http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/Certification/alternate.htm

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

    In the EYE-OPENER from NWILSA:
2) ILA Legislative Day Next Wednesday: Please make plans to attend ILA's
statewide legislative day event in Des Moines, next Wednesday March 12th.
This year's Legislative Day is co-sponsored by the Iowa Library Association
and the Iowa Educational Media Association. Activities begin at 2:30PM at
the State Library Building (East 12th and Grand Ave.) State Librarian Mary
Wegner and Lobbyist Amy Campbell will provide a legislative briefing,
explaining funding and library-related issues. The actual Legislative
Reception with Iowa lawmakers begins at 4:00PM, across the street at the
State Capitol in the State Law Library. (Refreshments will be provided)
This year, organizers are planning a demonstration of E-Info (the EBSCOhost
suite of databases) This demonstration is geared toward databases of most
interest to legislators. Please bring your local library trustees, Friends
members, college and school officials, and all library boosters. NWILS
office will appreciate knowing of your intention to attend ILA Legislative
Day 2003--Thanks!
4) DuPage Teleconference for Support Staff March 21st: Another in a series
of teleconferences is coming up on Friday, March 21st. Sponsored by the
College of DuPage in Illinois, the March 21st broadcast is entitled "Library
Support Staff Soar to Great Heights: How Library Workers Give Back." The
program runs from 11:00AM--1:00PM Central Standard Time and is worth 2 c.e. credits (once you've completed a "LEARNING ACTIVITY WRITTEN SUMMARY," found at
http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/for-ia-libraries/continuing-ed/learningactivitywrittensummary.pdf)
Here's a description of the Support Staff teleconference: "...this third
Soaring program focuses specifically on library support staff and what they
are doing to enhance their jobs, their skills, their libraries, their
attitudes, and their relationships with patrons, students, or co-workers.
Also, the latest topics in their professional arena will be discussed by
exploring resources such as Library Mosaics and ALA's Career Ladders. This
will be comprehensive view of what library service is now--and what it can
be in the future. Program features Penny Mandziara (Youth Services with
Bensenville Community Public Library in Illinois) and Janis Williams
(Library Technical Assistant at Elmhurst College Library in Illinois)..."
Choose your ICN location by registering online:
http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/for-ia-libraries/continuing-ed/supportstaffmarch21 .htm
And remember to download any workshop materials and handouts from the
College of DuPage's website:
http://www.cod.edu/teleconf/soaring/session3.htm So reward your own library
support staff by allowing them to attend this teleconference--designed
especially for them:-)


    New LINKS of interest:
Well it may not be AACR2r or DDC 13 but check out the city chart of accounts your poor clerk gets to use: http://www.iowaleague.org/services/officials/coa.pdf

NOTE: if you catch someone on this site watch out: http://www.thegag.com/ [A pratical joke site]

Two space planning guides that apply to small libraries:
One is from the Department of Public Library Development in Wisconsin, accessible at: http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dlcl/pld/plspace.html
. The other is a library space planning worksheet accessible through the Connecticut State Library at: http://www.cslib.org/dldpub.htm.

YOU WROTE: snippets from your e-mails:
The Friday Notes 2 would be most happy to include reports from your county about your legislative day or other special projects that you would like to share:
For example;
Last Saturday, Buchanan County hosted its 7th annual County Legislative Day.
It was a wonderful morning. We had 21 people including Sen. Kitty Rehberg, Rep. Dan Rasmussen, 2 from the County Board of Supervisors, 3 mayors, a city councilperson, library board of trustee members and 6 library directors. It was very informative and we had some good discussion. We had time to discuss the cuts at the state library and the LSAs and Enrich Iowa. I even demonstrated EBSCO to Kitty after the meeting. She thought it was great.
Both of our legislators said they like to see people from home at the capitol BUT they do not have the time to spend discussing issues like they do here at home. Often they are either in session or at caucus and cannot come out to talk.
Yesterday I received e-mails from both of them thanking us for having the legislative day. They both thought it was a great success and asked that we do it again, anytime. My point is: pass this on to the other counties. If you are not having one, think about it. It is easy to do. You only spend an hour or two but if it helps your legislators to understand what we do a little more, they may be more willing to fight to help us in the future.
Thanks,
Cindy Lellig
Jesup

FEEDBACK:
REQUEST: If your legislator puts out a newsletter would you please forward a copy to: davenport@neilsa.org
I currently have access to: Rep. Don Shoultz & Bill Dix – so I do not need their newsletters. Thanks Ken

CHANGES: Updates – Addresses & such - None reported

CONSORTIA NEWS & E-Rate:
Recently the Education and Libraries Network Coalition (EdLiNC) sent
out a survey to all E-rate applicants. ALA is a founding member of
EdLiNC and is participating in the report that EdLiNC hopes to be able
to produced based on survey responses..
The purpose of the survey is to discover innovative (and legal)
projects undertaken with the support of the E-rate or wonderful human
stories that illustrate how important the E-rate is for libraries and
schools.
If you received one of these your response would be greatly to the advantage of the program. I did one and while it took some time (circa 15 minutes) it was rather comprehensive.


END PLATE: Long Announcements, Supporting Documents, & other "stuff"
Legislation of Interest: FROM Rep. Don Shoultz "Statehouse News"
**** HF456 ****
A House Committee passed a bill designed to ensure that Iowa software buyers are protected under Iowa consumer laws.
The bill repeals two provisions contained in the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), which established uniform standards for electronic transactions.   Iowa passed UETA in 2000.
Under the 2000 law, a commitment was made to consider passing the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA) in the future. It also temporarily voided "choice of law" contracts under UCITA.
UCITA
UCITA is a controversial proposed law dealing with copyright, royalties, etc., for intangible products and products delivered electronically, such as software. Under UCITA, a software contract can become binding as soon as a user clicks on a website to download the software.
Many software users, including government bodies, insurance companies and other businesses, believe UCITA alters the law too much in favor of software publishers with few consumer protections.
Iowa's Attorney General also opposes UCITA because it lacks sufficient consumer safeguards that would otherwise pertain under existing Iowa law. Only Maryland and Virginia have passed UCITA thus far.
Choice of Law Clauses
A very controversial UCITA provision would allow software contracts to have "choice of law" clauses, allowing the contract to be interpreted under the laws of another state that has enacted UCITA.
Many feared that software contracts would require that disputes be settled in accordance with the law in whatever state was most favorable to their interests.
Summary of House Bill
This proposed House bill strikes any commitment to consider UCITA in the future. It also makes the temporary Iowa law voiding "choice-of law" clauses in software contracts permanent. Therefore, in future disputes between software manufacturers and Iowa consumers, Iowa consumer law will continue to apply.

Modern Proverbs
There's always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it.
For example:
1. I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt.
2. When I'm feeling down, I like to whistle. It makes the neighbor's dog that barks all the time run to the end of his chain and gag himself.
3. If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
4. A penny saved is a government oversight.
5. The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends.
6. The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.
7. He who hesitates is probably right.
8. If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.
9. The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.
10. How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on.
11. If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?
12. Most of us go to our grave with our music still inside of us.
13. If Wal-Mart is lowering prices every day, how come nothing is free yet?
14. You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
15. Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
16. Don't cry because it's over: smile because it happened.
17. We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors...but they all have to learn to live in the same box.
18. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.
19. A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
20. Happiness comes through doors you didn't even know you left open
21. Once over the hill, you pick up speed.
22. I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
23. If not for STRESS I'd have no energy at all.
24. Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.
25. Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
26. I know God won't give me more than I can handle. I just wish she didn't trust me so much.
27. You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.
28. Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.
29. We cannot change the direction of the wind . but we can adjust our sails.
30. If the shoe fits......buy it in every color
31. Have an awesome day, and know that someone has thought about you today

OPINION:
Subject: Knowledge is Power w/ Terrorism
A Soldier's Viewpoint on Surviving Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Attacks
From: SFC Red Thomas (Ret) Armor Master Gunner Mesa, AZ Unlimited reproduction and distribution is authorized. Just give me credit for my work, and, keep in context.
==================================================
Since the media has decided to scare everyone with predictions of chemical, biological, or nuclear warfare on our turf I decided to write a paper and keep things in their proper perspective. I am a retired military weapons, munitions, and training expert.
Lesson number one:
    In the mid 1990s there were a series of nerve gas attacks on crowded Japanese subway stations. Given perfect conditions for an attack less than 10% of the people there were injured (the injured were better in a few hours) and only one percent of the injured died. 60 Minutes once had a fellow telling us that one drop of nerve gas could kill a thousand people. Well he didn't tell you the thousand dead people per drop was theoretical.
    Drill Sergeants exaggerate how terrible this stuff was to keep the recruits awake in class (I know this because I was a Drill Sergeant too). Forget everything you've ever seen on TV, in the movies, or read in a novel about this stuff, it was all a lie (read this sentence again out loud!). These weapons are about terror, if you remain calm, you will probably not die. This is far less scary than the media and their "Experts," make it sound.
Chemical Weapons:
    Chemical weapons are categorized as nerve, blood, blister, and Incapacitating agents. Contrary to the hype of reporters and politicians they are not weapons of mass destruction they are "area denial," and terror weapons that don't destroy anything. When you leave the area you almost always leave the risk. That's the difference; you can leave the area and the risk but soldiers may have to stay put and sit through it and that's why they need all that spiffy gear.
    These are not gasses, they are vapors and/or air borne particles. The agent must be delivered in sufficient quantity to kill/injure, and that defines when/how it's used. Every day we have a morning and evening inversion where "stuff," suspended in the air gets pushed down. This inversion is why allergies (pollen) and air pollution are worst at these times of the day. So, a chemical attack will have it's best effect an hour of so either side of sunrise/sunset. Also, being vapors and airborne particles they are heavier than air so they will seek low places like ditches, basements and underground garages. This stuff won't work when it's freezing. It doesn't last when it's hot. And, wind spreads it too thin too fast. They've got to get this stuff on you, or, get you to inhale it for it to work. They also have to get the concentration of chemicals high enough to kill or wound you. Too little and it's nothing. Too much and it's wasted. What I hope you've gathered by this point is that a chemical weapons attack that kills a lot of people is incredibly hard to do with military grade agents and equipment so you can imagine how hard it will be for terrorists. The more you know about this stuff the more you realize how hard it is to use.
    We'll start by talking about nerve agents. You have these in your house. Plain old bug killer (like Raid) is nerve agent. All nerve agents work the same way; they are cholinesterase inhibitors that mess up the signals your nervous system uses to make your body function. It can harm you if you get it on your skin but it works best if they can get you to inhale it. If you don't die in the first minute and you can leave the area you're probably gonna live. The military's antidote for all nerve agents is atropine and pralidoxime chloride. Neither one of these does anything to cure the nerve agent, they send your body into overdrive to keep you alive for five minutes, after that the agent is used up. Your best protection is fresh air and staying calm. Listed below are the symptoms for nerve agent poisoning:
Sudden headache, Dimness of vision (someone you're looking at will have pinpointed pupils), runny nose, excessive saliva or drooling, difficulty breathing, tightness in chest, nausea, stomach cramps, twitching of exposed skin where a liquid just got on you. If you are in public and you start experiencing these symptoms, first ask yourself, did anything out of the ordinary just happen, a loud pop, did someone spray something on the crowd? Are other people getting sick too?
    Is there an odor of new mown hay, green corn, something fruity, or camphor where it shouldn't be? If the answer is yes, then calmly (if you panic you breathe faster and inhale more air/poison) leave the area and head up wind, or, outside. Fresh air is the best "right now antidote." If you have a blob of liquid that looks like molasses or Kayro syrup on you; blot it or scrape it off and away from yourself with anything disposable. This stuff works based on your body weight. What a crop duster uses to kill bugs won't hurt you unless you stand there and breathe it in real deep, then lick the residue off the ground for a while. Remember they have to do all the work, they have to get the concentration up and keep it up for several minutes while all you have to do is quit getting it on you. Quit breathing it by putting space between you and the attack.
    Blood agents are cyanide or arsine which effect your blood's ability to provide oxygen to your tissue. The scenario for attack would be the same as nerve agent. Look for a pop or someone splashing/spraying something and folks around there getting woozy/falling down. The telltale smells are bitter almonds or garlic where it shouldn't be. The symptoms are blue lips, blue under the fingernails rapid breathing. The military's antidote is amyl nitride and just like nerve agent antidote it just keeps your body working for five minutes till the toxins are used up. Fresh air is the your best individual chance.
    Blister agents (distilled mustard) are so nasty that nobody wants to even handle it let alone use it. It's almost impossible to handle safely and may have delayed effect of up to 12 hours. The attack scenario is also limited to the things you'd see from other chemicals. If you do get large, painful blisters for no apparent reason, don't pop them. If you must, don't let the liquid from the blister get on any other area. The stuff just keeps on spreading. It's just as likely to harm the user as the target. Soap, water, sunshine, and fresh air are this stuff's enemy.
    Bottom line on chemical weapons (it's the same if they use industrial chemical spills); they are intended to make you panic, to terrorize you, to herd you like sheep to the wolves. If there is an attack, leave the area and go upwind, or to the sides of the wind stream. They have to get the stuff to you, and on you. You're more likely to be hurt by a drunk driver on any given day than be hurt by one of these attacks. Your odds get better if you leave the area. Soap, water, time, and fresh air really deal this stuff a knock-out-punch. Don't let fear of an isolated attack rule your life. The odds are really on your side.
Nuclear Weapons:
    Nuclear bombs. These are the only weapons of mass destruction on earth. The effects of a nuclear bomb are heat, blast, EMP, and radiation. If you see a bright flash of light like the sun, where the sun isn't, fall to the ground! The heat will be over a second. Then there will be two blast waves, one out going, and one on it's way back. Don't stand up to see what happened after the first wave; anything that's going to happen will have happened in two full minutes. These will be low yield devices and will not level whole cities. If you live through the heat, blast, and initial burst of radiation, you'll probably live for a very, very long time.
    Radiation will not create fifty foot tall women, or giant ants and grass hoppers the size of tanks. These will be at the most 1 kiloton bombs; that's the equivalent of 1,000 tons of TNT. Here's the real deal, flying debris and radiation will kill a lot of exposed (not all!) people within a half mile of the blast. Under perfect conditions this is about a half mile circle of death and destruction, but, when it's done it's done. EMP stands for Electro Magnetic Pulse, and it will fry every electronic device for a good distance, it's impossible to say what and how far but probably not over a couple of miles from ground zero is a good guess. Cars, cell phones, computers, ATMs, you name it, all will be out of order.
    There are lots of kinds of radiation, you only need to worry about three, the others you have lived with for years. You need to worry about "Ionizing radiation". These are little sub atomic particles that go whizzing along at the speed of light. They hit individual cells in your body, kill the nucleus and keep on going. That's how you get radiation poisoning. You have so many dead cells in your body that the decaying cells poison you. It's the same as people getting radiation treatments for cancer, only a bigger area gets radiated. The good news is you don't have to just sit there and take it. There's lots you can do rather than panic. First; your skin will stop alpha particles. A page of a news paper or your clothing will stop beta particles. You just gotta try and avoid inhaling dust that's contaminated with atoms that are emitting these things and you'll be generally safe from them.
    Gamma rays are particles that travel like rays (quantum physics makes my brain hurt) and they create the same damage as alpha and beta particles, only they keep going and kill lots of cells as they go all the way through your body. It takes a lot to stop these things, lots of dense material. On the other hand it takes a lot of this to kill you. Your defense is as always to not panic. Basic hygiene and normal preparation are your friends. All canned or frozen food is safe to eat. The radiation poisoning will not effect plants so fruits and vegetables are OK. If there's no dust on em (rinse em off if there is). If you don't have running water and you need to collect rain water or use water from wherever, just let it sit for thirty minutes and skim off the water gently from the top. The dust with the bad stuff in it will settle and the remaining water can be used for the toilet which will still work if you have a bucket of water to pour in the tank.
Biological Weapons:
    Finally there's biological warfare. There's not much to cover here. Basic personal hygiene and sanitation will take you further than a million doctors. Wash your hands often. Don't share drinks, food, sloppy kisses, etc., .... with strangers. Keep your garbage can with a tight lid on it. Don't have standing water (like old buckets, ditches, or kiddie pools) laying around to allow mosquitoes breeding room. This stuff is carried by vectors, that is bugs, rodents, and contaminated material. If biological warfare is so easy as the TV makes it sound, why has Saddam Hussein spent twenty years, millions, and millions of dollars trying to get it right? If you're clean of person and home you eat well and are active you're gonna live. Overall preparation for any terrorist attack is the same as you'd take for a big storm. If you want a gas mask, fine, go get one. I know this stuff and I'm not getting one. And, I told my Mom not to bother with one either (how's that for confidence). We have a week's worth of cash, several days worth of canned goods and plenty of soap and water. We don't leave stuff out to attract bugs or rodents so we don't have them.
    These people can't conceive a nation this big with this much resources. These weapons are made to cause panic, terror, and to demoralize. If we don't run around like sheep, they won't use this stuff after they find out it's no fun. The government is going nuts over this stuff because they have to protect every inch of America. You've only gotta protect yourself, and by doing that, you help the country.
Finally, there are millions of caveats to everything I wrote here and you can think up specific scenarios where my advice isn't the best. This letter is supposed to help the greatest number of people under the greatest number of situations. If you don't like my work, don't nit pick, just sit down and explain chemical, nuclear, and biological warfare in a document around three pages long yourself. This is how we the people of the United States can rob these people of their most desired goal, your terror.
SFC Red Thomas (Ret)
Armor Master Gunner
Mesa, AZ

The fine print stuff
blogs - Friday Notes 2 AT - http://radio.weblogs.com/0108327/
NOTICE – DISCLAIMER - pick one, any one will do.
MY disclaimer:
Basically my opinions are my own, shared by no one else (sometimes), and are not the opinions of my agency, my board, my co-workers, my parents, siblings, relatives, my dogs or most any other know life form. Except, of course, those very bright concerned, sensitive, perceptive &, in general, well educated, widely read and cultured individuals who wish to share this peculiar road to ruin, as well as a couple of down & out drugged out beatniks from the good old days. OK? The "Prime Directive" applies.
Edited by:
Ken Davenport - NEILSA Consultant
davenport@neilsa.org
COPYLEFT NOTICE 2002:
THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS FREE.
It may be copied, distributed and/or modified under the conditions set down in the Design Science License published by Michael Stutz at
http://dsl.org/copyleft/dsl.txt

© COPYRIGHT
Please note: material found on the web should be assumed to be under copyright and is presented here for purposes of education and research only.
NOTE: If credited [via ???] or [from so & so] it is their material and not covered by my "Copyleft" notice. Ken
SOURCE: {Consultant} D:Corelwpdocs0307.wpd August 2, 2002
BOILER PLATE FOOTNOTES:
1. WARNING: I will be able to give you about a 5 working day warning on deadlines (by e-mail, less otherwise) I have 10 days to reply, if I miss the deadline, well I won't miss, if you miss ... I'll send it in late but ...

1:41:50 PM    comment []