ASSOCIATES (vol. 4, no. 2, November 1997) - associates.ucr.edu
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
*LETTERS TO THE EDITORS*
Date: Fri, 01 Aug 1997 11:58:08
From: Diane Cascio
I wanted to take a little time to tell you how impressed I am
by the current issue of _Associates_. I have subscribed since the
first issue and have seen steady development but this last one has
outdone them all.
The articles are more substantive, controversial, entertaining,
inspiring, or informative than in the past and I enjoyed each one.
_Associates_ really seems to be hitting its stride. Keep up the good
work - I'll be looking forward eagerly to the next issue.
Diane Cascio
Library Specialist IV
Heafey Law Library
Santa Clara University
dcascio@mailer.scu.edu
(408) 554-4892
[Editors' Note: Thanks for the kind words, Diane! But remember,
everyone, _ASSOCIATES_ is written by people just like you and
depends on all of you for its content. Please contact any of us
if you are interested in submitting something for publication in
_ASSOCIATES_]
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Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 10:46:03
From: Vickie Turcotte
Dear _Associates_:
After reading the review of Terry Rodgers book, _The Library
Paraprofessional: Notes from the Underground_, I couldn't wait to
read it. I must say, however, that I was quite disappointed. There
were several things that made this book difficult to read, but I
can't say that I regret not finishing it (and I tried, but when it
felt like punishment, I had to give up.)
First, as a scholarly work, it is filled with the necessary
footnotes, endnotes and references in the text, but these are very
distracting. Second, I hadn't thought my vocabulary inadequate, but
I spent more time running to the dictionary to look up the "unusual"
words used liberally (and unnecessarily) throughout the text.
Finally, the tone of the book was so negative and bitter that I can't
imagine how such a book will benefit paraprofessionals. I don't mean
to say that it was untrue or that it overstated the negative issues
paras face, but it offers no positive side (and there must be one, or
we wouldn't do it.) I sincerely hope that Ms. Rodgers has found
another field of work that she likes better, because the sense I got
from the book was that she despised librarianship.
For the record, I have been working as a paraprofessional in a
medium/large urban library for five years. I am currently pursuing my
MLS because I like library work so much (despite the pay) that I want
to continue, and around here, you can't get anywhere without the MLS.
I don't believe that the MLS magic wand suddenly makes you a
"professional", but I am a realist and that is what it will take to
reach my goal.
Sincerely,
Vickie Turcotte
Library Secretary
Pollard Memorial Library, Lowell, MA
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Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 21:38:46
From: "Marvin Huggins"
Why do I get double copies of ASSOCIATES articles? I don't mean
two copies of the message; I mean that the text of the message is
there twice.
I should have mentioned that this duplication of articles in a
message, looping or whatever it is, has happened in the past regularly
with your mailings. Often I have received double copies of almost all
the articles. I haven't reported it before.
Marvin A. Huggins
St. Louis, Missouri
marvinh@pobox.com
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Tue, 22 Jul 97 15:09:56 CDT
From: Tom Bromley
I received the latest issue of _ASSOCIATES_ today, and notice
that in some of the messages, the entire text is printed twice --
most notably on the "Letters" message, and Katie Buller's column.
(Fortunately, this did not happen with Ed Gillen's piece!)
Is this a problem with in the preparation/e-mailing of the
separate sections?
Also, just out of curiosity: what is the reason for sending
a "title page" as a separate and distinct mailing? Couldn't this be
combined with the table of contents somehow?
Tom Bromley bromley@acc.fau.edu
Senior Library Technical Assistant
Florida Atlantic University Library
Boca Raton, FL
[Editor's Note: This was the first I had learned of this. I receive
a copy of _ASSOCIATES_ my personal email and have never noticed any
duplication. An informal survey showed that about 1/4 of the people I
spoke with regularly received duplicate postings but not of all
articles. No one at the Computer Center had any suggestions beyond the
obvious onbe of people being subscribed more than once, which does
happen. This would not explain why only some of the posting are
duplicated. However, as _ASSOCIATES_ is moving to a new server, perhaps
this problem will be cleared up.
In response to Tom's question regarding the title page and table
of contents, the title page is set up in Courier font so that our logo
will appear as it should. All other pages are (or should be) set up in
Times New Roman for appearance. Since so many people have so many
different email systems, I try to play it safe when publishing and keep
the title page separate. Of course, that doesn't guarantee any sort of
success. Kendall Simmons. Editor-in-Chief.]
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[Editors' Note: In our last issue, we published a request from one of
our readers for shorter articles and indented paragraphs. We asked for
your input. Here is the groundswell of responses...]
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 09:52:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: Lisa DeCarbonel
I agree with the second suggestion. The length of articles
isn't important but being creative with indentation and spacing
makes reading any article that much easier, especially if all
the reading is done online. Thanks.
Lisa de Carbonel Library Assistant III
325 Boalt Hall - Law Library Binding - Processing - Preservation
University of California, Berkeley (510) 643-7014 (voice)
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Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 08:18:41 -0700 (PDT)
From: Shelby Eaton
I agree with Jim Knutson when he suggests different formatting.
I don't mind the length of the articles, but if they were formatted
in shorter paragraphs they would be easier to read.
Thanks for your hard work!
Shelby
Ms. Shelby L. Eaton, Serials Technician
University of Washington Engineering Library
Box 352170, Seattle, WA 98195-2170
Email Address: shelby@u.washington.edu
Web Home Page: http://weber.u.washington.edu/~shelby/
[Editors' Note: Thank you, Shelby and Lisa, for writing. If you
notice, we've actually gone with indentations this issue and, in
some cases, shorter paragraphs. We'd like to know how our readers
feel about the changes.]
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Tue, Tue, 21 Oct 1997 10:17:21
From: Kathy Sain
I would like to know if I am still subscribed. If not, how to.
Thank you,
Kathy Sain
sain@wsu.edu
[Editors' Note: Until _ASSOCIATES_ has been moved to our new
server all requests should come to me at ksimmons@ukans.edu.
Instructions will be sent out to all subscribers after the move.]