— Spring 1999—
Return to The Link Index

• In this Issue:

  Where Lies the Truth?
  Committee News
  Spring Conference, "International School Libraries: Beyond the Year 2000"
  Words of Wisdom from the New Committee Chair
  Meet the Committee
  The SIRS/ECIS Information Exchange Award
  What Is a Consortium and What Can It Do for Us?

Where Lies the Truth?

The web is a dangerous place.  We may have no idea of who put up a page, how accurate or up-to-date or free from bias the information.  We tell the kids to think about what they read, to check their sources, to get second opinions, but it isn't always that easy.

Ann Smith's page on Information Literacy made me aware of a discrepancy in web postings of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech.  There are at least sixteen postings of the speech on the web. When I first became interested in Smith's observation, I did a search on Inference Find and found just six sites, but two months later I found many more - though some of the original sites were not found this time.

There are two main and very different versions on the net.  In each of the two main versions, there are differences, especially in terms of punctuation and paragraphing.   This alone could make a discussion point.  At least one posting uses bold font and a larger face for certain phrases and sentences, where other postings use the same font face and size throughout.

But these are minor details.  There are two very different versions of the speech on the web.  One is almost certainly the original, the other appears to have been edited for political correctness.  One uses the word "Negro", the other uses the term "colored American". 

I believe the text which uses "Negro" is the original, but it is proving difficult to be certain.  One of the sites includes sound clips from King's speech, and he uses the word "Negro".   That should be enough.  But just a few days ago, I learned of a CD-ROM encyclopedia which includes a sound-clip of JFK's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech, probably authentic, except that the encyclopedia also has a sound-clip of Thomas Jefferson reading from the Declaration of Independence.  How
questioning must one be, how critically thoughtful, how determined?

I can find a video, I can find a book, but can I believe them? For many, if it's on the web, if it's on CD-ROM, if it's in print - then it must be true.  Many of the children I teach have difficulty imagining a world without television and cars and supermarkets.   Technology is technology only for those born before it was invented - and for those born afterwards, the past may merge into a blur.  Why shouldn't, why couldn't, Jefferson's "rendition" be authentic?  Does it matter whether King used "Negro" or "colored"?  How long before we find "African American" used?  Does it matter? 

Close inspection of the two versions of King's speech reveals a disturbing fact: there are sentences and paragraphs which are present in one of the versions but missing from the second; at least one paragraph has been drastically rewritten in the second version.  The politically correct version plays down King's pleas for peaceful and dignified protest.  Ask again, does it matter? 

This is history rewritten.  I am concerned that any good researcher, attempting to validate their hit, might well find copies 2, 3 and 4 of the false version of King's speech - and so suppose that this really is what he said.  What is more, if a searcher uses an internet filter which excludes documents containing the word "Negro", they will never know, however many search engines are used, however many sites are visited. It's all very chilling.

I wonder too if sites posting the revised speech do so aware that they are not using the original version.  Is there racial or political motive to their choice of posting, or are they simply, innocently, dangerously, perpetuating a myth?

Anyone looking for other examples of authentication might enjoy this challenge: the tale is told of an American politician who, in a debate on the introduction of Spanish-language teaching into U.S. schools, is reputed to have declared, "If the English language was good enough for Jesus Christ, then it's good enough for me!"  Who said it, and when?

I used this search strategy on Alta Vista: "English language" AND "good enough" AND "Jesus" and came up with some interesting teaching - and learning! - points.  Good luck!

John Royce
Librarian, International School Hamburg

Committee News

On my way back and forth from the Hamburg conference center at this year's ECIS November Conference, I changed trains at the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof, or central station. Several times I stopped for a moment at the mezzanine level and looked out over the tracks.  Like many European train stations, the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is an incredibly active place-- a bustling depot where every minute trains are pulling in and out on both sides of the station, the platforms full of passengers beginning journeys, changing trains, as well as arriving at their destination. 

There are local commuter trains, S-Bahns, and high speed intercity express trains going to far-off destinations. What a perfect metaphor for the activity at the Hamburg Congress Centrum.   As conference participants sped off to various sessions led by teachers, PhD's, and practitioners, they embarked on journeys of discovery, many of which have extended far beyond the last session of the scheduled conference.

-Ed

Spring Conference,  “International School Libraries : Beyond the Year 2000”

Did you miss out on Hamburg?  Don't worry, there will be another chance to embark on your own journey of professional discovery by attending the next event planned by the ECIS Committee on Library and Information Services. Certainly you've heard about it by now?  This 2 1/2 day conference planned for May 14-16, 1999, will be hosted by St. John's International School in Waterloo, Belgium.

Our invited speakers are James Herring (Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh, UK) and Dr. Ann Riedling (Spalding University, KY, USA).  William Wharton, the author perhaps most famous for his novel Birdy (winner of the American Book Award for best first novel when it was published), will make a special appearance on the final day of the conference.

There will be lectures as well as workshops; library automation users' group meetings, an exhibition of vendors, and much more.  A sampling of sessions already accepted include: 

Learning How to Learn: Guiding Students from Information to Understanding
More than Surviving—Thriving in the Information Age
HTML workshop for Librarians
Teaching Electronic Research Skills
More Library Management Tools for the 21st Century
Libraries of the Next Century
Integrated Technology in Learning
Supporting Teachers' Professional Development
AACR2: Minding Your Ps and Qs
Beyond Surfing: Integrating the Internet into Your Curriculum
The Net and You
A Critical 21st Century Skill: Evaluating Web Sites
The Well-read Librarian and Reluctant reader: Using World-wise Book Knowledge to Promote Teenage Reading in International Schools
Transforming Libraries and Learning for the Future
Teaching Information Literacy with Pathways

The registration fee if paid before 30 March 1999 is BF2600 or 65 Euros (approximately US$76 or UK£46). Registration will include all administrative fees, speaker charges, audio-visual rentals, lunch on Friday and Saturday, coffee breaks, a Belgian beer and cheese social on the first day, and an evening dinner on Saturday.  Late registration (after 30 March 1999) will be charged at BF4000. Registration, accommodation and program details are periodically updated on the following web site   http://www.stjohns.be/ or are available by contacting the conference organizer:

Ken Vesey, St. John's International School
146 drève Richelle, 1410 Waterloo, Belgium
Tel: 32 2 352.06.28 (voice mail) Fax: 32 2 352.06.20,
e-mail: kenneth.vesey@ping.be or kvesey@stjohns.be.

Words of Wisdom from the New Committee Chair

At the ECIS conference last November in Hamburg, there were some changes in the Library and Information Services Committee.  After completing a full term Vivienne Locke resigned as Chair  from the committee, which left us with two vacancies, as Katie Basha had already resigned during the course of the year.  The new committee is listed below, with brief biographies of all members.

It's quite a challenge, taking over as Chair after a history of professional, competent librarians in the post.  I owe a big "Thank you" to Vivienne for leaving me with a structure to follow, and records of her work, and for helping to ease me into the position.  I am sorry that she is no longer able to serve on the committee, and we will all miss her.  I am also still in touch with Rick Barter, the previous Chair, and will no doubt be asking him for advice before too long!

As we had our first meeting in Hamburg, it occurred to me that your new committee are all persons with some years of experience.  I am being deliberately vague here-- I won't attempt to guess our average age!  Please make use of that experience, by sending us your suggestions, comments and pleas for help and advice.  We particularly welcome comments on, and suggestions for, the annual conference.  Each committee can invite up to two outside speakers, so if you can recommend someone for a future conference, please let me know.

There are three avenues of communication for ECIS librarians.

1. The Link - please send articles, however brief, to Ken Vesey - these may be about things you are doing in your school, requests for help from other librarians, or anything else that would be of interest to other librarians.  If YOU don't contribute, Ken has to write it all himself and I know he'd like more input from all you librarians out there.

2. The official ECIS Forum on the ECIS Web site - there is an ECIS Forum for each subject committee, and ours is managed by Krysha Papillon. This is a communication service which is available to us, but which presently seems to be rarely used.  Please contact Krysha if you have any information which could be usefully shared on the Web.

3. The ECIS Library Listserv, a computerised forum for discussion which operates via e-mail: Become a member of this listserv by sending an electronic message to listserv@www.ecis.org with the following command in the message body: subscribe library Yourfirstname Yourlastname, replacing the words in italics with your full name.

I understand that we don't all have e-mail or Internet capabilities, so The Link will continue to remain our main means of communication.  If you are not receiving a copy at your school (one copy per school only), please contact Ken Vesey to be put on the mailing list.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the ECIS Special Event for Librarians at Waterloo in May -- if you've managed to miss the ads, there are details elsewhere in this edition of The Link.

-Coralie Clark

Meet the Committee

The 1999 ECIS Committee on Library and Information Services consists of five individuals.  In order for you find out a little about their backgrounds and interests, they introduce themselves here.  In addition to planning the autumn conference offerings in the area of librarianship, they oversee the publishing of The Link three times a year, organize a special library subject conference once every three years, and are here to serve as a clearing house for your questions or requests dealing with issues confronting librarians in international schools.  Don't hesitate to contact one of them with any question you may have.  Like all good librarians if we don't have the answer, we'll find it for you.

Coralie Clark
clark.c@upper.aisb.hu
Committee Chair 1999, Member since 1998
Coralie worked in three school libraries in Britain (and taught English in two of them), and for two years as Children's and Schools' Librarian at the National Library of The Gambia in Banjul (with Voluntary Service Overseas) before discovering international schools.  She has worked as librarian at the International School of Lusaka, Zambia, St. Maur International School, Yokohama, Japan, and Frankfurt International School, before moving to the American International School of Budapest, Hungary.  She was Chair of the International Baccalaureate Librarians' Committee for the IB Europe/Africa/Middle East region for four years, and organized librarians' workshops in all IB regions.

Randi Pegnetter
pegnetkr@yahoo.com
Committee Member since 1999
Randi received her MLS from the University of Pittsburgh.  She began as reference librarian at Duquesne University but she subsequently became certified as a school librarian and worked as both high school and middle school librarian for fifteen years in Ithaca, NY.  After working as high school librarian in Adelaide, South Australia, as part of a teacher exchange program, she wanted to find a permanent position in the international schools system.  Her first overseas job was at Escuela Campo Alegre in Caracas, Venezuela, followed by her current position at the American International School of Zurich in 1990.

John Royce
100272.410@compuserve.com
Committee Member since 1999
John started out as a teacher in Zambia, but was forced into running the school library when the then-librarian left.  He took to the job immediately (it was very different to his preconceived notions), and has never regretted the change in career direction.  Subsequent qualifications have been achieved through correspondence courses and distance learning, salutary learning experiences all. After Zambia, he worked in Birmingham and Kirton-in-Lindsey in England, and then went to Kamuzu Academy in Malawi, the sometimes-called "Eton of Africa".  Currently he is Librarian at the International School Hamburg.John has served on many committees, including a School Library Association branch committee and the IB (AEME) Librarians' Committee.  This is his second term on the ECIS Library and Information Services Committee, and he was also a former committee chair.

Krysha Papillon
kpapillon@asparis.org
Committee Member since 1996
Although born in Hungary, Krysha's first language was Polish.  French has become her best language after completing all her studies in Paris, with one year as an exchange student in Pittsburgh, PA.  She graduated from the Sorbonne with a major in English and American literature. Prior to working at the American School, she was already interested in information, writing for a professional magazine based in Paris, believe it or not, in the field of agriculture!  She then took a long "sabbatical" in order to raise two daughters.  Krysha started working at the American School of Paris in 1974, as assistant in both libraries, went to library school at the same time, and graduated in 1976.  In 1983 Krysha became Upper School Librarian.

Ken Vesey
kenneth.vesey@ping.be
Committee Member since 1997
This is Ken's tenth year in international school libraries.  He received a BA in German language and literature and an MA in general linguistics before completing an MLS in 1988.  After two years in Switzerland at TASIS, he and his teaching wife found their way to St. John's in Waterloo, Belgium, where they've been since. His mother-in-law told him that becoming a librarian was a good career move, and as always she was right

The SIRS/ECIS Information Exchange Award

Letters of application for the 1999 SIRS/ECIS Information Exchange Award are now being solicited from any interested librarian or paraprofessional employed by an ECIS school.  The winning applicant will spend two weeks in Florida visiting local schools.  In your one-page letter of application explain what you hope to gain from the award, and what you might be able to offer your Florida host-librarians.  The award winner will be chosen by the ECIS Committee on Library & Information Services, and all travel and accommodation expenses will be paid by SIRS, who will arrange the visit to fit the winner's professional needs and schedule. 

Please send your letter of application no later than Monday, March 22nd, 1999 to the Committee Chair:

Coralie Clark, American International School
Budapest, PO Box 53, Budapest 1525 Hungary
Fax: 36 1 275 4032/5193, e-mail: clark.c@upper.aisb.hu

A word from the Chair:  Years ago, I was the 2nd librarian to win this award.  I didn't think I stood a chance, and wasn't going to bother applying, until someone on the committee said they didn't have many applicants, so I had a go-- and to my great surprise, I was the lucky one!  It costs you nothing, and is a wonderful experience-- so put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and let's hear from you!

What Is a Consortium and What Can It Do For Us?

Several things became quite clear to me while I was on my sabbatical leave last year.  First of all, we librarians have many marketable skills- one of the most important being our service ethic. Secondly, I was amazed at the networks that have been established in the United States to provide information and training as well as access to a wide range of materials to members of sharing groups called consortia.

Karen Coyle, in her workshop "Who Owns Information" at ECIS Hamburg, proposed that a regional association of international schools acting as a consortium for member libraries, could provide bargaining "clout" in dealing with publishers and database vendors.  Legal advice as well as reduced subscription rates would be provided to schools wishing to benefit from membership in a larger and thus more lucrative group.

Just last week, a visiting librarian from Maryland told me of the "deal" the members of her consortium received on their subscriptions to Encyclopedia Britannica Online.  Instead of paying the normal fee of $438.00 per year, any group of ten or more libraries pay $150.00 less per year for a site license giving access to EB Online to all computers in a school.

While I was in Florida, I tried to find out as much as possible about the kinds of things consortia provided for their members.  The Tampa Bay Library Consortium's programs and services provides:

1. Continuing education through workshops covering topics of interest to librarians and library staff.  For example, workshops included Mastering the Internet, Introduction to Interlibrary Loan, Creating a Home Page, Cataloging and Storytelling.

2. Group access to OCLC.  Most of our small libraries can't afford access to OCLC for cataloging or locating materials. 

3. Union List of Serials.

4. Free Internet Access to member libraries.

5. Reference Book Exchange.

6. Document delivery by mail, fax and courier. 

Another large Florida Consortium, NEFLIN (Northeast Florida Library Information Network) offers a computer equipment loan program, technology consulting, and partial funding for retrospective conversion for libraries who are just beginning to automate, as well as the services offered by the TBLC.

In contrast, the consortium I mentioned in Maryland was formed only to get a reduced rate with on-line databases.  Its members determine what services the consortium provides, as well as what fees are charged for those services.  I know that our location in some ways hampers the kinds of services provided, i.e., training would have to scheduled on a rotating basis, but perhaps we could think of combining together as regional organizations.   I would be interested in communicating with anyone who would be interested in exploring the Consortium idea with me. 

Randi Pegnetter
pegnetkr@yahoo.com
American International School of Zurich