Literary agent

A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers and film producers and assists in the sale and deal negotiation of the same. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwriters and major non-fiction writers. They are paid a fixed percentage (ten to twenty percent; fifteen percent is usual) of the proceeds of sales they negotiate on behalf of their clients.

Advantages

Authors often turn to agents for several reasons. Quite a few well-known, powerful, and lucrative publishing houses do not accept unagented submissions. A knowledgeable agent knows the market, and can be a source of valuable career advice and guidance. Being a publishable author doesn’t automatically make someone an expert on modern publishing contracts and practices, especially where television, film, or foreign rights are involved. Many authors prefer to have an agent handle such matters. This prevents the author’s working relationship with his or her editor from becoming strained by disputes about royalty statements or late checks.

Diversity

Literary agencies can range in size from a single agent who represents perhaps a dozen authors, to a substantial firm with senior partners, sub-agents, specialists in areas like foreign rights or licensed merchandise tie-ins, and clients numbering in the hundreds. Most agencies, especially the smaller ones, will specialize to some degree, representing authors who (for example) write science fiction, or mainstream thrillers and mysteries, or children’s books, or highly topical nonfiction. Very few agents will represent short stories or poetry.

Legitimate agents and agencies in the book world are not required to be members of the Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR), but according to Writer’s Market listings, many agents in the United States are. To qualify for AAR membership, agents must have sold a minimum number of books and pledge to abide by a Canon of Ethics. Effective professional agents often learn their trade while working for another agent, though some cross over to agenting after working as editors.

Cost

Legitimate agents do not charge reading fees, demand retainers, bill authors for operating expenses, or otherwise derive income from any source other than the sales they make on their clients’ behalf. They also will not place their clients’ work with a vanity or subsidy press. Both these practices may indicate that the author is dealing with a scam agent. Traditionally representation agreements between agents and clients were simply verbal; however, an increasing percentage of agents are offering written contracts to make the terms explicit. Another questionable practice consists of referring the author to a so-called “professional editor” or “book doctor” who is in collusion with the agent. The ensuing edit may or may not be appropriate, or of professional quality, and is almost always expensive.

Querying

A client typically establishes relationships with an agent through querying, although the two may meet at a writer’s conference, through a contest, or in other ways. A query is an unsolicited proposal for representation, either for a finished work (fiction) or unfinished work (nonfiction). Various agents request different elements in a query packet, and most agencies list their specific submissions requirement on their Web site or in their listing in major directories. It typically begins with a query letter (1-2 pages) explaining the purpose of the work and any writing qualifications of the author. Sometimes a synopsis or outline are requested as part of the query. Often, the author sends five to ten pages of their work. Lastly, for paper queries, a self-addressed stamped envelope must be included to receive a response.

If a written query is rejected (which happens to the majority of queriers), the response is sent in the self-addressed stamped envelope. Typically the rejection is a form letter; getting a rejection which is not a form letter or has hand-written comments (especially a message to the effect of “query me for other projects”) is typically taken as a very good, even if disappointing, sign.

Literary agents of the past

The first literary agents appeared around the year 1880 (Publishing).

• Gerald Drayson Adams
• Dido Armstrong
• George T. Bye
• Barthold Fles
• Rod Hall
• Kurt Hellmer
• Morton L. Janklow
• Otis Adelbert Kline
• Harold Ober
• Larry Shaw
• Toni Strassman
• Virginia Kidd
• Stephen Slesinger
• H.N. Swanson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Why do an annotated bibliography?
One of the reasons behind citing sources and compiling a general bibliography is so that you can prove you have done some valid research to back up your argument and claims. Readers can refer to a citation in your bibliography and then go look up the material themselves. When inspired by your text or your argument, interested researchers can access your resources. They may wish to double check a claim or interpretation you’ve made, or they may simply wish to continue researching according to their interests. But think about it: even though a bibliography provides a list of research sources of all types that includes publishing information, how much does that really tell a researcher or reader about the sources themselves?
An annotated bibliography provides specific information about each source you have used. As a researcher, you have become an expert on your topic: you have the ability to explain the content of your sources, assess their usefulness, and share this information with others who may be less familiar with them. Think of your paper as part of a conversation with people interested in the same things you are; the annotated bibliography allows you to tell readers what to check out, what might be worth checking out in some situations, and what might not be worth spending the time on. It’s kind of like providing a list of good movies for your classmates to watch and then going over the list with them, telling them why this movie is better than that one or why one student in your class might like a particular movie better than another student would. You want to give your audience enough information to understand basically what the movies are about and to make an informed decision about where to spend their money based on their interests.
What does an annotated bibliography do?
A good annotated bibliography
• encourages you to think critically about the content of the works you are using, their place within a field of study, and their relation to your own research and ideas.
• proves you have read and understand your sources.
• establishes your work as a valid source and you as a competent researcher.
• situates your study and topic in a continuing professional conversation.
• provides a way for others to decide whether a source will be helpful to their research if they read it.
• could help interested researchers determine whether they are interested in a topic by providing background information and an idea of the kind of work going on in a field.
What elements might an annotation include?
1. Bibliography according to the appropriate citation style (MLA, APA, CBE/CSE, etc.).
2. Explanation of main points and/or purpose of the work—basically, its thesis—which shows among other things that you have read and thoroughly understand the source.
3. Verification or critique of the authority or qualifications of the author.
4. Comments on the worth, effectiveness, and usefulness of the work in terms of both the topic being researched and/or your own research project.
5. The point of view or perspective from which the work was written. For instance, you may note whether the author seemed to have particular biases or was trying to reach a particular audience.
6. Relevant links to other work done in the area, like related sources, possibly including a comparison with some of those already on your list. You may want to establish connections to other aspects of the same argument or opposing views.
The first four elements above are usually a necessary part of the annotated bibliography. Points 5 and 6 may involve a little more analysis of the source, but you may include them in other kinds of annotations besides evaluative ones. Depending on the type of annotation you use, which this handout will address in the next section, there may be additional kinds of information that you will need to include.
For more extensive research papers (probably ten pages or more), you often see resource materials grouped into sub-headed sections based on content, but this probably will not be necessary for the kinds of assignments you’ll be working on. For longer papers, ask your professor about her preferences concerning annotated bibliographies.
Did you know that annotations have categories and styles?
Decisions, decisions
As you go through this handout, you’ll see that, before you start, you’ll need to make several decisions about your annotations: citation format, type of annotation, and writing style for the annotation.
First of all, you’ll need to decide which kind of citation format is appropriate to the paper and its sources, for instance, MLA or APA. This may influence the format of the annotations and bibliography. Typically, bibliographies should be double-spaced and use normal margins (you may want to check with your instructor, since he may have a different style he wants you to follow).
MLA (Modern Language Association)
See the UNC Libraries citation tutorial for basic MLA bibliography formatting and rules.
• MLA documentation is generally used for disciplines in the humanities, such as English, languages, film, and cultural studies or other theoretical studies. These annotations are often summary or analytical annotations.
• Title your annotated bibliography “Annotated Bibliography” or “Annotated List of Works Cited.”
• Following MLA format, use a hanging indent for your bibliographic information. This means the first line is not indented and all the other lines are indented four spaces (you may ask your instructor if it’s okay to tab over instead of using four spaces).
• Begin your annotation immediately after the bibliographic information of the source ends; don’t skip a line down unless you have been told to do so by your instructor.
APA (American Psychological Association)
See the UNC Libraries citation tutorial for basic APA bibliography formatting and rules.
• Natural and social sciences, such as psychology, nursing, sociology, and social work, use APA documentation. It is also used in economics, business, and criminology. These annotations are often succinct summaries.
• Annotated bibliographies for APA format do not require a special title. Use the usual “References” designation.
• Like MLA, APA uses a hanging indent: the first line is set flush with the left margin, and all other lines are indented four spaces (you may ask your instructor if it’s okay to tab over instead of using four spaces).
• After the bibliographic citation, drop down to the next line to begin the annotation, but don’t skip an extra line.
• The entire annotation is indented an additional two spaces, so that means each of its lines will be six spaces from the margin (if your instructor has said that it’s okay to tab over instead of using the four spaces rule, indent the annotation two more spaces in from that point).
CBE (Council of Biology Editors)/CSE (Council of Science Editors)
See the UNC Libraries citation tutorial for basic CBE/CSE bibliography formatting and rules.
• CBE/CSE documentation is used by the plant sciences, zoology, microbiology, and many of the medical sciences.
• Annotated bibliographies for CBE/CSE format do not require a special title. Use the usual “References,” “Cited References,” or “Literature Cited,” and set it flush with the left margin.
• Bibliographies for CSE in general are in a slightly smaller font than the rest of the paper.
• When using the name-year system, as in MLA and APA, the first line of each entry is set flush with the left margin, and all subsequent lines, including the annotation, are indented three or four spaces.
• When using the citation-sequence method, each entry begins two spaces after the number, and every line, including the annotation, will be indented to match the beginning of the entry, or may be slightly further indented, as in the case of journals.
• After the bibliographic citation, drop down to the next line to begin the annotation, but don’t skip an extra line. The entire annotation follows the indentation of the bibliographic entry, whether it’s N-Y or C-S format.
• Annotations in CBE/CSE are generally a smaller font size than the rest of the bibliographic information.
After choosing a documentation format, you’ll choose from a variety of annotation categories presented in the following section. Each type of annotation highlights a particular approach to presenting a source to a reader. For instance, an annotation could provide a summary of the source only, or it could also provide some additional evaluation of that material.
In addition to making choices related to the content of the annotation, you’ll also need to choose a style of writing—for instance, telescopic versus paragraph form. Your writing style isn’t dictated by the content of your annotation. Writing style simply refers to the way you’ve chosen to convey written information. A discussion of writing style follows the section on annotation types.
Types of annotations
As you now know, one annotation does not fit all purposes! There are different kinds of annotations, depending on what might be most important for your reader to learn about a source. Your assignments will usually make it clear which citation format you need to use, but they may not always specify which type of annotation to employ. In that case, you’ll either need to pick your instructor’s brain a little to see what she wants or use clue words from the assignment itself to make a decision. For instance, the assignment may tell you that your annotative bibliography should give evidence proving an analytical understanding of the sources you’ve used. The word analytical clues you in to the idea that you must evaluate the sources you’re working with and provide some kind of critique.
Summary annotations
There are two kinds of summarizing annotations, informative and indicative.
Summarizing annotations in general have a couple of defining features:
• They sum up the content of the source, as a book report might.
• They give an overview of the arguments and proofs/evidence addressed in the work and note the resulting conclusion.
• They do not judge the work they are discussing. Leave that to the critical/evaluative annotations.
• When appropriate, they describe the author’s methodology or approach to material. For instance, you might mention if the source is an ethnography or if the author employs a particular kind of theory.
Informative annotation
Informative annotations sometimes read like straight summaries of the source material, but they often spend a little more time summarizing relevant information about the author or the work itself.
Indicative annotation
Indicative annotation is the second type of summary annotation, but it does not attempt to include actual information from the argument itself. Instead, it gives general information about what kinds of questions or issues are addressed by the work. This sometimes includes the use of chapter titles.
Critical/evaluative
Evaluative annotations don’t just summarize. In addition to tackling the points addressed in summary annotations, evaluative annotations:
• evaluate the source or author critically (biases, lack of evidence, objective, etc.).
• show how the work may or may not be useful for a particular field of study or audience.
• explain how researching this material assisted your own project.
Combination
An annotated bibliography may combine elements of all the types. In fact, most of them fall into this category: a little summarizing and describing, a little evaluation.
Writing style
Ok, next! So what does it mean to use different writing styles as opposed to different kinds of content? Content is what belongs in the annotation, and style is the way you write it up. First, choose which content type you need to compose, and then choose the style you’re going to use to write it
Telescopic
This kind of annotated bibliography is a study in succinctness. It uses a minimalist treatment of both information and sentence structure, without sacrificing clarity. Warning: this kind of writing can be harder than you might think.
Paragraph
Don’t skimp on this kind of annotated bibliography. If your instructor has asked for paragraph form, it likely means that you’ll need to include several elements in the annotation, or that she expects a more in-depth description or evaluation, for instance. Make sure to provide a full paragraph of discussion for each work.
Conclusion
As you can see now, bibliographies and annotations are really a series of organized steps. They require meticulous attention, but in the end, you’ve got an entire testimony to all the research and work you’ve done. At the end of this handout you’ll find examples of informative, indicative, evaluative, combination, telescopic, and paragraph annotated bibliography entries in MLA, APA, and CBE formats. Use these examples as your guide to creating an annotated bibliography that makes you look like the expert you are!
MLA Example
APA Example
CBE Example
©http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/annotated_bibliographies.html

An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that gives a summary of the research that has been done. It is still an alphabetical list of research sources. In addition to bibliographic data, an annotated bibliography provides a brief summary or annotation.
The annotation usually contains a brief summary of content and a short analysis or evaluation. Depending on your assignment you may be asked to reflect, summarise, critique, evaluate or analyse the source.
The purpose of annotations is to provide the reader with a summary and an evaluation of the source. In order to write a successful annotation, each summary must be concise. An annotation should display the source’s central idea(s) and give the reader a general idea of what the source is about.
An annotation should include the complete bibliographic information for the source. It should also include some or all of the following:
• An explanation about the authority and/or qualifications of the author.
• Scope or main purpose of the work.
• Any detectable bias.
• Intended audience and level of reading
• A summary comment
Ideally, an annotation should be between 100 to 200 words.
Types of annotations
Annotations may be written with different goals in mind.
Indicative annotations
This type of annotation defines the scope of the source, lists the significant topics and explains what the source is about. In this type of entry, there is no attempt to give actual data such as hypotheses, proofs, etc.
Informative annotations
This type of annotation is a summary of the source. An informative annotation should include the thesis of the work, arguments or hypotheses, proofs and a conclusion.
Evaluative annotations
This type of annotation assesses the source’s strengths and weaknesses—how the source is useful and how it is not. Simply put, an evaluative annotation should evaluate the source’s usefulness.
Combination annotations
Most annotated bibliographies contain combination annotations. This type of annotation will summarize or describe the topic, and then evaluate the source’s usefulness.
Writing styles
No matter which writing style is used for annotations, all entries should be brief. Only the most significant details should be mentioned. Information that is apparent in the title can be omitted from the annotation. In addition, background materials and any references to previous work are usually excluded.
Telegraphic
A telegraphic writing style gets the information out quickly and concisely. Maintaining clarity, complete and grammatically correct sentences are not necessary.
Complete sentences
A complete sentences writing style utilizes coherent sentences that are grammatically correct. Subjects and conjunctions are not eliminated even though the tone may be terse. Long and complex sentences are to be generally avoided.
Paragraph
A paragraph writing style utilizes a full, coherent paragraph. This can sometimes be similar to the form of a bibliographic essay. Complete sentences and proper grammar must be used.
Purpose
There are three main purposes behind writing an annotated bibliography. Each purpose can serve anyone in a different manner, depending on what they are trying to accomplish.
Learning about a topic
Writing an annotated bibliography is an excellent way to begin any research project. While it may seem easier to simply copy down bibliographical information, adding annotations will force the researcher to read each source carefully. An annotation requires the source to be critically analyzed, not simply read over.
Formulating a thesis

Any form of research paper or essay will require some form of argument. This is called a the

sis. A developed thesis needs to be debatable, interesting and current. Writing an annotated bibliography will give the researcher a clear understanding about what is being said about his/her topic. After reading and critically analyzing sources, the researcher will be able to determine what issues there are and what people are arguing about. From there, the researcher will be able to develop his/her own point of view.

To assist other researchers

Extensive and scholarly annotated bibliographies are sometimes published. The purpose of these annotated bibliographies is to provide a complete and comprehensive overview of any given topic. While a typical researcher may not have their own annotated bibliography published, a search for previously published annotated bibliographies related to their topic could prove very beneficial.
© http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annotated_bibliography

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ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2

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Luis Moreno-Ocampo

Luis Moreno-Ocampo
Born	1952 Buenos Aires
Nationality	Argentine
Title	International Criminal Court Prosecutor
Term	2003-present

Luis Moreno-Ocampo (born 4 June 1952)^{[citation needed]} is an Argentine lawyer who has been the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since 16 June 2003. He previously worked as a prosecutor in Argentina, famously combating corruption and prosecuting human rights abuses by senior military officials. He has also lectured in criminal law and practiced law privately.

Career in Argentina

Moreno-Ocampo graduated from the University of Buenos Aires Law School in 1978, and from 1980 to 1984 he worked as a law clerk in the office of the Solicitor General.

From 1984 to 1992, Moreno-Ocampo worked as a prosecutor in Argentina.^[2] He first came to public attention in 1985, as Assistant Prosecutor in the “Trial of the Juntas“—the first time since the Nuremberg Trials that senior military commanders were prosecuted for mass killings.^[2][3] Nine senior commanders, including three former heads of state, were prosecuted and five of them were convicted.^[2] He served as District Attorney for the Federal Circuit of the City of Buenos Aires from 1987 to 1992, during which time he prosecuted the military commanders responsible for the Falklands War, the leaders of two military rebellions, and dozens of high-profile corruption cases.In 1987, he helped United States prosecutors extradite General Guillermo Suárez Mason to Argentina.

He resigned as a prosecutor in 1992 and established a private law firm, Moreno-Ocampo & Wortman Jofre. He defended several controversial figures, including Diego Maradona, former economics minister Domingo Cavallo, and a priest accused of sexually abusing minors.He represented the victims in extradition proceedings against Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke, and also in the trial of the murderer of Chilean General Carlos Prats.

During this time, he was also an Associate Professor of criminal law at the University of Buenos Aires and a visiting professor at Stanford University and Harvard Law School.^[1] He has acted as a consultant to the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations.^[1] He is a former member of the advisory board of Transparency International and a former president of its Latin America and Caribbean office.

During the late 1990s, he starred in a reality television programme, Fórum, la corte del pueblo, in which he arbitrated private disputes.

The International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court’s headquarters in The Hague

On 21 April 2003, Moreno-Ocampo was elected unopposed as the first Prosecutor of the new International Criminal Court.^[2][3] He was sworn in for a nine-year term on 16 June 2003. As of February 2009, he has opened investigations into four situations: Northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and Darfur.^[6] The court has issued public arrest warrants for fourteen people; seven of them remain free, two have died, and five are in custody.

Moreno-Ocampo also led an investigation against leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army, who in 2005 faced arrest warrants by the ICC for crimes against humanity. In October 2006 a media spokesman in the prosecutor’s office filed an internal complaint accusing Moreno-Ocampo of sexual misconduct.A panel of three ICC judges investigated the complaint and found that it was “manifestly unfoundedbut Moreno-Ocampo generated a controversy when he summarily dismissed the staff member who made the complaint. The Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization subsequently awarded the employee almost £120,000 in damages, ruling that Moreno-Ocampo had breached due process and seriously infringed the employee’s rights.The ILO held that the original complaint against Moreno-Ocampo had been made in good faith, and that Moreno-Ocampo should not have participated in the decision to fire the employee as he had a personal interest in the matter.^[

Moreno-Ocampo directed an investigation against Germain Katanga and Matthieu Ngudjolo Chui,^[10] who received arrest warrants in 2007 and 2008 respectively for crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of Congo.^[11] In March 2008, according to an Argentine online news report, Moreno-Ocampo explained the FARC, the largest guerrilla group in Colombia, was plausible for an investigation by the International Criminal Court.Moreno-Ocampo began implementing preliminary tests in Colombia, which involved evaluating prosecutions of paramilitary commanders in Colombia, interviews with victims of the FARC, among others.Moreno-Ocampo explained the FARC could be investigated for crimes against humanity. He paid a visit to Colombia in August, after which the ICC launched an investigation on the “support network for FARC rebels outside Colombia.”

The ICC’s first trial, of Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga, was suspended on 13 June 2008 when the court ruled that the Prosecutor’s refusal to disclose potentially exculpatory material had breached Lubanga’s right to a fair trial.^[13] The Prosecutor had obtained the evidence from the United Nations and other sources on the condition of confidentiality, but the judges ruled that the Prosecutor had incorrectly applied the relevant provision of the Rome Statute and, as a consequence, “the trial process has been ruptured to such a degree that it is now impossible to piece together the constituent elements of a fair trial”.On 2 July 2008, the court ordered Lubanga’s release, on the grounds that “a fair trial of the accused is impossible, and the entire justification for his detention has been removed”but an Appeal Chamber agreed to keep him in custody while the Prosecutor appealed By 18 November 2008, Moreno-Ocampo had agreed to make all the confidential information available to the court, so the Trial Chamber reversed its decision and ordered that the trial could go ahead but Moreno-Ocampo was widely criticised for his actions.

He was also criticised for his decision in July 2008 to publicly charge Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan, with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Antonio Cassese,^[22] Rony Brauman^[23] and Alex de Waal^[24] argued that there was insufficient evidence to charge al-Bashir with genocide. Cassese, a former President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, had chaired the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, which concluded in 2005 that the government of Sudan had not pursued a policy of genocide in Darfur. De Waal argued that “for nineteen years, President Bashir has sat on top of a government that has been responsible for incalculable crimes [...] Two weeks ago, Moreno Ocampo succeeded in accusing Bashir of the crime for which he is not guilty. That is a remarkable feat.”Cassese also argued that if Moreno-Ocampo were serious about prosecuting al-Bashir, he should have issued a sealed request and asked the judges to issue a sealed arrest warrant, to be made public only once al-Bashir traveled abroad, instead of publicly requesting the warrant, allowing al-Bashir to avoid arrest simply by remaining in Sudan.^[ In November 2008, Moreno-Ocampo requested arrest warrants for rebels responsible for the murder of members from an international peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Leaders from three Darfur tribes, said to be the victims of war crimes, sued Ocampo for libel, defamation and igniting hatred and tribalism

On Wednesday, 15 December 2010, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo held a press conference at 12:00 (The Hague local time, 14:00 Nairobi local time) to announce the six prime suspects in the Kenya post election violence of 2007. He named suspended minister of Higher education William Ruto, Minister for Industrialisation Henry Kosgey,Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Former police chief Maj Gen Ali Hussein, head of public service Francis Muthaura and journalist Joshua Arap Sang.

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©http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Moreno-Ocampo

history and development of publishing and book trade(part II)

Parchment

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very reactive to changes in relative humidity and is not waterproof. The finer qualities of parchment are called vellum.

History

According to the Roman Varro, Pliny’s Natural History records (xiii.21) that parchment was invented under the patronage of Eumenes of Pergamum,^[1] as a substitute for papyrus, which was temporarily not being exported from Alexandria, its only source.

Herodotus mentions writing on skins as common in his time, the 5th century BC; and in his Histories (v.58) he states that the Ionians of Asia Minor had been accustomed to give the name of skins (diphtherai) to books; this word was adapted by Hellenized Jews to describe scrolls [1]. Parchment (pergamenum in Latin), however, derives its name from Pergamon, the city where it was perfected (via the French parchemin). In the 2nd century B.C. a great library was set up in Pergamon that rivalled the famous Library of Alexandria. As prices rose for papyrus and the reed used for making it was over-harvested towards local extinction in the two nomes of the Nile delta that produced it, Pergamon adapted by increasing use of parchment.

Writing on prepared animal skins had a long history, however. Some Egyptian Fourth Dynasty texts were written on parchment. Though the Assyrians and the Babylonians impressed their cuneiform on clay tablets, they also wrote on parchment from the 6th century BC onward. Rabbinic culture equated the idea of a book with a parchment scroll. Early Islamic texts are also found on parchment.

One sort of parchment is vellum, a word that is used loosely to mean parchment, and especially to mean fine parchment, but more strictly refers to parchment made from calfskin (although goatskin can be as fine in quality). The words vellum and veal come from Latin vitulus, meaning calf, or its diminutive vitellus. In the Middle Ages, calfskin and split sheepskin were the most common materials for making parchment in England and France, while goatskin was more common in Italy. Other skins such as those from large animals such as horse and smaller animals such as squirrel and rabbit were also used. Whether uterine vellum (vellum made from aborted calf fetuses) was ever really used during the medieval period is still a matter of great controversy.

An English deed written on fine parchment or vellum with seal tag dated 1638.

There was a short period during the introduction of printing where parchment and paper were used interchangeably: although most copies of the Gutenberg Bible are on paper, some were printed on parchment. In 1490, Johannes Trithemius preferred the older methods, because “handwriting placed on parchment will be able to endure a thousand years. But how long will printing last, which is dependent on paper? For if …it lasts for two hundred years that is a long time.”

In the later Middle Ages, parchment was largely replaced by paper. New techniques in paper milling allowed it to be much cheaper and more abundant than parchment. With the advent of printing in the later fifteenth century, the demands of printers far exceeded the supply of animal skins for parchment.

The heyday of parchment use was during the medieval period, but there has been a growing revival of its use among contemporary artists since the late 20th century. Although parchment never stopped being used (primarily for governmental documents and diplomas) it had ceased to be a primary choice for artist’s supports by the end of 15th century Renaissance. This was partly due to its expense and partly due to its unusual working properties. Parchment consists mostly of collagen. When the water in paint media touches parchment’s surface, the collagen melts slightly, forming a raised bed for the paint, a quality highly prized by some artists. Parchment is also extremely affected by its environment and changes in humidity, which can cause buckling. Some contemporary artists also prize this quality, noting that the parchment seems alive and like an active participant in making artwork. To support the needs of the revival of use by artists, a revival in the art of making individual skins is also underway. Handmade skins are usually better prepared for artists and have fewer oily spots which can cause long-term cracking of paint than mass-produced parchment. Mass-produced parchment is usually made for lamp shades, furniture, or other interior design purposes.^[

The radiocarbon dating techniques that are used on papyrus can be applied to parchment as well. They do not date the age of the writing but the preparation of the parchment itself. However, radiocarbon dating can often be used on the inks that make up the writing, since many of them contain organic compounds such as plant leachings, soot, and wine.

Manufacture

"Parchment is prepared from pelt, i.e., wet, unhaired, and limed skin, simply by drying at ordinary temperatures under tension, most commonly on a wooden frame known as a stretching frame".After being flayed, the skin is soaked in water for about 1 day. This removes blood and grime from the skin and prepares it for a dehairing liquor. The dehairing liquor was originally made of rotted, or fermented, vegetable matter, like beer or other liquors, but by the Middle Ages an unhairing bath included lime. Today, the lime solution is occasionally sharpened by the use of sodium sulfide. The liquor bath would have been in wooden or stone vats and the hides stirred with a long wooden pole to avoid contact with the alkaline solution. Sometimes the skins would stay in the unhairing bath for 8 or more days depending how concentrated and how warm the solution was kept—unhairing could take up to twice as long in winter. The vat was stirred two or three times a day to ensure the solution's deep and uniform penetration. Replacing the lime water bath also sped the process up. However, if the skins were soaked in the liquor too long, they would be weakened and not able to stand the stretching required for parchment.

After soaking in water to make the skins workable, the skins were placed on a stretching frame. A simple frame with nails would work well in stretching the pelts. The skins could be attached by wrapping small, smooth rocks in the skins with rope or leather strips. Both sides would be left open to the air so they could be scraped with a sharp, semi-lunar knife to remove the last of the hair and get the skin to the right thickness. The skins, which were made almost entirely of collagen, would form a natural glue while drying and once taken off the frame they would keep their form. The stretching allowed the fibers to become aligned running parallel to the grain.

Parchment treatments

To make the parchment more aesthetically pleasing or more suitable for the scribes, special treatments were used. According to Reed there were a variety of these treatments. Rubbing pumice powder into the flesh side of parchment while it was still wet on the frame was used to make it smooth so inks would penetrate deep into the fibres. Powders and pastes of calcium compounds were also used to help remove grease so the ink would not run. To make the parchment smooth and white, thin pastes (starchgrain or staunchgrain) of lime, flour, egg whites and milk were rubbed into the skins.

Meliora di Curci in her paper "The History and Technology of Parchment Making" notes that parchment was not always white. "Cennini, a 15th century craftsman provides recipes to tint parchment a variety of colours including purple, indigo, green, red and peach." The Early medieval Codex Argenteus and Codex Vercellensis, the Stockholm Codex Aureus and the Codex Brixianus give a range of luxuriously produced manuscripts all on purple vellum, in imitation of Byzantine examples, like the Rossano Gospels, Sinope Gospels and the Vienna Genesis, which at least at one time are believed to have been reserved for Imperial commissions.

Many techniques for parchment repair exist, to restore creased, torn, or incomplete parchments.

Reuse

During the seventh through the ninth centuries, many earlier parchment manuscripts were scrubbed and scoured to be ready for rewriting, and often the earlier writing can still be read. These recycled parchments are called palimpsests. Later, more thorough techniques of scouring the surface irretrievably lost the earlier text.

] Jewish parchment

The way in which parchment was processed (from hide to parchment) has undergone a tremendous evolution based on time and location. Parchment and vellum are not the sole methods of preparing animal skins for writing. In the Babylonian Talmud (Bava Batra 14B) Moses writes the first Torah Scroll on the unsplit cow-hide called gevil.

Parchment is still the only medium used by traditional religious Jews for Torah scrolls or Tefilin and Mezuzahs, and is produced by large companies in Israel. For those uses, only hides of kosher animals are permitted. Since there are many requirements for it being fit for the religious use, the liming is usually processed under supervision of a qualified Rabbi.

Additional uses of the term

In some universities, the word parchment is still used to refer to the certificate (scroll) presented at graduation ceremonies, even though the modern document is printed on paper or thin card; although doctoral graduands may be given the option of having their scroll written by a calligrapher on vellum. The University of Notre Dame still uses animal parchment for its diplomas. Similarly, University of Glasgow and Heriot-Watt University use goat skin parchment paper for their degrees.

Plant-based parchment

Vegetable (paper) parchment is made by passing a waterleaf made of pulp fibers into sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid hydrolyses and solubilises the main natural organic polymer, cellulose, present in the pulp wood fibers. The paper web is then washed in water, which stops the hydrolysis of the cellulose and causes a kind of cellulose coating to form on the waterleaf. The final paper is dried. This coating is a natural non-porous cement, that gives to the vegetable parchment paper its resistance to grease and its semi-translucency.

Other processes can be used to obtain grease-resistant paper, such as by highly beating the fibers giving an even more translucent paper with the same grease resistance. Silicone and other coatings may also be applied to the parchment. One can obtain grease resistance by waxing the paper or by using fluorine-based chemicals. A silicone-coating treatment produces a cross-linked material with high density, stability and heat resistance and low surface tension which imparts good anti-stick or release properties. Chromium salts can also be used to impart moderate anti-stick properties.

Parchment craft

Historians believe that parchment craft originated as an art form in Europe during the 15th or 16th century. Parchment craft at that time occurred principally in Catholic communities, where crafts persons created lace-like items such as devotional pictures and communion cards. The craft developed over time, with new techniques and refinements being added. Until the 16th century, parchment craft was a European art form. However, missionaries and other settlers relocated to South America, taking parchment craft with them. As before, the craft appeared largely among the Catholic communities. Often, young girls receiving their First Communion received gifts of handmade parchment crafts.

Although the invention of the printing press led to a reduced interest in hand made cards and items, by the 18th century, people were regaining interest in detailed handwork. Parchment cards became larger in size and crafters began adding wavy borders and perforations. In the 19th century, influenced by French romanticism, parchment crafters began adding floral themes and cherubs and hand embossing.

Parchment craft today involves various techniques, including tracing a pattern with white or colored ink, embossing to create a raised effect, stippling, perforating, coloring and cutting. Parchment craft appears in hand made cards, as scrapbook embellishments, as bookmarks, lampshades, decorative small boxes, wall hangings and more.

©http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parchment

Codex

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A codex (Latin caudex for “trunk of a tree” or block of wood, book; plural codices) is a book in the format used for modern books, with separate pages normally bound together and given a cover.

Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement of the scroll, the dominant form of book in the ancient world, has been termed the most important advance in the history of the book prior to the invention of printing. The spread of the codex is often associated with the rise of Christianity, which adopted the format for the Bible early on.^[2] First described by the 1st century AD Roman poet Martial, who already praised its convenient use, the codex achieved numerical parity with the scroll around 300 AD, and had completely replaced it throughout the now Christianised Greco-Roman world by the 6th century.

The codex holds considerable practical advantages over other book formats, such as compactness, sturdiness, ease of reference (a codex is random access, as opposed to a scroll, which is sequential access), and especially economy; unlike the scroll, both recto and verso could be used for writing. Although the change from rolls to codices roughly coincides with the transition from papyrus to parchment as favourite writing material, the two developments are quite unconnected. In fact, any combination of codices and scrolls on the one hand with papyrus and parchment on the other is technically feasible and well attested from the historical record.

Although technically any modern paperback is a codex, the term is now reserved for manuscript (hand-written) books which were produced from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages. The scholarly study of these manuscripts from the point of view of the bookbinding craft is called codicology, while the study of ancient documents in general is called paleography.

History

The Romans used precursors made of reusable wax-covered tablets of wood for taking notes and other informal writings. Two ancient polyptych, a pentatych and octotych, excavated at Herculaneum employed a unique connecting system that presages later sewing on thongs or cords At the turn of of the 1st century CE, a kind of folded parchment notebook called pugillares membranei in Latin, became commonly used for writing in the Roman Empire.^[7] This term was used by both the pagan poet Martial and Christian apostle Paul the Apostle. Martial used the term with reference to gifts of literature exchanged by Romans during the festival of Saturnalia. According to T.C. Skeat “…in at least three cases and probably in all, in the form of codices” and he theorized that this form of notebook was invented in Rome and then “…must have spread rapidly to the Near East…” In his discussion of one of the earliest pagan parchment codices to survive from Oxyrhynchus in Egypt, Eric Turner seems to challenge Skeat’s notion when stating “…its mere existence is evidence that this book form had a prehistory” and that “early experiments with this book form may well have taken place outside of Egypt.” Early codices of parchment or papyrus appear to have been widely used as personal notebooks, for instance in recording copies of letters sent (Cicero Fam. 9.26.1). The pages of parchment notebooks were commonly washed or scraped for re-use, called a palimpsest; and consequently writings in a codex were considered informal and impermanent.

Early-Christian Gnostic text from a codex discovered in Nag Hammadi (Egypt) in 1945

As far back as the early 2nd century, there is evidence that the codex—usually of papyrus—was the preferred format among Christians: in the library of the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum (buried in AD 79), all the texts (Greek literature) are scrolls; in the Nag Hammadi “library”, secreted about AD 390, all the texts (Gnostic Christian) are codices. Despite this comparison, a fragment of a non-Christian parchment Codex of Demosthenes, De Falsa Legationefrom Oxyrhynchus in Egypt demonstrates that the surviving evidence is insufficient to conclude whether Christians played a major, if not central, role in the development of early codices, or if they simply adopted the format to distinguish themselves from Jews. The earliest surviving fragments from codices come from Egypt and are variously dated (always tentatively) towards the end of the 1st century or in the first half of the 2nd. This group includes the Rylands Library Papyrus P52, containing part of St John’s Gospel, and perhaps dating from between 125 and 160. ^[10]

Early medieval bookcase containing about ten codices depicted in the Codex Amiatinus (ca. 700)

In Western culture the codex gradually replaced the scroll. From the 4th century, when the codex gained wide acceptance, to the Carolingian Renaissance in the 8th century, many works that were not converted from scroll to codex were lost to posterity. The codex was an improvement over the scroll in several ways. It could be opened flat at any page, allowing easier reading; the pages could be written on both front and back (recto and verso); and the codex, protected within its durable covers, was more compact and easier to transport.

The codex also made it easier to organize documents in a library because it had a stable spine on which the title of the book could be written. The spine could be used for the incipit, before the concept of a proper title was developed, during medieval times.

Although most early codices were made of papyrus, papyrus was fragile and supplies from Egypt, the only place where papyrus grew and was made into paper, became scanty; the more durable parchment and vellum gained favor, despite the cost.

Aztec warriors as shown in the Florentine Codex.

The codices of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica had the same form as the European codex, but were instead made with long folded strips of either fig bark (amatl) or plant fibers, often with a layer of whitewash applied before writing. New World codices were written as late as the 16th century (see Maya codices and Aztec codices). Those written before the Spanish conquests seem all to have been single long sheets folded concertina-style, sometimes written on both sides of the local amatl paper. So, strictly speaking they are not in codex format, but they more consistently have “Codex” in their usual names than do other types of manuscript.

In the Far East, the scroll remained standard for far longer than in the West. There were intermediate stages, such as scrolls folded concertina-style and pasted together at the back and books were printed only on one side of the paper.^[11] The Jewish religion still retains the Torah scroll, at least for ceremonial use.

Bookbinding

Among the experiments of earlier centuries, scrolls were sometimes unrolled horizontally, as a succession of columns. (The Dead Sea Scrolls are a famous example of this format.) This made it possible to fold the scroll as an accordion. The next step was then to cut the folios, sew and glue them at their centers, making it easier to use the papyrus or vellum recto-verso as with a modern book. In traditional bookbinding, these assembled folios trimmed and curved were called “codex” in order to differentiate it from the “Case” which we now know as “Hard cover”. Binding the Codex was clearly a different procedure from binding the “Case”. This terminology still in use some 50 or 60 years ago^{[citation needed]} has been nearly abandoned. Some commercial bookbinders may refer to the cover and the inside of the book instead, but a few others^[who?], attached to their traditions, still use the terms Codex and Case.

©http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex

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History and development of publishing and book trade(Part I)

Clay tablets of mesopotamia

Writing

Over five thousand years ago, people living in Mesopotamia developed a form of writing to record and communicate different types of information.

The earliest writing was based on pictograms. Pictograms were used to communicate basic information about crops and taxes.

Over time, the need for writing changed and the signs developed into a script we call cuneiform.

Over thousands of years, Mesopotamian scribes recorded daily events, trade, astronomy, and literature on clay tablets. Cuneiform was used by people throughout the ancient Near East to write several different languages.

©http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/writing/home_set.html

Clay tablet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of the victories of Rimush, king of Akkad, upon Abalgamash, king of Marhashi, and upon Elamite cities. Clay tablet, copy of a monumental inscription, ca. 2270 BCE. (see Manishtushu Obelisk)

In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets (Akkadian ṭuppu(m) 𒁾^[1]) were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age.

Cuneiform characters were imprinted on a wet clay tablet with a stylus often made of reed. Once written upon, many tablets were dried in the sun or air, remaining fragile. Later, these unfired clay tablets could be soaked in water and recycled into new clean tablets. Other tablets, once written, were grilled in a kennal or fired in kilns (or inadvertently, when buildings were burnt down by accident or during conflict) making them hard and durable. Collections of these clay documents made up the very first archives. They were at the root of first libraries. Tens of thousands of written tablets, including many fragments, have been found in the Middle East. ^[2]

In the Minoan/Mycenaean civilizations, writing has not been observed for any use other than accounting. Tablets serving as labels, with the impression of the side of a wicker basket on the back, and tablets showing yearly summaries, suggest a sophisticated accounting system. In this cultural region the tablets were never fired deliberately, as the clay was recycled on an annual basis. However, some of the tablets were “fired” as a result of uncontrolled fires in the buildings where they were stored. The rest are still tablets of unfired clay, and extremely fragile; some modern scholars are investigating the possibility of firing them now, as an aid to preservation.

Proto-writing

The Tărtăria tablets, thought to be from the Danubian civilization, may be older still, having been carbon dated to before 4000 BCE, and possibly dating from as long ago as 5500 BCE, but their interpretation remains controversial. ^[3]

©http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_tablet

Papyrus rolls of Eygpt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Papyrus (pronounced /pəˈpaɪrəs/) is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus,^[1] a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt.

Papyrus usually grow 2–3 meters (5–9 ft) tall. Papyrus is first known to have been used in ancient Egypt (at least as far back as the First dynasty), but it was also used throughout the Mediterranean region. Ancient Egypt used this plant as a writing material and for boats, mattresses, mats, rope, sandals, and baskets.

History

A section of the Egyptian Book of the Dead written on papyrus

Papyrus was first manufactured in Egypt as far back as the third millennium BCE.^[2] In the first centuries BCE and CE, papyrus scrolls gained a rival as a writing surface in the form of parchment, which was prepared from animal skins.^[3] Sheets of parchment were folded to form quires from which book-form codices were fashioned. Early Christian writers soon adopted the codex form, and in the Græco-Roman world it became common to cut sheets from papyrus rolls to form codices.

Codices were an improvement on the papyrus scroll as the papyrus was not pliable enough to fold without cracking and a long roll, or scroll, was required to create large volume texts. Papyrus had the advantage of being relatively cheap and easy to produce, but it was fragile and susceptible to both moisture and excessive dryness. Unless the papyrus was of good quality, the writing surface was irregular, and the range of media that could be used was also limited.

Papyrus was replaced in Europe by the cheaper locally-produced products parchment and vellum, of significantly higher durability in moist climates, though Henri Pirenne’s connection of its disappearance with the Muslim overrunning of Egypt is contended.^[4] Its last appearance in the Merovingian chancery is with a document of 692, though it was known in Gaul until the middle of the following century. The latest certain dates for the use of papyrus are 1057 for a papal decree (typically conservative, all papal “bulls” were on papyrus until 1022), under Pope Victor II,^[5] and 1087 for an Arabic document. Its use in Egypt continued until it was replaced by more inexpensive paper introduced by Arabs. Papyrus was documented as in use as late as the 12th century in the Byzantine Empire, but there are no surviving examples. Although its uses had transferred to parchment, papyrus therefore just overlapped with the use of paper in Europe, which began in the 11th century.^{[citation needed]}

Etymology

The English word papyrus derives, via Latin, from Greek πάπυρος papyros. Greek has a second word for papyrus, βύβλος byblos (said to derive from the name of the Phoenician city of Byblos). The Greek writer Theophrastus, who flourished during the 4th century BCE, uses papuros when referring to the plant used as a foodstuff and bublos for the same plant when used for non-food products, such as cordage, basketry, or a writing surface. The more specific term βίβλος biblos, which finds its way into English in such words as bibliography, bibliophile, and bible, refers to the inner bark of the papyrus plant. Papyrus is also the etymon of paper, a similar substance.

It is often claimed^{[by whom?]} that Egyptians referred to papyrus as pa-per-aa [p3y pr-ˁ3] (lit., “that which is of Pharaoh”), apparently denoting that the Egyptian crown owned a monopoly on papyrus production. However no actual ancient text using this term is known. In the Egyptian language, papyrus was known by the terms wadj [w3ḏ], tjufy [ṯwfy], and djet [ḏt]. The Greek word papyros has no known relationship to any Egyptian word or phrase.

Documents written on papyrus

The word for the material papyrus is also used to designate documents written on sheets of it, often rolled up into scrolls. The plural for such documents is papyri. Historical papyri are given identifying names—generally the name of the discoverer, first owner or institution where it is kept—and numbered, such as “Papyrus Harris I”. Often an abbreviated form is used such as “pHarris I”.

Manufacture and use

Papyrus is made from the stem of the plant. The outer rind is first stripped off, and the sticky fibrous inner pith is cut lengthwise into thin strips of about 40 cm (16 in) long. The strips are then placed side by side on a hard surface with their edges slightly overlapping, and then another layer of strips is laid on top at a right angle. The strips may have been soaked in water long enough for decomposition to begin, perhaps increasing adhesion, but this is not certain. It is also possible that the two layers were glued together.^[6] While still moist, the two layers are hammered together, mashing the layers into a single sheet. The sheet is then dried under pressure. After drying, the sheet of papyrus is polished with some rounded object, possibly a stone or seashell or round hard wood.^[7]

To form the long strip that a scroll required, a number of such sheets were united, placed so that all the horizontal fibres parallel with the roll’s length were on one side and all the vertical fibres on the other. Normally, texts were first written on the recto, the lines following the fibres, parallel to the long edges of the scroll. Secondarily, papyrus was often reused, writing across the fibres on the verso.^[2] Pliny the Elder describes the methods of preparing papyrus in his Naturalis Historia.

In a dry climate like that of Egypt, papyrus is stable, formed as it is of highly rot-resistant cellulose; but storage in humid conditions can result in molds attacking and destroying the material. In European conditions, papyrus seems only to have lasted a matter of decades; a 200–year-old papyrus was considered extraordinary. Imported papyrus that was once commonplace in Greece and Italy has since deteriorated beyond repair, but papyrus is still being found in Egypt; extraordinary examples include the Elephantine papyri and the famous finds at Oxyrhynchus and Nag Hammadi. The Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, containing the library of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, Julius Caesar’s father-in-law, was preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but has only been partially excavated.

There have been sporadic attempts to revive the manufacture of papyrus during the past 250 years. The Scottish explorer James Bruce experimented in the late 18th century with papyrus plants from the Sudan, for papyrus had become extinct in Egypt. Also in the 18th century, a Sicilian named Saverio Landolina manufactured papyrus at Syracuse, where papyrus plants had continued to grow in the wild. The modern technique of papyrus production used in Egypt for the tourist trade was developed in 1962 by the Egyptian engineer Hassan Ragab using plants that had been reintroduced into Egypt in 1872 from France. Both Sicily and Egypt have centres of limited papyrus production.

Papyrus is still used by communities living in the vicinity of swamps, to the extent that rural householders derive up to 75% of their income from swamp goods (Maclean et al. 2003b; c). Particularly in East and Central Africa, people harvest papyrus, which is used to manufacture items that are sold or used locally. Examples include baskets, hats, fish traps, trays or winnowing mats and floor mats. Papyrus is also used to make roofs, ceilings, rope and fences. Although alternatives such as eucalyptus are increasingly available, papyrus is still used as fuel.(Maclean 2003c).

Collections of papyri

• Amherst Papyri — This is a collection of Lord Amherst of Hackey. It includes biblical manuscripts, early church fragments, and classical documents from the Ptolemaic, Roman, and Byzantine eras. The collection was edited by Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt in 1900–1901. It is housed at the Pierpont Morgan Library (New York).
• Bodmer Papyri — This collection was purchased by Martin Bodmer in 1955–1956. Currently it is housed in the Bibliotheca Bodmeriana in Cologny. It includes Greek and Coptic documents, classical texts, biblical books, and writing of the early churches.
• Chester Beatty Papyri — collection of 11 codices acquired by Alfred Chester Beatty in 1930–1931 and 1935. It is housed at the Chester Beatty Library. The collection was edited by Frederic G. Kenyon.
• Colt Papyri — it is housed at the Pierpont Morgan Library (New York).
• Egerton Papyrus 2 — it is housed at the British Museum
• Martin Schøyen Collection — biblical manuscripts in Greek and Coptic, Dead Sea Scrolls, classical documents
• Michigan Papyrus Collection — this collection contains above 10 000 papyri fragments. It is housed at the University of Michigan.
• Oxyrhynchus Papyri — these numerous papyri fragments were discovered by Grenfell and Hunt in and around Oxyrhynchus. The publication of these papyri is still in progress.
• Princeton Papyri — it is housed at the Princeton University^[8]
• Rylands Papyri — this collection contains above 700 papyri, with 31 ostraca and 54 codices. It is housed at the John Rylands University Library
• Washington University Papyri Collection — includes 445 manuscript fragments, dating from the first century BC to the eighth century AD. Housed at Washington University Libraries.
• Yale Papyrus Collection — numbers over six thousand inventoried items and is cataloged, digitally scanned, and accessible online for close study. It is housed at the Beinecke Library.

©http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus

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World Library and Information Congress : 77th IFLA General Conference and Assembly 13-18 August 2011, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Call for Papers

Library Services to Multicultural Populations Section
& Information Literacy Section
& Indigenous Matters Special Interest Group

Theme:
Importance of Information Literacy for Multicultural Populations: Needs, Strategies, Programs, and the Role of Libraries

The Library Services to Multicultural Populations Sections, the Information Literacy Section and the SIG on Indigenous Matters invite proposals for papers to be presented at a three­hour programme.

Subjects of interest include:

• How do we identify the needs of multicultural population in the field of the information literacy?
• How can librarians, through information literacy programs, help develop understanding and tolerance for cultural diversity?
• How have you overcome obstacles to introducing information literacy strategies among cultural diverse societies?
• What are the benefits of offering information literacy programs to diverse populations and which strategies have worked best in your library?
• What unique or interesting ways have libraries reached out to diverse communities to provide information literacy?

Proposals should include:

• An abstract of paper approximately 500 words.
• Attach summary of the author(s) details (name, institution, position) and brief biographical statement of no more than 50 words.
• Submit proposals electronically to ifla2011.il.multiculturality@gmail.com no later than January 25, 2011 and indicate “IFLA proposal” in the subject line.
• Selected presenters will be notified by March 7, 2011.

Papers

Presenters will be expected to submit final versions of their papers by May 1, 2011. Papers should be in English (or in one of the official IFLA languages, with an English translation attached). The language of the session will be English. Presenters will have 15 minutes at the programme to deliver summaries of their papers, and time will be allowed for an open forum to allow audience interaction.

Please note that the Programme Committee has no funds to assist prospective authors: abstracts should only be submitted on the understanding that the expenses of the attending the San Juan conference (including travel, expenses and conference fee) will be the responsibility of the authors(s)/presenter(s) of accepted papers. Some national professional associations may be able to help fund certain expenses, and a small number of grants for conference attendance may be available.

For more information, please contact Stephen Stratton (stephen.stratton@csuci.edu) or Zuza Wiorogórska (z.d.wiorogorska@uw.edu.pl)

Submissions

All proposals must be in before 25 January 2011.

Please note

All expenses, including registration for the conference, travel, accommodation etc., are the responsibility of the authors/presenters. No financial support can be provided by IFLA, but a special invitation can be issued to authors.

© ifla.org

FMI has right to edit any foreign article inorder to meet our ethics

KU honours ‘Makers of a University’

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Kenyatta University has honoured men and women who have sacrificed their all to make the University as it is today  Prof. Crispus Kiamba, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, who was the Chief Guest during the colourful ceremony to mark KU’s Silver Jubilee,  described the past University leadership as “heroes and patriots who did all they could to propel the University forward.” Prof. Crispus Kiamba, the PS in the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, cuts the cake to mark KU’s Silver Jubilee Celebrations at the University on November 19, 2010. With him are, from left, D r Harris Mule (Chancellor, 2003-2010); Prof. Onesmo ole-MoiYoi (Second Chairman of KU Council, 1994-2010); Prof.Onesimus Mutungi (KU Chancellor); and, the VC, Prof. Olive Mugenda. Presiding over the ceremony is Prof. Wangari Mwai , who is the Director of KU’s Nyeri Campus.  He, at the same time, urged KU students to be proud of their University. They should not only to be committed to their studies but also help the University grow, he advised. The event — at the University on November 19, 2010 — marked the climax of KU’s Silver Jubilee celebrations. Kenyatta University was a constituent college of the University of Nairobi, from 1972 until 1985, when it became a fully-fledged university.  It had 600 students in 1985. The number has since grown to around  30,080. Those who were honoured (see full list below) included,  Prof. Leah Marangu, the Vice-Chancellor, Africa Nazarene University, late Dr. Dustan Ireri (Principal, 1973-1977); Mr. Joseph Koinange (Principal 1977-1981); Prof. Joseph Maitha (Principal, 1981-1985); late Prof. Peter Gacii (First Vice—Chancellor, 1985-1987), late Mr Philip Ndegwa (First Chairman of Council, 1985-1994), Prof. Onesmo ole-  MoiYoi (Second Chairman of Council, 1994-2010); Prof. Philip Githinji (VC 1987-1992); Prof. George Eshiwani (VC 1992-2003); Prof. Everett Standa (VC 2003-2006); and, Dr Harris Mule, Chancellor (2003-2010). Also honoured were some pioneer professors as well as alumni.  KU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olive Mugenda was also honoured. Prof. Kiamba said of the KU past leadership: “They must have faced many difficulties, many challenges as they dispensed their duties. But they never gave up, never quit, never despaired; they braved it all.  That is why they are our heroes.” Prof. Crispus Kiamba(left), the PS in the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, presents Mr. Joseph Koinange (KU Principal, 1977-1981) with the KU Souvenir and other gifts when the University honoured him during the Silver Jubilee Awards Ceremony on November 19, 2010.  Describing as those honoured as “men and women who persevered and sacrificed much for the success of KU,” the PS said great leaders put the interests of institutions before their own. “Indeed, great men and women, more often than not, do not value material things in this world. That is not to say they do not have normal material needs which we all do to lead reasonable and worthwhile lives. They are , however, more comfortable with, and in the search of great ideas and ideals that inspire and last generations to come,”  said Prof.Kiamba. On students, Prof. Kiamba advised them:“Be the proud student of Kenyatta University who is always neat, organised, focused, willing to help and one who always asks himself:  ‘What can I do for Kenyatta University?’ and  not ‘What can Kenyatta University do for me?’ ” He   asked them  to share knowledge freely among themselves. “Work hard  and smart. Be that compassionate student who understands that even the world-class universities — started many years ago — still face challenges. When faced with challenges and genuine concerns, you must embrace dialogue.” He said healthy communication between the University administration and the students “should be the answer, not violence and destruction.” Prof. Kiamba added: “Be that student who knows what brought him or her to the University. Be that student who does not always give in to peer pressure.” Prof. Peter Kinyanjui, who represented Mr. Benson Wairegi, the Chairman of Council, urged the University Management to “build on the momentum” already put in place by the past leadership. “There is a lot to be done. There are many challenges to be overcome,” said Prof. Kinyanjui. Prof. Onesmo ole-MoiYoi, the immediate former Council Chairman, attributed KU’s “impressive” growth to teamwork among its leadership and students. He challenged the University to expand its programmes across East Africa. “KU should think not as a Kenyan institution but a regional university,” he said, adding that he was proud of being associated with the University.  “Being a member of Kenyatta University is not just a civic responsibility but a way of life,” he said. The KU V.C , Prof. Olive Mugenda (centre) escorts Prof. Leah Marangu (the VC, Africa Nazarene University) and Mr. Joseph Koinange (KU Principal , 1977-1981) after the University honoured them during the Silver Jubilee Awards Ceremony on November 19, 2010.  The Chancellor, Prof. Onesimus Mutungi, commended the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olive Mugenda for her “selfless efforts in transforming” KU. “If you do your work well and make your God happy, nobody else should bother you,” said Prof. Mutungi. His predecessor, Dr Mule, commended the VC for her efforts “in form of expansion of the campuses, infrastructure, and student enrollment.” He asked Prof. Mugenda to “plan and expand even more.” Prof. Githinji, the Second Vice-Chancellor, termed as ‘job well-done” the major strides the University has since made. Prof. Eshiwani urged the VC to continue with the momentum of the tremendous growth the institution has made in the past four years. The VC, Prof. Mugenda — who had a power-point presentation of the strides KU has made since 1985 —  said she was committed to leading the Institution towards its achieving its goal of becoming a world-class university. THE LIST OF AWARDEES The Late Philip Ndegwa (1985-1994) Mr. Philip Ndegwa was the chairman of the first Kenyatta University council. He served from 1985 – 1994. He was one of Kenya’s foremost economists and financial managers.  He joined the Civil Service in 1965 and became a government advisor on economic issues and planning.  He served as a Permanent Secretary in the Ministries of Finance, Agriculture, and Economic Planning.  In 1982,  Mr. Ndegwa became the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya. Prof. Onesmo K. ole-MoiYoi (1994-2009) Prof. Onesmo K. ole-MoiYoi, a long serving Chairman of Kenyatta University Council, was the second Chairman from 1994 to 2009. Prof. ole-MoiYoi headed the University Council through difficult times when there was little development fund allocation from the Government. We salute Prof. ole-MoiYoi for his outstanding leadership. Dr. Harris Mule (2003-2010) Dr. Harris Mule was the first non-head of state Chancellor of Kenyatta University. He became the Chancellor in 2003 a position he held until early this year 2010. He is a development economist and policy analyst. During his international development career, he has served as a planner in the Kenyan Ministries of Agriculture and Planning, Chief Economist in the Ministry of Planning, and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Planning. He has also served as an assistant president of economic planning at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Dr. Mule has worked as an economic consultant in the fields of macro-economic policy, economic governance, and agricultural development with several international organisations. Dr. Mule has long been involved in initiatives to strengthen capacity for policy formulation and analysis in Africa. The Late Prof. Peter Gacii (1985-1987) The Late Prof. Peter Gacii was the first Vice-Chancellor of Kenyatta University upon its elevation into a full-fledged University in 1985. He served as the VC of the new University from 1985 to 1987. (May God rest his soul in eternal peace). Prof. Philip Mwangi Githinji (1987-1992) Prof. Philip Mwangi Githinji took over as the second Vice-Chancellor of KU in 1987 and steered the University up to 1992. He was, for many years, a leading promoter of engineering education and the engineering profession both in Kenya and in Africa at large. The president of Kenya decorated him with the award of Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to education in Kenya. Prof. George Eshiwani (1992-2003) Prof. Eshiwani became the third Vice-Chancellor of Kenyatta University in 1992 and went on to become the longest serving Vice-Chancellor of a Kenyan public university. He served until 2003. We honour Prof. Eshiwani for his exemplary contribution to the growth and development of Kenyatta University in the difficult economic times of the 1990s. Prof. Everett Standa (2003-2006) Prof. Standa became a senior lecturer at Kenyatta University in 1981, and six years later he was appointed Associate Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Education at Moi University. In 1991, he attained the status of Professor of Education, and in 1999 he initiated the privately- sponsored student programmes at Moi University. In 2001, he was the Principal of the Western University College of Science and Technology. In March 2003, he was appointment Kenyatta University the fourth Vice-Chancellor. Prof Standa is currently the Secretary and CEO of the Commission for Higher Education (CHE). Prof. Olive Mugenda (2006 – Current) In March 2006, Prof. Olive Mugenda made history in Kenya by becoming the first woman to be appointed the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of a public university. After she received her PhD in Family and Consumer Studies from Iowa State University in 1988, Prof. Mugenda taught in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, rising to become the Head of Department and later the Dean of the Institute of Applied Human Sciences. She also served as the Director of KU’s International Students’ Summer Program. Prof. Mugenda has built an impressive track record of quality leadership aimed at improving the quality of education in Kenya. Prior to her appointment as VC, she was KU’s Deputy VC in charge of Finance and Planning for four years. Former Principals The University also honoured the three former principals of the then Kenyatta College and the Kenyatta University College — as the pioneer leaders of the young academic institution. It is as a result of their visionary leadership that Kenyatta University is today that great institution. They were: The late Dr. Dunstan Ireri (1973 – 1977) Mr. Joseph Koinange (1977 – 1981) Prof. J.K. Maitha (1981 – 1985) Deputy Vice-Chancellors KU recognised the hard work and contribution of the four pioneer Deputy Vice-Chancellors, whose diligence and commitment helped shape Kenyatta University in its initial years of development. They were: Prof. Robert Murungi, DVC (Administration) — 1992-1996 Prof. John Mutio,     DVC    (Academic) — 1992-1999 Prof. Ezra Maritim, DVC (FP&D)— 1990-1999 Prof. Jude Ongong’a, DVC (Academic) —1999-2007 Pioneer Deans Pioneer Deans who helped shape the academic direction of the University were also recognized for providing the solid foundation for the academic strength that the University enjoys today. They were Prof. Raphael J. Njoroge (Dean, Faculty of Education), Prof. Celia K. Nyamweru (Dean, Faculty of Arts), and the late Dr. Caleb B. Oyuke (Dean, Faculty of Science). Pioneer Professors The University also recognised the contribution of the pioneer professors whose guidance and mentorship provided KU with the necessary academic direction to attain the international reputation of a world-class university that Kenyatta University is. The pioneer professors are: Prof. Matthew K. Maleche — (Educ. Admin, Plann & Curr. Development); Prof. Filemona  F. Indire (Educ. Foundations); Prof. Leah Marangu — pioneer professor, Africa Nazarene University); Prof. Michael. B. K. Darkoh (Geography); Prof. Bethuel A. Ogot (History); and, Prof. J. M. Waithaka — first full professor (Botany). Others were: Prof. H. O. Ayot, Prof. Daniel Kiminyo, Prof. Francis Imbuga, Prof. Ireri Mbaabu, Prof. Louis Mwaniki, Prof. Benson Wambari, Prof. F.M. Okatcha, Prof. L. E. Newton, and Prof. Steven Mutunga. Prominent Alumni Alumni honoured included prominent Kenyan citizens who have  graduated from the University  during the last 25 years, and even before 1985, when it was a college as well as a constituent  college of  the University of Nairobi. The alumni were honoured for upholding professionalism  and demonstrating to the world that KU’s is high quality education. The VC, Prof. Mugenda thanked the awardees for promoting the University as a world-class educational institution through their professional engagements both in service to the public. These were: Prof. Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha, 1975-1978 ( Executive Secretary, Inter-University Council of EA); Mr. Simon Gicharu, 1987-1990 ((Founder Mt. Kenya University); Dr. Samuel Tororei, 1978-1981 (Commissioner Kenya National Commission on Human Rights); Hon. Mohammed Affey,1991-1995, (Nominated MP); Hon. Prof. Hellen Sambili, 1979-1983, (Minister for East African Community, and Ag. Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology); Hon. Bare Aden Duale,1990-1993, (Asst. Minister for Livestock Development); Hon. Sospeter Ojamaa Ojamong’, MP 1988-1990, (Asst. Minister for Labour); Hon. Linah Jebii Kilimo, MP, 2010 (Asst. Minister for Co-operative Development); Hon. Kareke Mbiuki, MP,1991-1995 (Asst. Minister for Agriculture); Hon. Elizabeth Ongoro, MP, 1987-1990 (Assistant Minister for Nairobi Metropolitan Development); Hon. Lee Kinyanjui, MP, 1993-1997 (Asst. Minister for Roads); Hon. Dr. Joyce Laboso, MP – Sotik    (1980-1984); Hon. Peris C. Simam, MP – Eldoret South(2003-2006); Hon. David Were, MP    – Matungu (1980-1984); Hon. Isaac Muoki, MP – Mutomo South (1983-1986); and,    Hon. Justus Kizito M’Mbaya, MP – Shinyalu    (1999-2004). Long-service and Distinguished Service The University also honoured pioneer staff for their great contribution to the administrative operations of the institution. The VC, Prof. Mugenda said: “We appreciate their long service to the University and their exemplary contribution to the growth and development of Kenyatta University.” The staff were: Mr. P. E. Kang’ori, Long Serving Dean of Students (     1977-1996); Mr. M. Ng’ang’a, Long Serving University Librarian ( 1972-1999); Mr. Lawrence Mungai, Long Serving Registrar (1984-1989); Dr. J. K. Yego, Long Serving University Secretary (1985-1990); and, Mr. N. C. D. Lima,    Long Serving Finance Officer (1978-1990).

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years books and alamanacs

Exercise 3

1. I was watching a Gomer Pyle episode the other day and I heard Gomer say to Sgt. Carter: “What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Golly – did he make that up himself?

Source: The Columbia World of Quotations at http://www.bartleby.com/66/

I searched for the words What a tangled web we weave as Full Text (other search choices were Author and Category). Three results came up and Sir Walter Scott appears to be the originator – the other two made changes or additions to the original quote.

Attribution: Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832), Scottish novelist, poet. Marmion, canto. 6, stanza. 17 (1808).

J.R. Pope, in A Word of Encouragement, added to this the lines, “But when we’ve practised quite a while/How vastly we improve our style.”

2. A friend of mine is thinking about entering the MLIS program at San José State. He’s currently working as an LTA (library technical assistant) but understands he can earn more as a librarian, once he has his Master’s degree. How much more can he expect to earn? What kinds of additional responsibilities should he expect to take on?

The Occupational Outlook Handbook http://www.bls.gov/oco is the place to go for this information. They offer a simple search box. When I input librarian, 8 results came up, including librarians and library technicians. The entire monographs for librarians http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos068.htm and technicians http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos113.htm are quite lengthy. I have excerpted them below.

Median annual earnings of library technicians in May 2004 were $24,940.
Median annual earnings of librarians in May 2004 were $45,900.

Nature of Library Technician Work
Library technicians both help librarians acquire, prepare, and organize material and assist users in finding information. Library technicians usually work under the supervision of a librarian, although they work independently in certain situations. Technicians in small libraries handle a range of duties; those in large libraries usually specialize. As libraries increasingly use new technologies—such as CD-ROM, the Internet, virtual libraries, and automated databases—the duties of library technicians will expand and evolve accordingly. Library technicians are assuming greater responsibilities, in some cases taking on tasks previously performed by librarians.

Nature of Librarian Work (note how much longer this section is!)
Most librarian positions incorporate three aspects of library work: User services, technical services, and administrative services. Still, even librarians specializing in one of these areas have other responsibilities. Librarians in user services, such as reference and children’s librarians, work with patrons to help them find the information they need. The job involves analyzing users’ needs to determine what information is appropriate, as well as searching for, acquiring, and providing the information. The job also includes an instructional role, such as showing users how to access information. For example, librarians commonly help users navigate the Internet so they can search for relevant information efficiently. Librarians in technical services, such as acquisitions and cataloguing, acquire and prepare materials for use and often do not deal directly with the public. Librarians in administrative services oversee the management and planning of libraries: negotiate contracts for services, materials, and equipment; supervise library employees; perform public-relations and fundraising duties; prepare budgets; and direct activities to ensure that everything functions properly.

In small libraries or information centers, librarians usually handle all aspects of the work. They read book reviews, publishers’ announcements, and catalogues to keep up with current literature and other available resources, and they select and purchase materials from publishers, wholesalers, and distributors. Librarians prepare new materials by classifying them by subject matter and describe books and other library materials to make them easy to find. Librarians supervise assistants, who prepare cards, computer records, or other access tools that direct users to resources. In large libraries, librarians often specialize in a single area, such as acquisitions, cataloguing, bibliography, reference, special collections, or administration. Teamwork is increasingly important to ensure quality service to the public.

Librarians also compile lists of books, periodicals, articles, and audiovisual materials on particular subjects; analyze collections; and recommend materials. They collect and organize books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and other materials in a specific field, such as rare books, genealogy, or music. In addition, they coordinate programs such as storytelling for children and literacy skills and book talks for adults, conduct classes, publicize services, provide reference help, write grants, and oversee other administrative matters.

Librarians with computer and information systems skills can work as automated-systems librarians, planning and operating computer systems, and as information architects, designing information storage and retrieval systems and developing procedures for collecting, organizing, interpreting, and classifying information. These librarians analyze and plan for future information needs. The increasing use of automated information systems is enabling librarians to focus on administrative and budgeting responsibilities, grant writing, and specialized research requests, while delegating more technical and user services responsibilities to technicians.

3. It’s ten minutes before closing time when a young girl walks into the library and says, “Our Spanish teacher gave everybody one English word that comes from Spanish. He said we have to figure out what word it comes from and what that means in Spanish. And my word is something like… buck-er-ooh. Can you help me? I really need this for our class tomorrow!”

It sounds like the English word is commonly known as buckaroo today. It comes from a Spanish word vaquero, or a man who works with vacas (cows). I found a detailed description of the word’s background in the online Oxford English Dictionary, with examples of how it was used. My search was simply buckeroo in the simple search and the online dictionary figured it out for me (even typing buckeroo in MS Word caused the correct spelling buckaroo to present itself).

buckaroo, buckayro
Also bakhara, buckeroo, buckhara, etc. [Corruption of VAQUERO.]
1827 W. B. DEWEES Let. 16 Jan. in Lett. fr. Texas (1852) 66 These [rancheros] are surrounded by..peons and bakharas, or herdsmen.
1889 Century Dict., Buckayro…(Western U.S.).
1890 FARMER Slang, Buckhara (American), a name given in California to a cattle-driver or cowboy.
1904 N.Y. Tribune 17 July, He was herding a big bunch of cattle there with the help of half a dozen buckayros.

vaquero
[Sp. (= Pg. vaqueiro), f. vaca cow. Cf. Prov. vaquier, F. vacher, and It. vaccaro, med.L. vaccrius.]

1. In Spanish America: A cowboy or cowherd; a herdsman or cattle-driver.

4. An older woman approaches the reference desk, looking tired and worried. She says, “My husband was recently diagnosed with dementia, but they say it’s not Alzheimer’s. What’s the difference? Also, the doctor has just put him on Desyrel; I’d like to find more information about this drug, please.”

The Physician’s Desk Reference’s PDR health website is one resource for information about drugs that are available. This website is different from the print version you might find in the library in that is specifically designed for patient use. http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/rxdrugprofiles/drugs/des1128.shtml

Typing in the drug name yields a drug monograph that describes the drug in various sections:

Why is Desyrel prescribed?
Most important fact about Desyrel
How should you take Desyrel?
Desyrel side effects
Special warnings about Desyrel
Possible food and drug interactions when taking Desyrel

5. The following message appears in your Ask a Librarian e-mail: “I need information about Mauritius for a social studies report. Thanks. Adam.” Please recommend 2 useful reference sources for Adam (and remember – he may need a bit of instruction in using them).

I LOVE the CIA World Factbook http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ and hope to turn Adam on to it as well. They have a nifty pull-down menu where you can find a country by name and it pops up a page that is divided up into the following sections: Introduction, Geography, People, Government, Economy, Communications, Transportation, Military, Transnational Issues. It also has the country’s flag and numerous maps.

Another easy-to-use source is the freely-available Information Please Almanac http://www.infoplease.com/almanacs.html. You simply type the name of the country into the search box and select from a list of results. The results can sometimes be confusing, but for a simple search like a country name, the first result is usually pretty good.

6. A middle school student is doing a report on the musician Prince for his class and wants to know: “What’s his real name?” Oh, and his teacher says he needs several sources for this report; please identify 3 reference sources where he could quickly find biographical information about Prince.

I wanted to show the student the value of using the library’s online resources, so I first tried the online American National Biography (ANB), but it did not contain Prince. I resorted to the three easy, free, online sources below. Each allowed me to simply type in Prince and yielded the correct person with little to no scrolling. The nice thing about ANB is that it has search limits such as the person’s field (or “realm of renown”), place of birth, and range of dates for birth or death.

Biography.com http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9447278
Prince (1958– ) stage name by which Prince Roger Nelson is most widely known

Biographical dictionary http://www.s9.com/biography/search.html
Prince (orig. Prince Rogers Nelson; the Purple One, the Artist Formerly Known as Prince, TAFKAP, the Artist)

Who2 http://who2.com/prince.html
Prince: Name at birth: Prince Roger Nelson

7. You get a phone call from a bar (you can hear glasses clinking and loud laughter in the background). A man’s voice slurs the following: “Hey, library person! Can you help us out with a bet here? I’m sayin’ that Australian lady, Yvonne Goolagong, was a Wimbledon champion in singles and in doubles, and my buddy here says she wasn’t. Who’s right?”

I first tried the free web sources used in question 6. After no hits in 2 of them, I did a google search to verify the spelling of the name and found it to be Evonne Goolagong. I re-searched the free resources and still came up with zero.

The Biography Resource Center (via SJ Library) gave me a record from Great Women in Sports. Visible Ink Press, 1996. The answer is “singles only at Wimbledon.”

CAREER
Won the French Open and Wimbledon singles competition, 1971; won Australian Open singles competition, 1974-77; won Australian Open doubles crown, 1971, 1974, 1975, and 1976; helped Australia to win Federation Cups, 1971, 1973, and 1974; won Wimbledon singles competition, 1980.

8. A serious looking student comes into the library and says: “I have to do a paper on Beowulf for my Honors English class, and I think I want to write about Anglo-Saxon warfare and weapons. When we were reading it I saw that they use a variation of the word ‘sword’ in there. Where does that word come from? When was it first used in the English language?”

The online Oxford English Dictionary (OED) via SJSU databases is a great place for the answer about where sword was first used in the English language. It lists the first usage as being from Beowulf in the year 971 ad.: Beowulf 2638 (Gr.) Helmas and heard sweord. 971

I’m going to give you two choices of resources for the etymology and you can choose how deep you’d like to go: Webster’s unabridged (see citation below) gives a fine, quick answer; the OED goes way in depth. Webster’s gives a great explanation of how to read the etymology. The OED is not so clear, but I’ve downloaded their entire Help pdf, so that we can try to decipher it, as needed.

Webster’s:
[ME swerd, sword, fr. OE sweord; akin to OHG swert sword, ON sverth, Av xvara wound; basic meaning: to cut, stab]
Quick translation: Middle English from Old English; related to words in Old High German, Old Norse, and Avestan (a language from Iran in the pre-Christian era).

OED:
[OE. sweord str. n. = OS., OFris. swerd, MLG. swert, MDu. swaert (Du. zwaard), OHG., MHG. swert (G. schwert), ON. sver (Sw. svärd, Da. sverd):OTeut. *swerdom.]

Gove, P.B. (1993). Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc.

In Webster’s I looked up sword alphabetically and used the Explanation and Abbreviations sections at the front of the volume. I also looked up the definition of Avestan.

In the online OED, I searched for sword and clicked on the Etymology and Date chart buttons to find the two answers.

9. An undergraduate approaches the reference desk. She is doing a paper on the year she was born (1987) and wants to know: what are two major political events, one major scientific event, and one major artistic or musical event that happened that year? Please see if you can help her locate this information using only one source.

-U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Gen. Sec. Mikhail Gorbachev of the U.S.S.R. signed (Dec. 1987) the INF disarmament treaty.
-The Iran-contra affair (Oliver North’s TV testimony, July 1987) was a major political scandal.
-A vaccine for certain types of meningitis was introduced by Gordon, et al.
-Les Misérables opened on Broadway.

First I tried Britannica Book of the Year online, but it doesn’t appear to go back to 1987. I also tried Facts on File World News Digest via LexisNexis, but I was not pleased with its searching options and despite having a date range limit, it did not yield many good results.

The above results came from the World Almanac and Book Of Facts online via LexisNexis. I wasn’t in love with the results, but I was able to find them pretty easily. I first searched for 1987 (222 hits) and then refined three times by adding the keywords politics (6 hits), science (4 hits), and art (25 hits).

Either after this quick search—or likely instead of it—I would guide the student to the print edition of the various yearbooks (Britannica Book of the Year, Europa World Year Book, etc.) that the library owns where browsing is likely to yield better results than the online resources.

10. For your birthday, a friend who loves the fact that you’re in library school gives you a little book he found at a garage sale: The seven joys of reading, by Mary Plummer. As you read it, you find yourself wanting to know more about Ms. Plummer. Where might you find a brief biography of her – one that includes a bibliography of additional readings? And if you find you want to do some serious research – what archives hold material about her?

I first used the Biography Resource Center online via SJPL databases. The search is simply by author’s name. Only one Mary Plummer came up. The biography was sufficient, but the bibliography was rather scant, so I moved on to American National Biography online via SJSU. It fit the bill exactly.

Bibliography
Archives pertaining to Mary Wright Plummer are in the Pratt Institute Library, Brooklyn, N.Y., which contains correspondence to the administrators of Pratt Institute as well as to her family and friends, photographs, and drafts and copies of her publications. Material concerning her management of the library school at the New York Public Library is split between the New York Public Library Archives and Special Collections of the Columbia University Library. The archives of the American Library Association at the University of Illinois in Urbana can be consulted for her work in that organization. Some biographical material, as well as an evaluation of Plummer’s contribution to librarianship, is in “Memorial Meeting for Mary Wright Plummer,” Library Journal 41 (Dec. 1916): 889-91, and in a pamphlet, Meeting in Memory of Mary Wright Plummer, Stuart Room, New York Public Library . . . (1916). A brief comment on her life is in Anne Carroll Moore, “Mary Wright Plummer, 1856-1916,” Bulletin of Bibliography 14 (1930): 1-3. An obituary is in the New York Times, 22 Sept. 1916.

11. Unabridged or desk dictionary comparison (worth 20 points!): Please compare two of the unabridged or desk dictionaries on the source list. You may find the discussion of how to compare dictionaries (B&S pp. 412-413) useful.

Gove, P.B. (1993). Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (3rd ed.). Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster.

This is a very large, unabridged dictionary whose goal is to be “a prime linguistic aid to interpreting the culture and civilization [of the English speaking world] of today.” This 3rd edition from 1993 is based on the 1961 2nd edition. It is 2662 pages long and contains over 450,000 words and 6 million examples of recorded usage, i.e., quotes of the words as used in printed works. It contains extensive explanatory notes that are useful, but are relatively complicated and require the user to dive in wholeheartedly. This includes a daunting pronunciation guide and help in reading the each part of an entry: etymologies, status labels, verbal illustrations, etc. It highlights the inclusion of taxonomic entries and scientific and technical terms, including employing specialists to prepare them. I’ve owned this dictionary for years (It was a gift) and I love it.

Plusses: It pretty much has everything, word-wise; one-page pronunciation guide is good for general use; verbal illustrations give the user context to common usage (e.g. practicing …); extensive examples of recorded use give further context and are generally pretty cool.
Minuses: No in-depth usage notes (see discussion of Random House); complete pronunciation guide is difficult to wade through; explanatory notes are complicated.

Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary (2nd ed.). (2001). New York: Random House.

The goal of this dictionary is “to meet the wide-ranging needs of today’s students and scholars, who study ancient documents one day and surf the Internet the next; of professional writers, who craft poems or write articles for technical journals; of businesspeople, who need to communicate clearly, whether face-to-face or fax-to-fax; and–above all–the needs of word lovers.” It is not quite as large as the Merriam-Webster (MW) unabridged, containing 315,000 entries in 2229 pages. Further dwarfing its coverage of words is that those entries include a multitude of non-word entries that are absent in the MW book. In fact, Random House (RH) takes pride in a different focus.

This dictionary has a feel that it is meant for the user, rather than just to be about the language. It contains numerous entries, sections, spot maps, and illustrations that seem more likely housed in an almanac: “Entries for important and famous people; for places, historical events; major works of literature, music and art; names and abbreviations of academic, governmental, social, and fraternal organizations; popular given names; common abbreviations; and foreign terms. Entries and definitions for current place names, reflecting recent political and geographical changes worldwide.” Endangered species are identified. A Basic Manual of Style is included in the back. Features such as “Guidelines for avoiding insensitive and offensive language in both writing and speaking” and the “List of Words Commonly Confused” make this book quite different from your average dictionary.

Plusses: Exceptional usage notes (e.g., the fact that the verb forms of impact are relatively new [it used to be only a noun]; the difference between prescriptive and descriptive uses of the words farther and further [can you tell I’m in my element?]); very user-friendly How to Use section; simple half-page pronunciation chart; excellent lengthy pronunciation guide, including discussion of the differences between the system RH uses and IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet) – I’m a former linguist and I was very impressed with this section.

Minuses: New words section is rather small (1000 entries); why waste space with things such as lists of wedding anniversary gifts, birthstones, airport codes, lakes of the world? I wouldn’t go to a dictionary for these and I’d rather have more words!

Don’t tell my old Merriam-Webster, but I really like this Random House dictionary.

I did a comparison look-up of six words: impact; travesty; farther; further; pome; and expletive. I’ve gone on too long already, so I’ll keep this part brief. Generally, MW did a fine job listing traditionally accepted uses of the words, but anything additional that I was looking for was missing. The usage notes in RH fill in the gaps and puts words in the context of their histories (see above examples under RH plusses). MW sometimes had more detailed etymologies, but RH etymologies almost always contain dates, that are lacking in MW. Neither dictionary had a usage note for travesty which is very commonly misused. Despite the great usage note for farther/further in RH, the entry for further contained contradictory information.

Computer Software Definition

Software is a generic term for organized collections of computer data and instructions, often broken into two major categories: system software that provides the basic non-task-specific functions of the computer, and application software which is used by users to accomplish specific tasks.

System software is responsible for controlling, integrating, and managing the individual hardware components of a computer system so that other software and the users of the system see it as a functional unit without having to be concerned with the low-level details such as transferring data from memory to disk, or rendering text onto a display. Generally, system software consists of an operating system and some fundamental utilities such as disk formatters, file managers, display managers, text editors, user authentication (login) and management tools, and networking and device control software.

Application software, on the other hand, is used to accomplish specific tasks other than just running the computer system. Application software may consist of a single program, such as an image viewer; a small collection of programs (often called a software package) that work closely together to accomplish a task, such as a spreadsheet or text processing system; a larger collection (often called a software suite) of related but independent programs and packages that have a common user interface or shared data format, such as Microsoft Office, which consists of closely integrated word processor, spreadsheet, database, etc.; or a software system, such as a database management system, which is a collection of fundamental programs that may provide some service to a variety of other independent applications.

Software is created with programming languages and related utilities, which may come in several of the above forms: single programs like script interpreters, packages containing a compiler, linker, and other tools; and large suites (often called Integrated Development Environments) that include editors, debuggers, and other tools for multiple languages.

 

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Computer software

Computer software, or just software, is the collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions telling a computer what to do. We can also say software refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of the computer for some purposes. Program software performs the function of the program it implements, either by directly providing instructions to the computer hardware or by serving as input to another piece of software. The term was coined to contrast to the old term hardware (meaning physical devices). In contrast to hardware, software is intangible, meaning it “cannot be touched”.^[1] Software is also sometimes used in a more narrow sense, meaning application software only. Sometimes the term includes data that has not traditionally been associated with computers, such as film, tapes, and records.^[2]

Examples of computer software include:

• Application software includes end-user applications of computers such as word processors or video games, and ERP software for groups of users.
• Middleware controls and co-ordinates distributed systems.
• Programming languages define the syntax and semantics of computer programs. For example, many mature banking applications were written in the COBOL language, originally invented in 1959. Newer applications are often written in more modern programming languages.
• System software includes operating systems, which govern computing resources. Today^[when?] large^[quantify] applications running on remote machines such as Websites are considered^{[by whom?]} to be system software, because^{[citation needed]} the end-user interface is generally through a graphical user interface, such as a web browser.
• Testware is software for testing hardware or a software package.
• Firmware is low-level software often stored on electrically programmable memory devices. Firmware is given its name because it is treated like hardware and run (“executed”) by other software programs.
• Shrinkware is the older name given to consumer-bought software, because it was often sold in retail stores in a shrink-wrapped box.
• Device drivers control parts of computers such as disk drives, printers, CD drives, or computer monitors.
• Programming tools help conduct computing tasks in any category listed above. For programmers, these could be tools for debugging or reverse engineering older legacy systems in order to check source code compatibility.

Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Overview 3 Types of software 3.1 System software 3.2 Programming software 3.3 Application software 4 Software topics 4.1 Architecture 4.2 Documentation 4.3 Library 4.4 Standard 4.5 Execution 4.6 Quality and reliability 4.7 License 4.8 Patents 5 Design and implementation 6 Industry and organizations 7 References 8 External links

History

For the history prior to 1946, see History of computing hardware.

The first theory about software was proposed by Alan Turing in his 1935 essay Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem (Decision problem).^[3] The term “software” was first used in print by John W. Tukey in 1958. Colloquially, the term is often used to mean application software. In computer science and software engineering, software is all information processed by computer system, programs and data.^[4] The academic fields studying software are computer science and software engineering.

The history of computer software is most often traced back to the first software bug in 1946. As more and more programs enter the realm of firmware, and the hardware itself becomes smaller, cheaper and faster due to Moore’s law, elements of computing first considered to be software, join the ranks of hardware. Most hardware companies today have more software programmers on the payroll than hardware designers, since software tools have automated many tasks of Printed circuit board engineers. Just like the Auto industry, the Software industry has grown from a few visionaries operating out of their garage with prototypes. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were the Henry Ford and Louis Chevrolet of their times, who capitalized on ideas already commonly known before they started in the business. In the case of Software development, this moment is generally agreed to be the publication in the 1980s of the specifications for the IBM Personal Computer published by IBM employee Philip Don Estridge. Today his move would be seen as a type of crowd-sourcing.

Until that time, software was bundled with the hardware by Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Data General, Digital Equipment and IBM. When a customer bought a minicomputer, at that time the smallest computer on the market, the computer did not come with Pre-installed software, but needed to be installed by engineers employed by the OEM. Computer hardware companies not only bundled their software, they also placed demands on the location of the hardware in a refrigerated space called a computer room. Most companies had their software on the books for 0 dollars, unable to claim it as an asset (this is similar to financing of popular music in those days). When Data General introduced the Data General Nova, a company called Digidyne wanted to use its RDOS operating system on its own hardware clone. Data General refused to license their software (which was hard to do, since it was on the books as a free asset), and claimed their “bundling rights”. The Supreme Court set a precedent called Digidyne v. Data General in 1985. The Supreme Court let a 9th circuit decision stand, and Data General was eventually forced into licensing the Operating System software because it was ruled that restricting the license to only DG hardware was an illegal tying arrangement.^[5] Soon after, IBM ‘published’ its DOS source for free, and Microsoft was born. Unable to sustain the loss from lawyer’s fees, Data General ended up being taken over by EMC Corporation. The Supreme Court decision made it possible to value software, and also purchase Software patents. The move by IBM was almost a protest at the time. Few in the industry believed that anyone would profit from it other than IBM (through free publicity). Microsoft and Apple were able to thus cash in on ‘soft’ products. It is hard to imagine today that people once felt that software was worthless without a machine. There are many successful companies today that sell only software products, though there are still many common software licensing problems due to the complexity of designs and poor documentation, leading to patent trolls.

With open software specifications and the possibility of software licensing, new opportunities arose for software tools that then became the de facto standard, such as DOS for operating systems, but also various proprietary word processing and spreadsheet programs. In a similar growth pattern, proprietary development methods became standard Software development methodology.

[edit] Overview

A layer structure showing where operating system is located on generally used software systems on desktops

Software includes all the various forms and roles that digitally stored data may have and play in a computer (or similar system), regardless of whether the data is used as code for a CPU, or other interpreter, or whether it represents other kinds of information. Software thus encompasses a wide array of products that may be developed using different techniques such as ordinary programming languages, scripting languages, microcode, or an FPGA configuration.

The types of software include web pages developed in languages and frameworks like HTML, PHP, Perl, JSP, ASP.NET, XML, and desktop applications like OpenOffice.org, Microsoft Word developed in languages like C, C++, Java, C#, or Smalltalk. Application software usually runs on an underlying software operating systems such as Linux or Microsoft Windows. Software (or firmware) is also used in video games and for the configurable parts of the logic systems of automobiles, televisions, and other consumer electronics.

Computer software is so called to distinguish it from computer hardware, which encompasses the physical interconnections and devices required to store and execute (or run) the software. At the lowest level, executable code consists of machine language instructions specific to an individual processor. A machine language consists of groups of binary values signifying processor instructions that change the state of the computer from its preceding state. Programs are an ordered sequence of instructions for changing the state of the computer in a particular sequence. It is usually written in high-level programming languages that are easier and more efficient for humans to use (closer to natural language) than machine language. High-level languages are compiled or interpreted into machine language object code. Software may also be written in an assembly language, essentially, a mnemonic representation of a machine language using a natural language alphabet. Assembly language must be assembled into object code via an assembler.

Types of software

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)

Practical computer systems divide software systems into three major classes^{[citation needed]}: system software, programming software and application software, although the distinction is arbitrary, and often blurred.

[edit] System software

System software provides the basic function for computer usage,which can be divided into operating system and support system.Operating system is the most basic software.System software helps run the computer hardware and computer system. It includes a combination of the following:

• device drivers
• operating systems
• servers
• utilities
• window systems

System software is responsible for managing variety of independent hardwares,so that they can work together harmoniously.For the system software, computer users and other softwares regard the computer as a whole and need not give concern on how every hardware works.The purpose of systems software is to unburden the applications programmer from the often complex details of the particular computer being used, including such accessories as communications devices, printers, device readers, displays and keyboards, and also to partition the computer’s resources such as memory and processor time in a safe and stable manner. Examples are – Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.Programming

Programming software usually provides tools to assist a programmer in writing computer programs, and software using different programming languages in a more convenient way. The tools include:

• compilers
• debuggers
• interpreters
• linkers
• text editors

An Integrated development environment (IDE) is a single application that attempts to manage all these functions.

[edit] Application software

System software does not aim at a certain application fields.In contrast,different application software offers different function based on users and the area it served.Application software is developed for some certain purpose,which either can be a certain program or a collection of some programmes,such as a graphic browser or the data base management system. Application software allows end users to accomplish one or more specific (not directly computer development related) tasks. Typical applications include:

• industrial automation
• business software
• video games
• quantum chemistry and solid state physics software
• telecommunications (i.e., the Internet and everything that flows on it)
• databases
• educational software
• Mathematical software
• medical software
• molecular modeling software
• image editing
• spreadsheet
• simulation software
• Word processing
• Decision making software

Application software exists for and has impacted a wide variety of topics.

 

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