The Land of the Lead Argonaut

Mod Wheels #9

2008-06-16T13:28:00.002-04:00

To say that I've been tardy in my postings is a massive understatement; life tends to get in the way of the hobbyist. Without further ado, we skip ahead a few issues (a necessity of availability) to this jam-packed edition of Wheels and his gang. Frankly, I don't know what to say except this issue is pedestrian and lacking. The main story involoves Cube (the teen-age genius mechanic) adding radar to Wheels' hot-rod. His nemesis shows up (Van Packard) causing accidents and mayhem to ensue. The female character of the group is left commenting on her hair and how stupid men in general are. If you like this series, I'd recommend you pass on this issue. Till next time.

Mod Wheels #6 (Gold Key, 06/72)

2008-01-06T12:19:00.000-05:00

This supposedly suspenseful issue concerns, as usual, two different stories: a troubled father and son, and the women's liberation movement. The first story is the typical soapy tear-jerker about a boy who feels neglected by his auto-obsessed father. The results are predictable, but I found Wheels' advice to be particularly bizarre. At one point he recommends to the lad that he bury his troubles by merely mimicking his father's actions; bury those problems deep, eh? Great advice.
The second story has Wheels' crew initially mocking the women's lib activities of their only female member. After some storyline padding, this acrimony resolves itself in a car race where the boys find out that the real winner of the race is tolerance. *yawns* I suppose the good people at Gold Key deserve some credit for including such a controversial plot line in 1972, but the conclusion just seems too shallow and forced for my liking. With that said, however, this is just a comic book, not a literary classic. Rock on Wheels!

Mod Wheels #2 (Gold Key, 05/71)

2007-12-15T14:22:00.000-05:00

In an attempt to reestablish this rather moribund blog, I have decided to switch its focus to one of my burgeoning interests: camp comic books. As a child, other than the Legion of the Superheroes (DC), I was never really interested in comic books, because I really didn't like superheroes that much. During my time studying so-called juvenile literature, I was delighted to discover that comics, or graphic novels, are just as diverse as literature itself. After much perusal, I've found I like ones that are of the mystery/horror/suspense genre, or, as one can see, ones deemed to be camp. With that said, my next entries (hopefully, there will be some) will be devoted to this particular comic book serial, or more appropriately, what, thus far, has been digitized.
This particular issue has two brief stories: one involving Wheels' (gasp! what a surprising name) motor race escapade, and another involving auto thieves. Even for a 1971 Gold Key, the story is banal and awash with stereotypes; the opening panel has Wheels' girlfriend almost spread-eagle on his car hood. In the Auto thieves story, Wheels meets a female auto mechanic (a bit of a surprise for a comic from 1971), but, alas, she is predictably as un-feminine and un- woman like as possible. As for the drawing, it is fairly flat and two-dimensional, with ordinary panel layouts: little, if any, shading is present.
It is also rather amusing to see how the "mod" generation is being presented. Clearly "mods" were not creating this comic, so, in essence, one can see how adults viewed this generation. Essentially, they are depicted as adrenalin-loving hedonists, who care little for authority, rules or popular culture. Adults, if any are present, usually are shown in this issue as being supplementary, like "Joe", the aforementioned female mechanic. Adults are also only deemed "cool" if they assist the characters; clearly, diminishing the character of younger generations is not just a contemporary tradition.
The final, laughable aspect of this comic is "Cube," a bespectacled lad who ends up joining this crew of zany misfits at the end of the comic. When one has glasses, one is smart (or s-m-r-t for Simpson's' fans). This annoying staple of pop culture has been seemingly around for eons and its inclusion in this serial really is a testament to its' predictability. All in all, an enjoyable comic ;)

After the end

2007-05-14T14:41:00.000-04:00

Well, it has been a month or so since I completed my degree at FIS and have left Toronto (for now anyway). Applying for jobs has become my new focus and I've come to realize again just how intense the process is. Unfortunately, for this blog, it has meant months of neglect; hopefully this will all change for the better quite soon. For all the upcoming FIS graduates, I wish you well for the future.

Wyndham Up My Back: The Chrysalids

2006-11-16T16:23:00.000-05:00

For my last booktalk of the term, I would like to discuss one of the primary readings from this week: John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids (1955). Reading this book once more not only reminded me of my high school years, but just how sophisticated and thought-provoking teenage oriented science fiction can be. The set-up is typically unusual: the world has victimized by an apocalyptic war and years later, a brand of survivors living in Labrador seek to purge themselves of “mutants” who take the form of an emerging group of telepaths.

The protagonist of the story is David Storm, a young man who is just beginning to understand his telepathic abilities. As he begins to comprehend what his abilities mean, he also finds himself (and his psychic peers) on the receiving end of systemic prejudice. At the same time, Wyndham has his main character fall in love with his cousin, Sophie; this romantic subplot is a sidebar that modern audiences often focus on account of its supposed controversial nature.

Beyond this alleged controversy is a sound, entertaining novel. The two major story developments I had forgotten about over the years concerned David’s sister, and the rather bizarre ending. It is David’s sister, Petra, that ends up developing the most powerful psychic abilities; so much so, in fact, that it is she who is able to communicate with others of her kind across the world in Sealand (presumably New Zealand)! The bizarre ending I was referring to, involves members of this psychic stronghold coming from Sealand to save David, Sophie and the rest of the psychic youngsters from the violent and prejudicial elders of his village.

This final plot development leads me to my final point of this booktalk of this semester. One of the most strident aspects of Wyndham’s piece of fiction is his depiction of adults. Other than David’s uncle, Axel, most of the adults depicted in this novel are either ineffectual or downright malicious. Why Wyndham chose to go this route is, in all likelihood, an essay in itself, but one plausible reason for this development is to appeal to a youth audience, where themes of rebellion would reverberate.

What is likely more important than determining the causality behind this plot development is how it would, in fact, be interpreted by a young reader. Since I was sixteen when I first read it, I can safely say it must have had some sort of an impact on me because I, for the most part, remembered what happened in this novel. In the end, Wyndham, I think, has accomplished his main goal: entice young people to read a well-crafted novel and to encourage them to read further. Thank you all for reading my booktalks over the past term, I certainly have learned a lot from them.

Sheldrick-Ross: Serial Reader

2006-11-09T12:29:00.001-05:00

Throughout this term, I have, in all honesty, been fairly critical of the scholarship surrounding children’s literature. This week, however, I am rather pleased to say that Ross’ article entitled: “If They Read Nancy Drew, So What?: Series Book Readers Talk Back,” is not only well-constructed, but quite a convincing piece of scholarship as well.

In case you haven’t read it, the article discusses the serious issue of trying to get young reluctant or non-readers to start reading and utilizing what the public or school library has to offer. This incredibly brief summary does not do the article justice, because it was in fact a product of lengthy amount of research in which over one hundred people were interviewed (p. 201). Another salient conclusion Ross makes concerns the “reading ladder.”

No doubt, we all remember the diagramme of the ladder; the upper rungs, of course, were supposed to represent some sort of lexical Valhalla. By reaching the top, the reader had now evidently reached some sort of transcendent state and was now, at last, a reader of great importance. I always thought that paradigm was rather cruel, because, for me, it somehow implied that being on the lower rungs meant one was, by definition, deficient or underdeveloped.

Another aspect of Ross’ article that made me truly think about juvenile literature was the manner on which fiction is presented in the library. Ross discusses at length how libraries have historically derided fiction and how the same institution has experienced the consequences from that judgment. But it seems to me the library, namely, public libraries, are, in fact, still passing judgment on children’s fiction each and every day.

Take, for example, how serials are presented to its younger patrons as they enter the library. Most popular serials are stuck somewhere in a “spinner” which are sometimes, but not always, sorted by genre and alphabetized (again, not always) by author. This seems like a simple system, but a visit to your local library will often reveal that these books are often out of place, misfiled, or simply missing.

In addition, even if a patron wanted to find their wanted serial title in the catalogue, most of the times, they cannot. I have yet to be in a public library where fiction titles, children’s or not, can be properly searched and accessed. Oftentimes, when the young patron checks out his/her book, all that comes up is a non-descript entry stating that a piece of “fiction” has been discharged. It seems that some vestiges of the “fiction is pernicious movement” are still at large.

Ross, C. S. (1995). “If they read Nancy Drew, so what?”: Series books readers talk back. LISR. 17, 201-236.

We all Wynne: preoccupied with nationalism?

2006-11-03T11:24:00.000-05:00

I can’t think of a more provocative statement in the readings from this term than this one: “…Brian Doyle took me to task for the lack of Canadian content in my novel Stephen Fair” (p. 299). Granted, Wynne is talking about an adult novel that he has just written, but, frankly, how many times do we have to go down this road? What road is that, pray? The subject of this week’s booktalk is, perhaps sadly, Canadian nationalism in the form of literary content.

For the most part, Wynne’s article is about the Canadian sense of humour. In this regard, he does an excellent job recounting our strange comedic preferences, and how they have developed over time. He then suddenly includes the above quote and I cannot help but be a little peeved. Many things have bothered me about “CanCon,” but one of its irritating characteristics concerns people who support it above all else. Specifically, it seems that if you are a writer or a musician living in Canada who does not wish to include a token amount of Canadian content into your artifice, you are branded as being anti-patriotic.

I think the people who were responsible for creating Canadian content meant well. I mean, who can truly disagree with the notion that an appreciable danger exists from American cultural encroachment. On the other hand, do we necessarily have to surround our artists with an ideological straightjacket? I, obviously, believe in the notion of write what you want to write, paint what you want to paint, regardless of cultural preconceptions.

The second, and final, thing that always bothered me about “CanCon” concerns a certain medical aide: namely, a crutch. I have always viewed this law as being an informal admittance by the federal government that our artists cannot possibly survive on their own. Through this built in cultural inferiority complex, we have attempted to create a quasi-fortress around our cognoscenti to shield them from the American invaders. I, for one, think our artists can readily compete with the best of them. This also goes for our radio, television, and music; for that matter, any of our cultural exports can, I believe, withstand and compete in the international intellectual and entertainment marketplaces.

No, I’m not about to sing O Canada, but Wynne’s brief comment has, evidently, riled me and made me speak out against this bombast. It is the artists who should decide what they want to write about, not politicians and nationalists who are seemingly convinced that artisans are too feeble to make up their own minds.

Wynne-Jones, T. (2003). O Canhahada. Horn Book. 79(3), 295-305.

A Crue-sade? Ellis and abridgements

2006-10-27T11:05:00.000-04:00

I am really starting to get worried. Every week I try to read a decent amount of primary source material, but I always seem to end up writing about secondary sources. This week follows that static course as I feel I have to respond to Ellis’ article about the abridgement of classic novels. To summarize, Ellis is of the opinion that abridged material should have a place within the modern library because it gives reluctant or non-readers a chance to include themselves into the reading cycle which will hopefully lead to their overall level of improvement.

It is hard to disagree with such a noble sentiment but how she arrives at this conclusion is, in my view, rather flawed. For instance, on the second page of her article, Ellis records the observation of a six-grade teacher who states that some children will never be ready for the unabridged version of the classics. While this is an entirely believable situation, she (that is, this unnamed teacher) goes on to lament the quality of parental supervision of the current generation by stating: “[their parents] give them [the] TV Guide [and] video games” (p. 56).

I must admit that this statement alone jaundiced my view of the article. To begin with, this hypothetical teacher seems to recreating the timeworn and clichéd argument that somehow their generation was and is somehow better than the one that currently exists. How many times during the course of our lives have we heard authority figures drone on and on about how something was infinitely better than it is now. Invariably, the figure in the position of the authority attributes this alleged downfall to a lack of morals, or part of larger negative trend.

The second, and perhaps more on topic argument, concerns abridgement itself. While I do not, in any way, disagree with the notion that abridged novels should be provided in a library setting, I do, unlike Ellis, acknowledge that this method has inherent deficiencies. Abridgement can not only thoroughly compromise an artist’s vision, but also create a gulf between readers.

After all, how can one really expect to share their literary experience with another reader if their versions of the same book complete differ? Ellis herself comments upon an abridged version of Little Women that took it upon itself to cut out all mention of emotional suffering. Wasn’t that theme one of Alcott’s main points?

Finally, one of life’s cold hard truths is that if one expects to perform at a post secondary level, or in the complex world of business, a certain reading aptitude is expected. Granted, not all young adult readers have this expectation, but to make it seem that by providing the abridged version alone somehow constitutes a good day’s reading is, in my view, foolhardy.

Ellis, S. (2000). Rob Crue, or the classics revisited. The Horn Book. 76(1), 55-58.

Bainbridge & Canadian Picture Books: Truly Multicultural?

2006-10-19T20:55:00.000-04:00

After reading a selection of Canadian picture books for this week’s class, I took it upon myself to read the article by Bainbridge and Wolodko entitled: “Canadian Picture Books: Shaping and Reflecting National Identity.” I think the first problem I had was this article was with the latter part of its title, namely, national identity. Reading this term, which we all have no doubt heard and read about (perhaps to the point of nausea), I began to think of the Canadian Studies class I took doing my undergrad. After realizing that I seem to recount far too many of my undergrad classes while writing these booktalks, I started to rationalize what it was that was really bothering me about their article.

I mentioned my concerns about its title, but to dislike an article just because of it is, to put it succinctly, ludicrous. I think, my initial dislike for the article began with its introductory preamble about the history of Canada’s national identity. Here, Bainbridge and Wolodko impart a typical account of Canada’s “struggle” for national identity. For example, they state that until the twentieth century, Canada was: “…an amalgam of blurred French, British, and American values and cultures” (p. 21). Later in the same paragraph they add that nationalists on both sides of the two solitudes reject any idea of: “…political nationhood and cultural duality…”

Although Bainbridge and Wolodko use the notable Canadian historian Ramsay Cook as their source, problems, in my view, remain with this perfunctory argument. First of all, to reduce the development of Canada’s national identity to just two cultures is both stereotypical and naïve. Although it is indisputable that in the early years of Canada these two cultures reigned supreme, other cultures, whether they were fully recognized or not, still existed at that point. These cultures, whether aboriginal, Asiatic, Scandinavian and so on, still were part of Canada’s cultural dynamic before and after the implementation of the government’s multicultural programme.

What does this mean in terms of Bainbridge & Wolodko’s article? Well, the latter portion of their article dutifully gives credit to modern multicultural Canadian picture book authors and illustrators who are, as we type, attempting to modify and strengthen Canada’s multicultural reputation. If Bainbridge and Wolodko had looked, they would have likely found that the cultures that have been traditionally dominated in Canada had, nonetheless, produced items based on their own cultural experiences during Canada’ formative years.

In the end, it may seem I am making something out of nothing, but the tendency to reduce Canada’s cultural experience to just English and French, especially before World War II does, obviously, trouble me. The fact that yet another article, this time about children’s literature, espouses this flawed argument, means that it still has some adherents; clearly, it also has its challengers as well.

Bainbridge, J., & Wolodko, B. (2002). Canadian picture books: Shaping and reflecting national identity. Bookbird. 40(2), 21-27.

Preparing for Bettel…heim: Native American Aesop Fables

2006-10-11T19:04:00.000-04:00

While perusing the stacks for a multicultural picturebook item at the local branch of the Toronto Public Library for this week’s class, one book in particular caught my eye: Doctor Coyote: A Native American Aesop’s Fables, retold by John Bierhorst (1987). After I grabbed the book and checked out this item, a thought occurred to me: why did I choose this particular book? Subsequently I thought about one of the scholarly readings that we have for this week, Bettelheim’s The Struggle For Meaning (1991).

On the second page of this article, Bettelheim makes, in my opinion anyway, a powerful statement. After discussing his dissatisfaction about the state of children’s literature, he argues: “…[a vast majority of children’s literature] fails to stimulate and nurture those resources [which a child] needs most in order to cope with his difficult inner problems” (p. 377). It is the latter part of his statement, that is, about giving children something substantial to cope with life’s turmoil that really made me think.

One of the very few memories I have of reading books with my parents concerns Aesop’s fables. I think I was, perhaps, about six or seven, sitting on my parents lap listening to them regale me with moralistic fables from ancient times; fables, it should be said, which often result in the protagonist’s death or humiliation. Did these fables help me comprehend moral responsibility, as Bettelheim implies, or was this just a wistful remembrance of times past (pardon the rephrasing, Mr. Focault).

Looking at Bierhorst retelling of Aesop’s Fables, several other notions came to mind, which seem to negate Bettelheim’s postmodern philosophic interpretation. Going back to the beginning of my reflection for a moment, the reality of my choosing of Bierhorst’s rendering of Greek myth may, in fact, have to do with the cover illustration. It, at least subconsciously, reminded me of Richard Scarry’s book, Cars, Trucks, and, Things That Go. I remember reading this book incessantly as a child; so much so, that the cover ended up falling off.

In the end, did this book or Bierhorst’s take on Aesop’s fables end up meeting Bettelheim’s criteria? I would think not, but for me, a nice memory of my childhood certainly gave me, for a time, a nice feeling that helped me raise my mood and cope with life’s stress and problems. Maybe it is Bettelheim who needs to reevaluate his stance; I’m just happy with a brief, but pleasant, memory.

Bettelheim, B. (1991). The struggle for meaning. In Folk and fairy tales, eds. Martin Hallet and Barbara Karas, 326-345. Peterborough: Broadview Press.

Bierhorst, J. (1987). Doctor Coyote: A Native American Aesop’s Fables. New York: MacMillan.

Picture Books are Banta-ful?

2006-09-29T20:02:00.000-04:00

This week I have decided to do deviate from my normal booktalking style. I have noticed that my previous two booktalks have thus far been scholarly criticisms (one) and literary discussions (one also). With this reality in mind, I have decided that I will, instead, write something that is reflective and relatable, rather than critical and, as it were, judgmental. The work I have chosen for this experiment is a scholarly one, entitled “Reading pictures: Searching for excellence in picture books,” by G. J. Banta.
In essence, this article discusses how important it is for librarians, like ourselves, to become visually literate. Although this term may sound pedantic, this conceptually based term, according to Banta, is rife with meaning. In the beginning paragraphs of her article, Banta argues that being visually literature provides a librarian (or presumably, anyone else) with a series of ten advantages (p. 31). I do not intend to recreate the entire list; please consult the actual article if you’re interested. Two of these argued advantages, however, caught my eye. The first of these two advantages was: “Enjoy a book with a preliterate child.” The second: “Understand and respect the skills and career of an illustrator.”
The first of Banta’s argued advantages once again made me, much like I did last week, think back to my oversized undergraduate psychology class. While I wholeheartedly agree with Banta that an appreciation of the unspoken power of a visual image can stir subconscious feelings and memories, isn’t there something greater at work when one shares a picture book with a preliterate reader? In essence, how does one draw the line between viewing the book as an inculcation tool meant to stir its intended audience member to rise to their next stage of development and viewing a picturebook, or any book for that matter, as a form of leisure?
If that preceding question wasn’t ponderous enough, consider Banta’s second postulate about illustrations. Do I really have to respect every illustrator of a picturebook? Obviously, I don’t think Banta is suggesting all children’s book illustrators are modern day Da Vinci’s, but some of them, like the illustrator of the book “Swimsuit” as we all saw in class, deserve some serious criticism. I honestly thought that in that one illustration the child was dissolving and not waist-high in water!
What does all this pontificating mean? What I think I’m trying to say is that articles that strive to develop guidelines about creative entities often come across as being preachy and underdeveloped. To think, I was hoping not to be overtly critical this week. Oh well.

Banta, G. J. (2004). Reading pictures: Searching for excellence in picture books. Children and libraries. 2(3), 30-34.

Hoban’s Black and White: Not So Black and White After All

2006-09-22T16:29:00.000-04:00

Unlike last week when I focused my attentions to a scholarly work about children’s literature, this week I would like to discuss a primary work from our course’s reading list: Hoban’s Black and White. At first there was nothing whatsoever about this wordless book that seemed to be of the remotest interest to me. As one of the previously used adjectives infers, it contains absolutely no text within its pages; in addition, the illustrations within it are completely devoid of colour making it seems stark and austere. This reality seems quite disappointing because one expects a children’s book to be captivating and delightful rather than reductionist.

After this rather derogatory line of thought, I reflected on my line of conclusion. I simply had assumed that a book which has a series of non-chromatic images was base and, consequently, of little value. Fortunately, my faint memories of past (in fact, distant past) psychology classes surfaced and I realized that my conclusions about Hoban’s wordless book were categorically incorrect.

Take, for example, the book’s choice of colour (or, perhaps more appropriately, tone). By using just these two colours (and colours that could not contrast more), one gets the impression that the reason behind this choice is something beyond simple aesthetics. An article by Pereverzeva & Teller (2004) reveals that Hoban’s choice is not only helpful from a child development standpoint, but also inspired. This aforesaid article, which is in fact from a neuroscience journal, argues that the visual acuity of an infant is only basic. As such, an infant is often unable to visually and mentally perceive colours observed in their natural environment.

What this seemingly unrelated scientific argument means in terms of Hoban’s work is both subtle and profound. The argued subtle aspect is that Hoban herself does not make any mention of this developmental accommodation at any point in her work: not even in a forward note for parents. Secondly, Hoban’s inclusion of these non-chromatic drawings is also profound because she is actively seeking to ensure that her target audience, that is, infant readers, can observe and absorb the material which is being presented.

Hoban’s level of child developmental sophistication does not end there. The illustrations themselves also belie their apparent meaning. For example, inside this book are paired images of a bib and cutlery and a butterfly and a maple leaf. Evidently, these images are not only physical manifestations of physical and natural objects, but also representations of an infants’ personal experience.

In the end, what I have learned from Toban’s work is that derogatory assumptions about children’s literature are often foolhardy and erroneous. Hoban has, in fact, broached both the world of literature and science through her use of scholarly insight: a learned and noble feat indeed.

Hoban, T. (1993). Black on White. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Pereverzeva, M., & Teller, D.Y. (2004). Infant color vision: Influence of surround chromaticity on spontaneous looking preferences. Visual Neuroscience, 21(3), 389-395.

Sutherland’s Children and books: Knowledge Deficit to Confusion

2006-09-14T21:03:00.000-04:00

After giving Sutherland’s chapter on the history of children’s books a perusal, I discovered that my state of ignorance had been replaced with a sense of critical unease. Starting with her chapter’s introduction, I became aware of Sutherland’s tendency to make sweeping generalisations about her chosen subject that even I, a children’s literature novice, was able to detect. Take, for example, her comments about modern day graphic novels.

In her preamble, she states: “…comic books…outdo the penny thrillers in superficiality of characterization and plethora of action” (p. 41). While it may seem a trifle pedantic to single out Sutherland for her brief comment about this style of children’s literature, her critical and evaluative tone belies, at least in my opinion, one of the principal tenets of library etiquette: namely, a neutral outlook towards a client’s literary preference. In addition, my experience with modern graphic novels like Transmetropolitan or Bone has led me to discover that this genre is not only complex, but eminently praiseworthy.

In their work about Reader’s Advisory, Genreflecting, Herald and Wiegand (2006) note that libraries should try and develop an inclusive approach to collection development and, in essence, give the clients “what they want.” This type of approach is, presumably, used in most modern public libraries to increase circulation and customer satisfaction. Granted, it seems extreme to assume that Sutherland is intimating the opposite is true through just this one comment, but there are other examples of this, as it were, condescending attitude towards certain types of juvenile literature in this chapter.

A few pages later, in her discussion of chapbooks of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, she relates these books were: “[badly] written [and] crudely illustrated.” She does, however, also add that these books were also responsible for preserving aspects of literature that children themselves love (p. 44). She also has a tendency to promote some novels over others, like Collodi’s Pinocchio, which she deems to be an “…enduring classic” (p. 55). Whether one thinks this is a classic is not the issue (I personally think it is) but the absence of neutral language makes it seem that Sutherland is creating a children’s literature hierarchy.

The latter part of this statement, as the title of this blog entry implies, is where my personal confusion about the meaning of this chapter began. Seemingly, Sutherland often condemns some types of children’s literature, while praising others without a discernible rationale. My confusion was only heightened when I consulted her bibliography; she notes that she used a work by John Ashton as her source for chapbooks. With that said, it would have been constructive to include in-chapter citations and footnotes in order to distinguish between personal and scholarly opinion. This is a shame, because as an overview, Sutherland’s work (in spite of my tone) is thorough, but as a critical evaluation, it often seems harsh, inaccurate and confused.

Herald, Diana Tixier and Wayne A. Wiegand. 2006. Genreflecting: a guide to popular reading interests, 6^th ed. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Sutherland, Zena. 1997. Chapter 3: History of Children's Books. In Children and books, 9th ed., 41-61. NY: Longman.

Neglect, again

2006-07-26T11:39:00.000-04:00

Once again I have failed in my attempts to maintain this blog on a consistent basis. I will hopefully try and remedy this problem by making semi-frequent (once a week?) postings. All I can hope for is that the odd person makes a comment; by doing so, I will hopefully be able to obtain some constructive criticisms about my blog in order to improve it. Digression aside, I would like to devote this post to the CLA (Canadian Library Association) and their efforts to promote libraries and their corresponding programmes nationwide.

October (16-22) of this year is Canadian Library Month; according to their website, they hope to make the general public aware that: "...libraries provide us with a broad range of information, resources and tools to assist us through all stages of our lives regardless of age, gender, race, religion, social status or language." Truly noble sentiments indeed. Please help to support this endeavor; for more information, please check out their website at http://www.cla.ca/clm/index.htm. Thank you for reading.

Wow, brutal

2006-05-14T00:57:00.000-04:00

Well, it's amazing that after apologizing for a lack of updates, I don't update. Simply put, my school year is over, so I'm back home in a quieter place ruminatng on the year that was and wondering what the year to come will be like. In the mean time, I guess it is worth mentioning that I still continue to receive few responses. I understand one cannot expect to get any replies if they do not update, but the general lack of responses has made me reconsider the value I place in a blog. I would recommend using it a form of information dissemination (which is valuable) but not as a meaningful forum for social and business interaction. If you disagree, prove I'm wrong. Respond!

2006-04-05T14:46:00.000-04:00

First, I'd like to apologize about my lack of postings. School has been very busy, and I simply either haven't had the time or inclination to make a proper posting. I'd just like to say though that blogging itself confounds me. I barely get any responses to any of my postings, even from my own class (FIS 1311H) members. Since the class is almost over, I guess it is time to reflect on this experience and I must say it's been a negative one. If (and I sincerely hope I do) end up working at a library, I would advise them to make a blog only for announcement purposes. I mean, without any feedback from patrons, why bother to exert one's self? My Webstats indicate that some people do at least lurk, but not in enough numbers to make my blog sustainable. Anyway, enough complaining. Over the coming months I hope to have some fun postings and will (to a certain extent anyway) maintain my blog. Thank you for your time.

FIS 1311H: Assignment #3 D-Lib Review

2006-02-24T12:16:00.000-05:00

The following post is for my FIS 1311H Assignment, due on February 28, 2006.

Review: Dewey Meets Turing – Librarians, Computer Scientists, and the Digital Libraries Archive

Summary of Article:

In their article, Paepcke, Garcia-Molina and Wesley discuss the implications of the National Science Foundation’s Digital Libraries Initiative (DLI) for both librarians and computer scientists. Begun in 1994, Paepcke et al. explain that this project has had a fantastic effect on both professions, with the most important one being the union of these two seemingly dissimilar groups, which the scholars describe as a “matchmaking coup” (Paepcke, Garcia-Molina & Wesley, 2005).

They then describe what the precise expectations were for the outcome of this project. For computer scientists, this project was, at least in the view of Paepcke et al., a chance to have their area of expertise enlightened “by centuries-old discipline and values of librarianship.” While the scholars note that computer scientists have been trained to use the library since the days of their secondary education, it was emphasized that this group’s vision was the main reason behind the integration of computer technology with library functionality.

For librarians, expectations were apparently quite different. It was argued that this body traditionally had a more difficult time receiving government grants than their science-based counterparts. In other words, librarians assumed this pairing would provide their industry as whole with a much-needed cash injection. Outside of this aforesaid money issue, Paepcke et al. state that librarians were also aware of the positive impact their industry would have on scholarship as a result of this digital reform.

The balance of their argument, however, discusses how the Internet revolution affected this cooperative digitization effort. In essence, legal agreements got in the way of a true sharing of information between information institutions. In the end, only information teasers about collections could be displayed online on account of their contractual link to their publishers; otherwise, not only would confidentiality agreements be breached, but also the uniqueness of their respective collections would be put at risk through online dissemination.

This online communication revolution left librarians on the defensive. Paepcke et al. argue the thought of losing their collections to online intrusion made them think twice about their arrangement with computer scientists. After all, publishers were forcing many libraries to replace print subscriptions with online content.

In their view, the fundamental relationship between librarians, their collections, and academic scholarship was being threatened by the Web. The non-proprietary nature of online communities was creating a culture in which access to information was a gratuity; was the library profession being fatally compromised by their pact with computer scientists, an end or was the fact that they were viewing them as interlopers a gross exaggeration?

In their summary, Paepcke et al. attempt to get at the core of these misconceptions. For librarians, their side seems to be accusing computer scientists of somehow mismanaging the funds invested to them to help with redesign. In addition, they, as a group, feel they have been dismissed out of hand, and have had some of their responsibilities, like collections, denigrated. Computer scientists, on the other hand, seemingly cannot understand why librarians are so preoccupied with issues like metadata; they also infer that computer scientists consider the subject of metadata to be pedantic.

Paepcke et al. contend that these problems can be rectified by moving collections to information ‘hubs,’ which redirect users to websites which specialize in the same subject area. As for the scholarship issue, the scholars state this problem can be accommodated by forming direct connections between librarians and scholarly authors which thereby bypasses commercial publishers altogether. This, they say, can be accomplished by moving scholarly material directly online with the librarians acting as both curators of information and as hub administrators.

Response and Analysis:

On the surface, Paepcke et al. do seem to make extensive use of citations and provide enough references to support their argument. Their presentation of the challenges facing both librarians and computer scientists concerning the Internet’s affect on the domains of collections and academic scholarship is passable. Although the authors do not descend to the realm of polemics, they do, however, tend to reduce this complex situation into a bipolarized structure. I simply do not agree with the assertion that all librarians of this period thought computer scientists were purposefully mismanaging funds or attempting to eliminate their profession through an en masse redundancy scheme; this seems conspiratorial and smacks of fiction, not fact.

In the same breath, I also do not accept that all computer scientists thought librarians were dowdy caretakers of an antiquated method of cataloguing information. Their tendency to make broad generalization does slightly impair the overall argument that Paepcke et al. present.

The aforementioned situation is unfortunate because the issues confronting librarians and computer scientists wrought by the online landscape are ones that are often ignored by other information specialists. As librarians, we must strive to resist any attempts to make our holdings wholly capitalistic, and this can only be done with the assistance of computer scientists and their ilk to ensure that the fundamental right of free information for all is maintained. The technical solutions, which Paepcke et al. state as being either the hub information method or non-proprietary scholarship, are also a bit troubled. The challenge of preserving library traditions in the Internet age must involve computer science professionals, more specifically information system analysts. Furthermore, simply arguing that all information must remain free is noble, but it is difficult to envision an information community without some form of remuneration being required. Even if one subscribes to this notion, how does one go about promoting free information initiatives? This reality is something that Paepcke et al. do not discuss during the course of their article.

Another distinct problem is that the scholars reduce the number of stakeholders involved in the online information revolution to just two distinct groups: librarians and computer science experts. Where are the information systems professionals in this relationship? One would think that the public at large should also fit somewhere in this model in addition to this group,

In their summation, Paepcke et al. highlight the ACM Digital Library for its acceptance and promotion of free information and non-proprietary scholarship (“The ACM Portal,” 2006). This site, which contains a complete archive of its past issues, is free for anyone who wishes to peruse or download its contents. Evidently, there are a group of librarians, computer scientists, and information systems analysts who strive to uphold traditional values about the preservation and promotion of information. Much to one’s chagrin, the fact that this website seems to be in the minority indicates that tension still exists between librarians and computer scientists and that proprietary scholarship remains dominant.

References

Paepcke, A., Garcia-Molina, H., & Wesley, R. (2005). Dewey Meets Turing: Librarians,
Computer Scientists, and the Digital Libraries Initiative. D-Lib Magazine, 11(7/8).
(July/August 2005). http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july05/paepcke/07paepcke.html.
Accessed 4 February 2006.

“The ACM Portal.” Association for Computing Machinery. (2006).
http://portal.acm.org/portal.cfm. Accessed 4 February 2006.

FIS 1311H and Doctor Who

2006-02-19T21:30:00.000-05:00

First, some school business; for the Project Profile assignment, I commented on the following blogs: Michelle Baratta, Norah Xiao & Louis Choquette.

Now, some fun. Doctor Who has recently come back (somewhat) into the collective consciousness of North America thanks to its revival, but I decidedly prefer the classic series. It debuted in the BBC in 1963 and lasted until 1989: a whopping 26 years. The show deals with the time and space traveling adventures of the Doctor, an alien (but strangely humanlike) from the planet Gallifrey. Through the years, he has saved the Earth (mostly around London, go fig lol) about a thousand times, and has made several deadly foes in the process including his most well known nemesis, the Daleks. Several actors portrayed the Doctor starting with William Hartnell, the 1st Doctor (1963-1966) and ending with (at least in terms of the classic series) Sylvester McCoy, the 7th Doctor (1987-1989). The most well know Doctor is likely the 4th, played by Tom Baker (1975-1981). How could so many actors play one role? Well, the Doctor was not immortal, and every once in a while he would die or be killed only to metamorphose into another humanoid form. The series states the doctor only regenerates 12 times. The Doctor is now in his 10th incarnation (played by David Tennant) in the current series revival, so catch the Doctor now before he perishes. Right, I'm sure they'll let him die ;) Anyway, thanks for reading and do check out this classic series if you get the chance. Happy Reading Week!

FIS 1311H Assignment #2: Project Profile - WordNet

2006-02-10T20:24:00.000-05:00

The following post is for my FIS 1311H Assignment #2, entitled "Project Profile"
Note: Please excuse the lack of indenting; it seems Blogger does not support standard tabs (!).

Introduction:

Nestled within Princeton University’s website is a seemingly innocuous database called WordNet which appears to be nothing more than an online dictionary. Its simplistic appearance, however, masks its overall level of sophistication; WordNet was never meant to be used as just a menial dictionary and was, in reality, intended to be a resource for researchers, language specialists and those individuals interested in the study of lexicography. One of its principal strengths (and weaknesses) is that it is an open-source project; ostensibly this database was constructed in an attempt to bring the study and development of linguistics into the online environment.

According to their website, WordNet was developed with the help of a grant from the National Science Foundation under the aegis of Princeton’s very own Cognitive Research Library (“About WordNet,” 2006). Its design, as stated on its website, was inspired “by current psycholinguistic theories of human lexical memory.” For the end user, this statement translates into having a resource at their fingertips which can give a complete entry about the academic treatment of a word.

Discussion:

As a result of its academic and open source foundations, WordNet can often provide a user with an in-depth definition of a word; this, of course, is in direct contrast to print dictionaries which are oftentimes succinct, but, at the same time, rather curt. The lengthy definitions that are found in WordNet’s lexicon are a direct reflection of its online nature. Naturally, print-based resources have to be cognizant of space as well as cost and simply cannot afford to have page after page taken up with lengthy definitions. In the online environment long definitions take up virtual space only, with the limiting factor being the amount of time it takes for data input.

WordNet is not merely just a dictionary, but also a thesaurus and can, in addition to these capabilities, list coordinate terms, hyponyms, related forms, domains, and, familiarities to place the word properly within the confines of English language.

Another one of WordNet’s positive attributes is that it is updated on a continual basis. Through this online mixture of data influx and on the spot editing, WordNet has developed an appreciable reserve of lexical content. Its current Version (2.1) was made available on March 2005 and has been tailored for various platforms like Windows; it is also available for file transfer over the Web via http or through the file-transfer protocol medium. It is also available for Unix and Unix-based systems like Linux, MAC OS X, and, Solaris. Although WordNet is seemingly in a constant state of flux as a result of these changes, it focus has never wavered from delivering a free, open-source dictionary available to all who wish to download it.

A brief glimpse at WordNet’s interface makes it appear to be a simple and straightforward computer programme. For those familiar with its database structure, like those lexicographers and linguists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who wrote an online resource about it, the programme is, in fact, quite complex. They also have created an online discussion group about this application and the problems and issues it poses for its users (“Publications,” 2006). The site administrator for the WordNet Developer’s Forum, for example, believes WordNet requires a considerable amount of programming knowledge to be able to use its advanced features like noun hierarchies (Oschler, 2005).

This stated complexity distinguishes WordNet from other online lexicons like yourdicitionary.com on account of its database structure. Within its database, WordNet separates information into groups called, “synsets,” as indicated by the Glossary (“Database info,” 2003). In the glossary, a synset is defined as a “list of synonymous words and collocations…and pointers [which] describe the relations between this synset and other synsets.” The editor of the glossary expands his explanation of a synset by stating that words contained within a synset “are grouped in such a way that they are interchangeable in some context” (Miller, 2005).

A problem which often plagues open source software packages like WordNet concerns continuous availability. In other words, freeware or open source software packages appear and disappear at an alarming rate. WordNet, however, has tackled this issue by not only committing to its online availability, but also ensuring that the programme itself is updated. The creators of WordNet also provide its users with an online version of its reference manual; this is significant because users of the earlier versions only had the option of using a print-based text.

It is also significant that the developers of WordNet have also allotted space on their forums for users to discuss non-WordNet related matters; this off-topic online space would help solidify its online community and encourage them to return again and again to the site.

WordNet, though, is not the only online lexical service. Another noteworthy online lexical source is dictionary.com, which can be also used as a thesaurus, as well as an encyclopedia. Coincidentally, dictionary.com is beholden to WordNet for many of its definitions and suggestions for usage (“Database info,” 2003). Although it may seem distinctly unusual for a service like WordNet to allow its database to be used by a competitor, WordNet’s database proffering is merely an extension of its open source policy. Another online dictionary, UrbanDictionary.com, is also open source, but its open source database seems ridiculous, because academic standards are often abandoned.

Not everything about WordNet and its design, however, are positive. For instance, the website does not suitably explain how the programme itself functions, thus making the package fairly inaccessible for first time users. Quite simply, its developers are making the assumption that its users will be knowledgeable about lexicons and its peripheral tools, and consequently have sacrificed user support for product depth. The omission of user-friendliness is likely linked to its production at Princeton University; as a result, WordNet’s target audience seems to be academic rather than everyday. With that said, if WordNet’s providers made an attempt to rectify this problem, it could result in it being used more by the general online community which may heighten its profile.

Conclusion:

In summation, WordNet’s principal strength lies in its databases formulated by accomplished lexicographers. While its audience is primarily academic, the programme itself remains free for those who wish to use it. Unlike Wikipedia, which is continually updated, WordNet sacrifices instant updating for peer-reviewed linguistic content. A goal, such as this one, merits commendation in a medium which is often chided for its paucity of quality literary content. Although WordNet has not yet become entirely user-friendly as of yet, a determined user can, with due diligence, utilize WordNet’s palpable lexical resources.

References

About WordNet. (2005). Retrieved January 31, 2006 from http://wordnet.princeton.edu/

Database info (2003). Retrieved January 31, 2006 from http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=00-database-info&db=wn

Fellbaum, C. (Ed.). (1998). WordNet: An electronic lexical database. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Miller, G. A. (2005). Glossary from http://wordnet.princeton.edu/

Oschler, R. (2005, March 11, 2005). Noun hierarchies. Retrieved January 30, 2006
from http://www.wordnetchat.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=19

Publications. (2005). Retrieved February 1, 2006 from http://wordnet.princeton.edu/papers

2006-01-25T19:56:00.000-05:00

I guess I'm going to let this post be the obligatory one about the past federal election we just had in Canada. I'm not going to bore my reader's with partisanship, but I must say I was really, really disappointed in the election as a whole. The negative campaigning made me feel quite alienated from the process. The attack ads whether Liberal, Conservative or NDP all sought to tear into opponents without a regard to ethics or sound politicking. What also got lost was the sense that the election was really about anything at all; people in power and the media wonder why young people (18-24) don't care to vote - politicians look at yourselves and the way you behave; this may be the root cause for the rising tide of voter apathy.

2006-01-19T23:46:00.000-05:00

I thought today I'd briefly discuss one of the greatest musicians in jazz history, (at least in my opinion) Ornette Coleman (1930 - ). Sadly, not too many people even know his name, but he was at the forefront of Bop jazz revolution of the late 1950s, along with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. He began playing the saxophone at age 14, and his freeform style of jazz soon garnered him serious attention from the music community. His acme was around the late 1950s, and culminated in his finest work, the album "The Shape of Jazz To Come," released in 1960; if you haven't heard it, listen to it, you won't regret it. So endeth Jason's music lesson, but I sincerely hope you give Mr. Coleman a listen. See you all in class.

2006-01-17T10:31:00.000-05:00

As stated in my first post, from time to time I will make a brief comment about the goings on in my life here at FIS. Well, today I thought I'd comment on Toronto. I've never lived in such a big city before, and although I have lived in many communities (e.g. Oshawa, Belleville, Kingston, and, Peterborough to name a few) I must admit I still find T.O. a bit overwhelming. Above all, I cannot get over the fact that this city is in constant motion 24/7! What are people doing at 3.50 am? I guess I'm just a small town boy at heart! Anyway, I hope everyone has a great term and see you in class!

2006-01-13T17:30:00.000-05:00

Welcome fellow FIS 1311H students to my blog. In brief, my blog has two purposes. First, this blog will be used to post my assignments for this course as they become due. Secondly, I will from time to time relate some other non-course related information about myself. Anyway, I hope you find this blog at least relatively interesting.