List Review Service 027 'GAY-LIBN'
URL: ftp://ftp.lib.ncsu.edu/pub/stacks/lrs/lrs-027-gay-libn
LIST REVIEW SERVICE ISSN: 1060-8192
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Issue No. 27 10 JAN 1994
GAY-LIBN: The Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Librarians Network
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Published periodically by The University of Missouri, St. Louis
Libraries. Raleigh C. Muns (SRCMUNS@UMSLVMA.BITNET), editor.
CONTENTS: REVIEW (R.C. Muns) (54 lines)
SYNOPSIS OF ACTIVITY (30 lines)
SUGGESTED USES (11 lines)
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION (15 lines)
ANNOUNCEMENTS (06 lines)
END MATERIAL (34 lines)
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REVIEW -
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"No one knows you're an aardvark on the Internet" -Anonymous
Armistead Maupin, author of TALES OF THE CITY, which lovingly exposes
San Francisco, ca. 1976, in all of its polyester and leather glory,
should be invited to take a gander at this list as fodder for future
works. In fact, in their turn, the subscribers to GAY-LIBN took an
extended look at this week's PBS television version of Maupin's work and
created an Internet-unique peek at the tapestry of censorship in
American media. In Los Angeles, for example, nudity was fine but "God"
before "damn" was verboten. Here in St. Louis, female breasts were
covered with electronic pixels, while male and female behinds (what I
call "full backal nudity") were left untouched, and despite the Bible
Belt reputation of my fair city, taking the name of the Lord in vain for
the sake of art was no problem.
Many listserv subscribers may not know that when one subscribes to a
list, their name and e-mail address are added to a public directory that
can be accessed by anyone on the Internet (surprise!). GAY-LIBN's owners
have set the listserv software so that the default is to NOT enter one's
e-address on this publicly accessible list. One can (and I did) use the
listserv software to make name and address publicly available, but that
takes an explicit action on the user's part. About 15% of all
subscribers have chosen to place their name in the public directory.
The list's personality is hard to figure and difficult to stereotype. As
is usual on the Internet, this amorphous nature is both attractive and
irritating, depending on what the information seeker REALLY wants.
GAY-LIBN is a melange of "community" and "professional."
The most recurrent theme is one of professional librarians dealing, with
the issues of acquiring materials of interest to gays, bisexuals, and
lesbians for their institutions. For that it is an outstanding tool. For
example, librarian Gary Klein (University of Toledo: fac2813@uoft01)
used GAY-LIBN to announce the pending inclusion of his eight page
pathfinder, "Helping Students Find Sensitive Materials: A guide to the
literature on homosexuality for librarians and faculty" in the ERIC
educational database system. Users have posted Whitehouse press releases
(e.g., Clinton comments on World AIDS Day), announced the availability
of speakers, and requested advice in how to deal with hate literature in
libraries. Appropriate resources are regularly announced and discussed.
Less "scholarly" postings discussed gay culture in America (e.g., the
use of terms like "lipstick lesbian" and "jilling off"). Though such
amusing, depending on point of view, messages are not the bread and
butter of this list, they are regular enough to be noted for the easily
(and I mean EASILY) offended prospective subscriber. Frank discussions
where curiousity is assuaged is the norm. Of course, if you like having
your curiousity assuaged, subscribe to GAY-LIBN.
- Raleigh C. Muns (srcmuns@umslvma.umsl.edu)
Muns is a practicing reference librarian at the University of Missouri
- St. Louis' Thomas Jefferson Library.
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SYNOPSIS OF ACTIVITY -
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Name of List Reviewed: GAY-LIBN
Location: GAY-LIBN@USCVM (Bitnet)
Listowners: Keith Trimmer
Internet Address: trimmer@vm.usc.edu
Ivan E. Calimano
Internet Address: calimano@vm.usc.edu
No. of Listserv Subscribers: 769 subscribers in 07 countries
Time Period Monitored: 03 DEC 1993 - 09 SEP 1993
(statistics only)
No. Messages Period Monitored: 280 (app. 40 messages per day)
No. Queries Posted: 44 est. (16 % of total activity)
No. Non Queries Posted : 236 est. (84 % of total activity)
Lines Sent w/o Headers: app. 9,500 (413 screens of 23 lines)
Msgs Posted all of 1993: 5316 (443 per month / app. 15 per day)
Searchable Archives: Yes
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SUGGESTED USES FOR LIST -
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1) Quality collection development tool for gay resources.
2) Non-librarians look at reviews/discussions of gay resources.
3) Yet another cultural cross-over list that could demonstrate that
"they" are just like "us" (and who are "they" and "us" anyway?).
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SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION -
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To subscribe to GAY-LIBN send an e-mail message with blank subject line to:
LISTSERV@USCVM (Bitnet address)
or
LISTSERV@USCVM.BITNET (Typical Internet version of Bitnet address)
Message should consist solely of:
SUBSCRIBE GAY-LIBN your_name
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = END REVIEW = = = = = = = = = = = = =
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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None.
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END MATERIAL
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To subscribe to the LIST REVIEW SERVICE, send an e-mail message
with blank subject line to:
LISTSERV@UMSLVMA (Bitnet)
or
LISTSERV@UMSLVMA.UMSL.EDU (Internet)
Message should consist solely of:
SUBSCRIBE LSTREV-L your_name
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Copying is permitted for noncommercial use by computerized bulletin
board/conference systems, individual scholars, and libraries.
Libraries are authorized to add these reviews to their collections
at no cost. This message must appear on copied material. All
commercial use requires permission.
Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer and do not
represent the views of the University of Missouri, St. Louis.
Copyright 1994. Raleigh C. Muns (Reference Librarian)
Thomas Jefferson Library, University of Missouri, St. Louis
8001 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63121 (ph:(314) 553-5059)
BITNET: SRCMUNS@UMSLVMA
Internet: SRCMUNS@UMSLVMA.UMSL.EDU