Walt at Random

A small notice within “Bibs & Blather” in the current Cites & Insights says that the YBP GOBI users meeting is Saturday at 4 p.m., followed by a reception at 5 p.m.

That’s wrong. It’s Sunday at 4, reception at 5.

Sorry for the correction. For those of you likely to be there, to be sure, the info from YBP will be correct.

That’s the name. Can anyone point me to a website or other information about the fine people/wonderful institution who/that put(s) out “Freely accessible social science journals”?

Back story: I wanted to reference a Wayne Wiegand article in the prologue I’m writing for the massive Library 2.0 and “Library 2.0″ essay. I thought, “Wonder if Mountain View Public Library’s interface to its online databases has fixed the old problem–requring an explicit proxy setting that interfered with some other websites? And, if so, wonder whether American Libraries is in one of their databases?”

The answers were yes and yes: Now the interface works beautifully once given my library card number, and at least two of the databases (Expanded Academic Index ASAP and InfoTrac OneFile) include American Libraries. Within minutes, I’d verified the entry, cut-and-pasted (with modifications) the citation into the essay I was working on, and reread the article to refresh my memory.

So, what the heck, I did an ego search. Remarkable. With a straight author search, 230-odd in one, 240-odd in the other. Who woulda thought? (I tried an “about” search indirectly, first by doing a keyword search, yielding 400+ items, then by doing that keyword NOT that author. Which yielded, I think, 50 or so reviews of my books. Something wrong there, but not to worry.)

And, just for comparison, I searched Mountain View’s online catalog, since I thought the library had one or two of my books. Whoops: Zero result (I guess they must have weeded them)–but there’s the “Link+” button, to search that large and remarkable set of cooperating California public and academic libraries who will do fast loans to other libraries within the group. Wow: 19 items, admittedly with some repetition (I haven’t published 19 books); book covers for the three most recent (thanks, ALA Editions)…and, glory be, an entry for Cites & Insights

San Diego State has the ejournal in its online catalog (and thus in Link+, as do three other libraries in the group). “More information” shows that it’s available via “Freely Accessible Social Science Journals.”

So, I wonder, who produces that database or list? I owe them thanks, obviously, and I certainly appreciate their somewhat casual definition of “journal.”

But here’s the thing: neither Google nor Yahoo! nor MSN Search lead me to a website for whoever produces this particular directory. There are plenty of links, but they’re all either to journals that are linked to from places using the directory, or to sources such as SerialsSolutions’ RFQ, which includes that directory and several other “Freely accessible” directories within its set of options.

Anyone have a pointer? Or just know these folks and want to pass along my thanks?

I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions (and was mildly fond of the “No year’s resolutions” heading in the current Cites & Insights, but sometimes an exception is in order. I actually made this resolution in December, but setting it down may help to remember it:

Don’t attack the person, attack the message (if I must attack at all).

That’s the easy part. The hard part:

When someone demeans me, uses slanderous labels, writes in a generally abusive or belittling manner in order to avoid actual discussion–don’t respond in kind.

Ignore the nonsense if possible. If it happens more than once or twice, ignore the person entirely.

Assuming this is all happening in the world of blogs and lists, one of four things will happen:

1. People will recognize that the other person is being abusive and the other person will be treated appropriately. (Least likely.)

2. The other person will burn out or at least change. Being abusive is its own punishment. Divas (of either set) don’t last long, in general. (Considerably more likely.)

3. Nobody will notice or care, and the other person will continue to thrive and prosper. The answer to which is, “Nobody ever said the world was fair.”

4. I’ll recognize that the other person was right to dismiss my argument, even if wrong to dismiss it through undermining rather than through counter-argument. (Not at all unlikely!)

I’ve used this resolution in most cases in the past, and it’s saved sleepless nights and a fair amount of anger. Making it universal is tougher, but probably worth the necessary restraint. There is a shorter version, more applicable as one passes various decade marks:

“Life’s too short.”

With that, happy new year. We marked our 28th anniversary with the usual brunch (avoiding our house during three hours of a five-hour power outage, our mild version of Northern California’s semi-annual New Year’s Flooding), and I’m looking forward to the new year.

Oh, and Seth, if it wasn’t obvious: That comment was my unlikely-to-be-kept resolution, and I still don’t use emoticons.