13.0569 being had, liking it, but an impractical idea

From: Humanist Discussion Group (willard@lists.village.virginia.edu)
Date: Mon May 01 2000 - 17:18:29 CUT

  • Next message: Humanist Discussion Group: "13.0571 colour catalogue & arts of memory"

                   Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 13, No. 569.
           Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
                   <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/>
                  <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>

             Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 18:08:35 +0100
             From: Nancy Kushigian <nancyk@libpo.ucdavis.edu>
             Subject: Re: 13.0567 being had and liking it

    As a practicing reference librarian for a large academic collection, I can
    tell you that cataloging books by color would be a disaster! Books
    change color with edition . . . not to mention the problems created by
    such a scheme for those of our patrons who are color-blind . . .
    and for the reference librarian trying to find the red book that's really
    not.

    Librarians here in Davis really liked the scam . . . and envy our
    colleagues who had the time to engage in such frivolity!

    ------------------------------------------
         Nancy Kushigian, Ph.D., MLIS.
         General Editor,
         British Women Romantic Poets Project
         http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/English/BWRP/
         Shields Library
         University of California, Davis
         Davis, California 95616
         530-754-4337
         njkushigian@ucdavis.edu
    ------------------------------------------

    On Mon, 1 May 2000, Humanist Discussion Group wrote:

    >
    > Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 13, No. 567.
    > Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
    > <http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/>
    > <http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>
    >
    > [1] From: "P. T. Rourke" <ptrourke@mediaone.net> (35)
    > >
    > [2] From: Patricia Galloway <galloway@mdah.state.ms.us> (13)
    > Subject: Re: 13.0564 have we been had?
    >
    >
    > --[1]------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 10:27:47 +0100
    > From: "P. T. Rourke" <ptrourke@mediaone.net>
    > Subject: Re: 13.0564 have we been had?
    >
    > Well, actually, the perpetrator went to so much work to make it believable
    > (I counted a couple of hundred entries; it looks like the values for the
    > ISBN field have been replaced with color information) that the hoax is in
    > effect a functioning demonstration. I don't know library cataloguing
    > systems well enough, but if one could add a color field to the physical
    > description section (where size and page numbers are listed), one could do
    > this. The question is whether it would be worth doing.
    >
    > All in all, a pretty constructive hoax if you ask me.
    >
    > Patrick Rourke
    > Massachusetts (nothing to do with NE School of Law or the hoax under
    > examination)
    >
    >
    > > Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2000 21:38:23 +0100
    > > From: "Tarvers, Josephine K." <tarversj@exchange.winthrop.edu>
    > > >
    > > According to one of our librarians, we've been taken!
    > > Jo
    > > ------------
    > > Jo Koster Tarvers, Ph.D.
    > > Department of English
    > > Winthrop University
    > > Rock Hill, SC 29733-0001
    > > (803) 323-4557; fax (803) 323-4837
    > >
    > > >Jo,
    > > >
    > > >You've been a victim of a hoax. This was originally posted on
    April 1.
    > The
    > > >perpetrator did spend a lot of time to make it very believable.
    > > >
    > > >Larry
    > > >
    > > >Laurance R. Mitlin
    > > >Associate Dean of Library Services
    > > >Winthrop University
    > > >Rock Hill, South Carolina 29733-0001
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > --[2]------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 10:28:20 +0100
    > From: Patricia Galloway <galloway@mdah.state.ms.us>
    > Subject: Re: 13.0564 have we been had?
    >
    > I have to say that the hoax may have been a very good idea--our
    > librarians here, with a small and very focused collection, while
    > entertained and not taking it seriously as something we could do,
    > nevertheless could see the utility of such a search possibility,
    > particularly when combined with a fragmentary title and particularly for
    > our largely lay public constituency. It may be that only academics find
    > such confusion before the deluge of material available funny enough to
    > make a joke of it.
    > Pat Galloway
    >
    > --
    > Patricia Galloway
    > Mississippi Department of Archives and History
    > P.O. Box 571, Jackson, MS 39205-0571
    > voice 601-359-6863
    >
    >



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