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October 2008:
Presidential Libraries

This month's InfoLink takes an in depth look at the JFK Presidential Library and just how these special libraries operate.

In the spirit of Banned Books Week our Snapshot this month features GSLIS adjunct professor and attorney Laura Quilter and her thoughts on fair use and intellectual property.

Think there are some new faces at the Palace this semester? You're not seeing things, meet the GSLIS Dean's Fellows and new faculty members this month in the InfoLink and then walk up and say "hi"!

Inside InfoLink Online:

>> Links from our feature article
>> Read the rest of the interview with Adjunct Professor Laura Quilter
>> More links from this months issue



Presidential Librariespage top

From "On the Prowl: Presidential Libraries":

On April 18, 2006, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dorchester, Mass., received a package in the mail, a donation from a former member of JFK’s administrative staff who had died the year before. Though the delivery was unannounced, and it was more than 40 years after JFK’s death, the archivists were used to this sort of thing. Former JFK staffers or journalists who covered the administration still periodically clean out their closets and send materials, as do JFK fans (of which there are many), whose tribute collections sometimes include their own artwork and music scores dedicated to him.

But this donation immediately stood out. It was a framed, handwritten poem by the eminent Robert Frost, who had read the poem, Dedication, at JFK’s inauguration in January 1961. James Roth, then the head of archival processing at the library, recalls opening the frame to clean it. “I turned it over and began gently taking off that cheap paper backing they always put on — it’s not archival at all. It’s highly acidic, and it’ll burn through,” says Roth. “I look down at the corner closest to me, and thank God I was starting on the other side. I look down, and there’s writing there.” The writing, in pencil, reads, “To Jack — First thing to be framed for your office. First thing to be hung there. Jackie.”

To read the rest of this article, please download the full PDF of the October InfoLink.

LINKS FROM THE ARTICLE:

Interview with Laura Quilter, continuedpage top

[Beginning of interview can be read by downloading the full PDF of the October InfoLink.]

Have you ever been issued a cease-and-desist letter?
I suppose that depends on the definition of a cease-and-desist letter. Not in the sense of a request to cease distributing some commercial software or music. But people have certainly sometimes been unhappy, for instance, with their own cease-and-desist letters being posted in Chilling Effects (http://chillingeffects.org/), and sent more or less sternly worded requests to our team to cease doing so.

[Chillingeffects.org is a clearinghouse of info on First Amendment and intellectual property rights for web users run by a network of law school clinics and lawyers. A big feature of the site is a database of cease and desist letters from various companies.]

Do you predominantly use Linux and other open-source software?
On my laptop — a Mac — I have a mix of open-source and proprietary software. I frequently work on shared documents with non-technical people in a Microsoft environment, so it saves trouble for us all to just work with the software they’re most comfortable with. For Internet applications that I install and run myself, however, I am primarily open source—Linux, Wordpress, Mediawiki, etc.

You’re a fan of anarchist novels. How do you define them, and which is your favorite?
There are two types of “anarchist novels” that I’m interested in. First, a number of thinly disguised biographical or autobiographical novels were written during the late 19th and early 20th centuries—this fascinates me. One find I made a few years ago was a novel co-written by well-known children’s writer E. Nesbit, using the pseudonym “Fabian Bland.” The novel was based on the life of [Russian anarchist and writer] Peter Kropotkin and is very little-known today. Another book, A Girl Among the Anarchists, was written by two sisters using the pseudonym Isabel Meredith. I love these books for their passion and earnestness and hopefulness.

I also love some modern-day novels that explore anarchist ideals—hands down, Ursula Le Guin is my favorite writer here. The Dispossessed is her classic exploration of one anarchist society, and the short story The Day Before the Revolution is a sort of prequel. Le Guin’s elegant and humane prose is beautifully matched with social fiction.

The best thing about living in Jamaica Plain?
The diversity of the neighborhood. Not just ethnically, but class, language, age, lifestyle—we have activists, families, college students, older folks, hippies.

The worst thing about living in Jamaica Plain?
No question about it: the worst thing for me is the weather. Fall is the only season I affirmatively like, but even fall this year seems off—doesn’t it seem way too early? And way too cold for so early in the fall?

What accomplishment are you most proud of (aside from children and degrees)?
Keeping good friends for decades.

Something that’s always by your bed?
Reading light, bottle of water, and a step for my 19-year-old cat, Hannah.

Person you would most like to meet?
Pass. There are people I’d like to have strongly worded conversations with, but it’s unlikely I’ll ever be in a position to do so. As for people I admire, I don’t have to know someone personally to appreciate what they do, and how could I know we would hit it off in a personal interaction? Anyway, I meet plenty of folks I like.

What books you are reading right now?
1491 by Charles C. Mann. A lot of parenting books—especially those aimed at getting your infant to sleep. A book of short stories by Mary Gentle, Cartomancy.

A personal hero or heroine?
Emma Goldman. My grandmother. Both of them lived their very different lives passionately and with great humor.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned in life?
Work very, very hard at being painfully honest with yourself, but then forgive yourself. I’m still working on forgiveness.

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