Quoted from Suzanne Quigley's post
:
>Oops, I've lost the thread on who said what to whom here, but lets not
>forget about intellectual property rights and copyright.
>
>>>      I would upload excerpts if not for the certainty that I would be
>>> accused of being unfairly selective, and have no desire to be assaulted.....
>
>
>......Maybe even sued!
>
>>If anybody can lay their hands on any of these "samizdat" copies, I will
>>volunteer to scan and post them on a gopher server that will be accessible
>>from anywhere. We can show that we've improved on samizdat just a little
>>bit since the Soviet days. We have the technology.
>
>But I suggest we should use it ethically (especially in a public forum like
>museum-l)!
>
>I can't find "samizdat" in my dictionary.   Help me out here, someone!
>
>Suzanne Quigley
>[log in to unmask]
>
 
"Samizdat" refers to underground ms. circulated in the USSR, often critical
of gov't.  Many of these apparently were  laboriously copied by hand.  ( I
visited the USSR Academies of Science - Moscow and Novosibirsk in 1987,
Leningrad (now St,P's) and Ulan Ude in 1989.  There was a paucity of
equipment.  Typewriters were all manuals and the major museums didn't have a
single photocopier.  I'm certain this has changed, but I expect most
samizdat ms. were literally manuscripts)  Example - authors such as
Alexandyr Solzenitsyn circulated literary works.
 
If I can attempt a shift in the thread a bit here - what do people think
about use of museum resources in this manner?  Here in Canada we are in the
throes of a public debate over gov't funding cuts to balance the federal and
provincial budgets.  Is the person (yes, I know who s/he is) offering the
gopher service working for a public institution?  Would public resources be
spent on it?  eg. the person scanning on company time?
 
What is the role of the museum professional in promoting debate and freedom
of information?  Can we spend public resources on activites which, while
they may benefit the greater society in an indirect manner, are a) aimed at
a fairly small number and  b) do not directly promote the institution's
mandate and programme goals?
 
Is there a parallel with institutional support for professional development?
 
So, whaddaya think??
 
Barbara
 
___________________________________________________________________
 
Barbara J. Winter                                            tel: (604) 291-3325
Department of Archaeology                              fax: (604) 291-5666
Simon Fraser University                                   email:  [log in to unmask]
Canada  V5A 1S6              Hey, folks,  it's all just ones and zeros.
__________________________________________________________________