Barbara J. Winter responded to Suzanne Quigley as follows
> >
> >......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?
 
I am the person who made that offer and the answers are no and no. The museum
I work for is not a public institution, and if the scanning and posting of
these texts should actually ever come to pass, which seems highly unlikely, it
would be an entirely personal project that would _not_ involve my employer.
I have a personal account on an internet access provider here in Cleveland
which would provide a means for these to be made available. Actually, it
might have to be anonymous ftp rather than gopher, but it could be done.
 
>
> 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?
 
These are valid questions but do not relate specifically to this situation.
 
>
> Is there a parallel with institutional support for professional development?
 
 
--
David Condon, Librarian                   |        [log in to unmask]
Cleveland Museum of Natural History       |
1 Wade Oval Drive, University Circle      |        +1 (216) 231-4600 ext.222
Cleveland, Ohio 44106-1767                |        Fax: +1 (216) 231-5919