Marcus' World

Six Months in Berkeley

Six months ago today our Penske truck rolled into Berkeley and parked at the corner of Dwight and Ellsworth. And thus our Bay Area life began.

A lot's happened since then. Helen has begun an amazing two year program at the Haas School of Business, and I've met lots of new friends (mostly partners of b-school students, but some students too, and some additional friends in an ever-so-intense book club.)

I've admired Helen's enthusiasm for school and her ability to juggle many classes and other activities. Meanwhile I've begun a great job at the UC San Francisco Library.

I'm still deciding whether I prefer the East Bay (where Berkeley is) or San Francisco as a place to live and hang out.  As someone who moved from New York City, it seems obvious that I should prefer "SF."  But Berkeley reminds me of my college town (Evanston, IL), which I now think about with unreasonably fond nostalgia.  And it has shades of 60's activism even today, with opportunities on Telegraph Avenue (like buying books for 25 cents apiece, and leaving the money in a bucket) that are gloriously unique.

At first I didn't like San Francisco at all, as heretical as that sounds. There's a lot of hills and not a lot of people in good stretches of the city.  In my head I kept remembering when someone I met in New York referred to SF as a "toy town," not a real city. That always struck me as funny, but when I got here I thought, "Yikes! It's true."

Six months on Helen and I have explored some city neighborhoods and gotten a much better feel for the place.  We're settling in well, and it's definitely easier to make friends here than on the lonely streets of Gotham. This doesn't mean that NYC won't always have a special place in my heart; I often roamed Manhattan with a sense of exhilaration, never quite believing that I really lived there.  Be that as it may, I'm starting to see why Tony Bennett left his heart in San Francisco.

A Political Dynasty at Risk

It was great to see Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama today.  After the last few weeks of mudslinging and broken promises from the Clintons, and a week before "Super Duper Tuesday," this endorsement has exquisite timing.

Let's review:

• Bill Clinton obnoxiously opined that Obama's principled and consistent rejection of the Iraq imbroglio was a "fairy tale."
• Mr. Clinton associated Obama with Jesse Jackson in the wake of Obama's major win in South Carolina. This was clearly an attempt to taint Obama by association with the divisive Jackson, and not just an offhand comment (as the spinmeisters would have it). But while Jackson ran on the civil rights past, Obama hopes to build a better America for the future.
• Mrs. Clinton is furiously trying to secure Florida's delegates, even though all the major Democratic candidates pledged not to campaign in Florida because the state Democratic party held its primary earlier than the national party allowed. Of course Florida's delegates should be counted; the national party should get a grip. But fair is fair--everyone agreed not to campaign, even Hillary Clinton.

The root problem here is the Clintonian sense of entitlement. It's just like the Bush sense of entitlement, only with another party.  Obama is waging a historic campaign against such entrenched interests, and he may well lose.  But I'm delighted to be along for the ride, and I sure do hope he wins.

First Book Review in Rain Taxi

A few years ago I took a short course about writing book reviews at the 92nd St. Y in New York. The instructor, Ben Downing, was a tough but encouraging teacher who impressed upon us the fact that writing reviews isn't easy. The main challenges are: summarizing a book succinctly (without giving too much away); establishing a context for the book, which in some cases requires extensive additional reading; and offering a critique that is both useful and justified.  In a nutshell: being a great creative writer is no guarantee that you'll be a good critic. And the pay is pitiful.

After the class was over I made some half-hearted efforts to submit reviews to publications like the New York Observer.  My lack of enthusiasm had two causes. It's especially difficult to break into review circles in New York (1), and I have a blog if I want to post a review (2). Of course I have a minute fraction of the readers of prestigious book reviews, but at least it's an easy way to share my thoughts.

That seemed like the end of it, but when we moved to Berkeley the reviewing bug struck again. For one thing, I became a reviewer for the Journal of Academic Librarianship. That's fun, and hopefully my reviews are worthwhile to professional librarians.  But it's still not the same as being published in a general-interest book review.

That's finally happened. This week Rain Taxi published my review of Gail Pool's Faint Praise: The Plight of Book Reviewing in America (2007).  This is a deeply meta-review...it's a review of a book about book reviews, which I discovered from reading another review (in the New Republic). Hopefully my next review won't have such a complex back-story! 

Times Endorses Clinton, and I Don't

A weird thing about voting by mail two weeks before a primary--as I did this week, and as many Californians do (not necessarily two weeks early)--is knowing that you've already made your choice just as the  endorsements   start rolling in.

The Times has endorsed Hillary Clinton over my choice, Barack Obama. (New York's primary day is February 5, just like California).  Clinton and Obama are both brilliant and driven, and either would be an excellent President.   But for my money Clinton is too hawkish in the aftermath of our misadventure in Iraq; she voted to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization a few months ago, like most senators but unlike Obama. Her practical, incremental approach is less inspiring than Obama's clarion call to hope. Finally, Clinton baggage is intense throughout the land. The threat of Clinton fatigue working against the Democrats is very real; what a travesty that would be after eight years of President Bush.

But don't listen to me. If you're looking for a fair take on the differences between Clinton and Obama, go read George Packer.

Blog Readers Survey--Erratum

Sorry for a bit of mis-reporting on the blog reader survey results.   You are about to read a blog version of an erratum statement.

Apparently Survey Monkey only counts responses when people select one of the options I provided. For example, in question # 2 220 people answered that they either worked in hospitals or academic health sciences libraries.

This meant that 46 people skipped the question, officially. But there were many comments--50 in fact, presumably to offer another option.  So the total number of inputs to the question was 270 (for 266 responses); some people offered clarifying comments, some only comments, and some people truly skipped the question.

So it's not true--as I claimed in my previous post--that you had to pick a pre-set option in order to make a comment. You could make a comment on its own, but SurveyMonkey doesn't capture that scenario very cleanly.

Blog Readers Survey Closed--Raw Data Available

I just closed the survey of health sciences librarian blog readers, after receiving 266 responses! That's a much higher response rate than I anticipated, but compared to MLA's membership of approximately 4,000 people it's still a fairly small sample.

Here's the raw data from the responses--I'll post "refined data" once I have an idea of what this all means:

1. How long have you been a librarian?: 266 responses (Nobody skipped this question)

A. 0 to 3 years: 62 people (23.3%)
B. 4 to 6 years: 32 people (12%)
C. 7 to 1o years: 31 people  (11.7%)
D. 11 to 20 years: 73 people (27.4%)
E. More than 20 years: 68 people (25.6%)

2. What type of library do you work in?: 22o responses (46 people skipped this question)

A. Hospital library: 89/220 (40.5% of 220)
B. Academic health sciences library: 131/220 (59.5% of 220)
C. Other (please specify): 50 comments.  I haven't read the comments closely yet, but it seems clear that people didn't like the paucity of choices I provided. [Note: Commenters must have selected one of the options, so if no options were satisfactory presumably people skipped the question.]

3. What is your primary job responsibility?: 221 responses (45 people skipped this question)

A. Reference/User Instruction: 120/221 (54.3% of 221)
B. Cataloging/Technical Services: 7/221 (3.2% of 221)
C. One Person, Solo Librarian: 52/221 (23/5% of 221)
D. Administration: 42/221 (19% of 221)
E. Other (please specify): 54 comments. Once again it seems that the choices were insufficient. And once again people could only make comments after selecting one of the options.

4. Of the blogs written for librarian colleagues, how many do you read regularly?: 257 responses (9 people skipped this question)

A. One to three: 118/257 (45.9% of 257)
B. Four to six: 67/257 (26.1% of 257)
C. More than six: 72/257 (28% of 257)

5. How do you follow blogs?: 256 responses (1o people skipped this question)

A. Bookmark/check periodically: 61/256 (23.8% of 256)
B. Subscribe via RSS: 188/256 (73.4% of 256)
C. Subscribe via email: 7/256 (2.7% of 256)

6. Of the choices below, what BEST describes the reason you read blogs?: 243 responses (23 people skipped this question)

A. Current awareness about new technologies and tools: 185/243 (76.1% of 243)
B. Source of discussion and debate: 39/243 (16% of 243)
C. Tips on what to read in the professional literature: 13/243 (5.3 % of 243)
D. To increase professional connections: 6/243 (2.5% of 243)
E. Other (please specify): 40 comments.  As always, making comments depended upon selecting one of the options provided.

7. How often do you attempt to incorporate what you read about in librarian blogs in your work?: 261 responses (5 people skipped this question)

A. Very infrequently: 23/261 (8.8% of 261)
B.  Somewhat infrequently: 55/261 (21.1% of 261)
C.  Somewhat frequently: 110/261 (42.1% of 261)
D. Frequently: 61/261 (23.4% of 261)
E. Very frequently: 12/261 (4.6% of 261)
Please feel free to elaborate upon your answer: 37 comments.

8. Compared to one year ago, how likely are you to read blogs?: 265 responses (1 person skipped question)

A. More likely: 149/265 (56.2% of 265)
B. As likely: 102/265 (38.5% of 265)
C. Less likely: 14/265 (5.3% of 265)

9. Compared to one year ago, how likely are you to subscribe to listservs?: 263 responses (3 people skipped question)

A. More likely: 30/263 (11.4% of 263)
B. As likely: 141/263 (53.6% of 263)
C. Less likely: 92/263 (35% of 263)

10. Compared to the content in listservs, are you more or less likely to act upon what you read in blogs?: 264 responses (2 people skipped question)

A. More likely: 78/264 (29.5% of 264)
B. Less likely: 29 (11% of 264)
C. No difference: 157/264 (59.5% of 264)
Please elaborate on your answer: 68 comments, which is great because I particularly desired comments here.

A Good Day for a Nice Little Walk

This is a three day weekend, because tomorrow is the national holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Well, it's a three day weekend for me; it's just another three days off for Helen. She finally starts her second semester of business school on Tuesday, after 39 days of vacation!

Three day weekend or not, we had some time on our hands. So around 8 AM this morning we set out to explore San Francisco.  I'm in San Francisco most days for work, but typically I head home to Berkeley afterwards. Helen rarely ventures into "SF" because everything she needs is in Berkeley.

When we left our only plan was to reach the Golden Gate Bridge.  Whether or not we crossed over to Marin County would depend on our mood.  So we took BART, then MUNI, then walked along the trail through the Presidio to get to the Bridge.  When we got there, it seemed obvious that we should cross.  So we made it over to Marin and then slogged on down to Sausalito for lunch.

After lunch we explored Sausalito a bit more, and then took a bus to Japan Town (back in SF).  After a bit of shopping it was time for another walk. So we headed from Japan Town to the Coit Tower steps (going up and down the Filbert and Greenwich steps, hoping for a glimpse of wild parrots on Telegraph Hill) and then into Coit Tower (which houses fascinating Depression-era murals).  By the time we left the tower it was 5 PM, and my calves were sore.  We grabbed coffee in North Beach before enjoying an early dinner in Nob Hill, and then we headed home. 

My calves are still sore, but this was an amazing day! We even have the pictures (snapped by Helen) to prove it.

From top to bottom:

1. Basement of City Lights Bookstore in North Beach
2. A Coit Tower mural
3. Parking at an angle, the SF way
4. View from Sausalito
5. Baker Beach, Presidio
6. Sober recognition of what can happen on the Golden Gate Bridge

Ethical Minefields: Chocolate Edition

From Scott: "Living in the modern world is an ethical minefield where one is never entirely sure whether or not bits and pieces of your value system haven't already been blown off, and you didn't realize it because you weren't paying the right kind of attention."

Hear hear.

I don't  completely agree that this is only a problem of "the modern world," because people have wrestled with their consciences forever.  But in a way this is a modern affliction, because today we have much more information about what happens around the world than our ancestors did. Much of this information is about bad things happening to some people (or animals), in ways that benefit other people with more money and power. 

Let's take one popular commodity: chocolate.  It's usually delicious, comes in pleasing varieties, and makes for a nice gift.  But...umm....sometimes slaves pick the cocoa that goes into the chocolate. 

Then again, perhaps not--there are two sides to any story.

For the moment, then, let's stipulate that there are some terrible abuses in the chocolate industry, but that it's not so dire as activists proclaim.  Whatever the extent of the injustice, a dilemma remains.

For me, this dilemma boils down to hypothetical scenarios.  Should I refuse all chocolate just in case some is "tainted?"  What about gifts from well-meaning and good-hearted friends? How realistic is it to say to someone, "Thanks, but no thanks...a slave picked those cocoa beans?"  But what's a little awkwardness compared to the value of a slave's life? 

Etc., etc, etc. The questions have no end, but all boil down to this: In the very lengthy supply chain that brings chocolate to my home, where does my responsibility begin and end?

Not to pick on chocolate too much--the same questions hold for any product on the market.

What should I do? Refuse to buy anything, make all my own clothes and grow all my own food?  I'd still need to take the train to work. That's partially paid for by taxes, some of which are levied on the profits from activities I don't support.  Now that I think about it, my entire salary as a public employee comes from tax dollars. Maybe I should simply reject my paycheck and refuse to leave my apartment (until we're evicted because we couldn't pay the rent). At least I won't be "tainted."

None of this will happen, of course--I will pay the rent and sometimes eat chocolate, especially when it's a gift.  And I'll make many other ethical compromises on a daily basis, multiple times per day. 

Maybe ignorance really is bliss, but it's not an option. So herewith, my own tenuous solution to the problem of "ethical precepts vs. everyday realities":

1. Within the sphere of your immediate control, try to behave as respectfully towards others and the environment as you possibly can (this is challenge enough).

2. Seek to be aware of the realities of life outside your immediate control, especially as they intersect with your own.

3. Challenge injustices when and where you can, but keep in mind that if everyone behaved admirably within their own immediate spheres (step # 1) you wouldn't have to worry about this.

This seems to be evolving into the familiar slogan, "Think globally, act locally."  That's all to the good, except when one's awareness of global ills negates appreciation for the value of those locally good acts.  So in the end, what can we do? Make sure that when the abacus of our lives is totaled up at the end, there are substantially more chips in the world-affirming column.

Facebook is So Much Cooler than an Email Address

This morning Helen and I went to the Ferry Building for a broadcast of West Coast Live--my second, her first.  Afterwards we had lunch and shopped at the bustling Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.

Suddenly I spotted a Northwestern friend I haven't seen since 1999. She was headed our way, in pursuit of more pink lady apples (a detail that became public knowledge during the conversation.) If not for those pink ladies, this wouldn't have been.

I stopped her--we chatted, Helen introduced yourself, and within a minute or two we'd caught up on the last nine years.

Then it was time for us to part. I pondered...1. Do I just leave it like this? A pleasant random encounter with no follow-up? Or 2. Do I attempt to stay in touch?  I chose 2--since Helen was there, I couldn't be accused of just wanting a date.

So OK--I want to stay in touch.  But do I: 1. ask for her email address (that's so 1999); 2. cell phone number (that's 2004);  or 3. assume she's on Facebook (that's right now!)?  So I went ahead and assumed, and the gamble paid off. I asked if she was on FB, she said yes, and when I got home I looked her up and now we're Facebook pals. 

Let's hope she's not somebody else I know who is better at Scrabble than me!

Positive Drug Studies Get all the Glory

This week's New England Journal of Medicine study about selective publication of antidepressant studies reminded me of the importance of grey literature.  "Grey literature" refers to working papers, rough drafts, notes from half-finished studies...really, anything that doesn't make it into the peer-reviewed publication stream (some people might disagree with this very broad definition).

The NEJM found that a full accounting of the effects of popular drugs like Prozac and Paxil would show that they are barely more effective than placebos.  Unfortunately, medical journals are much more likely to report positive findings than neutral or negative findings.  So that full account does not exist.

Grey literature can correct this skew, and there are ways to find it.  But it's much harder to find a working paper than a published paper, so grey lit will always be the underdog. 

Moral of the story: If the proclaimed benefit of a new drug or treatment seems too good to be true, it probably is.