California Web Site Reaches 10,000th Record

[Karen G. Schneider]

Contact:
Karen G. Schneider
Coordinator, Librarians' Index to the Internet
E-Mail: kgs at lii.org 

http://lii.org/press/ 

June 6, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
California Web Site Reaches 10,000th Record


(POINT RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA) On Thursday, June 6, 2002, lii.org (the
Librarians' Index to the Internet) added its 10,000th Web site. The
hallmark record--describing Americorps, a service organization whose
members earn educational credits for activities such as mentoring youth
and building affordable housing--was contributed by volunteer indexer
Julianna Hamann, a San Diego resident who has contributed close to 200
records to the lii.org database.

lii.org is a searchable, browsable Web site created and managed by
librarians and funded by the Library of California, a resource-sharing
initiative for libraries.

When asked why the self-described "grandmotherly" type would contribute
content to the lii.org database, Hamann replied: "When I was a little
girl, six years old, a refugee, new to the United States from Hungary, I
was afraid to utter a word because of my language barrier. My mother's
words still ring in my ears, 'Open your mouth and ask questions. This is
America. They don't punish you for asking. Knowledge will set you free.'
Since then, words became my allies."

Hamann will receive an lii.org t-shirt and a certificate for a free
course through Infopeople, a training project that has brought thousands
of courses to librarians and end-users throughout California. 

lii.org began in 1990 as a gopher bookmark list created by Berkeley
reference librarian Carole Leita. In the mid-90s, lii.org was adopted by
Berkeley Public Library as an in-house resource.  With the involvement
of Roy Tennant, the list moved to UC Berkeley SunSITE in 1997, where it
acquired the name, Librarians' Index to the Internet, and received a
number of major technical enhancements. lii.org moved to federal funding
in 1997, gradually acquired several part-time staff, and became a
signature project of the Library of California in 2000. It continues to
be hosted on UC Berkeley SunSITE.

Diane Davenport, Library Manager, Berkeley Public Library, commented,
"what Carole Leita started as her own bookmark file over ten years ago
has grown to be one of the most respected Internet sources. As a file
now updated and maintained by hundreds of librarians, it's a testament
to librarians' abilities at evaluating, organizing, and making reliable
information available." 

Lii.org has three core services: a high-quality, searchable, browsable,
multi-subject Web site; a weekly mailing, New This Week,that reaches
over 13,000 subscribers; and--an initiative less less than a year
old--special thematic collections, topics for which have included
September 11, Black History Month, Tax Time, Yucca Mountain, and The
Grapes of Wrath. 

lii.org content is created and managed by over 130 volunteer indexers
and four other permanent staff: Martha Gifford, Assistant Coordinator
and Senior Editor; Wendy Hyman, Associate Editor; Pat Fell, Cataloger,
and Bill Moseley, Programmer. lii.org has received additional grant
funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the
Library Services and Technology Act, and is hosted by UC Berkeley
SunSITE.

                                                       
http://lii.org/press/

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Karen G. Schneider kgs at lii.org  http://lii.org 
Coordinator, Librarians' Index to the Internet
lii.org  New This Week:     http://lii.org/ntw 
      lii.org: Information You Can Trust!
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