Mein Kampf

The American Library Association runs a listserv called ifaction which is short for Intellectual Freedom Action. Recently, via the listserv, Erin Sommerfeld shared an interesting article on Mein Kampf which was originally published in The Chronicle of Higher Education: Defusing Mein Kampf by Paul Hockenos

Other posts I've made about the infamous Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler:
Mein Kampf: A Case Study
Meeting Mein Kampf

Bradbury Medley

Over the past few days, I've had a number of friends and colleagues inquire as to how I am doing. (Thank you for asking.) Here's the update:

While I seemed to have regained some of my energy and the sinus infection seems to be pretty much cleared up, my lungs are still exhibiting the crackle sensation and sound characteristic of pneumonia...and I'm still coughing...a lot.

My follow-up appointment is on Thursday morning and I was already told that I'll be having another chest x-ray.

Today, I spent the majority of the morning and afternoon working on my term paper for LIS 7790 (the history of books, printing, and publishing). My topic: the history of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I downloaded, via iTunes, The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond and jammed out while writing. Despite still feeling like klunk (a reference to The Maze Runner), I have thoroughly enjoyed this paper and am excited to submit the final product to Dr. Neavill within the next few days. I'll likely share something here, too, as I learned so much about the book!

Here's a fact: In 1967, Ballantine Books published a censored and expurgated edition of Fahrenheit 451 without Bradbury's knowledge or adding notation to the copyright page on the verso. From 1973 - 1979, only the expurgated edition of the book was available until an observant friend alerted Bradbury. Thankfully, since 1980, only the "pure" unexpurgated edition of the book has been available (Sova, 2006).

Further thoughts on the SLIS listserv before putting the issue to rest and moving on...
I'll cite it again and again and again.

V. We treat co-workers and other colleagues with respect, fairness, and good faith, and advocate conditions of employment that safeguard the rights and welfare of all employees of our institutions (ALA Code of Ethics).

Five points to think about before responding:

1. Is it True?
2. Is it Helpful?
3. Is it Inspiring?
4. Is it Necessary?
5. Is it Kind?

As I've stated to my classmates, there is already enough negativity in the field at the moment with the economy being what it is and library budgets subsequently being decimated coast to coast. It is one thing to discuss the SLIS program and the direction it should be taking...or the direction students should be taking in order to prepare themselves for successfully entering the field...and something completely different (not to mention off-topic and unethical) to bash students...even the unmotivated.

What I'd, personally, like to hear instead:
...tell me about what inspired you to become a librarian...do you still like your job...what do you wish you knew more about...if money was no object, which workshops or classes would you take...what do you wish you'd done differently, if anything...what's your favorite part of the job...least favorite part of the job...where do you see the field in 10 years...what are your thoughts on OverDrive and the Penguin situation...do you go to conferences...have you ever dealt with a challenge to a book or item before...what's on your professional bookshelf...what is your board like...what review sources do you prefer...what is your professional wardrobe like...what was your first job...did you do a practicum...what was your favorite class...what's your dream job...

I've had a very long day and tomorrow is going to be even longer. Gute Nacht, meine Freunde.

Gryffindor-esque

Since this blog started in June of 2010, I've made it a point to try and keep Hermionish positive. Unfortunately, that cannot always happen...

To date I've abstained from responding to an instigative series of emails circulating on the SLIS main listserv -- many of which have been anonymous -- until this afternoon. In a thread posted on Monday, S.B., a director of library services at a for-profit college shared a rather unfortunate and isolated anecdote,

"About two ago I hired a recent Wayne MLIS graduate. This person had taken courses from many of the same instructors I had, so I thought this person had gained the same knowledge I had. Big mistake! This person was a total disaster. The day I was about to give this person his walking papers, he resigned from his post for another job. I was so angry at the time, I came close to writing Dr. Bajjaly a nasty letter, but my husband talked me out of it.

Needless to say, I will think twice about hiring a Wayne LISP grad in future..."

Here's my Gryffindor-esque response (I am loyal. Hear me roar):

S.B. stated, "Needless to say, I will think twice about hiring a Wayne LISP grad in the future..."

If that isn't outright discrimination than it's certainly bordering on it.

What does the ALA Code of Ethics have to say?
V. We treat co-workers and other colleagues with respect, fairness, and good faith, and advocate conditions of employment that safeguard the rights and welfare of all employees of our institutions.

VI. We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representation of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources.

VII. We strive for excellence in the profession by maintaining and enhancing our own knowledge and skills, by encouraging the professional development of co-workers, and by fostering the aspirations of potential members of the profession.

While I am not interesting [sic] in pursuing a career in academic libraries, I can think of a handful of my fellow classmates that are very much interested -- classmates who have went above and beyond and are truly passionate as well as dedicated to the LIS field. I've had the honor of working alongside these students and have seen much of their work product. In fact, I wouldn't even hesitate to act as a reference for these classmates. It's a shame...in fact it's really a crime...that they could be overlooked for a position just because they graduated from Wayne State University's School of Library and Information Science.

I am irate and certainly not anonymous.

JC Brown
MLIS Public Libraries Candidate
School of Library and Information Science
Wayne State University

Vacation for a Bibliophile

Yesterday on the SLIS listserv, I discovered the following job posting:

Does being paid to spend the summer in Northern Michigan in your own cabin on beautiful Douglas Lake sound like a dream come true?  The University of Michigan Biological Station Library, located 265 miles north of Ann Arbor, is recruiting for the Summer Librarian position.  Working closely with the Science Library, this unique position serves as the librarian and on-site manager of the Library program for the Summer session (June 22 - Aug 20).  Duties include: reference and instruction, interlibrary loan, reserves maintenance, and general operations.  Compensation will include room and board at the Station during the Summer session, as well as a long weekend in mid-May.

Minimum qualifications: ALA-accredited MLS degree or equivalent, or currently a student in an ALA-accredited program, with a strong interest in public service.  Previous public service experience in an undergraduate or science library is strongly preferred.  A science background is desired, but not required.

For more details, please see the official posting at http://umjobs.org/job_detail/66271/asst_librarian_temp.  For more information about the UM Biological Station, see the Station website at http://www.lsa.umich.edu/umbs/. 

My thoughts: It sounds like a vacation for a bibliophile. I wouldn't need a long weekend in May... *drool*

Earthquake: University of Maryland's Libraries

As you likely already know, earlier in the week an earthquake in Virginia occurred causing people as far as Detroit, Michigan and Toronto, Ontario. If people felt the quake and subsequent aftershocks, what about the libraries, museums, and monuments located in the region?

A fellow MLIS candidate shared, via the listserv, a set of photos from the University of Maryland library system. According to the university's Flickr page, "McKeldin Library at the University of Maryland was the site of a major cleanup after more than 13,000 books fell from their shelves following a rare East Coast earthquake...Materials also fell at other libraries on campus, including Hornbake Library and the Architecture Library."

To view the library's slideshow: University of Maryland libraries after the earthquake.

Textbooks

The SLIS listserv offers a student-only list. With that said, I am surprised by the number of colleagues that are selling their textbooks.

I cannot tell you how many times I have already consulted texts from previous classes, cited them as sources for papers and essays, and used the bibliographies at the end of the chapters to delve further into a specific topic.

In fact, I have plans on replacing my textbook from LIS 7340 (Collection Development) because it is was so thoroughly used by me throughout the spring/summer term. (Not to mention soiled from reading outside under my apple trees.)

Bubbles

Blogging from my bookish hideout at Oxford Public Library...

Loving LIS 7340!

A classmate in my collection development class, taught by Dr. Robert Holley, raised a really good discussion point: due to the customization and personalization of the current Internet environment, she is unlikely to stumble upon books and materials outside of her interest. Think: Amazon.Com's recommendations. (An interesting concept!)

My classmate's point got me thinking about an interesting link that Dr. Scout Calvert shared a few weeks ago, via the SLIS listserv, to a presentation by Eli Pariser titled "Beware online 'filter bubbles'." TEDTalks describes the presentation:

As web companies strive to tailor their services (including news and search results) to our personal tastes, there's a dangerous unintended consequence: We get trapped in a "filter bubble" and don't get exposed to information that could challenge or broaden our worldview. Eli Pariser argues powerfully that this will ultimately prove to be bad for us and bad for democracy.

Take a moment to check it out...


(Thank you, Scout!)

NPR: Geek the Library

Between the SLIS listserv, text messages, and multiple inbox messages I received via facebook, I am pleased to share the delayed news on Hermionish that OCLC's Geek the Library awareness campaign made NPR!

NPR: Transcript and Story
Strategic Marketing Using Geek the Library

Sans Pictures

This past week, these two article were circulating on the SLIS listserv and I felt inclined to share and discuss.

Article: Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children

Article Highlights:

Picture books are so unpopular these days at the Children’s Book Shop in Brookline, Mass., that employees there are used to placing new copies on the shelves, watching them languish and then returning them to the publisher. 

"They’re 4 years old, and their parents are getting them ‘Stuart Little,’ ” said Dara La Porte, the manager of the children’s department at the Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington. “I see children pick up picture books, and then the parents say, ‘You can do better than this, you can do more than this.’ It’s a terrible pressure parents are feeling — that somehow, I shouldn’t let my child have this picture book because she won’t get into Harvard."

“To some degree, picture books force an analog way of thinking,” said Karen Lotz, the publisher of Candlewick Press in Somerville, Mass. “From picture to picture, as the reader interacts with the book, their imagination is filling in the missing themes.” 

“Young adult fiction has been universally the growing genre,” said Ms. Lotz of Candlewick, “and so as retailers adapt to what customers are buying, they are giving more space to that and less space to picture books.” 

Jen Haller, the vice president and associate publisher of the Penguin Young Readers Group, said that while some children were progressing to chapter books earlier, they were still reading picture books occasionally. “Picture books have a real comfort element to them,” Ms. Haller said. “It’s not like this door closes and they never go back to picture books again.”

Article: A Scroll to the Editor (a school's response to the article) 

My Stance: on the fence.

I am simply thrilled to read an article about children reading rather than spending countless hours in front of a television playing video games or watching Handy Manny.

Call me cynical and crabby...
However, if you know anything about me, pushy people, but to be more specific, pushy parents and the recently minted phrase, "Tiger Moms", thoroughly repulse me hence why I felt compelled to share Dara La Porte's atrocity, "I shouldn't let my child have this picture book because she won't get into Harvard."

The article essentially states that picture books have been on the decline over the years (data from publishers and booksellers can support the statement). Further pondering of that statement left me thinking about my peers, parents, and grandparents...the obvious, picture books were once popular...which always asserts that, perhaps, children who grew up in years previous and who happened to attend schools such as Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and my personal favorite, Dartmouth College, probably, although more than likely (if not almost certainly), enjoyed picture books during their early childhood. /not rocket science

Picture books are not evil.

Haller said, “Picture books have a real comfort element to them...It’s not like this door closes and they never go back to picture books again.” 

Positive: I was happy to read about the YA genre expanding in bookstores.

Hats off to teacher/librarian Lynne Sundstrom: "Contrary to the article’s message, picture books are not languishing on the shelves at Birch Lane, but are actually read, loved and read again."

Sans pictures = just a passing trend...

Touché, Mademoiselle La Porte.

Library of the Living Dead

Shared on the WSU listserv this afternoon was an amusing guide to utilizing the library at McPherson College in order to beat the zombie apocalypse... designed as a graphic novel! Brilliant.


Library of the Living Dead

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Robotic Edition

This was posted on the SLIS listserv...and I found it pretty humorous.

Viewer Discretion is Advised

Mein Abenteuer

Have you wanted to: see the Brandenburg Gate, Gutenberg’s Printing Press, spend time with graduate students from other countries, visit international libraries, see Berlin up close and personal, visit the world’s largest book fair in Frankfurt, see outstanding sights, and enjoy international fare?

Then spend three weeks in Germany earning credit while learning about renowned libraries, collections, archives, and information agencies. German librarians, archivists, and information specialists will provide instruction as well as guided tours in a variety of German libraries, museums, and archives.

Students will start off in Stuttgart with a special inside tour of a library’s collection known for its old manuscripts and bibles, and then a visit to a new public library under construction. The rest of the week will be spent in class with other international students, with time in the evenings to visit with classmates and enjoy the city. The week ends with a visit to a nearby city library, a walk through the old city, and dinner in a very old restaurant.

Then it is off to Tubingen and Mainz. The Gutenberg Museum will provide a wonderful opportunity to see how the world was changed where books were first printed. Cologne is the next stop and an opportunity to meet with LIS faculty and students at the newly accredited Institut für Iinformationswissenschaft at the Fachhochschule Köln, followed by tours of the German Central Library for Medicine and manuscripts and prints at a Diocese Library. The next stop is Berlin and visits to the main public library, the Berlin Brain Library, the John F. Kennedy Institute library, and the American Embassy. Faculty and students from Humboldt University will share their school and city with us with time on campus and in the city. There will be time to explore the city and the excellent museums of Berlin.

We end our German excursion in Frankfurt at the world's largest book fair -- the Frankfurt Book Festival. We arrive home on Sunday, October 16 with outstanding pictures and tales of our visit to Europe's largest and second most populous nation (after Russia).

In addition to participating in scheduled lectures and tours, students will be required to produce an article that is publication ready. Students will also keep a reflective journal and create a blog that will be shared with the students back in the states.

*drool*

I am amending my Plan of Work!

Wikipedia!

Wikipedia Comes of Age - by Casper Grathwohl
Posted in the Chronicle for Higher Education on 1.7.2011
Retrieved from the WSU SLIS listserv on 1.25.2011

Snow Falling on Apple Trees

Taking a break from studying, to watch the snow fall on my apple trees. A positive about moving from the suburbs to the country: the beauty and pureness of the view.

I had no plans for another post this week, but yesterday was such an extraordinary day full of Hermionish activities! I spent the better part of the day at Caro Area District Library doing my reading for LIS 6210...and, of course, a bit of exploring in the stacks. What a lovely library! There was just enough noise -- not too quiet or too loud, comfortable chairs, big enough tables to spread out my materials, friendly staff and patron-population.

I am loving LIS 6210 thus far. I have always heard that Dr. Neavill makes cataloguing look like a form of art. Now, firsthand, I am beginning to see it. Brilliant.


And now onto an internship opening, posted on the listserv, that made me ponder and sigh:

Internship for Summer 2011: The Newport Historical Society
Newport, Rhode Island

For undergraduates, graduate students, & recent graduates

Paid, Full-Time Internships
Application Deadline: 3/4/11

Preparing a clothing exhibit.

DESCRIPTION
Join a team of students, scholars, and museum professionals studying and promoting the diverse and dynamic history of Newport, R.I.

Museum Studies Interns devote half of their time to individual projects in exhibits, public programs, tour development, and/or collections management; the remainder is devoted to tour guiding, ongoing training, and staff meetings. 40 hrs/wk, 5/31/11 – 8/13/11; 3 positions available; $3,000 stipend.

The Post-Graduate Fellow In Historical Interpretation is an advanced graduate student or a recent MA or PhD with tour-guiding experience and familiarity with the early history of Newport, RI. He or she devotes half of his or her time to supervising and coordinating public tours and intern projects; the remainder is devoted to an individual project or dissertation work. 40 hrs/wk, 5/24/11 – 8/20/11 (1 wk. vacation in July); 1 position available; $4,800 stipend.

Intensive training is provided. EOE.

ELIGIBILITY
Current undergraduate & graduate students and 2010 & 2011 college & university graduates.

Fall 2010 Term

The end of Fall 2010 term has come to a close. *sigh of relief*

Final Grades:
I pulled off a 4.0 in both classes (LIS 6080 and LIS 6120). Not bad for working full-time and carrying on-call duties. Visiting Bad Axe Area District Library (thank you Mimi and staff) after work and sticking to the study schedule certainly paid off.



With my last day of work being next week, I am hoping that my stress level decreases a bit next term and I can enjoy my studies rather than rushing through them. (Yes, I actually enjoy doing homework and studying.)

Textbooks for Winter 2011 term have been ordered. Very excited to crack those open! LIS 6210: Organization of Knowledge (Cataloguing!) and LIS 7040: Library Administration and Management.

Speaking of textbooks, I cannot believe how many I see on the SLIS listserv for sale. Geek moment: I wouldn't dream of selling any of my textbooks.

Library Girl

This video was posted on "I Love Libraries" earlier today and it made my day. I enjoyed it so much, I shared it via the SLIS listserv.



I don't fit inside that world
And I'm not like those other girls
Oh no, I'm not, I think a lot
But please don't be afraid...
by Reina del Cid

"About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them and some won't like you at all."
--Rita Mae Brown

Rwanda to unveil Genocide Archive

(This was another article posted on the WSU SLIS Listserv)

By Xan Rice (12/10/2010 - guardian.co.uk)

An ambitious hi-tech project to make the Rwandan genocide one of the most thoroughly documented mass killings ever will be unveiled in Kigali today.

The Genocide Archive of Rwanda will serve as a "unified repository" for all information related to the 1994 massacres, which saw about 800,000 people killed in 100 days, mostly from the minority Tutsi population.

Located at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where tens of thousands of victims are buried, the new facility will initially hold 1,500 audiovisual recordings and more than 20,000 documents and photographs.

The material has been gathered from Rwandan media outlets and museums, court records, foreign institutions, especially in France, and from survivors. In time the recordings and documents will be also be housed in a digital archive available to researchers on-site and, eventually, through the internet.

The project, six years in the making, has been driven by the Aegis Trust , a British organisation that works to prevent crimes against humanity, and the Commission for the Fight Against Genocide in Kigali.

Freddy Mutanguha, the Rwanda director for the Aegis Trust, said the main aim of the archive was to aid research and teaching, both locally and abroad.

"It will show with facts how the genocide was prepared and executed in order to tell what happened – and to say 'never again'," he said.

For 16 years, during which time Rwanda has staged an impressive recovery under president Paul Kagame's authoritarian rule, the government has endeavoured to ensure that the genocide is never far from people's memories. Across the tiny country there are nearly 200 memorial sites marking places where killings took place.

The country has also held thousands of gacaca trials, a system of community justice in which people accused of serious crimes during the genocide faced public hearings, with victims' families and survivors allowed to confront them. Recordings from these proceedings form part of the new document centre.

With assistance from experts at the University of Texas Libraries, all the audiovisual material, with accompanying transcripts in English, Kinyarwanda, and French, is being copied into the digital archive.

It will also include scans of all documents and photographs housed on-site in Kigali, as well as relevant material held elsewhere.

"Important documentation about the Rwandan genocide will probably always remain dispersed in various locations around the world, but it's our ambition to include digitally anything that cannot be included in the physical archive," said Fred Heath, the director of the University of Texas Libraries.

Work is also proceeding on a database that is using GPS technology to map all the genocide sites in Rwanda, and matching them with photographs and testimonies from survivors, witnesses and perpetrators present where the killings took place.

Dr David Kirk, a lecturer in Human Computer Interaction at the University of Nottingham's school of computer science, which is handling this part of the project, said the work may even help Rwandans map the final movements of relatives who died in the massacres.

"Ultimately, the project hopes to explore the use of such data in the development of lasting digital memorials to those affected by the genocide," he said.

Charles Darwin Research Station Library

(This was an opportunity posted on the WSU SLIS Listserv)

Subject: Ecuador - Galapagos Islands - Volunteer Librarian for Charles Darwin Research Station Library

The Charles Darwin Research Station is currently seeking a Volunteer Librarian. Time commitment: minimum 6 months; 12 months preferred.

The Corley Smith Library at the Charles Darwin Foundation and Research
Station (CDF) in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Galapagos, is a small,
research library that serves scientists, researchers, graduate
students, National Park officials and guides, and other visitors.

Collections include books, reports, a reprint collection of published
articles on Galapagos science and conservation, print and online
journals, photographs, slides, and archival document collections. An
online catalog is available locally, as well as a small reading room
and one local staff member. The library has access to OARE, BioOne and
other literature databases.

The Library relies on professionally-trained volunteer librarians to
assist in the management and operation of the library, and the general
support and training of local staff.

Responsibilities
1. Training local library staff on current library practices and procedures.
2. Providing reference services for visitors.
3. Cataloging and cleaning up bibliographic records (DDS) in the
library catalog.
4. Scanning photographs, slides, and older documents for an online archive.
5. Updating and improving the library website.
6. Identifying materials on Galapagos missing from the collection
(books, articles, theses).
7. Applying and enforcing basic preservation practices.
8. Improving library filing and record keeping procedures.
9. Assisting with the collection, description and citation management
of published articles on Galapagos.
10. Helping to maintain and expand online access to journal
literature, e-books, digital collections and other resources needed by
CDF staff.
11. Other duties and projects as assigned.

Required profile
* Masters degree or at least one year of graduate-level training in
library and information science.
* Experience in library management and operations.
* Experience with the backend management of library catalogs.
* Experience with digitization projects, scanning and organizing
digital collections.
* Experience performing catalog and database searches of the
scientific literature.
* Fluency in English and at least basic Spanish.

Preferred
* Experience or training in managing archives collections including
photographs, slides, manuscripts, documents, and other unpublished
materials.
* A background in science, environmental studies or conservation.

How to Apply
Those interested should send their application form, a letter of
interest and resume by e-mail (vol@fcdarwin.org.ec) or regular mail to
the following address:

Fundación Charles Darwin
Programa de Voluntarios y Becarios
Casilla Postal 17-01-3891
Quito, Ecuador

Professor uncovers story of women programmers in WWII

(This article was posted on the WSU SLIS Listserv last week.)

By Laura Willis (The Daily Iowan - 12/6/2010)

World War II saw the United States create one of the strongest military efforts in its history. Today, scholars are familiar with the soldiers in combat, people at home planting victory gardens, and women working in factories. Yet one group was missing from history books: the women mathematicians in charge of programming war weapons.

In LeAnn Erickson's latest documentary, Top Secret 'Rosies': The Female 'Computers' of WWII, the University of Iowa alumna aims to tell the untold story of the women behind the ballistics tables for the U.S. weapons. Today, a reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. followed by a screening at 7 p.m. in 1505 Seamans Center. The screening is free and open to the public.

"This was a great opportunity, so we grabbed it," said Women in Science and Engineering Director Christine Brus. "I'm hopeful that we will get some community members and K-to-12 students to attend."

Erickson learned the secret of women mathematicians by accident while working on a documentary about neighborhood blockbusting, the practice of neighborhood segregation in the 1960s. As she scanned photos one day, she overheard a conversation between two of her film subjects. She learned that at age 18, the two women had worked as "human computers" for the U.S. Army.

"People think of programming as a very male thing," Erikson said. "Most people don't know that it was mostly women."

Hundreds of women with math training were employed across the country. The government found them particularly beneficial because they had training comparable with men, but they could receive lower salaries. Women were left in charge with calculating temperature and air density that allowed soldiers to properly aim artillery. Factory workers made the weapons, but those tools were accurate because of the hidden female programmers.

Erickson was surprised not by the sexism during the era but by the lengths officials went to segregate women from men.

"They would desperately recruit women to do math but wouldn't allow them to be in the men's classes," Erickson said. "To [women], it was business as usual, which to me was shocking."

Intrigued by the hidden story, Erickson began researching through libraries in Pennsylvania and national archives in Washington, D.C. In order to pursue the film, she needed to find funding for the more expensive high-definition film.

"It's a real challenge as an independent person to raise money," she said. "I had to get creative."

By speaking at paid lectures and creating donation drives, she was able to continue interviewing and filming the project. After seven years, she completed Top Secret Rosies.

Like the new documentary, Erickson's previous films discuss women's rights.

In 1996, she created From One Place to Another: Emma Goldman Clinic Stories, a story about Iowa City women who offered self-help and access to abortion. In Neighbor Ladies, Erickson focused in on women in the late-1950s and '60s who integrated neighborhoods, creating a more diverse community.

Women's rights interest Erickson. She feels it is important to create pieces that give the public a woman's perspective.

"I worked on this film for seven years, so I had to be interested in it," she said. "I was bringing these women out into the spotlight they deserved."

Religious Search Engines Yield Tailored Results (NPR)

I am subscribed to WSU's School of Library Science Listserv. A thread has been started discussing this specific article and its impact on the information sciences field.

Religious Search Engines Yield Tailored Results
by Habiba Nosheen (NPR)
September 13, 2010

In a world where Google has put every bit of information at our fingertips, some people are now demanding less information when they surf the Internet.

Some Jews, Muslims and Christians are abandoning Yahoo and Google and turning to search engines with results that meet their religious standards.

Shea Houdmann runs SeekFind, a Colorado Springs-based Christian search engine that only returns results from websites that are consistent with the Bible. He says SeekFind is designed "to promote what we believe to be biblical truth" and excludes sites that don't meet that standard.

Houdmann says a search on his site would not turn up pornography. If you search “gay marriage,” you would get results that argue against gay marriage. And if you type in “Democratic Party,” your first search result is a site on Marxism.

But SeekFind isn’t the only search engine carving a niche market among religious Internet users. There is also Jewogle for Jews and I'mHalal, a Muslim search engine that started in the Netherlands.

Husain Benyounis, a 44-year-old Muslim man from New Zealand, starting using I’mHalal about eight months ago, and now he says he’s a fan.

“I do use it at home, at work and everywhere,” Benyounis says.

He says the search engine offered him content that he can trust would be appropriate for him as a practicing Muslim. And he is much more comfortable allowing his teenage son to surf the Web using I'mHalal. For example, a search for “sex” would return results giving the Islamic view on sexuality.

But there are glitches. Sometimes the search engine’s filters are too restrictive. A search for “sexuality” returned no results on I’mHalal.

I’mHalal creator Reza Sardeha, 21, says the search engine is still a work in progress. Sardeha got the idea for I’mHalal about a year ago after finding that for some in the Muslim community, the Internet was effectively off-limits.

“People were avoiding the Internet because they were afraid they or their children would bump into explicit content. It’s a shame,” Sardeha says.

Currently, Sardeha says, most I’mHalal users come from Pakistan, and the second biggest group comes from the United States.

Inclusive and Exclusive

According to Michael Gartenberg, a partner at technology research firm Altimeter Group, these religiously centered search engines are bringing new users to the Web.

“You have an emerging generation and emerging culture that wants to take advantage of technology … search engines and the things that they provide but at the same point, be true to their heritage … and not stray from their belief system,” he says.

But not everyone has been supportive of the idea. Some people call it censorship. SeekFind's Houdmann disagrees.

“In a sense, I guess kind of what SeekFind does is a form of censorship, but I would more describe it as selective inclusion,” he says.

Some who oppose such search engines argue that allowing people to only access material that they already agree with will lead to an intolerant society. But Gartenberg says he does not see it that way.

“It’s no more censorship than if I find something on television that I find offensive to me and I could change the channel,” he says.

I’mHalal says that within the first year since its launch, it is already getting 10 million users a month. With that kind of traffic, these search engines are likely here to stay.