RE: [ha-Safran]: Gale response to AJL criticism of Article on
Excellent piece, Lee. And do indeed proceed with your venture. Thanks, Madeleine Madeleine Cohen Oakley Director of Library Services Adas Israel Congregation Washington, DC Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) === Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
Re: [ha-Safran]: Gale response to AJL criticism of Article on
HaSafran members, A few weeks ago, I had a lengthy talk with Jay Flynn, Gale's VP for social science publications and the mahoot eventually responsible for the Encyc. of Race and Racism. I had sent an email to one of the associate editors mentioned earlier in this correspondence in order to get a more official statement about Gale's position regarding the Zionism article. My msg bounced to him and he called me to follow up. I will first mention that Mr. Flynn was aware of the discussion on the HaSafran list and, in fact, quoted back to me some of my less temperate statements shared here. He was also clear that he was hurt by the nature of the criticism leveled at Gale and discussed in some detail the brief exchange with David Harris who rejected offers of a continued discussion exploring potential remedies to the situation. I would say Mr. Flynn's overall tone was defensive. He pointed out that Gale had published 17 articles about Zionism in their encyclopedias since 2001 (1 out of 17 isn't bad) and that they were the published of the Encyc. Judaica. He also dropped references to the Jewish background and connections of various people involved in the publication. For my part I tried to set aside the controversy as the focus of my concern and tried to bring the scholarly, and therefore the editorial, failures of the article to the forefront. I never felt that I received an answer to those concerns beyond the fact that there were referee panels involved in selecting the author and in approving the article for publication. I had the impression that Mr. Flynn felt constrained from expressing his own views about the article, but acknowledging hypothetically that even if someone had a concern a hands-off editorial approach -- citing academic freedom -- might allow it move ahead anyway. I spent a week or so contemplating that discussion and started drafting my conclusions into an item in the blog I maintain for my job. Seeing the letter from Gale shared on this list, I decided to move ahead and publish my statement. You can see it at http://jsucsclibrary.blogspot.com/ I will say that I decided, in that space and in that arena, not to attempt a point-by-point critique of the article's errors or address any issues in detail. My concerns are, first and foremost, that the article exists at all, and secondly that it got published despite its obvious failings. Having worked out my own issues about this matter in this separate venue, I still hope to see AJL take on the wider issues presented by such publications. I've had a go ahead to try drafting a position paper about anti-Semitism in scholarly publishing as one possible move in that direction. -- Lee Jaffe 3366 McHenry Library University of California 1156 High Street Santa Cruz, California 95064 831.459.3297 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://library.ucsc.edu/ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) === Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
Re: [ha-Safran]: Gale response to AJL criticism of Article on
Dear Ms. Dubin, I am grateful for the work you and the others did on this. In my opinion, though, Gale's response was inadequate. The point is that Zionism is not racist and should never have been, nor continue to be, included in the encyclopedia. Adding other national movements to the encyclopedia, it seems to me, is no solution at all, Nationalism is not, ipso facto, racial. let alone racialist.If Gale wants to discuss national movements, I think they should have a separate encyclopedia for that subject. Respectfully yours, Shmuel Ben-Gad, Gelman Library, George Washington University. Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) === Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
RE: [ha-Safran]: Gale response to AJL criticism of Article on
Well said! Unfortunately not all bad things can be undone, but at least your efforts have introduced some damage control. May I suggest that Gale's letter be posted on Amazon's website under reviews http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Race-Racism-Set/dp/002866020X so that future buyers are made aware of Gale's conciliatory statement. Yoel Sheridan Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.tenterbooks.com Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) === Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
Re: [ha-Safran]: Gale response to AJL criticism of Article on
I have published the letter from Gale in the review section on Amazon for the Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. Hopefully prospective purchasers of this work will see the letter there and realize the problems with it. Susan Dubin AJL President Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) === Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
[ha-Safran]: Gale response to AJL criticism of Article on
Zionism in Gale's Encyclopedia of Race and Racism X-Original-To: Hasafran@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 7.1.0.9 X-Spam-Score: 1.30 (*) [Tag at 5.00] MISSING_SUBJECT X-CanItPRO-Stream: lists X-Canit-Stats-ID: Bayes signature not available X-Scanned-By: CanIt (www . roaringpenguin . com) on 128.146.216.89 X-Listprocessor-Version: 8.1 -- ListProcessor(tm) by CREN Dear Safranim, There has been much discussion on this listserv about the article on Zionism published by Gale in their Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. I have been in contact with the publisher and expressed AJL's concerns about the article. Gale is aware of the controversial nature of this article and has responded to the criticism of it in the letter copied below. After discussion with several of the AJL members in the RAS division, we agree that Gale's response shows a willingness to recognize the problem and take steps to correct it. Gale is the publisher of several well-respected reference works of interest to Judaic librarians including Encyclopedia Judaica. Here is the letter: November 10, 2008 A Message from Gale, a part of Cengage Learning, regarding the Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. In November 2007, Gale, under its Macmillan Reference USA imprint, published the Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. Edited and written by scholars from a variety of fields, this work examines the anthropological, sociological, historical, economic, cultural, and scientific aspects of race and racism in the modern era. The encyclopedia contains over 400 signed, peer-reviewed articles. A complete list of articles, contributors and their affiliations, and editorial board members is available from a special link at www.gale.com. One article in the encyclopedia, Zionism, has sparked controversy among some readers who have challenged the accuracy of the article and questioned whether this topic is appropriate for inclusion in an encyclopedia on race and racism. Gale's role as publisher of the Encyclopedia is not to present a particular viewpoint on any topic, but to provide well founded information that presents a broad scope of knowledge and views on a subject. Further, while we cannot and do not shy away from controversial views, we are committed to providing comprehensive, respectful coverage. Based on the constructive feedback we have received, we have concluded that we should offer a broader range of views on the subject of Zionism. With an apology to those who believe that we failed, in this case, to live up to our high standards to publish a fair and balanced account, we are taking the following steps. First, we suggest that readers visit the websites of organizations such as the Zionist Organization of America (www.zoa.org) and the American Jewish Committee (www.ajc.org) who have contacted Gale to communicate their objections and express their viewpoints. In addition, we have begun to commission a series of articles for the online edition of the encyclopedia that will address these objections in several ways. We will commission several articles on Zionism that engage perspectives other than those given in the current article. Gale will work with well respected scholars to plan these additional articles and to identify authoritative authors. In addition, in recognition that national movements do not equate to racism, we will commission articles that address other forms of nationalism in order to present this topic in a broader context. Gale's objective is to provide publications that support critical thinking and informed debate. Gale's editorial integrity in presenting a broad array of viewpoints in a balanced manner is well known and acknowledged in the library and academic communities. Accordingly, where our readers and customers identify ways to improve our publications to deliver on this goal, we gratefully consider them. We will update this message with further information as authors for additional Zionism articles are chosen and other topics are added. B'shalom, Susan Dubin AJL President Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) === Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
