Listserv Resources @ RPLS
Listservs can be a valuable resource for librarians. RPLS maintains five Listservs for its members: The general listserv should be used to share general information and resources. The General listserv should be used when offering give-a ways, asking reference questions, soliciting advice and sharing your stories. The RPLS_LLSAP listserv should be reserved for exchanging information pertaining to the RPLS LLSAP. The RPLS_ACQ list is for members to share information on acquistions. The RPLS_CAT list is for members to share information on cataloging. The RPLS_YS list is for members to share information on youth services. Additional information about the RPLS listservs is available online.
Listserv Software
There is a wide variety of listserv software products available, RPLS uses Listserv Lite, but listed below are a few of the more commonly used Listserv software products. The sites generally include information helpful to users, as well as, administrators.
http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8d/index.html - ListServ software from L-Soft International runs on a VMS, Unix of Windows NT platform. The general users manual is available at http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8d/userindex.html in a number of formats. At http://www.dgl.com/host/manual5.html there is a customized version of the user manual that will give you an idea of the features available.
http://www.procmail.org/ - SmartList information is available at the Procmail.org site.
http://www.greatcircle.com/majordomo/ - Majordomo software is community-supported free software that runs on a Unix platform.
http://www.listproc.net/index.html - ListProc software from CREN runs on a Unix platform and according to their site "has a ten year history [last updated 2000], is known for its scalability and performance in managing large numbers of subscribers and lists, and is the only commercial mailing list management software to provide you with source code." This is the location for the "Subscriber Reference Card", if your listserv is using ListProc software from CREN http://www.cren.net/listproc/docs/usercard.html
Listserv Etiquette (aka Netiquette) - These are some nicely written Netiquette statements, so that you can get a feel for the types of behaviors expected on a listserv.
http://www.rpls.ws/Links/RPLSlists.htm - RPLSs introduction to our listservs and the netiquette.
http://wise.fau.edu/netiquette/net/dis.html - This Arlene Rinaldi and Florida Atlantic University's netiquette statement. Written in 1998 it is still appropriate today.
Listservs for Librarians - These are just a small sample of the listservs available for librarians, see the gateways below to find even more listservs.
ALA Listservs
ALA maintains 170 listservs for librarians. You may receive a list of the listservs by send an email to the ListProc, and you will be sent a complete list of all the listservs. Send an email to listproc@ala.org, leave the subject line blank, and in the body of the message type: lists, and send the email.
Listservs for Children's Librarians
http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~mjoseph/childlit/about.html - Child Lit is an unmoderated listserv maintained by Rutgers University and owned by Michael Joseph. Michael Joseph has a very clearly written explanation of how listservs work, which is worthwhile reading even if you choose not to join Child Lit. The listserv is extremely large and frequented not only by librarians and academics, but publishers and writers also subscribe. Some of the most important names in children's literature subscribe to this listserv. You can expect an average of 60 messages per day, if you subscribe, and you must be a subscriber in order to have access to the archives. Please read the Netiquette for this listserv! Flaming commonly occurs to those who do not tread softly, and sometimes to those who do.
http://www.soemadison.wisc.edu/ccbc/listserv.htm - CCBC-Net
(Cooperative
Children's Book Center)- Net coordinator, Ginny Moore Kruse, and
School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison sponsor the listserv.
It is open to anyone interested in children's literature. The archives are
located at
http://www.soemadison.wisc.edu/ccbc/netdex.htm. This listserv also has
high message volume and quality information, if you are interested in
children's literature.
Listservs for Illinois Librarians
http://www.library.sos.state.il.us/library/isl/egroup_listing.html - The state of Illinois has several discussion groups, some of which are open groups. All groups require that you open a Yahoo account, but mail can be forwarded to a different account.
Listservs for Preservation Librarians
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/ - Conservation DistList is a moderated list to which you must apply. "An interdisciplinary forum, the DistList is open to conservators, conservation scientists, curators, librarians, archivist, administrators, and others whose work life touches on the preservation of cultural property. In addition, if you are a student in museum, library, or archive program, or considering conservation as a career, you may find the DistList an interesting introduction to the work of our field(s)." Instructions are available at : http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/instruct.shtml
Listservs for Public Librarians
http://www.pallasinc.com/pubyac/ - Pubyac is a listserv for public children and YA librarians. This listserv doesn't appear to have an archive.
Listservs for Reference Librarians
http://domin.dom.edu/depts/gslis/stumpers/ - Stumpers-L electronic mailing list is sponsored by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University, Stumpers-L was founded as an email-based resource where reference librarians can help each other find the answers to difficult questions. It is a very active listserv, but an absolute must for busy Reference Librarians. Be sure to query the archives to see if your question has already been answered.
Listservs for School Librarians
http://www.islma.org/listserv.htm - ISLAMANET-L is a listserv for "Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA). ISLMANET-L is the place where school library media specialists and others interested in what's happening in school library media programs in Illinois can come together over the Internet to share ideas, resources, problems, and solutions - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!" This one of the best listservs I've ever monitored. ILSMANET-L doesn't have as much traffic as LM-Net, but the members are very responsive and positive.
http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/ - LM_Net is a listserv for school library media specialists. The listserv has over 14,400 subscribers, and in January of 2002 there were 1,767 messages posted to this listserv.
Listservs for Special Librarians
http://www.sla.org/content/interactive/lists/index.cfm - The Special Libraries Association maintains over 100 lists for their members.
Listserv Gateways - Gateways provide information about a large number of sites.
http://www.libraryspot.com/libshelf/listservers.htm -
LibrarySpot.com's listserv page highlights gateways to listserv
information that are of particular interest to librarians. LibrarySpot.com
is published by StartSpot Mediaworks, Inc. in the
Northwestern University/Evanston Research Park in Evanston, Ill. It is a
portal designed to make finding the best topical information on the
Internet a quick, easy and enjoyable experience.
http://librarysupportstaff.com/4subscribe.html - Library Support Staff.com offers information about listserv, which may be of interest to support staff.
http://www.itcompany.com/inforetriever/index.html - Internet Library for Librarians is a commercial site sponsored by InfoWorks Technology Company. These particular pages within the site contain the information pertaining to listservs, which are of interest to librarians:
http://www.itcompany.com/inforetriever/assn_us.htm - Its Library Association page list not only the library organizations, but some of their listservs as well.
http://www.itcompany.com/inforetriever/emailacq.htm - Library E-Mail Lists and Newsgroups: Acquisitions, Serials, and Collection Development
Books About Lists-
Schwartz, Alan. Managing Mailing Lists. Cambridge; O'Reilly, 1998.
Quarterman, John S. and Smoot Carl-Mitchell. The E-Mail Companion: Communicating Effectively via the Internet and Other Global Networks. Reading, MA; Addison-Wesley, 1994.
Last update: 08/19/2004