What is President Obama Reading?

According to a report in The New Yorker, the President is reading a novel to take his mind off of all that executive branch business. Netherland, a 2008 novel by Joseph O'Neill, is about a Dutch man in New York City after September 11. The book was a bestseller in the United States and won the 2009 Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction.

Are you interested in checking out the novel that the most powerful man in the world is reading? Although Nielsen Library does not own a copy (yet!), it can be borrowed in Marmot via a patron placed hold. Come to the 2nd floor reference desk or call 719-587-7879 for more information.

Introducing the Nielsen Library Information Commons

Malenfant (2006) states that "the best way to keep the Library a vital and effective resource for students..." is the "transformation of the Library into an Information Commons." Nielsen Library at Adams State College has been working on the second floor Information Commons for over a year. The process began last year with a complete overhaul of the second floor. The great staff of ASC students and librarians worked tirelessly to weed the government document collection, paint, and move shelving and furniture, completely transforming the second floor.

The plan is to meet the challenges of the 21st century student. Not only that, but to provide a space for students to study, collaborate, and work on projects in a comfortable environment.

The IC at Nielsen Library has added 14 tables with electrical capacity built in the table. Also added to the second floor are cozy, plush arm chairs and a bar installed on the north wall overlooking the ASC football field and a stunning view of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. The periodical area also has comfortable sling chair seating with access to the technology friendly tables. Wireless is available throughout the building so you can bring your own laptop or check out one of ours.

Also coming to the library is coffee! That Coffee Guy will be providing ASC students, staff, and faculty with cups of fresh brewed coffee, lattes, and mochas! This service will be officially open August 17 but plans are in motion to open the cart for the week of finals starting May 4-7, 5pm-8pm.

Reference desk hours are still from 9am-9pm Monday-Thursday; Friday 9am-5pm; Saturday 1pm-6pm; Sunday 1pm-9pm.

So come pay a visit to your Information Commons on the second floor of Nielsen Library.

~Paul

Ode to National Poetry Month

The first of April ushers in the hope of warmer weather, spring flowers, blades of green grass thrusting out of the dry brown earth and National Poetry Month. First started in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month celebrates poetry by raising awareness about the unique place poetry has in our culture, society, and history.

Interested in finding more information about NPM? Look at Poets.org.

Whatever your reason for celebrating the month of April, involve poetry. Whether you are reading it, writing it, or living it...

Here is an interesting take on one such form of poetry-Haiku by Jack Kerouac

-The "Haiku" was invented and developed over hundreds of years in Japan to be a complete poem in seventeen syllables and to pack in a whole vision of life in three short lines. A "Western Haiku" need not concern itself with the seventeen syllables since Western languages cannot adapt themselves to the fluid syllabic Japanese. I propose that the "Western Haiku" simply say a lot in three short lines in any Western language.
-Above all a Haiku must be very simple and free of all poetic trickery and make a little picture and yet be as airy and graceful as a Vivaldi Pastorella.

Kerouac from Book of Haikus: "Some Western Haikus"

He goes on to quote Basho (1644-1694)

A day of quiet gladness
Mount Fuji is veiled
In misty rain


~paul

ACRL Announces Top 10 Assumptions

I recently returned from Seattle, WA where I attended The Association of College Research Libraries conference. Keynote speakers Rushworth Kidder discussed ethical elements in every day life; author Sherman Alexie had a packed auditorium of librarians laughing and listening intently to his experience as a Native American growing up on a reservation, going to college, and just how important librarians are today. This timely talk resonated with me. I will finish my masters degree in library science this spring. Alexie pointed out that as a librarian, on top of helping students with research, we help people find their stories.
I also recorded Mr. Alexie as he read a poem titled, "My Sharona."

The convention continued with exhibits, poster sessions, workshops and wound down Sunday morning with Ira Glass, Host & Executive Producer of This American Life.

In 2007, ACRL Research Committee posted the top 10 assumptions for the future of academic libraries "after surveying member leaders and conducting literature review."

1. There will be an increased emphasis on digitizing collections, preserving digital archives, and improving methods of data storage and retrieval
2. The skill set for librarians will continue to evolve in response to the needs and expectations of the changing populations (student and faculty) that they serve
3. Students and faculty will increasingly demand faster and greater access to services
4. Debates about intellectual property will become increasingly common in higher education
5. The demand for technology related services will grow and require additional funding
6. Higher education will increasingly view the institution as a business
7. Students will increasingly view themselves as customers and consumers, expecting high quality facilities and services
8. Distance learning will be an increasingly common option in higher education and will co-exist but not threaten the traditional brick-and-mortar model
9. Free, public access to information stemming from publicly funded research will continue to grow
10. Privacy will continue to be an important issue in librarianship

Are there any other items that you would add to this list?

More information about this list can be found at ALA/ACRL

~Paul

The best of 2008

Okay, so it is already March of 2009 but it is not too late to add these titles to your reading list. Touted as the best of 2008, Booklist Online has suggested a wealth of great reading materials. Titles include stories about living in a Virginia coal-mining camp in 1948 in Little Audrey. If you still are interested in history, this narrative entitled We Are the Ship: The Story of the Negro League Baseball tells the the story breaking the race barrier in the time of segregation. This book offers the reader a scope into the lives and times of these young men who triumphantly played the game of baseball for the love of the sport while highlighting such characters as Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson.

Other titles include: Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood or or if you are interested in gumshoe crime novels try Lush Life by Richard Price, a crime fiction novel that takes place in New York's Lower East Side. Or for you studious types, there is the reference collection African American National Biography. This treasure trove contains records about the contributions and achievements of more than "4,000 African Americans—slaves, architects, entertainers, dentists, political leaders, artists, poets, and activists."

What better way to celebrate Spring Break?

Women's History Month

What began as week long recognition in the late 1970's highlighting the contributions of women "to our society and nation" has now flourished into a month long homage. Women's History Month honors the stories, trials, and lives of women that until recently has been over looked and under represented.

National Women's History Project offers resources and information about programs across the nation designed to honor women and their role in the advancement of education, science, government, and this years theme, "Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet." The website also contains press kit, tools, and resources to host similar celebrations in your community, schools, and organizations.

This year honors women taking steps to improve conditions on our planet. NWHP recognizes Rachel Carson as the founder of "the contemporary environmental movement." Honorees this year come from a diverse range of disciplines from scientists, engineers, business leaders to writers, filmmakers, conservationists, teachers, and community organizers. Each story unique and each one making a huge contribution to the advancement of women.

As the website declares, "If we don’t promote women’s history, who will?" Yes, March is declared Women's History Month, just as February is declared African-American History Month. It is essential that we honor and recognize the multi-cultural diverse community that we we all belong to and we don't have to let it stop at the end of February or March.

~paul

Copyright and Happy Birthday!

Copyright, Public Domain, Fair Use, and Creative Commons are terms that inter-relate.

The song that we all know and sing "Happy Birthday to You" is copyright protected. It has been around since 1893 and was to be released into public domain in 1991 until an extension act propelled the song to remain copyrighted until 2030. That song collects approximately $2 million dollars a year in royalties. Big blockbuster movies are liable if they use that song without permission; short independent films are just as susceptible. Singing "Happy Birthday" to grandma, you are probably safe. Unless of course there is a cover charge to get into G-ma's birthday party.

According to Section 102 of the 1976 copyright law, these items can be protected:

• literary works;
• musical works, including any accompanying words;
• dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
• pantomimes and choreography;
• pictorial, graphic and sculptural works;
• motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
• sound recordings; and
  
• architectural works.

What about public domain? "Public domain is information, knowledge, discoveries, and artistic creation never or no longer protected by copyright (Russell, 2004). Which means anyone can use the material. Here is a list of public domain websites:

• Online Books Page
• Bibliomania
• Public Domain Information Project
• Project Gutenberg
  

Fair Use allows copyrighted works to be used to promote social good. In other words, there is liberty to use works under copyright for educators and research. "Without fair use, those beneficial uses-quoting from copyrighted works, providing multiple copies to students in class, creating new knowledge based on previously published knowledge-would be infringements" (Russell, 2004). A quick checklist to determine whether the use of material is fair use:

• Purpose i.e., teaching, research, scholarship, parody, nonprofit educational institution
  
• Nature i.e., published work, factual or nonfiction based
  
• Amount i.e., small quantity, portion used is not central of significant to entire work
  
• Effect i.e., one or few copies made, no significant effect on market

Fair use has recently made the headlines concerning the iconic image of President Obama.

Creative Commons allows creators of music, literature, etc. to instill their own copyright law to their works, since copyright is automatic. Creative commons allows the creator to "get their work out there" (Russell, 2004). Creators may retain copyright but allow for its use in the public domain without the fear of repercussion to the user. ccMixter allows users to download original works of music, manipulate, and use without any monetary compensation. Many times the artist only asks for attribution.

Copyright is extensive and complicated. This is just a brief introduction into copyright. For further information about copyright you can visit the United States Copyright Office website.

Russell, C. (2004). Complete copyright: An everyday guide for librarians. Chicago: American Library Association.

~Paul