Thursday, April 18, 2013

Digital Public Library of America


Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) launched today April 18, 2013 after two years of planning and work.  Digitized cultural content from libraries, archives, and museums are being made freely available worldwide.

A few contributing institutions include: “the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Smithsonian Institution, the New York Public Library, and Harvard University.” A few notable digital objects include: “images of women marching for the vote in Kentucky, news film clips of the Freedom Riders during the Civil Rights movement, The Book of Hours, an illuminated manuscript from 1514…and paintings by Winslow Homer.”

Find manuscripts, records, images, data, and works of science, culture, and art.  Search 2.4 million items by format, map, timeline, and topic.  Developers anticipate apps will be built to encourage creation using the maximally open data.
 
As lifelong learners, explore these exhibitions and collections @ http://dp.la/

Beyond Textbooks: Finding Alternatives Among Library Databases, E-Books, and Open Educational Resources

Have you considered the other options you have beyond textbooks when choosing assigned readings for your classes? John Burke will identify resources available through the library and collected in open educational resources (OER) repositories, from open (free) textbooks to individually-linked articles, library-purchased e-books, streaming video sources, and learning objects of all kinds.

John will share case studies and methodologies for creating a flexible mash-up of materials to convey course content and achieve your learning objectives. Not only can this approach lead to the selection of resources that are more closely attuned to the course, but it also reduces students' costs.

Come with your course needs in mind and consider whether you'd like to seek textbook alternatives for fall and beyond. If you cannot attend in person, this event will be available on Webex. Please go to the CTL Website,www.mid.muohio.edu/ctl for more information. You may also access the handout for the session and the presentation online.

Presentation on "In An Antique Land"

Join us for a presentation about Amitav Ghosh’s In An Antique Land. The event will be held on Monday, April 29 from 12:00-1:00 in the Gardner-Harvey Library.

Our guide to the book is John Schaefer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Affiliate Faculty in Black World Studies. His research interests focus on the black communities of Arab North Africa, in particular their music. Before arriving at Middletown this fall, he spent three years teaching at the American University in Cairo.

Moving between past and present, anthropologist Amitav Ghosh presents a lyrical portrait of life in Egypt, as well as broad histories of that country, Tunisia, and India’s Malabar Coast. Ghosh weaves strands of his own life in rural Egypt into the story he is researching of a twelfth-century Jewish merchant and his slave. Exploiting an extraordinary cache of medieval documents in Cairo, Ghosh is able to piece together a fascinating story illuminating the reach of medieval Egyptian trade and cross-cultural interaction; he also tells of a form of slavery very different from the one familiar to most Americans.

The presentation is free and open to all. Light refreshments will be provided.

This presentation is made possible through the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) award of a Muslim Journeys Bookshelf to the campus’ Gardner-Harvey Library in cooperation with the Regional Campus Diversity Council.

Thursday, April 04, 2013

New materials added to Library in March

To bring you up to date on what has recently been added to the collection, a new materials list is now available that reflects additions during March. We added 174 books, e-books, DVDs, and other items during that time, thanks to your selections and suggestions. The list is sorted by call number, with items grouped roughly by subject area.  

Of note in this month's new materials list are the 33 e-books we've added in March, for a total of 73 e-books added during 2012-13.

This tag will show you all of the prior lists of new materials.  

Have a suggestion of something to order? Use our online request form, email Jennifer Hicks or one of our other staff members, or drop by the library with your request at any time.  Our official ordering deadline is Friday, April 5, but if you have additional items to order, we can still get those orders in (or hold them until after July 1 for next fiscal year).  

We've added 852 items to the collection so far this year, and I expect we'll end up at around 1200 items (so long as you keep suggesting items for us to order!).

Thanks again for keeping our collection vibrant and your information needs met!

Muslim Journeys Materials and Programming at the Library

Miami University Middletown’s Gardner-Harvey Library has been selected to receive the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf, a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities Bridging Cultures initiative. The award includes 25 books and three films and is intended to promote community discussion in the library and build bridges among diverse cultures and faiths. The Miami University Middletown Diversity Council is a partner on the project and will co-sponsor programming.

Browse the Bookshelf titles at http://bridgingcultures.neh.gov/muslimjourneys/bookshelf or come by the library to see a beautiful display of the works created by Jessie Long, Public Services Librarian, and Amy Platt, Student Master.

The award also includes a one-year subscription to Oxford Islamic Studies Online, which features reference content and commentary by renowned scholars in areas such as global Islamic history, concepts, people, practices, politics, and culture.  Access to the database is available both on- and off-campus by clicking on Oxford Islamic Studies Online.

In addition to featuring the Bookshelf materials in the library all through April, the Gardner-Harvey Library and the Diversity Council are co-sponsoring two presentations of Bookshelf works:
  • A film screening and discussion of the documentary "Koran by Heart" moderated by Gina Petonito (Sociology and Gerontology) on Monday, April 15 from 6:00-8:00pm in 142 JHN. More details.
  • A presentation on Amitav Ghosh's book In An Ancient Land by John Schaefer (Anthropology) on Monday, April 29 from 12:00-1:00pm in the Gardner-Harvey Library.  A more detailed announcement will follow shortly.
Please join us for both programs and enjoy light refreshments.

We hope you will find the resources and programming useful and interesting.