Talking in the Library

An International Celebration

Next week, you may see a lot of librarians walking around in bright orange t-shirts, some bright orange posters, and Talking posts with bright orange banners like the one above. We're not celebrating Halloween early, and we haven't all suddenly become Texas Longhorn fans.

Instead, K-State Libraries will be participating in the international celebration of Open Access Week both hosting an invited speaker and a webcast. As Open Access’ favorite color is orange, you’ll be seeing that mixed in with our usual purple.

Our invited speaker will be at 2pm on Tuesday, October 23 in the Hemisphere Room of Hale Library. Dr. Bourne is professor of pharmacology at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and founding Editor-in-Chief of the open access journal PLOS Computational Biology. He’ll be presenting “Open Data – Where Do We Stand from A Researcher’s Perspective?”

On Wednesday, October 24rd at 1:30 in Hale 407, the Libraries will be hosting the webinar “Crews on Copyright - Open Access and Your Publications: What’s Copyright Got to Do With It?”. Kenneth Crews is the Director of the Copyright Advisory Office at Columbia University and teaches in the Columbia Law School.

Finally, in addition to our speaker and webinar, we’ll have a series of posts here on Talking and a bunch of additional information on our Twittter account (@kstatelibraries).

-Jenny Oleen

A Call to Action

Have you heard of the Berlin Declaration? If you're like me, and hadn't, you might guess it has something to do with World War II. While there is a similarly-named document associated with the war, the Declaration I'd like to talk about today involves freedom of information, the internet, and K-State's support of the idea that the internet should be a "functional instrument for a global scientific knowledge base and human reflection".

The Berlin Declaration arose from a 2003 conference (held in - you guessed it - Berlin) organized by the Max Planck Society and the European Cultural Heritage Online (ECHO) project. The declaration asserts that "the Internet has fundamentally changed the practical and economic realities of distributing scientific knowledge and cultural heritage. For the first time ever, the Internet now offers the chance to constitute a global and interactive representation of human knowledge, including cultural heritage and the guarantee of worldwide access."

Recently our provost, Dr. April Mason, put her name to the declaration on behalf of Kansas State University, adding our institution to an international list of some 300 universities, libraries, scientific institutes, and academic associations who pledge support to an open access paradigm. This paradigm asserts that disseminating knowledge is not complete until information is made readily available to society. In real world terms, this means that publishing research in journals that restrict access to only those able to pay increasingly high subscription rates is not enough; that same research must be made available freely and openly to everyone, regardless of their institutional affiliation or ability to pay.

The declaration outlines steps that the signatories intend to take towards ensuring open access, which include:

• encouraging researchers/grant recipients to publish their work according to the principles of the open access paradigm.
• encouraging the holders of cultural heritage to support open access by providing their resources on the Internet.
• developing means and ways to evaluate open access contributions and online-journals in order to maintain the standards of quality assurance and good scientific practice.
• advocating that open access publication be recognized in promotion and tenure evaluation.
• advocating the intrinsic merit of contributions to an open access infrastructure by software tool development, content provision, metadata creation, or the publication of individual articles.

You can read the full text of the Berlin Declaration online, of course. For such a powerful and challenging document, it's surprisingly short, and I've actually reproduced much of it in this post. Take a look today; it will help you understand the future of access to information.

Why do we fall back?

You know what, I don't know why, even after watching this video. It's actually quite confusing, but now I'm all the more convinced that we should just go to Standard Time year-round.  However, my wishes are not (yet) the law of the land, so don't forget to set your clocks back one hour when you go to bed Saturday night.

Game On! Check out the Librarcade Saturday, November 12th!

You kids like those video games?  Of course you do, they’re awesome!  But what does that have to do with the library?   Well, a few things, I'd say.  Just like books, movies, and music, games are a means of relaying information - they tell a story, frequently with you as the title character.  They're interactive, which makes them one of the most personalizible and scalable models for teaching.  Libraries, including academic libraries, are an important "third place" for our students and other users- somewhere that's not work (or class) and not home and doesn't cost anything to be there.  Sounds like a good place for Tetris to me!

To that end, we’ll be celebrating National Gaming Day at Hale Library on Saturday, November 12th from 1-4pm.  Sponsored by K-State Libraries,  Manhattan Public Library, and K-State's English Department, the festivities include Guitar Hero, Super Smash Brothers, MarioKart, and more, with multiple gaming systems and platforms available!  Parking is free on most of campus since it's the weekend, and there's also a shuttle service starting at 1:00pm from Manhattan Public Library if you live in that area. 

“But wait!” you say.  “Aren’t video games just a waste of time and a sign of our declining civilization?”  “Well,” I’d say, “video games also have cultural relevance, social application, and educational value.”  Actually, I’d probably say “Mom, what are you doing here?” but you get my point.   Video games are fun and worthwhile.   Come play with us!

Open Access Week 2011: K-State Student Advocacy #oaweek

Often during discussions about Open Access there is a group that is overlooked. Usually Open Access is declared a librarian thing. Maybe it'll even be considered a faculty thing. And while free and open access to information is a library thing and a faculty thing, we all tend to forget it isn't just those. Students do research, too. Open Access is and should be as important to students as it is to faculty and librarians.

Whether you're an Expos student working on an investigative report or a grad student researching your doctorate, you need information. You need access to the endless amounts of research that countless others before you have generated and published, whether it's the latest in biofuel research or archaeological find in the Flint Hills. And helping to connect you with the information you need is what Open Access Week is all about: free and unfettered access to the research and data you need for your own work.

That's also what the Right to Research Coalition is all about. They're an international student group with a mission: they believe that "No student should be denied access to the research they need". Check out their Student Statement on the Right to Research for more information or take a look at their Advocacy and Education tools.

While there currently isn't a student association at K-State affiliated with R2RC don't despair! You can still be an Open Access advocate here at K-State. If you are writing a paper to publish, check out OA journals in your field to publish in. Talk with your professors to see if they're publishing their research in OA journals and advocate they do so. Deposit your scholarly work in K-REx and suggest your classmates and faculty do so as well. Use articles from OA journals in your research. Or check out the R2RC webinar that we will be showing on Wednesday at 11am in Hale 301.

And, while you're at it, take a look at the Special Merit video from the Sparky Awards by a group of students at Boston University.

-Jenny Oleen

This is our third open access post for the week.  Hope you're enjoying the series.

Open Access Week 2011: What is Open Access? #oaweek

This week, October 24-28, is Open Access Week (http://www.openaccessweek.org/), and each day this week Talking in the Library will feature a new post covering a different aspect of Open Access. So, what is OA and why are we making such a fuss over it?

The basic idea of OA - that all research should be freely accessible online - is a very important matter for students, faculty, universities, and libraries. Many students are surprised to learn that libraries must pay thousands, sometimes even tens of thousands of dollars per year for a subscription to a single research journal. These journals contain results of research projects and provide essential information for students, faculty, and researchers. If libraries can’t afford to subscribe to a journal, those who need the information might not be able to get it.  Starting to see the problem?

OA is a different way of looking at the distribution of information, particularly when information is treated as a commodity. Should research funded by taxpayers provide the basis of a business model for commercial publishers? Isn’t the public that funded the research entitled to its results? Yes, OA is radical, but it holds a lot of promise. Consider these benefits of OA:

• Undergrads will have an easier time finding information for term papers and other projects;
• Graduate students can make their dissertations freely available online to other interested researchers and potential employers;
• Faculty can increase awareness and impact of their research programs and publications, and find potential collaborators;
• Universities and libraries can trim costs for journal subscriptions and foster their goals of disseminating information.
• Journal publishers can benefit from the increased visibility and “discoverability” of OA articles.

With all these benefits, OA is catching on, as evidenced by over 4300 OA journals listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals. The Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) is a major proponent of and a good source of information on OA. Make a point to visit these sites (and to re-visit Talking in the Library) to learn more about OA during Open Access Week 2011.

-Jenny Oleen

This is our second open access post for the week.  Hope you're enjoying the series.

A Fierce Green Fire

“We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes—something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters’ paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.”
- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1949

On Wednesday of next week, we'll be screening the film Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time at 3:30pm in Hale Library's Hemisphere Room. It is the first full-length, high-definition documentary film ever made about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold. Green Fire highlights Leopold's extraordinary career, tracing how he shaped and influenced the modern environmental movement. The screening is sponsored by K-State Libraries, the Konza Prairie Biological Station, and the Friends of the Konza Prairie.  We'd love to have you join us for this free event. Check out the trailer below.

We hope to see you there! You can learn more about the film from its website.

Short Cuts: I'm with the Banned #2! An Interview with And Tango Makes Three

Welcome to this week's second installment of interviews with famously banned or protested books in observance of National Banned Books Week (September 24 - October 1). For more information about Banned Books Week events in Manhattan, visit our Facebook page: Banned Books Week - Manhattan, Kansas.

I'm With the Banned (IWTB): Good morning. Today we have with us a very special guest --- And Tango Makes Three --- which has been on the top ten banned or challenged books list every year since 2006 and has been at the top of that list for three of those years.

And Tango Makes Three (ATMT): All that and I was only published in 2005!

IWTB: So, Tango - may I call you Tango?

ATMT: Please do!

IWTB: Can you tell us a bit more about yourself?

ATMT: Certainly! I'm written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, and I'm about a pair of penguins who fall in love and adopt an abandoned baby penguin when it's just an egg.

IWTB: Interesting! And this is a children's book, right?

ATMT: Well, I'm a picture book and that's my intended audience, so I think that's fair to say.

IWTB: That seems like a fairly innocuous storyline. Of course, all kinds of books are challenged for a myriad of reasons. You must be especially graphic since you top the list so often.

ATMT: Well, I am illustrated, but that's probably not what you mean by "graphic" (laughs). No sex, no violence.

IWTB: Alright, so there's the presence of some pretty strong language then?

ATMT: No, nothing untoward.

IWTB: So why the uproar?

ATMT: It seems to be because the two penguins that initially fall in love, Roy and Silo, are both male.

IWTB: Ah, I see. So the official objections are...

ATMT: Homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuitable to age group.

IWTB: Religious viewpoint? So, the penguins are trying to proselytize the penguin faith?

ATMT: ... No. I wondered about that one myself. I don't mention religion. I don't even use the words "homosexual" or "gay" at all. Clearly, we are talking about two male penguins that regard each other in the manner of a mated pair and raise a penguin chick together, so it's not hard for the reader to infer that they're gay. But still, I'm not trying to force an agenda on anyone.

IWTB: Well, that's a common remark I hear from banned or challenged books. Even when reading the book is required, the reader doesn't have to adopt any particular viewpoint.

ATMT: Children are impressionable though.

IWTB: So are you saying a certain level of censorship is understandable from a parent's point of view?

ATMT: Well, concern is certainly understandable.

IWTB: Concern, yes, but maybe not censorship. I know this point has been discussed often, but awareness and even control of your own children's reading is responsible parenting and thus extremely important. Trying to control other people's children, however, is not the right path to take.

ATMT: Well, until people stop the outright censorship of books, we'll just have to keep reading whatever we want no matter how many protests there are.

IWTB: Sounds like a plan to me.

Dan Ireton

Short Cuts: I’m with the Banned! An Interview Exclusive with Brave New World

Welcome to this week’s first installment of interviews with famously banned or protested books in observance of National Banned Books Week (September 24 - October 1). For more information about Banned Books Week events in Manhattan, visit the Facebook page: Banned Books Week - Manhattan, Kansas.

I'm With the Banned (IWTB): Today we're lucky enough to sit down with Brave New World, Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel and one of the earliest examples of a dystopia.

Brave New World (BNW): Good morning. I find that I'm once again in the top ten most challenged or banned books in America.

IWTB: And why were you challenged?

BNW: Poor reasons. Fear, mostly.

IWTB: (laughs) Yes of course, but can you please elaborate.

BNW: (smiles) Of course. I know what you're looking for --- not the reason I was banned but the reason concerned citizens felt I should be banned, yes?

IWTB: That's right. What about you drove people into such a frenzy that you were pulled from library shelves?

BNW: Sex, racism, insensitivity, and I have offensive language. Oh, and I get called anti-family and anti-religious as well.

IWTB: And what would you say to those who would have you banned?

BNW: Well, to a certain extent they're complaining about the very things Huxley was against. Of course things are racist and offensive in my pages. I'm a dystopia! I'm a nightmare vision of a terrible future that was written to drawn attention to social ills of the day! Those things are in me because they should be avoided.

IWTB: So, you don't advocate conditioning babies using electric shock?

BNW: No, I'm quite against harming babies of any kind. I contain those passages because it's the kind of awful future my author foresaw. I tell you, though, I'm almost flattered --- I mean, I'm pushing eighty years old, here, and I'm still in the top ten with younger books like Lush, Crank, and The Hunger Games.

IWTB: Upsetting the censors kind of lets you know you're still relevant, huh?

BNW: It does, I figure if I were poorly written or irrelevant there wouldn't be any sort of fuss.

IWTB: Well, if you find Brave New World too offensive to read, my suggestion is: don't. Read something else or, if you're so inclined, write something of your own that's better. And if you have concerns about what your children are reading, by all means talk to them, maybe it's not right for them. Don't let them read it, have them read something else! But you don't get to determine that for anyone else, even when "anyone else" could include other children.

Dan Ireton

Short Cuts: Me studying. Me starting to go crazy. Me need cookie break!

It may be too late to appease Cookie Monster, but lucky for you, Hale Library's Caffeine Fix is providing free snacks, coffee, and tea for students on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evenings this week from 10pm to midnight.

Stop by the Hale Library Help Desk on 2nd floor for some caffeine and energy to keep you going strong and studying long!

BTW, not all librarians are bald and high-strung. And, unlike the Sesame Street Librarian, we will definitely not freak out if you ask us for some cookies. We will, however, require that you share some with us!

Good luck and remember to take a break with Hale Library's Caffeine Fix.