Library

Tag: Library Matters

  • Library Matters / Libraries Matter: Infrastructure Part Two

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    jgilber2

    A few weeks ago, I wrote that the Library provides the infrastructure that supports most undergraduate and a big chunk of faculty research across campus. Today I’m going to unpack what that means. When we think about research, we often picture the scientist in the lab, hunched over her microscope. Sometimes she’s working with students,…

  • Library Matters / Libraries Matter: Infrastructure Part One

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    jgilber2

    During a recent instruction session for an FTS course, I asked students what they think of when they think of libraries. I do this in most of my introductory courses and responses are always interesting. Students mention the usual suspects, like books, study spaces, and access to computers. Some of them look forward to napping…

  • Library Matters / Libraries Matter: Open Access

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    jgilber2

    Welcome back to our Library Matters / Libraries Matter blog series, where we share insights into the issues, questions and opportunities libraries consider on a regular basis. This week, we’re celebrating Open Access Week at the Library, joining a community of researchers, publishers and librarians who advocate for removing barriers to scholarly publications. Open Access…

  • Library Matters / Libraries Matter: A Beautiful Mess

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    jgilber2

    A few weeks ago, I stood in front of the newest group of POL 200: Analyzing Politics students, who were joining me in the library classroom for a semester-long library lab. “Research is conversation,” I told them. “Whenever we do research, we are listening to conversations that are interesting to us, figuring out how the conversation…

  • Library Matters / Libraries Matter: Net Neutrality

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    jgilber2

    Update: Net Neutrality is back in the news. Democrats in the US Senate just forced a vote on a resolution to reverse Chairman Ajit Pai’s change in internet regulations, a change that some internet service providers and all of the big telecomm corporations favored but a majority of citizens in both parties opposed. The bill…

  • Library Matters / Libraries Matter: #WeNeedDiverseBooks

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    jgilber2

    Think back to the books you loved as a kid, the ones you loved to read (or have read to you) over and over again. Now ask yourself how many featured brown or black characters as the main character? How many portrayed main characters who were differently-abled? Or who had single parents? Or LGBT parents?…

  • Library Matters / Libraries Matter: A Teaching Library

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    jgilber2

    Asking questions and seeking help is the mark of a good researcher. When you start your research – or even midway through – you won’t know everything about your topic or how information is organized in your field. Librarians won’t know everything about your topic, either, but we do know how to navigate complex information…

  • Library Matters / Libraries Matter: Day of Facts Reflection

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    jgilber2

    Last year, the Gustavus Library participated in the #DayofFacts campaign via our blog and social media. Some of our tweets even went viral! (Well, viral for us.) On the anniversary of the event, we are reposting last year’s blog post about the day itself – and the reasons that facts continue to remain important. On…

  • Library Matters / Libraries Matter: IMLS

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    jgilber2

    Like many professional organizations, libraries are famous (notorious?) for their use of acronyms: ILS, RDA, OCLC, ACRL, ALA….The list goes on and on. (No, seriously, it does!) One of the most important acronyms, and one that has been in the news recently, is IMLS, which stands for the Institute of Museum and Library Services. IMLS…

  • Library Matters / Libraries Matter: #MeToo

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    jgilber2

    As major allegations of sexual assault and harassment conducted by politicians, entertainers, CEOs and others have unfolded over the past weeks, the #MeToo movement has spread across social media. Using the #MeToo hashtag, women and men are speaking up about their experiences of sexual assault. Some shared specific stories. Others said, “It happened to me,…