Matt Dilworth

Matt Dilworth

Transgender Support

Transgender Support

, , Library Resources, Matt Dilworth, outreach
November 20th, the Transgender Day of Remembrance, was instituted in 1999 as a memorial – a time to remember those hurt or killed, particularly in the past twelve months, by transphobic violence.  However, in recent years, it has shifted into a day of action – a time to look for ways to create a positive difference for trans people. Transgender people are often misunderstood – sometimes even by others in the LGBT community.  A transgender person is simply someone whose self-identity or means of gender expression don’t match their sex assignment at birth.  There may be no visible ‘cue’ for this, and like most of the LGBT spectrum, this is not a choice or a fad.  The experience of a … Continued
Combatting Relationship Violence

Combatting Relationship Violence

Library Resources, Matt Dilworth, outreach, Programs
The week of October 22nd IU will be participating with thousands of other colleges and universities in It’s On Us, a national initiative to bring an end to college sexual assault.  It’s On Us focuses on the positive duty all of us, particularly men, have to combat sexual assault – not just stepping in and intervening if we see it about to happen, but also to contribute to an environment where everyone knows it is unacceptable and survivors are supported, heard, and cared for. Events on campus occur throughout the week – Monday includes a ‘pledge’ drive where you can take a vow to be a catalyst for change (and get a t-shirt, which you are encouraged to wear that … Continued
Protection from Hepatitis A

Protection from Hepatitis A

, , Library Resources, Matt Dilworth, outreach
Starting this summer, Wayne County has seen a meteoric rise in cases of hepatitis A this year, now totaling over 100 infections.  This makes us the leader in the state (most Indiana counties have less than five cases a year), and one of the top ten counties in the entire country – but most of those other counties have populations of hundreds of thousands or even millions.  We have only 70,000.  And there have been several prominent cases – a worker at Casey’s General Store in Centerville and a food preparer at No. 9 Grill in Cambridge City.  Scares like this have prompted over 2,000 vaccinations in the county. Hepatitis A is a disease of the liver, and in some … Continued
Organizing Your Research

Organizing Your Research

, , Library Resources, Library Services, Matt Dilworth, Research
Research is changing. Experts from the EBSCO corporation, which produces library databases, spoke recently with IU East library staff about their internal studies on how students used their products – and what the emerging trends are that they plan to address.  Their evidence shows that more students are doing initial research for final projects and papers much earlier in the semester, and doing it more frequently on a smartphone or mobile device, making note of or saving those materials to look through in greater depth closer to the project’s due date.  Generally, students still choose to read them on a traditional computer or laptop, but the importance of mobile devices to the research process has never been greater. But there … Continued
Un-conventional Writing

Un-conventional Writing

, , Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
Recently, I had the privilege of volunteering at Teen Con, an annual sci-fi, fantasy, and comic convention held by the New Castle – Henry County Public Library.  It featured games, vendors, costumes (I was dressed as the Red Power Ranger), and panel discussions with local professionals about producing and self-publishing art, including writing, graphic works, and animation.  Lots of local authors were featured, who have written predominantly in the sci-fi, urban, and fantasy genres, including Laura VanArendonk Baugh, Stephanie Cain, Hans Cummings, and George Kramer.  They were all delighted to talk about their tradecraft, and Hans Cummings and Stephanie Cain led one of the informative panel discussions. Some of them had self-published their books, using a service such as Lulu, … Continued