Library Resources

Library Resources

Tracking the Case (Law)

Tracking the Case (Law)

The law and courts’ effects on them are major topics of debate today, particularly those of the Supreme Court.  Knowing when and how the high court reverses its own previous decisions and knowing what then constitutes current law are vital skills for educated citizens. The Supreme Court has reversed its previous decisions more than 300 times in the country’s 246 year history.  Sometimes it has done this very quickly, such as Robbins v. California (453 U.S. 420), which was overruled by the United States v. Ross (456 U.S. 798) within a year, allowing police officers to conduct warrantless searches of opaque containers in cars they had pulled over.  Sometimes the law changed is quite old, such as Minturn v. Maynard … Continued
Databases by discipline

Databases by discipline

Interested in fascinating facts, reliable resources, and delightful databases? Then be sure to “like” us on the IU East Campus Library Facebook page. We provide updates on library resources and services, as well as special feature days of Wednesday Wisdom, Thinking Thursday, and Fake News Friday. If you have not visited the Facebook page lately, here are some highlights of databases from our A-Z Index and various libguides. Education Taking a class in Education? Check out the Education in Videos database. This reliable resource has more than 1,650 hours of videos that provide the opportunity to observe behaviors that define effective teaching styles. Included are demonstrations, lectures, documentaries, and primary-source footage of students and teachers in actual classrooms. Looking for data and statistics for K-12 … Continued
Research After College

Research After College

Graduates of IU East have learned a lot in their coursework about media literacy, critical thinking, and how to select and evaluate the best sources. Those skills can be applied anywhere – from television programs and newspapers to social media postings.  Trustworthy, vetted content may seem more difficult to find after college.  The free web is full of unsubstantiated opinion, bot-generated drivel, vacuous and repetitive fluff, and outright manipulation. Fortunately, resources that the library has curated, such as the Fake News libguide, remain available to graduates for guidance. For residents of Indiana, the main source of vetted, academic databases is Inspire, offered by the State Library.  Anyone with an Indiana IP address can access dozens of databases freely.  Familiar tools … Continued
Celebrating Juneteenth

Celebrating Juneteenth

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Black Independence Day, Emancipation Day, or Jubilee Day, is a day that recognizes and celebrates the commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States and it takes place every year on June 19th. This is one of the oldest nationally celebrated commemorations on the emancipation of slaves, dating back to June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers led by Major Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas with the news that the war was over and that slavery was abolished. Even though Juneteenth has been celebrated in various ways and places across the U.S. for over a century, it wasn’t formally recognized as a federal holiday until President Biden signed Public Law 117-17, the … Continued
Keep Your Mind Sharp with Puzzles

Keep Your Mind Sharp with Puzzles

During summer breaks, students can forget part of what they learned in the preceding year.  This phenomenon is referred to as the ‘summer learning loss’ or ‘learning slide’.  There is a significant body of literature on it, particularly as it affects K-12 students.  Estimates of the severity of the loss differ greatly depending on the test design, but it is a risk worth preparing against.  One proposed solution calls for eliminating or reducing summer breaks. Locally, Richmond Community Schools now schedules a two-month summer vacation.  Other proposals include having more frequent, but shorter, breaks spaced throughout the year; or using summer school to bolster at-risk kids.  Absent a comprehensive community solution, however, a good strategy is to keep your mind … Continued