Library Resources

Library Resources

INSPIRE-ational

INSPIRE-ational

, , Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
At IU East, we advocate strongly for using the best, most trustworthy sources for your scholarship. And we have loads of great academic databases designed to do just that, linking you to reliable, vetted content that hasn’t been twisted by the vacuous, editor-free and repetitive fluff that makes up the bulk of the free web. But after you graduate, where will get the same trustworthy and authoritative information? If you live in the state of Indiana (as most of our graduates do), the answer is INSPIRE. Provided by the Indiana State Library, anyone with an Indiana IP address can access dozens of databases freely. This deeply benefits public and school libraries across the state, and the ISL’s negotiations help subsidize … Continued
Digging up Great Things

Digging up Great Things

, Library Resources, Matt Dilworth, Programs
Retired anthropology professor Rob Tolley and his wife Nancy have long been dedicated to IU East, creating many opportunities for students in the decades he spent teaching. His field trips to Utah to give firsthand experience in surface surveying and classes in prehistory and Southwestern literature are still fondly remembered. But they have been active in supporting IU East since his retirement, as well, and are donating $50,000 to help fund an archaeological methodology lab. To be located in the woods east of campus, it will allow students the hands-on opportunity to perform their own digs. The artifacts will be simulated – pig skeletons, burned and buried structures, and ceramics crafted by IU East art students – but the experience … Continued
Mergers

Mergers

, Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
In late June, ProQuest, one of our largest suppliers of scholarly databases, purchased Alexander Street Press, which is particularly strong on primary sources, music, and video. Some of the many ASP databases IU East uses include VAST, a multidisciplinary video collection, Black Thought and Culture, North American Immigrant Letters and Diaries, Women and Social Movements, Underground and Independent Comics, American Film Scripts, Oral History Online, and Twentieth Century North American Drama. So, there is a lot that we use that will probably look a bit different by next year. In fact, the vast majority of academic library resources at IU East come from one of two vendors – the EBSCO corporation or ProQuest. In many ways, this is great news. … Continued
Join the Revolution

Join the Revolution

, Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
As we approach Independence Day, it seems like the American Revolution is on people’s minds more than any time in recent history. It is in the news and our entertainment through television shows like Turn: Washington’s Spies and archeological finds like the artifacts recently unearthed at Sandy Hook. But nothing has brought the people who fought the Revolutionary War into popular focus like Lin-Manuel Miranda’s revolutionary – in all senses of the word – Broadway musical Hamilton, which recently won 11 Tony awards. Based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury under George Washington, Hamilton is sung in rap music, with all of the principle cast (save King George) played by people of color. Miranda’s … Continued
Open for learning!

Open for learning!

, books, Library Resources, Matt Dilworth, Research
There are all types of databases – some for books, some for articles, some for newspapers, some for videos, and some for references. Some focus on controversies, and some specialize in a contiguous historical record. Many of these databases are expensive, costing many hundreds or thousands of dollars to license and use. That content does have a tremendous amount of value and authors need to be compensated for it. However, many authors are willing to forgo any type of compensation, because they believe everyone should have access to this type of intellectual inquiry. So, a lot of writers make their work available for free on the internet. These are generally posted with an open access license, such as Creative Commons. … Continued