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Fake news fatigue? Never fear!

Fake news fatigue? Never fear!

, , Library Resources, Website
Since fake news came to wider prominence in 2016, many of us are increasingly skeptical of news accuracy and news quality.  While it makes sense to scrutinize various news sources, most Americans find mainstream media biased.   Only about 32% of Americans trust mainstream news, and this figure dropped eight percentage points from the previous year’s study (2015-2016.)  Unfortunately, some of that mistrust is earned.  Still, even in the era of faster news cycles, instantaneous information and “alternative” press, there are a few solutions. One is to become an advocate for truth, or as oceanographer and director of LUMCON Craig McClain puts it, a “Nerd of Trust.”  According to McClain, while up to 82% of scientists use Facebook regularly, very few … Continued
A Modern Prometheus

A Modern Prometheus

, , , books, Programs, Website
On January 15, 1818, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley published her first book. Subtitled “A Modern Prometheus,” this book began as part of a storytelling contest among herself, her then-boyfriend Percy Bysshe Shelley, their host Lord Byron and Byron’s physician, John Polidori. In Geneva, Switzerland, on a particularly dreary summer night, the four precocious thinkers and authors began to compose ghost stories. Percy Shelley wrote about an incident from his childhood. Rumor has it that Byron’s work was about a vampire. But the other two people in this group, neither of them accomplished authors in 1816, launched the modern horror tale with their works: John Polidori’s The Vampyre, and Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein. At the IU East Campus library, we are putting … Continued
Discovering “Open culture”

Discovering “Open culture”

Frances Yates, Research, Website
If your New Year resolutions include learning more – about anything – then we have a website for you! In addition to providing subscription resources for library users, the IU East Campus library staff is always on the alert for interesting, reliable and open access sources. An excellent “go to” source for an eclectic array of cultural content is Open Culture. The diversity of topics is extensive and are in a variety of formats such as films, courses, digital archives, lectures, books, music, and art. Free resources linked through their site include 1,300 online courses, 1,150 movies, 700 audio books, 800 eBooks, 200 textbooks, 300 language lessons, 150 business courses, and K-12 education. These aren’t just surface-level knowledge, either, that … Continued
Indiana State Agencies

Indiana State Agencies

, , , Programs, Website
Recently, the State Library has been drawing attention to various state agencies in their Wednesday Word blog. Many of these are great tools for citizens, such as a site to check if you have unclaimed property, or a site to check your local school’s performance report. But it has many other links of great interest to scholars, as well. Criminal justice majors will benefit from the Appellate Case Search, history majors from the State Historic Architecture and Archaeology Research Database, and education majors from the statistical data from the Indiana Department of Education. There’s a lot to benefit any IU student! The series is reproduced from the State Library’s website below: Part 1 With the plethora of information available on … Continued
Catalog Facelift

Catalog Facelift

, Library Resources, Matt Dilworth, Website
Long gone are the days of card-based catalogs, but still, the library’s online catalog continues to improve.  You may have tried the new version of IUCAT – the search box on our home page uses it – but now the bugs are worked out and it is our official index for books, ebooks, videos, reserves, and more.  It’s still the same catalog, though, and you can do all the same things – it’s just a new, cleaner interface.  You can still look for books and videos, renew your checkouts, request items from other IU campuses, and will receive email warnings before your checkouts come due.  But using it is easier than ever.   You can use it to search IU … Continued