Latest Posts

Latest Posts

Holocaust Remembrance

Holocaust Remembrance

, Library Resources, Matt Dilworth, Programs
January 27th is International Holocaust Remembrance Day (chosen as the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp), a time to commemorate and honor the victims of one of the worst genocides in the entirety of human history. The ramifications of human evil displayed in the Holocaust changed the world’s understanding of and responses to genocides, and memory of this horror has influenced virtually all responses to genocides since, from Indonesia to Cambodia to Sudan to Bosnia. This pivotal point in history has thus been the topic of significant vital scholarship, from those grappling to understand evil to those hoping to improve humanity’s moral bearing. IU East is a participant in this scholarly endeavor, with several upcoming events occurring … Continued
A New Semester of Finding Great Things

A New Semester of Finding Great Things

, Matt Dilworth, Research
Welcome back! As the semester gets into gear, papers, projects, and assignments will begin to accumulate again. And to do them well, you’ll need to do research. You’ll be asked to find scholarly sources. Peer-reviewed sources. Primary sources. The kinds of things that Google and Bing just aren’t good at. But Google and Bing are easy to use. Scholarly tools take a bit more work. How do you get started? Scholarly databases use a very precise type of language that tells the computer how to search. Much of this computer language is based on something called Boolean logic. Boolean data is that which you can label ‘true’ or ‘false’ without any ambiguity. When you search, a database or search engine … Continued
Next Indiana Bookshelf

Next Indiana Bookshelf

, books, Matt Dilworth, Programs
With Indiana’s bicentennial coming up this year (our Statehood Day will be December 11th, 2016), now is a great time to reflect on our state’s history and contributions to American culture. And one indelible area of these influences has been in literature. While most of us might be able to name James Whitcomb Riley, the truth is Indiana has been a very fertile ground for writers (you might even be one of them – maybe you participated in NaNoWriMo last November). Enter the Next Indiana Bookshelf. The NIB is a collection of modern and classic works, both fiction and nonfiction, by Hoosier authors. IU East is one of 55 libraries in the state to be selected to offer and promote … Continued
One with Words

One with Words

Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
Today is a fun anniversary for anyone of the etymological persuasion – on December 21st, 1913, the first modern crossword puzzle was created by Alfred Wynne for the New York World. Crosswords are ubiquitous. Whole books are published full of them. The New York Times prints one every day. And over the break, you might just curl up with one. Of course, the more education, experience, and cultural awareness you have, the better you are at solving crossword puzzles. But no one knows every answer. Libraries have always had lots of great resources to help any puzzle solver. Standbys include an encyclopedia set like the Encyclopedia Britannica, and an exhaustive dictionary like the Oxford English Dictionary. Having newspapers for current … Continued
Putting It All Into Practice

Putting It All Into Practice

Matt Dilworth
It’s finally finished! All your hard work paid off, and another semester is completed. Another milestone in your path to graduation, as an articulate, thoughtful, educated person with the knowledge, skills and attitudes for a productive life. But what you’ve learned isn’t behind you. Your classwork isn’t just a set of hoops to jump through – now, you can put that critical thinking into action. There are things in need of critical examination all around you. How is it that both a gecko and a woman with a 1960’s haircut can claim that they can save you more than the other one on car insurance? Can both of them be telling the truth, in certain situations? Or can you believe … Continued