Thomas Library Blog

[caption id="attachment_764" align="alignright" width="640"] President Laurie Joyner, assisted by Kristen Peters, cuts the ribbon to officially open the Collaboration Stations in Thomas Library.[/caption] The Collaboration Stations in Thomas Library had their official kick-off on Thursday, October 11, 2012. These stations are designed to help collaborative work in the library by allowing students, faculty, staff and community members who are working with students, to gather around a large flat-screen monitor. Monitors may be connected to laptops, smart phones, tablet computers or wireless keyboards and mice which can be checked out from the circulation desk. [caption id="attachment_767" align="alignright" width="300"] Kristen Peters cuts the cake at the Collaboration Station grand opening.[/caption] The kick-off event was well attended by faculty, staff and students from across campus. To implement this project Wittenberg Librarian, Kristen Peters, applied for grant funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, which was awarded by the State Library of Ohio. [caption id="attachment_768" align="alignleft" width="300"] Library Director, Doug Lehman, and Wittenberg mascot, Ezry, pal around before the grand opening of the Collaboration Stations.[/caption] Two Collaboration Stations on the main floor are open during library hours and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Two additional Collaboration Stations are located in group study rooms on the third floor of Thomas Library and can be reserved at the circulation desk. For help using the Collaboration Stations, please stop by the reference desk. Come on in and check them out!

This Thursday, October 11, at 4pm on the main floor of Thomas Library, please join us as President Joyner cuts the ribbon to signify the official opening of these 4 new work stations designed for group collaboration. Help us celebrate by joining us for a demonstration, or bring your own laptop or mobile device and learn how to connect to the large, flat-screen displays. Or simply swing by for a slice of cake! Event sponsored by the Faculty Development Board and Thomas Library.Ê Collaboration Stations made possible thanks to a LSTA grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), awarded by the State Library of Ohio.

[caption id="attachment_737" align="alignright" width="200"] Banned Books Week. All images reprinted by permission of the American Library Association.[/caption] It is Banned Books Week again! A time to celebrate your freedom to read anything you want. Banned Books Week was started in 1982 in response to a surge in challenges to books in libraries, schools and book stores. What is a challenge? -- A challenge is when an individual or a group seeks to remove or restrict access to material. What is a ban? A ban means that the material has been removed or has access to it restricted. Why are books challenged? Books are challenged for a variety of reasons. The most common are Òsexually explicit language,Ó Òoffensive languageÓ and Òmaterials unsuited to any age group.Ó 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982. 326 challenges were reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2011. It is estimated that as many as 70-80% of challenges go unreported. The good news is that most challenges fail and material remains accessible. This is because teachers, librarians, administrators and others work hard to protect everyoneÕs freedom to read. Most challenges occur at schools, school libraries and public libraries, but challenges do occur in college and university libraries. Banned Books Week is a reminder to celebrate our freedom to read anything we want and to cherish that freedom. My favorite banned or challenged book is Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. It has been challenged many times on the grounds of occultism, offensive language and violence. I remember getting lost in the this book as a child. The imaginations of the characters and the worlds they created just drew me into the story. It was probably also the first book that I read that didn't have a happy ending. That made a real impact on me; the world doesn't always have happy endings. So, do you have a favorite banned or challenged book? Check out the most frequently challenged books of 2011 or the 100 most frequently challenged or banned books from 2000 to 2009 for titles. Tell us about your favorite banned or challenged book in the reply box below. Information on this page has been gathered from www.bannedbooksweek.org and www.ala.org/advocacy/banned.