Curriculum Library: A New Collection of Books!

The library is happy to announce the addition of a sizable collection of curricular materials to our shelves.  These materials can be used by students in Education and related fields to study and develop curricula, lesson plans, and instructional experiences for K-12 students.
















Many of these books were previously housed in the Golisano Academic Center by the School of Education.  The library has been happy to accept the books as a donation; over the past several months we have been busy cataloging the books so that they are easier for students to find and use.  With the help of Kathi Sigler at St. John Fisher's Lavery Library, we have also selected some additional books.  We will welcome faculty and student input on adding to the collection in the future.












Items from the Curriculum Library are shelved with the main collection.  So, for example, an Algebra textbook will be shelved with other books on Algebra (rather than in the Education section).


You can search for items in PRIMO by searching for "curriculum library" as a subject heading (see below).  There are currently 95 items assigned to that heading, but you can expect that number to grow!

When you click on a search result, take note of the call number, which will tell you where to find the book in the library collection.

If you would like to filter your search results further, use the Advanced Search page to include relevant keywords, such as "Language Arts," "Mathematics," or "History."

For questions and comments about the curriculum library, feel free to contact the library and we will direct you to the right person!

And the OED Word of the Year 2016 is....

...POST-TRUTH.

What is post-truth?

From Oxford Dictionaries (published by Oxford University Press):

Post-truth is "adjective defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’.

Why is it the Word of the Year 2016?

Basically, although the term has been around since the 1990's, it has really taken off in 2016 in the context of global politics.  According to OD, "Oxford Dictionaries has seen a spike in frequency this year in the context of the EU referendum in the United Kingdom and the presidential election in the United States. It has also become associated with a particular noun, in the phrase post-truth politics."

Chart from Oxford Dictionaries

Does this have anything to do with libraries?

Absolutely!  Libraries are many things to many people, but one of our most important jobs is to be a place where people can investigate, research, and find out more about topics that are interesting and important to them...in other words, libraries are a place where we search for truth.  To hear that post-truth has become popular is a bit disconcerting.  On the other hand, libraries are now more vital than ever to ensure that people have access to authoritative, timely, and scholarly information.  And we will keep providing it!

Okay, back to the fun stuff.  What other words were in the running?

A few of the other terms on the short list this year:  

Adulting:  Do I have to adult today?

Woke:  Who is your favorite woke bae?

Coulrophobia:  I didn't realize I had coulrophobia until all those clowns started scaring people at Halloween!

Further reading:

Dreid, Nadia. "Meet the professor who's trying to help you steer clear of clickbait." (2016).  The Chronicle of Higher Education. LINK.

Fox, Claire. "In defence of post-truth politics: is it really a betrayal of democracy to vote with your heart?." Spectator 18 (2016). Literature Resource Center. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.  LINK.

Metz, Steve. "Science Practice In The Post-Truth Era." The Science Teacher 6 (2016): Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.  LINK.

Reader, Ruth.  "How We Got to Post-Truth." (2016).  Fast Company.  LINK.

Schuessler, Jennifer.  "The Word of the Year:  Can You Believe It?"  (2016).  The New York Times.  LINK.

Viner, Katharine. "Long Read:  How Technology Disrupted the Truth." (2016).  The Guardian.  LINK.

New Open Access ebooks on JSTOR

JSTOR, one of the most popular databases for scholarly articles, books, and primary sources, has recently announced that it is releasing an initial set of 63 book titles in it's new Open Access monographs program.

What is Open Access?

Open Access is a huge trend in scholarly publishing right now.  As you may know, the bulk of scholarly publishing is subscription-only.  Institutions, such as libraries, pay a fee for their communities to be able to access high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarly information.

Many people are beginning to push back against the high prices of scholarly information.  These people are urging scholars to publish their work in Open Access formats so that anyone can access them without paying a fee.  They are also pushing publishers to allow for more Open Access options.

SPARC defines Open Access as "the free, immediate, online availability of research articles coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment. Open Access ensures that anyone can access and use these results—to turn ideas into industries and breakthroughs into better lives" (2016).

In an article on Open Access publishing trends, Poltronieri et al argue that "Over the last decade, the open access option for strengthening the spread of scholarly literature is becoming progressively attractive for both publishers and authors in almost every field of science" (2016).  Organizations like JSTOR are therefore becoming interested in making at least some of their information Open Access.

What books are they releasing?

Some great titles from highly influential publishers, including Cornell University Press, University of Michigan Press, and University of California Press.

Here are just a few:

Equity, Growth, and Community:  What the Nation Can Learn from America's Metro Areas by Chris Benner and Manual Pastor.

Christianity, Islam, and Orisa-Religion:  Three Traditions in Comparison and Interaction by J.D.Y. Peel

Discrimination at Work:  Comparing European, French, and American Law by Marie Mercat-Bruns

Find more information and a press release here on the JSTOR website.

References & Further Reading:

Bonn, Maria. "Maximizing the benefits of open access: Strategies for enhancing the discovery of open access content." College & Research Libraries News 76.9 (2015): 491-494. LINK.

Nature. "Open Access at NatureResearch."  Retrieved November 11, 2016 from http://www.nature.com/openresearch/about-open-access/benefits-for-authors/

Poltronieri, Elisabetta, et al. "Open access publishing trend analysis: statistics beyond the perception." Information research 21.2 (2016).  LINK.

Right to Research Coalition.  "Why Open Access?"  Retrieved November 11, 2016 from http://www.righttoresearch.org/learn/whyoa/index.shtml

SPARC. "Open Access." Retrieved November 11, 2016 from http://sparcopen.org/open-access/

Roughly 40% of Americans don't vote!

Election Day is right around the corner!  We all know how important it is to vote.  But were you aware that the United States trails most other developed countries when it comes to voter turnout in Presidential elections?

A report from Pew Research Center (a non-partisan think tank) shows that the US ranks 31st out of of 35 highly developed countries when it comes to voting.

From Pew Research Center

Some of this is due to the fact that citizens in the US are not automatically registered to vote, as they are in some other countries.  And, of course, some people who live in the US are not eligible to vote.  However, even when voting-ineligible people are taken into account, only about 58% of people voted in the 2012 Presidential election, para. 8).

So Get Informed and Vote on Tuesday, November 8!

• Election 2016 Research Guide from Nazareth Library

• Non-Partisan Candidate Guides from the Campus Election Engagement Project

• New York State Board of Elections