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PHDI Fall Portfolio Show

The PHDI Fall Portfolio Show entitled [12] Elements featuring the fine work of 12 PHDI graduating students.

The show runs from 11/29 - 12/3 at the Vine Arts Center in the Ivy Building for the Arts 2637 27th Avenue South.

Things kick off this evening with an Industry Preview Night from 6:00 - 9:00

Regular Gallery Hours from 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm Wed 11/30, Thursday 12/1, Friday 12/2 and Saturday 12/3 from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

We have another Reception planned for Thursday 12/1 from 6:00 - 9:00.

Your presence and support of the students and their fine efforts will be greatly appreciated.

For more information and to preview the students' work go to:

http://www.mctcphotoportfolioshow.com/ (site designed by MCTC Web Design student Malcolm Browne)

additional info can be found at:

http://www.minneapolis.edu/About-Us/News/Nov-2011/2011-11-16-phdi-portfolio-show

Speed Networking

OIF Blog » Registration open for “Intellectual Freedom across the Globe” webinars

Pricing for these webinars is pretty reasonable, and there is a free option as well. I encourage you to participate.

OIF Blog » Registration open for “Intellectual Freedom across the Globe” webinars

Hard Choices: Do Libraries Really Destroy Books? : Monkey See : NPR

What do you think about weeding? Does it cause you physical pain to think of tossing out a book? Does it feel cathartic to get the old stuff outta there?

Hard Choices: Do Libraries Really Destroy Books? : Monkey See : NPR

The Book of Life: Write Your Own Megillah

From ha-Safran, the list for Jewish Library people:

Hi! I am pleased to announce that my podcast interview with blogger
Barbara Krasner about her NaNoWriMo-style writing project has now
been posted at

http://jewishbooks.blogspot.com/2011/10/write-your-own-megillah.html.
Listen to the podcast to hear about this excellent event for Jewish
children's writers that will be taking place during Jewish Book Month
2011. Barbara blogs at The Whole Megillah and the writing project is
called Write Your Own Megillah.

Enjoy!

Heidi Estrin

Host, The Book of Life Podcast

The Book of Life: Write Your Own Megillah

Letters to a Young Librarian: Which Is It? Clothes Make the (Wo)Man or Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover?

How do you dress? Letters to a Young Librarian: Which Is It? Clothes Make the (Wo)Man or Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover?

Think Different

Creepy

OnStar Tracks Your Car Even When You Cancel Service

Wired.com

Navigation-and-emergency-services company OnStar is notifying its six million account holders that it will keep a complete accounting of the speed and location of OnStar-equipped vehicles, even for drivers who discontinue monthly service.

OnStar began e-mailing customers Monday about its update to the privacy policy, which grants OnStar the right to sell that GPS-derived data in an anonymized format.

Full story: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/09/onstar-tracks-you/

Why we should pay attention to academic publishing

As we consider how knowledge is created and disseminated, and eventually organized in various ways, we should give some attention to scholarly and academic publishing. This has a big impact on how faculty in research institutions are compensated and otherwise rewarded. The open access movement has been working to make more information freely available, but the major academic publishers still hold a grip on the world of research. Much of this research is funded with public money, yet is still held within the copyright grasps of the major publishers. It is yet another way public funds are redirected into the hands of corporations, albeit indirectly. Give this article a read.

Monblot, George. "Academic Publishers Make Murdoch Look Like a Socialist." The Guardian. 29 Aug. 2011. Guardian News and Media Limited. 30 Aug. 2011. Web. < http://gu.com/p/3xgdn >

In Personal Data, a Fight for the Right to Be Forgotten - NYTimes.com

Do you think much about what information is tracked about you? Is there an "opt-out" option? Food for thought...
In Personal Data, a Fight for the Right to Be Forgotten - NYTimes.com

New issue of Associates available

The July 2011 issue of Associates: the Electronic Library Support Staff Journal is now available. Be sure to give LIT program student Brandon Hackbarth's essay, Joined at the Hip: Self-Censorship in Youth Collection Development and Public Service, a read. His essay is an edited version of his final project in LIBT 1200 Introduction to Technical information Services. Nice job, Brandon!

Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles" | Video on TED.com

When you search, are you really "searching?"

Eli Pariser: Beware online "filter bubbles" | Video on TED.com

Ethics in a Digital World

This is from an event last Spring, on June 27, 2010. However, it talks about a number of topics relevant to applied ethics and social media in libraries.

Welcome to Choose Privacy Week! |

"Each of us encounters more and more numerous breaches of personal privacy today, whether it’s with our cell phone records, grocery store coupons, airport scanners, or library circulation records. All of these small invasions lead to the creation of an overall “surveillance society” which is counter to U.S. Constitutional principles and to the way Americans want to live. One would have to become a hermit to avoid all invasions of personal privacy – no checking account, no health insurance, no mortgage. But with knowledge of how data is collected and used, you can make choices. In your doctor’s office there is some information you are not required to give. If you use a credit card at a store, you might consider using cash when you discover that they will profile your age, class, income, and size with collected data."

"Welcome to Choose Privacy Week! |

MN Job Posting: Library Technician, Ridgewater College

Over on our LIT program blog.

http://libinfotech.blogspot.com/

Back "in"

After being at workshops & conferences on Thursday and Friday, I'm back "in" the office, reading emails, and responding to posts. If you posted something over the past couple of days, and I don't respond today (Saturday), please send me an email reminder.

LIT Program Blog

Be sure you're regularly checking out our LIT program blog. That's where we post program information, job and internship opportunities, etc. In fact there's a new job posting there.

MCTC Fashion Show

CHAOS

Evolution of Fashion

This is what you've been waiting for!

Nine graduating MCTC Apparel Technologies students will unveil their spring collections on the catwalk. See cutting edge designs presented New York-style with gorgeous models on the runway.

May 2, 5:30 Preview

Main show is at 7:00

In the Plaza of the T building.

Best of all it is free!

Updated LIT Program Info on our Blog

We've updated the program information, planning documents, etc. on our Library Information Technology program blog to reflect the change to the A.A.S. degree from the A.S. degree. If you started the program under the 2010-11 catalog (this academic year's catalog) or any earlier catalog, you can graduate under those requirements. However, you must do it by Spring 2013. If you're not sure what you should do, please discuss your options with me.

MCTC Open House Tonight!

College open house tonight. See our program blog post for more information about what the Information Studies department will have there.

Short office hours today

I have a meeting today from 1:15-2 p.m. that will cut into my regularly scheduled office hours. I will be available today from 2-3 pm. Sorry!

H2Oil!

We would like to extend an invitation to you to attend the film screening of H2Oil on Friday, April 22 at noon in L.3000.

The film, an independent documentary, investigates one of the largest and most environmentally destructive projects on planet: Canada’s Alberta Tar Sands. Most Americans have never heard of the tar sands, but they are quickly becoming our nation's top source of imported foreign oil. Minnesota is one of many states refining and using tar sands oil for transportation fuel. In fact, over 70% of Minnesota’s gas station fuel is from the tar sands.

Tar sands oil, mined from a black tar like substance called bitumen, is located beneath Canada's pristine boreal forest. Tar sands oil extraction is an extremely carbon intensive and highly destructive process that involves clear cutting the ancient boreal forest and strip mining the soil beneath it using huge quantities of fresh water and natural gas. This process leaves behind giant toxic tailing ponds, large enough to be seen from space.

All of this is directly taking place on the homeland of Indigenous peoples including the Mikisew Cree First Nation, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Fort McMurray First Nation, Fort McKay Cree Nation, and Chipewyan Prairie First Nation. Fist Nations communities are impacted first and foremost in a blatant case of environmental injustice.

The Tar Sands are a critical yet invisible issue. This Earth Day, join the American Indian Success Program and come learn about this important subject and how we can all reduce our dependency on oil to create a clean and healthy future.

We hope to see you on Earth Day!

I will have limited availability...

...until Tuesday.

Tomorrow, I will be at the Minnesota State College Faculty Delegate Assembly. I'll be checking my email for messages, but will have limited computer access through the day.

Over the weekend, I'll be taking my mom back to her home in Nebraska. Many of you know that she had some very serious health concerns and was hospitalized last fall for quite some time. She came up here and stayed with my family through the winter to recover and build her strength. Now, fortunately, she is successfully managing what will be an ongoing chronic condition, but is in good enough health to return to her home in Lincoln. So, I will be driving her down to Nebraska on Saturday and coming back on Sunday.

Monday, I am in an off-campus meeting all day, and will not have access to my email for most of it.

I will do my best to check my email and the discussion posts over the weekend, but I may not get to your questions right away. Feel free to give me a "nudge" if I don't respond in a reasonable time frame (in a couple of days?).

No office hours today

I will be at an all-day meeting today and not available for my normal office hours. I will be checking my email so please send any questions to me that way.

Today's Culinary Arts Student Restaurant Menu.

Today's Culinary Arts Student Restaurant Menu.

Hours of operation 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

Extra Credit Opportunity

Inspired by this (thanks to one of my LIBT 2200 students for the link & inspiration), I was reminded that here's still time to enter in the Pioneer Press Peeps Diorama Contest for this year. There would definitely be some extra credit available if anyone wanted to submit something with a library promotions theme... :)

Photo Credit to Avery & Masciadrelli

Janet Swan HIll

An Interview with Janet Swan Hill, cataloger:

http://solstice.ischool.utexas.edu/Capturing_Our_Stories/index.php?title=Interview_with_Janet_Hill

This is long (about an hour), but is good for playing in the background while you work on assignments for LIBT 1200 and LIBT 2200. :)

Fight Tuition Hikes!

Dreamkeepers Scholarships

Unexpected financial setbacks are one of the top reasons students drop out of college. Dreamkeepers helps students overcome unforeseen financial emergencies and remain focused on what matters most – their education. MCTC began disbursing grants in December 2010 and has already helped 38 students. The average Dreamkeepers grant is approximately $470.

In order to apply for this grant, students must meet the eligibility requirements and conduct an interview with a counselor or advisor. For more information, please contact the Counseling and Advising Office, T.2500, 612-659-6700.

Dreamkeepers is a program of Scholarship America®, established in collaboration with Lumina Foundation for Education.

Eligibility and application process: http://mctcnews.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/eligibility-application-process.pdf

Office hours this week

Just a reminder that I have office hours today from 1:30-3 pm and on Thursday from 1:30-3 pm as well. This is a good time to come by and visit or to call me in my office (612-659-6296 or 800-247-0911 x6296).

Next chapter in recopyright law: Supreme Court - The Denver Post

An interesting case in copyright law. Those of you in my information ethics and legal issues class should, in particular, take note of this. All of you, this is good fodder for Water Cooler discussion. What do you think?

Next chapter in recopyright law: Supreme Court - The Denver Post

Upcoming Event from Sisters for Social Justice

FYI...

Sisters for Social Justice Presents: Back Up Your Birth Control
March 30 2:30 T 5200

Back Up Your Birth Control is a national campaign committed to raising awareness of
and expanding access to emergency contraception (EC).

"The Back Up Your Birth Control campaign is celebrating its 10^thanniversary! Back Up Your Birth Control is a national campaign committed to raising awareness of and expanding access to emergency contraception (EC).

While significant progress has been made to expand access, there’s still work to be done. You can help spread the word about EC by taking part in the National Day of Action on Wednesday, March 30, 2011."

At our program on March 30th, an educator from Family Tree Clinic will discuss different forms of birth control, how they work, where you can access affordable/free birth control and exams, as well as talking about emergency contraception. There will be goodie bags provided by the clinic with clinic info, along with various visual aids to explain how different methods of birth control/safe sex methods work.