Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

by Rachel Gogan and the American Cancer Society

This year, 250,230 women and 1,990 men will hear the words “You have breast cancer,” and there’s a good chance that some of them will be people we know and love.

I have chosen to fight back against this disease and help make a difference by participating in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in October.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is a noncompetitive walk that takes place in 120 communities across the country, including 20 in New England. From California to Massachusetts and Florida to Maine, Making Strides walkers unite to honor breast cancer survivors and to educate women about early detection and prevention. And, of course, by raising money to support the American Cancer Society fight against breast cancer, we help fund groundbreaking research, public awareness campaigns, efforts to ensure that all women have access to mammograms, and programs and services that improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

I hope you will join me by making a donation in support of my effort.

I can accept donations online here (It’s safe and simple. All you have to do is click the link below and follow the few easy steps) or I can take donations online or in the form of cash or check.  I would be glad to come to your office to pick up a donation if you care to make one.

Event Details:

Date: Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008
Location: Wentworth Douglas Hospital
Time: Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008
Registration: Begins at 9:30 a.m.
Walk start: 11 a.m.
Walk length: 4 miles or 1.8 miles — your choice!

I hope you will support my efforts by making a donation on my personal fundraising page.

Last year, 500,000 Making Strides participants across the U.S. raised $50 million ($7.5 million of that in New England), and they did it one donation at a time. So, whether you’re able to give $5, $50 or $500, every bit truly does help fight a disease that 1 in 8 women will face in her lifetime.

Thanks, in part, to funds raised by Making Strides, American Cancer Society-funded researchers have been involved with many breast cancer research breakthroughs, including the discovery of genes for inherited breast cancer, lumpectomy as an alternative to radical mastectomy, use of tamoxifen to reduce risk of second or first breast cancer, development of monoclonal antibodies to treat breast cancer (Herceptin), and the links between obesity and breast cancer, alcohol and breast cancer, and the benefits of exercise in reducing breast cancer risk.

Hope starts one dollar at a time. Hope starts with me. And hope can start with you.

Digital Disambiguation

by Eleta Exline

During last week’s lively discussion and group editing of our strategic plan a question was asked about the differences between Digital Libraries and Institutional Repositories. For those of you who weren’t able to attend or who would appreciate an expanded (and possibly more coherent!) explanation, I am submitting a two-part article for your perusal.

Part 1: Digital Libraries

In practice, digital libraries are often viewed as an extension of traditional library collections. They usually contain digitized materials from the library’s paper or analog collections, and are often drawn from rare books collections, special collections, archives, or otherwise highlight the particular strengths of a given library. Digital library collections have focused on these types of materials because digital formats are an ideal access medium for items too fragile to withstand repeated handling, materials too rare to circulate, and formats awkward to handle and manipulate in the original, such as large maps. When appropriate standards are used for digitizing, structuring, and describing these materials, digital libraries can be considered analogous to other preservation reformatting and distribution processes, such as microfilm. The digital library concept can be expanded to include materials in any digital format, including sound, video, multi-media, “born-digital” (resources that were originally created in an electronic environment), data sets, computer programs, and licensed content such as e-books and art images purchased from vendors.

Digital library collections are most often stored in Digital Asset Management Systems (DAMS), which are specialized storage and retrieval systems that support digital formats and metadata. Metadata for digital collections is typically repurposed from existing records in library catalogs (when they exist) or is created by library personnel, much as other library materials are cataloged. The proliferation of digital libraries has inspired a parallel proliferation of metadata standards that are used not only describe the digital content, but also provide its structure and enable its management (Read more about metadata). Some storage and delivery systems offer opportunities for enhanced functionality such as full-text searching and image manipulation, allowing users to interact with library resources in ways not previously possible. The UNH Library currently uses DigiTool as our DAMS.

Because far-flung resources can be gathered together into one digital library system that can be accessed on the Internet from any physical location, digital collection building lends itself to collaboration. Collaborative projects, often state or region focused, allow multiple institutions, including those that might not have the resources or infrastructure to build their own online collections, to create stronger, more comprehensive, and more diverse digital libraries than it is possible for most single institutions to do on their own. Examples include the California Digital Library and the New Jersey Digital Highway. Another method for gathering together dispersed digital materials is to harvest the metadata from multiple collections into a single database that can be searched – the digital material is then delivered from its “home” system. University of Michigan maintains the OAIster project, which harvests metadata from hundreds of digital libraries using the Open Archives Initiative – Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH)

Another type of collaboration to build large-scale digital libraries has emerged over the past several years. With the development of such projects as the Google Book Library Project and the Open Content Alliance (OCA), mass digitization is quickly making vast amounts of library content available in digital formats. Mass digitization has been driven in part by the development of cheaper and less destructive scanning techniques, less expensive storage space, competition among online search providers, and user demand spurred by the ubiquitous availability of networked access to information of all types. In these projects, libraries provide the materials and the project organizer provides scanning, storage and delivery. As part of the Boston Library Consortium, the UNH Library is participating in the OCA project, thus many of our out-of-copyright books are now available at the Internet Archive. The OCA project allows us, and any other user of the materials, to download copies. This means that we can archive the OCA scanned books in our digital library, offering two points of access to potential users.

For many examples of digital libraries, visit our own Guide to Digital Collections.

Part 2: Institutional Repositories (coming soon)

Technology & Presidential Candidates

by Linda Johnson

From government document email list:

Now that both presidential candidates have gone on record with campaign positions on access to government information, we were struck by the similarity in their stated technology positions. The biggest difference that we could see is in their positions on transparency – Obama’s statements appear more sunshine-friendly. Below is a summary of relevant points. Complete policies are:

(McCain) here and here.

(Obama) here and here

Universal Service

McCain: federal support for locally built broadband access (whether public, private or mixed) as well as incentives for private companies’
extension into rural areas, auction wireless spectrum for private company expansion of broadband access to rural areas

Obama: encourage Universal Service reform, public/private partnerships, “unleash” wireless spectrum for private company expansion of broadband access to rural areas (possibly meaning to auction spectrum)

Great Expectations: Reading Marathon in Portsmouth

Independent bookstores across the country to participate in the event!

Portsmouth, NH-  The second Great Expectations: A Reading Marathon (GERM), founded by RiverRun Bookstore and SecondRun Bookstore in early 2008, will take place again this fall at SecondRun Bookstore from 6pm on Friday, October 10th to 6pm, Saturday October 11th.

The 24-hour Read-A-Thon is meant to bring attention to reading and independent bookstores, while raising money for a local nonprofit. The proceeds of RiverRun & SecondRun’s second Read-A-Thon will go toward The Birchtree Center, a local non-profit organization that provides specialized educational services for children and youth with autism.

GERM has gained national attention, and this year, during the month of October, independent bookstores around the country will be hosting their own.
Participants are invited to spend 24 hours in a bookstore; reading, playing literary games, listening to local authors read from their work-all while raising money for an organization in the community.

Participants are encouraged to sign up soon.  Registration is required by September 30th. A minimum of $25 dollars in sponsorship money is required to participate.

To RSVP, e-mail riverrunevents@gmail.com.  For more information on the event, visit www.riverrunbookstore.com or call (603) 431-2100.  SecondRun Bookstore is located at 7 Commercial Alley.  in downtown Portsmouth.  RiverRun Bookstore is located at 20 Congress Street in downtown Portsmouth.

For even more info check out their googlepages – http://riverrunevents.googlepages.com/

Grandma has always had wheels on her walker…

by Louise Buckley

This is just one of the 60 “cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college” included in this year’s Beloit College Mindset List – Now in its 11th year, the list is an amusing and thought-provoking look at “the rapidly changing frame of reference for this new generation,” the class of 2012. Information about the Mindset List and its creators is also available here.

Pimp My Bookcart

from the Unshelved Website

What is it?

An annual contest run by the library-themed comic strip Unshelved to see who can best pimp, trick, or otherwise improve a standard book cart. Libraries and schools often stage kids and/or teen programs to generate entries. Prizes are provided by Unshelved and this year’s sponsor Smith System.

Smith System is delighted to partner with Unshelved for the 2008 Pimp My Bookcart contest!
– Molly Risdall, National Sales Manager, Smith Systems

Who can enter

Libraries, schools, bookstores, or any other organization with a book cart in need of some spiffing-up. Please note, however, that book cart prizes can only be shipped to the U.S.

About the name

This just in: it’s a parody of MTV’s Pimp My Ride. But we realize that community standards vary. Feel free to use variants such as “Trick My Book Truck” or “Primp My Bookcart” (or anything else) for your local programs.

Timing

We will start accepting entries in August via a form on this website. Please watch this space for details on how to submit yours!

Entry deadline is October 31, 2008. Winners will be announced in mid-November.

Question? Email us!: unshelved@overduemedia.com

Good luck!

Review: Lucky Star (Anime Series)

by Rachel Gogan

I recently bought the first two DVDs of a new anime series called Lucky Star (the original Japanese title is “らき☆すた”, or “Raki☆Suta”).  It was something that I had heard about before but had never seen.

Lucky Star is produced by Kyoto Animation, and originally aired between April 8, 2007, and September 16, 2007, containing twenty-four episodes.

The Main Characters from left to right: Tsukasa, Konata, Kagami, and Miyuki.

It’s very different from most anime that I’ve seen before.  There is no continuous story line or plot arcs.  The anime follows the lives of four high school students (as shown above).  It’s an amusing take on everyday life for students in Japan.  While the characters and events are fictional it’s not all all outrageous.  So far I’ve seen eight (dare I say… action-packed?) episodes and I’ve loved them!  One of the best things about the DVD release is the extensive liner notes that accompany the episodes.  There are a LOT of cultural references and anime in-jokes that will be a bit too obscure for someone who hasn’t seen any other anime.  So I wouldn’t advise picking this up as a first series.

My favorite character was the dark blue haired tiny seventeen year old Izumi Konata.  She’s an ‘otaku’, someone who is crazy about anime, manga, and video games to the exclusion of all else.

Near the end of every episode, there is an additional segment called Lucky Channel co-hosted by Akira Kogami and her assistant Minoru Shiraishi. The humor of this segment takes on a decidedly darker, mean-spirited, more cynical and mature tone than the main show, disguised as an infomercial that skims over characters who appear in the anime, but mainly deals with the progressively abusive and violent work-relationship between Akira and Minoru.

The anime also features small cameos of voice actors besides Shiraishi that also have worked with Kyoto Animation which include Yuko Goto, Daisuke Ono, and Aya Hirano, all of whom voice themselves.

For more information check out the Wikipedia page – Lucky Star (manga) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A screencap from the opening animation

David Berona gives a talk on “Wordless Books”

by Kathy Horrigan

Tuesday, August 12th at 7pm

RiverRun Bookstore, Portsmouth, NH

http://www.riverrunbookstore.com

David Berona gives a talk on “Wordless Books”

“Wordless books” were stories from the early part of the twentieth century told in black and white woodcuts, imaginatively authored without any text.  Although woodcut novels have their roots spreading back through the history of graphic arts, including block books and playing cards, it was not until the early part of the twentieth century that they were conceived and published.  Despite its short-lived popularity, the woodcut novel had an important impact on the development of comic art, particularly contemporary graphic novels with a focus on adult themes.

Scholar David Berona examines the history of these books and influence of pioneers like Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward, Otto Nuckel, William Gropper, Milt Gross, and Laurence Hyde (among others).

David Berona is a member of the visiting faculty for the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont.  A recognized scholar on woodcut novels and wordless books, Berona is also the library director at Plymouth State University, New Hampshire and a reviewer and contributor to “International Journal of Comic Art”, “Print Quarterly”, and “Library Journal”.  He lives in Gilmanton, New Hampshire.

Box Tops for Education

by Judy Quist

Hi everyone,

If anyone has any extra “Box Tops for Education” from the various grocery products they appear on and wouldn’t mind passing them my way, that would be great.  My friend is collecting them for her son’s school.

Thanks!

Judy

Toys for All Ages

by Val Harper

“There are toys for all ages.” (French proverb)

Bill Ross has just announced a play group. Play is good. Play is especially good with toys. And everyone likes toys. Trouble is, we can’t always buy the toys we’d like to play with.

So let’s try something … We’ve been allocated $1,500 from Claudia’s gift fund (money donated to the library in honor of Claudia when she retired) to purchase some equipment for us to play with. This gives us the opportunity to try out some new things without affecting our regular equipment budget.

Have you been eager to produce a podcast? Then let’s buy a good microphone and give it a try. Want to shoot a video? You provide the script and talent and we’ll provide the camera. What else can you think of? Make a suggestion and let’s see what we can do.
Here are the rules of the game:

1. I’ve started a discussion forum in Blackboard (“Exploring Technology”) to take suggestions – here’s where you can make your case for what we might purchase.

2. We have $1,500 – we can spend it all on one item, several smaller items, etc. – but that’s it for this fiscal year. We’ll purchase something from your suggestions.

3. Whatever it is we buy, we’ll store it and sign it out to interested users from Loan (we may ask for a little time before we make it widely available so we can get the basics and can help troubleshoot). We’ll sign it out to you for a reasonable amount of time, and if no one else is waiting for it, allow a renewal as well.

4. If you use it, we’d like you to tell us about it – good or bad, productive or not, wave of the future or flashy trend – whatever you discovered. You could present in a brown bag lunch, post it to a blog or web site, write about it for the newsletter, etc. Whatever we get will be a share toy, in every sense of the phrase!

5. This doesn’t have to be strictly for library use – you may take it home, use it around campus, whatever – the idea is to explore technology. Of course, if you find a library application for this, so much the better!

See you in the sandbox!

Val

Join the Library Web 2.0 Play Group

by Bill Ross

Blogs, wikis, chat, instant messaging, tagging, social networks, Flickr, social bookmarking…these things are all hanging out there and more and more seem to appear each time you fire up your computer. It was easier when the web used to be a one way street in terms of information delivery. In its current, ever-changing, incarnation, it is: social; participatory; open; transparent; customizable; and if we allow ourselves — fun. Michael Stephens views the intersection of Web 2.0 and the library as a virtual place “that bring(s) people together with personal connections and the information they need, guided by a skillful librarian.”

Our patrons, both young and old, are using these tools to communicate and to locate, organize, and manipulate information; and our Library is adopting them at a steady rate. But how does one keep up in the face of such a dizzying level of innovation?

In order to meet this challenge, a group of us have come up with the idea of organizing a “Web 2.0 Play Group.” The aim is to encourage any one interested in a particular Web 2.0 application to take it for a test drive, demystify it, and then talk to others about it.

The way (we think) it will work: a few weeks before each play date, we’ll introduce a particular Web 2.0 tool and give folks a chance to, well, play with it. Then, at lunch on the first Friday of each month we’ll meet and talk about our experience, what we liked or didn’t like about the application, and figure out how it might be used in the Library (or not). We’ll meet in the Faculty Lounge (Room 502) around 11:30am for a brown bag lunch and begin the conversation. Then we’ll move around the corner to the Electronic Resource Center (Room 521), between noon and 1pm, and continue the discussion with a computer in front of us. We’ve scheduled the first session for Friday, September 5^th. If there are more people than Room 521 can accommodate, we’ll schedule another session the following Friday. And given the limited number of workstations (10), laptops are welcome.

For our first play date, Rob Wolff will lead us in a discussion of Google applications. Most people are familiar with the Google search engine, Google Maps, Gmail, and maybe Google Earth. But it has a lot of applications in addition to these, such as Google Docs, a way to create and share online documents, or Google Trends, which lets you see the popularity of search terms.

A full list of Google applications is available here:

http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/

Google Labs has additional, experimental applications, including Trends:

http://labs.google.com/

A few require you to download and install software, but most are web-based, which makes things simpler.

Future play dates will focus on WordPress for blogging, instant messaging, and Flickr for managing photographs.

So go to the links above and get out there and play!