The library is sporting primary colors this week. The appearance of the bright reds, yellows, and blues is not due to a new spring fashion, but rather a longstanding tradition. The colors belong to the Twister board circles, Lego blocks, and Mr. Potato Head accoutrements spread around the library foyer. Finals week has always been a high-stress, low-sleep, and caffeine-buzzed time at Davidson, and these brief seasonal additions are an effort on the part of the library staff to reduce … [Read more...]
Conflict & Compromise: Copyright in Higher Education
April 10, 2013 By
At Davidson, people are aware of copyright and know that it can have an impact on teaching and research. What is not always clear is what uses of copyrighted materials are permitted under the law. The Library wants to address campus copyright questions and help faculty and staff learn about strategies they can employ to legally use materials in their work. As part of that effort, we were pleased to bring Kevin Smith, Director of Copyright & Scholarly Communication at Duke University, to … [Read more...]
Research is easy… or is it?
March 6, 2013 By
Many first-year students come to college feeling confident in their abilities to find information, especially information on the Web; this confidence doesn’t always translate into good research skills, however. These students grew up with the Web and live in a sea of information; they know that it is easy to find information on just about any topic. Finding “some” information on a topic isn’t enough at Davidson, though; faculty members expect students to find good, authoritative sources. … [Read more...]
Developments in Copyright
February 26, 2013 By
The always-excellent Kevin Smith is out with a new post about some important developments in the copyright arena. (Click on the Scholarly Communications@Duke link under Blogs.) Kevin will be at Davidson March 21 and 22 to deliver a common hour talk and lead four workshops for faculty. Details were in a February 14 email to all faculty. Contact Sara Swanson (saswanson) for more information. … [Read more...]
Reading, e-reading, and research
January 30, 2013 By
Many people are surprised to learn that e-books and e-resources now make up over half of the library’s collection. While we still purchase print materials, the number of e-books we acquire each year is growing exponentially. Use of e-books is also increasing annually, mirroring a national trend.[1] This is a dramatic change from a decade ago, when print resources predominated, and it’s a change that can be unsettling to some library users. It’s important to note that the e-book is not the … [Read more...]
