Tag Archives: Literature

Celebrating Books, Copyright, and Intellectual Property Rights

April is the coolest month – for librarians! We celebrate National Library Week April 7th-13th, World Book and Copyright Day on April 23rd, and World Intellectual Property Day on April 26th.

You can still add to #MyLibraryMyStory on Twitter, and join the thousands that have been blogging all month. Or just read the great tweets already posted!

What’s the difference between copyright and an intellectual property claim? Intellectual property is the broadest, including copyrights, patents, and trademarks. These are then distinguished by the medium. If your idea is fixed in an image or text – like this page whether online or printed out – you can claim a copyright. If your idea is an invention for a machine or process, you can get a patent. If it is a slogan or logo distinguishing the origin of goods or services, you can claim a trademark. More information is at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Stop in and see our display on different kinds of intellectual property rights claims, how they contribute to our economy, and how to avoid violating them.

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Public Domain Day 2019

On January 1st 2019, works copyrighted in 1923 entered the public domain! This is the first “Public Domain Day” since Congress extended copyright in 1998. Books, films, and sheet music copyrighted that year in the United States are now free to use without seeking permission or paying fees. (Only the 1923 editions, if there are later copyrighted editions! Librarians call this the 1923 manifestation of a work.)

Duke University’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain has a detailed explanation and a list of some notable items that have “gone public.” They may be worth considering for course or research project materials. HathiTrust already has released over 20,000 books and scientific reports copyrighted in 1923.

Some works from 1923 are startlingly out of touch with current values. The full lyrics of “Yes! We Have No Bananas” – a song refrain my family has sung for years – reveal it is an ethnic caricature. Songs making fun of ethnic groups were popular in the 1920s. The Library of Congress has more examples, plus curricula for teaching about them and about attitudes towards immigrants. As upsetting as such materials may be, having them publicly available is important to understanding our current social climate.

A librarian can help you locate public domain materials, and answer your copyright questions. Here’s to many happy returns of Public Domain Day!

Black Poetry Day

October 17th is Black Poetry Day, a celebration of the voices of African-American poets.

 

 

100BestThis date was chosen to honor Jupiter Hammon, the first African-American to have a poem published (in 1760): he was born on this day. You can find more literary milestones in the encyclopedia Black Firsts.

 

 

AAPoets In 1773 an entire book of poems by Phillis Wheatley was published in Philadelphia – a reprint of the edition she had published in London. You can read the second American edition online from our Ebooks collection. Wheatley was a celebrity on both sides of the Atlantic, but died young.

 

 

Tupac We have quite a few books, ebooks, and audio books of poetry by African-American authors.  Here is a list from our catalog to start off with.

 

 

WordsWings Several of our books are for children, and some are song lyrics. My favorite way to absorb a poem is to listen to it read, or read it aloud myself. What is yours?

 

 

What are digital humanities? Find out at THATCamp!

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The Humanities And Technology = THATCamp

We are participating in THATCamp Midwest @ Purdue University Fort Wayne. It will take place Friday October 5th from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., followed by optional discussion time. THATCamp Midwest @ Purdue Fort Wayne will function a bit differently than the usual THATCamp as there will be more focus on learning about digital humanities, which means we will have more structure and pre-scheduled sessions. It is perfect for faculty, staff, and students wishing to move into this field.

The day will include brief presentations, panel discussions, and workshops covering topics including: metadata tagging, social networking and data visualization, digital collections, digital project management, animation, augmented reality, and incorporating digital projects in classes/programs. A preliminary schedule is posted here on the website, where you can also register to attend. We hope to see you there!

Icons of African American literature : the Black literary world / Yolanda Williams Page, editor

Call number: PS153.N5 I33 2011

African American literature has a long and fascinating history. This book examines 24 of the most recognizable and popular topics related to African American literature. Each piece is substantial enough to provide more information than a typical encyclopedia entry but not so long as to be tedious or overwhelming. Arranged alphabetically, the entries cover such writers as Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and August Wilson; major works, such as Invisible Man, Native Son, and Their Eyes Were Watching God; and a range of cultural topics, including the black arts movement, the Harlem Renaissance, and the jazz aesthetic. Entries are written by expert contributors and discuss the enduring significance of these topics in American history and popular culture. Each entry provides sidebars of interesting information and suggestions for further reading, while the set closes with a selected, general bibliography of print and electronic resources for student research. (From Google Books)

What do peanuts, alcohol, and sugar cane have in common?


Did you know…following the arrival of the automobile, scientists immediately turned to biofuels? The German inventor Rudolf Diesel fueled his engine with peanut oil, while Henry Ford predicted that the fuel of choice would be alcohol-based. Now, all these years later, this interest in biofuels has been reawakened among the scientific community. Learn more about the options and our progress toward making them a reality in Achieving Sustainability, available on GVRL.Check it out!

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GVRL (Gale Virtual Reference Library) is a wonderful eReference source available through your Ivy Tech Library. GVRL offers students thousands of full-text proprietary titles Subject areas include:

  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Biography & Genealogy
  • Business& Economics
  • Computing & IT
  • Education
  • Professional Development
  • Fiction
  • General Reference, Interests & Hobbies
  • Health & Nursing
  • History
  • Humanities & Social Sciences
  • Language
  • Law, Government & Politics
  • Literature
  • Mathematics & Science
  • Philosophy & Psychology
  • Religion & Mythology

The quotable woman : the first 5,000 years / compiled and edited by Elaine Bernstein Partnow

Call number: PN6081.5 .Q65 2011 (reference, doesn’t circulate)

The Quotable Woman, Revised Edition gathers more than 18,000 great quotations from thousands of women throughout history, beginning with Eve and continuing to the present day. Thoroughly revised and updated, this book is a treasure trove of both familiar and unexpected quotations on nearly every subject imaginable, including friendship, love, politics, religion, education, the arts, and women’s role in society. Contributors are presented in chronological order by the year of their birth, then alphabetically within each year. Indexes allow readers to find quotations by subject and contributors by name, occupation/profession, and nationality/ethnicity.

This updated and expanded edition features:

  • More than 4,000 additional quotations
  • More than 1,350 new contributors 
  • Many more quotations from women in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

(From Google Books)

NoveList

Have you tried NoveList yet?  NoveList has information on over 150,000 works of fiction for young and old.  It includes reviews from respected magazines such as BookList, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal, among others, as well as information about authors and literary awards.  It also allows individual readers to post their own reviews, and has its own “read-alike” feature that suggests books with similar subjects, story lines, genres, etc.  You’ll find NoveList on the library’s A-Z List.