We love celebrating Banned Books week at Rider Library! Each year, our banned and challenged books take to the streets to protest their unfair treatment at the hands of censors and would-be book banners. Come and see why these books are so upset!
Welcome Back! It is always nice to start the academic year with some good news.
We are pleased to announce that, owing to the tireless work of our Interlibrary Loan staff, Rider University Library is now an OCLC Express Delivery library! What does this mean for you? It means faster ILLs!
OCLC Express Delivery libraries comprise a group of 1000 LVIS (Libraries Very Interested in Sharing) that pledge to deliver resource requests within 18 hours or less. Because University Library ILL staff have fulfilled so many timely requests from other libraries, our patrons may now borrow from the Express group of libraries. The implications for our own patrons are even faster delivery of borrowed articles delivered right to their emails.
Please join us in congratulating the ILL department!
by Margaret Slobodinsky
What is it about ChatGpt that excites you or makes you anxious?
Did ChatGpt replace Googling for you?
Can machines think intelligently?
Do you need a hand to open a window to the digital realm?
There is a lot of love out there for ChatGpt, lots of unsettling thoughts, fear and lots of what can and can't ChatGpt do? As with any new technology platform that comes on the horizon, there are a lot of questions in the air. One thing for sure we do know that artificial intelligence is currently a hot muffin and will gain more and more visibility and place in our everyday lives as we move into the future.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a very broad field of study, and can be defined in many ways, depending on the field of discipline. What is important to remember based on the research findings is that when defining an AI, the machines and programs developed by scientists don't have human intelligence, but what they do is exhibit intelligent behavior. AI goes all the way back to Alan Turing's design of his theoretical “Turing machine” in 1936. In the early 21st century, AI became more and more present in many areas of our daily lives. We humans started to heavily rely on personal devices such as laptops, smartphones, GPS, facial recognition, Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and others. With years, high tech companies progressed and in 2022 the new development came on the market. US-based company OpenAI released an early demo of AI chatbot ChatGPT.
The question remains, will we humans leave one of the stones unturned, or embark on a new adventure? Let's pick at the AI debate, more specifically ChatGpt in the educational landscape. What has ChatGPT brought to the field of education? What did it take away?
For the student it seems it's nothing less than a dream, or a magic. Wow, essays, speeches, pretty much any assignment can all be completed within a minute! On the other hand, ChatGPt has caused a lot of concerns for educators over the use of it. This is a big challenge to decide whether to fear it, push it away or work collaboratively? Without a doubt AI technologies raise lots of challenges, risks and long term impact on students and teachers, but most educators are trying to find a golden middle.
As we briefly traveled to the past and glimpsed into the present landscape of AI, one thing became clear that we humans have to make an effort to understand these technologies and their benefits and weaknesses. If we ignore, react, dismiss, what will we accomplish? What if we learn to adapt, and agree to be part of the process that is moving with or without us? We can embrace our responsibilities and understand that the problem is not with the tool but with the importance of the tasks. Humans have a responsibility to decide how we will progress and change with it or let fear get the best of us!
So…
Will you make space for it in your “living room” or fight its existence?
Further Reading:
Bearman, M., & Ajjawi, R. (2023). Learning to work with the black box: Pedagogy for a world with artificial intelligence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 54(5), 1160–1173. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13337
García-Peñalvo, FJ (2023). The perception of Artificial Intelligence in educational contexts after the launch of ChatGPT: disruption or panic. Education in the Knowledge Society (EKS). https://doi.org/10.14201/eks.31279
Greene, J. M. (2023). ChatGPT (software). Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science.
Marshall, P. (2011). Artificial intelligence. In CQ Researcher. CQ Press https://doi.org/10.4135/cqresrre20110422
Prothero, A. (2023, June 27). Don’t Ban ChatGPT in Writing Assignments. Try This Instead. Education Week (Bethesda, MD).
Thi Thuy An Ngo. (2023). The Perception by University Students of the Use of ChatGPT in Education. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 18(17), 4–19. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v18i17.39019
Tsin Yen, K. (2023). Artificial Intelligence: Overview. Points of View: Intelligent Machines vs. Human Intelligence, 1–6
WANG, J. (2023). ChatGPT: The New AI Language Model. Teen Ink, 37(9), 20–21.
Whitson, G. M. . I. B. M., PhD. (2023). Artificial intelligence. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science.
ChatGPT Libguide: https://guides.rider.edu/chatgpt
by Margaret Slobodinksy
Introducing a new "Reading for Fun" app, the Palace Project @ Rider University Libraries!
The Palace Project is an app that provides access to over 19,100 ebooks/audiobooks from the New Jersey State Library. Palace allows access to ebooks and audiobooks in one place. The Project Palace Project got its name in the book Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life, author Eric Klinenberg writes, "The library really is a palace. It bestows nobility on people who otherwise couldn't afford a shred of it."
The Palace Project may be used by the Rider Community for leisure reading. Download the Palace app for Android or Apple iOS today!
Follow the Project Palace research guide to learn how to download app, how to find, how to listen and how to read exciting titles.
https://guides.rider.edu/
It's the last week of Hispanic Heritage Month which runs from 9/15-10/15. If you are looking for some reading recommendations to round out your celebration, the Rider Libraries have you covered!
To celebrate Banned Book's Week, we thought we would let the numbers of banned books speak for themselves:
By Genevieve Innes and Sarah Mason
Did you know that Talbott Music Library’s collections include music made by peoples from countries and cultures around the world? While Talbott’s collections are focused on Western art music, choral music, and classical music, we provide access to a wide range of international music as well! From Afrobeat to Brazilian Samba to Indonesian Gamelan music and French chansons, you can easily access the world’s music in streaming format from the Rider University Libraries website. Talbott Library’s collections also include books on ethnomusicology, the study of musical expression in its social and cultural contexts. Books on ethnomusicology and world music can be great sources for research papers or simply to deepen your understanding and appreciation of the music.
World Music
Music from around the world serves as a sensory window into other cultures, traditions, experiences and landscapes. Its aesthetic enjoyment enriches our lives and deepens understanding across borders. Grove Music Online describes world music as the local, folk, or roots music of a particular cultural group, society, or nation, often presented in conjunction with elements of religion, politics, and social customs. World music can also include the popular music of other cultures and countries–for example, Nigerian Juju music and Korean K-Pop. Examples include music of such diverse sources as Tuvan throat singers, Zimbabwean guitar bands, and Pakistani qawwali (Sufi music) singers, as well as non-mainstream Western folk musicians such as Cajun fiddlers and Hawaiian slack-key guitarists. From the early 1990s, when Paul Simon’s bestselling Graceland album featured an award-winning collaboration with South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo, world music has been an established mainstream musical genre. Contemporary world music artists with a wide audience include Youssou N’Dour (Senegal), Shivkumar Sharma (India), the Klezmer Conservatory Band (U.S.), Caetano Veloso (Brazil), and The Chieftains (Ireland). World music record labels include ARC, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, and Arhoolie Records.
To learn more about world music, please click here.
Access streaming world music via Rider University Libraries’ Naxos Music Library database (Select Categories > World)
Search the Rider University Libraries’ catalog for world music recordings and books using these Library of Congress subject headings:
World music -- History and criticism
World music -- Instruction and study
Additional World Music Online Resources can be found here:
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is defined in Grove Music Online as “the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts” and its specialists are trained in anthropology and music. Ethnomusicologists examine music as a social process in order to understand not only what music is but what it means to its practitioners and audiences.
Learn more about ethnomusicology here.
Search the catalog for books/e-books on ethnomusicology using these Library of Congress subject headings:
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology -- History
Selected Ethnomusicology Journals at Talbott Library:
Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology Review
Ethnomusicology Forum
Whether you’d like to enjoy listening to world music during study breaks or you’re conducting research for a musicology or anthropology course at Rider, we hope that you’ll take advantage of the extensive world music and ethnomusicology collections at Rider University Libraries. And don’t forget to Ask a Librarian if you need assistance–we can help you find what you are looking for!
The Rider University Libraries have been very busy over the summer, rearranging spaces, installing new equipment, and preparing ourselves for all those printing questions that come with the incoming class of 2028. (So many printing choices!) Whether it is your first time in the library or it is more like your second home, read on to find out about some of the exciting upgrades.
The Library is now BYOD-friendly! Perhaps (dare we say it) it is the most BYOD-friendly building on campus. Last semester we began installing additional electrical outlets in the rows of upstairs carrels, with surge protectors available from every seat. Now, we have started receiving power towers situated beside the work tables in the reference room, where the big leather comfy chairs have swapped locations with the group study tables. Not only have the study tables received accompanying power towers, they now also have movable whiteboards next to each one providing a bit of optional privacy. Near the circulation desk, we have opened up the lobby, transferring the cafe seating to the compact reference books area, and cutting down on some of the unused desktop computers. We have employed the same strategy for the Lab Without Walls, creating more desk space for those bringing laptops, while also maintaining a number of OIT desktops for others. Gone are the curiously arranged carrels in the second floor stacks, as well as the hand-decorated (graffitied) tables in the study rooms. Wonder where our famous library plants have migrated? They now decorate the far end of the reference room, adding a green touch of life to our new tech hub. And of course, we have to mention some additional seating in the Quiet Study Zone, hidden back amongst the periodicals and microfilm.
As these and other changes are a work in progress, please bear with us with any disturbances to study that may arise as we work to enhance the library experience for you: the students, staff and faculty members of Rider University. Have an idea or comment? Let us know at reference@rider.edu.
We wish you all the best of luck in the new academic year!
The end of the semester (and the school year!) is a stressful time, but luckily, your Rider University Librarians are here to help!
Not sure how to narrow down your final paper topic? Struggling to find resources that work for your project? Unsure of how to properly cite the resources you’ve found? As we approach the final project deadlines for your courses, we wanted to let you know that the librarians at Rider University Libraries are here to help you with your research!
There are many ways that you can get in contact with a librarian for help! During the hours listed as “Research Assistance” on the Hours page, a librarian will be sitting at the reference desk on the second floor, so please feel free to stop by and ask any questions you may have. But you don’t actually need to be IN the library to get help! The Ask-A-Librarian page lists the multiple other ways that we can be reached: by phone, by text, by email, and by online chat. You can also search our Knowledge Base to see if someone has already asked the question you have at some point in the past.
Another really cool aspect of the Ask-A-Librarian page is that it also links to a tab that lists the Subject Liaisons for each major or subject - this is especially helpful if you’re looking for something for a class within your major! The librarians that are assigned to each area are subject specialists who are familiar with your subject area, and are knowledgeable about what resources to recommend. You can reach out directly to the librarian assigned to that area, or you can make an appointment through our LibCal software.
Finals can be really stressful, but we are here to help you out with your questions and research. So please reach out!
Book Challenges in New Jersey Threaten the Right to Read
by Genevieve Innes
In school and public libraries in New Jersey and across the country, an epidemic of book challenges threatens intellectual freedom and the ability of readers to see their own lived experience reflected in books. The American Library Association reports a record number of demands–1,269 in total–to censor library books and materials in 2022, and the number is predicted to increase in future years. This represents the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. Challenges are an attempt to remove or restrict materials from the curriculum or library, based upon the objections of a person or group, thereby restricting the access of others. Banned Books Week, observed October 1-7, 2023 celebrates the right of every reader to access and learn from the rich diversity, experiences and perspectives found in books.
The most frequently challenged books of 2022 are Gender Queer: a Memoir by Maia Kobabe, Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison, and All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson. All three titles were banned or challenged for LGBTQIA+ content and because they were considered sexually explicit. “The unprecedented number of challenges we’re seeing…reflects coordinated, national efforts to silence marginalized or historically underrepresented voices and deprive all of us – young people, in particular – of the chance to explore a world beyond the confines of personal experience,” observes ALA President Lessa Kananiʻopua Pelayo-Lozada. Jessica Trujillo, President of the New Jersey Library Association, observes that “serving all members of our community and providing them with information and materials that are relevant to their needs is a bedrock principle of our profession yet the current iteration of ‘culture wars’ has led to school librarians receiving personal and professional attacks for doing just that.”
In the state of New Jersey, attempts to ban books include a case in Lower Township, where there was an effort to remove the book Black and White by Paul Volponi from the shelves of Charles Sandman Consolidated School, while in Wayne Township, individuals demanded that the school board ban seven books written about topics related to sexual identity. The New Jersey Association of School Librarians (NJASL) strongly supports the right of children of all ages to read a wide variety of material with differing viewpoints and perspectives and emphasizes that censorship denies free access to information and stifles intellectual freedom. The New Jersey Library Association (NJLA) rejects efforts to censor or remove materials from any library, based on content. In accordance with the American Library Association Library Bill of Rights and Freedom to Read Statement, the organization believes that libraries provide access to books and other library resources and services for the interest, information, education and enlightenment of all people in communities.