January 2007 Archives

You know how you can finish a term paper at about 8:00pm the night before it is due, only to spend three or four additional hours slogging through the citations and bibliography? By the time the 11:00 news is on you're wailing and gnashing teeth. Refworks can help end that pain. Just download the citations from the library's databases into Refworks and output them in MLA, APA, or Chicago style. Doing a dissertation any time soon? Refworks can save you loads of time by organizing your sources. The end will come sooner than you think. Need to send a recently finished article out to five different publishers with five different citation styles? If you've been using Refworks along with the Write-N-Cite plugin for Microsoft Word, this task can be performed in a jiffy. You'll think it's a miracle.

Refworks, the online database that allows you to download, store, organize, and output references, is getting easier and easier to use because so many scholarly databases are enabling direct exports into it. Just two vendors EBSCO and CSA have enabled this for all of the databases we purchase from them, which comes to about 75 including Academic Search Premier, ATLA, ERIC, Medline, MLA International Bibliography, Philosopher's Index, Index Islamicus, Criminal Justice Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts. Refworks is free to all Temple students, faculty, and staff. Just click on the link above and sign up for a personal account.

Below are five video clips that show how to export references from selected scholarly databases directly into Refworks. You will need Adobe Flash on your computer to watch them (my understanding is that most computers have this now). In each I start from a search results list, select a few records, and then export them into Refworks.
Philosopher's Index
Academic Search Premier
JSTOR
Project Muse
Blackwell Synergy

And here's one last video clip on outputting your bibliography using Refworks.
Outputting Bibliography

Check out Refworks today! You'll be glad that you did. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

---Fred Rowland

The library has a subscription to Vanderbilt University's Television News Archive. This is a searchable database of television news stories going back to 1968. For CNN, you can view the actual broadcasts going back to 1994 (you will need RealPlayer on your computer to do so). You can purchase videos of news broadcasts from the other networks through the Television News Archives.

Although the records in the Television News Archive do not include the actual transcripts, you can in many cases find the full-text transcripts in Lexis Nexis Academic (go to "Guided News Search", under Step 1 select "News Transcripts", under Step 2 select to search "All Transcripts" or ones from individual networks). Use the database to track important national and international events as portrayed in the news. Use it to learn how religious issues are framed and reported.

---Fred Rowland

SEAL Open House!
Science, Engineering & Architecture Library (SEAL)
Tuesday, January 30th, 12:30pm to 3:30pm

Please join us at our Open House in the Science, Engineering
and Architecture Library. Enter a drawing for gift
certificates and other goodies, enjoy some light
refreshments, take a tour of the library, learn about our
resources and services, and meet the staff. All faculty,
staff and students welcome!

Science, Engineering & Architecture
Library (SEAL)2nd floor, Engineering
and Architecture Building, room 201

For more information, 1-7828 or SEAL@temple.edu

Gretchen Sneff
Head, Science, Engineering and Architecture Library
1947 North 12th Street
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Voice: (215) 204-4724
FAX: (215) 204-7720
Email: gretchen.sneff@temple.edu

Successful online information searches result from a combination of factors: matching the right online resource to the search topic; the searcher's previous experience; knowledge of the subject; getting good advice from a librarian. Add to these the importance of choosing the appropriate search terms. The challenge, especially for students, is that it's difficult to know the full range of terms used to describe any single topic. Choose the wrong term or exclude an important one from the search, and the results can be a vast misrepresentation of actual content on the topic.

In a recent column, web content consultant Gerry McGovern provided some interesting information from communications expert Frank Luntz. Luntz points out that as we modernize as a culture, some of our terms go out of fashion. Using the older terms can result in missing important, timelier information. For example, consider these words that have been replaced by newer ones:

WAS: Used car -- IS NOW: Pre-owned vehicle
WAS: Secretary -- IS NOW: Administrative assistant
WAS: Housewife -- IS NOW: Stay-at-home-mom
WAS: Stewardess -- IS NOW: Flight attendant
WAS: Waiter/Waitress -- IS NOW: Server

McGovern adds some interesting data to make a point about how we choose our search terms. He writes:

According to Overture, in December 2006, 730,958 people searched for "used car," while only 949 searched for "pre-owned vehicle." Nearly 73,000 people searched for "housewife" (122,000 searched for "desperate housewife"), while only 43 searched for stay-at-home-mom. Over 30,000 searched for "gay marriage" while 19,000 searched for "same-sex marriage" (and what about “civil union”).

From the librarian’s perspective, this would reinforce that effective search results, whether you are using an Internet search engine or a library database requires broad conceptualizing about the variant terms that may be used to describe any single search subject. Using an outdated term or missing an obvious synonymous term can have a huge impact on the outcome of one’s search results. So how can we help students to think about this when they do their online searching? Faculty could do any or all of the following:

+ Demonstrate searches in class that illustrate creative thinking about developing search strategies.
+ Invite a librarian to your class to hold a mini-workshop on creating effective search strategies.
+ Integrate a search strategy development activity into an assignment so that students have an opportunity to share their search terms before they start researching an assignment.
+ Show students how to review their search results in a way that points out how alternate or synonymous terms can be found right in articles they are retrieving.

The Temple University Libraries' librarians are full of great ideas about how students can be helped to become more effective researchers, and they are equally effective at helping both faculty and their students to develop the right techniques and tools to ensure that important learning outcomes are being achieved.

Steven J. Bell, Associate University Librarian for Research and Instructional Services

In an earlier post I discussed the importance of integrating information literacy into the curriculum. Such integration is already occurring at Temple, not only in the new General Education curriculum but also in the overlap with competencies mandated by various academic departments. Below are listed several competencies developed by the History Department, after which can be found the analogous information literacy outcome(s).

History Competency: Critically examines written materials and historical sources
Information Literacy Analog (outcome 13): Recognizes social and cultural context in which information was created

History Competency: Understands primary sources in their historical context
Information Literacy Analog (outcome 6): Differentiates between primary and secondary sources

History Competency: Formulates analytical questions about historical events
Information Literacy Analogs (outcomes 1, 8, and 14): Identifies key concepts and terms; Identifies keywords, synonyms, and related terms; and particularly Incorporates information into knowledge base / Synthesizes main ideas to form new concepts and questions

History Competency: Develops speaking and presentation skills
Information Literacy Analog (outcome 19): Communicates product effectively (best medium and format for purpose, range of technology, communicates clearly in appropriate style)

History Competency: Gains ability to use library and other technologically appropriate sources for research
Information Literacy Analog (outcomes 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11): All five outcomes under Effective Information Access

If you are a Temple faculty member, please consider formally addressing one or two information literacy outcomes in at least one course this year. It's quite simple really; chances are you are addressing several outcomes already! The reference librarians are available to assist and support as desired.

-David C. Murray

Ruckus.com is offering its music downloads free (and legal) to students! Previously a subscription-only service, Ruckus changed its business model to advertising revenue. In addition to over 2.1 million tracks of music, Ruckus provides social software that enables students to create and share playlists, browse playlists of friends and classmates, read comments on message boards, and recommend music. In addition to popular music, Ruckus includes significant collections of jazz and classical music. An email address with ".edu" is necessary to access the free service. For more information see:

"Big Labels Offer Free Music to College Students" from the New York Times
"Ruckus Network Offers Free Campus Access to Downloads" from the Washington Post
"Ruckus Joins Internet2 to Distribute Files for Academic Use" from the Chronicle of Higher Education

In addition to Ruckus, the Temple University music-loving community has access to exciting free streaming audio services!

African American Song - Documents the history of African American Music, including blues, early jazz, gospel, ragtime, and more!

Classical Music Library - Look for your favorite composer here! Or, browse by playlists that include music for particular artistic movements, instruments, moods, and occasions, even a "Lover's Guide!"

Smithsonian Global Sound - Travel the world with music! Every continent is represented as well as music from Oceania and the Caribbean. Escape the winter cold with a Calypso from Trinidad or a sizzling hot Tango!

Let music fill your mind and heart this winter, and always.

-Anne Harlow

An update as of January 24, 2007:

As previously announced, the Temple University libraries plan to launch an updated, improved interface to Diamond, the Libraries' online catalog, this year.

Our original timetable called for the update to launch in January, prior to the Spring Semester. We have delayed that launch in order to take advantage of system enhancements (including improved sorting of search results) incorporated in a new release of the software that powers the online catalog. This new release is now promised to us in February, so our timetable has changed.

Please watch for announcements in March of a public preview of the new catalog -- allowing you to try the new interface with current data and suggest any final changes.

We now anticipate the final launch to occur after the end of the semester in May.

Byron C. Mayes
Head, Library Systems and Technology

The Libraries have revamped the "Ask a Librarian" Tech Center program. Beginning this semester we've moved from the 2nd floor lobby to Room 205A, a breakout room, in the general lab area. Three librarians -- Susan Golding, Derik Badman, and David Murray -- will alternate workshops and drop-in consultations on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 1-2 p.m. all semester long.

Jan.18th- Feb 1st (T,W,Th) -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

Feb. 6th, 7th, 8th -- Better Grades in Less Time
You work too hard! Sharpen your research skills to cut down on time and get better results. Temple Libraries have the resources you need right at your fingertips. Join a Temple University Librarian for this session covering basic timesaving tips about using library resources.

Feb. 13th, 14th, 15th -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

Feb. 20th, 21st, 22nd -- 10 Ways to do Scholarly Research in Your Pajamas
Pizza delivery? Take out Chinese? Now you can get your research to go. Temple University Libraries offer thousands of online resources and services. Join the librarian to learn how to make the library come to you! Take out menu provided.

Feb. 27th,28th, Mar. 1st -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

March 6th, 7th, 8th -- (Spring Break)

March 13th, 14th, 15th -- Getting Organized Online
Forgot about a paper that's due? Forget to pay your phone bill or to call back that cute classmate? In this session a Temple University Librarian will demonstrate online applications that help you organize "to do" lists, events, and documents. Get text message or IM reminders! Access your calendar from any computer, anywhere!

March 20th, 21st, 22nd -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

March 27th, 28th, 29th -- Stuff You Didn’t Know You Could Do With Google
"Google gave me 8,956,441 hits. This stinks." Decrease your frustration with Google by learning how to use it like any other library database. In other words, like a pro! In this session a Temple University Librarian will cover how to find books, journal articles, news, maps, and more through Google. Learn how to use Google's advanced options to focus a search and get the most relevant results.

April 3rd, 4th, 5th -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

April 10th, 11th, 12th -- To Google or Not to Google
Google provides fast but often ineffective results. Will you really impress your professor by citing a Wikipedia article as a source for a research paper? In this session a Temple University Librarian will discuss the pros and cons of using Google for academic research. Discover how to just as quickly access more appropriate sources without over relying on Google. This session will cover a new open source Wiki alternative, as well as some of the more traditional reference tools that have been digitized for easy web access.

April 17th, 18th, 19th -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

April 24th, 25th, 26th -- Citations Without Tears
Save time on your papers, and throw out all those long citation guides. Learn to use Refworks, a web based application (free to Temple students!) that allows you to easily and quickly gather your citations and organize them for the creation of bibliographies and in-text citations in almost any format-- APA, MLA, Chicago, and more.

May 1st, 2nd, 3rd -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

May 8th, 9th, 10th -- Librarian available for drop in consultations

Please join us all semester long in Room 205A in the Tech Center! And please do let us know what you think of our new services.

--David C. Murray

Temple University Libraries announce the addition of several new electronic resources, plus changes in a few familiar resources, providing enhanced and updated access to materials in core undergraduate subject disciplines.

Wilson OmniFile is a gateway database, offering integrated access to selected full-text articles and page images, plus citations and abstracts, from thousands of periodicals and journals available in these 11 H.W. Wilson specialty databases:

* Applied Science & Technology Index (formerly called Applied Science & Technology Abstracts)
* Art Index (formerly called Art Abstracts)
* Biological & Agricultural Index
* Business Index
* Education Index (formerly called Education Abstracts)
* General Science Index (formerly called General Science Abstracts)
* Humanities Index (formerly called Humanities Abstracts)
* Legal Periodicals Index
* Library Literature & Information Science
* Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature
* Social Sciences Index (formerly called Social Sciences Abstracts)

Because Wilson OmniFile is multi-disciplinary, researchers have access to information on virtually any subject, including Art, Education, Humanities, Law, Information Science, Social Sciences, Business, Biology, Agriculture, and much more. With its breadth of coverage and plentiful full-text availability, Wilson OmniFile is an excellent starting place for any project.

In addition, three other electronic resources are now also being provided by H.W. Wilson, offering a new interface and enhanced content:

* Biographies Illustrated Plus (formerly called Wilson Biographies Plus)
* Book Review Digest Plus (formerly called Book Review Digest)
* Essay and General Literature Index

Please feel free to contact a Reference Librarian by phone (215-204-8212) or online via Ask-A-Librarian for further information about these resources.

-Kristina De Voe

These are new titles from the Gale Virtual Reference Library. All GVRL titles are also linked from Diamond.

Encyclopedia Judaica, 2nd edition
Encyclopedia of Aging
Encyclopedia of Sociology
Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History, 2nd edition
Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice
Encyclopedia of European Social History
Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa
Encyclopedia of World Cultures

Below is the complete list of reference titles through the Gale Virtual Reference Library:
Africa: An Encyclopedia for Students , 4v, 2002
African American Almanac , 9th Ed., 2003
African-American Years: Chronologies of American History and Experience , 2003
American History Through Literature 1870-1920 , 3v, 2006
Business Plans Handbook , Vol. 1, 2005
Business Plans Handbook , Vol. 2, 2005
Business Plans Handbook , Vol. 3, 2005
Business Plans Handbook , Vol. 4, 2005
Business Plans Handbook , Vol. 5, 1998
Business Plans Handbook , Vol. 6, 1999
Business Plans Handbook , Vol. 7, 2000
Business Plans Handbook , Vol. 8, 2001
Business Plans Handbook , Vol. 9, 2002
Business Plans Handbook , Vol. 11, 2006
Business Plans Handbook , Vol. 12, 2007
Business Plans Handbook, Volume 10 , Vol. 10, 2004
Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy , 2nd Ed., 1999
CDs, Super Glue, and Salsa: How Everyday Products Are Made: Series 3 , 2v, 2003
Chemistry: Foundations and Applications , 4v, 2004
Cities of the World , 6th Ed., 4v, 2002
Contemporary American Religion , 2v, 1999
Dictionary of American History , 3rd Ed., 10v, 2003
Encyclopaedia Judaica , 2nd Ed., 22v, 2007
Encyclopedia of African American Society , 2v, 2005
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History , 2nd Ed., 6v, 2006
Encyclopedia of Aging , 4v, 2002
Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy , 2nd Ed., 3v, 2002
Encyclopedia of American Industries , 4th Ed., 2v, 2005
Encyclopedia of American Religions , 7th Ed., 2003
Encyclopedia of Anthropology , 5v, 2006
Encyclopedia of Bioethics , 3rd Ed., 5v, 2004
Encyclopedia of Buddhism , 2v, 2004
Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion , 3v, 2005
Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice , 2nd Ed., 4v, 2002
Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol, and Addictive Behavior , 2nd Ed., 4v, 2001
Encyclopedia of Education , 2nd Ed., 8v, 2003
Encyclopedia of European Social History , 6v, 2001
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture , 3v, 2003
Encyclopedia of India , 4v, 2006
Encyclopedia of Irish History and Culture , 2v, 2004
Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World , 2v, 2004
Encyclopedia of Modern Asia , 6v, 2002
Encyclopedia of Philosophy , 2nd Ed., 10v, 2006
Encyclopedia of Population , 2v, 2003
Encyclopedia of Public Health , 4v, 2002
Encyclopedia of Public Health , 4v, 2002
Encyclopedia of Recreation and Leisure in America , 2v, 2004
Encyclopedia of Religion , 2nd Ed., 15v, 2005
Encyclopedia of Russian History , 4v, 2004
Encyclopedia of Science and Religion , 2v, 2003
Encyclopedia of Sociology , 2nd Ed., 5v, 2001
Encyclopedia of the American Constitution , 2nd Ed., 6v, 2000
Encyclopedia of the Great Depression , 2v, 2004
Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa , 2nd Ed., 4v, 2004
Encyclopedia of World Cultures , 10v, 1996
Encyclopedia of World Cultures Supplement , 2002
Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World , 6v, 2004
Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders , 2nd Ed., 2v, 2005
Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders , 2v, 2003
Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America , 2nd Ed., 3v, 2000
Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained , 3v, 2003
Geo-Data: The World Geographical Encyclopedia , 3rd Ed., 2003
Governments of the World: A Global Guide to Citizen's Rights and Responsibilities , 4v, 2006
Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia , 2nd Ed., 17v, 2004
History of the American Cinema , Vol. 1, 1990
History of the American Cinema , Vol. 2, 1990
History of the American Cinema , Vol. 3, 1990
History of the American Cinema , Vol. 4, 1997
History of the American Cinema , Vol. 5, 1993
History of the American Cinema , Vol. 6, 1997
International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers , 4th Ed., 4v, 2001
International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family , 2nd Ed., 4v, 2003
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying , 2v, 2003
Macmillan Encyclopedia of Energy , 3v, 2001
Major 21st-Century Writers , 5v, 2005
Major Acts of Congress , 3v, 2004
New Catholic Encyclopedia , 2nd Ed., 15v, 2003
New Dictionary of the History of Ideas , 6v, 2005
Nutrition and Well-Being A to Z , 2v, 2004
Reference Guide to Short Fiction , 2nd Ed., 1999
Reference Guide to World Literature , 3rd Ed., 2v, 2003
Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery , 8v, 2001
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture , 5v, 2000
The People's Chronology , 3rd Ed., 2005
Tobacco in History and Culture: An Encyclopedia , 2v, 2005
Water: Science and Issues , 4v, 2003
West's Encyclopedia of American Law , 2nd Ed., 13v, 2005
World Education Encyclopedia , 2nd Ed., 3v, 2001
World Press Encyclopedia , 2nd Ed., 2v, 2003
Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices , 3v, 2006
Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations , 11th Ed., 6v, 2004

---Fred Rowland

Take a look at this new electronic resource from Brown University’s Women Writers Project: Women Writers Online, a great source of writing by women going all the way back to the Renaissance (includes Renaissance Women Online).

Here’s some more information about the database.

And here’s an article about Women Writers Online from the journal Pedagogy: “Learning, Reading, and the Problem of Scale: Using Women Writers Online”.

Fred

Full access to databases and full-text journals licensed from EbscoHost and Ovid was restored by Wednesday afternoon 1/17 for both on and off-campus users.

As previously posted, on Tuesday 1/16 and Wednesday 1/17 access was disabled by an apparent attack on the domain name servers of various internet service providers (ISPs). Users on and off-campus clicking on our valid links or (or even manually keying in a url) found their browsers redirected to a commercial search portal instead of Ebsco or Ovid.

On-campus access was restored as of Wednesday morning 1/17. Off-campus access was restored about 4:15 Wednesday afternoon.

Library staff and Temple Computing Services continue to examine server logs and other evidence to diagnose the apparent mechanism and cause of this redirect attack and will develop an improved response plan for working with Temple ISPs to prevent recurrence.

Again, we apologize for this interruption to library services.

Net neutrality is the principle that companies providing access to the Internet cannot discriminate between customers. For instance, consumers get the exact same service from their homes as ExxonMobil, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, HBO, Disney, and Dreamworks. Telecom companies claim that they cannot build the advanced Internet of the future unless they are able to charge extra for premium access. Net Neutrality advocates argue that the Internet was originally developed and built with taxpayer monies and should be seen as a public utility and that it has become, in essence, the public square of the twenty-first century. A multi-tiered system of access would not only limit free speech but also limit important new technologies. What would have happened if YouTube, MySpace, and Flikr had had to pay for premium service? What about the blogosphere?

In order to win approval for its $85 billion merger with BellSouth, AT&T has agreed to observe net neutrality for two years, a window of opportunity for advocates to lobby Congress for a law enshrining net neutrality as a guiding principle of the Internet. It will also put pressure on other telecom companies to follow AT&T's lead. See: AT&T-BellSouth deal called "breakthrough" for consumers.

Below are some podcasts and web sites concerning net neutrality that you might find interesting.

Video from Save the Internet Coalition

Commercial from the Cable and Telecommunications Association

Don't Regulate coalition that includes AT&T and BellSouth

Robert McChesney on COPE Bill working its way through Congress (on Democracy Now, May 8, 2006)

NetCompetition.org coalition that includes AT&T, BellSouth, and other cable and telecommunications firms

---Fred Rowland

Getting mentioned in Time magazine counts for something. Time garnered lots of attention with its "Person of the Year" issue that celebrated the year of Web 2.0. But for those who follow developments in education, the more significant issue could be the one that appeared on December 10, 2006. Its cover story focused on the need for revolutionary change in education. As academic librarians we were please to see this article because it acknowledges that for 21st century learners it’s not about finding information, but evaluating information to determine its value:

Becoming smarter about new sources of information. In an age of overflowing information and proliferating media, kids need to rapidly process what's coming at them and distinguish between what's reliable and what isn't.

As educators, we can't anticipate or expect that tech-savvy students will be able to critically evaluate the content they find as a result of their search engine research. It may only be that by integrating the teaching of research skills into the curriculum that improvements will be made.

Even Time noted the value of information literacy classes in the article:

Classes like this, which teach key aspects of information literacy, remain rare in public education, but more and more universities and employers say they are needed as the world grows ever more deluged with information of variable quality. Last year, in response to demand from colleges, the Educational Testing Service unveiled a new, computer-based exam designed to measure information-and-communication-technology literacy. A pilot study of the test with 6,200 high school seniors and college freshmen found that only half could correctly judge the objectivity of a website.

One mention in a mainstream media publication is nice, but information literacy is still far from being a mainstream educational practice. For educators and students, information literacy is far from a common phrase. At Temple University, we're working to change that.

Steven J. Bell, Associate University Librarian for Research and Instructional Services

I heard an interview recently with Frank Luntz, the Republican language maestro who uses polling and focus groups to advise political candidates, organizations, and corporations on how to choose their words and frame their issues for the highest political impact. He's got a new book called Words that work : it's not what you say, it's what people hear. He has recommended that organizations use the term "climate change" instead of "global warming", "gaming" instead of "gambling", and "death tax" instead of "inheritance tax" or "estate tax". You might be able to still hear the interview here. Here's the web site of Luntz's research company. There are also some short articles by Luntz in Lexis Nexis Academic (sorry, can't give you the direct links to the articles, LNA doesn't enable that). In a Dec. 28, 2002 NTY article, Luntz describes how he was an advisor to TV's "West Wing" for a while, giving direction on the script from a Republican point of view. The job didn't last, evidently.

It occurred to me that it would be interesting to read the Luntz book along with books by linguists (academics) whose work has been associated with liberal causes, Geoffrey Nunberg and Georg Lakoff. Nunberg does a regular spot on Fresh Air, the NPR interview show. Temple has quite a few books by both authors. Nunberg's most recent book is Talking right : how conservatives turned liberalism into a tax-raising, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York times-reading, body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show (Paley doesn't have a copy of this, have to correct this). Lakoff's most recent book is Whose freedom? : the battle over America's most important idea.

And of course there's George Orwell's famous Politics and the English Language, written in 1946.

---Fred Rowland

I've been reading about the future of the university lately. Detractors think it costs too much, is inefficient, is too politicized, doesn't properly train the workforce of the future, and is generally out of step with the great demographic changes of the past 25 years. It's not flexible enough (what is?), researchers don't teach well and teachers don't research well. Supporters point out that universities are among the few institutions that have survived from the fifteenth century, that good education is just plain expensive, that education is about more than just posting "content" online somewhere, that Socrates got it right, and that businesses are out to privatize lots of publicly-funded infrastructure as was done with the healthcare industry (there is even talk about Educational Maintenance Organizations, EMO's). Both supporters and detractors seem agreed that there's a lot of change ahead for the university.

Of course the development of the Internet plays a huge role in the debates surrounding the future of higher education. Techno-utopians see the Internet as bringing more democracy, more education, more knowledge, more love, new life forms... More practical sorts see the reduced costs of information delivery on the Internet as a great business opportunity, so you see for-profit educational organizations popping up. More traditional sorts see the Internet as improving but not overturning current educational practices.

What interests me the most is the way the Internet (and high-tech in general) produces what can only be described as religious passions in many people. Cyberspace becomes a heavenly realm where information and emotions are transmitted friction-free and conflict melts away. You saw this in the millennial binge of the late 1990's dot.coms, where profits were suddenly deemed unimportant and market share was everything. The fall of the Soviet Union, the rise of the Internet, and Y2K (remember that?) made everyone a bit crazy for a time.

Below are some of the sources I've been looking at and thinking about:

Digital Diploma Mills--short book, well written and closely argued, author very much against distance education, makes interesting comparisons to the "correspondence movement" in the early twentieth century

Digital Revolution and the Coming of the Postmodern University--seems a bit too focused on the technology and not enough on the institutions that create the context for the technology

After the New Economy--includes interesting analysis of 1990's business bubble

Post-Capitalist Society--by Peter Drucker (aka "the management guru"), Drucker began talking about the "knowledge worker" decades ago, thinks the university won't last

Startup.com--this documentary unwittingly highlights the excesses of the 1990's dot.com boom

Shaping Communication Networks: Telegraph, Telephone, Computer--puts Internet in historical perspective

Death of the University--written in 1987, interesting but makes a lot of sweeping generalizations

The Future of Work

Higher Education in the Digital Age

The University in Transformation

Technology and the Rise of the For-Profit University-- authored by Donald Norman, an educational entrepreneur (UNext), says scholars should create content and instructional specialists should deliver it

Undisciplined--by Louis Menand, interesting, about the breakdown of disciplinary boundaries in the university

Linkages Between Work and Education?

Dearing Report--influential UK report on higher education

Distance Education and the Emerging Learning Environment--short, interesting article

The Rise and Rise of the Corporate University--good article, part of an entire issue of the Journal of European Industrial Training devoted to corporate education

Surviving the Change: The Economic Paradigm of Higher Education in Transformation--interesting article by a guy with economic training

Educating the Net Generation--from Educause, about learning styles, likes and dislikes of the net generation

---Fred Rowland

I would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused by the unavailability of the Libraries' website during the holiday closure.

The Libraries' website, including our extensive menu of links to external databases and full-text journals, was unavailable intermittently during Temple’s holiday closure. Security software installed on our webserver registered recurrent attacks or other suspicious activity and shut down the server to protect data. Library staff on call brought the system back online during the University closure as they became aware of the problems, but subsequent apparent attacks prompted repeated shutdowns.

The webserver and its firewall were stabilized early Tuesday morning (1/2/07) and have been continuously available since then.

We have taken additional steps behind the scenes to prevent recurrence of such extensive outages which we all recognize as having impeded research activity by faculty and students working over the break. Further hardware and software modifications will continue during the spring so that we can continue to improve the reliability of access to the increasingly broad and indispensable array of online resources and services we now offer. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience this problem caused. We will do our best to ensure that it does not happen again.

Larry P. Alford,
Vice Provost for Libraries