Library Blog

RU Library Undergraduate Research Awards

Congratulations to Margaret Jarvis on being selected this years Roosevelt University Library's Undergraduate Research Award First Place winner. Margaret's submission,"Masculine Identity in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "examines the delicate balance between the mastery over one's carnal desires and the opposing unbridled enjoyment of such pleasurable, though socially taboo actions."

Congratulations to Heather Doble on being selected this years Second Place winner for her submission: "Blood, Empire and Anxiety." Heather's paper "examines the ways in which Arthur Conan Doyle expresses, frames, responds to and partly allays anxieties about the Other, atavism and security of the British Empire in A Study in Scarlet."

The award recognizes outstanding undergraduate research demonstrating significant use of the library’s resources and services and exhibiting the application of library research skills, critical thinking, and advanced competencies in scholarly communication.

Snopes: Debunking misinformation online

This week, the New York Times published an article about Snopes.com, one of my longtime favorite websites. Snopes is in the business of checking internet rumors, urban legends, and gossip along with all those emails your aunt or second cousin forwards you every few months. I have been alarmed by the staggering amount of misinformation that bright, educated, well-meaning people are willing to pass along. There have been many times that I have checked the information from an email forward on Snopes (and yes, they provide references) and replied to everyone else that received the same message to inform them of its fallacies. Perhaps this is annoying, but I liken it to a public service. David and Barbara Mikkelson (the husband-wife duo behind Snopes) have been in the business of debunking misinformation for fourteen years and after a decade and a half "they seem to have concluded that people are rather cavalier about the facts."

Librarians and professors encourage students to evaluate information they find online for their research reports by investigating some basic criteria:

Authority: Who is the author? What are their credentials? Are they qualified? Who do they work for?
Accuracy: Are the facts reported accurate? How do you know? Are there references?
Objectivity: Is the source or author objective or biased? Is the publication objective or biased? Is the source affiliated with particular groups that might make its report more biased?
Currency: Is the information current? Is it in keeping with current theories and practices?
Coverage: Does the article cover all aspects of an issue?

These criteria are important for school research, but they are equally important in evaluating information you come across every day. When you receive an email forward that seems shocking, you might stop and evaluate it before passing it on.

Create a READ Poster of Your Favorite Book Right Now!

Get Started Right Now:

• Follow this link to the American Library Association webpage where you can upload your picture and create your “READ” poster choosing your own style and text
• After you create your image, save it to your computer and send it to the Library to [mjefferson@roosevelt.edu] with: your Name, the Title of the book, and a short blurb of why you liked the book so much 

In observance of National Library Week (April 11 - 17), Roosevelt University Libraries encourages the RU community to celebrate with the library the importance of reading and sharing of knowledge by giving you the opportunity to create your very own “READ” poster. Posters will be featured on the Library’s Facebook page during National Library Week.

All you need to do is pick your favorite book and take a picture or create a visual representation that exemplifies you and how the book has inspired you. Once you are happy with your creation you can follow this link to the American Library Association webpage where you can upload your picture and create your “READ” poster choosing your own style and text.  

After you create your image, save it to your computer and send it to the Library to [mjefferson@roosevelt.edu] with: your Name, the Title of the book, and a short blurb of why you liked the book so much. If you so choose, feel free to submit your own image without using the mini-poster template (or if your feeling extra lazy - no image at all, but we still need your info and a blurb!). Submissions start now and we will kick it off with an example!

Have Fun & Be Creative!

 

Micah Jefferson

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy / by Douglas Adams

“Best book ever. Enough Said. But I could say more. This book literally takes you from one side of the universe to the other.”

Joseph Davis

The Wall Street Journal

“The Wall Street Journal is my favorite newspaper – that is, except for Barrons!”