Wednesday, September 06, 2006

september projects and college campuses

from leslie foster, head of government publications at william d. mcintyre library at the university of wisconsin-eau claire, news of a fascinating set of september project events:
At the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the Library's Government Publications Department and the University's Political Science Department are sponsoring events.

A display, "Civic Engagement: Take Part in Democracy," has been mounted in the library's grand corridor exhibit cases and will remain there throughout September. On September 11, the DVD, "Democracy's Challenge: Reclaiming the public's role" will run continuously in the library's new information literacy and public access lab.

On Monday, September 18 at 7:00 p.m. in Schofield Auditorium, Dr. James W. Tubbs will present a program, "Presidential Powers in Times of War and Danger: Are There Limits on the President's Discretion to Act?" After a 30-45 minute presentation, there will be time for audience participation in a 15-30 minute question and answer period.
i think it's smart that the department of political science is a co-sponsor. i also like how one of the events, the display about civic engagement, will remain in the library throughout the month. and finally, what a fascinating and exceedingly relevant topic professor tubbs will address - i hope they'll record/stream it! (update: very cool - mcintyre library has a blog, called mcintyre library news.)

and over in maryland, at the paul peck institute for american culture and civic engagement at montgomery college, dr. francine jamin, the force behind their smart and award-winning jefferson café project, has organized an inspired event:
Monday, September 11, 10:00 am. Bliss Room, Commons, TP/SS Campus.

Screening and discussion of Gandhi: Pilgrim of Peace, a 50-minute documentary film about Indian leader and peace advocate Mohandas Gandhi. A "September Project" event, this program commemorates 9/11/2001 and the 100th anniversary of Gandhi's founding of the Indian nonviolent civil disobedience movement. STUDENT PARTICIPANTS AND CLASSES ARE ESPECIALLY WELCOME.
while in the great state of maryland, let's not forget what they have planned at MITH, at the university of maryland (via matt kirschenbaum):
A MITH Digital Dialogue
Tuesday, September 12, 12:30-1:45
MITH Conference Room, McKeldin Library B0135

MITH's contribution will take the form of a roundtable Digital
Dialogue on the September 11th Digital Archive: http://www.911digitalarchive.org/

According to the site, "The September 11 Digital Archive uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the history of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania and the public responses to them."

A few questions to get us started (please do come with questions of your own): What does it mean to "archive" 9/11 on the Web? What are the boundaries of this particular Web site *as* an archive? What new or unique role do born digital materials--email, cell phone text messages, digital photographs and video, blogs, and mainstream media sites--play in the memory and preservation of 9/11? What are the particular issues and challenges involved: ethical, historiographical, and technical? How else has the Web contributed to an archiving or preservation of 9/11, including the widely viewed alternative history ("conspiracy") documentaries digitally distriubted from YouTube and similar sites?

Please note that this Digitial Dialogue will still take place during our regular Tuesday slot, on September *12*.

We have an exciting line up of Digital Dialogues scheduled for the remainder of the semester, *every Tuesday* at 12:30. Highlights of upcoming speakers include Kevin Bertram (CEO, Distributive Networks), who will present "You Can Take It With You: The Nascent Role for Mobile in the Digital Humanities," as well as visits from Daniel Pitti of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia, Jason Nelson (digital artist and poet) from Griffith University in Australia, and Stuart Moulthrop and Nancy Kaplan from the Information Arts program at the University of Baltimore. Look for our full schedule very soon.
this year more than ever libraries are designing events that are particularly relevant for their communities. no "cookie-cutter" event has emerged this year. instead, many of the events relate to and revolve around issues relevant to that library's particular community. further, many of the events are part of already existing collaborations, series, and activities - be it digital dialogues or jefferson cafes.

recently, la biblioteca universidad central del este, in san pedro de macoris, dominican republic, signed up to participate. what will they do? what kind of materials will be provided? this morning, the library system of the international islamic university, in islamabad, pakistan, signed up to participate. what kinds of events will they organize? what kind of topics will they discuss?

for the second year, the university of haifa library (english version of web site) is participating. their event is as follows:
During the months of July and August 2006 the city of Haifa, Israel, was under terror attacks from Lebanon, as was the Northern part of Israel.

We decided to prepare a web site, as part of the September 11 project, that describes what happens to us, librarians living and working in Haifa, during that period.
the web site is a real-time archive of life on a college campus during war.

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