Assignment #1: The History of Libraries

1. The Library of Alexandria was a hugely influential library of ancient times. Much of the world's knowledge was collected there. In fact, it was so important, that the original texts of valuable documents would be kept there and copies would be made to return to the owners. Unfortunately, this library was destroyed at some point before or after 1st century BC and much of the valuable information was lost.

2. Aristotle's Library was the first private library. It was named after the first apparent man to arrange libraries for kings and teach them how to do so.

3. The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered throughout the years 1946 to 1956. The scrolls were found inside of caves along the shore of the Dead Sea. Some of the text discovered was even included in the Hebrew Bible. This was of course an amazing historical find, as it included some of the most important religious documents ever to be found.

4. Piso's Library was covered in ash when a volcano erupted in about 79 AD. Approximately 1785 scrolls were found in the mid-eighteenth century. Many of which were very philosophical and ahead of Piso's time. It is not completely certain that Piso, who was Julius Caesar's father-in-law, was the owner of the house and library that was found, but it is very probable.

5. Scriptoriums were rooms, usually located in libraries, that were devoted to writing and copying books during medieval European times. These were important, because without the rooms and the monks who used them to write books, there would not have been any books in the library. Therefore, it would make it even more difficult than it already was in that time for people to get their hands on books and education.

6. Codex is the most important invention and educational advancement in ancient times. Basically, it is a book made up of a number of sheets, very similar to modern day books. The codex replaced the scroll completely, because it was much more efficient.

7. House of Wisdom is the first known university ever to be created. The scholars who studied there both collected much of the world's knowledge and made many of their own discoveries. The House of Wisdom had the largest collection of books by the mid-ninth century, but unfortunately, it was all destroyed in the Siege of Baghdad in 1258.

8. Grand Vizier Abdul Kassem Ismael was so passionate about literature that he would not leave his home without his entire library collection. He traveled with about 117,000 books carried on the backs of 400 camels. The camels carried specific books and were trained to walk in alphabetical order according to which books they had to keep the books organized.

9. Gutenberg's Printing Press to this day is still one of the most important inventions in history. A printing press allowed ink to be pressed onto paper or cloth. It was created by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-thirteenth century, although it must also be noted that a similar invention was created by Bi Sheng over seventy years earlier in China. This invention spread around Europe quickly. It allowed copies of books to be printed more quickly and efficiently.

10. Medici was an influential family during Italy in early times. The Medici pope was responsible for the building of a library. It still stands today as a historical site. The architecture was done by Michelangelo. Plenty of the original books remain in the library to this day. The Medici family build this library, because they wanted to be seen as educated and sophisticated among the upper class.

11. Valican Library, located in Vatican City, is one of the oldest libraries still standing today at over 500 years old. Many of the texts from hundreds of years ago still remain and can be copied for private study upn request.

12. Bodleian Library is another one of the oldest libraries in Europe that still exists to this day. It is one of the main libraries at the University of Oxford. Those who wish to enter the library must first make an oath that they will not cause damage to any of the books.

13. Harvard University Library is the oldest library in the USA, although it is more like thirteen libraries combined. It was established in 1638. Throughout its hundreds of years, many scholars have studied at that library and made important discoveries.

14. Junto's Library is a library that was formed by Benjamin Franklin and a group of members from the Junto.

15. Library Company of Philadelphia was also founded by Benjamin Franklin. This Library was the product of discussion Franklin had with the Junto members.

16. Boston Public Library was founded in 1848 and about 30 years later, it became the first library branch in American, although originally the idea for the library did not receive much support nor interest.

17. "Let There Be Light" is a famous phrase written above the door of a library in Edinburgh. It is a biblical phrase, but it also seems to be used in more of a metaphorical way. For example, when it is posted in libraries or schools, it is used not in a religious sense, but in regards to education and intelligence.

18. Library and Archives Canada's main purpose is to collect Canada heritage, make knowledge accessible to everyone and to store important government documentations. There are millions of books in the collection, as well as other important texts, such as the British North American Act and a book that was published in the late 15th century.

19. "Books For All" is a program created by the Scottish Government that provides alternatives to typical, printed books for people who have disabilities or impairments, such as blindness. This is extremely important, because it makes stories and texts accessible to more people.

20. British Libraries Turning the Pages is an online library that allows people virtual access to books. This, once again, makes knowledge more accessible to people who may be unable to go to a library.

21. Gates Foundation was founded by Bill and Melinda gates. The goal of the large privately owned foundation is to reduce poverty and enhance the quality of life around the world, and to give people more access to education in America. This foundation has raised billions of dollars, much of which goes to modernizing libraries with technology.

22. RFID stands for radio-frequency identification. Many libraries have replaced the barcode that used to be used to identify books with RFID technology, because it can be used as a method of security as well. This can speed up the amount of time it takes to check books in and out, but unfortunately this is too expensive for some libraries.

23. African Digital Library is an online library that provides people with books and other texts in Africa, making knowledge more accessible for those who have internet.

24. National Digital Library is a universal online library with an extensive collection of text, photographs, video and audio.

Journal #5: My First Few Weeks as an iLibrary Student

Throughout these two months as a library science student, I have learned much about how the library functions and how it is organized. When I first made the decision to take this course, I thought that the Dewey Decimal System and how to check books in and out of the library would be about the only things that I would learn about, but I realized that there is much more to it than that. I have gotten to research many other topics that I find interesting for the assignments and journals, such as the censorship assignment. I have also enjoyed the reading assignments as well, because I love to read and analyze books.

When we went to Learning Resources, we were shown how the books are prepped before they are sent to the school libraries. The books must be entered into the system, stamped and secured to prevent them from being stolen or lost. That was an informative experience as well.

One assignment in particular that I look forward to doing is the magazine and newspaper study. I also look forward to some of the other journals. I have read through them quickly and it seems like there are some interesting topics to learn about. There is nothing that I have found very difficult or frustrating. Of course there are days when I feel too tired to think critically about things or to research certain subjects, but overall most of the work is enjoyable and I have never felt frustrated with it that I can recall.

Non-Fiction Reading: Girl, Interrupted

The book I choose is titled, Girl, Interrupted and it is written by Susanna Kaysen. She documented her two year experience as a patient in a mental hospital in the late 1960's after a suicide attempt. She writes about the other girls who were admitted to the hospital, as well as the nurses and doctors who cared for her. The doctor who made the decision that she needed to spend time in the hospital did so throughout the process of only a very short interview and he claimed that she would be going away for two weeks. She ended up spending approximately two years there. Susanna explains what it was like to have all of her freedom taken away from her at a time when she should have had the most freedom in her young life. In her writing, it is obvious that she is a very intelligent and seemingly clearheaded person, which makes you wonder how she ever ended up in such a situation, but anyone can have mental health problems.

This book is definitely important, because some of the ways she describes mental illnesses is quite fascinating. It made me think of things in ways that I previously did not and that is always a good quality to have in a book. Considering that it is a book that documents one's own experiences and feelings, rather than being a historical account, there is definitely some bias.. For example, when she is explaining how quickly the doctor decided that she needed to go to a hospital, she managed to look at things from his point of view as well as her own. However, there will of course be some kind of bias in these types of books. It is unavoidable.

Girl, Interrupted has the potential to appeal to many different types of people, but I think that it is especially interesting to read as a seventeen year old girl. Susanna was just a year older than me when this took place and it is very strange to compare my life to hers. We are in such different places, but at the same time, I can relate to the ways she sometimes feels or the thoughts she has. The people she meets in the hospital are very real characters as well. They way they speak is realistic and she does not censor the things that they say at all. This means that there are some parts of the book that are a little inappropriate, but I think that it contributes to the story and that if she had not added that in, it would not be as realistic.

I enjoyed reading this and I wished that it was a longer book. I wanted to know more about the details of what happened to the other patients in the mental hospital after they recovered, or if they ever recovered, but there are so many things left unsaid. This is likely because what happened to them is unknown even to Susanna.

The best part of this book is that it left me with a lot to think about. As previously mentioned, I was sometimes able to relate to Susanna. That is probably what she intended when she wrote it. She wanted to make people question mental illness, since the definition of it is something that is always changing. An example she mentioned was homosexuality. It was something that a person could once be locked up in a mental hospital for, but that has changed over time and now it is accepted by most people. She also mentions that many disorders are just a matter of opinion, like "compulsive promiscuity", which she points out was more commonly diagnosed in women, and also "social contrariness". It is human nature to have a desire to categorize and put labels on things, but when it comes down to it, who is really to say what is considered usual or insane? How can we accurately define sanity when ideas are constantly changing? It is interesting to think about.

Journal #6: Copyright

Definitions:

• Copyright - The legal right given to a person from the owner to copy their work. This can include literature, music, etc.
• Creator - The owner of a type of intellectual property.
• Author - The one who brought the intellectual property into existence.
• Blanket Permission - Permission given to someone to copy a piece of intellectual property in the form of written consent.
• Public Domain - When something belongs to the public and cannot be held under any copyright laws. This is the case for older pieces of work in which the author or creator has died. For example, the Mona Lisa.
• Intellectual Property - Ideas, thoughts and intellectual creations that belong to someone.
• Plagiarism - To illegally take someone else's intellectual property and claim it as their own.
• Moral Rights - In regards to copyright, there are three moral rights. The right of paternity, the right of integrity and the right of association. The right of paternity is the right for an author to have his or her name on his or her work, or to remain anonymous and use a fake name. The right of integrity means that an author may object to any changes that people may want to make to the piece. Lastly, the right of  association means that the author can refuse to allow others from using their work in association with a cause or a company.
• Fair Dealing - Outlines the few exceptions in the Copyright Act. This allows work to be copied if it is used privately for educational purposes and the person copying the work is not making money off of it. The rules are slightly more strict for libraries and schools.
• Copyright Infringement - Occurs when someone infringes on the copyright law. For example, this can be done by selling or trading something that they are not the owner of.
• Copyleft - Is an agreement in which the owner of the intellectual property may allow others to freely use their work without charging a fee, Changes to the work are allowed to be made, as long as everyone is still able to easily view it.
• Creative Commons - A license similar to copyleft that also allows people to use or alter work, as long as credit is given to the original owner.

At some point throughout my education, I am certain that I have infringed upon copyright. I am always extremely careful not to plagiarize another person's written work, but I have used photographs on posters or PowerPoint projects that I have found on the internet, that did not belong to me. I did not check whether there was a Creative Commons license, nor did I give the original creator any credit. I did not think much of it at the time, because the only other people who would  be viewing the project were my teacher and classmates. As long as too many people did not view it and I did not alter the photograph in any way or financially benefit off of the photo, I did not see a huge problem with using it, especially in the younger grades when I honestly did not think about it very much. I knew the basics of the Copyright laws, but researching for this journal also gave me a better understanding of it and I learned about Creative Commons licenses as well. Now that I am more educated on the subject, it is something I will look out for in the future when I am doing assignments, because it is unfair to disregard the author's wishes.

Assignment #4: Censorship

Censorship is when there is a control on what can and cannot be viewed by the public in the media. This is usually controlled by the government or by large, private corporations. Some countries are more strict than others when it comes to what is allowed to be shown on television, the internet, in newspapers or broadcast on the radio. Canada, for example, only prohibits obscenity and hate propaganda.

Those supporting censorship would say that violent imagery can cause people who already have violent tendencies to act out upon their thoughts. It will just give them ideas, these people would claim. Obscenity is often unexpected as well and this can be a problem for the more sensitive person, as well as children. Hateful propaganda is also problematic, because it often promotes untruthful information that can endanger the rights of other people. In Western societies, the majority of people will not endorse any sort of censorship that goes beyond that, but in more government controlled countries, it usually does. In China, any information that is seen as going against the government's politic situation can typically be censored, even though the government claims to give their citizens the freedoms of press and speech. The censorship regulations can vary immensely from place to place.

Arguments against censorship will usually point out that basic censoring against violence or sexual images can lead to more strict restrictions. After all, how can we rightfully decide what is too obscene for the public eye? It would be impossible to have everyone agree. It could also cause some information to not be as readily available. For example, education about sexual health. If that is not easily accessible to everyone it can cause many problems and confusion about what is truthful information.

My personal opinion on the subject is that some things should be censored and others should not. Violent pornography is something that definitely does not need to be watched, because it promotes harm against people. Women, in particular and many of these women involved in pornography are horribly mistreated. Anything that is harmful to other people is not something that needs to be viewed. That being said, I am not someone who agrees that violent video games or movies can necessarily cause violence in people. There is a difference between something that is more graphic or violent and something that is just dehumanizing for the participants. However, I agree that it is difficult to decide where we should draw the line and I do not like the idea of the government choosing what I can and cannot view. Everyone's opinions and morals are different. Surely there are some people who would like to ban the things that I am fond of, such as TV shows like The Walking Dead or American Horror Story.

Perhaps the best thing to do is to give people the freedom to choose what they can view. I personally do not want the government getting so involved in my life that they decide what is appropriate for me to watch. As long as it is not harmful or dehumanizing for the participants and it is nothing nonfictional that is actually criminal, I do not see an issue with it.