In order to provide greater access to the color printer, it has been moved from the Computing Services area to the printer room on the top floor of the library (room 220).
Get Informed: Library and Online Resources for Voters
Midterm elections are scheduled for Tuesday, November 2, less than three weeks from now. Senate races are going on in 36 states; races for governor are taking place in 37 states (including Massachusetts), and races for the House of Representatives are going on in every state. Wherever you’re registered to vote, you can arm yourself with information about candidates, ballot questions, and more with the following library-recommended resources.
Get the latest news coverage through the library’s subscriptions to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and more (including local Massachusetts newspapers) through our News databases. Or, search for transcripts of interviews with candidates through LexisNexis Academic, which includes transcripts from media outlets like Fox, NPR, and ABC. Just click on the “News” category on the side, and choose “TV & Radio Transcripts.” (A recent search for the phrase “senate race” in the last three months yielded 1,591 results!)
Want information about where to vote, or what’s on your local ballot? If you’re a Massachusetts voter, there is a limited number of Voter Information Packets located near the magazine rack in the library entrance from the Deloitte Cafe. You can get the same information by going to the Massachusetts Election Division website – you can locate your polling place or check out this year’s three statewide ballot questions. If you’re registered in another state, similar information can be found at the League of Women Voters’ Smart Voter website. Just enter your address to locate your polling place and local ballot.
And if the election’s got you interested in American politics, the library has tons of books and DVDs on U.S. politics and government, and voting and political participation in the U.S., not to mention recent books and audiobooks about political figures like Karl Rove, John Edwards, Michael Bloomberg, and Ted Kennedy.
As Thomas Jefferson said in a 1789 letter, “[W]herever the people are well informed they can be trusted with their own government.” (You can read the whole letter, if you want, in the library’s copies of Jefferson’s papers.)
Columbus Day Weekend Hours
Columbus Day Weekend holiday hours will be in effect from Saturday, October 9 through Monday, October 11, 2010:
Saturday, October 9
Library is open 9:00am to 5:00pm
Cafe is open 12:00pm to 4:00pm
Sunday, October 10
Library is open 1:00pm to 9:00pm
Cafe is open 3:00pm to 8:00pm
Monday, October 11
Library is open 1:00pm to 2:00am
Cafe is open 4:00pm to 9:30pm
The library and cafe will resume regular hours on Tuesday, October 12, 2010. For more information about our hours please check our online hours calendar.
Visit the Zoo! Zoo New England Passes are now available.
Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my!
We’re happy to report that students, faculty and staff can now borrow passes to the two Zoo New England zoos – Franklin Park Zoo in Dorchester and Stone Zoo in Stoneham.
Daily passes admit 2 adults and 4 children at $2 per person to either zoo. (The Franklin Park Zoo is accessible on the MBTA orange line). Passes may be picked up 24 hours prior to use and must be returned to Library.
View pass availability and reserve your passes via our Museum Pass Program page. If you have any questions please contact Library Services at 781.891.2168 or libraryservices@bentley.edu.
September Acquisitions: New Books, Bestsellers, DVDs & Audiobooks
Check out our book, popular reading, DVD and audiobook (including Playaway) acquisitions for the month of September. Go to our New Books & DVDs page or use the links in the left hand column.
It Pay$ to be Green – Green Business books on display
“People, planet, and profit” – these are the pillars of the Triple Bottom Line, a phrase coined by John Elkington in 1994 and expanded upon in his 1997 book Cannibals With Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business. Sixteen years later, “going green” is a hot topic. Government, corporations and consumers are focused on sustainability.
For our current display we’ve selected a variety of titles that present the case that sustainable business practices make sense for the environment, society and the bottom line. Included in our picks are green business success stories like that of Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield Farm and Ray Anderson of Interface, Inc., insight from business strategists such as Peter Senge, and guidance from environmentalists including Paul Hawken and Lester Brown.
Stop by and check things out for yourself.
Banned Books Week Begins Sept. 25
Banned Books Week is Sept. 25 – Oct. 2
Celebrate your freedom to read!
What do The Great Gatsby, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Harry Potter have in common? They are all books that have been banned or challenged at libraries and schools in the United States. In fact, it’s likely you have read a few Banned or Challenged Classics.
Beginning in 1982, Banned Books Week (BBW) has been celebrated annually to mark the importance of intellectual freedom, the freedom to read and the First Amendment. Each year the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles and publishes a list of the top ten most frequently challenged books at libraries and schools.
According to the OIF, 460 challenges to materials were reported in 2009. Included in that year’s top 10 challenged books list are Twilight, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Chocolate War, and The Color Purple.
Over the past nine years (2001-2009), the OIF reported that American libraries were faced with total of 4,312 challenges, which included:
- 1,413 challenges due to “sexually explicit” material
- 1,125 challenges due to “offensive language”
- 897 challenges due to material deemed “unsuited to age group”
- 514 challenges due to “violence”
- 344 challenges due to “homosexuality”
- 109 materials were challenged because they were “anti-family”
- 269 were challenged because of their “religious viewpoints”
Thanks to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, and students, most book challenges are unsuccessful. We hope that during Banned Books Week 2010 you’ll take a moment to think about your freedom to read and consider the role that libraries play in protecting that right!
Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association; American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; the American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.
Get a Jumpstart on Papers: Learn RefWorks Now!
The Bentley Library is offering three workshops for students this October on RefWorks. RefWorks is a tool that creates bibliographies and formats research papers in the citation style of your choice (e.g. APA, MLA). You can easily compile, edit and format bibliographies by importing references directly from the library’s online databases – including ProQuest and EBSCO – or by entering them manually.
These workshops will provide an introduction to RefWorks and how to use it. They will take place:
Wednesday, October 6, 1:15 – 2:00
Saturday, October 9, 11:00-12:00
Monday, October 18, 2:15 – 3:00
All workshops take place in the library’s Research Instruction Center (RIC), Room 11, on the bottom floor of the library.
Since seating is limited, please register by sending an e-mail to library@bentley.edu. We also strongly recommend that you create an account before coming to the workshop – you can do so at the RefWorks website. This works best when you are on campus.
To learn more about RefWorks, including creating your account, please visit our RefWorks research guide.
