Tent Library Occupies Boston

The branches of the Occupy movement, including Occupy Boston, have been making headlines in the news for over two months now. However, one aspect of the Occupy Boston movement that has garnered little media attention is its library. Located at the Occupy Boston headquarters in Dewey Square, the library is set up in a military tent in the middle of the movement’s encampment area. The library, run by a bookstore owner and librarians who support the Occupy cause, has over 500 books available for the protesters to check out. The bookstore owner is John Ford, who temporarily shut down his alternative bookstore in Plymouth, Mass. to start the tent bookstore instead. Ford says having a library at the protest site helps people involved with the movement learn more about the system they are fighting against and become more educated about possible alternatives. Along with a growing collection of books, the library also features an archive of Occupy Boston’s meeting notes and proposals, as well as an expanding program of speakers and writing workshops. For example, the famous linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky spoke to the protestors of Occupy Boston this past Saturday. Although the Occupy Boston library is in a tent, in actuality it is not so different from Snell Library here at Northeastern. Patrons can check out books, learn more about subjects they are interested in, and converse with others. Of course, Snell Library is lucky enough to be indoors and librarians do not have to protect the books from the elements. Next time you’re curled up in a chair at Snell reading a book, be thankful that you can enjoy reading and relaxing without having to worry about the wind or rain. To read more about Occupy Boston’s tent library, check out the NY Times article.

The Arader Galleries Collection now on display at Snell

Northeastern University’s recent acquisition of works from the Arader Galleries Collection has enabled Snell Library to exhibit a number of historically significant maps and botanical water colors. These works, ranging from the 16th to 19th centuries, can be viewed outside of Snell Library Study Rooms 291 and 293 and in Classroom 295. For more information on the collection and its incorporation into NU coursework, you can check out the article featured by news@Northeastern.

Open Access Week event: Open Textbooks and Flat World Knowledge – Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

Join us on Thursday, October 27, at 10:30 a.m. in 90 Snell Library for a presentation on open textbooks. Michael Boezi, editorial director of Flat World Knowledge, the leading commercial publisher of open textbooks, will speak on “Keeping Education Accessible: The Textbook Affordability Crisis and Emerging Open Solutions.” High textbook prices increasingly challenge the mission of many institutions to provide affordable, quality education. The emerging trend of open content is reshaping the publishing landscape, allowing for the rise of new business models that:
  1. significantly reduce the cost of high-quality learning materials, and thereby the overall cost of education;
  2. meet the growing demand for alternate, flexible formats that keep pace with the different ways we consume information; and
  3. provide authors with a forward-looking compensation model.
Boezi will discuss the emerging trend of open content, examining the advantages (and challenges) of “open” as it relates to textbooks, as well as the economic, social, and technology drivers that are transforming education and propelling the growth of free, low-cost, and open alternatives to expensive, traditional college textbooks. Refreshments will be served. For a full schedule of our Open Access Week events, visit our News & Events page.

Open Access Week panel: “Wikipedia: Friend or Foe?” – Wednesday at 1:30

Join us on Wednesday at 1:30 in Snell Library room 421 for a panel discussion that is sure to engage both students and their instructors. Three Northeastern faculty members – Jeff Howe (Journalism), Joseph Reagle (Communication), and Heidi Wilkes (CPS) – will discuss Wikipedia, crowdsourcing, and social networking tools as components of the research process. There will be plenty of time for audience discussion afterwards.

⇒ Read an interview with Jeff Howe in the News@Northeastern, September 8, 2011: “The power of the ‘Crowd'”

⇒ Watch the trailer for Jeff Howe’s book, Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd is Driving the Future of Business.

⇒ Read an interview with Joseph Reagle in the News@Northeastern, August 16, 2011: “Cultural connections, a click away”

⇒ Watch a video of Reagle produced by the News: Joseph Reagle speaking on Wikipedia

Refreshments will be served. For a full schedule of our Open Access Week events, visit our News & Events page.    

Snell Library Welcomes the Emma Lazarus Exhibit and Opening Program!

Come join Snell Library in opening the Emma Lazarus: Voice of Liberty, Voice of Conscience Public Exhibit on October 27th. The exhibit will run until December 16 on the first floor of Snell Library and will illustrate the fascinating life of Emma Lazarus. Through her poetry, criticism, and advocacy for the poor, immigrants, and refugees, Emma Lazarus has left a lasting impression. The exhibit was created to recognize her influence, her life, and especially her poetry.

To kick off the exhibit, there will be an Emma Lazarus Opening Program and Panel Discussion, Issues of Immigration in Today’s America, on Thursday, October 27, 2011 from 6-8PM at the Snell Library Lobby. Moderated by NU’s Ruderman Professor of Jewish Studies, Lori Lefkovitz, the program and discussion will feature Silvia Dominguez, Northeastern University Assistant Professor of Sociology; Kitty Dukakis, social activist, author, and wife of former Governor of Massachusetts Michael Dukakis; Barbara Gottschalk, Executive Vice President of Seeds of Peace; and Ragini Shah, Associate Clinical Professor of Law at Suffolk University.

Admission is free, and a reception will follow after the discussion. Hope to see all you Huskies there! For more information about the exhibit and related programs click here! For information on other Meet the Author programs and events, click here!