Books

Angry, Distraught, Jobless

Here at Snell Library, we are all fortunate to have jobs. Actually, we’re fortunate that the library is growing rather than diminishing, and that we will even be hiring new people in the fall. The same can’t be said of other libraries or many businesses. This is because thousands of people are jobless and probably will continue to be jobless for some time to come. I am even ready to believe that we maybe we’re being lied to about unemployment levels in this country and that actual unemployment may be much closer to Great Depression levels. I have prepared myself for the fact that perhaps this will last another ten years or so; just like the Great Depression. So, with apologies for doing a downer of a blog post, let me first of all say that I sincerely hope my outlook is a bit too extreme. I am simply preparing for the worst. I can also suggest one remedy for getting through a time of economic turmoil; reading about it. Watching it. Here are some books and movies we have that can help you make sense of these troubled times and provide some metaphysical sort of sympathy for those who have it worse off than us. 1. Hunger by Knut Hamsun, 1891 This book is a stream of consciousness tract written from the mind of an arrogant, lonely, starving writer who lives half the time on the street and half the time in a shoddy apartment that he is constantly behind on with his rent. Having read this book earlier this summer, I can attest that it is not an easy read, although it is only about 190 pages. When it was first published in Norway 120 years ago, it was considered a radical, experimental novel and rather explicit in its content. In any age, I think it can just be considered a classic novel of desperate unemployment. 2. The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner, 2006. Everybody has probably heard of the Will Smith movie based on this book; or at least, based on the life of the same man. Chris Gardner is now a billionare Wall Street broker. Decades ago, he was a twenty-something black man with a young son, working in San Francisco, yet homeless due to truly unfortunate circumstances. He spent nearly a year in soup kitchens, shelters and hotels with his son, but  never gave up. This is an inspiring story of unemployment, even if Gardner’s story itself is not the narrative of so many other working homeless people. 3.  Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, 2002. I have not read this book, but what I do know that it is  about the working class of the United States and how they have been tricked out of their optimism in the American Dream by low wages and cruel workplace treatment. Ehrenreich is an investigative reporter who went undercover for a year; finding work in menial jobs where she could get experience from the inside ,and compiled it all in to this book. Murnau_LastLaugh_2.jpg image by si86 4. The Last Laugh directed by F.W Murnau. 1924. Okay, I’ll be straight: this isn’t exactly the type of movie I’d recommend to just anybody. It is not , by today’s standard’s, “accessible.” It’s a silent film. It is in Black and White. It has the distinction of being a film without a single intertitle that pops up to explain any action. But being a fan of silent films, I have to put it here. And seeing as it is about a doorman who loses his job and is demoted to washroom attendant in a hotel, to his utter humiliation, I think it is an important enough film for recessionary blues. In fact,  the film has a completely unexpected happy ending that director F.W Murnau apparently did not want to put in, but he was forced to by the studio. This film was made in Germany. Even they like happy endings sometimes. 5. Naked and other Screenplays by Mike Leigh, 1995. I would just recommend the film Naked, a truly great, angry, distraught film. But we don’t have it on the shelves. So you can read the magnificent screenplay by English writer-director Mike Leigh if you please. Briefly, it is about a man, Johnny (played by David Thewlis in the film) who flees Manchester for London, where he reunites– for lack of a better word– with his estranged girlfriend, Liz and her troubled roommate, Sophie and proceeds to seduce Sophie while  manipulating and abusing both women. Later, he proceeds to further manipulate everybody he comes across on the streets of London. Not a film for the family. But then, most of these titles aren’t.

The stacks get painted green

A new influx of books on sustainability, climate change, and all things green have hit the Library Stacks in 2010. In following its commitment to sustainable development, Northeastern has been obtaining more relevant sources on the topic for its students. Some new titles that are available and have yet to even be checked out are… A Global Green New Deal by Edward B. Barbier.
  • This book focuses on the need for global shifts in policy that will be able to meet short-term and long-term sustainability needs without creating economic or environmental crises in the future.
Co-Opportunity by John Grant.
  • This book follows the same theme of cooperation on a larger scale to achieve environmental change. It focuses on the relationship of the economy and the environment, the government’s current role and ideal role, and how individuals, communities, and countries can work cooperatively to achieve goals with relative ease and low expenses.
Mainstreaming Climate Change In Developmental Cooperation
  • This book gives a theoretical, political, and practical perspective on the role of developmental cooperation needed between developed and developing countries. The focus on climate change and aid theory make us rethink the need to help developing countries as a step to achieving global environmental progress.
The theme of environmental cooperation is obvious in these three examples and it fits perfectly with Northeastern’s commitment to the community and to cooperative education.

Faculty as Authors, Faculty as Researchers: What You Need to Know About the Google Book Search Settlement

Note: This is a longer version of an article that appeared in the Libraries’ most recent faculty newsletter. Google Book Search started in 2004 as a project to digitize and make available online millions of books held by a group of major university libraries. The plan was to digitize everything but only make fully available those books that were in the public domain, that is, no longer protected by copyright law. The books that were still under copyright would be presented in “snippets” – a few sentences displaying a user’s search terms in context, but the entire work would not be made available online. Copyright holders would also be given the option of granting permission for their work to be made freely available in its entirety, or for a limited preview (more extensive than the “snippet” view) to be made available online. In 2008, a group of authors and publishers initiated a class action lawsuit against Google, who they claim violated their copyrights by scanning and digitizing published works without permission. Google denied any wrongdoing, claiming that its actions are covered by the concept of “fair use” in U.S. copyright law; however, it decided to offer a settlement to the group of authors and publishers rather than having the suit go to trial. If you are the author of a book published in the United States (or a chapter in such a book) before January 5, 2009, you need to know how the Google Book Search Settlement affects you. First, determine whether you or your publisher holds the copyright to your book. If you hold the copyright and want to receive payment for the inclusion of your work in Google Book Search, or exclude your work entirely from Google Book Search, then you must “claim” your work or works at the Google Book Search Settlement administration website by June 5, 2010. If your publisher owns the copyright to your book, then the publisher gets to decide if it will be included in Google Book Search, and it will be entitled to the rights holder’s financial compensation. Some argue that the Google Book Search settlement, if approved, sets a dangerous precedent in its handling of what are called “orphan works” – books still in copyright and for which the rights holders cannot be identified or located. The Department of Justice submitted a “statement of concern” that Google would have the potential to monopolize the commercial market for these works. Google submitted a revision of the proposed settlement on November 13, 2009, which contained provisions for an independent trustee to represent the missing rights holders and removing some of the barriers to other companies licensing content digitized by Google. However, the fact remains that access to these works may change over time. This affects you as a researcher, as do the provisions of the settlement that limit full-text access and printing capabilities. Google’s mission is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” – but in the case of Google Book Search, just how that will happen is still uncertain. Recommended Reading “About Google Books” http://www.google.com/googlebooks/about.html “Google Book Search” http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/google_inc/google_book_search/index.html “Google Book Search and the Future of Books in Cyberspace” http://ssrn.com/abstract=1535067 “The Google Book Search Settlement: A New Orphan-Works Monopoly?” http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/faculty/2009/04/the-google-book-search-settlement-a-new-orphanworks-monopoly.html “Google Book Settlement” http://www.googlebooksettlement.com/ “Google Books Settlement: Key Players Comment” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/23/google-books-settlement-k_n_361393.html “Will Your Book Be in Google?” http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/will-your-book-be-in-google-final.pdf

Boston Book Festival – Saturday, 10/24 in Copley Square

I’ll be volunteering at the first annual Boston Book Festival being held this Saturday (10/24) in Copley Square.  The festival features 90 authors reading from their works and signing books, and 40 exhibitors. Events will be taking place at the Boston Public Library, Trinity Church, and the Old South Church. And, it’s free! The keynote speaker will be Pulitzer Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk. However, I admit I’m most intrigued by the session called “Writer Idol,” in which an actor will read the first pages of unpublished manuscripts submitted by audience members, and a panel of judges (editors and literary agents) will offer their opinions on what works and what doesn’t. Get more info at http://www.bostonbookfest.org/.

Environmentalism Books and more – at your finger tips

Books Do you want to keep up on the latest new and upcoming books on a specific aspect of Environmentalism? Then every Wednesday check out The Green Life, or subscribe to their RSS feed and receive it on your computer. If your interest is Food Politics, then maybe Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal is a book for you. This is written by Tristram Stuart who has become so dedicated to reducing food waste that he has become a FREEGAN (some one who lives off discarded or self-produced food).  Through his investigations he finds out that it is not underproduction but waste  that is at the cause of world’s food problems. Or maybe it is Building Green Communities, then how about looking at Change the World for ten Bucks: small actions x lots of people = Big Change. This is by a London-based nonprofit We Are What We Do which has put together 50 actions that can lead to more sustainable communities. Each week they cover a different subject, such as: Forests, Building Green Communities and making craft projects from recycled or eco-friendly materials. You never know what you will find. It could be something new that you might just become passionate about. If you see a book that you think the Library should invest in, you can recommend it here.