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Banned Books Week: Sept. 27 - Oct. 4

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year. This year it is from Sept. 27 - Oct. 4. Observed since 1982, the annual event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted.

Banned Books Week (BBW) celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular. It stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met.

Between 1990 and 2000, of the 6,364 challenges reported to or recorded by the Office for Intellectual Freedom:

• 1,607 were challenges to "sexually explicit" material (up 161 since 1999)
• 1,427 to material considered to use "offensive language" (up 165 since 1999)
• 1,256 to material considered "unsuited to age group" (up 89 since 1999)
• 842 to material with an "occult theme or promoting the occult or Satanism" (up 69 since 1999)
• 737 to material considered to be "violent" (up 107 since 1999)
• 515 to material with a homosexual theme or "promoting homosexuality" (up 18 since 1999)
• 419 to material "promoting a religious viewpoint" (up 22 since 1999)
• 317 to material involving "nudity" (up 20 since 1999)
• 267 to material involving "racism" (up 22 since 1999)
• 224 to material involving "sex education" (up 7 since 1999)
• 202 to material considered to be "anti-family" (up 9 since 1999)

Links

Proclamation from the Butler Libraries
Quotes relating to Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week 2008
Banned Books Week Video: I'd Like to Find *BLEEP*
Why Banned Books Week?
The Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2007

The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000

Google Book Search's Banned Books Page
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression

Informaworld service interruption

Customers may experience intermittent access to informaworld on Saturday 27th September 2008 to allow us to complete some essential maintenance. We are expecting two short periods of downtime throughout the day which will last a maximum of thirty minutes.

Scholars Resource Art Images now available

Faculty, do you need an image for your in-class teaching?  Students, would you like an example of a particular art form to go along with your class project or presentation?  Then check out: Scholars Resource at:  https://ezproxy.butler.edu:8443/login?url=https://content.butler.edu/index.php/

Butler Libraries, in partnership with the Global & Historical Studies core curriculum course and Information Resources, has made available a set of Scholars Resource images.  The database of art images includes:  painting, sculpture, architecture, and decorative arts from various time periods.  This resource also includes photos taken by Butler faculty who have traveled to various countries for teaching research in support of Butler's Global and Historical Studies course.

Besides the above direct link, the database is also accessible by going to the Library's homepage:  www.butler.edu/library and selecting 'Databases' and the 'Full Alphabetical Database List' link  Note too, via the Library's listing, that there is a PDF of the Scholars Resource images that can be found in the database.

Peruse this image database.  It is literally an 'Introduction to the Visual Arts,' the images coming from the published texts:  Gilbert's "Living with Art," 6th ed., Gardner's "Art Through the Ages," 11th ed., and Hartt's "History of Italian Renaissance Art," 4th ed.

Placing Holds on Books

The Butler Libraries' Catalog allows you to place a hold on any book that is currently checked out. This means that as soon as the book is returned we will "hold" the book for you and you will receive an automatic notification telling you it's ready for check-out.

To place a hold on a book, check your due-dates, etc., just click on Library Catalog from the Libraries' website. Once in the catalog just click on the "My Library Card" button and enter the required information.



Alternately, you can also submit a hold request from within a catalog record. To do so follow these easy steps:

1. Conduct a search in our catalog for a particular book or topic.

2. From the list of results click on the "check for copies" link.


3. Under the action column (right side of screen) click on the "Request" link.


As always you can still call either library and have staff place a hold on a book for you as well.

• Science Library (317) 940-9401

• Irwin Library (317) 940-9227

For more information about holds or recalls please see the following pages:

• Students
  
  
• Faculty

Thank you.

September Celebrations

Besides being the month that college students start getting serious about the school year, September celebrates many other things.

Among other things, September is:

• National Library Card Sign-Up Month
• Be Kind to Writers Month
• National Mushroom Month
  
• National Skin Care Awareness Month
  
• National Piano Month
• Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month
  
• Metaphysical Awareness Month
  
• National Potato Month
• Healthy Aging Month
• Reunion Planning Month
• Update Your Resume Month
  
• Baby Safety Month
  
• Mold Awareness Month
• National Rice Month
• National Cholesterol Education Month
  
• International People Skills Month
  
• National Honey Month, and
  
• Self Improvement Month

There are many ways to celebrate, so don't let the month go by without playing a piano, making sure your baby is safe, being kind to a writer, or eating a potato. :-)

Reception for Student GALA Photos in Irwin Library

Come join students, faculty, and staff in viewing a photo exhibit celebrating the 2008 GALA program at Irwin Library this Thursday.  An opening reception for this photo exhibit is being held on Thursday, September 4 at 7:30 in the Browsing Room, 1^st floor, of Irwin Library.  Jason Goldsmith, a faculty sponsor with the program, organized the exhibit, which provides “19 ways of looking at Britain’s Lake District” based on student photographs.  Come and view the thought-provoking and artistic photos the students took during this trip!  Light refreshments will be served.  

Sponsors:  GALA Program, Office of the Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Butler Libraries