Serials Librarianship is Still a Business… But Do We like It?

A seasoned collection management librarian explores aspects of job satisfaction in academic librarianship, including following one’s conscience, making good use of abilities, and incorporating outside interests.     

Case Studies in Electronic Serials Cataloging,or What Am I Supposed to Do with This?

SUMMARY

Shadle examined the CONSER recommended aggregator-neutral record, providing background on its development, as well as examples and discussion of records demonstrating the changes that are underway. He also included a brief discussion on electronic serials and integrating resources, with examples that served to clarify their differences. Lastly, there was discussion on title changes and buried title changes as they might appear in electronic serials, with suggestions on ways to most effectively handle them.     

The Discursive (Re)construction of Journalism’s Gatekeeping Role

Through the lens of discursive institutionalism, and drawing on an extensive corpus of metajournalistic discourse dating from 2000 to 2017, this study considers how journalists have defined and (re)constructed their gatekeeping role against the backdrop of seismic changes confronting their field. In so doing, it considers the legitimizing or delegitimizing discourses journalistic actors use when addressing journalism’s gatekeeping role.     

“I own it,don’t I?” The Rules of Academic Copyright Ownership and You

Abstract

This article delves into a few areas of copyright law that academic authors often overlook: joint author’s rights and the work made for hire doctrine. Scholarly publications produced by university professors often include more than one author. The default copyright laws apply to any such works if there is no specific written agreement to the contrary. Thus, it is important to understand what those default rules are in order to determine whether it is appropriate to deviate from them in an author agreement. Similarly, the work made for hire doctrine would normally apply to make all work produced by professors owned by the university. Luckily, many universities do not wish to own such work and give it back to professors through university statutes and other governing documents. However, it is crucial to understand whether the default rules apply or the university permits professors to negotiate their own author agreements with publishers. Finally, if authors own their own scholarly works, publishers can expect that they will negotiate their rights in the publishing agreements to benefit the terms most favorable to the author. And yet, many faculty members simply sign a standard authorship agreement without asking for concessions on the part of the publisher. Thus, this article empowers professors to exercise their copyright rights to the full extent of the law and to negotiate their author’s agreements to benefit themselves and society as a whole through open access and the use of Creative Commons licenses.     

“There’s nothing I hate more than a racist:” (Re)centering whiteness in American Horror Story: Coven

This article examines race and racism in the popular cable horror-drama American Horror Story: Coven. Centered around a feud between a white witch coven and a black, voodoo group of witches, Coven overtly deals with the issue of racism, but presents racism as a phenomenon contained in the past; something that does not happen anymore. Using critical post-race theory and scholarship on colorblind racism, whiteness, as well as black feminist theory, I show that although the narrative of Coven explicitly decries racism, it simultaneously invests in colorblind racist narratives and dialogue. Whiteness is central in Coven, operating through discourse that ignores racial difference and contemporary forms of oppression and erasure. Coven uses graphic depictions of violence against black bodies, makes explicit connections between black sexuality and animals, and uses exotic and aggressive stereotypes of black women to tell its story. Thus, Coven’s narrative both condemns racism and relies on it. This article shows that the contemporaneous presentations of explicit anti-racist dialogue and racist imagery work to (re)place whiteness at the center of Coven, a TV show that purports to forward a message of equality and justice for those who are different.     

The University of Fort Hare’s (UFH) corporate memory in the spotlight: retracing the institution’s centenary history through visual documentation

University records constitute an integral element of an academic institution’s corporate memory. This business information needs to be well managed throughout its life cycle for the purpose of accountability, transparency, good governance and for reference purposes. This paper reports on a qualitative study that was undertaken at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa by examining an exhibition developed to mark the institution’s centenary. The purpose of the study was to evaluate and trace the provenance of the collections on display to gain an overall assessment of the extent of archival development at the UFH. It cannot be over-emphasized that organizations often struggle to write their centenary history due to lack of supporting documentation as the information is either incomplete, missing or misfiled, rendering it unusable. One of the key findings emanating from this study was that much of the material used for the displays is copyrighted to sister heritage institutions and private individuals, demonstrating the consequences of lack of development and preservation by the UFH of its own archives. Consequently, the need to revamp the institution’s records and archives management systems is mandatory. An encouraging development is that in 2018 there are plans to appoint a records manager, an institutional archivist and a manager of student records. The centenary exhibition has therefore been an opportunity to demonstrate the value of archives to the University of Fort Hare.     

新加坡阅读嘉年华(上)——"Read!singapore"的发起与简介

新加坡自1945年建国以来,就是亚洲的贸易重镇,但新国政府在发展经济的时候忽略了发展本国文化,影视节目、杂志图书,进口份额多,内容和选题缺少原创性和自身文化底蕴。近年来,新加坡政府已经开始着力关注文化产业的发展,实施多项计划,在原有数码技术、基础通讯     

“Guns Don’t Kill People … Selfies Do”: rethinking narcissism as exhibitionism in selfie-related deaths

This work explores how the Narcissus myth has been inaccurately adopted by media, specifically in the reporting of selfie-related deaths. Narcissus, a boy in love with his own image, loved himself so much he would not share his image with others. Considering sharing is an integral part of the selfie phenomenon, this work seeks to dismantle the narcissism misuse in media coverage of selfie-related deaths. Through critical textual analysis of six major newspapers, I argue that exhibitionism is a more accurate critique of the selfie. Furthermore, it is a critique that fits more in line with the digital age, as opposed to the analog nature of narcissism.