Creativity and Picture Books

Where authors and illustrators exercise rigorous constraint with their texts, with neither replicating the work that the other can portray more effectively, they are at their most creative and they make picture books to which readers are repeatedly drawn because of the inherent and deeply satisfying challenges offered. Moreover, the allure is not just to children; teachers find that such texts draw from them their most creative ideas for ways of working with children. Three picture books are examined in terms of their strengths and potential activities. Conclusions are drawn which seek to justify the sharing of such picture books in terms of imaginative empowerment and lasting messages about reading.     

A preliminary investigation into the nature of shock absorbency in synthetic sports materials

Tests were conducted on three athletic shoe midsole materials and on three synthetic sports surfaces. All specimens were found to absorb energy when loaded. For a specific maximum load the amount of energy absorbed by each material was found to decrease as the load application rate increased. The materials exhibited different capacities to dissipate energy under the application of the same impulse. This may be a consideration for the injury protection afforded. The development of rheological models from the results of the tests aided an explanation of how force is resisted and energy absorbed by synthetic sports materials. Their shock absorbing properties were associated with the rheological elements of elasticity and viscosity.     

Acquisition and Management of Digital Content at the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress has been actively building digital content within its collection for some years now. This article addresses this digital collection building, covering both the technical means and the practical results. It discusses the underlying philosophies that are guiding the Library of Congress and identifies the areas in which the Library wishes to expand its operations along with the key questions it faces currently in meeting this goal. Finally, it seeks to share the lessons it has learned in the process.     

The benefits of resource discovery for publishers: a librarian's view

A core goal of librarians is to maximize usage of the content to which their libraries subscribe. Webscale or resource discovery systems offer a single search box for library users to access subscribed content. This article examines usage data at the University of Huddersfield to show how resource discovery has helped to increase the usage of publisher content that has been made available to discovery vendors, and considers the implications for publishers who are yet to do this. The article concludes that resource discovery systems have effectively levelled the playing field, allowing small to medium‐sized publishers to make content discoverable to users, and encourages publishers who do not have their content indexed in resource discovery systems to speak to discovery service vendors in order to do so at the earliest opportunity.     

Cross‐Ethnic Friendships and Intergroup Attitudes Among Asian American Adolescents

This study examined cross‐ethnic friendship choices and intergroup attitudes in a sample of 762 sixth‐grade Asian American students (M_age = 11.5 years) attending 1 of 19 middle schools that varied in ethnic composition. Multiple measures of friendship (quantity and quality) and intergroup attitudes (affective, cognitive, behavioral) toward White, Latino, and Black grademates were assessed. The results showed that Asian American students overnominated White students and undernominated Latino and Black students as their friends when school availability of each ethnic group was accounted for. Cross‐ethnic friendships were related to better intergroup attitudes, especially the behavioral dimension of attitudes. Cross‐ethnic friendships were least likely to change attitudes toward Blacks. Implications for future research, educational practice, and attitude intervention programs were discussed.