The Dialectical Relationship Between Place and Space in Education: How the Internet Is Changing Our Perceptions of Teaching and Learning

In this essay Michael Glassman and Jonathan Burbidge explore the idea of a dialectical relationship between the traditional place(s) of teaching/learning settings and the challenges to our perceptions created by the new spaces of the Internet. The authors examine this topic in the context of a three‐stage evolution of humans' relationship with new technologies: (1) fear of how new technologies will change our everyday actions, (2) recognition of emerging technologies as tools capable of offering new possibilities in our activities, and (3) integration of new technologies into productive everyday activities. The Internet is moving quickly through all three stages, but this process takes different forms with disparate populations. What makes recognition of the fast‐moving integration of Internet technology important in the field of education is that students and educators are often at different points in this process. It is critical that we are aware of the role technology is playing in the classroom, in particular the dynamic dialectical relationship between space and place.     

The Third Place: The Library as Collaborative and Community Space in a Time of Fiscal Restraint

In a period of fiscal constraint, when assumptions about the library as place are being challenged, administrators question the contribution of every expense to student success. Libraries have been successful in migrating resources and services to a digital environment accessible beyond the library. What is the role of the library as place when users do not need to visit the building to utilize library services and resources? We argue that the college library building's core role is as a space for collaborative learning and community interaction that cannot be jettisoned in the new normal.     

General Motion Pictures

Anthony Slide A COLLECTOR'S GUIDE TO MOVIE MEMORABILIA—WITH PRICES (Wallace Homestead Book Company, 1912 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50305—$12.95).

Richard L. Stromgren and Martin F. Norden. MOVIES: A LANGUAGE IN LIGHT (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1984—$15.95).

Jonathan Rosenbaum, FILM: THE FRONT LINE 1983 (Arden Press, 1127 Pennsylvania Street, Denver. Colorado 80203—$10.95).

James L. Limbacher's SEXUALITY IN WORLD CINEMA (Metuchen. New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1983—$72.50 for two volumes).

Al Clark: THE FILM YEARBOOK-1984(New York: Grove Press, 1984—$12.95, paperback).

ANNUAL INDEX TO MOTION PICTURE CREDITS: 1982 (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1983—$150.00).

Nancy Allen and Robert L. Carringer AN ANNOTATED CATALOG OF UNPUBLISHED FILM AND TELEVISION SCRIPTS (Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Publications Office, 249 Armory Building, 505 E. Armbry Street, Champaign, Illinois 61820—$15.00, paper).     

Books of the Month

THE INTERNATIONAL NEWS SERVICES by Jonathan Fenby (New York: Schocken Books, 1986—$19.95)

MARKETPLACE FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS: REGULATION AND DEREGULATION IN INDUSTRIALIZED DEMOCRACIES edited by Marcellus S. Snow (New York: Longman, 1986—$34.95)     

FOREIGN OFFICE CONTROL OF REUTERS DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR

I disagree with Professor Putnis' claim that the Foreign Office instigated a leveraged buyout of Reuters in 1915. Putnis' thesis is questionable for several reasons. (1) It is at odds with a general unwillingness on the part of government to interfere in the affairs of private business. (2) The fear of a hostile foreign takeover was neutralized and there was no compelling reason to buy out Reuters. (3) It is improbable that the Foreign Office would have devised a plan to take over Reuters before other aspects of wartime mobilization, such as armaments, were decided. Instead, I argue that Reuters initiated an agreement with the Foreign Office to fulfil its strategic aims. Once this is appreciated, the long-term and significant effects of the buyout become apparent.     

Television Teaching: Parody,The Simpsons,and Media Literacy Education

This paper examines televisual parody as a media literacy educator, and the potential of parody to channel the powers of comedy and entertainment in order to “teach” the techniques and rhetoric of televisual texts and genres. It focuses on the case of the hugely successful and popular animated parodic sitcom, The Simpsons, and its playful attack on advertising and promotional culture. Currently in its 16th season, The Simpsons broadcasts to approximately 60 million viewers in 70 countries weekly, offering a playful critique of television from within the television frame.     

“This Is Our Library,and It’s a Pretty Cool Place”: A User-Centered Study of Public Library YA Spaces

This study sought to collect data from teens and librarians about their preferences and recommendations for the effective design of physical library spaces for teens. Librarians and teens at twenty-two U.S. public libraries filmed narrated video tours of their young adult (YA) public library spaces. The researchers used qualitative content analysis techniques to analyze the video data and to develop a framework for guiding the design of effective YA public library spaces. In addition to providing specific recommendations for user-centered YA library space design, this study highlights the need for continued user input into the design and maintenance of YA public library spaces as teens’ needs evolve and vary across time and from community to community.     

A Method for Evaluating Library Liaison Activities in Small Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

This article presents a practical method for formative, self-reflective assessment of the liaison activities of individual librarians and to evaluate liaison activities in general. Many libraries evaluate their liaison programs, but few evaluate the effectiveness of individual librarians’ efforts within the program. Librarians of Rollins College redefined and re-branded their liaison program as “Your Librarian.” As part of this effort, the author surveyed the faculty and assessed the program and the effectiveness of individual librarians. The author outlines the liaison responsibilities, the survey instrument, and how the results are analyzed and used in a process of continuous reflective improvement for the program and librarians.     

The Role of Narrative in Communicating Science

The present theoretical paper presents a case for the use of narrative (i.e., fictional written text) in science education as a way of making science meaningful, relevant, and accessible to the public. Grounded in literature pointing to the value of narrative in supporting learning and the need to explore new modes of communicating science, this paper explores the potential of narrative in science education. More specifically, in this paper we explore the question: What is narrative and why might it be of value to science education? In answering this question we propose a view of narrative and its necessary components, which permits narrative a role in science education, and is, in fact, the main contribution of this paper. Also, a range of examples of narrative text are offered in the paper to make the case for a representation of fictional narrative in science. In order to address questions connected with the use of narrative in science education, a research agenda based on perspectives of narrative implications for learning is framed.