Protesting at the Smithsonian

Image via Hyperallergic

The Background Info:
People gathered outside of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History on Monday to protest against David Koch's position on the advisory board for the museum.

The upset is over The David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins and the exhibition which "offers visitors an immersive, interactive journey through 6 million years of scientific evidence for human origins and the stories of survival and extinction in our family tree during times of dramatic climate instability."

There is concern that the Smithsonian is taking on a conflict of interests between their mission to "increase knowledge and inspire learning about nature and culture, through outstanding research, collections, exhibitions, and education, in support of a sustainable future" and Koch Industries, Inc. being "involved in refining, chemicals, biofuels and ingredients; forest and consumer products; fertilizers; polymers and fibers; process and pollution control equipment and technologies; electronic components; commodity trading; minerals; energy; ranching; glass; and investments."

There is also an observed conflict of interest between Koch funding the Smithsonian's Wei-Hock "Willie" Soon's climate skepticism.

ThinkProgress reports that: "The exhibit centers on a relatively new hypothesis, based largely in speculation, that extreme climate change in the past made humans incredibly adaptable. It also claims that humans will continue to adapt to future extreme climate change, illustrating this idea with an interactive video that lets visitors create future humans that have adapted to warmer temperatures simply by growing taller or adding more sweat glands."

To Muse:
Due to the political charge the Koch brothers carry, I do not want to muse on how the Koch brothers are benefactors of the fossil fuel industry and use their staggering wealth in areas of science, politics, and the environment. I will also save the effects of evolution and adaptability of humans throughout the ages for someone else. What I want to talk about is the relationship between the museum as a servant and voice of the communities they serve within the context of this charged conflict of interest.

An unidentified ex-Smithsonian employee stated to Hyperallergic: " “They’re too demanding … you have to have leverage to make demands,” he noted. The cause was not lost on him. Having been involved in environment-related protests in the past, he said he agreed with the fundamental premise of their argument, but he didn’t think their “preachy” approach would have any productive impact on Koch or the Smithsonian. “It’s a moral issue, yes, but they’re saying it’s ‘the’ moral issue, and it’s not.” "

There would appear to be several issues at play. The first is that a board member who actively works against the research the museum does was allowed to join. The second is that this board member funded specific research within the museum itself that contradicts other research done by the museum and that of the greater scientific community. Contradicting research is not, in itself, a bad thing--science should always be questioned--but when coupled with the first issue and the substantial research and data proving otherwise raises suspicions. The third is that there is a permanent exhibition with the name of the questionable board member attached to it and visitors are seeing/sensing the contradictions as meant to be taken as truth. When the voice of the museum, even in a single exhibition, becomes mainly sponsored by a single person who also has board member power and influence, there is clear conflict of interest. 

Museums are here to serve their communities. Via the American Alliance of Museums' Code of Ethics for Museums: 

"Museums in the United States are grounded in the tradition of public service. They are organized as public trusts, holding their collections and information as a benefit for those they were established to serve. Members of their governing authority, employees and volunteers are committed to the interests of these beneficiaries. [...] 

Loyalty to the mission of the museum and to the public it serves is the essence of museum work, whether volunteer or paid. Where conflicts of interest arise—actual, potential or perceived—the duty of loyalty must never be compromised. No individual may use his or her position in a museum for personal gain or to benefit another at the expense of the museum, its mission, its reputation and the society it serves" [emphasis mine].

There would appear to be a conflict of interest and even if it was just a perceived conflict of interest, as a member of the AAM, it would be in the Smithsonian's best interest as well as ethical obligation to take the issue seriously.

Looney Tunes as Muse post share

In lieu of my absence, a short and cute post via Hyperallergic on Looney Tunes as Muse.

That's all for now folks.

Banned Books Week 2014

Why do we celebrate banned books?
Banned Books Week is an event "celebrated" in September. This year, it takes place from Sept. 21-27. Banned Books Week was founded by Judith Krug who: "was an American librarian, supporter of freedom of speech, and prominent critic of censorship. Krug became Director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association in 1967. In 1969, she joined the Freedom to Read Foundation as its Executive Director. Krug co-founded Banned Books Week in 1982." In case you are unfamiliar with the importance libraries have had in fighting for rights, librarians and libraries have long been known to stand up against invasions of privacy and rights and have continued to carry the banners of freedom of information, freedom of privacy, and freedom of speech into the digital era.

"Weird Al" Yankovic, Neil Gaiman, and George R. R. Martin

Neil Gaiman Writer

more from Neil Gaiman » 

Each year, more and more people become aware and participate in Banned Books Week. Twibbon offers an easy way to show your support by adding a banner to your Facebook and/or Twitter profile picture. Authors and celebrities are posting their support. The Columbus State Community College (CSCC) in Ohio developed a quiz to see which banned books you are.

But what exactly are we celebrating? Why would we "celebrate" banned books week? Book Riot offers an interesting take on this issue: 

"While it may seem like it’s a small quibble, it’s not. The way we use and apply language is important, and when it comes to talking about the issue of censorship, the way we focus our attention matters significantly. Celebrating banned books week is a marketing opportunity in many corners of the book world, and not without reason. These books are important. They deserve to be talked about. Talking about these books matters because it’s how we talk about reading, about the sharing of ideas, and about why books and words are tools for growth. 

But there’s a fine line between celebrating banned books week and marketing books because they’ve been censored. This isn’t a week about profits or how to sell these banned books."

Shifting from "celebrating" to "awareness" would be more appropriate. They go on to say:

"Being sponsored by book-advocating organizations including the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, and others, it’s natural that banned books would be front and center. Creating displays, offering events, and opening up discourse about these books and why people fear and seek to ban them is important in advocating for them — and it’s important for advocating the most crucial component of Krug’s vision: drawing attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on access and availability of information. 

When we “celebrate” banned books week, we strip the context of censorship from the equation. Books are the conduit for discussion, but they aren’t the purpose. Their being banned isn’t the celebration. 

The celebration is intellectual freedom."

Fear and lack of control as the root cause of banning
There are many who oppose banned books week because they feel that it is mis-characterized in other ways. They feel that it IS their right and freedom to say that a book is not fit for their children or that it is offensive to their being or beliefs in some way. They point out that banned books are frequently only challenged, not actually banned, but fail to realize that successful removal of a material from a library or curriculum is effectively banning the material and stripping it from all individuals' access. However, this, too, does not encompass the point, either. While it is every person's individual right to decide whether they want to read a book or not, parents sometimes find this notion disturbing. That their parental rights are being taken from them by the very children they bore and who are supported by the caretakers of these books, materials, and information. This root fear is the lack of control. If they cannot instill this fear, idea, or belief in their child or their child is in a place that is beyond their constant monitoring, such as at school or in a library, then they feel the only other option is to attack the material. It is far too hard for many humans to accept change and confront our own fears. Hence, books were and are challenged, removed, or banned.

What these types of parents/readers seem to forget, though, is that there are mechanisms in place for presenting material to children who are able and capable of understanding it. It is termed as "age appropriate" and there are focused librarian studies for each kind of age appropriate reading group. (This is after publishers have had their ways with the material and content for suitability, too.) A children's librarian will have specific training for presenting age appropriate material to children, as will young adult librarians.  Within these groups, even more focus of what "age appropriateness" is and can cover is understood, too. There is an enormous difference between what is age appropriate and the outright banning of a book because an individual or small group does not like the contents. In America, the differences should be stark and clear, especially in relation to our first amendment rights.


This is the point that librarians will have to keep coming back to. They are specialists when it comes to the materials they choose to accession into their collections after taking a look at what their individual communities need, want, and ask for. It is not their place, in fact it is in direct opposition to their profession, to withhold materials from their patrons. Parents, if you do not want your child to read something that is your burden to bear. It is not at the disposition of your library's time, money, and resources (which ultimately come from the community you are trying to ban access to) to place your individual needs and wants above that of their patrons and community as a whole, the materials they offer, and the missions of literacy, access, and freedom of information.

Solutions?
It is not intended to sound harsh, but instead to encourage rational thinking and contemplation. No one has the same capacity for learning, understanding, and comprehending as another person. Age appropriate materials are a general guideline. If someone feels that a material is not appropriate for their child, then that is their responsibility to explain why they feel this way to their child or, alternatively, to be a resource of understanding and knowledge when their child does read material a parent might not agree with or think their child cannot handle. It would be in the library's best interest to try and tackle the problems with censorship and parents in this manner. Offer free programs for parents and adults on how to help their child through a difficult book. Encourage the parents to read the book along with their children so that both develop their own opinions directly from the material and their experience with it themselves. The same can be said for teachers that face upset parents over the content of chosen works. Talk it out with the parent. In the case of Josh Corman's AP English Language challenge to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, he explains in his statement that: 

"In Atwood’s attempt to capture the horrors that exist in places where women’s rights are ignored and women themselves treated, as Atwood’s narrator puts it, as “incubators with legs,” she uses graphic diction. Rape is horrific, obviously, and Atwood’s words reflect that. Though the image is explicit, it is not arbitrarily so. Just as pictures of the naked, starved, tortured victims in Auschwitz are explicit, yet may edify our understanding of their plight and our resolution to steel ourselves against the possibility of their reoccurrence. Exposure to a shocking thing is not equivalent to promotion of that thing."

"Exposure to a shocking thing is not equivalent to promotion of that thing" would make a great Banned Books Awareness Week line. 

Libraries and the Invested Interest in their Communities (Library card sign-up month)

September is library card sign-up month and this year the ALA is working with comic creator Stan Lee to promote signing up. What many people may not realize is that even if they do not visit their libraries physically, they still can be highly beneficial in our increasingly digital world and that their library is always there for them, even in unexpected times.

Libraries in the 21st Century
Libraries are listening to their patrons and working to address their needs and wants. This is most noticeably occurring with the rise of digital demand--that access is both immediate and convenient. Most (if not all) libraries now have websites and with those websites they allow users to access and search what the library has in its collections. Additionally, many now offer access to ebooks and temporary downloads just by logging in with your library card number. Taking the role as the community center further, libraries are starting to offer access to magazines, movies, music, and television shows without ever having to set foot in a library.

My own county library offers access to ebooks (as well as audiobooks, music, and videos) through The Ohio Digital Library, magazines through Zinio, and even more movies, television shows, audiobooks, and music through Hoopla. They also offer ebook readers for patrons to borrow, too. Even more recently, they have eliminated library fines as a result of looking at both the relationship of the library and user as well as the impact fines have had on the library system itself. Tena Wilson, who is the executive director of the Stark County District Library, offers this great quote in the article that sums up the shifting focus of the library profession:

The old way of thinking was, ‘This is our stuff and we have to protect it.’ The new way of thinking is that, ‘This is your stuff and how can we help you (access it).’

As someone emerging into the LIS profession, this quote definitely exemplifies the evolution of the field and reflects the emphasis of access in my classes and learning. Access is the answer to nearly every question we base decisions off of--whether in libraries, archives, museums, or other information fields. Why do we catalog? Why do we preserve? Why do we exhibit? To offer the public access to the information.

More than books
With the rush and focus to stay current and relevant to community members needs, sometimes the digital side gets more attention than the analog/physical side of library contents and services. One of the best places to begin a genealogical hunt is with a library. Apart from many having access to the library version of Ancestry.com (which allows you to freely search their entire database, but does not allow you to link information to your family tree creator), knowledgeable staff usually have tips and tricks for navigating the vast amount of data out there. Many even take requests to search for the information for you.

Programs for children, teens, and adults are still very much alive in the modern library. Skill development classes and workshops also help those in need of learning practical, often technologically-based skills such as basic computer skills, transferring pictures from another device to your computer, and how to use programs, internet sites, and other devices. Other services that libraries offer their community are help with job searching (including resume, cover letter, and application help), FAFSA application assistance, understanding healthcare laws, helping during tax season, providing educator resources, and homework help. My library, like many others, also offers Outreach Services to homebound, nursing home, and senior users.

Above and beyond
While most of these physical services do not require a library card to participate, cards help the library to generally know how they are servicing their community. Libraries and their professional associations are always on the forefront to protect users' rights and to keep access to information unabridged. Libraries are the community centers of their neighborhoods and they are quick to feel the needs, pressures, and wants of those they serve. A recent example of this can be seen in the events of Ferguson, MO and the outreach the library reacted with.

We are here for all of our residents. If you want to come, get water, read, check email, we are here… http://t.co/56qhtfFoOz
— Ferguson Library (@fergusonlibrary) August 15, 2014

Their tweet to the community has been quoted frequently, but the library (and greater information science community) have often came to the call of those in need. Providing safe havens, clean water, and means of connecting with family members and a sense of normalcy in difficult events. I've always told my family that if I were ever to get lost, especially in another country, check the nearest library because that's where I will go. (I know that a generic "bibliotec(a)" word descriptor can be helpful in many language barrier situation, but having this little piece of information handy would be beneficial, too.) Freakonomics co-author Stephen J. Dubner even discusses whether or not libraries, if they were newly thought of, would ever be allowed to exist in our current society.

Your library is YOUR library. Support it and it will support you!

Unpublished Chapter of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory + Musings

A previously unreleased chapter of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been released which offers fans some insight into the early versions of the novel. The addition of Sir Quentin Blake's illustrations are wonderful additions to the short little chapter.

Context informs readers that there were originally more than four children as well as Charlie being accompanied by his mother rather than his grandfather. The chapter, entitled The Vanilla Fudge Room, focuses on the disobedience of Wilbur Rice and Tommy Troutbeck. Readers also may pick up on some changes that happened previously regarding the chocolate river and Augustus Pottle and Miranda Grope.

As the Guardian's companion article reports, the chapter was "deemed too wild, subversive and insufficiently moral for the tender minds of British children almost 50 years ago, has been published for the first time."

Musing
When an author wrote prior to the computerized office age, there oftentimes were many versions and drafts. This is what makes releases such as the above enjoyable and interesting. We get a glimpse of the changes the text went through in order to end up in its final published state. For readers and fans alike, we find giddy pleasure in these hidden secrets. Does it shed light on a character, choice, or event? Do we feel the author should have included the text in the final version or is it better without it? The short sample may be the spur we needed to finish reading that other novel or pick up an old favorite again.

But what happens when an author writes in easily editable and erase-able formats that are available on all computers? Whether it is a purchased product such as Microsoft Office or freeware such as Apache Open Office, we are no longer trained to write drafts of our writings. Incidentally, that used to be my least favorite thing about writing in middle and high school. All I wanted to do was write my reports out in as best a way possible. I remember even faking misspelling words and putting a few things out of order so that when we had to edit and review our work in class, I would have something to do and mark in our required red pens. To this day, I still have a hard time jumping around a writing project. I have the need to write things in order from start to finish. Now, however, with the importance of preservation always on my mind, I wonder how our digitally-born works will fare.

When J. K. Rowling's handwritten notes for Order of the Phoenix appeared online a few months ago, I was extremely delighted. I ogled it with the eye of a bibliophile and enjoyed tracing the plot points while testing them against the book. While she certainly isn't the only modern author to create such sheets, inadvertently I think it can inspire readers and writers by showing that she used simple techniques and tricks that we all have used before. It might seem messy and we might cross out (and then go back to) points we are not sure about, but these kinds of "behind the scenes" insights into writer's works are the things that help us connect and reconnect with the authors, stories, other readers, and the medium as a whole.

Museums and Muses

American Museum of Natural History © Bekah Swope

Museums have had numerous meanings throughout time. The word "museum" comes from Latin and originated in Ancient Greek as Μουσεῖον or Mouseion. It was originally a temple or other place dedicated to the (nine) Muses. The Muses, in turn, were considered to be the personification of knowledge and the arts. They "watched over the welfare of the epic, music, love poetry, oratory, history, tragedy, comedy, the dance, and astronomy" (Museums in Motion, Alexander & Alexander, 2008, p. 3). Invocation to a muse or the muses can be found in many writings, from Homer and Virgil to Shakespeare and Milton. This invocation was a call to the muses, usually at the beginning of a piece, so that the author can accurately and with the greatest of craft, represent and share the forthcoming narrative. Thus, a museum would be a place for the muses to inspire and make knowledgeable.

Image via Wikimedia Commons

One of the most famous museums would certainly be the Mouseion of Alexandria. It's library, the Library of Alexandria, is more widely known in popular culture, but the the library was actually part of a larger Mouseion. In addition to the repository of written materials and the very active attempt to collect the entirety of the written word, the institution "had some objects, including statues of thinkers, astronomical and surgical instruments, elephant trunks and animal hides, and a botanical and zoological park, but it was chiefly a university or philosophical academy--a kind of institute of advanced study with many prominent scholars in residence and supported by the state" (Alexander & Alexander, p. 3-4).

Alexander and Alexander also make a lovely point: "Bearing in mind that musing and amusement are interrelated and reflect pondering and deep thought as well as diversion and entertainment, it is no surprise that museums have long been considered to be places of study as well as repositories of collections" (p. 4).

They continue with a quote from Didier Maleuvre stating that "[T]he museum does give free time--freedom to loiter and tarry, to indulge the long double-take, the retracing of steps, the dreamy pause, the regress and ingress of reverie, the wending progress that is engagement. It is a tempo of consciousness disarming to modern audience conditioned to fear open-ended silence as a forerunner to boredom" (p. 4).

The need for time to reflect, think, learn, and pause as part of the learning/studying process in our modern age has been something David M. Levy has been speaking and writing about for some time now. (Dr. Kahn has some great resources in her blog post, too.) In Levy's No Time to Think article, Levy states that: 

"We would seem, then, to be losing the time “to look and to think” at the very moment we have produced extraordinary tools for investigating the world and ourselves and for sharing our findings. How might we understand this seeming paradox? The question becomes all the more intriguing, and perhaps puzzling, in the face of this fact: Much of the inspiration for today’s digital tools came from a proposal made by a man named Vannevar Bush sixty years ago; his aim was to augment the scholar’s ability to think. By proposing technologies to automate the more routine aspects of thought, Bush hoped to free up more time for scholars to devote to the creative aspects of their work. How has it come to pass that technologies developed to make more time to think have seemingly had the opposite effect, and what does it mean for the academy" (p. 2)? 

This loss of a vital component of the learning process coupled with the technology that has is paradoxically shortening and increasing our work times is, I believe, what leads to information overload and frustration.

I want to bring myself back towards the importance of musing. The longer stroll towards knowledge and understanding is delightfully appealing in contrast to classes that cram 12-16 weeks worth of study into just 4. How much can one really comprehend and retain with such an overwhelming amount of information coupled with the demand for replies of substance? Taking the time to muse makes sense and truly feels right to me.

Ode to Psyche by Keats

[...]

Yes, I will be thy priest, and build a fane

  In some untrodden region of my mind,
Where branchèd thoughts, new grown with pleasant pain,
  Instead of pines shall murmur in the wind:
Far, far around shall those dark-cluster'd trees
  Fledge the wild-ridgèd mountains steep by steep;
And there by zephyrs, streams, and birds, and bees,
  The moss-lain Dryads shall be lull'd to sleep;
And in the midst of this wide quietness
A rosy sanctuary will I dress
With the wreath'd trellis of a working brain,
  With buds, and bells, and stars without a name,
With all the gardener Fancy e'er could feign,
  Who breeding flowers, will never breed the same;
And there shall be for thee all soft delight
        That shadowy thought can win,
A bright torch, and a casement ope at night,
        To let the warm Love in!