12.30.2013

Public Domain Day is January 1st!

Top Row (left to right): George Washington Carver; Sergei Rachmaninoff; Shaul Tchernichovsky
Middle Row (left to right): Sophie Taeuber-Arp; Nikola Tesla; Kostis Palamas; Max Wertheimer
Bottom Row (left to right): Simone Weil; Chaim Soutine; Fats Waller; Beatrix Potter

January 1st, 2014 was Public Domain Day. A day that serves as an important reminder that there are great benefits to being able to share and build on the creative works of others without having to seek permission or pay licensing fees.

Public domain is essential to the creation of new ideas and works. Although it’s important for an author or artist to control what happens to their work initially, the U.S. copyright law was designed to place limits on those rights in order to encourage new creative endeavors. 

Works are considered in the public domain in three instances: creators can choose to place their works in the public domain, releasing all rights and control over their creations. Some works are not eligible for copyright protection, such as government documents or common collections of data like a phone book. Finally, all works will pass into the public domain after their limited copyrights have expired. Once a work is in the public domain, we are free to copy, share, and enjoy those works. 

Why celebrate Public Domain Day on January 1st? It marks the day when the duration of copyrights for certain works have expired and are now in the public domain. So what has passed into the public domain in recent years? How about these gems:
  • The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
  • Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
  • Ulyssess by James Joyce
  • The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats
So what’s passing into the public domain this year? Unfortunately, nothing. The Center for the Study of Public Domain explains,
When the first copyright law was written in the United States, copyright lasted 14 years, renewable for another 14 years if the author wished. Jefferson or Madison could look at the books written by their contemporaries and confidently expect them to be in the public domain within a decade or two. Now? In the United States, as in much of the world, copyright lasts for the author’s lifetime, plus another 70 years. You might think, therefore, that works whose authors died in 1943 would be freely available on January 1, 2014. Sadly, no. When Congress changed the law, it applied the term extension retrospectively to existing works, and gave all in-copyright works published between 1923 and 1977 a term of 95 years. The result? None of those works will enter the public domain until 2019 and works from 1957, whose arrival we might otherwise be expecting January 1, 2014, will not enter the public domain until 2053.
The Center goes on to further explain that as a result of these legislative changes, works like Atlas Shrugged, The Three Faces of Eve, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas will not pass into the public domain this year. 

Want to learn more about copyright, public domain, and alternatives to sharing your work?  Try some of these resources:
Michelle Armstrong,
Scholarly Communications and Data Management Librarian

12.19.2013

Library Winter Intersession Hours

Photo by Joe Buckingham, Flickr

The library and the rest of the Boise State campus will be closed during the Winter Break. The library will be open limited hours during Winter Intersession:

Friday, December 20: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (Commencement!)
Saturday, December 21 through Sunday, December 29: Closed
Monday, December 30: 7:00 am to 7:00 pm
Tuesday, December 31:  7:00 am to 5:00 pm
Wednesday, January 1, 2014: Closed
Thursday, January 2: 7:00am to 7:00 pm
Friday, January 3: 7:00 am to 5:00 pm
Saturday, January 4: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
See our calendar page for our complete list of operating hours.

Congratulations to all our graduates, and Happy Holidays to our extended Boise State family!
 

12.08.2013

Workshop: Data Management Plans


All researchers can benefit from developing a data management plan. They save crucial time, preserve data integrity, facilitate long-term preservation, and help increase the visibility of the research. Representatives from the Office of Information Technology, Office of Sponsored Programs and Albertsons Library will help researchers learn about the basics of data management plans and the tools and resources available to help  develop one. 

The last 45 minutes of the session will be set aside to answer questions and to discuss specific data management needs. Researchers are welcome to attend all or part of the session.

When: Noon-1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10
Where: Student Union Bishop Barnwell Room

Michelle Armstrong,
Scholarly Communications and Data Management Librarian

12.06.2013

Ask a Librarian 24/7

Check out our "Ask a Librarian 24/7" widget on the library's homepage:

 

What does it do, you ask? Well, if you're doing homework in the wee hours when the library is not open and you need quick on-the-spot online access to a librarian, this widget will connect you to one in seconds, 24/7. It may not be an Albertsons Library librarian all the time, but a librarian from another college or university, ready to answer your reference questions.

It's just another way to connect with knowledgeable staff to help you and your research needs, day and night, all the time. Cool? We think so.
 

12.04.2013

Library open 24 hours for Dead & Finals Week

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We have the awesome @BoisePD here at the library during the wee hours.
#open24hours #finals ^MC From: http://instagram.com/p/TYKJYhJgGq/
The Albertsons Library will be open 24 hours a day for Dead AND Finals Week. Yes, you read that right! We will have the second floor open as well, which includes the library's computer classroom (L203) with its 30 additional computers.

Here's the schedule for Dead & Finals Week (1st & 2nd floors only):
  • Monday, Dec. 9th: open at 7:00 AM until Friday, Dec. 13, when we close at midnight.
  • Saturday, Dec. 14: open 10:00 AM to midnight.
  • Sunday, Dec. 15 open at 10:00 AM until Thursday, Dec. 19 we close at 7 PM
  • Friday, Dec. 20: open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Commencement day!)
During the late night hours staff will be on hand to answer questions and check out first-floor reserve materials. Free coffee and treats will be provided each night (while supplies last!) by the Associated Students of Boise State University (ASBSU). An officer from the Boise Police Department will be on duty in the library all night and can provide escort service as needed.
 
For a complete list of holiday hours, please refer to our calendar. Of course, you can always access our online resources 24/7.
 
Best of luck on your finals!

12.03.2013

Travel Smart, Travel Well

Faraway land (8023381659)
By Erwin Soo from Singapore, Singapore (faraway land  Uploaded by russavia) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Travelling has many benefits. For some of you, you might be traveling home for the holidays. Some of you might take this opportunity to go somewhere you've never been before. Exploring a new country or place can broaden your mind like no other. 

The library has resources that can help you!


Try these magazines!


Travel & Leisure

Conde Nast's Traveler
National Geographic Traveler

Look at country profiles from the CIA World Factbook!

Check out these ebooks and books!

What Next After School? : All You Need to Know About Work, Travel and Study

This is the key guide for soon to be graduates! 
http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/779141564
Essential do's and taboos: the complete guide to international business and leisure travel
http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/154670193

A journey of one's own: uncommon advice for the independent woman traveler
http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/34557763
How to make money from travel writing : practical advice on turning the dream into a well-paid reality
http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/771875670
And if you need some inspiration on where to go...

Buzzfeed's 27 Surreal Places to Visit Before You Die 
Smithsonian Magazine's 28 Places to See Before You Die
Unforgettable places to see before you die
http://boisestate.worldcat.org/oclc/53962070

12.01.2013

Hour of Code!!

"Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer . . . because it teaches you how to think." —Steve Jobs

 
Have you heard abour Hour of Code? Each of us can learn a little bit about coding.

The Hour of Code is a self-guided activity that every student, in every classroom, can do. A variety of hour-long tutorials will be available for students to try out the basics of computer science.

Anyone can become a maker, creator and inventor. The library has tons of resources to help you learn how to code. Here are a few of our ebooks and books:
You can use our computer labs and collaboration lab to get started!

I love using these tutorials to learn how to code!!!

Tutorials for beginners: http://csedweek.org/learn2

My personal favorite code learning tool, Code Academy: http://www.codecademy.com/

Team treehouse: http://teamtreehouse.com/

And if you're a woman who codes, you're not alone! Check out Girls who Code: http://www.girlswhocode.com/

- Amy