What do Mark Twain and Toni Morrison have in common? Both are on the list of the most frequently challenged authors of 2007. September 27- October 4 is Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read.

A banned book is one that has been removed from a curriculum or library collection based upon the objections of a person or group due to content or appropriateness. Banned Books Week celebrates the efforts of librarians, educators, and citizens who have worked to preserve freedom of expression and access to materials.

Oesterle Library will observe the week by holding a “Read Out” during Campus Coffee in the lower level of the library on Wednesday, October 1 from 9:30 am to 11:30 am. Faculty, staff and students will read selected passages from books that have been banned or challenged. All NCC community members are invited to drop in for a few minutes or the entire time.

For more information about Banned Books Week visit the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week web page.

Oesterle Gallery is currently showing its first exhibit of the 2008-09 season. “Connections,” displaying work by Sheila Ganch and Paula Kloczkowski Luberda, opened on September 2, and includes both sculptures and paintings that define “connections” and the “broader scope of humanity.” For more information, visit: http://finearts.northcentralcollege.edu/x45040.xml

An artists’ reception will be held this Sunday, September 28, from 1:00-3:00 in the gallery. The community is invited.

“Connections,” which runs through October 9, is the first of seven exhibits to be displayed in the gallery this year. Other exhibits will be announced as they approach.

Oesterle Gallery is located on the upper level of Oesterle Library. The gallery is open during library hours. Admission is always free.

(contents of this post submitted by Krystle Noelle, former Library Services Student Assistant)

Available at Oesterle Library, EBSCOhost’s Newspaper Source is a database that provides access to full-text articles found in 375 regional and national newspapers. Newspaper Source also includes transcripts from radio and television programs, such as National Public Radio’s All Things Considered.

Searches in Newspaper Source can be narrowed to a specific time frame and publication, saving a researcher from the hassle of digging through stacks of newspapers. Also available as an option is the ability to see a full-text PDF of the article, complete with the photographs that were published with the article.

Newspaper Source can be accessed through Oesterle Library’s website at https://login.libproxy.noctrl.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=nfh

(submitted by Chelsea Bohner, Library Services Student Assistant)

Biological Abstracts (BA) is a database that allows students to browse references from over 4000 life science and biomedical journals. The database contains over 10 million archival records dating back to 2002, with thousands of citations added each year. In addition to the bibliographic reference, 90% of search results also contain an abstract written by the author of the article. This allows students to view the topic of the article, as well as the conclusions drawn from the research.

Biological abstracts will be replacing BasicBIOSIS , the life sciences database previously offered at Oesterle Library. BA boasts more articles from a larger variety of disciplines. While BasicBIOSIS offered mostly articles published in English popular science journals, BA offers a much larger selection of research based journals from around the globe.

In addition to Biological Abstracts, Oesterle Library also offers access to such databases as Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, and MEDLINE for students looking for articles in the life sciences field.

“We the people…,” a new exhibit in the lobby of Oesterle Library recognizes and celebrates Constitution Day and Banned Books Week by featuring books highlighting the right to free speech.

Constitution Day recognizes the anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787. The Library of Congress provides access to primary source documents from the Constitutional Convention at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/continental/index.html. Ideas for celebrating Constitution Day may be found at http://constitutioncenter.org/ConstitutionDay/

According to the American Library Association, Banned Books Week “celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them” (http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.cfm). Oesterle Library will host a Read Out during Campus Coffee (date TBD). The campus community is invited to attend to hear students, faculty, and staff read passages from banned and challenged books.