Planned outage of Proquest databases Saturday night

Proquest has notified us of a planned outage beginning at 10:00 pm this Saturday, September 28, and lasting about 4 hours.   This outage will affect all Proquest databases -- but they will be back in action early Sunday morning!  Thank you.

Banned Books Read-Out!

BANNED BOOKS READ-OUT!
Monday, Sept. 23 - Friday, Sept. 27

Join us at the Library for Banned Books Week as members of the Champlain community read out from their favorite banned books.  Readings will be going on periodically throughout each day from 10am-4pm.  We'll be outside if it's nice, inside the Tower Room (in the corner with all the windows) on the First Floor if it's not.  Check back often, and hang out with us!

For more on Banned Books Week, visit our Banned Books blogpost.

Banned Books Week! Monday, Sept. 23-Friday, Sept. 27

Greetings, provocateurs, creative minds, and proponents of free-speech --

The Library is excited to announce an event in honor of Banned Books Week, running this year from Monday, Sept. 23 through Friday, Sept. 27.  

What's a Banned Book?  Banned books are those that have restricted access.  These books have been removed from libraries and classrooms in areas across the country based upon objections of a person or group.  Proposals to ban books stem from many different causes, from profanity to sexuality, and other topics that some consider "unpopular" or even "unorthodox."  Check out our display on the First Floor featuring a number of banned books from our collection.  We bet you'll be surprised by some of the titles you see there!

What's Banned Books Week?  An annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment by bringing attention to the dangers of censorship.  Libraries promote the freedom to choose or express any and all opinions, even if those opinions go against the grain or challenge the "status quo."  Ensuring that even those "objectionable" viewpoints are available for anyone who wishes to read them is important to us.  Banned Books Week gives us a time to showcase and talk about these topics to make people aware.

TLDR: Be on the Look-Out for Events at the Library!

We will have displays devoted to banned books, some sweet buttons, and other fun swag to celebrate Banned Books Week.  As a special highlight this year, we are holding our first Banned Books Read-Out.  From 10am-4pm, at various times throughout the day, members of the Champlain community will be reading aloud from their favorite banned books.  Story time from objectionable books?  What's not to like?  Come hang out with us!

For more, visit http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek.

Brown Bag #9

Wednesday, September 18th — Brown Bag Discussion #9

America At War: What Are The Rules?

International Humanitarian Law (IHL)

With Jeanne M. Lieberman, Esq.

Adjunct Professor, Core division

Where and when: Morgan Room, Aiken Hall, 12:30-2 p.m.

About this discussion: 

How do we define torture or regulate weapons? What is an “unlawful enemy combatant”? What is the status of reporters or contractors on battlefields? Is environmental damage a war crime? Who can try an accused war criminal? Was “Shock and Awe” an illegal tactic? The answers come directly from International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The essential IHL rules, codified in the Geneva Conventions, aim to reduce the suffering and devastation of war in order to assure a more lasting peace after the war. How’s that going? This presentation covers the essential principles of IHL historically and in the context of current events. Participation is encouraged. It will take the form of applying IHL principles to concrete situations.

Next up…

To volunteer for a brown bag talk, please contact Paula Olsen, olsen@champlain.edu