scholarly journals ‘For the bibliographers at UCL’: A humument and the lessons it teaches 21st century librarians

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 209-223
Author(s):  
Anne Welsh
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Information Services ◽  
The Novel ◽  
User Group ◽  
Object Based ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Object Lessons

Object-based learning lies at the heart of teaching in both historical bibliography and cataloguing classes on the MA Library and Information Studies at UCL. Tom Phillips's work A humument and the novel he chose to use as his canvas, W.H. Mallock's A human document provide memorable ‘object lessons’ with scope for students to synthesize and evaluate their pre-existing learning from inside and outside the modules. It is important that the examples used in class are simple enough to illustrate the strengths of any conceptual model yet complex enough to highlight its limits. It is also ideal if examples can be beautiful as well as useful. A humument fulfills all these criteria and, for students with no background in art or art librarianship, also introduces the artists' book as a genre and artists themselves as an important and interesting user group within information services.

Seraphina by R. Hartman

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kymberly Sobchyshyn
Keyword(s):  
The Novel ◽  
Ancient History ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Multiple Species ◽  
The University ◽  
New Religion

Hartman, Rachel. Seraphina. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2012. Print.Rachel Hartman’s debut novel, Seraphina, is a fantastical journey into a world where humans and shape shifting dragons live among each other. The novel follows Seraphina, a strong and intelligent female character with a talent for music, as she is caught between two races. Hartman has masterfully created a new religion, culture, language, political system, and multiple species in order to fully immerse the reader in Seraphina’s world.Hartman’s dragons, a unique breed of cold, unemotional mathematicians, are mostly intrigued and confused by what they consider to be overly emotional and artistic humans. The strong differences between the two races are cause for tension, but Seraphina has a mysterious gift of being able to understand how dragons think and why they react to humans in such curious and sometimes dangerous ways.Seraphina is a story of political unrest and adventure, with a little romance added in for good measure. Not only is the book a quick and entertaining read, but the glossary is not to be missed. That’s right, the glossary! Hartman created much of the foreign vocabulary in the novel, and the glossary is the place where her sense of humour and criticism of the world she has created really shine through. Some of the more challenging vocabulary in the novel is defined in the glossary so readers who might feel discouraged by the language should know that the author has invented most of these words. For a good laugh and some added detail about Seraphina’s world, the glossary is a great way to finish. Seraphina is the first in what Hartman has planned to be a series.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kymberly SobchyshynKymberly is currently in her second year of schooling to obtain a Master’s in Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta. In her free time she enjoys traveling, ancient history, and reading of the fiction and non-fiction variety.

scholarly journals The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by S. Nielsen

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tami Oliphant
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
The Novel ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
New Novel ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
The University ◽  
Journal Entries

Nielsen, Susin. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2012. Print. Susin Nielsen is the acclaimed author of Word Nerd and Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mother. She has won several writing awards and has consistently created compelling, charismatic, and fully drawn characters. In her new novel, The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen, Nielsen explores dark and uncomfortable themes such as mental illness, bullying, violence, tolerating differences, and the quiet desperation felt by those who must refashion their lives after a tragedy. For readers concerned that the novel will break their heart, it does. And then it fills that broken heart with joy. Through his affecting journal entries, readers come to know 13-year-old Henry K. Larsen. His therapist recommends that he write about his thoughts and feelings in the aftermath of “IT”—hence the ‘reluctant’ diary. However, Henry’s diary entries are laugh out loud funny on one page and provoke tears on the next. Henry has an extraordinary voice that is unlike any other narrator. He is angry, confused, saddened, shamed, and lost after “IT” happened. He has moved with his father to Vancouver to try to piece together a new life but in reality, his family barely manages to make it through the day. Henry is leery of other people, pushes them away, and he cannot find a place for himself or make sense of his emotions after “IT.” The last thing that Henry anticipates is that he will open up to anyone about “IT”—not to his wonderful new friends Farley and Alberta, to his therapist, or to his two new neighbours. However, incidents at school and at home force Henry to talk about Jesse and the “IT” that changed everyone’s lives forever. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen is a quick and deeply satisfying read. This book is required reading. Despite the darker themes, the emotional payoff is not only gratifying, but inspiring. Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Tami OliphantTami Oliphant works as a research librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries and for the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta. She earned her Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Alberta and her doctorate from the University of Western Ontario. She has worked in academic libraries, public libraries, communications and planning, and as a sessional lecturer and researcher at the University of Alberta and the University of Western Ontario.

scholarly journals Born Ugly by B. Goobie

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Sivak
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Elementary Education ◽  
School Bullying ◽  
The Novel ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Home Life ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Part Time ◽  
The University

Goobie, Beth. Born Ugly. Markham, ON: Red Deer Press, 2011. Print. Beth Goobie writes unflinching books. Even so, Born Ugly may be the toughest of hers I’ve read yet. Narrated by Shir Rutz, a 15-year-old girl without friends or caring family, this novel is both a realistic portrayal of high school bullying and a thriller that plays with perceptions of “goodness” in people. Goobie spends most of the novel focusing on the story of Shir’s problems, however, ultimately to the detriment of the thriller plot, which subsequently blocked me from a full immersion into the latter section of the book. Goobie is at her best when she is staring directly into the tough situations in which Shir finds herself, primarily through her status as the ugliest girl at her school. Shir is relentlessly targeted every day by a group of popular boys who offer her quarters in exchange for kisses, with the punch line that it is worth paying to kiss someone as ugly as her. She is known around the school as “dog face,” and is forced to eat a sandwich of dog feces. Her home life is little better. Her mother clearly prefers her younger sister, who is prettier and better-behaved. Shir’s father has long since vanished, and Mrs. Rutz only mentions him when she is putting her daughter down, saying that Shir is an ugly drunk, just like her dad. Shir’s sister often knows about the pranks planned for Shir, and stands and watches from the sidelines without offering any help or comfort. While Shir drinks heavily to erase the pain of her days from her mind, she has two small lights of hope: her part time job for Mr. Anderson delivering groceries, as well as an unexpected friendship with a boy she meets at her favourite hiding place under a town bridge. However, the job is not all it seems; Mr. Anderson has started to ask her to deliver packages to people and places that seem shady, and acts nervous if she asks too many questions. About the last third of the book follows the mystery to its revelation and climax. Goobie’s descriptions of the dull inevitability of a bullied teenager’s life are extremely well-written, and painfully realistic. Shir is highly believable in her voice and actions, which gave me a real sense of the slow, awful path it can be through high school. It is also a relief to read the scenes between Shir and one of her delivery clients, an elderly woman who meets her with great kindness, and provides moving descriptions of how someone can respond to even the smallest bit of warmth. The slow pace of Shir’s daily life is the strongest story here, as compared to the mystery, which makes sense but is told far too quickly, and is wrapped up too neatly to seem authentic. Nonetheless, this is a book in which I think many teenagers will find some echo of their lives. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Allison SivakAllison Sivak is the Assessment Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Studies and Elementary Education, focusing on how the aesthetics of information design influence young people’s trust in the credibility of information content.

scholarly journals The Summer I Learned to Fly by D. Reinhardt

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tami Oliphant
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Coming Of Age ◽  
Assistant Professor ◽  
The Novel ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
True Meaning ◽  
The University

Reinhardt, Dana. The Summer I Learned to Fly. New York: Ember, 2012. Print. The enthusiastic endorsement from Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief, on the cover of The Summer I Learned to Fly was persuasive. I picked up this coming-of-age novel with high expectations and it did not disappoint. Reinhardt’s heroine, Drew Robin Solo, aka Birdie, doesn’t have many friends and spends most of her time hanging around her mother’s cheese shop. It is 1986, the summer before Birdie begins grade eight. One night after closing the cheese shop, Drew meets a mysterious young man named Emmett Crane who eats the day-old bread and leftover cheese that Drew puts in the garbage. Drew learns the true meaning of friendship as she finds out who Emmett is, why he is there, and the sacrifices she is willing to make on his behalf. Over the course of the summer, Drew’s friendship with Emmett and his eclectic group of friends develops and when tragedy strikes, Drew must also cope with changing relationships with her Mom and her co-worker and surfer dude, Nick. Reinhardt’s characters, both teen and adult, are flawed, fully drawn, and gloriously human. Drew’s emotional progression throughout the novel is encapsulated in a quiet and profound way: “I didn’t want to be the sort of friend who dashes dreams. Friends, I was pretty sure, lift their friends up; they don’t weigh them down like a sack full of stones.” The Summer I Learned to Fly is a heart-warming and worthy reminder of the choice we all have: to weigh each other down, or to lift each other up. It is highly recommended for a broad audience, but for young girls this book will particularly resonate. Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Tami Oliphant Tami Oliphant is an assistant professor at the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta.

scholarly journals Fostergirls by L. Shaw

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Sivak
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Group Home ◽  
Information Design ◽  
The Novel ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Birth Family ◽  
The University

Shaw, Liane. Fostergirls. Toronto: Second Story Press, 2011. Print. The first-person narrator of this novel, Sadie, tells the story of her placement in a group home for girls with few options left open to them. She has lived with several foster parents over the years, and knows nothing about her birth family, other than that she has a brother, and they were both abandoned by their mother. Now Sadie is 15, and due to problems with her latest “pseudofamily,” as she calls them, has been moved to a small town, living in a group home with two workers and five other girls. Sadie is cynical about the move, and cynical that the move will bring any positive changes to her life; she is biding time until her next birthday, when she can apply for emancipation. Sadie's voice reads as authentically adolescent in tone and language, with the exception of the lack of actual swearing, which I find always renders teenage characters as unrealistic.  There is a density to the writing as well, in which Sadie’s thoughts are immediately followed by her explanation of those thoughts. This serves to tell too much about Sadie’s feelings, rather than allowing space for readers to interpret Sadie’s reactions on their own. In this way, the novel at times can read didactically, directing readers towards understanding; it would have benefited from more space for the writing and the characters to emerge without being pushed by the text. Novels about marginalized characters require a more delicate touch, in order to avoid presenting as heavy-handed. Overall, the novel is an honest effort to shine a light on some of the difficulties and stigma that foster kids face, which will likely be interesting for readers who have not had these experiences, and may very well appeal to those who have. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Allison SivakAllison is the Assessment Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Studies and Elementary Education, focusing on how the aesthetics of information design influence young people’s trust in the credibility of information content. 

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