GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY SUED BY PUBLISHERS

This is an important item for everyone involved in using electronic versions of copyrighted materials for their courses. Articles in The New York Times and The Chronicle of Higher Education discuss a lawsuit brought by publishers against Georgia State University. The lawsuit is directed at the university's creation and distribution of coursepacks.

JARED DIAMOND, AUTHOR OF GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL, TO SPEAK ON EARTH DAY

Dr. Jared Diamond, author of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Guns, Germs, and Steel, will be the keynote speaker at the Alabama Environmental Education Consortium (ALEEC) Earth Day conference at Samford University Saturday, April 19.

The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) professor will speak on lessons from the environmental collapse of societies. He wrote about this in his 2005 book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.

A prolific writer who speaks 12 languages, Diamond is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards for his books and scholarship. He has written on fields as diverse as molecular biology, linguistics, physiology, genetics, archeology and history.

The ALEEC conference-hosted by the Vulcan Materials Center for Environmental Stewardship and Education-is free and open to the public, beginning at 9 a.m. in Samford's Wright Center. Diamond will sign copies of his books at the close of the conference, as will two other authors also on the program.

Of special note: The library owns the DVD Guns Germs and Steel, a National Geographic production based on the book. It is on reserve at the University Library circulation desk.

BIG READ: PROJECT MOCKINGBIRD

The Jefferson County Library Cooperative has launched a county-wide reading initiative called "Big Read" focusing on To Kill A Mockingbird. Project Mockingbird is encouraging the Jefferson County community to read, review, and discuss this classic book, whose themes continue to resonate almost 50 years after its publication.

There is a great variety of activities, including several Samford-based events, associated with Project Mockingbird. For a complete listing of programs, please stop by the reference department and pick up a copy of The Reader (the Public Librariese of Jefferson County magazine), or visit http://www.projectmockingbird.org/.

MILLENNIUM CELEBRATION

The new library system is a reality. Please join us on Thursday March 13 at 2:00 p.m. in the University Library for an interactive open house to learn about the Millennium library system at Samford. This is a great opportunity for members of the university community to ask questions and enjoy some mid-afternoon treats.

If you have any questions, please call Naomi Gold at ext. 2770, or email ngold@samford.edu.

NEW LIBRARY SYSTEM

Many of you may have heard about the much-discussed and long-awaited launch of a new integrated library system. We anticipate that the system will be up and running on or about February 28, when we will finally say goodbye to our current, somewhat antiquated system. What will this mean for library users?

The first change you will notice is appearance. Some of the libraries’ web pages, in particular the pages for the catalog, will have an entirely different look. Those members of the Samford community who are users of Birmingham Public Library/Jefferson County Library Cooperative system will notice similarities between that system and our new system. Many libraries, in fact, utilize the software platform that we are acquiring, which is produced by Innovative Interfaces (http://www.iii.com). For a list of libraries using Innovative Interfaces, see http://www.libdex.com/vendor/Innovative_Interfaces,_Inc.html.

It may interest you to know that Virginia Tech., which developed our current and soon-to-be replaced system (VTLS, or Virginia Tech. Library System), migrated its libraries to the Innovative Interfaces system in 2005.

The other changes will center on a greatly enhanced and enriched search process. The new system has many capabilities that the current system does not. We are very excited about these enhancements to the searching process and the much-improved visual experience for users. We think you will be pleased.

PRESIDENTS' DAY DOCUMENTS ON DISPLAY

The third Monday in February has been named Presidents’ Day to honor the birthdays of all United States presidents. This year it falls on Feb. 18th. To mark this day, the Government Documents staff has assembled a display of documents related to various presidents of the United States. Included are Thomas Jefferson and the Education of a Citizen; Public Papers of the Presidents; the Impeachment Proceedings of former President Andrew Johnson, and the impeachment proceedings of former President William Clinton. We will also provide a list of links from American Memory pertaining to American presidents. While these items are on display, we ask that you do not remove them from the library.

When: February 18-February 22, 2008
Where: Government Documents, 2nd floor