The U.N.'s World Digital Library Online

The U.N. World Digital Library is now up-and-running online. The purpose of the library is to "display and explain the relics of all human cultures."

The new digital library, which is located at www.wdl.org, was created to make many resources available - including the first novel in history and the Aztecs' first mention of the Christ child - on an easy-to-navigate site.

The resources on the website are free for scholars as well as all curious people. The collection of primary documents from the planet's leading libraries will be officially inaugurated tomorrow at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO.

Check it out at www.wdl.org!

Tell the library what you think!

The library is conducting a survey to determine if the new library hours are satisfactory. The questionnaire will take no more than 10 minutes. Just click on the Survey link! All responses are anonymous. Paper copies of the survey are also available at the circulation desk in the library.

Thank you very much for your help!

College Students Are Reading...More?

A recent article from Iowa State University News Service mentions a study on the reading habits of undergraduates in this technologically-obsessed world. Apparently, students are reading more frequently than they were 10 years ago.

"...students reported spending 7.98 hours per week on recreational reading and 15.19 on academic reading -- considerably higher than the amount spent by college students in comparative studies conducted in 1999..."

The reason for this jump in student recreational reading? Because the internet offers easier access to information, students have more time on their hands, and are using that time wisely, according to this study.

Check out the article at http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2009/mar/readingstudy.shtml.

Using Twitter to Teach?

In a new article from Chronicle.com, Jeffrey Young introduces 10 college administrators - and avid twitterers - who are quickly changing the world of higher education one "tweet" at a time.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, Twitter is a social networking tool - much like Facebook - except instead of "friends" you collect "followers" and instead of posting "status updates" you "tweet."

Twitter is free to join and easy to use; most people just post what they had for breakfast and their agenda for the day, but several administrators from the world's biggest and best universities are using Twitter for educational purposes. Professors and staff members from the University of California, NYU, Fordham University, the University of Texas are using Twitter; even the President of Ohio State University is tweeting.

Check out the article at http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i31/31a01001.htm, and sign up for a Twitter account at http://twitter.com/.