Hannon Library observes Freedom of Information Day by commemorating the birthday of the fourth president of the United States, James Madison, and focusing on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Many government documents are already publicly available to view at Hannon Library and online, but the FOIA enables individuals to request access to other records from federal agencies.
The “Father of the United States Constitution,” James Madison
Often regarded as a supporter of openness in government and public access to government information, James Madison Jr. was born on March 16, 1751. The anniversary of his birth is the reason Freedom of Information Day is celebrated on March 16 each year. For an ebook about his life, consider reading James Madison: A Son of Virginia and a Founder of the Nation by Jeff Broadwater online.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Why care about the Freedom of Information Act? The FOIA promotes transparency and requires that federal government agencies share information requested under the FOIA unless it meets one of the nine exemptions permitted. If you’re interested in requesting information from a government agency, learning more about the FOIA and how to take advantage of it, consider checking out this FAQ.
To dive deeper into the inner workings of the FOIA, you might consider taking a look at the Freedom of Information Act Guide online or view the physical copy at Hannon Library. This document covers details about fees and fee waivers, information about all nine exemptions, litigation considerations, and more.
If you want to further your understanding of the more recent history of the FOIA, you can access fairly recent congressional committee hearings concerning the FOIA. Check out Ensuring Transparency Through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that took place on June 2, 2015. You can view the physical copy or take a look at it online.
Another document you might be interested in is Open Government and Freedom of Information: Reinvigorating the Freedom of Information Act for the Digital Age, which details the hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate that occurred on March 11, 2014. You can access this document online or in Hannon Library.
You can find many other resources related to the FOIA at Hannon Library. SOU’s Hannon Library is a Federal Depository Library, so many Government Publications you may be interested in are easily accessible through our LibGuide. If you’re having trouble finding what you’re looking for, our qualified librarians can help you. To receive assistance, you can chat with a librarian during Chat Research hours or submit a message to Ask a Librarian anytime.
Celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day and National Poetry Month
Library NewsApril is National Poetry Month, and this year marks the 25th annual celebration of poets and poetry. This year, you can attend Poetry & the Creative Mind online and for free on April 29 at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time for the first time. Poetry & the Creative Mind will feature actors, dancers, artists, musicians, and public figures reading favorite poetry. Register for free here.
Poem in Your Pocket Day 2021 will be on Thursday, April 29. If you are out and about on April 29, you can write down or print out a poem to carry with you throughout the day. If you’d like to get involved from home, poets.org has some great ideas for how to do so, including sharing a poem on social media using the hashtag #PocketPoem.
If you’d like more ideas for how to celebrate National Poetry Month and Poem in Your Pocket Day this year, Poets.org has amassed a collection of 30 ways to celebrate at home or online.
You can continue to celebrate poets and poetry through April and beyond by checking out poetry from Hannon Library. The selection of books below includes books that are new to Hannon Library, award winners and nominees, and books about reading poetry.
Recommended Poetry
African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle & Song edited by Kevin Young
Check it out here.
An American Sunrise: Poems by Joy Harjo
Check it out here.
Ararat by Louise Glück
Check it out here.
DMZ Colony by Don Mee Choi
Check it out here.
Furious Flower: Seeding the Future of African American Poetry edited by Joanne V. Gabbin and Lauren K. Alleyne; foreword by Rita Dove
Check it out here.
How to Carry Water: Selected Poems of Lucille Clifton by Lucille Clifton
Check it out here.
Post Colonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz
Check it out here.
The Seven Ages by Louise Glück
Check it out here.
The Tradition by Jericho Brown
Check it out here.
A Treatise on Stars by Mei-mei Berssenbrugge
Check it out here.
When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through by Joy Harjo (Editor), LeAnne Howe (Executive Associate Editor), Jennifer Elise Foerster (Associate Editor)
Books About Reading Poetry
How to Read a Poem: And Fall in Love with Poetry by Edward Hirsch
Check it out here.
The Poem Is You: 60 Contemporary American Poems and How to Read Them by Stephanie Burt
Check it out here.
National Library Week: April 4–10
Library NewsApril 4 through 10, 2021, is National Library Week, a time to highlight the essential role libraries, librarians and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening communities. First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries of all types across the country each April. The theme for this year’s National Library Week is “Welcome to your library,” which promotes the idea that libraries extend far beyond the four walls of a building. This week, Hannon Library encourages all students, faculty, staff, community members and Friends of Hannon Library to explore and access virtual services.
Key Dates
Hannon Library invites its community to observe National Library Week and participate in celebrations throughout the week.
How to Celebrate National Library Week
Top Ten Frequently Challenged Books of 2020
1. George by Alex Gino
2. Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
(Request a summit copy)
3. All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
4. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
6. Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin
7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
8. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
10. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Documents to Explore for Freedom of Information Day
Library NewsHannon Library observes Freedom of Information Day by commemorating the birthday of the fourth president of the United States, James Madison, and focusing on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Many government documents are already publicly available to view at Hannon Library and online, but the FOIA enables individuals to request access to other records from federal agencies.
The “Father of the United States Constitution,” James Madison
Often regarded as a supporter of openness in government and public access to government information, James Madison Jr. was born on March 16, 1751. The anniversary of his birth is the reason Freedom of Information Day is celebrated on March 16 each year. For an ebook about his life, consider reading James Madison: A Son of Virginia and a Founder of the Nation by Jeff Broadwater online.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Why care about the Freedom of Information Act? The FOIA promotes transparency and requires that federal government agencies share information requested under the FOIA unless it meets one of the nine exemptions permitted. If you’re interested in requesting information from a government agency, learning more about the FOIA and how to take advantage of it, consider checking out this FAQ.
To dive deeper into the inner workings of the FOIA, you might consider taking a look at the Freedom of Information Act Guide online or view the physical copy at Hannon Library. This document covers details about fees and fee waivers, information about all nine exemptions, litigation considerations, and more.
If you want to further your understanding of the more recent history of the FOIA, you can access fairly recent congressional committee hearings concerning the FOIA. Check out Ensuring Transparency Through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a hearing before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that took place on June 2, 2015. You can view the physical copy or take a look at it online.
Another document you might be interested in is Open Government and Freedom of Information: Reinvigorating the Freedom of Information Act for the Digital Age, which details the hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate that occurred on March 11, 2014. You can access this document online or in Hannon Library.
You can find many other resources related to the FOIA at Hannon Library. SOU’s Hannon Library is a Federal Depository Library, so many Government Publications you may be interested in are easily accessible through our LibGuide. If you’re having trouble finding what you’re looking for, our qualified librarians can help you. To receive assistance, you can chat with a librarian during Chat Research hours or submit a message to Ask a Librarian anytime.
Check Out Recently Published Titles to Celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month
Library NewsHannon Library is celebrating International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month by highlighting recent books which are international in focus and cover a breadth of topics. These titles were selected by Emily Miller-Francisco, Hannon Library’s Collection Development Librarian and gender, sexuality, and women’s studies subject librarian. Many of these books are available to access online as ebooks, and the others can be checked out from Hannon Library.
Capable Women, Incapable States: Negotiating Violence and Rights in India
By Poulami Roychowdhury
Gendered Commodity Chains: Seeing Women’s Work and Households in Global Production
By Wilma A. Dunaway
Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists
By Jill Ahlberg Yohe and Teri Greeves
Edited by Laura Silver
Foreword by Kaywin Feldman
Modern Girls on the Go: Gender, Mobility, and Labor in Japan
By Alisa Freedman, Christine R. Yano, and Laura Miller
Song Walking: Women, Music, and Environmental Justice in an African Borderland
By Angela Impey
Women and Violence: Global Lives in Focus
Edited by Kathleen Nadeau and Sangita Rayamajh
Women in World History: 1450 to the Present
By Bonnie G. Smith
Women’s Journey to Empowerment in the 21st Century: A Transnational Feminist Analysis of Women’s Lives in Modern Times
By Kristen Zaleski, Annalisa Enrile, Eugenia L. Weiss, and Xiying Wang
Women Made Visible Feminist Art and Media in Post-1968 Mexico City
By Gabriela Aceves Sepúlveda
Women’s Place in the Andes: Engaging Decolonial Feminist Anthropology
By Florence E. Babb
Volunteer Virtually With Special Collections
Library NewsVolunteer to Transcribe Documents
Have you put volunteer opportunities on hold over the past year due to concerns about the risk of in-person volunteering? Whether you’ve already found ways to give back lately or you’re just looking to join the growing population of volunteers who are donating their time without ever leaving their living room, Hannon Library Special Collections could use your support.
Special Collections and University Archives is an area within the library that contains materials of significant historical and research value that are too valuable, rare, or fragile to place in the open stacks. Many of these materials are primary sources that can elevate students’ research and cover a range of topics.
If you’d like to support the community that uses these resources within Hannon Library, Special Collections has an opportunity for you. Hannon Library is looking for volunteers who can transcribe several handwritten documents created between 1880 and 1939. The transcription of these documents will allow primary source materials to become keyword-searchable and more comfortable to read. Some of the materials are currently indistinct, in cursive, abbreviated, or use specific jargon. Your donation of time will ultimately help student researchers and local historians by making these unique materials easier for them to use. While volunteers have already begun transcribing materials, we are always looking for new volunteers.
Who Can Participate
Anyone with a computer, internet access, and Microsoft Word can participate in this transcription effort. History buffs may find this volunteer opportunity particularly rewarding as the materials that need transcribing document the experiences of Dr. Francis G. Swedenburg and the Anderson–Phillips family, including how their lives were affected by WWI’s bitter conflict and the Spanish flu.
For more information about this project and how to volunteer, visit Hannon Library’s online exhibit. For information explaining the transcription process, visit the How To Transcribe page.