There is little debate that newspapers across the US are dying or undergoing painful drops in circulation. (For more info visit this CQ Researcher story, “The Future of Journalism” MVCC ID required from off campus.) There was a good podcast about what is happening in Chicago here from the City Voices Podcast entitled, Future of Chicago Journalism. Here are a view bright spots in online Web journalism at:

• Chi-Town Daily News
• Chicago Talks

I came across this post, United Nations Opens World Digital Library, on the Chronicle of Higher Ed’s Wired Campus Blog.  I wanted to send along these links: 

• World Digital Archive: This is the link to the actual site.  The UN has posted some interesting cultural artifacts.  
• U.N. Launches Library Of World’s Knowledge, from Washington Post: This is an article about this project that I thought was of interest.  

This is a good sign that our cultural organizations worldwide are moving more and more info to the Web.  

I was browsing the new book shelf, and I noticed a range of new books on different religions.  I thought they deserved a blog post.  

• Religion explained : the evolutionary origins of religious thought by Pascal Boyer
• The essential Talmud by Adin Steinsaltz
• The A to Z of Taoism / Julian F. Pas
• The A to Z of the Friends (Quakers) by Margery Post Abbott
• Muslims in American history: a forgotten legacy by Jerald F. Dirks
• The Portable Atheist edited by Christopher Hitchens
• Amish grace : how forgiveness transcended tragedy by Donald B. Kraybil, et al 
• The gnostic Gospels / by Elaine Pagels

Interested in Anime and related art?  Then The anime encyclopedia : a guide to Japanese animation since 1917 is a complete reference guide for you.  With more than 2000 entries and 100s of illustrations, this is a nice guide for the expert and newbie trying to understand the form.  Click here to view the availability of this text in the MVCC library.

Here is the review fromLibrary Journal
From the first examples in 1917 to today’s feature-length animated masterpieces like Princess Mononoke, Japanese animation (or anime) has drawn a devoted international fan base. For quite some time, these enthusiasts have needed an all-encompassing, detail-oriented reference work. Fortunately, Clements and McCarthy, who coedited The Erotic Anime Movie Guide and have an outstanding history in anime indexing, translation, and criticism, are just the folks to carry it off. Choosing the best examples from a field that was about twice the final number of entries, the authors review and detail more than 2000 anime films and TV series. Each entry includes a short synopsis, commentary, details about key creative personnel, and evaluation of the work’s significance. Over 100 illustrations representing major releases are sprinkled throughout. Other notable features include a selective bibliography, a name/studio index, and a title index that makes it easy to go right to the vital information about a particular example. The end product is a huge, exhaustive, timely, and authoritative compendium of information that will be appreciated by anime experts and neophytes alike. Recommended for all libraries and essential for film and media collections. David M. Lisa, Wayne P.L., NJ

I recently came across this, UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, in a blog post. This is a cool, interactive map of the world’s languages. Did you know that around 1/3 of the world’s languages are at risk of being extinct? About 199 languages have fewer than 10 people who still speak them. This is surprising information for those of us who live in English speaking countries. I thought it was worth sharing.

This past week marks the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, discoverer of the theory of evolution. This theory remains to be one of the greatest scientific achievements of all time. Thus, I thought it would be nice to forward a couple of interesting pieces.

• You can find Dawin’s book that started it all, The Origin of Species, in our library at the call number QH365 .O2 2003  
• You can flind library books & videos under the subject heading Darwin, Charles
• There is an absolutely great resources about different issues surrounding Darwin from the BBC at: Darwin: the Genius of Evolution from Radio 4 BBC
• If you are interested in Darwin’s life listen to these In Our Time epidsode 
• If you are interested in a slightly unique view of Darwin, listen to NPR’s Taking Darwin Personally

Today, the Washington Post is reporting that John Updike has passed away. Updike represented the pinnacle of the late 20th Century/early 21st Century literary establishment.Here are the books in the Library Catalog on John Updike, and here is the John Updike Author Page in LION Database (MVCC ID needed from off campus).

Chicago Public Radio reported today that the Sun Time Group is closing down 12 suburban newspapers. While none of these papers are in the MVCC district, this does mark another step in the shift from traditional media (TV, Cable, Newspapers, Magazines, etc) toward a more blended and complex media landscape that includes streamlined media outlets, bloggers, and other social media.If you’re interested in this topic, here are a couple of CQ researcher articles that you might find worthwhile: 

• Blog Explosion (MVCC ID requires)
• Future of Newspapers (MVCC ID requires)

Using APA style in a paper? Need a quick refresher on how APA works? You may want to watch this short video on APA style or you can visit the library’s research guide on citing sources.

I wanted to pass along this link to the Chicago Sun-Times Insert Commemorating Obama’s election. We have had many people ask us in the library about getting their hands on this.