Alexa Hight – Page 2 – Mary and Jeff Bell Library Blog

Read more about the article Popular Reading: Pop Open a Book!

What I’ve Been Reading During Quarantine

Post author:Alexa Hight
Post published:August 4, 2020
Post category:Books & More Service for You Things to Do Today's Special

Like everyone else, I’ve found myself spending a lot more time at home and although I’ve partaken in zoom birthday parties, Netflix binging, etc., I’ve also tried to spend time away from screens, especially since all meetings now take place via a computer screen. I have by no means broke any records of books read, but I’ve read some good things from the Library’s Popular Reading Collection: Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi. This book is the second in a…

Representation in Scholarly Communication

Post author:Alexa Hight
Post published:June 23, 2020
Post category:Behind the Scenes Library Randomness Today's Special

Recently, there has been much discussion around the Black Lives Matter movement, systemic racism in the United States and around the world, and other issues related to race and representation. Just the other day, a scholarly communication blog I follow posted about researchers exploring issues around race. As a scholarly communication librarian, I have been reading not only on research around race, but about representation in research and publishing. Questions such as “who is doing the research?” and “who is being…

Why Access to Information Should Be Open: COVID-19

Post author:Alexa Hight
Post published:April 7, 2020
Post category:Books & More Service for You Today's Special

Unless you live like Jared Leto, you’ve probably heard about this thing called the novel Coronavirus, or COVID-19. You’ve most likely experienced a complete upheaval in your life, home life, work life, school life, social life, every aspect of your life. We’ve made some pretty huge changes at the Bell Library, which you can read about on our new Bell Library COVID-19 Updates Guide. But today I would like to write about one of the things our completely overturned reality demonstrates: the…

Read more about the article Popular Reading: Staff Picks!

Fair Use Week 2020!

Post author:Alexa Hight
Post published:February 25, 2020
Post category:Today's Special

Happy Fair Use Week 2020! Fair Use/Fair Dealing Week 2020 takes place from Monday, February 24 through Friday, February 28. This week celebrates the importance of fair use in the United States and fair dealing in Canada and elsewhere. What is Fair Use? Glad you asked! Fair use is an exception to the rights of copyright holders which allow the public to make limited uses of copyrighted works. The statute can be defined a limited right to use copyrighted works…

The Success of the Open Access Publication Fund

Post author:Alexa Hight
Post published:February 4, 2020
Post category:News @ Your Library Service for You

The TAMU-CC Open Access Publication Fund was started as a way to support TAMU-CC Faculty and Researchers publish Open Access. (You may have seen Open Access mentioned recently in the news about the Coronavirus.) I mentioned this Fund in a blog post back in October, during Open Access Week. Now I’d like to tell you all a little bit more about the fund and the research the Bell Library has been able to support and help publish over the past few months. The goals of…

Open Access Week is October 21-27!

Post author:Alexa Hight
Post published:October 22, 2019
Post category:News @ Your Library Things to Do Today's Special

What is Open Access? Open access (OA) refers to information that is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. This can include journals, books, databases, and more. Why did the open access movement begin? There are several reasons, like most things, one is due to cost. Between 1986 and 2011, serial expenditures rose 402% (see graph). For four decades, subscription prices have risen significantly faster than inflation and library budgets. Another reason for the open access movement…

Copyright, Copywhat?

Post author:Alexa Hight
Post published:July 23, 2019
Post category:Service for You

Many people in an academic setting have heard of copyright, but if asked what it is, what it protects, and who it affects, not too many can fully respond. So, what is copyright and how does it affect our daily lives at TAMU-CC? Simply put, copyright is everywhere. From the materials used in a lecture, to the readings assigned for homework, to the research papers, art projects, and other works created for one’s job or class, copyrighted works are either…

The TAMU-CC Repository

Post author:Alexa Hight
Post published:June 4, 2019
Post category:Service for You

What is an Institutional Repository? An institutional repository is a type of digital repository focused on collecting, managing, and disseminating important digital content produced by the members of an institution like a university. What types of digital content can be found in the TAMU-CC Repository? Currently, the majority of contents located in the Repository consist of theses and dissertations by TAMU – CC graduates. Other items consist of Special Collections items including videos, photographs, and maps. Additionally, faculty and researchers…