Creative Commons & citing web content

by-nc-saHow do you cite content you’re using from the web? Can you even use it in your work or on your website? If you need to modify it, can you? In today’s muddled online world, Creative Commons (CC) wants to be the answer to all your digital copyright questions.

So what is Creative Commons? In their own words, “Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools.” Their copyright licenses are easy to use and complement existing copyright to “provide a simple, standardized way to give the public permission to share and use your creative work.”

Sites like flickrWikipedia, and many others are using Creative Commons to let users know what they can and cannot use and how they can use it.

Here are some more excellent places to learn more about Creative Commons:

You will notice that  CMLE uses Creative Common’s attribution standards with most images we use in our posts. If you need to know more about the individual licenses you can go to Creative Commons’ About The Licenses page.

Notable Dates for your Noggin: December 2015

Calendar BannerEach month we’ll bring you a compiled list of fun national holidays, birthdays of authors, and publication dates of favorite books.  You can use these for your own personal use or for some library inspiration!

December
1     Jan Brett’s birthday (1949)
1     Rosa Parks Day
6    Hanukkah begins
7    Hour of Code December 7-13
8    Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day
10    Dewey Decimal System Day
13   National Cocoa Day
14    Hanukkah ends
15    Bill of Rights Day
16   Jane Austen’s birthday (1775)
17    National Maple Syrup Day
21    Crossword Puzzle Day
22    First day of winter
22    The Cat in the Hat (Dr. Seuss) published in 1957
23   Avi’s birthday (1937)
24    Stephanie Meyer’s birthday (1973)
25    Christmas day
26    Kwanzaa begins
28    Card Playing Day

Did we miss anything?  Let us know if we did!

For our calendar of library events, including conferences and library days, check out our Events/Initiatives page.

And for more Notable Dates for Your Noggin, check out our Notable Dates page.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/oknpggu, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Thoughts from Jessamyn West

Jessamyn_West,_librarian_(2012)Proclaimed to be a 29 minute read, this interview romp with amazing librarian Jessamyn West, is just a treat! Frank, pragmatic, irreverent, and funny….I have always been a wee bit star struck by her! In this interview, Jessamyn talks about her role in the public library as a “technology lady” along with aspects of being a modern day librarian. Love her take on the computer user frenetically clicking constantly without ever waiting for the machine to catch up! Enjoy the interview here!

Photo retrieved from the Jessamyn West Wikipedia entry

An inside view of the new Amazon brick and mortar bookstore

Library booksAre you dying to get the scoop on the new Amazon bookstore in Seattle? Well, you are in luck, because Joseph Janes,  Associate Professor at the Information School of the University of Washington, will narrate a tour for you. Demeanor of clerks, neighboring businesses, even labels on shelves including a “If Robots Ruled the World” shelf! You are in for a treat, read the full article here.

Want more? See pictures here!

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/kbxol2x, licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

Featured book: The Gardener

This post is part of an original series created by librarians/media specialists across Central Minnesota featuring books.

41boBzZilCL._AA160_Title: The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen
Review by Maria Burnham, Media Specialist at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School

Although the concept of the book is interesting (a secret society of doctors trying to re-formulate the human race to survive without food), I found the writing and the story development lacking. There was very little detail in plot or character.   I find S.A. Bodeen’s writing style to be simple and sparse.  This style can be good for reluctant readers who don’t care about flowery language or graphic detail.  Her books are short and to the point.  The downside, however, is that I never feel invested in her books as a reader. For example, I’ve also read The Raft, a survival story of a teen stranded at sea.  The chapters had cliffhanger endings, but nothing that made me gasp out loud.  Perhaps my expectations are too high, but I’d have a hard time recommending The Gardener to my students which is frustrating.
I’m bummed about this novel because this was our first choice for my school’s Teen Book Club. I’m hoping that the kids liked the book, but it didn’t have enough teeth for me to be fully invested.