Getting Started on Deaf Research: Part 2

So far, this week, I'm in the middle of Collapse: How societies choose to fail or succeed by Jared Diamond, the guy who wrote Guns, germs, and steel, which got everyone's attention a few years ago. Collapse is a pretty interesting book -- it takes examples of different societies throughout history, including modern-day Montana, and examines the various factors that lead to social collapse. He looks at problems like environmental degradation, hostile incursions from unfriendly neighbors, and the collapse of friendly neighbors, among other things, and examines how they affect the society under study.

Bear in mind, it's not gloom-and-doom stuff; the author isn't saying we're headed for the end of the U.S. or anything bestselling like that. His larger point seems to be that although we do have several very serious challenges ahead of us, we also have several very large advantages over past societies that failed. Chief among those advantages is sheer hindsight; no other culture in history has accumulated such a large amount of historical information in a form that can be so easily examined. Diamond seeks to exploit this advantage to our benefit by scrutinizing past societies -- such as those of East Polynesia (including Easter and the Pitcairn Islands) -- and essentially determining which factors caused their collapse and how this happened.

It's fascinating reading, and although the general subject matter is depressing (deforestation, extinction, cannibalism, etc.), his writing is so engaging that you forget about all of that and focus on the conclusions being drawn here. It won't be available for you to check out for a while, though -- I'm jealously keeping it until I'm done with it, although, like a good Library patron, I'll get it back before the due date!

So last week, we covered the Guide to Deaf Biographies (the title really should be italicized -- the Guide -- but, heck, we're all friends here, aren't we?). This week, we'll take a look at the FAQs available through the Deaf Research Help section of our Web site.

The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page seeks to provide quick answers to common questions about deaf-related subjects. We've split the questions up into eight rough categories:

• Cultural, Social, Medical
• For questions about Crab Theory, audism, causes of physiological deafness, history of visual applause
• Films
• Gallaudet University facts
• Various deaf-related facts
• For questions about deaf animals, places named after deaf people, sports-related queries, Kendall Motor Oil Company, the Lincoln Memorial
• Deaf people
• Individuals like Laurent Clerc and Helen Keller are covered here (including quotes), as well as deaf Nobel Prize winners, among other things
• Deaf publications
• Little Paper Family and vendors/publishers of deaf-related materials
• General questions about sign language
• Popular songs, poems, and prayers in ASL, as well as some questions about ASL itself
• Statistics on deafness
• Retired librarian Tom Harrington created a very thoughtful treatise on statistical treatment of the deaf population. It's a good read!

Actually, in general, the entire list of FAQs is a good place to spend a little time. They're intended mostly to answer common questions that arise from all over the world, and occasionally here at Gallaudet University as well. They are fairly comprehensive and well-researched; still, the best methods for obtaining a full and complete answer continue to be 1) checking to see if there is any more current information, and 2) asking a librarian for help. The second one isn't quite as necessary as far as the FAQs are concerned, though -- they really are a good place to look for information or just for fun. For instance, did you know that cats with all-white coats and blue eyes are the most likely to be deaf? Not only that, but some cats have one blue eye and one eye that's a different color -- and it'll be deaf in the ear on the same side of the head as the blue eye!

That's it for this week. Next week, I'll be in Oklahoma for the Midwest regional competition for the Academic Bowl. Since this will occupy half my week, there won't be a blog post next week. When we do return the following week, though, we'll discuss the research guides that are available.

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Question of the Day
I noticed that the couches on the first floor, facing Kendall Green by the Deaf Stacks, seem to be in an area that's pretty dark. It's hard to read anything there. Can you install some lights or something?
You picked a good week to ask this question! We just installed four fluorescent lights above that area to brighten it up a little bit. It should be much easier to read and do schoolwork over there now. Please don't be shy to let us know your unalloyed opinion -- we're always glad to hear what you think!

Getting Started on Deaf Research: Part 1

So we survived the first week of Spring 2010! The first week of a semester is always pretty interesting, mostly because of the sheer number of things that can go wrong and the sheer number of things that can come up that have never come up before.

Adding to the interest of this week was The Futurist by James Othmer. It's a sort of funny novel about a guy who makes a living as a "futurist" -- basically someone who makes predictions on the next hot trend. If you've ever seen a video from TED or CES about "what's next" in terms of technological trends, you've seen a futurist talking. They make a lot of money giving talks to various conferences and corporate retreats, and so does the protagonist, who finds himself in Johannesburg, South Africa, about to give a presentation to a massive gathering of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, his girlfriend breaks up with him while he's on the plane to Johannesburg, so when he lands, he's begun to question what it's all about.

This leads to a keynote speech that is nothing like what anyone expected from him, which in turn leads to his involvement with a shady cabal of American corporate/military/governmental interests. They hire him to travel the world and eavesdrop on conversations about the United States, to sort of place his finger on the pulse of what the world thinks of America, and figure out ways to exploit it. There are a lot of complicated misadventures along the way, including encounters with an obsessive fan of Nostradamus, a version of Bill Gates who's holed up in Greenland so he can watch the ice break up, and a gay male model spy in the mold of Zoolander. However, when our main character decides to go off the reservation for a little while, things take a surprisingly nasty turn. It's somewhat thought-provoking, but is mostly a fun, escapist read. Quick, too -- finished it in two days.

Today, we'll keep it brief and just talk a little bit about the Deaf Research Help page on our Web site. Consider it a quick summary of what's available. I figured this would be helpful, because there really is a large amount of information in that part of the site alone.

For this week, I'm going to focus on one of the first links you will probably notice on the Deaf Research Help: Information about famous deaf people. This link will take you to a page that describes the Gallaudet University Library Guide to Deaf Biographies.

This is a fairly comprehensive database; it lists nearly every deaf person who's been mentioned in several different types of sources, from single-person biographies to newspaper clippings. It includes whatever biographical information can be gleaned from the source material, and cites the source. Once you see a source you'd like to see more of, you can scroll up to the top of the record, look for the "Sources" link, and click on it. In the list that comes up, look for the one you want, listed alphabetically by title. Once you find it, you'll also see the location (like "Deaf Stacks") and call number. For additional information not listed in the Guide, you can always look up the person's name in ALADIN Discovery and see if we hold anything else on him or her. It's a fantastic way to get a start on researching a particularly obscure deaf individual.

The Guide offers a few different ways to find information about famous deaf people.

First, you are able to browse by name, which will bring up a list of all the names in the database, alphabetized by last name. It's useful if you want to see if there's information about a particular family (such as the Gallaudet family) and on how many members. It's also helpful if you aren't sure you spelled your subject's name correctly, which happens to me often.

It's also possible to find people based on their nationalities or ethnicities; if you want to find out about famous deaf Canadians, for example, or famous deaf Native Americans (who are categorized by tribe), this is a great way to go about it. One curious thing: "nonhuman" is included in the list of nationalities. I bet you want to find out what that's about now.

Last, but certainly not least, the database is browsable by occupation, which includes everything from deaf astronomers to deaf zoologists. This is a pretty interesting capability by itself, but as you look through the list, you'll see jobs like "wallpaper designer" and "accomplice to a murderer." With occupations like these, how can you resist finding out what the stories are behind them? Luckily, the Guide to Deaf Biographies is here for you.

This database was created and maintained by librarian Tom Harrington, who has since retired, so the caveat here is that it hasn't been updated recently. However, as long as the person you're looking for didn't pop up in the last couple of years, it's still very accurate and useful.

Next week, we'll focus on another resource available through Deaf Research Help: The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

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Question of the Week
I'm a student, and I've seen other students working at the Library. How do I get a job at the Library?
Check this page out. It'll tell you everything you need to know.

Once you've completed and turned in your application, as well as any associated papers, wait. If there's a job opening available and you're qualified for it, we'll contact you for an interview. If not, your application will go on file until the next opening comes up. Just be patient!

A brief refresher on Library use for the new semester

Have you ever seen a drunk man walk?

He staggers left and right, his path meandering along a course that almost seems random but nevertheless purposeful. He has an end goal, and his steps, no matter how stumblingly placed, get him there in the end. Eventually.

This idea underlies much of The Drunkard's Walk by Leonard Mlodinow, which I finished recently. In spite of the rather picturesque phrase, though, the title actually refers to Brownian motion; this term describes the apparently random motion of particles in suspension in a solution, which are almost never at rest. They drift to and fro, and for a long time, it was one of the great mysteries of science, thought to be an instance of true randomness that defied statistical analysis and which existed in the real world outside any mathematical models. However, as Mlodinow demonstrates, Brownian motion can be defined by a study of probability, an equation which renders the motion of these little particles utterly predictable. The same applies to the rest of your life, says Mlodinow, and he repeatedly demonstrates how randomness actually works in your life. He covers everything from all the circumstances that led to the OJ Simpson verdict to pairs of separate events (such as lucky socks and a victory for your baseball team) that have no actual relationship, but which you think do, purely because of the human brain's inability to properly perceive and evaluate probability.

And he does it all in such engaging language that you forget you're reading a math book. It's a terrific read, and it'll make you think about life in a different way. It approaches statistics a lot like Freakonomics approaches, well, economics, drawing surprising connections and rebutting long-held conventional wisdom. It's highly recommended!

With that out of way, let's talk a little bit about the Library in the coming semester. We librarians often find that folks, students and faculty alike, need refreshers every now and again about some important things regarding the Library.

First: Deaf Stacks on the first floor, General Stacks downstairs. If what you're looking for has nothing to do with deaf-related subjects or people, it's probably downstairs. Check the catalog first, though -- it will tell you. If you're still not sure, ask a librarian.

The copy machines and microfilm printers are still 10 cents per page; scanning is free. You're welcome to bring your flash drive and scan away, bearing in mind the copyright restrictions that are in effect. We have signs posted up near the copiers and scanner about those; take a look at them and be sure you know what's what. If you're not sure, ask a librarian.

Loan periods are the same: Deaf Stacks books are 4 weeks for everyone; General Stacks books 4 weeks for undergrads and staff, 6 weeks for grads, current semester for faculty. More details can be found on our Web page about the general borrowing policy (fee/fine information is included on that page as well; it's good reading on general principle). If you have any questions, just send an email to library.help@gallaudet.edu.

If your instructor tells you that he or she has readings available on reserve, those are behind the Service Desk. Those can be borrowed for up to 2 hours and cannot leave the building. In order to get to them for your class, ask whoever's working at the Service Desk. By the way, faculty members, we offer e reserves, which are PDFs of required readings that you can link to your Blackboard pages. To get started, just email your syllabus to library.reserves@gallaudet.edu. See our web page for details.

Yes, we do offer DVDs to watch for entertainment; they're all on the first floor and are marked by a decently-sized sign. If you're not sure how to find them, ask at the Service Desk. You can check out up to 3 at a time for 3 days.

Incidentally, we do offer books to read for entertainment; developing the fiction collection is one of my responsibilities, and I love keeping up with new books and talking about them, so come find me if you want to know what we have. If you're interested in leisure reading material, ask a librarian. Or come find me, which amounts to the same thing (I am a librarian, you know). Or, as always, get in touch through the information on our contact information Web page.

The Archives are downstairs. Go down the main stairs in the center of the Library and look for the dark-brown squares on the floor. Following those past the large glass cases and seating area will take you straight to the Archives. First, though, sometimes the staff at the Service Desk can help you find what you need without having to go downstairs, so be sure to check!

Also downstairs is the eLearning Lab. There are signs posted that point the way; still, because the Library is such an architecturally interesting building, they can be tough to find. If you've looked and looked for the lab and still have had no success, come upstairs and ask a librarian. We have maps and a few surviving Sherpas.

The vending machines for food and drinks are downstairs; you are permitted to eat and drink in the Library, although the usual prohibitions against bathing with Coca-Cola in the middle of the psychology section still apply.

Study space, DVD players, VCRs, and televisions are on the first floor. The basement has only study space; semi-private classrooms and study carrels near our lovely large windows facing Kendall Green and Chapel Hall. TVs, DVD players, and VCRs can be found along the windows on the first floor and in our two labs, where computers are also available: the Deaf Library Study Center (room 1220 -- turn left at the ladies' room, walk down the hall, and it'll be on the right behind the double doors) and in room 1404, in the Reference section, as well as the open computers in the middle of the first floor.

In order to log in, you will need your Gallaudet username and password; ITS policy prohibits non-Gallaudet people from using University resources except under restricted conditions. You should also have your ID with you in order to prove both your identity and your enrollment or employment status.

Actually, this bears repeating: Always have your ID with you. It's required in order to check out or renew books, pay fines, or even to look at your record. We can't accept driver's licenses, military ID, passports, vehicle registrations, voter ID cards, credit card receipts, concealed-carry permits, or pictures of your dog. As a Gallaudet student or employee, you'll have your ID on you at all times anyway, so no big deal ... right? Right.

Our hours for this semester are the same as last semester, except for the different holidays, as well as Spring Break. More information can be found here.

And last, but not least, ask a librarian. E-mail us at library.help@gallaudet.edu for big, complex questions you need help with or to make an appointment, or IM us at GallyLibraryIM -- or just head to library.gallaudet.edu and use the Library Chat widget there -- or just come in for an answer to any quick questions you might have. We're easy to get in touch with!

That covers the basics. Next week, it'll be back to more original stuff; for now, we're all busy getting ready for the new semester!

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Question of the Week
I just brought back a DVD that kept freezing up on me. The librarian took it and put it on a shelf behind the Service Desk; what happens to a movie that's reported damaged?
It gets put on a shelf behind the Service Desk.

And then, of course, I pick it up and watch it. If it doesn't play properly, I clean the disc off (you'd be surprised at how much grape jelly can congeal on these things) and test it a few times. If it tests fine after my quick cleaning, it goes back on the shelf. If it's lightly scratched, it goes to our collection management folks for more intensive cleaning and repair. If it's really banged up, then it needs to be withdrawn from the collection and possibly replaced.

Any discs that go to collection management come back to me when they're done. I usually test the disc again and if it works fine at this point, it goes back on the shelf. If there are still problems, I'll withdraw it from the collection and start considering whether or not to replace the film.

Replacing the film usually depends on the same kind of process I've discussed on this blog before -- is it important to the collection? Is it heavily used? Was it purchased by us or donated? Has it been used for a course? More often than not, it'll get replaced.

What's up with the Library of Congress?

Ahhhh. One of the biggest benefits of being an academic librarian, or otherwise working at a school of some kind, is the long holiday break. I'm relaxed, revitalized, and ready to face the Spring semester.

As much as I can be, at least. This semester will be busier than most; I'm involved with the Academic Bowl, creating questions for competitions and working as a Gallaudet Officer, so a good part of the Spring will see me traveling all over the country to work on regional competitions. If you're working with the Academic Bowl in your region, there's a good chance you'll see me this Spring!

Aside from the extracurricular activities, though, we're all also busy putting things together for the Spring -- electronic reserves, LibGuides, presentations, workshops, classes, new books and movies ... well, the list goes on.

Part of that involves a couple of announcements. First, replacement costs for lost books have gone up all across the WRLC, so the fee we charge has increased from $57 to $67. Not thrilling, but necessary. Publishing costs have gone up, which jacks up a whole bunch of other prices in its wake. It happens.

Second, we've made a slight modification to our home page; you'll see a lovely new pair of boxes at the top of the middle and right-hand columns. The Database Spotlight box is our effort to bring some of our less well-known databases to greater awareness. You'll see a few lines, which will link to a longer summary and standard instructions on how to find the database so you can use it. The From the Blog box is pretty self-explanatory -- we've gotten a few comments from students and faculty that this blog should be featured on the home page more prominently, so we're trying this out. The box will contain the dates and headlines of the last three posts, updated at the same time as this blog.

That's just a couple of new things. There'll be a few more in the coming weeks as we figure out more of what'll be happening both in the Library and on campus over the next semester.

In the meantime, I thought I'd plug something terrifically useful: researcher orientations at the Library of Congress, commonly known in librarian circles as the LOC. They offer classes on how to research in the LOC for the public on some Mondays of almost every month out of the year. You'll learn some really neat facts about the LOC, as well as how their reading rooms are set up and the system they have going. The LOC isn't your ordinary public library, so they do things differently, which means that if you plan to use them for your research, it'd be a good idea to go to one of those orientations. Interpreters are provided upon request, although you will need to place the request at least five business days in advance.

You can register for an orientation and place a request for interpreters and other accommodations here.

The LOC is kind of a funny place; it almost has its own mythology. At least once a semester, I give a presentation to a class that has at least one student who asks me why they should bother using the Gallaudet University Library when the LOC is right up on Capitol Hill. It has every book in the world and is totally open to the public, right? Actually, it doesn't and -- sort of -- isn't.

While it's certainly true that the LOC's mission includes the collection and maintenance of a universal body of knowledge and making it accessible to the public and that it's one of the largest libraries of all time, it has a stronger focus on something else: Congress. It's right there in the name: Library of Congress. More specifically, it's where Congress does its research. The services that the LOC makes available to the public are important, but they come in second to Congress and the rest of the federal government; the stuff they collect is usually acquired with the possible needs of the average Congresscritter in mind, before considering any possible cultural and historical value.

Still, the Library is just so large that you probably won't ever notice this aspect of its operations -- it contains so much information that it's virtually impossible that it won't have what you need.

So: What does Gallaudet have that the Library of Congress doesn't? To simplify matters, personal attention and ease of access.

The LOC is set up in a way that accomplishes a single purpose: maintaining the security of the collection while still providing access. Basically, you have to register for, and get, a reader ID card to get into the reading rooms (some reading rooms may also have more requirements for access, which are all available on the LOC's Web site). Once you've got the card, you need to figure out exactly what it is you want to look at. Every book, every map, every manuscript, including title, author, and call number.

Nearly the entire LOC consists of "closed stacks," which works on a similar principle to the Deaf Copy 1 room here on campus -- members of the public aren't allowed in among the shelves. To look at something from those shelves, you have to go into the reading room, sit down at a desk or table, fill out call slips with the correct information about the books you need, give them to an attendant or librarian, and wait for them to bring those items to you. Many reading rooms also enforce restrictions on what you can bring into the room with you; sometimes those restrictions are so severe that you are essentially limited to a single pencil. And it'd better have an eraser on it.

Okay, so the physical materials aren't so easy to get to. But they have a lot of stuff available online, right?

Weeeelllllll ... yes. They have a lot of stuff related to American history available for free on their Web site, as well as some free databases. However, most of their publicly-accessible stuff is extremely specialized and suitable mostly for very advanced researchers working in very narrow disciplines; the inaccessible stuff can be accessed only by going to the Library of Congress itself in person and searching via one of their computers. Here's the kicker: a lot of what they have online that'll be useful to you is also available through a library much closer to home. Guess which library*. Yeah.

The same principle applies to most other materials -- while it is nice to have an actual Gutenberg Bible to look at, our copy of the Revised Standard Version works just as well, and it's much easier to get to. Anything else might qualify as overkill.

Size is also a consideration. Most of the people I've met who opt for the LOC over us tend to come back with red faces and admit to being overwhelmed by the sheer number of resources available -- it's difficult to sift through tens of thousands of similar books when you just need to find a few case studies to support your conclusion.

That's without discussing the sheer amount of one-on-one help and communication access we offer that the LOC doesn't. We really are a group of knowledgeable librarians who can coordinate with your instructor for the best help possible, any time you need us. Then there's the fact that we know how to sign -- which is something that's hard to find anywhere else. In general, we do offer valuable help that can't be quantified, most of which comes to be through just plain old interacting with you and being a part of the school you attend.

To sum up: The Library of Congress is an incredible resource, but restrictions on access, relatively limited personal help, and the fact that most of what you'll need is available here on campus (after a little expert digging) anyway all combine to make the LOC fairly impractical for most undergraduate and graduate research.

No Question of the Week this week -- with only five days open since the holidays, we haven't had many folks coming in and asking us stuff. Instead, here's a bunch of LOC trivia.

• The Library of Congress encompasses 650 miles of shelf space and contains over 140 million individual items.
• It is the oldest Federal cultural institution in the United States.
• Only half of the Library's collection is in English; the rest is in 470 different languages.
• The Library receives approximately 22,000 items every day.
• However, the number of items actually added to the collection every day is much smaller: 10,000.
• The Library holds the some of the largest collections of items related to certain countries in the world.
• For example, it holds one of the world's largest Tibetan collections.
• It also holds the largest Asian collection outside of Asia; the same is true for Russian materials.
• The largest book in the Library of Congress is 5 feet by 7 feet!
• The Library of Congress contains the world's largest collection of comic books (5,000 titles, 100,000 issues).

*The Gallaudet University Library. Just in case.