Briefly Noted
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Steven Westbrook's carefully edited collection brings together composition instructors to address the challenges of teaching and inspiring students to compose in digital technologies, while also raising an awareness of the ongoing legal and ethical issues, debates, and controversies surrounding the appropriation of digital content. Contributors provide a discussion of the current situation, ways of introducing copyright debates into the classroom, and suggestions for changes in copyright that would enhance composition pedagogy and creative output. Academic libraries have a strong interest in understanding how students and faculty are integrating digital content into their compositions and how they are negotiating the delicate balance between users rights and the rights of copyright holders. In addition to their traditional mission of information provision and instruction, academic libraries are increasingly digitizing their own special collections, making them in many cases copyright holders. These multiple roles—as providers, producers, and owners of information—make it essential for librarians to understand the emerging issues presented in Composition & Copyright. (F. R.)
Newly translated from the French, this 2006 work by the author of Books on Fire reads like a collection of short columns or commentaries on digital library news. Lucien X. Polastron is a specialist in Chinese and Arab history who is exceptionally attuned to developments and controversies concerning Google (which he dubs "Enormous Brother"), Amazon, Wikipedia, the Biblioteque Nationale, publishing houses, and copyright. Unlike many who opine on these topics, Polastron adopts the tone of an innocent [End Page 114] bystander who reacts with wonder, bemusement, anger, scorn, curiosity, and hope. He is enthusiastic about the free universal library but bitterly opposed to ownership of the same by bureaucracies, nations, or commercial enterprises. Many of Polastron's caustic remarks, especially on developments in France, may not be understood by the American reader, but it is good to have a European viewpoint, and many of the issues he discusses are still unresolved. (J. A.)
Published by the open access AU (Athabasca University) Press, Mobile Learning: Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training, familiarizes the reader with current research, initiatives, and applications in the field of mobile learning. Most of the contributors come from Canada and Britain and have significant experience in education and educational technology. Of particular note is a detailed chapter entitled, "A Model for Framing Mobile Learning," which should be very helpful for researchers just entering this field. Other chapters address the application of mobile learning to nursing education, informal learning communities, international distance education, and museum tours. The only drawback to this collection is that much of the research was done before the most recent wave of handheld devices (for instance, the iPod). Nevertheless, this work should be of interest to librarians and administrators trying to support a growing number of mobile users, whether in distance education or traditional programs. (F. R.)
As of January 2007, an estimated 6.5 million students were enrolled in community colleges, half of the U.S. postsecondary population. In 1999 and 2000, close to half of college graduates in science, technology, engineering, and medicine (STEM) disciplines had attended a community college. As enrollments in community colleges continue to rise, this report on undergraduate science research is particularly timely. It contains overviews of achievements, issues, and resources nationwide, along with case studies of programs at Finger Lakes, North Seattle, Redlands, and Southwestern community colleges. Undergraduate research at the community college level is understood as contributing to the teaching mission of these institutions. Overcoming the...
