War & Ethics: A New Just War Theory

In War & Ethics, Nicholas Fotion undertakes three main tasks. The first is critical: to analyze ‘Just War Theory’ (JWT) in the evolving context of modern warfare between nations and non-nation groups, using various case studies to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of the theory. The second task is modification: to construct a new Just War Theory to incorporate wars between nations (JWT-Regular) and wars between nations and non-nation groups (JWT-Irregular). The third and final task is defensive: to show that Just War Theory in general, and the twin theory in particular, are useful tools in assessing when a war is just

Innovators and Maintainers: Musings on Library Competencies

Our current political climate has certainly reignited a debate over what constitutes professional competence. Having held no political office and an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, President Donald J. Trump became the 45th President of the United States on January 20, 2017. Though there is no paucity of essays and articles dedicated to the core and functional competencies necessary to hold “the most powerful office in the world,” competence is ultimately decided by our electoral system, not a set of standards. Eager to prove his business acumen and project the idea of progress, Trump recently issued a presidential memorandum creating the White House Office of American Innovation, aimed at applying a business mentality to the federal government. As a corollary, Trump hopes to prove his competence by hastening growth and innovation in every sector of the American economy. Having just co-founded a micro-funding campaign focused on innovations in libraries, reading this presidential memorandum made me pause and reflect on how the profession of librarianship defines core competence and, sometimes to its detriment, tends to value innovation over maintenance

Book Review: University Planning and Architecture: The Search for Perfection

The review of University Planning and Architecture: The Search for Perfection is a brief summary of the the main discussion points in the book, situating the information within a larger context of campus master planning and learning space design.  The author also suggests further readings on the topic

Nucleus: A Pilot Project

Early in 2016, an environmental scan was conducted by the Research Library Data Working Group for three purposes: 1.) Perform a survey of the data management landscape at Los Alamos National Laboratory in order to identify local gaps in data management services. 2.) Conduct an environmental scan of external institutions to benchmark budgets, infrastructure, and personnel dedicated to data management. 3.) Draft a research data infrastructure model that aligns with the current workflow and classification restrictions at Los Alamos National Laboratory. This report is a summary of those activities and the draft for a pilot data management project.Comment: 13 pages, repor

Participatory Culture and Collaborative Democracy: The Awesome Libraries Chapter

A brief overview of the Awesome Libraries Chapter of the Awesome Foundation and the process of crowdsourcing and funding transformative ideas in public libraries

Reference Question Data Mining

This exploratory study investigated the feasibility of using reference questions as an important tool in the construction of study guides, instructional outreach, and collection development at a small, four-year university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The premise for the study was based on the assumption that the content of the reference question and class from which the question came provide more valuable information than the metadata normally captured within reference classification systems (e.g., directional, research). Reference question subjects received at the reference desk were recorded over six months by the reference staff. The authors then analyzed and classified the data to discover patterns in collection use. The resulting report was then disseminated to the reference, collection development, and instructional outreach departments. The findings reveal that this method of reference data classification and timely reporting provides an excellent reference for planning in these library departments

3D Modeling Case-Geyer: A Pilot Project Immersive Technology Summer Institute 2018

The purpose of this project is to produce a virtual 3D model of the Case-Geyer Library using the computers and 3D- modeling software available at the Ho Tung Visualization Laboratory (“VisLab”) for several potential future uses

Open Data and the Free Access to Law Movement in the United States

From Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama, the hope for a more transparent and open government has been slowly evolving. The data deposits and open-access requirements of the United States' federally funded research has opened up larger discussions about research redundancy and reproducibility. Projects like Harvard's Free the Law Project, RECAP, and all of the organizations and individuals involved in the Free Access to Law Movement continue to push for more transparency and free access to US case law. This article provides a historical overview

Book Review: University Planning and Architecture: The Search for Perfection

Book review of Coulson, J., Roberts, P., & Taylor, I. (2011). University planning and architecture: The search for perfection. New York, NY: Routledge