Muntz Library Features Book Display for Constitution Day 2009

U.S. Constitution and Quill Pen

The Robert R. Muntz Library is featuring a book display in observance of Constitution Day. Constitution Day is observed each year on September 17 to commemorate the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787. As part of the library’s educational mission and to promote learning more about this important document that is the foundation of the United States, we are displaying some books and material that may be of interest. The display is located in the library’s second floor next to the Circulation Desk.

The following books and materials are inside the display case. Like other displays, books and A/V material on display is available to be checked out. If you look them up in the catalog, and they show as checked out, they are “checked out” to our display case. Just let us know at the reference desk, and we will be happy to open the case so you can take the book and read it. We really want people to read our books, which is why we display them. Note that A/V material is usually kept behind circulation. If you wish to check it out (after the display), jot down the call number and request it at circulation. Books, unless otherwise noted, are usually in the library’s general collection in the third floor.

DVDs:

• You Can’t Say That: “Politically Correct” Free Speech. JC 591 .Y68 2004.
• Key Constitutional Concepts. KF 5130 .S9 K3.
• Our Constitution: A Conversation. KF 4550 .O87 2005.

Books:

• Peter Spier, We the People: The Constitution of the United States. 342.73 S755w (CML-Dewey).
• Ellen Alderman and Caroline Kennedy, The Right to Privacy. KF 1262 .A97 1997.
• Jack N. Rakove, Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution. KF 4541 .R35 1997.
• Craig R. Smith, To Form a More Perfect Union. KF 4541 .S58 1993.

In addition, the display features highlights of the following online resources. Both are freely available online:

• The Electronic Frontier Foundation.
• Reporters Without Borders‘ Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents.

For more information about Constitution Day, you can visit the library. You can also check out these other websites:

• From the Law Library of Congress, part of the Library of Congress, information about Constitution Day. This includes links to the various pieces of legislation that have led to the observance as we know it today.
• The National Constitution Center. Here is their page on Constitution Day. Their page for the observance has some good educational resources including a challenge: can you pass the citizenship test?
• Resources for observing Constitution Day, from the National Archives.

Reference Book of the Week: Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America

Welcome to another edition of Reference Book of the Week. We continue honoring LGBT Pride Month with another selection from our reference collection. This week we are featuring the three volume set Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America. This excellent work covers more than 500 entries and looks at more than 400 years of historical developments. LGBT history and culture are dynamic. The scholarship in this reference book reflects how thinking on LGBT issues, nature, identities, culture, and history has changed over time. The work focuses on the United States, including the colonial era. There are other works that focus on the rest of the world; this one provides more in-depth focus on the United States. Some of the subjects covered include people, politics, arts, academic disciplines, identities, communities and cultures, geography, law and public policy, civil rights, economics and labor, sex and sexuality, religion and spirituality.

The encyclopedia is designed for the general reader as well as the scholar wishing to start research on LGBT topics in the U.S. You can find a list of entry terms in the first volume. The first volume also features a chronology of events with cross-references to entries in the work. Entries are organized alphabetically, and they include bibliographical references as well as suggested terms for further research. This is a useful feature for readers who wish to do further research on a particular topic. Bibliographical reference can give you other works to consider while the suggested terms (labeled as “see also”) can give you terms you can use on a database as well as look up in the encyclopedia. At the end of the third volume, there is a directory of LGBT libraries and archives in the United States and Canada. There is also a comprehensive index at the end of the third volume and a directory of contributors.

The reviews have been positive on this work. In 2004, Booklist said of this reference work that it is “an exceptional work that should be useful for academic and public libraries. General readers, students, researchers, and members of the LGBT communities alike will find this to be a most welcome resource.” Library Journal said that “this invaluable work isn’t just a fascinating read; it goes a long way toward alleviating the dearth of basic resources in the burgeoning field of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender studies.”

Thus we have chosen the Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America as our Reference Book of the Week.

Reference Book of the Week: The Dictionary of Homophobia

Welcome to this week’s edition of Reference Book of the Week at The Patriot Spot. June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month. Let me take a moment to remind readers to please visit our display in the library, which can be viewed throughout the month of June in the third floor.

In honor of the observance, we are featuring a work of LGBT History. Our reference book this week is The Dictionary of Homophobia: A Global History of Gay and Lesbian Experience by Louis-Georges Tin. Professor Tin has published several books on sexuality and works at the University of Orleans in France. Professor Tin is also an activist recognized for his work by several humanitarian awards.

Originally published in France in 2003 as Dictionnaire de l’homophobie, this work is now available in an English translation. The original edition, though in French, received excellent reviews from various countries including Japan, Italy, Brazil and the United States. In fact, in 2003, the Lambda Book Report in its April 2003 issue reviewed the French edition, reaching the following conclusion: “But the book’s international scope and acuity make it an invaluable addition to the bookshelf of every reader of French, until some smart American press decides to have it translated.” Well, actually, Marek Redburn, a resident of Montreal completed the translation in 2008, which was published by Canadian publishing house Arsenal Pulp Press.

The Dictionary of Homophobia is the result of “the work of seventy-six esteemed researchers in fifteen countries, the goal of which was to document the social, political, medical, legal, and criminal treatment of homosexuals throughout history to present-day” (from the Publisher’s Note). The volume includes over 160 entries covering various aspects of gay rights and homophobia. While the book was originally published in French, it does provide excellent coverage of LGBT issues around the world. I do mention the French origin because some of the essays in the book do have a specific focus on French persons, events, and circumstances. The book is designed to provide an overview of the problematics associated with homophobia.

Articles in the book are arranged in alphabetical order, and they fall within these broad categories. Here are some examples of topics:

• Theory: communism, feminism, multiculturalism, otherness.
• History: Ancient Greece, ghetto.
• Countries and regions: the Balkans, Japan, Portugal, North America (including the United States).
• Environments and institutions: workplace, family, marriage, military.
• Rhetorical themes: rhetoric, censorship.

This is a very accessible work with features that are useful to readers. For instance, all entries include keywords at the end. Keywords can be useful because they provide ideas for further research on a topic. You could read an article in this book, make a note of some keywords, then type them into a research database to find further information on your topic. In addition, when you see a word in bold in an article, it means that word or concept has its own entry in the dictionary.

I will end quoting from the review I linked above, “leave it to the French to offer us some timely information about homophobia — what it is, where it comes from and how to think about it.” That, in essence, is that what this book does: it looks at the experience of homophobia around the world and provides a tool of education and research.

Learn more about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor

President Obama has nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. She would be the first Latina woman to the court should she be confirmed. There is a lot of interest in Judge Sotomayor, so I have rounded up a few sources that can help readers learn more about the judge.

• The Law Library of the Library of Congress has put together a selective bibliography Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. There are a lot of good links here.
• When a judge is nominated to a federal bench, whether it be a district court or the Supreme Court, they have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary has all nominees fill out a questionnaire. Here is that questionnaire, so you can see the actual questions. This link includes Sotomayor’s answers.
• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has issued report on Sonia Sotomayor. (link to press release; link to the full report. Note the full report is 88 pages in PDF). This report is fairly comprehensive and looks at the judge’s record on civil rights issues such as racial justice, voting rights, women’s rights, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion.
• The Alliance for Justice has issued what it labels as an in-depth report of Sonia Sotomayor’s record. The report’s title is “Access to Justice.” Link to the AFJ’s press release here. Direct link to the report itself here (Note: PDF file; the report is 14 pages). This report is part of a series of reports that AFJ is providing. This particular one covers the following:  “access to justice issues encompass a number of procedural questions including justiciability, preemption, court-stripping, sovereign immunity, attorneys’ fees, interpretation of statutes of limitation and class-action certification. The report examines Judge Sotomayor’s record in each of these key areas and is based on her record both as a district and appeals court judge.” If you visit the website, you can find other reports. AFJ is a public interest group, and it describes itself as “a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women’s, children’s, and consumer advocacy organizations.”

Note that you can also do your own research on Sonia Sotomayor with the databases Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe and Campus Research (Westlaw). Both of these are available in the library’s homepage on the databases page here. These two databases are susbcription-based resources, and you do have to be affliliated with the university to use them.

If you need assistance for using the databases, or with any other research needs, you can visit our reference desk. You can also contact us via the  phone (903-566-7343), via email (library AT uttyler DOT edu), or use the UT System Ask a Librarian.

Update note: (7/21/09): Here is another resource I found on Judge Sotomayor. Via OpenCRS, a Congressional Research Service report on “Judge Sonia Sotomayor: Analysis of Selected Opinions.” The CRS is the investigative arm of Congress. Basically, they put together background research on any topic for Congress members so they can be prepared to make legislation.  From the abstract, “this report provides an analysis of selected opinions authored by Judge Sotomayor during her tenure as a judge on the Second Circuit. Discussions of the selected opinions are grouped according to various topics of legal significance.” The link will take you to the abstract, and from there, you can download the report as PDF file.

If you wish to learn more about the Congressional Research Service, its reports, or how to locate them, feel free to ask us.

Reference Book of the Week: Black’s Law Dictionary

This week we are featuring a legal resource. Black’s Law Dictionary is the premier dictionary for legal terms and definitions. This is the one lawyers turn to when they need a definition, and it should be the one you turn to when you need a legal term defined. First published in 1891, the dictionary’s purpose is “to marshal legal terms to the fullest possible extent and to define them accurately” (ix). The dictionary is now in its eighth edition.

Organized alphabetically, it includes not only definitions but also relevant quotations and cross-references. In addition, the dictionary provides a set of appendices on topics such as legal abbreviations, legal maxims, and a bibliography. So whether you are doing legal research or just need a legal term defined, you can turn to Black’s Law Dictionary. Our copy is shelved in the ready reference shelves (the ones right behind the reference desk) under call number KF 156 .B53 2004.