Matt Dilworth

Matt Dilworth

Constitution Day

Constitution Day

, , Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
September 17 is Constitution Day, commemorating the day in 1787 that thirty-nine of the fifty-five delegates to the Federal Convention in a hot Philadelphia courthouse signed their great work.  Creating the Constitution for the United States, currently the oldest republic with power derived from the people, was an intricate work with very few historical precedents.  Not all of the delegates came in May of 1787 with the intention of building a new government (some hoped merely to reform the Articles of Confederation), but they came with remarkably little in the way of personal agendas or preconditions, remaining open to other arguments, in a manner almost inconceivable in today’s polarized environment.  They faced many divisions as severe as ours today, but … Continued
Welcome to our new look!

Welcome to our new look!

Library Resources, Library Services, Matt Dilworth, Website
A recent redesign gave the library website a new look, but the things you expect to find from the previous iteration are still there. On the left side is a short menu – Research Support includes basic information about who to contact, Borrowing from the IU East Library includes the library’s policies and procedures, and Faculty Resources includes everything unique to a professor’s needs – links for requesting classroom instruction or custom library guides, forms for putting course material on reserve, and forms for proposing a new course.  On the right is basic contact information, an Ask Us link to send in your questions, and a link to the library’s blog. The center of the screen is where most of … Continued
Tracking the Case (Law)

Tracking the Case (Law)

, Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
The law and courts’ effects on them are major topics of debate today, particularly those of the Supreme Court.  Knowing when and how the high court reverses its own previous decisions and knowing what then constitutes current law are vital skills for educated citizens. The Supreme Court has reversed its previous decisions more than 300 times in the country’s 246 year history.  Sometimes it has done this very quickly, such as Robbins v. California (453 U.S. 420), which was overruled by the United States v. Ross (456 U.S. 798) within a year, allowing police officers to conduct warrantless searches of opaque containers in cars they had pulled over.  Sometimes the law changed is quite old, such as Minturn v. Maynard … Continued
Research After College

Research After College

, , Library Resources, Library Services, Matt Dilworth, outreach
Graduates of IU East have learned a lot in their coursework about media literacy, critical thinking, and how to select and evaluate the best sources. Those skills can be applied anywhere – from television programs and newspapers to social media postings.  Trustworthy, vetted content may seem more difficult to find after college.  The free web is full of unsubstantiated opinion, bot-generated drivel, vacuous and repetitive fluff, and outright manipulation. Fortunately, resources that the library has curated, such as the Fake News libguide, remain available to graduates for guidance. For residents of Indiana, the main source of vetted, academic databases is Inspire, offered by the State Library.  Anyone with an Indiana IP address can access dozens of databases freely.  Familiar tools … Continued
Keep Your Mind Sharp with Puzzles

Keep Your Mind Sharp with Puzzles

, Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
During summer breaks, students can forget part of what they learned in the preceding year.  This phenomenon is referred to as the ‘summer learning loss’ or ‘learning slide’.  There is a significant body of literature on it, particularly as it affects K-12 students.  Estimates of the severity of the loss differ greatly depending on the test design, but it is a risk worth preparing against.  One proposed solution calls for eliminating or reducing summer breaks. Locally, Richmond Community Schools now schedules a two-month summer vacation.  Other proposals include having more frequent, but shorter, breaks spaced throughout the year; or using summer school to bolster at-risk kids.  Absent a comprehensive community solution, however, a good strategy is to keep your mind … Continued