Then plan to attend a presentation by Merrill David, executive director of Global Connections, on March 24 at 10:00 a.m. in the Mann Assembly Room, sponsored by the University Libraries’ Diversity Committee.

Global Connections is a community non-profit organization, affiliated with Penn State and the Centre County United Way, with a tradition of promoting international cultural exchange in Centre County. Global Connections works with international students and scholars and their families, the employees of international companies in Centre County, and recent immigrants.

Through Global Connections, volunteers are matched with internationals who want to improve their English and learn more about our local community and culture. Volunteer opportunities include a conversation partners program, the Women’s Intercultural Book Group, and the International Friendship Program. Global Connections also hosts a world poetry reading, a children’s festival, and an international music series. More information about their programs is available on their website at http://www.global.psu.edu/gc/

At the University Libraries, we see many international students, faculty and scholars. We also provide our services to the wider international community, including families of international Penn Staters, as well as local international residents. At the Diversity Committee program with Global Connections, you’ll have a chance to share your ideas about how the Libraries can support and reach out to our international community.

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information about the program please contact Dawn Amsberry at dua4@psu.edu or 865-5093.

Celebrate Chinese New Year by reading “Ten Things Related to Chinese Literature” on the University Libraries Leisure Reading blog, posted by Yancy Poon, the Bednar intern in Library Learning Services.

Coming soon to the Leisure Reading collection: popular titles in Chinese! Stay tuned for more information.

Watching the blogosphere about this one has been interesting.  Many first reactions are ‘well, books aren’t accessible to the blind either’, followed by ‘Amazon has no obligation to make its hardware totally accessible to every kind of possible disability out there’, to dire prognostications about the chilling effect this will have on technological innovation.  Many complain about the extra cost for everybody to subsidize a very small set of users.  Others do comment that while Amazon may not be obligated, Universities are obligated by the ADA to make sure that technology adopted does not disadvantage those with disabilities.  Some with detailed knowledge of the underlying technology are dumbfounded as to why the accessibility wasn’t built-in in the first place.

Just last week three schools announced that they will not deploy the Kindle specifically because of the disability issue. (NFB news page) An opinion piece by a student at the University of Wisconsin sparked many comments where all these issues are raised again, especially the argument that to avoid disadvantaging the few, we are disadvantaging the many.  (Badger Herald)  As we at Penn State University Libraries consider offering materials in e-book format, and adopting potential readers these same issues are definitely being considered.  (PSUL White Paper)  Is the Sony Reader any more accessible?  If not, should we avoid any reader until there is at least one that is accessible?

As part of the part of the dialogue, where would you draw the line?

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/119395824/HTMLSTART

“We find marginally significant evidence that those subjects that grew up in a ZIP code with a larger fraction of inhabitants of a particular race are less willing to date someone from this racial group. In other words, familiarity can decrease tolerance. This result is unaffected by controlling for the average income in the ZIP code. Finally, we also find that more physically attractive people care less about the race of the partner.”

There are a few stereotypes that are verified, but also other which are left unresolved (statistically).

Please post your thoughts on the film and the issues discussed!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090528/ap_on_re_us/us_multiracial_americans

“When we physically step on another’s foot, we apologize. But, when we emotionally or psychologically step on another’s heart or mind, we often become defensive and go out of our way to prove that we were, or had, the right to step in the first place!”

Of course, the problem for many is in realizing when we do offend someone else, unintentionally. But I’m often amazed at how people what to focus on legal issues and rights (no doubt due to our country’s increasing litigiousness) rather than saying to ourselves, “I caused pain to someone else. I should start by apologizing.”

We often focus instead on our legal rights to say what we said–conveniently forgetting that having the right to say something does not mean that saying it will have no consequences. We often also choose to focus on why the other person/race/religion/whatever shouldn’t be offended. Personally, I’ve never told anyone how they should feel and had the situation work out well.

Ultimately, I’ve always looked at issues of diversity as just meaning a willingness to sympathize with people’s experiences and feelings, whether they look the same as you or not.

First, do you think race matters? In other words, do you define yourself by your race? If so, how does that affect the way you see yourself and others? This seems like a loaded question, and one that might invoke a strong reaction, but I am always interested to know how we define ourselves, how that affects the decisions we make and how we lead our lives.

There is a school of thought that proposes that one day there will only be one race…the human race. Children born of parents of two different races, will continue to create children of different races until there is no “white,” “black,” “asian,” etc.” What do you think of this idea? Will this lead to more harmony between people? Or should we attempt to save, preserve and celebrate our differences? Food for thought…I would love to have your feedback and comments. Thanks!