MSL buzz: the Michael Schwartz Library blog - Research Guides at Cleveland State University

Are you ready to vote? Learn to make confident decisions in the upcoming elections.

This election year the Michael Schwartz Library is offering a series of workshops, engaging speakers, interactive displays, and more, all aimed at helping you navigate the complexities of democracy. Whether you're learning how to register to vote, exploring key issues, or discovering how to spot misinformation, Democracy 101 provides the tools and knowledge you need to make informed decisions. Let's work together to ensure that every vote is thoughtful and informed.

Fall 2024 Events, Resources, & Opportunities

Free Workshops: Avoiding Election-Related Misinformation

October 22, 11:30-12:20pm
October 23, 4:00-4:50pm

Register Here

Strengthen your ability to discern credible information in a world full of misinformation. This workshop will equip you with the skills to critically evaluate sources, spot misleading content, and make informed decisions in your academic work.

Avoiding Misinformation Research Guide

Civic Engagement & Voting

National Voter Registration Day is September 17th

New voter? Don't know if you registered to vote? The Office of Civic Engagement will host voter registration tables on 9/17 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the lobby of the library and the Student Center Innerlink. Take a moment to get registered to vote, update your voter registrations, or get help with an application to vote-by-mail. Please stop by!

Informed Voting Cart
While you're there, your CSU Librarians can help you learn how to register, avoid misinformation, and research the issues that matter most to you at our “Informed Voting Cart”. Our resources are designed to help you cast your vote with knowledge and confidence…please stop by!

Constitution Day Events in the Library

Book Display
Constitution Day is September 17th. Stop by the first floor of the library to see our book display celebrating this important holiday!

Connect with Faculty Series:
"To Form a More Loving (Perfect) Union: Love as a Principle of Democracy, Free Speech, and Racial Equality"
Professor Reginald Oh, CSU College of Law

Tuesday, September 17th
11:30-12:30
Michael Schwartz Library Connection Lounge
(1st Floor, west of the front desk)

This presentation will explain that love is perhaps the most important constitutional principle of democracy. Love is implied in key parts of the Constitution: the Preamble, the Bill of Rights, and the Fourteenth Amendment. Love is the constitutional glue that can transform a divided nation of us versus them into We the People. The presentation will discuss how love informed Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court decision that struck down racial segregation in public schools in 1954. It will also discuss how love can guide us in navigating difficult freedom of speech issues such as the debate over what books are appropriate for school libraries and classrooms.

Presented as part of the Friends of the Michael Schwartz Library "Connect with Faculty" Series

Banned Books Week Events in the Library

Banned Books Week is September 22-28th. Check out our banned books display and take a “mugshot” selfie with your favorite banned book. Show your support for the freedom to read!

free webinar:
Stand Up and Speak Out! How You Can Help Fight Library Censorship
Dr. Belinda Boon, Kent State University iSchool
September 24th, 11:30-12:30, virtual

Register Here

Over the past several years, schools and public libraries have experienced unprecedented numbers of challenges from conservative groups and lawmakers targeting books on the experiences of Black, indigenous, and people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. But a growing number of individuals and groups are fighting back against would-be censors and helping to combat the growing spread of mis- and dis-information. This webinar covers some of the issues involved in preserving intellectual freedom and offers suggestions for how you CAN make a difference!

Presented in collaboration with the Michael Schwartz Library Friends of the Library

The Michael Schwartz Library has partnered with the CSU Office of Civic Engagement to provide multiple sources of information in preparation for the upcoming elections. See the Office of Civic Engagement website for additional resources, information about upcoming events, and more.

Recent Posts

It's International Education Week!

November 18th-22nd is International Education Week!Please join us in the library throughout the week as we celebrate our international students! Look for our book display, and mark your home country on a large world map. We'll have candies from all over the world, a new display, and conversation-starting white boards.International education is all about expanding horizons, making connections, and establishing mutual understanding between people in the United States and other countries. How many countries' flags can you identify? Try this quiz:https://world-geography-games.com/en/flags_world.html CSU Study Abroad Programs site: https://business.csuohio.edu/academics/study-abroad-programsInternational Research Guides from your Michael Schwartz Library:https://researchguides.csuohio.edu/internationalculturalguidehttps://researchguides.csuohio.edu/international ABOUT INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS DAYThe first International Students Day was observed on November 17, 1941 in London to commemorate the anniversary of the 1939 Nazi capture and arrest of protesting students from Czech universities. Nine student leaders were murdered and over 1,200 students were sent to concentration camps as a result. The day was noted to celebrate the bravery of these students. Today November 17 is recognized as a day to celebrate the diversity, multiculturalism, strength, and courage of international students who make great sacrifices to move and study abroad. ...

Día de los Muertos at the Library with Dr. Stephen Gingerich

Connect with CSU Faculty for Día de los Muertos at the Librarya Mexican holiday for celebrating and remembering loved ones who have diedall events will be on Friday, November 1st the 1st floor of the Michael Schwartz Library 11:00 am – noonCalavera Mask-MakingCreate and wear your own calavera mask. These masks serve multiple purposes, including honoring the dead and warding off evil spirits. Skulls are a symbol of mortality or death and have become linked with Día de los Muertos, a holiday for celebrating and remembering loved ones who have died.Noon – 1:00 pmDr. Stephen GingerichDr. Gingerich, Spanish Professor in the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Presenting “Day of the Dead in Mexico and Beyond” followed by a discussion. Part of the Friends of the Library's “Connect with CSU Faculty” series.1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.Spanish conversation & snacks with CSU Café HispanoAfter the presentation, relax in the Connection Lounge, converse in Spanish and enjoy refreshments with the Café Hispano group.Join us! ...

It's Media Literacy Week!

This week is Media Literacy Week, and 2024 is the 10th annual celebration of this important awareness-raising campaign! In celebration, we’ll be posting one Substack post each day this week with some tips and ideas for becoming more media literate. We hope you find them helpful!Before we get into today’s tips, we wanted to invite you all (and your students if you are a professor!) to attend a misinformation workshop that the library is offering on October 22nd at 11:30am. This virtual workshop will give you some hands-on practice with the concepts we cover in this short series. All are welcome! Media Literacy Week – Day FourMedia Literacy Week is nearly over, but there’s one more piece of the SIFT method to cover!Trace Claims to Their Original Context. Unfortunately, many of the sources that you encounter online are not original content -- they're stories that are being re-reported or commented on. This makes some of the other steps of SIFT more difficult because the context of the information (and, sometimes, the information itself) is altered when it is re-shared. To address this problem, you may need to trace claims to their original context.https://youtu.be/tRZ-N3OvvUs Find more information, suggested resources, and assignment ideas related to Trace Claims to Their Original Context on our Misinformation Research Guide. Media Literacy Week – Day ThreeLet’s continue our exploration of the SIFT method for Media Literacy Week! Depending on your information need, you may find that the first two steps in SIFT are sufficient to verify the source you want to share or use, and your work is done. However, if you're unsure about the trustworthiness of a source, the next step in the SIFT process is to evaluate the claim by Finding Trusted Sources. See the video below for some tips for doing that kind of fact-checking. https://youtu.be/wJG7kFmS0FE One common strategy for Finding Trusted Sources is called “lateral reading.” The idea is that instead of relying on the source itself to tell you how trustworthy it is, you open new tabs and investigate how others assess that source’s reliability. https://youtu.be/GZvsGKvqzDs Find more information, suggested resources, and assignment ideas related to Find Trusted Sources on our Misinformation Research Guide. Media Literacy Week – Day 2Welcome to Day Two of Media Literacy Week!Don’t forget that our Avoiding Misinformation Workshop is today at 11:30 – we would love to have you!Now that we know more about the first step of SIFT, Stop, let’s move to the next step. The second step of SIFT is to Investigate the Source. It can be tempting to immediately begin to debate the merits of a claim that a source makes (and, depending on how outrageous it is, you may be able to dismiss a source based on its claim alone). However, it's often a good idea to begin by investigating if the source of the claim is credible. See the video below to learn why the strategy you use to investigate a source can mean the difference between an inaccurate conclusion and a successful fact-check.https://youtu.be/yBU2sDlUbp8In the next video, learn a quick method for investigating a source.https://youtu.be/hB6qjIxKltA Find more information, suggested resources, and assignment ideas related to Investigate the Source on our Misinformation Research Guide. MEDIA LITERACY WEEK: DAY 1The SIFT MethodToday we’ll start by introducing the SIFT method. What is SIFT? StopInvestigate the sourceFind trusted coverageTrace claims, quotes and media to the original context.Learn more from the creator, Mike CaufieldThe first step in the SIFT method is to Stop when you are considering sharing information online or using it as evidence in an assignment. Consider the following:Do you have a deeply-held belief about this topic? Do you have an emotional reaction to the claim? What is your information need and context? Are you going to be using this information for a low stakes task, like deciding what movie to watch, or a higher stakes decision, like whether to share political information on social media? If the source you plan to use evokes a strong emotional reaction, be extra cautious to verify its claims before sharing. Also, return to this stage of SIFT if you are feeling frustrated or stuck -- take a pause and re-evaluate what you've learned in your investigation.https://youtu.be/dNmwvntMF5A?si=Uwwl21H461vfW896 Find more information, suggested resources, and assignment ideas related to the Stop of SIFT on our Misinformation Research Guide. ...

It's National Friends of Libraries Week!

Become a member of the Friends of the Library FREE for one yearAND be entered in a drawing to win a $50.00 Amazon gift card. This week, Oct. 20-26, we are celebrating National Friends of Libraries Week. If you are not already a Friends member, we invite you to join us free for one year and be entered into a drawing for a $50.00 gift card!The Friends organization supports the Michael Schwartz Library in many ways and sponsors a diverse range of events for faculty, students, alumni, and the general public. These include book discussions (both in-person and virtual), bus excursions to local areas of interest, a Meet and Greet with a Local Author, the Connect with CSU Faculty series, an Annual Book Sale, and more. There's something for everyone!JOIN NOW! With your free Friends of the Library membership, you will:· Gain early access to the Annual Book Sale· Be given early registration access to the annual bus excursion· Receive an invitation to the Annual Meeting in the spring, where the Friends plan programs and events for the following academic year and discuss other topics of interest.· Be added to the e-newsletter list, the Friends monthly publication filled with our upcoming events, book discussions, and other interesting topics (unsubscribe at any time) This complimentary one-year membership is open to everyone--CSU faculty, staff, students, alumni, current Friends members, and the general public. There's no obligation to continue after the first year. However, we always welcome voluntary donations to support our work. We're all in this together.To start enjoying the benefits of the Friends of the Michael Schwartz Library, join us for a year, absolutely free.JOIN NOW! Show some #librarylove to the Friends of the Michael Schwartz Library and donate today! Click the Donate button and then select "Friends of the Library" under Fund Designation. Any size donation is appreciated! ...

Democracy 101 - events for Election Season 2024

Fall 2024 Events, Resources, & Opportunities

Free Workshops: Avoiding Election-Related Misinformation

Civic Engagement & Voting

Constitution Day Events in the Library

Banned Books Week Events in the Library