What do Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World have in common?

In addition to being acknowledged as literary classics or among the best of recent novels, they were among the dozens of books that groups attempted to ban from school or public libraries in the United States during the past two years. To honor the ongoing battle to preserve Americans’ freedom to read, a Banned Books Reading will be held on the steps of Florida State University’s Strozier Library on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.

The event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Florida State University Libraries, the English Department and the School of Library & Information Studies’ student chapter of the American Library Association. FSU administrators, faculty and students will read brief excerpts from a variety of books. John Fenstermaker, the Fred L. Standley professor of English and president of the Friends of the Florida State University Libraries, will preside.

Banned Books Week was created in 1982 by the American Library Association in response to a surge in challenges to books in schools, libraries and bookstores. The ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom reported 513 challenges in 2008 alone, but it estimates that this reflects only 20 to 25 percent of actual incidents, because most go unreported.

To view a Google map and brief descriptions of cases documented by ALA and the Kids’ Right to Read Project, a collaboration of the National Coalition Against Censorship and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, visit
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=112317617303679724608.00047051ed493efec0bb8 <http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=112317617303679724608.00047051ed493efec0bb8>

CI News Letter 2008

November 2008 ALA Student Chapter Newsletter

The College of Information recognized members of the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) FSU Chapter at its end of semester graduation ceremonies on Friday, Aug. 8, for their excellent academic records, their commitment to the school, and their leadership in the community.

Several students received honor cords to mark their academic achievements (graduated with major GPA above a 3.5): Andrew Bertino, Walt Bower, Albert Fazio, David Friedman, Trang Ly, Emily Meyer, Kristin Norena, Jesse Rioseco, and Jachima Taino.

Kristin Norena, Walt Bower, Jachima Taino, and Ian Anthony were recognized for their contributions to the College. Kristin was the president of the AITP student organization and was also active in the STARS Alliance , a program to broaden the participation of women and minorities in computing. Walter was the vice president of AITP and was a student member of the Colleges undergraduate committee. Jachima was the member educator for AITP and was a member of the STARS Alliance. Ian Anthony was the communications chair for AITP and was very involved with projects and internship links.

In the last year, the AITP organization has been very active. They hosted a visit to the College by SAIC Corporation and toured Summit East IT Park, visiting companies such as Mainline Information Systems, eLayaway, and Focus Learning Systems. Student social events were held in the fall and spring, as well as a senior picnic. AITP hosted educational programs such as an entrepreneurship seminar, a focus on IT student businesses, and a Computer Gaming expo.

AITP provides students with leadership experiences, networking opportunities, guest speakers, internship connections, educational seminars. It posts their member profiles on the chapter website. If you have questions about AITP, please contact eranderee@ci.fsu.edu.

Students from the FSU STARS Alliance presented Computing Careers Night at Godby High School in Tallahassee on the evening of Nov. 6. The purpose of the event was to educate students, parents, teachers and guidance counselors about educational and career opportunities available in computing. The STARS (Students and Technology in Academia, Research, and Service) Alliance is a nine-university regional partnership sponsored by a National Science Foundation grant to broaden participation in among underrepresented groups. According to the U.S. National Bureau of Labor Statistics, during the next decade eight out of the ten top careers will be in computing related fields.

“There are a lot of different careers in computing – everything from writing computer software, to developing Web sites, to managing business information. In addition, you can apply computer skills to almost any profession – health care, teaching, hurricane tracking, or music, to name a few,” said Ebe Randeree, FSU’s academic liaison to the STARS Alliance.

Presenters at Computing Careers Night included Jackie Pons, superintendent of Leon County Schools; Corey Latislaw and Chris Landbeck of the FSU STARS Alliance; and keynote speakers Glenda Atkinson and Chet Hall of the TalTech Alliance. Career exhibits were presented by representatives from Florida State University, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee Community College, and Godby High School.

To learn more, visit FSU’s STARS Alliance web site at starsalliance.fsu.edu.

STUDENT STARS. FSU STARS Alliance students presented Computing Careers Night at Godby High School. Above (left to right), Kristen Norena, Sabrina Fontaine, Christine Savvakis, and Emily Robarge organize their work. Below, Sabrina Fontaine (left) signs in a parent for the evening’s activities. The STARS Alliance is funded by a National Science Foundation grant to broaden participation in computing among underrepresented groups.