Author Ellen Jovin with her Grammar Table | sourced from Ellen’s Instagram @grammartable
Come visit the internationally acclaimed Grammar Table in front of Charles Library on March 19, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Ellen Jovin, author of the national bestseller Rebel with a Clause, will be there to answer your most pressing grammar questions, resolve roommate grammar disputes, and generally shoot the linguabreeze.
Want to take a mini grammar quiz? There will be (totally voluntary) quiz questions ready on the table for those who dare!
Jovin has sparked curiosity around the nation with her Grammar table, from New York City to Utah she has settled tons of grammar debates, and she has an extensive digital footprint highlighting her table. Watch a short clip of Ellen on CBS Evening News below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOiNQ-YGP_k
Author Ellen Jovin answers the nation’s grammatical dilemmas | CBS Evening News
Guest post by Olivia Given Castello,Head of Business, Social Sciences, and Education
We invite you to explore our new library guide to AI-powered research tools. This latest guide grew out of our guide to generative AI and chatbots and is intended to help Temple users navigate the landscape of emerging scholarly research tools that have AI features.
You may have already encountered some examples of these tools such as Semantic Scholar, Elicit, JSTOR’s generative AI assistant, and more. The guide provides an overview and links to many types of AI-enabled tools available to support the research process. It highlights tools for literature searching and mapping, summarizing, working with data, writing code, and publishing. The focus is on tools that are free for Temple users or have a significant free usage option.
This guide explores using popular chatbots for research, AI tools in library subscriptions, and offers guidance on assessing AI research tools. It also includes a reusable assessment rubric and assignment for instructors.
Temple Libraries’ guide to AI tools for research
We hope you will find this resource helpful in supporting your research and in teaching student researchers.
Consider registering for the Libraries’ remaining AI workshops this semester to learn more:
Throughout the year the Makerspace, located on the third floor of Charles Library, hosts a variety of workshops for makers of all skill levels. Recently, the Makerspace held a craft workshop for making valentines, cards, and other creative posters. Attendees came together with people of different disciplines and backgrounds and crafted together.
Below is a video highlighting a few moments of the workshop and what three individuals made during their time at the Makerspace.
Read about crafting activities, educational, and creative tools and offered in the Makerspace and review the upcoming workshops at the Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Studio (LCDSS). To learn more about activities happening at the LCDSS, visit their website.
Join us on February 27 from 2 to 4 in the Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Studio for a chance to meet others on campus interested in using games for research, creative, and pedagogical purposes. We’ll open with a brief discussion about why we are bringing everyone together and the resources available in the LCDSS. With your help, we’ll scope out the short-term future of this group. We will then break to play a variety of cooperative board and video games to get to know each other better and work some play into the meeting.
The LCDSS is on the 3rd floor of the Charles Library. Pizza and some beverages will be provided.
Guest Post by Julie Randolph, Head of Outreach and Instructional Services at Temple Law Library
Roughly one out of every three working-age Americans has a criminal record. These records have lasting repercussions: most employers use criminal background checks, and a criminal record nearly halves the chance someone will receive a callback or job offer. Criminal convictions can also affect a person’s ability to find housing, vote, and receive mortgages or bank loans. As a result, people who have completed their sentences still find themselves held back by their criminal record.
By removing convictions from an individual’s record, pardons provide a chance to surmount these obstacles. Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity started the Pardon Project in 2011 to help individuals with convictions receive pardons, a process simplified by the 2019 start of the Pennsylvania Board of Parole’s Expedited Review Program. Through the Pardon project, pardon coaches (individuals, including students, who have received a short training) can help people with convictions navigate the pardon process.
Today the Pardon Project has expanded to dozens of Pennsylvania counties, and, since 2019, more than 80% of pardon applicants received a hearing, but many people still don’t know that pardons are available or how to start the pardon process. To highlight this important issue and how to get involved, on February 27, Charles Library will host a screening of the short documentary,Pardon Me,followed by a panel discussion. Further details of the event are below.
Charles Library first floor event space, 1900 N. 13th Street
Pardon Me is a documentary film by Philadelphia filmmaker Shuja Moore that shows how pardons offer the potential to live as full citizens and how they uplift entire communities. The film features the stories of two people going through the pardon process and includes interviews with key civic leaders. By showcasing the transformative potential of pardons, Pardon Me sheds light on the importance of addressing the long-lasting impacts of criminal records and the need for a final release from the criminal justice system. Register here.
Join us for a film screening and panel discussion with:
Shuja Moore, Pardon Me director, producer
A PA pardon recipient
Associate Professor of Political Science, Nyron N. Crawford, Temple University College of Liberal Arts
Shelby Dolch, Temple Law student and past Systemic Justice Project participant
Co-sponsored by Temple University Libraries, Department of Criminal Justice, Department of Political Science, Temple University Public Policy Lab, Beasley School of Law, and Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity.
Guest post by Will Dean, Research and Data Services Librarian
Chase away the winter doldrums with data! Join Temple University Libraries for a week of educational and useful workshops and events. Our Research Data Services team is proud to present a week of virtual workshops and events that teach data skills as well as showcase the research and work of our academic community.
Speakers will present on the use of data journalism to empower readers and the role of love in social science research. We will also cover varied topics like statistical analysis, choosing a repository to deposit your data, 3-D printing topographical maps, ethically sharing qualitative research data, and free data tools. Programs are open to everyone, and most of the in-person events will have a remote option. More information can be found on the schedule below and on this guide: https://guides.temple.edu/lovedataweek.
Do you collect data in your research or classwork? This workshop will teach you about some of the data tools available to you at Temple. There are tools to help you with:
Charles Library first floor event space, 1900 N. 13th Street
Colin Evans, the data editor at Temple University’s Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting at the Klein College of Media and Communication, will speak about how data journalists collect, analyze, and visualize data, and how their findings provide tools for readers to advocate for their communities. Evans will also discuss his work with students at the Logan Center and how data plays a role in the center’s investigative reporting.
Colin Evans, KLN ’21, came back to Klein in 2023 to mentor students working for the Logan Center and assist in its investigatory journalism. His work has ranged from reporting on schools to gun violence to homelessness, with bylines in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Billy Penn, and WHYY. He previously worked as the data reporter at LancasterOnline. In-person event registration is encouraged but not required. This event will also be streamed via Zoom. Please register to receive a link to attend remotely.
Researchers can make their research accessible and reproducible, and fulfill funder requirements, by depositing their research data in a repository. This workshop will explain the differences between different repository types and what repositories Temple Libraries belongs to. Instructors will provide a framework you can use to decide what repository to use to preserve and share your research data and take the headache out of finding a home for your research data.
Are you new to clinical research and want to know what kind of analysis you should perform in your research project? Need a refresher before you start analyzing your data? Join Dr. Daohai Yu of the Department of Biomedical Education and Data Science for a workshop covering the basic statistical skills you need for clinical research. No statistical experience is necessary, and this event is open to all skill levels.
Charles Library first floor event space, 1900 N. 13th Street
Most researchers learn from our earliest training about the importance of objectivity in our work. As scholars attempting to analyze the social justice movements of our time, however, we may also ask whether love may inform our research in meaningful ways. In this talk, Temple University Department of Criminal Justice Associate Professor and qualitative researcher Jamie Fader discusses the role of love (e.g., empathy, humanity, and connectedness) in qualitative social research and makes the case that both validity and equity can be served by drawing on love as a research tool.
From developing rapport with research participants through empathy and care, to drawing on personal experiences to analyze narratives, or employing epistemological or theoretical perspectives that privilege liberatory aims, Fader argues that love should be a component of our research toolkits. Moreover, as academic spaces become increasingly diverse, we may need to consider that our insistence on objectivity might have unintended exclusionary outcomes. To make the case for love, Fader draws on her own research on justice system-impacted Philadelphians.
In 2022, the US government announced upcoming stringent requirements for data sharing for all recipients of federal grants. The requirements have been in place for National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants since early 2023 and have just been announced by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for 2025. These new requirements pose challenges to qualitative research, where data has, in the past, rarely been shared. In this workshop, Associate Director of the Qualitative Data Repository (QDR) Sebastian Karcher, will discuss some of the ways to address ethical and logistical challenges of sharing qualitative research data. The workshop focuses on practical, hands-on strategies to facilitate both ethical research and data sharing spanning the entire course of research: research design, informed consent, documentation, and data publication.
Discover the exciting world of 3D printing for landscapes and terrains using Quantum GIS (QGIS) and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) in this immersive workshop. Whether you’re a GIS enthusiast, environmental scientist, or a 3D printing enthusiast, this hands-on session is for you. Learn the basics of QGIS, manipulate DEMs, create stunning 3D models, prepare them for 3D printing, and witness your digital landscapes come to life. Gain practical insights, explore real-world applications, and troubleshoot common issues in a single session. Join us and unlock the potential of merging technology with geography to bring your ideas to life through 3D-printed landscapes and terrains.
This semester Temple University Libraries is launching an inspiring new series called A Time to Act: Responses to the Climate Crisis within and Beyond the University. This series will focus on various discussions about creating a sustainable and environmentally equitable university campus and community. Throughout the semester, we will cover topics related to climate action in the university and beyond, including Temple’s sustainability research agenda, and how we can translate climate scholarship for local impact.
We will also discuss Temple’s physical plant, operations, and carbon future, as well as equity and community-focused planning strategies to build and strengthen climate justice and resilience in the Philadelphia region. This series is brought to you by Temple University Libraries, Temple’s Office of Sustainability, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, the Center for Sustainable for Communities, Tyler Climate Action Network, and the Department of Geography and Urban Studies.
“The climate crisis is one of the fundamental realities of our time,” Dean of Libraries Joe Lucia said. “It requires the concerted engagement of people from many different fields and backgrounds to be effectively addressed. It is a key aspect of the library’s mission as a social connector to bring together experts and community members from across the university to share ideas and think through big challenges and big issues. We are very excited to be a partner in this important set of events that will become a continuing area of focus in our programming.”
Howard Gittis Student Center, Room 200C, 1755 N. 13th Street
In this lecture, Paul Robbins dissects naturalist John Muir’s 1912-1913 work, “The Story of My Boyhood and Youth.” This unconventional piece contains detailed descriptions of Native American life, reflecting a repressed memory of their expulsion. Muir’s romanticized view of the wilderness obscured indigenous land ownership. His evolving attitudes toward Native cultures enriched his work, but his influence on the national park system perpetuated the expulsion of native peoples. These expulsions, revisited as repressed memories, have significant implications for the future of conservation, highlighting the need to acknowledge and address the historical injustices against native peoples in preserving natural landscapes.
Paul Robbins is the dean of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With decades of experience as a researcher and educator, Robbins specializes in the political entanglements of environmental conservation, wild species protection, and land management and control. His research has included investigations of the politics of forestry and wildlife conservation in rural India, elk management on the settled fringes of Yellowstone Park, consumer chemical risk behaviors in North America, mosquito management, and a multitude of other topics. A reception will be held afterwards with light refreshments served.
Charles Library first floor event space, 1900 N. 13th Street
This event is for anyone interested in strategic science communication scholarship and bringing urgent social and environmental problems to the forefront of discussion. Meet other Temple climate scholars and advocates to strengthen Temple’s interdisciplinary scholarly community and translational research agenda.
Featuring keynote speaker Dr. Zachary M. Labe, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton University. Assistant Professor Dr. Meghnaa Tallapragada, Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Klein College of Media and Communication, and Assistant Professor Dr. Becki Beadling, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, College of Science and Technology will also be speaking.
Charles Library first floor event space, 1900 N. 13th Street
Climate change is described in some quarters as a “crisis” and in others as a “hoax”, with a range of views in between. How can one square this with climate science, which should be more objective? This talk, led by Nadir Jeevanjee, will emphasize that there is a spectrum of climate science, ranging from well-established, “settled” science (such as global warming due to anthropogenic CO2) to highly uncertain frontier topics (such as various proposed “tipping points”). To properly interpret climate science, one must acknowledge the existence of this spectrum, and appropriately place climate and weather phenomena within it.
Jeevanjee studies the physics of clouds, radiation, and climate, using a hierarchy of approaches ranging from pencil-and-paper theory to comprehensive computer simulations. He currently is a Research Physical Scientist at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. This event will be co-sponsored by the Science, Technology, and Society network at Temple University.
Mazur Hall, Room 821, 1114 Polett Walk between 11th and 12th streets
Federal environmental and climate policy changes are intended to promote local and regional climate action, with a focus on equity and environmental justice. In this lecture, we will discuss if there is a need for more comprehensive and measurable strategies to ensure that cities and regions become truly equitable, environmentally just, and prepared for climate change.
Featuring Chitra Kumar, Managing Director of the Climate and Energy Program from the Union of Concerned Scientists, Russell Zerbo, Advocate, Clean Air Council, and Associate Professor Christina Rosan, of Temple University’s Department of Geography and Urban Studies. This event will be co-sponsored by Geography and Urban Studies and the Center for Sustainable Communities.
Charles Library first floor event space, 1900 N. 13th Street
Looking toward the future, Temple’s campus must be powered by innovative solutions that address Philadelphia’s current and evolving energy infrastructure, including renewable energy options. Become empowered with fellow Owls on how to combat climate change and encourage decarbonization at Temple and beyond.
Featuring Associate Professor of Instruction in Electrical Engineering Dr. Cory Budischak, along with student leaders in Temple Student Government, Temple Climate Action, and Temple Green Council; Director of Utilities and Energy Management, Kat Fink; Assistant Vice President and University Architect, James Templeton; Director, Office of Sustainability, Rebecca Collins; Senior Sustainability Manager, Caroline Burkholder, and climate leaders from other institutions.
Charles Library first floor event space, 1900 N. 13th Street
The labor–climate movement in the U.S. laid the groundwork for the Green New Deal by building a base within labor for supporting climate protection as a vehicle for good jobs. But as we confront the climate crisis and seek environmental justice, a “jobs vs. environment” discourse often pits workers against climate activists. How can we make a “just transition” moving away from fossil fuels, while also compensating for the human cost when jobs are lost or displaced?
In his timely book, Clean Air and Good Jobs, Todd Vachon examines the labor–climate movement and demonstrates what can be envisioned and accomplished when climate justice is on labor’s agenda and unions work together with other social movements to formulate bold solutions to the climate crisis. In this lecture, Vachon profiles the workers and union leaders who have been waging a slow, but steadily growing revolution within their unions to make labor as a whole an active and progressive champion for both workers and the environment.
Temple University Libraries has an exciting lineup of qualitative research-related workshops and events this semester! See the full list and register here.
Staff members from the Libraries offer help with qualitative data, analysis, and QDA software and tools. Learn more about our support for qualitative research on the Libraries’ website. Keep reading to learn more about the events we have planned this semester to bring together qualitative researchers at Temple.
What’s Love Got to Do with It? Qualitative Research and Social Justice
Wednesday, February 14, 2:00-3:30 pm
In person at Charles Library and streaming via Zoom
Join us for the keynote presentation of Love Data Week, with Temple University Department of Criminal Justice Associate Professor and qualitative researcher Dr. Jamie Fader.
Most researchers learn from our earliest training about the importance of objectivity in our work. As scholars attempting to analyze the social justice movements of our time, however, we may also ask whether love may inform our research in meaningful ways. Dr. Fader will discuss the role of love (e.g., empathy, humanity, and connectedness) in qualitative social research and make the case that both validity and equity can be served by drawing on love as a research tool. To make the case love should be a component of our research toolkits, Dr. Fader will draw on her research on justice system-impacted Philadelphians.
Dr. Jamie Fader
Jamie Fader is a sociologist, book author, and ethnographer in Temple’s Department of Criminal Justice. Her research examines the lived experience of criminal legal system involvement, especially on members of vulnerable communities, such as adolescents, boys and men of color, and LGBTQ emerging adults. Her upcoming book On Shifting Ground: Constructing Manhood on the Margins was published by the University of California Press in December.
This online workshop, presented by the Qualitative Data Repository Associate Director Dr. Sebastian Karcher, will address the ethical and logistical challenges of sharing qualitative research data.
In 2022, the US government announced stringent requirements for data sharing for all recipients of federal grants. The requirements have been in place for National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants since early 2023 and have just been announced by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for 2025. These new requirements pose challenges to qualitative research, where data has, in the past, rarely been shared. In this workshop, Dr. Karcher will discuss some of the ways to address the ethical and logistical challenges of sharing qualitative research data. Attendees will learn practical, hands-on strategies to facilitate both responsible research and data sharing spanning the entire course of research: research design, informed consent, documentation, and data publication.
Dr. Sebastian Karcher
Sebastian Karcher is the Associate Director of the Qualitative Data Repository and Research Assistant Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University. His research focuses on research transparency, management, and curation of qualitative data and the intersection of digital technology and scholarship. The Qualitative Data Repository (QDR) is a dedicated archive for sharing qualitative and multi-method research data and is hosted by the Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry, a unit of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Learn more about Temple’s QDR membership on the Libraries’ QDR guide.
Join us for other online workshops on qualitative data analysis this semester, taught by members of Temple Libraries’ qualitative research support team:
This image was created using Adobe Firefly and is in the public domain.
Guest post by Kristina De Voe, English and communication librarian
Temple University Libraries is celebrating National News Literacy Week from January 22 to January 26, 2024. National News Literacy Week is an annual initiative that turns a spotlight on local news and its role in a healthy democracy.
What is News Literacy?
News literacy, according to News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, is “the ability to determine the credibility of news and other information and to recognize the standards of fact-based journalism to know what to trust, share and act on.”
In our current era of mis-and disinformation, news literacy is a critical skill. It teaches you how to think about the news and information you come across daily but not necessarily what to think about any particular source. News literacy also helps you develop a healthy skepticism about the quality of news and information you encounter, without becoming cynical about it.
Access Digital Newspapers and Magazines
Do you know that the Libraries offer access to many digital newspapers and magazines? Titles including The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and The Washington Post are freely available to the Temple community via our library databases. These digital resources can help you stay up to date on news, current events, and timely conversations all from your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Discover our news-focused databases using our Find Newspapers guide.
Pro Tip: Curious whether the Libraries offer access to a particular magazine or newspaper online? You can search Library Search by title to find out. If the library has a particular publication, there will be a list of the databases to which the library provides access along with a link to the publication.
National News Literacy Events at Temple
To mark National News Literacy Week, the Libraries will offer the following online workshops:
Newspapers are like “the first rough draft of history” and are an invaluable resource when researching events, individuals, and issues in the context of their time. Join us to gain strategies for conducting historical newspaper research with a discerning eye, using the Libraries’ newly expanded historical newspaper database collections.
Tired of hitting paywalls when you go to read a newspaper or magazine article? Looking to avoid those subscription fees or one-time payments? In this session you’ll learn how to use the Temple Libraries databases to connect to popular newspapers and magazines, such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsweek and many international favorites. You’ll learn how to quickly navigate to these publications and use the embedded tools to enhance your reading and research experience.
Join us to gain strategies and tools for fact-checking news stories based on methods the pros use so that you can identify accurate and factual information and avoid falling victim to disinformation.
We live in a world of big data. Get tips on making sense of the charts, graphs, tables, polls, and statistics that appear in the news, journals, books and websites that you read, and view their validity with a critical eye.
We hope you will join us for our National News Literacy Week events!
Guest post by Kristina De Voe, English and communication librarian with the Open Education Group
Did you know that each semester Temple University Libraries provide a list of textbooks that are available as library ebooks? The list is based on information Temple faculty submit to the campus bookstore. These materials are free for Temple students. Use our Etextbooks Available Through the Libraries page to find your course and see if your textbook is on the list!
Why the Libraries Collect Textbooks
Since 2017, the Libraries have purchased ebook copies of course texts whenever possible. The Libraries are committed to reducing barriers to access a rich array of resources for our campus and the wider community. One way we work to achieve this is by supporting textbook affordability. For example, in the 2022-23 academic year, the Libraries offered electronic access to 33% of course texts, saving students an estimated $732,500.
The number of ebooks that the Libraries acquire each semester varies as not everything is available in electronic format. Textbook publishers like Pearson or Cengage usually do not sell ebooks to libraries. When an ebook is available to us, we prefer to get licenses that allow multiple simultaneous users, however, in some cases, we need to purchase single-user licenses, which means they can only be read or used by one person at a time.
Get Help
Students: Have questions about whether a textbook for your Temple class is available via the Libraries? Contact us!
Faculty: Did you know you can use the Barnes & Noble Adoption Insight Portal (AIP) to adopt a library ebook for your course? Have questions about whether the Libraries can purchase materials for your class? Need help determining what is already available? Looking for instructions on how to link a library ebook in Canvas? Contact your subject librarian or specialist.
