Sharon Byerly

Illinois Voter Registration

General Information / By Sharon Byerly / January 23, 2020

If you are not registered to vote in Illinois for the General Primary Election taking place on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, you have until March 1, 2020, to register online. After March 1, 2020, grace period registration is only available “in-person” at sites authorized by each election authority.

Registration lookup

Early Voting/Grace Period Registration Locations

To vote In Illinois:

You must be a United States Citizen.
You must be 17 years old on or before the date of the Primary Election and turn 18 on or before the date of the General Election.
You must live in your election precinct at least 30 days prior to Election Day.
You must not be serving a sentence of confinement in any penal institution as a result of a conviction.
You may not claim the right to vote anywhere else.

Voter Registration Drive:

1/28/ & 1/29 Main Campus

U-111 11:00am – 1:30pm

1/30 10am – 12pm at both extensions

Southwest Education Center
17900 S. 94th Ave.
Tinley Park, IL 60487

Education Center at Blue Island
12940 S. Western Ave.
Blue Island, IL 60406

When Citations Matter

General Information / By Sharon Byerly / February 7, 2019

A former New York times editor is being called to task for improper source attribution in her newly published book, “Merchants of Truth,” which is critical of the news business and specifically the New York Times, Washington Post, Vice and BuzzFeed.

According to the AP article linked below, Abramson on a news program Wednesday night said, “All I can tell you is I certainly didn’t plagiarize in my book and there’s 70 pages of footnotes showing where I got the information.” She and her publisher, Simon & Schuster, have promised to investigate the complaints.

For help with citations refer to the MVCC Library citation guide below or contact the library for help.

MVCC Library citation guide

Ask a MVCC librarian

Reporter alleges Jill Abramson lifted material for her book

https://apnews.com/d2d07e4cf0fc4a9da1b7453a5ca7a9b0

President Roosevelt digital archives

In the Headlines / By Sharon Byerly / October 25, 2018

As reported by the New York Times on October 17, 2018, the Library of Congress now holds the largest collection of President Theodore Roosevelt’s papers and includes 276,000 documents and over 460,000 digital images that date back to 1759. The collection began in 1917 when Roosevelt first sent items to the Library of Congress for “safekeeping.” These items later became a permanent gift from Roosevelt and the collection grew over the years from the contributions of relatives and a literary executor. The Library of Congress Roosevelt holdings are digitized and accessible online and include diaries, speeches, letters, and other documents. Other collections of Roosevelt’s papers are located at Harvard University Library and The FDR Presidential Library. Use the links below to learn more about the Library of Congress and other Roosevelt collections and to view and search through thousands of digital images.

https://www.loc.gov/collections/theodore-roosevelt-papers/about-this-collection/

http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/archives/collections.html

https://library.harvard.edu/collections/theodore-roosevelt-collection

Interesting Reads! New Non-Fiction Titles

In the Collection, In the Headlines / By Sharon Byerly / May 12, 2017

FREE WOMEN, FREE MEN
Sex, Gender, Feminism
By Camille Paglia

A collection of essays from well-known feminist academic, Camille Paglia, who the New York Times Book review calls a “fearless public intellectual…more necessary than ever.” Paglia was recently featured in a cover story by Molly Fisher at the New York Magazine website The Cut titled, “Camille Paglia Predicted 2017: What the ’90s provocateur understands about the Trump era.”

THE INKBLOTS
Hermann Rorschach, His Iconic Test, and the Power of Seeing
By Damion Searls

Read about how in the 1920’s Rorschach created and used his test to identify illnesses of a psychiatric nature and predict the traits of an individual’s personality. The author of the book was interviewed by Robert Seigel for the NPR program All Things Considered on February 17, 2017.

IRRESISTIBLE
The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked
By Adam Alter

Having trouble putting down your phone? In IRRESISTABLE, Alter, professor of psychology and marketing at NYU, follows the rise of behavioral addiction as it relates to technology and examines why so many of these products are keeping us hooked. Read an excerpt online at Wired.

JOURNALISM AFTER SNOWDEN
The Future of the Free Press in the Surveillance State Edited by Emily Bell and Taylor Owen. With Smitha Khorana and Jennifer R. Henrichsen

This anthology includes voices from a number of major journalistic players, both online and in print, and provides information on source protection, modern security measures, legal ramifications for journalists, data access, modern interpretations of privilege, and how journalism today is influenced by the Internet and modern telecommunications policy. Read book editor Emily Bells’ interview with Snowden, that was integrated into the book, online at Columbia Journalism Review.

SEX AND THE CONSTITUTION
Sex, Religion, and Law from America’s Origins to the Twenty-First Century By Geoffrey R. Stone

University of Chicago professor and constitutional scholar, Stone, offers insight into how sex became legislated and regulated in America. He includes the topics of obscenity, sodomy, abortion, birth control, and future issues facing the U.S. Supreme Court. Read Stone’s guest blog discussing the book at the Washington Post online.

Chicago area libraries

Events, Local News and Info / By Sharon Byerly / January 25, 2017

The Chicago area supports a number of literary wonderlands. If you feel yourself drawn to literature for entertainment, life-long learning, or comfort, use libraries in our area to support your interests. Often these organizations offer free or low-cost literary events and workshops. Following organizations on Facebook and other social media platforms will help keep you in the loop. Click on the links below to get started.

Moraine Valley Community College Library https://lib.morainevalley.edu/

Moraine Valley Library events https://lib.morainevalley.edu/about/libraryevents.html

Poetry Foundation Library https://www.poetryfoundation.org/programs/library

Poetry Foundation events https://www.poetryfoundation.org/programs/events

Newberry Library https://www.newberry.org/

Newberry Library events https://www.newberry.org/programs-and-events

Other interesting libraries in the Chicago area http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/secret-libraries-of-chicago

November 8, 2016 General Election Information

General Information, In the Headlines, Local News and Info / By Sharon Byerly / September 1, 2016

The last day to register to vote for the November 8, 2016 General Election is October 11, 2016. After this date, grace period registration is only available in person at sites authorized by each election authority. To be eligible to vote a voter must: be at least 18 years of age by election day; be a United States Citizen; live in your election precinct at least 30 days prior to election day; not be convicted and in jail; not claim the right to vote anywhere else. When you receive your voter ID card by mail, you are considered registered. If you do not receive an ID card by 3 weeks after you have registered, contact your election authority. If you are not voting for the first time in Illinois, you do not need to provide ID to vote in person.

To learn more visit the Illinois State Board of Elections:
http://www.elections.il.gov/Default.aspx

To contact your local election authority:
https://www.elections.il.gov/electionauthorities/elecauthoritylist.aspx

To review important election dates and deadlines :
https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionInformation.aspx?ID=f8YuTZPAe4c%3d

To UPDATE or REGISTER to vote by mail or in person:
https://www.elections.il.gov/Downloads/ElectionInformation/PDF/registervote.pdf

To REGISTER to vote online:
https://ova.elections.il.gov/

For directions to VOTE by mail:
https://www.elections.il.gov/DocDisplay.aspx?Doc=Downloads/ElectionInformation/PDF/votebymail.pdf&Title=Voting%20By%20Mail%20in%20Illinois

To VOTE in person at EARLY voting locations in suburban COOK COUNTY between September 29, 2016 and November 7, 2016:
http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/elections/earlyvoting/pages/earlyvotinglocations.aspx

To locate where to VOTE in person on Election Day, November 8, 2016 (polling places):
https://ova.elections.il.gov/RegistrationLookup.aspx

To view a list of all active candidates running in the November 8th, 2016 General Election: http://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionInformation/CandidateFilingSearchByName.aspx?id=4HKwgqUyBws%3d

Melting Away: a Ten Year Journey through Our Endangered Polar Regions

General Information, In the Collection, In the Headlines / By Sharon Byerly / August 25, 2016

In Melting Away: a Ten Year Journey through Our Endangered Polar Regions, Camille Seamon tells of her experiences traveling and photographing the Arctic and Antarctic, an area she found herself strangely drawn to revisit for 10 years. The extraordinary photographs and colors, primarily blues, predominate in an incredible variety of shades. “Seaman reveals her struggle to be a good mother while dealing with the burden of being the voice of distressed remote locations. Seaman has not been back to the Poles since August 2011 because the disappearance of ice and snow broke her heart. She watched firsthand the devastation on the polar bears and local birds caused by melting ice and warming seas. Her unique perspective of the landscape is entwined with her Shinnecock Native American upbringing: she sees no two icebergs alike.”–Aline Smithson

To see photos from the book click here.

Available in the library now! Click here.

Voting in the Illinois Primary

General Information / By Sharon Byerly / February 3, 2016

If you are not registered to vote in the Illinois General Primary Election taking place on March 15, 2016 you have until February 16, 2016 to register.

Illinois’ residents may register online, in person at the office of the election authority, at Driver’s license facilities, with deputy registrars who are appointed in each jurisdiction, or via mail using the Illinois Voter Registration Application available in English and Spanish.

Online Voter Registration Application Website

To vote In Illinois:

You must be a United States Citizen.
You must be 17 years old on or before the date of the Primary Election and turn 18 on or before the date of the General Election.
You must live in your election precinct at least 30 days prior to Election Day.
Not be convicted and in jail.
Not claim the right to vote anywhere else.

Early voting in the Illinois Primary will start February 4, 2016 and end March 14, 2016.

Early Voting Locations by Jurisdiction

Check your registration and polling place location to vote in the Illinois Primary on March 16, 2016:

Registration and Polling Place Information

In search of Zoroaster

In the Collection / By Sharon Byerly / November 12, 2015

Recently the library purchased the book titled, Religions of Iran: from pre-history to the present by Richard Foltz. Inside is a chapter titled, “In search of Zoroaster.” Zoroaster is a mystery to many as the basics of his life–where he was born, lived and when he died (possibly born c. 628 BCE—died c. 551 BCE)–are uncertain. The religion, Zoroastrianism, relies on an ancient sacred text called the Avesta, which contains sections called “Gathas,” or hymns, which many consider Zoroaster to be author. According to Encyclopædia Britannica Online, “In more recent times the study of Zoroastrianism has played a decisive part in reconstructing the religion and social structure of the Indo-European peoples. Though Zoroastrianism was never, even in the thinking of its founder, as aggressively monotheistic as, for instance, Judaism or Islam, it does represent an original attempt at unifying under the worship of one supreme god a polytheistic religion comparable to those of the ancient Greeks, Latins, Indians, and other early peoples. Its other salient feature, namely dualism, was never understood in an absolute, rigorous fashion. Good and Evil fight an unequal battle in which the former is assured of triumph.” Read more about Zoroaster from the books and databases available via the library or from the link listed below:

Religions of Iran: from prehistory to the present by Richard Foltz (2013).

Heirs to forgotten kingdoms: journeys into the disappearing religions of the Middle East by Gerard Russell (2014).

“Zoroastrianism”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2015 http://www.britannica.com/topic/Zoroastrianism

AHA moments: creative insight and the brain

General Information / By Sharon Byerly / September 3, 2015

According to current neuroscience research from John Kounios and Mark Beeman, we are capable of stimulating more creative insight or more “aha moments” when we place ourselves under certain conditions. Read the book to find out how to develop more of your “creative potential” by relaxing your focus, living with humor and a “positive emotional state,” and by understanding your own “awareness.” When humans become more aware of their thought patterns, focus and relax, the brain’s medial frontal lobe “lights up” and within seconds your brain is then able to gain creative insight. Read more below:

Psychology Today blog post: ‘The Eureka Factor’ and Your Creative Brain

Read the book: The Eureka Factor: Aha Moments, Creative Insight and the Brain.