Library Journal - Taiga Forum Holds Inaugural Meeting in Chicago

Library Journal - Taiga Forum Holds Inaugural Meeting in Chicago: "Paul Duguid, coauthor of The Social Life of Information, discussed the trade-off between openness of information (�la Wikipedia) and quality of information. Using three examples from the open source world, he demonstrated how variations in user-contributed data affect accuracy and accessibility. For instance, in the music database Gracenote, multiple user entries for composer (e.g., Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) force users to make their own authority control decisions. In digitizing the novel Tristram Shandy, Project Gutenberg contributors deferred making choices about how to show intentional blank and black pages and footnotes. And, finally, in an entertaining look at Wikipedia, Duguid revealed the edit wars over the biographical entry on Daniel Defoe, with writers adding and deleting his role as a spy. These examples highlighted how the library's traditional role as an arbiter of quality is being challenged by Google and open source content projects."

New College of California "On the Silk Road to Iran"

New College of California "On the Silk Road to Iran": "The purpose of this trip is to follow in the footsteps of those who throughout the centuries have traveled to Iran in order to broaden their world perspectives. The itinerary will include the classical centers of Persian culture such as Shiraz and Isfahan, but will also explore the cultures of the Caspian provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran. With the trekking across the deserts of the Silk Road of the Iranian Plateau, the crossing of stunning mountain ranges to the exploration of the lush green subtropical Caspian littoral plain, the spectacular diversity of Iran will be experienced.

The trip is organized in such a way that complements the students' study of interdisciplinary humanities by developing insights into Islamic art and architecture, Islamic mysticism, ancient Persian civilization, environmental activism, Persian poetry, Iranian handicrafts, Islamic revolutionary theory and practice, as well as the Iranian response to globalization."