International Human Rights Day

Posted by Sandra on 9 December, 2018

On Monday 10 December we celebrate International Human Rights Day. While it will be celebrated in different ways by different people, the message around the world is the same.

This year the Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70. The document, which proclaimed the inalienable right to which all human beings are entitled — regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, is the most translated in the world.

A really lovely representation of these principals, and a great way to share them with a younger audience is the illustrated edition of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It’s published by the United Nations in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

QUT is heavily involved in research into the area of human rights. Here’s some of our most recently published works about the current challenges and issues in the area — available in QUT’s ePrints repository.

O’Brien, Erin (2019) Challenging the Human Trafficking Narrative: Victims, Villains, and Heroes.

Kauli, Jackie & Thomas, Verena (2018) Communicating the law: A participatory communication toolkit for human rights defenders in Papua New Guinea.

Huggins, Anna & Lewis, Bridget (2018) The Paris Agreement: Development, the North-South divide and human rights.

Mann, Monique, Warren, Ian, & Kennedy, Sally (2018) The legal geographies of transnational cyber-prosecutions: extradition, human rights and forum shifting.

#StandUp4HumanRights

Open access week on tour at QUT

Posted by Sandra on 15 October, 2018

Guest blog by Ginny Barbour, Director of the Australasian Open Access Strategy Group & Professor at the Division of Research and Commercialisation,
Office of Research Ethics & Integrity QUT

As we head towards the end of October – we turn our focus to a week dedicated to open access (OA). Now in its 10th year, OA week has grown into a truly national and global celebration. It is an opportunity for everyone working in OA to reflect on successes and recent developments, announce new initiatives, and to consider the future.

What is the week about, and what does it mean for QUT staff and academics? This year signals a return to a core purpose of open access; to reduce inequity in access to information. The year’s theme is: “designing the equitable foundations for open knowledge”. The theme indicates a need for purposeful thinking about the next steps for OA, to ensure that everyone benefits – authors, readers, the wider academic community and beyond. Open access is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end – that of an equitable, efficient and FAIR means of sharing scholarly information.

QUT has had a truly momentous year with its repository passing 25 million downloads. QUT’s ePrints repository is the most successful repository in Australia. It has more than 86,000 items, more than 70% of which are full text. Depositing records and full text is the most important way that QUT researchers can comply with QUT’s open access policy and that of the two big Australian funders — all for free. But more than that, QUT’s repository allows anyone anywhere to access its research. The 25th millionth download highlights the equitable theme of OA Week, with the download coming from Namibia.

QUT also supports the work of the Australasian Open Access Strategy Group (AOASG), a group which QUT co-founded and which works for national strategies on OA as well as supporting the OA community in Australasia.

For academics who publish openly the benefits are concrete. A better readership for open articles is not surprising, but the benefit of increased academic usage are also becoming clearer through more citations. Critically, depositing in an OA repository such as QUT’s ePrints, is demonstrated to be the best way to boost citations. Furthermore, open articles are better connected into global systems for sharing information, which means that ultimately they can have wider societal impact.

QUT Library will be taking a roadshow around the QUT campuses in OA week to spread the word. Find out when the Open Access Bike will be coming to a campus near you!

Perils & pitfalls for early career researchers

Posted by Sandra on 27 September, 2018

Predatory publishing continues to be a trap for young players with more and more early career researchers falling victim. When this happens, not only do they effectively lose ownership and copyright of their hard work (with that the ability to publish it elsewhere), they often lose confidence, they can lose standing in their field, and they most certainly lose the potential for their research to be cited and shared with other researchers and future collaborators.

Looking for a publisher for your research should be a more of an experience like buying a new laptop or a car. Hopefully you don’t buy the first shiny thing you see. Hopefully you rely on people whose opinion you respect. Hopefully you check out the product reviews and comparison websites to see what your options are. Hopefully you don’t send a cash deposit after receiving a spam email from a car dealer.

Your diligence when looking for a potential publisher should likewise be seen as an investment in your future. Look to the journals the experts in your field are publishing in. Look to the journals your peers are publishing in. As an early career researcher, reputable journals will not send you email invitations to publish with them so don’t be tempted by vanity publishers. Don’t let your desperation for publication override your common sense.

Follow the Think Check Submit protocols. If you are still not certain, ask your faculty or liaison librarian to help you.

Predatory conferences, like predatory journals can also be difficult to spot, and without due diligence you can end up at a dodgy hotel, in a scary part of town, signing your authorship rights away and delivering a paper to six people, who will likely be the only people who ever hear about your research. You can check the Pivot database on the QUT Library’s databases page for legitimate calls for submissions for conference papers.

Proud to celebrate Pride

Posted by Sandra on 19 September, 2018

QUT Library is celebrating Pride month with a display of LGBTIQA+ literature at Kelvin Grove library.

We have a selection of LGBTIQA+ children’s and young adult literature in our collection and many of our librarians are members of QUT’s Ally Network.

Allies are QUT staff trained to understand sexuality and gender issues and to provide ‘safe zones’, support and referral for staff and students who identify as LGBTIQA+.

At this weekend’s Brisbane Pride Rally & march QUT staff, students and supporters will be marching under a University Unity banner. Join with your work mates, friends or family and march to demonstrate acceptance, unity, inclusivity and support for the LGBTIQA+ community.

The parade kicks off at 10am on Saturday 22 September 2018. Gather from 9:30am at Brunswick Street between Ann Street and McLachlan Street. After some short speeches, the march will make its way down Brunswick Street through the Valley to New Farm Park, and the Fair Day festivities.

What the world needs now…

Posted by Sandra on 3 September, 2018

The Brisbane Writers Festival begins this month with a plethora of events and activities happening around the city.

This year’s theme is What the world needs now and in keeping with that, QUT Library wants to celebrate with a little bit of understanding and history.

We thought we’d put the spotlight on some of our own Brisbane authors, and showcase what it was like growing up here in Brisvegas. If you didn’t start your life here, get a great picture by reading some of our top Brisbane author picks:

Rebecca Sparrow (2003) The Girl most Likely: A Novel

Nick Earls (1996) Zigzag Street

David Malouf (1975) Johnno

Nicole Watson (2011) The Boundary

If fashion is your passion, don’t miss out on seeing QUT’s Vice Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) Professor Suzi Darbyshire who will be chairing an ‘in conversation’ Brisbane Writers Festival event at the State Library with author of The Devil Wears Prada, Lauren Weisberger on Friday 7th September.

Paperbark: First Nation Narratives with Dr Anita Heiss

Posted by Sandra on 30 July, 2018

QUT Murri-Ailan Way is proud to present Paperbark: First Nation Narratives with Dr Anita Heiss.

Dr Heiss is a member of the Wiradjuri nation of central New South Wales and is one of Australia’s most prolific and well-known authors of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander literature.

A poet, satirist and social commentator, Dr Heiss will be speaking about her work and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pioneers in literature who have inspired her next Wednesday 8 August at QUT Kelvin Grove Library next week (SOLD OUT see below for waiting list email).

If you didn’t manage to get a ticket, we have a number of Dr Heiss’s books available to borrow from the QUT Library including:

Avoiding Mr Right (2008) Offered the professional opportunity of a lifetime, Peta leaves her coastal life and doting boyfriend James in Sydney for a 12 month stint in the ‘fashion capital of Australia’.

Am I black enough for you? (2012) Anita Heiss gives a first-hand account of her experiences as a woman with an Aboriginal mother and Austrian father, and explains the development of her activist consciousness. Read her story and ask: what does it take for someone to be black enough for you?

I’m not racist but– : a collection of social observations. (2017) This collection of social observations, thoughts and conversations will challenge the reader to consider issues of imposed and real Aboriginal identity, the process of reconciliation and issues around saying ‘sorry’, notions of ‘truth’ and integrity, biculturalism and invisible whiteness, entrenched racism and political correctness.

Please email: k.csatlos@qut.edu.au to go on to the waiting list for this event

Because of her, we can!

Posted by Sandra on 5 July, 2018

What a great theme for this year’s NAIDOC week, celebrating the pillars of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander society – the women.

At QUT Library we thought we’d do the same by highlighting a few books and eBooks by some truly inspirational female indigenous authors.

Taboo by Kim Scott:

Taboo takes place in the present day, in the rural South-West of Western Australia, and tells the story of a group of Noongar people who revisit, for the first time in many decades, a taboo place: the site of a massacre that followed the assassination, by these Noongar’s descendants, of a white man who had stolen a black woman. They come at the invitation of Dan Horton, the elderly owner of the farm on which the massacres unfolded. He hopes that by hosting the group he will satisfy his wife’s dying wishes and cleanse some moral stain from the ground on which he and his family have lived for generations.

Remembered by Heart edited by Sally Morgan:

A collection of powerful, true stories of Aboriginal life This anthology brings together 15 memoirs of growing up Aboriginal in Australia and includes works from bestselling author Sally Morgan; and the critically acclaimed artist, author, and activist Bronwyn Bancroft. These true stories of adolescence are as diverse as they are moving, and offer readers insight into the pain, humor, grief, hope, and pride that makes up Indigenous experiences.

The Quiet Revolution: Indigenous people and the resources boom by Marcia Langton

When W.E.H. Stanner delivered the Boyer Lectures in 1968, he gave credence, perhaps inadvertently, to the widely held assumption at that time that Aboriginal life was incommensurate with modern economic life. Today, the expectation is quite the reverse. The emergence of an Aboriginal middle class in Australia in the last two to three decades has gone largely unnoticed. There are hundreds of Aboriginal businesses and Aboriginal not-for-profit corporations with income streams, delivering economic outcomes to communities on an unprecedented scale. This text is an investigation into the dependency of Aboriginal businesses and not-for-profit corporations on the resources industry, and their resultant vulnerability to economic downturns.

NAIDOC Week events at QUT this year include a free screening of The Sapphires on the A block lawn at KG (9th July 4:30-7.30pm) and a panel discussion involving one of the original Sapphires, Aunty Lois Peeler.

Dr Anita Heiss has been confirmed as this year’s speaker for Paperbark: First Nation Narratives (8 August from 10.30 , KG Library) . Dr Heiss will speak about her work and the Aboriginal literary pioneers who have inspired her. She is an inspiring speaker so definitely something to mark out in your calendar.

Painted by Bigambul woman, Cheryl Moggs, from Goondiwindi, the painting portrays the 2018 theme, Because of her, we can! It shows the courage and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Listen here to the artist speak about her inspiration for the poster.

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Relax & catch your breath between exams

Posted by Sandra on 14 June, 2018

You know when the words stop making sense on the page and you’re re-reading the same sentence again and again – it’s unlikely you’re taking anything in… your brain’s fried, it’s time to take a break….

QUT has some great distractions from the real world – so here are some ways to have a quick refresh, so you can get back to the books.

Have a game of table tennis – there’s a table in the courtyard on level 2 (entry level) at the KG Library
Take a walk around the Brisbane Botanical Gardens, just a hop skip and jump from the GP library
Head halfway across the Goodwill Bridge, have a coffee, and sit and watch as cyclists wreak havoc on pedestrians
Head up to the garden level of P Block (level 6,The Cube) at GP and stretch out on a bench for a power nap
Take a walk around the QUT Art Museum, a new exhibition begins on Saturday 16 June – Abstraction: Celebrating Australian Women Abstract Artists.
Get to the Games Lab at KG library and play a retro classic
Have a walk around the bookshops at either campus and pick up something great to enjoy over the break.
Go for an indoor swim – one-off rates are available at campus fitness centres.
If you’ve got a great spot and can’t bear to leave the library we have some great video streaming options (EduTV & Kanopy)

Don’t keep history a mystery

Posted by Sandra on 23 May, 2018

This month we celebrate National Reconciliation Week.

The theme for 2018 is Don’t keep history a mystery, and aims to highlight some of the lesser known aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, histories, cultures, and achievements. It’s calling on all Australians to ask the question: What are some of the things I don’t know about our shared history?

On Thursday 31 May there’ll be a free screening of the movie, We Don’t Need a Map on level 2 of the Library/HiQ, R Block, KG. Everyone’s welcome, and popcorn will be provided!

We Don’t Need a Map is a thought provoking look at Australia’s relationship with the Southern Cross, from its significance to indigenous Australians to its adoption as a national symbol.

There are a number of other activities happening around campus including the Inter-uni Reconciliation Cup against Griffith Uni, and the first Vice-Chancellor’s Forum for the year with guest speaker, Stan Grant.

Check out more QUT Reconciliation Week activities here and find other community and national Reconciliation Week events here.

World Book Day, Yay!

Posted by Sandra on 23 April, 2018

On the 23^rd April get off Netflix and grab yourself a book. Not just because you know you should, but to celebrate our freedom to do just that.

It is our duty then, everywhere in the world, to protect these freedoms and to promote reading and writing in order to fight illiteracy and poverty and to strengthen the foundations of peace, as well as to protect the publishing-related professions and professionals.

It’s World Book Day, so time to think about how books make our lives better. The Director General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay tells us that when we celebrate books, we celebrate everything that comes with them like writing, reading, translating and publishing.

We like to think we do the same here at QUT Library, and we have hundreds of thousands of books and eBooks, so why not borrow a classic, take on a new genre, or delve into something you’ve always wanted to explore?

Here are some suggestions from your friendly librarians:

Improve those negotiation skills with Getting to yes by Roger Fisher, William Ury & Bruce M Paton.

If you don’t have the time for a global odyssey enjoy someone else’s try Lights out in Wonderland by DBC Pierre.

If you want to read the book before you see the movie try The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

If you want to sharpen up those English grammar skills try Grammar for grown-ups : everything you need to know but never learnt in school

If you like botany and historical novels try The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.

World Book Day isn’t just about books it’s about Copyright too, and QUT Library has this great guide to all things copyright.