N.pag., Medium, Italics: The New MLA and You!

It happens every ten years or so, and for thousands, their lives are never the same. No, we’re not talking about solar eclipses, the national census, or even snow in June…it’s time for a new MLA!

Just like our favorite software or fashions, the Modern Language Association ‘s (MLA) citation style has updated to reflect new resources available, as well as changing trends in humanities writing. The very first MLA guide (only one page long!) was published in 1951. Today, the Modern Language Association’s Handbook for Writers of Research Papers is 290 pages long, and covers everything from articles (a, an, the) to Yahoo!

While much of the style is the same as the 6th edition you might be familiar with—yes, papers must still be written in 12-point font with 1 inch margins rather than 18- or 20-point, sorry term paper assignees—but there have been some significant changes as well, particularly with citations for electronic formats.

Here are the highlights:

• Italics—Chaos! Rioting in the streets! Peanut butter and pineapple on the same sandwich! Both the APA (American Psychological Association) and the MLA have managed to agree on something—all book, magazine, newspaper, website, and database titles are now italicized, not underlined.

• Web resources (databases and open websites)—Web addresses are no longer required for citations of online resources…unless they are. The language on this requirement is particularly squishy, so here’s the direct quote:

“In the past, this handbook recommended including URLs of Web sources in works-cited-list entries. Inclusion of URLs has proved to have limited value, however… You should include a URL as supplementary information only when the reader probably cannot locate the source without it or when your instructor requires it” (182).

• N.pag.—While this looks like it might be some trendy slang, it is actually the new abbreviation for citing items with no page numbers.

• Medium—Is that source you’re citing a dead tree (paper) publication, or dependant on the will of the internet connection? Now all citations are to have a marker at the end indicating their publishing medium. The two big ones are “Print” and “Web” respectively.

• Fuzzy Kitten Clause—all creators of Works Cited lists are required to spend at least 5 minutes immediately after completing their citations cuddling the cutest, fuzziest kitten they can find. If you are allergic to cats, the Handbook points out that hypo-allergenic pets make a good substitute, but iguanas are not really acceptable. Completing this task will help dispel the majority of the irritation caused by following the rest of the new style requirements. (Happy April Fool’s!)

And there you have it! If you have questions about citing a source, the librarians are here to help— feel free to drop in with any questions! For more details, check out our new handouts for the MLA style, or grab a copy of the 7th edition handbook at the UCC Library!

Nooks and crannies of the library collection #2

It's hard NOT to judge a book by its cover, when the cover of the book includes a title that's hard to forget. These four books about unusual ways of thinking about history, specifically European history, may tickle your fancy as you stroll through some of the more remote parts of the library collection.

No matter what you think of your own neighbors and neighborhood, you surely would be grateful to avoid what the folks of pre-industrial England (1600-1770) endured: small pox, rotting refuse in the streets, roaming pigs and dogs, carcasses in ditches, moldy food, poor air quality. . .not to mention the noise. With chapters about "Ugly", "Itchy", "Grotty", and "Gloomy" and accompanying illustrations Hubbub is an enlightening survey of English city life that will surely leave you feeling better about the 21st century.


This next item may not be safe for work, it is filled with so much filth. The filth of Shakespeare's London. But this is filth of a different sort. . .One glance at the chapter titles and you'll know whether or not this is something you want to explore and whether or not you want to know just how incredibly naughty Shakespeare plays really are. If you dare to know what sexual escapades Desdemona and Iago--or all sorts of other Shakespeare characters--are really discussing, take a peek at the pages of
Filthy Shakespeare. The author, Pauline Kiernan, holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford, where she taught for many years. She's sure to make you blush.


And you'll just keep on blushing right on into the next century in City of Laughter : Sex and Satire in Eighteenth-Century London. From the very first pages you'll be reading about "Lady Worsley's Bottom", a divorce trial, salacious color prints sold for a shilling, and a romp through a colorful history of "sex, bodies, and scandal". The author explains, "this is a book about the stories, jokes, and satirical exposures that later Georgian English people found funny. . .It focuses, not on the polished wit upon which the politer people prided themselves, but on their malicious, sardonic, and satirical humour: a peculiarly English humour if you like. . ." Perhaps this could lead to the historcial underpinnings of Monty Python's Flying Circus?


And now for something completely different. Or maybe not. Amy Butler Greenfield's A Perfect Red : Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire begins with the discovery by Spanish conquistadores of an extraordinary RED in the great marketplaces of Mexico in 1519. Butler, whose own grandfather and great-grandfather were dyers, then traces the history, influence, meaning, politics, and pirates of cochineal, "the legendary red dye that was once one of the world's most precious commodities."

1498 People in the UCC Library

On February 18th, June Davies from UCC Community Relations, walked into the library with a camera just in time to take a few pictures to capture the moment.

If you were the Webster's Unabridged Dictionary in our reference collection (and you were a book with eyeballs), here's what you would have seen:





















Meanwhile, the view from the hand-crank pencil sharpener looked like this:


The wireless printer saw it this way--














Whether from the shelves amongst the literary criticism
















or over by the computer lab . . .



. . .things were hopping.

(1498 people passsed through the library doors that day according to the gate counter.)

Nooks and crannies of the library collection #1

Climate change, global economic meltdown, corrupt politicians, wars. . .If the news about contemporary civilization has you down, how about investigating some highly evolved civilizations of the past?

The UCC Library has recently added some new titles about old places and peoples. Did you know that the Irish neolithic tomb, Newgrange, is older than the Great Pyramid of Giza? It was originally built around 3,000 B.C. As the sun rises on the winter solstice, a beam of sunlight pierces the dark passageway of Newgrange and lights up the inner chamber. Although currently residing in our "New Books" section, these two books will soon move to 936.15 in the back of the library.


Around a thousand years later the mysterious Stonehenge was completed. Who built it and at what effort? Archaeologist Anthony Johnson reexamines 250 years of fieldwork and speculation of this prehistoric site, explains the geometry, and lays out the rationale for this monumental landmark in his book "Solving Stonehenge".

"Stonehenge Complete" is a third edition of a classic. Even though 20,000 visitors gather at midsummer dawn, as this new edition explains, "they are in error: although Stonehenge is indeed astronomically oriented, it is not aligned on the midsummer sunrise at all." Our Stonehenge books hang out near Newgrange. Look for them in the stacks at 936.2.



Finally, take a look nearby (932 W) at "Genesis of the Pharaohs: Dramatic New Discoveries Rewrite the Origins of Ancient Egypt". Archaeologist Toby Wilkinson argues that ancient Egyptians were semi-nomadic herders and not settled farmers. The book has dozens of illustrations, including 25 in color.

Personal Finances, the New Year, and You

Are you one of the many who's New Year's resolution involves keeping better track of your finances? If so, or if you just like money in general, you might find these links from Library Journal of the best personal finance education and assistance websites and books useful!

Thrift for Tough Times: personal finances (LJ Jan. 2009)

Some of the Best Lists of the Best Books of 2008

Publishers Weekly book review staff put together their PW's Best Books of the Year and include Fiction, Poetry, Mysteries, SF/Fantasy/Horror, Comics, Non-fiction, Religion, Children's Picture Books, Children's Fiction, and more.

National Public Radio assembled several lists for their "recommended reading for the 2008 Holidays" and the critics there are recommending all sorts of stuff: Five Books to Give Yourself This Year, Best Superhero Graphic Novels, Booksellers' Picks For Your Holiday Lists, Top Five Crime and Mystery Novels of 2008, 10 Best Cookbooks, and more.

Amazon goes all out with their usual Top 100 Editor's Picks, Customer Favorites, and Featured Categories Top Ten Lists.

The New York Times settles for a tidy 10 Best Books of 2008 and includes links to lists of years past.

How about the Pick of the Pile from The Economist? Their list covers 2008 titles about history, current affairs, politics, economics, business, biography, and even fiction.

The Seattle Times recommends Our Picks for the Best Books of 2008 and an editor from The Oregonian put together a list of the Top 10 Northwest Books of 2008.

Surely there's something here to make you feel guilty about not reading enough last year?

2008's Top Album Lists Galore

The 50 Best Albums of 2008 -- Rolling Stone Magazine. TV on the Radio's Dear Science makes it to their top.

Mojo Magazine Top 50 Albums of 2008 Fleet Foxes (band name and album title) is their #1.

The 40 Best Albums of 2008 -- Spin Magazine comes up with a list of ten less and names (again) Dear Science as #1.

Pitchfork Presents -- The 50 Best Albums of 2008 Another win for Fleet Foxes at #1.

The Best Albums of 2008 -- from the editors of eMusic. They name 88 albums and The '59 Sound by The Gaslight Anthem tops their list.

NPR listeners voted for their top 25. . .and the winner is Fleet Foxes.

Amazon puts together a top 100 for Best Music of 2008 with The Kings of Leon's Only By The Night as #1. Amazon also has top 10 and 100 lists for many specific genre's of music.

50 Albums of the Year named by the Guardian/The Observer in the United Kingdom. Their #1? For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver.

Sigur Ros, Blitzen Trapper, Portishead, Brian Eno/David Byrne, Bob Dylan, MGMT, and Vampire Weekend show up in most of the lists. So how do the critics' choices match up to your favorites?