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#LibraryNews

05/23/2022
profile-icon Kristen Smith

Most of the stories and posts on social media are accompanied by a visual element to capture the interest of viewers. When it comes to the news on social media, ask yourself whether the content creator has posted an accurate photo, repurposed and old photo, or used a stock photo. Out-of-context and doctored images can fool and mislead. Photos containing signs, graphic t-shirts, and baseball hats are easy to photoshop.doctored image of woman carrying sign

Most reputable sites and news outlets will cite the source of the photo in a caption, making it easy to check. 

For tweets and blogs, however, being able to do a reverse-image search is easy and revealing.

Method #1 : Using Google as your browser, right click the image and choose “search Google for image”.
Method #2 : Open a new tab in your browser and go to images.google.com. Then drag the image in question to that tab and drop it in the search bar.

Result:
Google will return search results showing your image – or similar images – and their sources, so that you can determine the original place that the image was posted to the internet.

Other sources for image verification are Tineye and ImgOps.

05/16/2022
profile-icon Mary Anderson

As we near the apex of the school year and finals, students and faculty alike can easily get overwhelmed. What's important to remember this week is to practice self-care. I’m not talking hot-baths and watching Netflix in fuzzy pajamas self-care, although that can be a part of it, but true wellness self-care. This requires looking at all areas of your life and making sure they are getting the time and care they need. You can do this by looking at all seven dimensions of wellness.

The first is physical wellness. This is an act of listening to your body and meeting its needs. Physical wellness is the foundation for other aspects of wellness. Physical wellness can often be overlooked during finals when people are focused on completing tasks and become absorbed. It can actually help you to be more productive if you take time away from work to focus on your physical wellness and eat a healthy meal, do some stretches, or go for a walk. You also can practice physical wellness by walking around campus or going to the campus gym.

Emotional wellness is the next stepping stone in self-care. Achieving the ability to monitor and regulate your emotions is about more than depression or anger problems. It can include your ability to cope with stressful situations, like finals week, but also encompasses optimism, self-esteem, and self-acceptance. Emotional wellness can have a ripple effect on our self-images, our work, and our relationships. You can improve emotional wellness by recognizing harmful thought patterns and adjusting them, spending time meditating and developing mantras, seeking counseling, and limiting your intake of news and social media. If you're struggling with emotional wellness, reach out to the Loras Counseling Center Services.

Growing our minds through intellectual wellness is another foundation of overall wellness. Being in classes we learn new things every day. This is great for our intellectual wellness. However, it's good to step outside of school work to stretch our brains. It can be relaxing to step back from an assignment to do a crossword puzzle, check out a local museum, or read a book for pleasure. This type of wellness means intentionally keeping our minds open and active, encouraging new thoughts, opinions, and ideas. If you're interested in expanding your intellectual wellness, explore writing about all aspects of wellness in the book display on the Library’s main floor.

Spiritual wellness is not always considered, but it too is another important dimension. This does not necessarily entail becoming religious or connecting with a higher power, rather it is about one's search for meaning and purpose in life. It is about finding peace and harmony in our lives. There are many ways to develop this aspect of wellness including yoga, meditation, spending time in nature, getting involved in a local worship community, or volunteering. You can also check out the resources of Loras’ Spiritual Life Center.  

Environmental wellness is another vital area that pertains to our existence on our planet. This type of wellness is grounded in treating mother earth with kindness and finding a connection to the world around us. To stay in harmony with the planet you could pick up litter, start a compost, take a nature walk, or start a small garden.

The next area is social wellness. The importance of this become very apparent during the pandemic when people were cut off from usual connections with friends and family and communities. Social wellness encourages forming relationships through active listening and open communication. This can be practiced during finals week by setting aside time to spend with a friend, meeting up with a club or organization, or communicating your needs to family and friends that you may not have time for those things during finals because you’ll be focusing on your work.Sustainable Diets Book Cover

The last dimension of wellness is occupational or career. This involves a healthy work-life balance and finding fulfillment in one’s work. This is even important for students, whose current work is school. Occupational wellness can be hard to maintain during finals when you're cramming for tests and finishing papers. It’s important to remember the end goal. Think about what your why is behind achieving a degree and let that motivate you. In addition, make sure that you give your life a balance and see friends, eat right, and take study breaks.

Have a great finals week. Good luck! And remember to take care of all seven dimensions of wellness, in order to remain balanced and not get overwhelmed during this stressful time.

No Subjects
05/09/2022
profile-icon Kristen Smith

This will be the first in an irregular series of blog posts about building news literacy skills. With each post we hope to add to your arsenal of skills related to recognizing and evaluating news and other information that may be presented as news.

The information landscape is vast and complex. Do you know how to identify quality news when you see it? Understanding how journalism is supposed to work is one of many news literacy skills.

For our purposes, here is one working definition of journalism:
Timely information of some public interest that is shared and subject to a process of verification, and for which an independent individual or organization is directly accountable.

The highlighted words describe the necessary elements that distinguish journalism from other kinds of information. Quality news reporting should exhibit all three.

What is verification? It is the process that confirms the accuracy or truth of something. Journalists collect evidence with the goal of providing the most accurate and fair version of events.

What is independence? It is freedom from the control or influence of interested parties, and a conscious effort to set aside any pre-existing biases.

What is accountability? It is taking responsibility for one's work and acknowledging and correcting errors. Journalists adhere their names to their work so that news consumers know whom to contact with comments or complaints. 

According to our definition, these three elements (verification, independence, and accountability), define journalism and distinguish it from all other kinds of information. Could you use these elements to differentiate news reporting from other types of content we see every day, such as promotion, commentary, entertainment, satire, and raw data?

Related link: Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics.

No Subjects
05/02/2022
profile-icon Mary Anderson

Have a bike but no way to get it out to the trails? Felt an urge to bake but didn’t have any pans? Trying to get caught up on homework but left your computer charger at home? The Library has you covered with our Library of Things! All items can be checked out at the Library Services Desk on the main floor.

Take the stress out of homework by not having to go home to get a charger – computer charges and universal phone chargers are available. You can also checkout markers and erasers when you need to collaborate using our new mobile whiteboards. Scissors and art supplies are also available.

Going on a bike ride to Dubuque’s historic downtown can be great ways to relax after or between classes. Do so safely by checking out a bike helmet, lock, pump, and car rack. Our most recent addition to the Library of Things is cake pans. You can make a cake to celebrate the end of classes or just for fun.

This collection of non-traditional library items is offered to support Loras students in the library's mission of offering services that are conducive to interaction and education. One way we can do this is to respond to the needs of our campus community. If you have further suggestions for resources that you would like available Suggest a Thing!

No Subjects