Dear Sylvie, Alan and AoIR, In response to this 'Book' thread, here's the WUaS Library Resources' wiki subject page at World University and School (WUaS) - http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Library_Resources. WUaS is like Wikipedia with MIT OCW. WUaS plans to facilitate linking all online libraries, especially academic ones, with significant web content (eventually in ALL languages). This may eventually articulate, for example, with the Digital Public Library of America (http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/newsroom/digital_public_library) project, which friends at Harvard and elsewhere are focusing on developing. This doesn't provide access to copyrighted books at present, but the future of this is unclear. With skillful planning, collaboration, and all of us working together, an online, free, university library will emerge here, in the aggregate. World University and School focuses on great universities' open course ware for its academic content, listed here: http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Courses#University_course_listings, for example. And the WUaS Subjects' page facilitates open, people-to-people teaching and learning, for example, here - http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Subjects - all the while developing an academic standard based on MIT OCW, Berkeley Webcast, Yale OYC, etc., eventually for free online degrees. See the FREE Harvard doctoral degree in education on the WUaS Courses' page, for example. World University and School as wiki hopes to open up university discourse, for all. Here's a Facebook group if you're interested in more information - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48753608141 - and wish to collaborate. Best, Scott Scott MacLeod World University and School http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/World_University http://scottmacleod.com On Thu, Mar 10, 2011 at 1:38 AM, Tjarda Sixma <sixma.vijselaar@planet.nl> wrote:
One other issue is that access to (digital) databases is limited to people directly associated with Universities.
As soon as I graduated from Utrecht University I lost access to both the University library and their online databases. My aim to combine my practise as a visual artist with a more theoretical approach to new media was thus hard to realise. After a few lectures on several art schools, and one published article, I simply had to give up.
Whereas Art Studies in the USA are part of University studies, in the Netherlands they are taught at separated (lower level) Art Academies. Thus there is little dialogue between both fields.
It would be great if - for a small fee maybe - graduated University students would still have access to the digital databases. This would be one little step to break open the academic enclave.
I agree with Alan Sondheim that it is utterly frustrating to have to watch the dialog occur elsewhere, and not be able to do one's bit.
Best, Tjarda
Hi -
Want to add my two bits here - that for people like myself, who are not university affiliated, prices like these just keep the books out of our ken altogether. The same goes for conference fees (unless they're waived, which is a rarity), etc. The two tiered system is in place, here and now, and a lot of us are tired of back-peddling to get the latest findings in research, JSTOR, etc. This creates an academic enclave that parallels those described by Davis re: homeowners associations, etc. You pay your dues, literally, or remain ignorant and end up always - always - watching the dialog occur elsewhere.
Personally, I'm disgusted by these prices; I wish there were waivers for those of us in the pale, below the poverty line, whatever. A 'Handbook' is supposed to be useful, almost in the sense of fieldwork - but whose field- work?
- Alan
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