What is the difference between biography and bibliography?

MLA Style

APA Style Guide

APA & MLA define a style of writing when you are documenting sources of other writers, ideas that are not yours.  Difference between bibliography and biography are not in names, even thought they are similar.  The two words are similar in intention.  Both document otherness be it a formalized list of ideas, and the sources of information where the author found them, or the authors account of another person’s life. 

Biography is a documented life the author writes about.  A bibliography; a list of sources used to formally cite ideas that are not personal.  Among all this difference your personal thoughts and reflections are excellent and encouraged. Nevertheless, when documenting ideas that are not yours you will need to add a bibliography at the end of your paper. 

At this point the question raised in class about what difference was between the two words seemed at first like a simple mix up-a misunderstanding about two words meaning but has turned out to be a poignant and insightful observation. A powerful connection arose.  Good job!  

I have attached the handouts we looked at in class this week, which provide guidelines, and a list of information needed in a particular order that creates a standard in compliance with both MLA and APA format.  Always use these for your papers in college.  Those information mediums that are not available on the sheet are your responsibility to find and document the medium you carried the idea from in correct format.  Later on in school, you will find a time when your carful review of a clean and neat, penultimate correct citation page will affect your grade and your GPA significantly. So stay sharp! Mind your bibliography; you will see the value reflected in your GPA. 

Journals, Newspapers and Periodicals

Scholarly sources and popular sources are very different

Scholarly sources and popular sources are very different.  In college always use credible and reliable, trustworthy information always use scholarly sources for this.  Access scholarly journal articles on a database like Ebsco or Proquest.  Also, go to the periodical section of the library, ask for assistance the periodical librarian can help find journals in your discipline.  Also, use OPAC to access journal titles and holdings of scholarly journals in your library.   Remember you don’t get the article you can get the name of a journal.  To get the article you go to the Periodical Librarian and then make photocopes or request the article if another library holds it.  To get the actual article you need to speak with the periodical librarian. 

A Newspaper and Advertisement Analysis

An information medium-the way information travels newspapers are an example advertisement another.  A newspaper article comparison takes a particular aspect of an information medium looks to see connections, disparities or new perspectives.  An advertisement analysis looks deeper, connections of persuasion and the marketplace.  This week we did both.

In order to be fully information literate individuals you need to evaluate information.  A source medium is how information travels.  A powerful indication of information content.  Medium can denote information meant to inform or entertain, persuade. Think, other than articles a different part of the paper, advertising.  Two New York City papers; New York Times and New York Post, both articles are on genocide in Darfur a western region in Sudan, Africa.

Newspapers are considered primary sources.  First person accounts of events a witness, directly related, pertaining, and created during a particular event.  Songs, poetry, novels, diaries, journals, news, and eye witness accounts are also primary sources, which if you think about makes sense.  Consider information when written during and often relating somehow directly as a result or influence. Inspiration, creativity outlets are different from information about an event, something descriptive for example, a topic overview in a reference source.

 

Mass media, popular media outlets reach people on very large or massive scale. New York Times one of the world’s greatest newspapers.  “The Grey Lady” is beautiful in type and layout also a “reference newspaper.”  Currently, News Corp media conglomerate own New York Post along with other TV stations in every major city and own papers in UK and Australia. 

News Corps is a media giant because it owns many information mediums including movie production houses, television stations, cable and satellite TV companies, book publishers, magazines and most significantly, the popular social networking site MySpace.  This ownership is horizontal integration; media saturation of this kind makes for very loud, unchallenged voices.  The sole owner of News Corp Rupert Murdoch the “Dirty Digger” is relentless purchasing TV and radio stations despite local or alternative interest in ownership. Likewise, New York Times owned by a media company with over a dozen other newspapers, ownership like this known as vertical integration.

Ownership over vast amounts of media, information mediums, and creative outlets control over entire arena of communications allows media giant power of persuasion large masses of people are subject to hegemony or sameness and propaganda; manipulation of information.

While some of you seemed unsure about genocide, a humanitarian crisis can also describe systematic murder of a people based on race, religion, ethnicity, gender, and nationality. From 1951 to 2000 Wikipedia.org noted such controlled and regulated highly ordered murder has occurred in; Australia, Guatemala, Bangladesh, Burundi, Equatorial Guinea, Cambodia, East Timor (under Indonesian occupation), Sabra-Shatila (Palestine), Lebanon, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraqi Kurds, Tibet, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, West New Guinea/West Papua.  The genocide we analyzed in class is the first genocide of the 21^st century.

Language or tone of newspapers is often passive and dismissive.  Powerlessness, hopelessness and despair you as students have analyzed as your mindset after reading two articles.  “But a question hangs over the history of our times” so eloquently put. Why is there an advertisement for classmates.com hanging next to a first-hand account of genocide? “Someday an American president will visit a genocide museum in Darfur and repeat the standard refrain:  if only we had known” the impact of advertising and the immense profit of ownership over various information mediums threatened and destabilized free press as a result disenfranchised public merely to opinion and inaction.

 Gerson, Michael.  Doing the Right Thing in Darfur.  2007.  New York Post 12 July 2007.  http://www.nypost.com.  Kristoph, Nicholas D.  “He rang the Bell on Darfur.” New York Times.  July 16 2007:13.  Lexus Nexus Academic: ASA: The College for Excellence. One Herald Center New York, New York 10001.  www.asa.edu 

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A $100 Million Donation to the N.Y. Public Library

New York Public Hits Lotto

What do you think about the recent changes to the NYPL?

Is naming the main branch after a generous donation a good idea?

Why or why not?

Do you think that streamlining the services at the 42nd street library is a good one?

NYPL class trip to the Arts and Social Science Library

We will be taking a trip to one research library of the NYPL.

We will meet in Astor Hall at 1:30 on either of the following dates:

Monday March 10 or Tuesday March 11.

The library is located on 5th Avenue between 41st  and 42nd street.

We will meet in Astor Hall.

The trip will include a tour of both the library and the databases.

Of course if you cannot make it you will be excused from class for the day.

 I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

Circulating versus Non-Circulating Books:

Reference books are the most common type of non-circulating book.  Generally, books that do not circulate cannot be checked out of the library. If you need to use them you must do so in the library.  These can also include reserve readings.  Reserve readings are most likely required for a particular course.  Reserve readings are when the professor asks the librarians to hold specific readings aside so that students may use them.  These reading may be taken from the general collection of the library and place on hold at the circulation desk.  Usually there is a time limit.  Ask your teachers if they have reserve readings or check the syllabus to see if you have any for your classes.

 

Circulating books are those that go around and around the library community.  When one person checks a book out there is a return date, once the book is returned to the library another patron may check that same book.  Typically a library may hold more than one book that way there is not a long waiting list.  Popular novels are usually available in bulk.  For example, the New York Public Library purchased and lends 251 copies of the first Harry Potter book.  Circulating books may be renewed if you are not done reading by the due date assigned.  Check your libraries policies to see how a book can be renewed.  Sometimes books can be renewed online, by telephone or sometimes you may have to bring the book back to the library to renew the due date.  However, if someone is already waiting for the book, you will not be able to renew it. 

What is Information?

Knowledge about the world and/or a message received and understood are your two favorites.

Remember when we drew Information Pyramid?

The bottom or base constitutes the most type of information; data (combinations of symbols put together according to rules or conventions i.e. The alphabet, natural integers)
Next to the top; information (aggregated data; processed by the human mind but does not change the knowledge state of the individual).

Then the top , which is knowledge (assimilated information used for decisions).

Types of information:

Information can be about you. Think about your credit card statements, your phone bill, and medical records.

Can you think of other information that is specifically about you and your life?

Information about an event directly is primary. Information about that event is secondary.

Factual information is indisputable.  Usually names dates and places.

Metadata (information about information) that means, analytical, overview and reviews.

Historical and current information: different time perspectives on a topic.

Research, Statistics and Formed opinions

Biographical or information about peoples lives. It has nothing to do with bibliography (the formal way a writer presents research at the end of a written paper.)

Last think about the term “information float” the rapidly with which information is disseminated the “time cushion” or pinch time between a problem and the diffusion of widespread global information about the event (McHale, 1976:77)