History of the Super Bowl

Take a look at one of the current Al Harris Library displays featuring the History of the Super Bowl. The 45th annual game will be watched by 100 million Americans on February 6, 2011. It is also the second biggest food day in the United States after Thanksgiving.

One of the reasons the Super Bowl is so popular is that pro football is the only major professional men's team sport with a single-elimination playoff system. Superbowl is do-or-die; that's what makes the game so special.

Some of the books in the display (available to be checked out by anyone) are: Super Bowl An American Cultural Celebration, Super Facts of the Super Bowl, The Ultimate Super Bowl Book, Friday Night Lights, Gridiron Gauntlet, Bloody Sunday, Bootlegger's Boy (Barry Switzer), Football Fortunes, Forty-Seven Straight, No Ordinary Joe, and The Real All Americans.

Other books displayed offer practical football information such as: The Complete Book of Offensive Football Drills, Football for Dummies, and many more.

Introducing our new podcast series: BookGrowl

BookGrowl is an audio podcast series developed by the Al Harris Library where SWOSU authors, faculty and administration are invited to discuss and share books that are important to them and their students.

The first four podcasts are available for download or streaming on the library's website:

1) Dr. Henrietta Mann, President of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribal College
2) Dr. Chad Kinder, Parks and Recreation Management Dept.
3) Dr. Keith Talley, Music Dept.
4) Dr. Valerie Reimers, Language & Literature Dept.

Banned Books and Censorship

We hope you enjoyed the banned books display around the library to celebrate Banned Books Week (Sept 25-Oct 2).

What's the difference between a challenge and a banning?

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.

Books usually are challenged with the best intentions - to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information. Censorship can be subtle, almost imperceptible, as well as blatant and overt, but, nonetheless, harmful.

In the heading above, you will find a google map with book bans and challenges since 2007. Additionally, the following link will direct you to Google's Transparency Report (Government requests to remove content from the World Wide Web):

http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/governmentrequests/