����������� The Chronicle of Higher Education (I have used the online version) has a wealth of information on current topics in academia. One that really stood out and was mentioned a lot was the issue of plagiarism. This is an issue for libraries because the library is one of the primary places that students and professors go to get their information. While the library has to provide the information they need and want, it could also be the place they learn about copyrights and how to correctly cite sources without plagiarizing. ����������� In the Sept. 24th, 2004 issue in an article entitled �2 Cases of Plagiarism, and an Explanation of Why the Practice Might Be Worth It�, they discuss two professors who have been caught with sections of their books copied from other sources. In both cases, where these professors should have known better, they don�t really take the blame for what they did. This sets a terrible example for students who are usually much more unaware of copyright issues when they do their own papers and work. In a similar situation mentioned in the Jan. 21st, 2005 issue in an article entitled �Theology Professor Is Accused of Plagiarism in His Book on Ethics�, a professor was found to have committed �a serious breach of professional and scholarly standards.� You would think in an ethics book would be the one place someone would respect copyright laws and good standards but apparently not. Since an academic library would carry most of these books, we as librarians should want our sources to be legal and original. If we have books and periodicals that carry the same information repeated it takes up space that could be used on original information and sets a bad examples for the students learning how to produce their own works. ����������� Where I realized that this was not just a few scattered cases but a widespread problem was in the Dec 17th, 2004 issue that had a special report called �A RASH OF PLAGIARISM� that has 9 articles on this issue. One article entitled �What is Plagiarism� does as great job of explaining the concept in words anyone can understand. This article should be required reading for any freshman English class and apparently sent to all the professors. Another article entitled �Four Academic Plagiarists You've Never Heard Of: How Many More Are Out There?� tells of several cases of plagiarism but also includes examples of it from those cases. It�s very interesting because I�m sure many people consider plagiarism to just be copying another person�s work but as this shows you can change the words but if the content is the same you need to cite it. In the article �Judge or Judge Not� they point out that many people don�t know where to turn when they�ve been plagiarized and that some may even be scared to turn someone in. This affects the quality and integrity of the information in our libraries so we should be at the forefront trying to stop plagiarism. ����������� Another trend I noticed from the articles in the Chronicle was dealing with the amount of money students have to pay to attend college. This is an issue for the academic library because we have a goal to provide information to anyone who needs it, but at the same time the library needs funding to purchase new books, journals, and for subscriptions to databases. An article in the Jan 21st, 2005 edition entitled �The Perils of Pursuing Prestige� tells how many institutions are using their money to get students with high test scores and GPA�s and not offering enough to students who need financial help. In another article from Nov. 5th, 2004 entitled �Cashing In On Student Loans� they talk about how many universities are bypassing the traditional student loans and loaning out money themselves. This brings up the issue of the responsibility of the university, is it to educate, or is it to make money? By making the loans themselves they are able to make money off the interest and late fees. It also brings up the issue of whether the university would loan money more readily to those they think would be more likely not able to repay on time. It sounds unethical but when money is involved that line becomes very blurry. In another article from Jan 28th, 2005 entitled �Do-It-All Campus ID Cards: Too Corporate?� they tell of several schools which have combined their campus ID cards, which are vital for students to have, with a program affiliated with MasterCard. These cards allow the students to open a debit accounts which they can use to pay for things outside of school. Since college students are at a higher risk to go into debt it has the appearance that the schools may be trying to profit off of their students poor spending habits. The library is just one of the university�s funding responsibilities but librarians should be concerned both with their funding and their desire to get information out to all those who need it. ����������� One issue that was very prevalent in many of the articles in the chronicle is concerning technology and how it affects education. The academic library uses a lot of technological resources so it is important librarians keep up with this issue. In the article �Online Textbooks Fail to Make the Grade� they discuss students being able to get e-textbooks cheaper than regular books but that they run into the same problem many people have with e-books. They have to be in front of the computer and many people don�t like reading off a computer screen. It also discusses how e-textbooks are slow to catch on with students. This mirrors what has happened with the e-book trend in libraries where it was the great new thing, but if people aren�t willing to use it then how good is it. Another article entitled �Colleges' Spending on Technology Will Decline Again This Year, Survey Suggests� from Feb 18th, 2005 tells how spending on technology by schools is going down. Since the library does use so many technological resources, both hardware and software, this could be something that librarians should keep an eye out for to make sure their budget isn�t cut so that they can�t maintain or upgrade critical services. Another article from Dec 17th, 2004 entitled �Colleges Face Rising Costs for Computer Security� they talk about how a larger portion of information technology budgets are being used for computer security issues. So if technology budgets are going down and a larger portion of those budgets are being used for security where does that leave the updating of computer and software that the library needs? Since technology is such a vital component of the modern library, the librarians should make sure they receive the funding and resources they need.