LSU Libraries has made it easier to access full-text library materials through Moodle. The LSU Libraries Reading List Tool allows instructors to create reading lists in Moodle. Without leaving Moodle, the instructor can search the library’s holdings, which include the many full-text databases and ebook collections that are available in Discovery. Then with one click, they can add results to create reading lists that link to full text articles, ebooks and Internet resources.

Add items to the reading list with one click.

Not only does this tool make things easier for the instructor, it also creates a rich, seamless online environment for the student. When students interact with the lists, they just click on the article title and start reading the material. Since they have already logged into Moodle, they will be authenticated to view the library’s full-text resources. With the reading lists already built, students do not need to run multiple searches to find the desired material. The content is instantly provided, and is available day and night.

Additionally, instructors may annotate the reading lists with notes, instructions or questions, such as “Begin with chapter 2 of this ebook”. Reading lists may be copied from one course to another or even shared among different instructors. This could help in those situations where the same course is taught in multiple sections or again in different semesters.

The reading lists connect to the LSU Libraries Discovery platform, where the library aggregates many of its high-quality databases. By accessing the articles and ebooks through Moodle and the licensed platforms on Discovery, students and faculty can be sure that they are accessing quality information safely and legally.

For more information on implementing the LSU Libraries Moodle Reading List Tool, visit the Subject Guide or the GROK article. Additional assistance can be provided by the Libraries’ Research and Instruction Desk at (225)-578-8875 or online.

There’s an interesting article in The Journal of Southern History that describes how Sara Avery McIlhenny (of Tabasco fame) saved the last remaining lands of the Chitimacha (a tribe of which I am a member) from being sold. Not only was McIlhenny’s personal interest in the Chitimacha fueled by her interest in their basketry, the baskets served as the iconic representation of the tribe to the nation, leading federal authorities to recognize the tribe officially and designating the land as a federal reservation.

For an 11:15 a.m. departure, U.S. District Attorney Walter Guion rode the Canal Street ferry across the Mississippi River and boarded a Southem Pacific train in the New Orleans neighborhood of Algiers. In his coat pocket or briefcase was a certified check for $1,240 signed by Sara Aveiy Mcllhenny. By late aftemoon the same day, March 13, 1914, Guion was rushing from the train station in Franklin, Louisiana, for the St. Mary Parish courthouse. There he presented the check to an attorney representing creditors whose judgment lien against the Chitimacha tribe was about to result in a public sale of these Indians’ only remaining land. …Mcllhenny put up her own money in order to preempt the sale. Within a couple of years Congress passed an act to reimburse Mcllhenny and to extend federal trust protection over Chitimacha land, making it possible for these south Louisiana Indians to become a federally recognized tribe. This sudden transformation in the Chitimachas’ political status happened mostly because of baskets.

Usner Jr., D. H. (2013). From Bayou Teche to Fifth Avenue: Crafting a New Market for Chitimacha Indian Baskets. Journal Of Southern History, 79(2), 339-374.

I only learned of this article because last April the author gave a lecture at the LSU Student Union. LSU had a few baskets on display and Dr. Usner had some slides and read parts of his article.

Chitimacha Baskets with a picture of one of the Chitimacha basket makers, who I think is Clara Darden.

Some of the Chitimacha Baskets held at LSU.

The full text of Dr. Usner’s 37 page article can be found online in the EBSCO database, Academic Search Complete.