This week from Sept. 27-Oct. 4 kicks off an annual celebration of freedom of thought and speech — Banned Books Week.

Check out the American Library Association’s website on banned books here, check out a list of frequently banned books here and here, or become a fan of Banned Books Week on Facebook or Myspace.

The MLK library is already planning some activities:

Sat, Oct 4
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
150 E. San Fernando St. - Rooms 225/229, 2nd Floor
(408) 536-6046

Speakers Dr. Jim Schmidt, professor at the School of Library and Information Science, will speak on Intellectual Freedom, and Amy Sonnie will speak on her challenged book, Revolutionary Voices. There will also be games as well as people reading passages from their favorite banned or challenged books. For additional information contact Heather Devine (408) 536-6046. This event is sponsored by ALASC and LISSTEN.”

Yesterday word got out about San Jose State’s foray into the digital world, of which they’re supposed to be located smack dab in the middle but still find creative ways to be behind.

A bit of that is changing now. I am talking about SJSU’s entry into iTunesU, a section of iTunes that offers podcasts and videocasts from over 100 institutions of higher learning, from Stanford to Yale to Berkeley. Professors can choose whether to publish their podcasts to the knowledge-thirsty public, or distribute their lectures to too-lazy-to-go-to-class students. And although I lovingly chide SJSU about its ironic techno-lag, credit must be given to SJSU for being the first in the California State University system to partner up with iTunesU.

Right now, SJSU doesn’t have many full lectures per se, although a physics teacher has been getting busy with the lecture podcasting. But most downloads available are more like short snippets of audio information, ranging mostly from 3-20 minutes long. Still, much of it is interesting, from the economics professor to the library grad students to counseling, recreation and career center services.

SJSU is also unique in that it is one of two universities on the iTunesU network to be fully accessible by those with disabilities. Namely, PDF transcripts are posted alongside the podcasts if you’re hearing-impaired. (Read more about it here.)

Not only can you read what’s being said, but professors can also post additional material, flyers and handouts in their virtual classrooms.

Exciting stuff. I’ve been a fan of iTunesU even before I was officially a student. I already downloaded several fantastic podcasts from the Stanford iTunes U site, so it’s great to see SJSU joining the bandwagon. Its offerings are a bit meager at first, compared to Stanford’s at least, but no one here is comparing SJSU to Stanford. I’m just excited to see the huge potential for the public who want to learn but don’t have the time or the funds.

Click here to see everything iTunesU has to offer, or click on the button below to see SJSU’s offerings for yourself. (Note: Both links will open your iTunes.)

If you are looking for the ideal school for your child or maybe yourself (Adult Ed), the State of California provides access to data from the California Department of Education on California public schools. The information includes academic performance, graduation rates, student-teacher ratio, course offerings, along with other topics as district finances, teacher salaries and credentials, and enrollments.

You can get lists of schools in each district and districts in each county. Be aware that many schools are now requiring proof-of-residency. High-performing schools have seen enrollment increases putting a burden on staffing and physical constraints.

Some of the school types listed include Charter Schools, Adult Education, Special Education, along with Elementary, Middle, Junior High, and High Schools.

California School Finder - compare schools side-by-side with the latest school rankings, academic performance, graduation rates, student-teacher ratio, course offerings

Ed-Data - student demographics and performance, plus information about staffing, including teacher salaries, lists of schools in each district

Education.com - provides a plethora of information on public schools in all 50 states