Did you know that today is National Tell a Fairy Tale Day? From classic Grimm tales to modern day retellings, today is about appreciating the art of the story and how it captivates our imagination. Storytelling has been around since the dawn of man. We all love stories. They ignite feelings and emotions without having to go anywhere or do anything. They appeal to the power of our imaginations, to our curiosity, and to our desire to know more. There…
As a newcomer to Corpus Christi, one of the first local history figures I learned about was Dr. Hector P. Garcia. And for good reason: Dr. Hector, who settled in Corpus with his family in 1945, was an enormously influential individual who made an impact not just locally but globally. He treated indigent patients in his medical practice. He founded the American G.I. Forum, which allowed Mexican-American veterans to organize and advocate for their rights. He stood up for migrant…
What if I told you there was this one little trick that could reduce feelings of stress and depression, increase feelings of relaxation, and expand your ability to cope with difficult situations? It's the simple act of reading for pleasure! When it comes to enjoyment of life and our ability to cope with the challenges we face, people who read report lower levels of stress, higher self-esteem, and greater self-acceptance and life satisfaction. Emotional and Psychological Benefits While people who…
Your Islander I-Create Lab has come together. By the time you read this, our final major piece should be in place, our large format printer! It has the ability to print on a variety of materials including window clings, stickers, and yes even paper. It's 54 inches wide and can print to the length of the roll! I did say LARGE! I cannot wait to see what it will produce for the creative talents on the island. Has it been a month…
Have you ever Googled David Bowie's age and wound up learning about Wild Bill Hickok's famous shootout? Well, I'll let you in on a secret. That counts as research! At Bell Library, we encourage that kind of research and, more to the point, we encourage the use of Wikipedia. Now, I'm not saying you should cite Wikipedia in your lab report, but I am saying that Wikipedia is an amazing resource and just because it's crowd-sourced doesn't mean it's worthless.…
Things are changing with the media collection! To make room for the I-Create makerspace lab, we temporarily relocated all the DVDs and other media to the Circulation Desk. Once they were downstairs, we undertook a huge project to separate all the DVD’s from their cases, so the cases could be displayed as part of the new browsable media collection. As of February 1, a little over half of the collection has been displayed upstairs in their new home located just…
The construction area next to the Ask Us Desk isn't the only big change happening at the library right now. Library staff are gearing up for a “behind the scenes” change that you probably won't notice, but that we hope will help us deliver even better service to all of you. The software we use to manage library operations—checking books in and out, the library catalog, journal holdings, tracking orders for new books and other materials, etc.—was designed with print…
February’s Black History Month is this year’s first campus cultural celebration. The library will be joining in by highlighting a variety of Black History themed resources and materials throughout the month! Look for books and displays in the library and check out our Guide which has information about campus events and the National theme selected by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Additionally, it offers titles in our collection, streaming media, and teaching resources for activities in the classroom. We’ll…