June 2020 – Mary and Jeff Bell Library Blog

LGBTQ+ Stories and Cinema in Kanopy

Post author:Emma Drumright
Post published:June 30, 2020
Post category:Books & More Things to Do Today's Special

Ever since I learned that faculty and staff also have access to the library’s streaming service, Kanopy, from one of our blog posts back in March (thanks, Ed!), I’ve been exploring titles and adding lots of films to my watchlist. Many of these have included videos from their mental health and mindfulness section as well as their titles on Social and Systemic Injustice. This month I have been looking at selections from their LGBTQ categories to celebrate Pride Month and to learn more about history,…

Archival Silences

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:June 26, 2020
Post category:Behind the Scenes Today's Special

One of the reasons I love history is because I love a good story. History tells us the stories of individuals, families, groups, nations—stories that help us understand our own lives and our place in the world. Archives are often called “the raw stuff of history,” the voices out of which the historical narrative is woven. But some voices ring more loudly in the archives than others. The term archival silence describes a gap in the existing historical record. It is particularly…

Representation in Scholarly Communication

Post author:Alexa Hight
Post published:June 23, 2020
Post category:Behind the Scenes Library Randomness Today's Special

Recently, there has been much discussion around the Black Lives Matter movement, systemic racism in the United States and around the world, and other issues related to race and representation. Just the other day, a scholarly communication blog I follow posted about researchers exploring issues around race. As a scholarly communication librarian, I have been reading not only on research around race, but about representation in research and publishing. Questions such as “who is doing the research?” and “who is being…

I-Create Lab Now Taking Reservations

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:June 19, 2020
Post category:News @ Your Library Service for You Tech in the Library Things to Do

On June 22, 2020, the Mary and Jeff Bell Library will be reopening to students, staff, and faculty with limited services. The I-Create Lab will also be open with some changes meant to keep everyone safe during these uncertain times. The I-Create Lab will be switching to a reservation-based system for the use of all equipment and study rooms to follow social distancing practices effectively. All reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance through our online reservation…

Homemade Chicken Wings

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:June 16, 2020
Post category:Library Randomness Things to Do

Hey everyone, I’m back with more to cook during quarantine! I hope everyone is doing well at home and staying safe. This week we’ll be attempting an easy dish of chicken wings and French fries. All you’ll need is one pound of chicken wings, a sack of potatoes, and a list of ingredients. You can bet that this recipe will taste similar to Wingstop and Buffalo Wild Wings. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! First, preheat…

The Fuuutuuure (of Library Instruction)

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:June 12, 2020
Post category:Service for You

Planning for the Fall semester is ramping up, and the Bell Library Instruction Program is getting into gear for a semester unlike any other. To keep our students, faculty, and librarians safe and healthy, our classes might look a little different in the coming year. Here are some ideas for how we plan to continue providing quality information literacy instruction while practicing social distancing: Labs Schlabs: Although we generally prefer to do most of our instruction inside the library’s two…

A Wonderland of Music: Naxos Music Library

Post author:Derrik Hiatt
Post published:June 9, 2020
Post category:Library Hacks Service for You Things to Do

Hey, classical music lovers… Did you know that the Mary and Jeff Bell Library provides access to a database of over 150,000 albums? That’s right, Naxos Music Library (NML) has a huge catalog of (primarily) classical streaming music, and it’s freely available to all TAMU-CC students, faculty, and staff. There are several ways you can select something to listen to. You can search for a specific work, of course. Or you can click the “People” link from the menu on the left…

Inspirational (and Other) Quotes

Post author:Robert Rios
Post published:June 5, 2020
Post category:Library Randomness

Thank you, Michele Hall, for inspiring me to compile this next post. This one will sandwich quotes from leaders throughout history with hopefully funny quotes from various other sources. I think we could all use a bit of inspiration and a laugh or two nowadays. And away we go! “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is…

Busy Hands, Quiet Mind: Knitting and Crocheting as Both Meditation and Distraction

Post author:Lisa Louis
Post published:June 2, 2020
Post category:Things to Do

There are many ways of dealing with stress. Exercise, distracting yourself with television or video games, eating your favorite ice cream, or snuggling with your pet are all good examples of coping mechanisms you may have used over the last few months as our world spun off its axis into this new reality that is the COVID-19 pandemic. For me, yarn crafts, specifically knitting and crochet, are not just my favorite hobbies but my go-to stressbusters. Sitting down to knit…