What is in a Picture?

What is in a picture? Clearly, this seems like a straightforward answer. When you look at the picture it is apparent what is captured, but is it really? Pictures capture the lived experience, something that the written record cannot grasp. Images show the lived life, it gives a new layer of historical research. While photographs certainly can cover the basics of people, events, and places, they also add a visual layer. The modern researcher can see these things as they…

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A Place I Belong

“Country roads, take me home to the place I belong.” – Take Me Home, Country Roads, John Denver, 1971 While the all too popular song, written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, and John Denver, began as a little ballad about the winding country roads in Maryland, it has since become a meme (see singing cowboy cat) and a song one just can’t help but jump in and sing along with. Whether it’s the smooth vocals or the opportunity to passionately…

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Tales from the I-Create Lab

When you walk into the I-Create lab, you might notice a variety of strange and wonderous items adorning the walls of the makerspace. Nearly all these items were handcrafted by the various workers of the lab, meaning that each of these objects carries a story behind it. Some of these stories are funny, others are frightening, but each is assuredly interesting. Three of these stories will be discussed in “Tales from the I-Create Lab.” The Shark Shark week has been…

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Summer Reading

Looking for something to read this summer? Look no further than our Popular Reading collection! We have a ton of new books, and more arriving each month! Here are just a few to get you started on your browsing: Aceves, Fred; The new David Espinoza Obsessed with the idea that he is not muscular enough and tired of being bullied, David, age seventeen, begins using steroids, endangering his relationships with family and friends. Bolden, Tonya; Saving Savannah Savannah Riddle feels suffocated by her life…

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A Time for Celebration: Public Art

One of the joys of working in a college library is keeping in sync with the academic calendar. There are some pretty cool events, exhibits, and celebrations to look forward to. It is inspiring and energizing to engage new students in library traditions every year. Being a part of the discovery of our banned books celebration and the riotous fun of Escaping the Library during International Games Week – it truly is great fun! Being in a college library filled with art…

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I Burn for the Bell Library

I am a proud hopeless romantic. And I have been one way before Bridgerton gained notoriety on Netflix and millions of households fell in love with the Duke of Hastings. I have always been unashamed of my love for romance novels (even all the way back in High School when it was definitely NOT cool to walk around with your nose stuck in A Rogue by Any Other Name). I would gladly recommend authors and books to all my friends. There’s…

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Celebrated International Classics: Russian Literature – Anton Chekhov

These days, our world is standing on the precipice of time, but as we wait for the prospect of a different tomorrow, I cannot help but feel the culmination of togetherness has grown exponentially stronger. Not just in the sense of a neighborly or familial acquaintance, but also to those hundreds upon thousands of miles away across the great masses of water. Internationally. Be that as it may, current circumstances have rendered us limited in our approach to setting off…

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Asian American & Pacific Islander Month Continuation

As posted last week by my colleague Trisha Hernandez, May is the commemorative month to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage. May was chosen as the commemorative month because the first Japanese immigrant arrived in the U.S. on May 7, 1843, and it marks the completion of the transcontinental railroad (May 10, 1869) in which most of the tracks were laid by Chinese immigrants (Library of Congress, n.d.). Rich, diverse, and expansive, the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders is…

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