Trisha Hernandez – Mary and Jeff Bell Library Blog

“Tell me a horror story about…”: Generating Spooky Stories with ChatGPT

Post author:Trisha Hernandez
Post published:October 27, 2023
Post category:Books & More Library Randomness

Greetings, readers!! There are many things to know about me, but the most relevant for today is that I’m a big horror and true crime fan. The thrill began as a child when I would sit in the center of my parent’s bed (obviously the center - my effort to ensure that if something was hiding under the bed, it couldn’t reach me on that big California king), reading Alvin Schwartz’ Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (https://go.exlibris.link/cmRcXzPk). I…

Descubrir, Aprender, y Mejorar! Discover, Learn, and Improve During Hispanic Heritage Month 2021

Post author:Trisha Hernandez
Post published:September 7, 2021
Post category:Things to Do Today's Special

It’s September!! This wonderful 9th month of the year brings all sorts of wonders with it. We’re shaking off the start of a new semester and getting settled in. Starbucks, and almost every other brand in the nation, has a pumpkin spiced something available for all. We officially transition into autumn. Temperatures start dropping…or rather we desperately hope that temperatures start dropping because the warm weather we wished for all winter has become hot and sticky and gross and we’re…

Happy Pride Month! Celebrate with Popular Reading

Post author:Trisha Hernandez
Post published:June 15, 2021
Post category:Books & More Today's Special

Happy Pride Month, Islanders!! For those unaware, Pride Month is celebrated across the nation every June. But why June? In June of 1969, a total of around 200 individuals (many were patrons of a popular Greenwich Village gay bar – the Stonewall Inn) rallied against routine police harassment against the LGBTQ+ community. It all began as a police raid of the bar based on false accusations. As police were arresting patrons and employees, those who hadn’t been grabbed yet were…

A Place I Belong

Post author:Trisha Hernandez
Post published:May 25, 2021
Post category:Behind the Scenes

“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…

Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with Popular Reads!

Post author:Trisha Hernandez
Post published:April 27, 2021
Post category:Books & More Things to Do Today's Special

Last Monday, April 19th, the TAMU-CC campus kicked off Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month for 2021!! The campus celebration continues until Finals Week begins (May 6th), but the heritage month itself runs throughout the entire stretch of May. In 1977, five joint resolutions were introduced during the 95th Congressional meeting suggesting identification of a week in May to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). On October 5, 1978, this joint resolution was passed proposing the President proclaims…

Building a Safe Online Community: Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Post author:Trisha Hernandez
Post published:April 6, 2021
Post category:Library Randomness Things to Do Today's Special

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and is dedicated to bringing awareness to sexual violence in the United States. Organizations across the nation aim to educate communities about sexual assault facts, engage in discussions on prevention, and identify safe places and resources for victims of sexual violence. Let’s begin by looking at a few statistics*: Based on data from the survey, it is estimated that 734,630 people were raped (threatened, attempted, or completed) in the United States in 2018.More…

American poet Amanda Gorman reads a poem during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)

The Strength of the Spoken Word: Poetry in Our Popular Reading Collection

Post author:Trisha Hernandez
Post published:February 16, 2021
Post category:Books & More Today's Special

When day comes, we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid.The new dawn blooms as we free it.For there is always light,if only we’re brave enough to see it.If only we’re brave enough to be it. – “The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman Stepping up to the microphone, Amanda Gorman, the nation’s first youth poet laureate, stood as a shining beacon of our future during the January 20th inauguration of President Joe Biden. She stirred the nation as she delivered…

The First Step: Celebrating Black History Month

Post author:Trisha Hernandez
Post published:February 2, 2021
Post category:Books & More Things to Do Today's Special

Yesterday marked the first official day of Black History Month! This celebration, which began thanks to Carter G. Woodson’s Negro History Week in 1926, has been celebrated as a month-long event since 1976 (making this the 45th year)! Through the years this celebration has taken on a number of themes, including: The Crisis in Black Education, African Americans in Times of War, Black Migrations, African Americans and the Vote, and The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity (2021 theme). On the TAMUCC campus, however, our overarching focus…

“Heads” Up! – Did Propaganda Influence Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”?

Post author:Trisha Hernandez
Post published:October 30, 2020
Post category:Library Randomness Today's Special

With a hip-hip and a clippity-clop, he's out lookin' for a top to chop, so don't stop to figure out a plan, you can't reason with a headless man. – “The Headless Horseman”, Bing Crosby It’s Halloween!!! Or at least it’s about to be. To kick your spooky weekend off right, let’s take a moment to appreciate a Halloween tale that pops up every year (for me at least). I began today’s post with song lyrics from Bing Crosby’s “The…

A Game is “the” Foot: Mystery Popular Reads for Halloween

Post author:Trisha Hernandez
Post published:October 27, 2020
Post category:Books & More Things to Do Today's Special

Ok, so this year is a bit different than most…you know, just a bit…but the calendar days keep ticking by and for the most part we keep moving along with them. We’re now fast approaching what I consider to be the holiday season. While I know “holiday season” tends to be synonymous with winter-centric celebrations, to me it starts October 31st and continues until January 1st. We have our Halloween fun, before we know it it’s turkey time (aka Thanksgiving), then…