HOLIDAY MADNESS with the Bell Library!

Do you ever wonder what your Library Faculty & Staff do to unwind and have a good laugh? Well, the library is full of spunky and funny individuals that come together to cheer one another on and bring smiles to each other's faces. I’m Julie Sanchez and I can tell you that behind the scenes we have our good laughs to power us through our days. We love celebrating holidays and spreading cheer and here are some funny times we've…

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IDEA in the House!!!!

For this week’s post, we decided to do something a little different. Following a format based on questions, we wanted to present insight into ourselves and the work we are currently completing as the chairs of the Mary and Jeff Bell Library’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) committee. We both are committed to the work (hence our willingness to serve as co-chairs!) but the unique perspectives, stories, and experiences we each bring have incredible value to the committee’s work.…

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The Blucher Collection: A Worldwide Research Puzzle

The Blucher collection includes papers from an early Texas family who was instrumental in the development of the Coastal Bend area. The Bluchers arrived in the mid 1800’s, saving their correspondence, legal paperwork, photos, and artifacts from their arrival until the late 1900’s. A prominent member of the family, Conrad Blucher, eventually left a sizeable endowment to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. While processing the Blucher collection, I have been able to experience history through the eyes of others through their writing,…

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Spooky, Scary Skeletons… and Decorations!

If you passed by the I-Create Lab during October, you may have seen some unlikely decorations. All of October the student workers in the I-Create lab prepared for Halloween. The student workers wanted to show off all equipment in the lab as well as their own skills. Starting with spider web doors done by student worker Soleil. Wanting to show off her own skills rather then a machine. To create the door web, you must create the base of the…

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Snakes! & The Bluchers

Corpus Christi is home to an incredible diversity of flora and fauna, and the region is the preferred habitat of many species of snakes. Several of the local snakes are venomous, such as rattlesnakes, coral snakes, cottonmouths, and copperheads. As such it is always advisable to be aware of your surroundings as you walk the TAMUCC Hike & Bike Trail, or any of the local parks. The following recollection of pioneer snake encounters was recently discovered in the Mary and…

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A New Vision for Innovation: I-Create Gets New Management

Through our transition into our new normal, TAMU-CC leaders saw a vital need for more digital resources for teaching and learning. With that, some changes were implemented to ensure that the services we offer to the campus community continue to foster an environment that supports innovation in digital teaching and learning, as well as a quality digital experience for students and faculty.  A new partnership between Digital Learning and Academic Innovations (DLAI) and the I-Create lab was introduced to the…

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Creating Flowers in the I-Create Lab

This blog was written in May...but we figure June flowers can be just as pretty. Enjoy! As the famous saying goes “April Showers Bring May Flowers,” the I-Create Lab is looking at what "flowers" we can create right in our space. Enjoy a look at some of the ways you can utilize our space and equipment to bring your flowery creations to life. Cricut With the Cricut you can turn paper, or vinyl into works of art. We started with…

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One Librarian’s (Very Personal) Opinion on GOP Lawmakers Wanting to Ban ‘Woke’ Philosophies

About a month ago, the Texas Tribune published an article on the Texas Legislature 2021: GOP lawmakers want to ban “woke philosophies” like critical race theory in Texas schools. The article briefly explains what critical race theory (CRT) is with “an academic discipline that views race as a social construct and examines how racism has shaped legal and social systems.” Sounds fairly reasonable, given the history of what are now known as the United States and recent events around policing of black people and other…

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Sharing is Caring: what librarians do when we’re stumped

Where do you go when you need research help? The library of course! But where do librarians go when we need research help? Well, there’s a secret closet in the back of the library where an eternal flame exists. If we sacrifice an obsolete form of information preservation, say a CD-ROM or a floppy disk, we’re allowed to ask the flame one question. That’s how we learn new stuff! Just kidding, that’s not a real thing. Definitely don’t go searching…

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