Who doesn’t need a summer vacation?Our bags are packed and we’re ready to go! The Library Blog will take a short break, but don't worry, we’ll be back soon! In the meantime, get out there and enjoy the sunshine!
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…
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…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
When you start looking towards the future and digging into career exploration, a great way to get to know a job or profession is to ask someone what their day is like. Do they work in an office or do they travel a lot? Do they meet with people face-to-face or can parts of the job be done remotely? Is it a day filled with meetings or a day filled with solo design and problem solving? If you know what…
There were not a lot of reasons to celebrate in 2020 (except maybe on New Year’s Eve), but the Special Collections & Archives Department at the Mary and Jeff Bell Library got one extraordinary piece of good news as Autumn approached: We were awarded a $25,000 grant to process our Charles F. H. von Blucher Family Papers collection. With our graduate assistant Andrew Karnes working exclusively on processing this priceless collection of three generations of Blucher family papers, many previously…