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…
An access point. A touch stone. A portal. This is what a library is; it’s a place of accessibility. When people come to a library, they expect to find a place where they can reach resources and multi-media that will allow them to learn, to educate, to create, to grow, to entertain, and to expand their imaginations. At the Mary and Jeff Bell Library, this is an ever evolving and continual process to improving accessibility. A huge part of this…
I’ve been talking for a while on this blog about open education and how it can lower costs for students while at the same time bring new, invigorating practices to the classroom. But when the pandemic hit last year, open educational resources (OER) became a solution to a problem that was now more urgent than ever before. As a result of the pandemic, many students have been struggling financially. Access to physical books -- for example, reserves in the library which before the pandemic had been one strategy students could use to lower textbook costs -- were disrupted. Supply chains…
Among all the impressive machinery located in the I-Create Lab, along with the laser cutters and large format printers, stands the unique piece known as the Embroidery Machine. The One Thread Embroidery Free Arm Machines allows its user to choose from a select number of built-in designs (405) to create a unique design to embroider into clothing, towels, or any material that will fit under the arm and into the hoop.The 7-inch LCD display screen allows the user to select…
“Where do you want to be in five years?” Apart from being asked why you’re still single (it’s a choice, grandma!), perhaps nothing stokes the flames of anxiety like being asked where you see yourself in fives years. College students have plenty to worry about with classes, homework, extra curriculars, and jobs, and now folks are going to add this to the pile?? Well, yes. During college, while you’re maybe still trying to find a path that excites you, career research doesn’t…
I would like to welcome everyone to a brand-new year and the Spring 2021 semester! Every spring semester, pandemic or not, the Library is busy gathering and reporting data, which makes it a perfect time for reflection. The Academic Libraries Survey (ALS) portion of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) are both due in the first quarter of the calendar year. In addition,…
The I-Create lab has got into the holiday spirit this year with many crafts and decorations. All of this could not have been possible without the help of the Cricut Maker. The Cricut Maker helped create festive houses and ornaments, all by using construction paper and the imagination of our workers! The Cricut Maker can cut many types of paper and vinyl. Vinyl can be an adhesive or heat transfer material, both types come in a variety of colors and…
Hey all, Punk A** Book Jockey Alexa here. You may have noticed if you’ve been able to visit the library despite pandemic times, that there haven’t been any new items in our Popular Reading section for a while. Due to shutdowns both here in the library and from our dear book provider, we were on a hiatus from ordering new titles for a while. It was a sad, long dry spell. The good news? We have a ton of new titles coming…
It's good to stay healthy. When we think of what that means in today’s context, usually the first things to come to mind are eating right, exercising, and maintaining safe habits while we go through this period of 2020. However, our physical health isn't the only thing that we need to maintain and monitor. Our mental health is so important to keep track of, especially as stressors and issues seem to be mounting day after day this year. This year has…
This pandemic has been hard on us parents. I’m not going to lie, between working from home and trying to take care of three little boys, I’ve DEFINITELY leaned hard into Netflix and Disney+; and the combined $20 a month is WAY cheaper than a babysitter. The boys are entertained (for a few mins at least) and I can get a few emails answered. Everyone’s a winner. However, recently the unthinkable happened. My kids watched all of Netflix. No more…