Today’s Special – Page 2 – Mary and Jeff Bell Library Blog

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…

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

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:June 11, 2021
Post category:Behind the Scenes Library Randomness Today's Special

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…

What is in a Picture?

Post author:Amanda Kowalski
Post published:May 28, 2021
Post category:Behind the Scenes Today's Special

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…

Summer Reading

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:May 18, 2021
Post category:Books & More Today's Special

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…

Celebrated International Classics: Russian Literature – Anton Chekhov

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:May 7, 2021
Post category:Books & More Things to Do Today's Special

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…

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…

Blucher Family Stories

Post author:Eric Christensen
Post published:April 23, 2021
Post category:Behind the Scenes Books & More Today's Special

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…

Perceptions of Earth Day

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:April 20, 2021
Post category:Today's Special

Sustainability truly begins with indigenous peoples who always aim to understand their surrounding environment. Their traditional knowledge of the land allows them to be connected to nature in a way that is often lost today. With the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, humans began to try to control nature in order to feel more secure with their resources. After mass development of this, many societies evolved to prioritize profit over paying attention to their impact on the environment. It is true…

National Library Week 2021: Welcome to Your Library!

Post author:Emma Drumright
Post published:April 9, 2021
Post category:Today's Special We Made This

This week (April 4 – 10) is National Library Week, a time dedicated to promoting the use of libraries and celebrating library workers and services! You can read all about this annual celebration on on the American Library Association (ALA)'s website. As this week’s official festivities come to a close, I thought it would be fun to highlight some of the ways the Bell Library took part in celebrating this year. I will also share some resources and other ways you…

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…