Today’s Special – Page 5 – Mary and Jeff Bell Library Blog

Peer Review Week 2020: Trust in Peer Review

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:September 22, 2020
Post category:Library Randomness Today's Special

This year, September 21-25, 2020 is Peer Review Week and this year, the theme is “Trust in Peer Review.” Before we talk about this year’s theme, let’s address the obvious: what do we mean when we say, “peer review?” Peer Review, as defined in Black’s Medical Dictionary, 43rd Edition: The procedures used by journal editors, researchers and scientists to review the work, decisions and writings of their professional colleagues – peer groups. Reviewers of scientific papers are commonly called referees, and…

The Longoria Affair

Post author:Eric Christensen
Post published:August 28, 2020
Post category:Behind the Scenes Books & More Today's Special

It has been a challenging year for the residents of Planet Earth. We’ve all had to make adjustments to nearly every facet of our lives. The United States has been at war with itself over its past and for its future. Undeniable fundamental and systemic racism is being laid bare, and it is an unfortunate part of our culture that we will continue to have to confront and correct. An example of it sits in our own Special Collections Archive…

Read more about the article Popular Reading: Pop Open a Book!

WWII: A Most Dangerous Flight

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:August 11, 2020
Post category:Library Randomness Today's Special

Going back in time to the very beginning of combat service in 1943, Arturo P. Martinez and his flight crew arrived at their home base in Gioia, Italy. They received a warm welcome by the Squadron Commander on the first day. The Commander gave the new flight crew a pep talk. He reassured them that combat missions were not too bad, at least not as dangerous as soldiers in foxholes. The next day, Arturo’s crew was split up, and they…

What I’ve Been Reading During Quarantine

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:August 4, 2020
Post category:Books & More Service for You Things to Do Today's Special

Like everyone else, I’ve found myself spending a lot more time at home and although I’ve partaken in zoom birthday parties, Netflix binging, etc., I’ve also tried to spend time away from screens, especially since all meetings now take place via a computer screen. I have by no means broke any records of books read, but I’ve read some good things from the Library’s Popular Reading Collection: Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi. This book is the second in a…

Escape Into an Adventure at Home

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:July 17, 2020
Post category:Library Randomness Things to Do Today's Special

Need an escape from the confines of your home without actually leaving? Why not try out an online Tabletop Role-Play Game (TTRPG)? While traditionally TTRPG's are played in person, there is a vast avenue of game systems to choose from online; you can be in a fantasy setting, Star Wars adventure, or even play as a Pokémon trainer hoping to catch all 890 of them. (Can you believe it, 890?) For the last eight years, I have been sucked into…

Rudolfo Anaya: “Godfather of Chicano Literature”

Post author:Joe Hernandez
Post published:July 14, 2020
Post category:Books & More Today's Special

On June 30th, while mindlessly scrolling through Twitter, I was shocked to see something that cut deeper than I ever expected it to. Rudolfo Anaya, author of Bless Me, Ultima, had passed away the day before. While I’m fully aware that I didn’t know him personally and had never met anyone that would possibly know him, there was something about this news that completely crushed me. Rudolfo Anaya was a nationally renowned and noted writer, novelist, and instructor and was often…

Who Made This and Who’s Missing?

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:July 10, 2020
Post category:Today's Special

So here’s the thing my friends: a whole lot is happening right now and we’re all exhausted. I hate to throw one more thing at you, but here it is: regardless of how tired we are, we still have to do the work of critical thinkers. Information literacy isn’t just a bunch of concepts and skills we pull out of our back pockets every time we have a research assignment, it’s an absolutely essential component of who we are as…

LGBTQ+ Stories and Cinema in Kanopy

Post author:Emma Drumright
Post published:June 30, 2020
Post category:Books & More Things to Do Today's Special

Ever since I learned that faculty and staff also have access to the library’s streaming service, Kanopy, from one of our blog posts back in March (thanks, Ed!), I’ve been exploring titles and adding lots of films to my watchlist. Many of these have included videos from their mental health and mindfulness section as well as their titles on Social and Systemic Injustice. This month I have been looking at selections from their LGBTQ categories to celebrate Pride Month and to learn more about history,…

Archival Silences

Post author:Bell Library
Post published:June 26, 2020
Post category:Behind the Scenes Today's Special

One of the reasons I love history is because I love a good story. History tells us the stories of individuals, families, groups, nations—stories that help us understand our own lives and our place in the world. Archives are often called “the raw stuff of history,” the voices out of which the historical narrative is woven. But some voices ring more loudly in the archives than others. The term archival silence describes a gap in the existing historical record. It is particularly…