Are You Gen X, a Millennial, or Gen Z?: Exploring the Generations

You hear the terms flying around. Maybe they were used in relation to avocado toast, Tide pods, or even Oregon Trail. I’m talkin’ ‘bout my generation (well, not MINE alone, I just couldn’t resist referencing the song by The Who). I’m actually talking about generations X, Y, and Z, more commonly known as Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. According to the Pew Research Center, these three generations (and a few others) are broken down like so: Silent - born 1928-45 (ages 74-91);Boomers -…

Continue ReadingAre You Gen X, a Millennial, or Gen Z?: Exploring the Generations

The Islander Family at Bell Library Welcomes Vanessa Claros

Meet Vanessa Claros, one of our newest library staff members, who began her position as Library Specialist II, Cataloging on March 11, 2019, as part of the Resource Management & Discovery Department. Vanessa, her husband and their young daughter, Isabelle, age 20 months, recently set forth on a major move from Lawrenceville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, all the way to Corpus Christi, Texas. To be exact, we are talking about a distance of well over 1,000 miles, and roughly…

Continue ReadingThe Islander Family at Bell Library Welcomes Vanessa Claros

Ways to Relax in the Library

We here at the Mary and Jeff Bell Library understand that life can be stressful. This is why we offer a variety of ways to help take the edge off of your tense day. We currently offer 38 games of different varieties that you and your friends can use inside the library. These games range from time honored board games like Monopoly and Candyland to games like trivia based on the TV show the Walking Dead. Below you will find…

Continue ReadingWays to Relax in the Library

Frame of the Day: Authority is Constructed and Contextual

Last Friday, the Dean of the Library, Cate Rudowsky, wrote a blog post discussing the upcoming Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), information literacy, and why it’s all important. I’m going to dig a little bit deeper and talk about the actual concepts as they have been outlined in The Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education, the go-to resource on everything you need to know about information literacy, which for the sake of my typin’ fingers, I’m just going to refer to…

Continue ReadingFrame of the Day: Authority is Constructed and Contextual

What’s a QEP?

A QEP you say? Information and digital literacy you say? What the what? What’s a QEP? QEP is an acronym for Quality Enhancement Plan and is part of the SACSCOC reaffirmation process. According to SACSCOC, “the Quality Enhancement Plan is an integral component of the reaffirmation of accreditation process and is derived from an institution’s ongoing comprehensive planning and evaluation process. It reflects and affirms a commitment to enhance overall institutional quality and effectiveness by focusing on an issue that the institution considers important…

Continue ReadingWhat’s a QEP?

I Am a Woman and I Have a Problem: A Women’s History Month Reflection

On March 5th, I joined three amazing women on stage during the morning panel of the Women’s History Month Celebration. Dr. Clarenda Phillips, Stacy Rowan, Erin Lewis, and I spoke to the audience about how we shaped our own destinies. Our words encouraged others to acknowledge and appreciate the path paved for us while paving the way for those coming after. The audience was encouraged to find a support unit who would stand beside them through thick and thin. It was…

Continue ReadingI Am a Woman and I Have a Problem: A Women’s History Month Reflection

History Harvest: A Connection to the Community

Remember when? Remember when the Harbor Bridge was built?  Hurricane Celia?  The Buccaneer Days Parade?  High school rivalries?  Selena on the Domingo Show?  Concerts at the Memorial Coliseum?  The civil rights marches that changed our city?  South Texas has a rich history and your memories can help us understand the important events and experiences that have shaped the region. Every family has a story and individually these memories make our community what it is, and some of those important memories…

Continue ReadingHistory Harvest: A Connection to the Community

It’s All in Your Head: Psychological Thrillers and the Unreliable Narrator

You’re a liar…delusional...confused…insane! No one is EVER going to believe you! Ok, well not you per say (theoretically at least, I don’t really know you, so…), but this is a common accusation made in many of the best psychological thrillers available today. Take the box office success, The Girl on the Train, staring Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, and a bunch of other names that Wikipedia lists. The movie, based on the New York Times best seller by Paula Hawkins, follows Rachel Watson, an alcoholic divorcée who is…

Continue ReadingIt’s All in Your Head: Psychological Thrillers and the Unreliable Narrator

Makers Making Use of the I-Create Makerspace Lab

After opening the I-Create Makerspace Lab in mid-January, we never would have guessed the flurry of activity that would occur around Valentine’s Day. In the days leading up to this romantic holiday, we had a nice surge of activity as makers of all disciplines made pilgrimages and many gifts were created!  The 3D printers were busy printing red roses for loved ones. On the embroidery machine, there was a whole lotta monogramming going on, including one very cuddly looking fleece…

Continue ReadingMakers Making Use of the I-Create Makerspace Lab

What do you spend on textbooks?

March 4-8 was Open Education Week, a week when we celebrate the power of the Internet to democratize education by providing a platform on which tools for learning—everything from videos and class modules to lecture notes and entire textbooks or courses—can be made freely available to anyone wanting to learn. In spite of the fact that we have the digital technology to provide learning materials at low to no cost and that many brilliant minds all over the world are engaged…

Continue ReadingWhat do you spend on textbooks?