The Animated Film
Inspired by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, “Morris Lessmore” is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor. Watch the oscar winning film Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story.
Did you know that a lack of danger is hazardous to the world? It’s true, according to this intriguing and informative book found in the stacks called Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators. Located on the fourth floor of our library in the stacks at QL758 .S746 2008, this gem offers a provocative new look at the world’s top predators, and the environmental consequences triggered by their disappearance as a result of the superpredators we call humans.
Read about the cougars that leave Zion, a national park in Utah with increased human activity, resulting in thriving mule deer that over forage the land. Or the Shenandoah Mountains in Virginia, where fencing deer out caused a population boom in squirrels, small mammals, and disappearing song birds. In Fontanelle Forest near Omaha, an over-protected forest lacks tree seedlings, birds and butterflies, but thrives in poisonous plants. And no more berries means no more bears. But don’t worry, you’ll also read about some of the wonderful ecological recoveries, lighting some of conservation’s brightest beacons of hope. If you seldom think about disappearing predators, this will give you a world of reason to think again.
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Have you found an intriquing item in our stacks that you want to share with other library users? Then just fill out this Found in the Stacks form and we will consider posting in on the Inside Collins blog and on our web page.
– Jeanne Young
Class on Demand: Instruction Made to Order
Wondering about getting started with RefWorks or Zotero? Working on a group project? Wondering about something your friends or classmates wonder about, too?
We can work with you to arrange a class especially designed for you and three of your best friends on any topic related to research or the library. We’ll design the class on a topic specifically to meet your needs, and any group of 4 or more students can schedule a custom class.
To request a class, just complete this form to tell us more about scheduling and what you’d like to learn:
http://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/academic-resources/collins-memorial-library/services/ask-a-librarian/class-on-demand-form/
Once that’s filled out, we will contact you to set the date and time.
Collins Memorial Library in collaboration with Pierce County Reads presents:
An Evening with Kristina McMorris
Award-winning women’s fiction author
Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012
7-8:30 p.m.
Collins Library, Room 020
Kristina McMorris lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two sons. Her foray into fiction began in the fall of 2006 as a result of interviewing her grandmother for the biographical section of a self-published cookbook intended as a holiday gift for the family. Inspired by her grandparents’ wartime courtship, Kristina penned her first novel, a WWII love story titled Letters from Home.
Endorsed by Woman’s Day and praised by Publishers Weekly as “a sweeping debut,” Letters from Home was released in spring 2011, from Kensington Books and Avon/HarperCollins UK, to wide critical acclaim. The novel was a Doubleday Book Club alternate selection and a Reader’s Digest Select Editions condensed feature. Destined to be a book club favorite, Kristina’s forthcoming novel, Bridge of Scarlet Leaves (March 2012), is a WWII love story complicated by the U.S. internment of Japanese Americans, told from surprising perspectives rarely explored in literature.
Prior to her career as an author, Kristina acted in numerous independent films and major motion pictures, and owned a professional wedding/event planning company. She began hosting an Emmy Award-winning television show at age nine, and most recently served as the six-year host of the WB’s weekly program Weddings Portland Style. Her previous writing background includes being a contributing writer for Portland Bride & Groom magazine and ten years of directing public relations for an international conglomerate. The recipient of more than twenty national literary awards, McMorris is currently working on her next novel.
website: www.KristinaMcMorris.com
The celebration of African American history began in 1925 with African American History Week. Fifty years later in 1976 African American History Month began and is now celebrated each February.
The Library of Congress has a good overview of the beginnings and development of African American History Month, including links to President Ford’s address in 1975, the first Public Law in 1986, and subsequent congressional resolutions and Presidential messages and Proclamations. Here is Barack Obama’s 2012 Proclamation.
There are many ways to explore African American History:
Collins Library Resources
The Collins Library subscribes to a rich array of resources related to African American History.
Note: For remote access to Collins Library subscription resources, please login with your Puget Sound email username and password.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress and the National Archives recognizes African American History with this year’s theme “Black Women in American Culture and History”. The web site honors African American women and the myriad of roles they played in the shaping of our nation. The theme, chosen by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History urges all Americans to study and reflect on the value of their contribution to the nation.
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
The Schomburg Center is a research unit of The New York Public Library. Two ways you can use their resources remotely are:
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Image caption: Booker T. Washington delivering his Tuskegee Institute Silver Anniversary lecture in 1906.
Want to know more about Booker T. Washington? Check out the books in the Collins Library and the Library of Congress Guide Booker T. Washington: Online Resources
Collins Library has established in 2012 an award to recognize three student employees who demonstrate outstanding commitment to their work and excellence in job performance. Read more about eligibility requirements and how to nominate a library student employee at the Library Student Employee Excellence in Action Awards page.
You never know what you will find in the stacks!
This time, we found Horn Measurements and Weights of the Great Game of the World: Being a record for the use of sportsmen and naturalists, by Rowland Ward. The book was published, of course, in London “At the Jungle” (aka 116 Piccadilly) in 1892.
This book is 120 years old and was written for “ gentlemen sportsmen and scientific men who are interested to see comparable measurements at a glance.” The true sporting gentleman, apparently, needed a quick reference for Hippo tusks. You can find the measurements of Hippopotamus tusks from Africa, Hog Deer tusks from India, Cape Buffalo tusks from Lower Zambezi River in Africa, just to name a few of the many animals covered in this 260 book devoted to measurement! Interspersed throughout the text are photos of hunting parties as well as wonderful illustrations of animals.
The author, Rowland Ward was the last member of Ward family left in the profession of taxidermy and was an appointed naturalist to the court ( and not the judicial kind–the royal court of England!). In
fact there is even a Rowland Ward website which sells specialty books, record books, and hunting supplies. They also have a great summary of the history of the company and Rowland Ward himself on their web site’s history section.
You can take a look at the book in our library in the stacks, where you’ll find it at QL737 U4 W3, on the fourth floor. If some adventure enthusiast was there before you, you can also take a look at an electronic version through the Internet Archive.
You may wonder why on earth a person who doesn’t hunt big game (perhaps, these days, by camera…) might care about this book, beyond the fact that it’s 120 years old, but there are lots of reasons!
For historians of empire, this might be a great book. An English literature scholar might want to investigate the relationship between dominating and experiencing nature in the book’s rhetoric. It could even be useful for scientists. The data in a book like this can be used by scientists to compare current conditions and ranges for animals. In a reference question last year, we were able to use books like this one to establish a historical range for large mammals, so that a student could contextualize their research and make some conclusions about the ecosystem they were studying.
– Rebecca Kuglitsch
The Collins Memorial Library and Print & Copy Services have teamed up, using discarded paper to create useful and handy notepads for free distribution to the Puget Sound community! Read more and see how you can participate!
Wed, 01 Feb 2012 – All Day
“Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crows: The Art of Mark Hoppmann”
Exhibit open Feb. 1–29, free
Artist Talk on Feb. 15, reception 6–7 p.m., talk 7–8 p.m., Library Room 020, free
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds was written by Charles MacKay, first published in 1842. Like that first work, “The Madness of Crows,” is also based on delusions (mine), centered around my favorite artistic subject. What began as small sketches a few years ago has evolved into a series of illustrations, becoming more and more intricate as new ideas evolve from the old.Inspired, (albeit) loosely by the borders and motifs found in The Book of Kells, “The Madness of Crows” also uses elaborate border motifs and random bits in addition to the main illustrations. Those random “bits” and illustrations, explore pop culture, literature, world civilization. and a great deal of material in between, with a generous use of word play and visual double entendre. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crows is made possible in part through a TAIP grant from the Tacoma Art Commission.
Mark Hoppmann graduated from Drake University, including one year of studying art in Florence Italy, with a degree in graphic design and commercial art . Working from sketchbooks, a digital camera, and his own imagination, he creates paintings and illustrations which often reflect a touch of irony. “Being an artist means going wherever it takes you. One day you’re working on a painting, the next you’re learning how to create your own handmade books. Each day is different.” Mark’s studio is located in Tacoma, Washington, where he lives with his wife and daughter.
Join us for violin music by Zachary Hamilton!
Friday, Feb. 10, 2012
3:30-4 p.m.
Collins Library Reading Room
