From the Archives & Special Collections: Illuminated Manuscripts with McCarver students

Posted on April 17, 2019 by jmkyoung

For the last few years, Collins Memorial Library has participated in the annual McCarver Elementary School visit to Puget Sound. Coordinated by Amy Ryken, Professor and Dean of the School of Education, and Monica DeHart, Professor of Anthropology, the annual trip brings McCarver 5th graders to campus to learn more about the college experience. During their visit, the elementary students are exposed to many different programs and facilities on campus, including the Slater Museum of Natural History, Norton Clapp Theatre, and Memorial Fieldhouse. The library is always happy to host the 5th grade visitors and this year we brought them upstairs to the Archives & Special Collections.

Our visitors viewed a selection of our most rare and valuable books and manuscript leaves. The students learned about the arduous process of creating a medieval manuscript by hand—the process of creating vellum from animal skins, making ink from minerals and plants, the work of scribes to write the texts, and the art of illuminating (or decorating) the manuscript pages. The Archives & Special Collections holds examples of both illuminated manuscript vellum leaves as well as replica copies of rare texts that live in museums and archives in Europe.

Next, our students were encouraged to make their own illuminated manuscript page. They had pre-printed pages with fanciful borders that they were encouraged to decorate and make their own with markers, crayons, silver and gold pens, stencils, and stickers. It was a fun and creative process that allowed students to create their own special and rare object.

We were thrilled to host the McCarver Elementary 5th graders and we cannot wait until next year’s visit!

The Archives & Special Collections is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM or by appointment.

By Adriana Flores ‘13, Archivist & Special Collections Librarian

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Collins Library Links: Makerspace Update

Posted on April 16, 2019 by jmkyoung

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Makerspace Update

It’s been a busy and productive year in the Makerspace with projects ranging from handmade books to 3D printed maps of our campus for use by those with low vision.  We have also been working with classes and departments to host team building exercises ranging from “mystery bag” mashups to designing decorative papers.  Our library staff programmed a Raspberry Pi to provide access to our online catalog, thereby replacing the need for a stand-alone computer.  Students of Kristopher J. Imbrigotta and Nick Kontogeorgopoulos, who are both leading study abroad programs this summer, produced zines about Puget Sound to give to their host families.  Skylar Bihl, who is teaching a class about building community, had students produce posters on the concept of intersectionality.  Students continue to drop-in to the space to use the 3D printers, sewing machines, design tools and work together to create and make.

We are excited about our most recent addition to the Makerspace: a laser cutter.  Now through the end of the semester, we invite you to visit the Makerspace (by appointment only) to learn more about this new piece of equipment and how you might use it, and other Makerspace tools, in class to help foster creative assignments and projects.

Full details about the laser cutter can be found on our Makerspace page.  Below are a few images of items recently made.

Need Information? Don’t forget the Collins Memorial Library – Library Guides
Questions? Contact your liaison librarian
Comments: Contact Jane Carlin, library director
Remember – Your best search engine is a librarian!

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Music in the Library: HARPISTS, Friday, April 26, 3-3:20pm, West Reading Room, Collins Library

Posted on April 16, 2019 by jmkyoung

HARPISTS
Friday, April 26th, 2019
3:00-3:20 pm
West Reading Room

Performances by: Augusta Grassl, Sienna Murphy, and Christina Sumprer

 

 

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An exploration of the thresholds between life and death

Posted on April 15, 2019 by jmkyoung

Henri Skinner is a hardened ex-war reporter on the run from his past. On his way to see his son, Sam, for the first time in years, Henri steps into the road without looking and collides with oncoming traffic. He is rushed to a nearby hospital where he floats between dreams, reliving the fairytales of his childhood and the secrets that made him run away in the first place. After the accident, Sam—a thirteen-year old with an IQ of 144 and an appetite for science fiction—waits by his father’s bedside every day. There he meets Eddie Tomlin, a woman forced to confront her love for Henri after all these years, and twelve-year old Madelyn Zeidler, a coma patient like Henri and the sole survivor of a traffic accident that killed her family.

Check out this and more in the Popular Reading Collection!

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From the Archives & Special Collections: Spring Family Weekend in the A&SC

Posted on April 10, 2019 by jmkyoung

We’re so excited to welcome parents and alumni to campus this weekend for the 2019 Spring Family Weekend! To celebrate, we’ll be hosting an open house and installing our new exhibit.

The open house will be this Friday, April 12, from 3:00 to 4:00 PM. Join us in the Archives & Special Collections Reading Room on the second floor of the library to view documents and artifacts from Puget Sound’s past. Drop by this casual event to learn more about the history of our Lu’au, student life on campus over the years, and the physical buildings and grounds of Puget Sound.

In honor of the Class of 1969’s 50th Reunion this year, we will be installing an exhibit focusing on their time at Puget Sound. The exhibit will draw primarily from The Trail, Tamanawas, and the Ephemera Collection, and provide a glance into what campus life was like at that time, from student organizations to special events to figures on campus. Come take a look to learn about the past and discover its connections to the present!

The Archives & Special Collections is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM or by appointment.

By Julia Masur

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A tale of neighbor hating neighbor

Posted on April 8, 2019 by jmkyoung

A gaudy, newly constructed behemoth of a home called The White Elephant looms over the quaint suburban town of Willard Park. When owner Nick Cox cuts down Allison and Ted Millers’ precious red maple—in an effort to make his unappealing property appealing to buyers—their once serene town becomes a battleground.

While tensions between Ted and Nick escalate, other dysfunctions swarm: Allison finds herself drawn to the man who is threatening to upset her quietly organized life. A lawyer with a pot habit and a serious midlife crisis ignores his responsibilities. And in a quest for popularity, a teenage girl gets caught up in a not-so-harmless prank. Newcomers and longtime residents alike begin to clash in conflicting pursuits of the American Dream, with trees mysteriously uprooted, fires set, fingers pointed, and lines drawn.

Find this and more in the Popular Reading Collection!

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New Directions in American Literature: Recommended Reading

Posted on April 3, 2019 by jmkyoung

Looking for a great, new book to read? Take a suggestion from Puget Sound English majors!

In the fall semester, students in ENGL 383: Post-1965 Ethnic Literature compiled recommended reading lists for new or recent literary works inspired by the themes, topics, and aesthetic or structural dimensions of American literature covered in the course. Using contemporary, professional book reviews appearing in major newspapers, magazines and journals, students selected noteworthy titles to be purchased by the library.

These fictional works engage a wide range of voices and perspectives, represent unique and innovative approaches to storytelling, and incorporate a variety of styles that are sure to appeal to adventurous readers. Topics include queer speculative fiction, speculative fiction and structures of power, ethnic supernaturalism, alternative histories, satire, and multiple consciousness in novels of color.

To find your next great read, see the full list of titles below or check out the display at the main entrance of Collins Library.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie Fortitude Smashed by Taylor Brooke
Curved Horizon Taylor Brooke Let’s Play White by Chesya Burke
Open City by Teju Cole The Round House by Louise Erdrich
Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
Salt Fish Girl by Larissa Lai On Such a Full Sea by Chang-Rae Lee
Dear Cyborgs by Eugene Lim Severance by Ling Ma
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
The Shadow Speaker by Nnedi Okorafor The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
In the Present Tense by Carrie Pack Past Imperfect by Carrie Pack
Conjugating Hindi by Ishmael Reed The Plot against America by Philip Roth
Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi We the Animals by Justin Torres
What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky by Lesley Nneka Airman

– By Katy Curtis, Humanities Librarian

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From the Archives & Special Collections: Black Arts Festival

Posted on April 3, 2019 by jmkyoung

The Archives & Special Collections recently acquired this program from the 1973 Black Arts Festival. The Black Arts Festival was an annual event sponsored by the Black Student Union (BSU). The BSU was founded in 1968 and Puget Sound’s first Black Arts Festival was held in 1969. The festival was a week-long celebration of black culture and included musical performances, art exhibits, lectures, poetry readings, fashion shows, dances, and a soul food dinner.

Several notable individuals were brought to campus for the festivals, including comedian, activist, and philosopher Dick Gregory, Alex Haley, author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Roots, and civil rights activist Angela Davis. The April 30, 1971 issue of “The Trail” recounts Haley’s visit in great detail over several different articles. Students were so impressed with his lecture that they formed a committee to nominate him for an honorary degree. Nearly all of the events associated with the Black Arts Festival were free and open to the public. For many years the Black Arts Festival was held the week before Spring Weekend, usually in late April. In 1977 the BSU moved the festival to February in recognition of Black History Month. After a decade of success with the Black Arts Festival, the event ended in 1978.

If you are interested in learning more about the Black Arts Festival, “The Trail”, the Tamanawas yearbook, and our ephemera collection are great resources. Come visit us in the A&SC!

The Archives & Special Collections is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM or by appointment.

By Laura Edgar, Assistant Archivist

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A humorous memoir-in-essays

Posted on April 2, 2019 by jmkyoung

For Damon Young, existing while Black is an extreme sport. The act of having black skin while searching for space to breathe in America is enough to induce a ceaseless state of angst where questions such as “How should I react here, as a professional black person?” and “Will this white person’s potato salad kill me?” are forever relevant.

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker chronicles Young’s efforts to survive while battling and making sense of the various neuroses his country has given him.

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker is a celebration of the idiosyncrasies and distinctions of Blackness and a critique of white supremacy and how we define masculinity.

Find this and more in the Popular Reading Collection!

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Collins Library Links: Leaving Elsevier, should we stay or should we go?

Posted on April 2, 2019 by jmkyoung

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Leaving Elsevier, should we stay or should we go?

Many of you have no doubt read about the recent decision made by the University of California System Libraries to cancel their Elsevier journal subscriptions. This was highlighted in a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article.  As a reaction to this decision, many libraries are issuing statements of support and concern as reflected in this Chronicle article: After the Elsevier ‘Tipping Point,’ Research Libraries Consider Their Options.  You may have questions about the status of the University of Puget Sound’s subscriptions with Elsevier and this email serves to provide you with information.

  •  The Collins Memorial Library does retain what we often refer to as a bundled (Big Deal) subscription package from Elsevier which provides access to full text journal content.
  • We also retain subscriptions to a number of journal packages offered by other scholarly publishers, Oxford, Sage, Springer, Taylor & Francis, and Wiley, in addition to collections from JSTOR and Project Muse.
  • We closely monitor the costs of these packages and every budget cycle review content and cost increases.
  • In some cases, we benefit from agreements that provide reduced costs as a result of our membership in the Orbis Cascade Alliance.
  • Certainly over the last ten years, we have witnessed a progressive increase in the cost of journals, as well as publishers efforts to bundle subscriptions giving libraries limited choices in how they provide access to scholarly information.

Where do we stand?

We endorse the statement that was recently issued by the University of Washington Libraries, which focuses on three core concepts: sustainability, equity and user-centeredness.

  • We must build collections and provide access to information that clearly supports the teaching and research needs of our Puget Sound community, while also being sustainable.
  • We must be good stewards of the funds allocated to the library, balancing the needs of our students and faculty while remaining fiscally responsible.
  • We advocate for and support open access to information as our colleagues at UW have so eloquently stated:  “We view access to information as a social justice issue, and for-profit publishers’ unsustainable pricing models, demand for nondisclosure agreements and insistence on paywalls hinders the pursuit of knowledge, impedes our support of an informed citizenry and restricts research for the public good.”
  • We know how important it is to have a dialog with you about these issues to ensure that we continue to meet the scholarly information needs of our community.

As we look towards the next academic year, we invite you to join in a conversation with us about the future of scholarly information and publishing.

Best wishes,

Jane

Need Information? Don’t forget the Collins Memorial Library – Library Guides
Questions? Contact your liaison librarian
Comments: Contact Jane Carlin, library director
Remember – Your best search engine is a librarian!

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