From the Archives & Special Collections: The Parallel Bible

Posted on February 15, 2017 by jmkyoung

archives_PbibleIn my History 101 class we’ve been learning all about the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire and as a giant history buff, I’ve been fascinated. Recently, this rather gigantic bible caught my eye with the intricate border work along the side. When I pulled it out I was surprised to see it had silver clasps to hold it shut as well! I had to take a look inside. Its resemblance to a treasure chest was hard to resist, especially with the faded gold edging on the pages, and I found beautiful artwork and intriguing content.

This edition is called the “Parallel Bible” because it includes the King James Bible, a revised version of the Old and New Testaments, Psalms and much more all arranged, you guessed it, parallel to one another. I found works of art depicting religious scenes and even a section entitled “Narrating Bible Stories for the Young” which simplified things such as Adam and Eve’s banishment from Eden for easier understanding. Even if one isn’t quite as fascinated as I am by religious and historical texts, just a glimpse into this book is an adventure in and of itself.

Check it out on Primo for more information!

The Archives & Special Collections is open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:00-3:00 p.m. or by appointment.

By Laure Mounts

 

Posted in From the Archives | Leave a comment

FTC Financial Literacy Materials Coming to the Life Skills Collection

Posted on February 13, 2017 by jmkyoung

fin_lit_brochures_sign-(2)Do you have questions about your finances? Topics like personal budgeting, credit ratings, credit card debt, and identity theft may not be exciting topics for many individuals, but they can have profound and sometimes lasting impacts.

To help inform students about these topics, Collins Library will be adding educational materials created by the Federal Trade Commission to our Life Skills Collection that’s located in the library’s Learning Commons. The materials cover a broad range of financial topics, and are free to take home and keep. We hope these materials will serve as a useful addition to our existing Financial Literacy resources.

– Ben Tucker

Posted in Arts/Humanities, Social Sciences & Science | Leave a comment

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

Posted on February 10, 2017 by jmkyoung

DifficultWomenThe women in these stories live lives of privilege and of poverty, are in marriages both loving and haunted by past crimes or emotional blackmail. From a girls’ fight club to a wealthy subdivision in Florida where neighbors conform, compete, and spy on each other, Gay delivers a wry, beautiful, haunting vision of modern America.

Follow the stories of a pair of sisters, a woman married to an imposter, a stripper putting herself through college, and a colored engineer as they each face struggles uniquely their own. Can they make it in a man’s world?

Find Difficult Women and other great works in the Popular Reading Collection today!

Posted in Popular Reading Collection | Leave a comment

From the Archives & Special Collections: Man and His Becoming

Posted on February 8, 2017 by jmkyoung

ManBecomingSo there’s been a new little green book sitting on our shelf for months that I hadn’t quite gotten an opportunity to look at until now. Imagine my surprise to find out that it’s actually from our university (even if printed by Rutgers)!

Man and his becoming by Philip H. Phenix is actually part of the University of Puget Sound’s 1964 Brown & Haley lectures, a series that has been going on since 1953, though over the past 10 years it has become bi-annual. If the sponsors, Brown & Haley, sound familiar to you, it’s probably because they’re the inventors of Almond Roca and are located right here in Tacoma.

This specific lecture contains three parts: “Being and Becoming Human,” “Being and Becoming Related,” and “Being and Becoming Oneself.” It explores the age-old question of human nature and its development through a multitude of approaches, including the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. Phenix postulates that no one of these studies can construct a complete understanding of human nature, and on their own can only offer partial understanding. Combining physical (body), behavioral (mind), and artistic (spirit) approaches is the best way to get close to what Phenix calls the “whole truth.”

Though this lecture is over 50 years old, it offers an interesting synthesis of multiple fields to form a moderately cohesive philosophy of human nature. Though to be honest, I’m just happy to have stumbled across another publication that came from our university.

The Archives & Special Collections is open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:00-3:00 p.m. or by appointment.

By Morgan Ford

Posted in From the Archives | Leave a comment

Collins Library Links: Opposing Viewpoints and the Academic Library

Posted on February 7, 2017 by jmkyoung

2013_CollinsLibraryLink

Opposing Viewpoints and the Academic Library

Book-opposingview

Our book display in the Learning Commons, Reading Without Walls, is designed to expand reading horizons by encouraging students to read outside their comfort zone. We are highlighting the “opposing viewpoint series and other books.”

In last week’s Inside Higher Education, Joshua Kim, Director of Digital Learning Initiatives at the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL), wrote Principles, Values and the Academic Library in the Age of Trump.  His article emphasizes the importance of access to information and the opportunity to explore all perspectives.  This is a hallmark of academic library collections and a core value of Collins librarians.

As we all grapple with the concept of alternative facts, fake news and providing access to different viewpoints, we’d like to share some resources that may be useful:

  • Liaison Librarians:  We are committed to promoting critical evaluation of resources.  Librarians have many suggestions for how to assess resources.  Make an appointment today.  Librarians can play a vital role in helping students become critical and reflective news consumers.
  • Opposing Viewpoints In Context: This online resource covers contemporary social issues, from capital punishment to immigration. Its informed, differing views present each side of an issue and help students develop information literacy, critical thinking skills, and the confidence to draw their own valid conclusions.
  • Points of View Reference Center:  Similar to OVC this reference center provides users with a series of controversial essays that present multiple sides of a current issue. Essays provide questions and materials for further thought and study and are accompanied by supporting articles from the world’s top political and societal publications.

Review these guides from our peers that showcase a wide range of alternative points of view:

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!

Posted in Collins Library Links | Leave a comment

February 9-14 is Valentine Maker Time in the Library. Embrace random acts of kindness!

Posted on February 7, 2017 by jmkyoung

It is that time of year when stores fill to the brim with frilly cards and everyone swarms to find the perfect gift for their sweetheart. That’s right, I’m talking about Valentine’s Day! According to The Romance of Greeting Cards, by Ernest Dudley Chase, Valentines are the oldest branch of greeting cards second only in sales to Christmas cards. Valentine’s Day has a rich history that dates all the way back to ancient Rome. The origin of the holiday can be traced back to an ancient Roman fertility festival called Lupercalia. In celebration of the God Pan and Goddess Juno. Ancient Romans would draw names from a bowl to discover who their love would be for the coming year. Over the centuries as Christianity took hold, the day February 14th was named in honor of St. Valentine who allegedly was beheaded for marrying Christian couples in secret.

Regardless of its origins, February 14th is now regarded as a day where people all around the world can share their adoration of one another in the form of flowers, candy, and of course cards. Here at Collins Library, we have a beautiful collection of vintage Valentines dating back to the 1800’s. The collection is a gift from a local Tacoma Resident, Sylvia Schar.  Her grandmother was a great collector and the images below are just a small sample of the cards and bookmarks that she has given the library. Many of them are beautifully intricate illustrations of pastoral scenes that highlight love and friendship.

V-1

Many of the cards also include clever bits of verse, a common theme in Valentines even today. These little limericks never fail to woo your beloved!

V-2And of course, nothing can beat the elegance of the classic Valentine look.

V-3Today, Valentine’s Day seems to moving away from a celebration of just romantic love and has branched out to include all sorts of love whether it be a romantic partner, a close friend, family, or even just taking time to love yourself.

V-4Inspired by these wonderful Valentines? Create a unique valentine out of recycled materials and give to a friend, a professor, a staff member or simply share as a random act of kindness. Whether you are inspired by Victorian valentines or cuddly cats and dogs, Collins is the place for you!  Have fun using recycled materials to create a unique expression of kindness! Drop by our “makerspace” between February 9-14 and design your perfect Valentine!

Image sources:

Posted in Recommended Reading | Leave a comment

Life Skills Collection: Expanding Your Worldview and Promoting Inclusivity on Campus

Posted on February 6, 2017 by jmkyoung

LifeSkills_IdentityGreetings, Loggers! College life introduces us to a range of human experiences, exposes worldviews that may be unfamiliar or differ from our personal understandings, and provides many opportunities for us to grow individually and collectively in awareness, competency, and active engagement with a complex and multifaceted community. In addition to providing practical information about other topics, the Life Skills Collection at Collins Library provides essential resources to help you learn more about how issues of identity affect your college experience and that of your peers, and how you can become an advocate for inclusion and equity at the University of Puget Sound and beyond. Here are our top picks for building your awareness, starting a dialogue, celebrating your identity and others’, becoming an ally, and practicing inclusion.

The Life Skills Collection is located in the Learning Commons, on the first floor of Collins Library. Learn more on the companion guide devoted to the Life Skills Collection and discover many more resources at the University of Puget Sound!

By Katy Curtis, Humanities Librarian

 

Posted in Arts/Humanities, Social Sciences & Science | Leave a comment

If you had a chance to save someone, you would take it, right?

Posted on February 3, 2017 by jmkyoung

GirlInGreen_Feb3Two men are arguing in a war zone just outside the Kuwaiti border, and peace has been declared.  One, a British journalist, is reporting here to avoid his dull marriage and estranged daughter. The other, an American private, is here because he either has a crazy death wish or too much bravado.

Desert Storm is over, but suddenly they’re caught in a horrific attack. Though they try to save her, a young local girl in a green dress is killed.

Twenty-two years later, in another place and war, they meet again. They’re given the chance to save the same girl in green when she is found alive and in need of salvation. She does need salvation, right?

Check out this new find in the Popular Reading Collection today!

Posted in Popular Reading Collection | Leave a comment

From the Archives & Special Collections: New in the Reading Room: Book of the Month!

Posted on February 1, 2017 by jmkyoung

archives_Feb1This semester, we’ve added a featured Book of the Month to the Archives & Special Collections’ reading room. For the next three months (February, March, and April), a student worker will pick 1-2 books that they consider to be their favorites of our collections and make them available in the reading room.

For the month of February, the books on display will be Modernist Cuisine v. 3 & 4 by Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, Maxime Bilet, and Ryan Matthew Smith. Be sure to stop in and take a look!

The Archives & Special Collections is open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:00-3:00 p.m. or by appointment.

By Morgan Ford

Posted in From the Archives | Leave a comment

Why Barack Obama will be viewed as one of America’s best and most accomplished presidents

Posted on January 27, 2017 by jmkyoung

ObamaFrom saving the American economy from collapse to expanding health insurance to tens of millions who previously could not afford it, Barack Obama will be viewed as one of America’s best and most accomplished presidents.

Jonathan Chait, one of America’s most incisive and meticulous political commentators, digs deep into Obama’s record on major policy fronts to demonstrate why history will judge our forty-fourth president as among our greatest. In its resounding defense of Obama’s tenure, Audacity both makes clear his victories, and what we need to fight for next.

Check it out in the Popular Reading Collection Today!

Posted in Popular Reading Collection | Leave a comment