An interview with Braith Birchhall, Serials Assistant in Resource Management Services

braith1Braith Birchhall works in Resource Management Services as a Serials Assistant. This position assists the Electronic Resources & Serials Specialist with the maintenance of our journals collection both print and electronic.

How would you describe your job?
I am a serials assistant in RMS. I work with periodicals, processing new ones, shelving, recording use, pulling periodicals for binding, re-shelving periodicals after binding, and helping the occasional lost soul navigate the twists and turns of my basement home. I also sometimes do small side projects.

What do you like best about working in Collins Library?
I am lucky to get to work with some really wonderful people. My job is a wonderful balance of sitting and doing computer stuff, and walking around doing shelving stuff. It’s something that I feel competent at when I’m fecallout_braitheling incompetent in everything else. It’s calming and steady and makes me feel productive. It is also really nice to be able to take time off or shift my hours around when I have a lot going on school work wise.

What’s your favorite childhood book and why?
I’m really not a good favorites person, but one of my favorite books as a child (and still one of my favorites now) was The Rabbits’ Revenge by Kurt Wiese, which is about a group of rabbits banding together with a bunch of other creatures to construct a rather complicated plot to prevent old man Shivers from making them into a rabbit-skin suit. I also really love the Bunny Planet books by Rosemary Wells. I still get my mum to read them to me sometimes when I’m really stressed out.

 

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Diversity and Inclusion Resources

extra1Interested in news and information that offers a perspective other than that provided by the mainstream media.  Checkout Alt-PressWatch or Ethnic NewsWatch for access to current and historical publications from independent, ethnic and minority presses.

Alt-PressWatch
Showcases unique, independent voices, from many respected and cited grassroots newspapers, magazines, and journals.  All of these varied alternative and independent presses are presented in 100% full text, allowing researchers total access to both regional and metropolitan perspectives on local, national, and international issues. Providing an alternative to corporate extra2controlled media, the Alt-Press Watch database presents big stories from small sources.

Ethnic NewsWatch
Covers 1990 to present and includes newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press, providing researchers access to often overlooked perspectives.  The publications offer both national and regional coverage and is devoted to presenting multi-ethnic and multi-cultural publications in one resource.

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Love. Loss. War. Fate.

vitalphenomenaAnthony Marra whisks his readers into a riveting tale of a hunted child who was orphaned when Russian soldiers captured her family and left her home in flames. Discovered in the woods days later by a lifelong neighbor with nothing more than a blue suitcase, Havaa is haunted by flames when she closes her eyes, and Akhmed will protect her alongside Sonja, the only remaining doctor in an abandoned hospital.

Discover life’s beautiful and heart wrenching twists of fate with A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, and witness the revelation of an intricate pattern of connections that weaves together the pasts of these three unlikely companions and unexpectedly decides their fate.

Check out new and capturing tales in the Popular Reading Collection today!

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From the Archives and Special Collections : Animals at Play

animals-rabbitsAt this time in November, when all the animals are starting to disappear into their warm burrows or nests for winter, it’s nice to remember spring and summer when they were all running around in our backyards. This book, a compilation of four scrolls called the Chōjū-giga or the “Scrolls of Frolicking Animals” show scenes of playing animals such as frogs, rabbits, cats, and even some spiffily dressed monkeys. These scrolls, attributed to Toba Sōjō, can be found and perused at the Archives & Special Collections if you just miss all those cute little creatures running around in this cold season. You can also find out more information about this rare book on Primo!

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

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Rocking Chair Room Story Hour, Saturday, Dec. 3rd, 10am, Pacific NW Room

winterwonderlandSaturday, December 3
10:00—11:00am
Collins Memorial Library
Pacific Northwest Room

Winter Wonderland!
Grab a blanket and snuggle up! Come read with Karen Warfield, Pi Beta Phi Sorority and get ready for the season with winter themed books!

*Guest appearance by the Cat in the Hat!

 

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Don’t ask, don’t tell.

beautybrokenAbuse. Addiction. Suppression. How can a fifteen year old kill the sparks that fly between her and the new girl, Xylia? When her forbidden feelings are threatened with exposure to her God-fearing, churchgoing community and family, Mara’s world is thrown into chaos. Her alcoholic mother has become a shell of herself, her father beats anything that moves out of place, and her older brother hasn’t been the same since their father landed him in the hospital with brain damage. Will Mara live with her hometown believing she’s an abomination worse than the gravest sin, or without Xylia?

Find out how Mara discovers herself, and what she decides for her future.

Check out Beauty of the Broken and other enchanting reads in the Popular Reading Collection today!

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From the Archives & Special Collections: Slide Binders

archive11-7Are you a photo aficionado? Do you like photo slides and negatives? Well boy howdy do we have a collection for you to come look at.

Hiding in the archives & special collections storeroom are 15 shelves filled to the brim with boxes and binders, all full of photos taken from around 1969 to about 1977. I’m not kidding—we have hundreds of these photos. While some of them are 20 copies of a professor’s headshot from slightly different angles, or campus events, a lot of them are beautiful shots of campus. Take, for example, this random page from a binder I selected at random. Campus covered in snow! Who knows what hidden gems you might stumble across if you come take a look.

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

By Morgan Ford

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“Scrolls, Language of Lace, Stitched Text, Sculptural Pages–A New Definition of the Book” by Diana Weymar, Dec. 5th, Collins Library, 5pm

bigcallout_dianaweymar

The Collins Library, Puget Sound Book Artists Association, with support from the Chism Fund will host a presentation by Diana Weymar, visiting artist, to discuss her unique fabric and stitched books.

December 5th, 2016
5:00-6:00pm

Collins Memorial Library, Room 020
University of Puget Sound

Diana Weymar is a textile artist whose work examines the intersections between material culture, craft-based methodologies and the gender stereotypes of the traditionally female embroidery work. Her books showcase a variety of materials and techniques.

(Image courtesy of the artist’s website:  http://dianaweymar.com/statement/)

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Music in the Library: Harpists on Friday, December 2nd, 3pm

callout_musicdec2Please join us!

Harpists by Puget Sound Students Christina Sumprer, Frances Welsh and Rosalie Boyle

Friday, December 2nd
3-3:20 p.m.
West Reading Room,
Collins Library

For more information contact: libref@pugetsound.edu

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After Nicole Allen’s Visit to Puget Sound: Further Reading

nicole-allenOn October 7, Nicole Allen, Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) Director of Open Education, led a discussion about open education resources at the University of Puget Sound. An alumna of Puget Sound, Ms. Allen is an internationally recognized expert and leading voice in the movement for open education. While there was some range to the conversation related to the broad opportunities open educational resources allow, textbooks were certainly the main topic.

While there was a healthy turnout to the discussion, not every interested party on campus was able to attend. Below are some resources that were mentioned during the discussion and/or are useful resources that address topics from the discussion.

Open Textbook Network

Based at the University of Minnesota, The Open Textbook Network (OTN) promotes access, affordability, and student success through the use of open textbooks.

The Review Project

Review of empirical research on the impacts of OER adoption produced by John Hilton III of the Open Education Group (originally published in Educational Technology Research and Development). Acts as a living annotated bibliography of articles about efficacy and/or perception of OER adoption.

Textbook Affordability Student Toolkit

Produced by Open Oregon for a conference of student leaders from Oregon’s community colleges, this toolkit is a useful primer for students and others. It focuses on the cost of textbooks, and includes some striking statistics. According to the GAO, textbook prices rose 82 % between 2002 and 2012, and study by PIRG found that 65% have skipped acquiring a course textbook due to cost.

Carnegie Mellon University Open Learning Initiative

The Open Learning Initiative (OLI) is a grant-funded group at Carnegie Mellon University, offering innovative online courses to anyone who wants to learn or teach. Our aim is to create high-quality courses and contribute original research to improve learning and transform higher education.

By Ben Tucker

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