African American Read In

February is African American history month! It's a time when we remember the great men and women in American history who changed things for the better. In past years we have heard from such voices as Alice Walker, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Martin Luther King, Jr. This year we'll hopefully hear from some new voices as well, including from Haiti.

The earthquake that ravaged the nation of Haiti turned our eyes to a country that has experienced misfortune for centuries. At our read-in on Thursday at 11:30 we hope to hear some voices from Haiti's past and present. Haiti has a rich history and has produced some great authors and artists.

So if you're interested, come on by Holy Grounds from 11:30-12:30 and share in the experience.

The Embedded Librarian

In the library, we have noticed that students are easily overloaded when their classes come in for an orientation session since there’s so much to cover in such a short amount of time. We have also noticed that students don’t always realize all the legwork that goes into a research assignment until it’s too late. All too often, we see students hurriedly pulling together a few websites to throw a paper together the night before it’s due. To help ameliorate these problems we have been piloting a new program in which we embed a librarian within a class.

In the fall of 2009, I worked closely with Carolyn Pauling’s Professionalism I class and Avilah Getzler’s English 101 class to test the embedded model. Currently, Carolyn Pauling and I are refining the model with her spring Professionalism I students, and I’m also working with 2 sections of Kathy Peterson’s Abnormal Psychology class to help them get through their intensive portfolio project.

Rather than just scheduling one library visit for each of the classes, we have broken up my portion of the instruction over the course of the semester to place it where it makes the most sense to students. In addition to having more than one library visit, I have also gone into the classroom to work with students on their own turf.

Since I’ve become a part of the classes, I’ve been identified as a personal contact for the students; rather than having students come over to get help from “the library,” they have a name and face that they are already familiar with when they need extra help. I have also been able to provide more meaningful feedback to students about their preliminary bibliographies and other assignments. Overall, having an embedded librarian has helped students develop more meaningful contact with library resources while practicing important research skills. I’ve had lots of fun getting to know the students better and working with them more closely on their research projects too!

-Megan

Salinger and Zinn

The world lost two great writers this past weekend. J.D. Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye, passed away. Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, also passed away. Salinger changed writing and people's perceptions of others around them with the legendary Catcher. Zinn changed the way people saw history, particularly American history. Zinn wanted people to see that great changes in human history came from the bottom up, not from the top down.

The Grand View Library has plenty of books by both authors. Come over and take a look at some of them and find out why people are mourning the losses of these two men.

Books by Salinger:
Catcher in the Rye
Franny and Zooey
Nine Stories

Books by Zinn:
Passionate Declarations: Essays on War and Justice
People's History of the United States: 1492-Present
SNCC: The New Abolitionists
Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal