Library & Archives

Poetry and Nature / Nature and Poetry

April 5, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

Celebrate National Poetry Month’s Poem in Your Pocket Day (on April 21) AND Earth Day (on April 22) with a nature or environmental themed poem.

Need a suggestion? Check out (literally) this selection of nature/environmental poetry and criticism available in the SMCM Library collection!

Want more? Try searching poetry AND (nature OR ecology) using the search for words in… subject dropdown option on the search page in the St. Mary’s Catalog.

Poetry and Criticism Books: Nature and Environmental Themed

Sustainable poetry: four American ecopoets by Leonard M. Scigaj. Call number: PS 310 .N3 .S38 1999

Can poetry save the earth?: a field guide to nature poems by John Felstiner. Call number: PS 310 .N3 .F45 2009

Mountain home: the wilderness poetry of ancient China selected and translated by David Hinton. Call number: PL 2658 .E3 .M65 2005

Greening the lyre: environmental poetics and ethics by David W. Gilcrest. Call number: PS 310 .N3 .G55 2002

Black nature: four centuries of African American nature poetry edited by Camille T. Dungy. Call number: PS 591 .N4 .B49 2009

Urban nature: poems about wildlife in the city edited by Laure-Anne Bosselaar. Call number: PS 595 .N22 .U63 2000

Wild song: poems of the natural world edited by John Daniel; illustrations by Deborah Randolph Wildman. Call number: PS 595 .N22 .W55 1998

Poems for a small planet: contemporary American nature poetry edited by Robert Pack and Jay Parini. Call number: PS 595 .N22 .P63 1993

Pterodactyl Rose: poems of ecology by William Heyen. Call number: PS 3558 .E85 .P74 1991

Rivers to the sea by Sara Teasdale. Ebook

A chime of windbells: a year of Japanese haiku in English verse. Translations with an essay by Harold Stewart. Call number: PR 6037 .T4645 .C5

The haiku anthology: haiku and senryu in English edited by Cor van den Heuvel. Call number: PS 593 .H3 .H34 1999

Complete Library Survey and Win $30 to Bollywood Masala

March 8, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

SMCM students! Complete the library survey for a chance to win a $30 gift certificate to Bollywood Masala. Check you email for the survey link; it’s open until March 20th.

Spring Break Hours 2016

March 7, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

Starting Friday, March 11, the Library and Media Center will have different hours during Spring Break.

Of course, the Library website is open for business 24/7 if you need access to databases or e-books during the break!

(BTW: you can totally check out a Kindle for all your beach reading needs. I highly recommend The Martian if you’re going to be doing a lot of flying/spending time in airports, but there are tons of other great titles to choose from on each and every Kindle!)

Library Hours for March 11-March 20:

Friday, March 11: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday, March 12 – Sunday, March 13: CLOSED
Monday, March 14 – Thursday, March 17: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday, March 18 – Saturday, March 19: CLOSED
Sunday, March 20: 2:00 pm – 1:00 am
Monday, March 21: Library and Media Center return to regular hours

Media Center Hours for March 11-March 20:

Friday, March 11: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday, March 12 – Sunday, March 13: CLOSED
Monday, March 14 – Thursday, March 17: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday, March 18 – Sunday, March 20: CLOSED
Monday, March 21: Library and Media Center return to regular hours

Laptops and Chromebooks Policy Update

February 27, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

Our Laptop and Chromebook Policies Have Changed (effective 2/26/16)

All of the laptops and Chromebooks at the SMCM Library are now available for two-week loan. There are no more three-hour loans for these devices.

They are now subject to overdue fines of $10.00 per day. If they reach seven days overdue, they will incur a replacement fee of $500.00. This fee will be waived if the device is returned, but any daily overdue fines will remain (i.e., if it is returned 10 days late, there will be a $100.00 fine).

If all the devices are checked out, you may place a hold on one using the SMCM Catalog (search for “laptop computer” or “chromebook computer”). The next one that is returned will be placed on the hold shelf for you. You will receive an email notifying you when it arrives and you must pick it up within 24 hours.

The devices are not renewable online. If you want to borrow the device again, you must bring it to the circulation desk and we will check it in and immediately check it out to you again. Note that if someone has placed a hold on the device, you will not be able to check it out again.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please contact Conrad Helms, Patron Services Librarian, at cahelms@smcm.edu or 240-895-3214.

Black History Month: A Mini-Bib of Children’s Books

February 26, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

For our last Black History Month post, we’ve got a mini bibliography (what we’re calling a mini-bib) of children’s books in the SMCM Library collection. Grab one (or a stack) and take a break from those scholarly sources!

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, call number: PZ7.K2253 Sn

The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy, call number: PZ7.F667 Pat 1985

Aunt Martha and the Golden Coin by Anita Rodriguez, call number: PZ7.R6188 Au 1993

The Faithful Friend by Robert D. San Souci, illustrated by Brian Pinkney, call number: PZ8.1.S227 Fai 1995

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: a West African Tale retold by Verna Aardema, pictures by Leo and Diane Dillon, call number: PZ8.1.A213 Wh 1978

Research Spotlight: Octavia Butler

February 22, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

image by Nikolas Coukouma [CC BY-SA 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons

For Black History Month, we’re shining our first ever Research Spotlight on Octavia E. Butler’s life and works. Learn more about Butler – the first science-fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Foundation award (aka the Genius Grant) – through the reference works, books, and article databases highlighted below.

Learn about Octavia Butler’s life in Credo Reference

Looking for some background information on Butler? The Credo Reference database provides online access to a number of high quality reference encyclopedias and dictionaries with entries on Butler.

Using the entry in the Encyclopedia of African-American Writing found in Credo Reference, can you name the prestigious science-fiction writing awards Butler won during her lifetime?

Read Octavia Butler’s novels, find them with the St. Mary’s Catalog

Experience Butler’s award winning sci-fi novels, featuring African-American female protagonists, first hand by checking them out of the SMCM Library!

Contained in one volume, Parable of the Sower; Parable of the Talents; and Kindred, three of Butler’s most well known works are available for check out. The first two works, which make up the Parable series, are set in California in the 2020s and present a dystopian future where corporate greed and lack of environmental stewardship lead to political and social collapse. The stand alone novel Kindred follows a 20th-century African-American woman who travels back in time to 19th century Maryland, where she meets her ancestors.

Find this collection under call number PS 3552. U827 P37 1999 in the second floor Stacks.

Want more? Search the USMAI catalog to borrow other Butler books from other Maryland libraries!

Research the scholarly response to Octavia Butler’s works in MLA International Bibliography and Project Muse

Maybe now you’ve learned a little about Octavia Butler’s life, read a couple of her novels, and are interested in doing research in the literature for a paper or project. While you might start you research using OneSearch (or *cough*googlescholar*cough*), how about giving a more targeted subject specific database like MLA International Bibliography or Project Muse a try?

Produced by the Modern Language Association (of MLA citation style fame) the MLA International Bibliography contains over 1.8 MILLION citations for books, journals, dissertations and theses, dating back to 1926! A search for “Octavia Butler and Kindred” turned up 38 highly relevant results. As the name suggests, results the MLA International Bibliography are mainly citations, but you can access the full text – if available – in one of the library’s other databases, or through Interlibrary Loan.

Looking to get your hands on full-text sources right away? The Project Muse database has full-text sources from over 400 titles. A search for “Octavia Butler and Kindred” turned up 117 full-text articles from journals ranging from literary criticism to women’s studies!

Homepage image credit: Containment Zone by L.E. Spry (CC BY 2.0) via flic.kr/p/3d9TcK

Contemporary Black Artists in ARTstor

February 21, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

ARTstor is a library database containing nearly one-million high quality images. A perfect place to research art and architecture, ARTstor is also a great place to explore works by both well known and new artists.

Search by artist name, artwork title, and keyword or browse images by geographic location or type of art.

By creating an account, you can save images to specific folders and download images individual, in groups, or directly to PowerPoint presentations!

In honor of Black History Month, use ARTstore to explore more works by the four contemporary Black artists highlighted below.

Iona Rozeal Brown‘s painting combine Japanese and hi-hop iconography as a commentary on race and culture.

image: Off the Dome: don’t front, you know we got you open, by Iona Rozeal Brown; photo by Cliff via https://flic.kr/p/5vx9P8

Kehinde Wiley‘s larger than life portraits combine old and new by referencing or recreating Old Masters paintings with contemporary figures as a way to address the image and status of young African-American men in contemporary culture.

image: Kehinde Wiley, A New Republic, Brooklyn Museum; photo by Garrett Ziegler via https://flic.kr/p/r2VqeD

Nick Cave is a sculptor, dancer, and performance artist most well know for his “Soundsuits” – wearable sculptures made of fabric and other materials.

image: Nick Cave, Soundsuit, 2010; photo by Sharon Mollerus via https://flic.kr/p/ocTio6

Kara Walker is best known for her large scale silhouette installations through which she explores themes of race, gender, sexuality, violence, and identity.

image: work by Kara Walker; photo by Phillip Merritt via https://flic.kr/p/4gVDka

Database Page New Look

January 25, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

If you’ve been to the SMCM Library’s databases page in the last few weeks you’ve probably noticed some changes from the previous version.

Don’t stress! The new versions has all the same great features (and databases!) just in a slightly different format.

The main difference is the new version defaults to an A-Z list of allllll the SMCM Library databases. Want to find suggestions based on subject (like the old version)? Just use the “All Subjects” drop-down menu under the search bar.

Speaking of the search bar, you can easily go directly to your favorite database (*cough*JSTORE*cough*) by searching OR using the A-Z letter links near the top of the page.

As always if you have any trouble or questions, Ask Us by sending an email to ask@smcm.libasnwers.com or calling the Reference desk at 240-895-4272.

Library News You Can Use 2016

January 18, 2016 by Amanda VerMeulen

Happy New Year! Happy New Semester!

Since I know everyone’s busy the first week of classes, here’s a round-up of library news & helpful links you can use to get off to a great start in 2016:

Working on an SMP? We offer a bunch a different services to help you! For example, did you know you can reserve a shelf in the library to hold all your SMP related research books?!?!

Our Research Guides got an update over the break!

So did the Databases page!

Battery forever at 10%? You can check out phone chargers here (and other things you might not know about the SMCM Library).

The anthropological library study continues! Keep an eye out for folks asking for your opinion about the library throughout this semester.

An oldie but a goodie – get your FREE access to the New York Times online.

As always, if you have a question about anything – don’t hesitate to Ask Us!

Welcome back and good luck!

Winter Break Hours

December 15, 2015 by Amanda VerMeulen

Starting Monday, December 19, the Library and Media Center will have different hours during the winter break. Of course, the Library website is open for business 24/7 if you need access to databases or e-books during the break!

Have a safe and happy break and we’ll see you next year!!!

LIBRARY AND MEDIA CENTER

WINTER BREAK HOURS

(LOBBY BOOK DROP WILL BE OPEN)

December 21-23, 2015: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
December 24, 2015 – January 3, 2016: CLOSED
January 4-8, 2016: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
January 9-10, 2016: CLOSED
January 11-15, 2016: 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
January 16, 2016: CLOSED
January 17, 2016: (Library only) 2:00 pm – 9:00 pm
January 18, 2016: (Library) 8:00 am – 9:00 pm (Media Center) 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
January 19, 2016: Library and Media Center return to regular hours