This is a book about a former student catching up with his former professor and learning life lessons that Morrie has come to realize on his deathbed. A wonderful book that makes you rethink your life and how you spend your time.
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Availability: SMCM Library
Review Submitted by: Lisa Williams
Rating: Highly Recommended.
Ender’s Game is one of our preview round titles. The film won’t be released until November so there is still time to read it.
The Library at St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s Summer Reading Program will begin on June 3 and end on August 16, 2013.
The Summer Reading program is open to all members of the SMCM Library community including students, staff, faculty, alumni and residents of the Tri-County area (St. Mary’s, Calvert and Charles counties.) Any book is eligible as long as a copy is available in the SMCM library catalog, the local public library (COSMOS) catalog, or the USMAI catalog. The books don’t need to be checked out from the library. To get points, you must post a review on the blog.
New this year is the preview round. Staring on May 28 you can rate or review the books the St. Mary’s Staff Book Club read this Spring. The more books you review the more chances you have to win.
For more information, visit the Summer Reading Program Blog.
Library summer readers are invited to rate or review the St. Mary’s College Staff Book Club titles, Ender’s Game, The Likeness, The Fault in Our Stars and The Dog Stars from May 28 – June 2, 2013. You may use the submit a review form or follow the links to rate the book. All four titles are held by the SMCM Library. Include your name and email with your review to be entered into the preview round raffle. (Updated to correct review links.)
The Library at St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s Summer Reading Program will begin on June 3 and end on August 16, 2013.
The Summer Reading program is open to all members of the SMCM Library community including students, staff, faculty, alumni and residents of the Tri-County area (St. Mary’s, Calvert and Charles counties.) You may read anything you like as long as a copy is available at the SMCM Library or via the USMAI or public library (COSMOS) catalogs. You do not need to check the book out of the library. To get points you must post a review on the blog.
New for this year we have a Preview Round. Staring on May 28 you can rate or review the books the St. Mary’s Staff Book Club read this Spring. The more books you review the more chances you have to win.
See About Summer Reading for more information.
The staff book club has selected Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card for May. This Nebula and Hugo Award winning novel is the first in Card’s Ender’s Game series and is considered by many to be a classic in the science fiction genre.
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Recruited for military training by the world government, Ender’s childhood ends the moment he enters his new home: Battleschool. Among elite recruits, Ender proves himself to be a genius among geniuses.”
Looking for more than a blurb? Check out the SparkNotes.
At this time you are more likely to find reviews of the film trailer as it is about to become a major motion picture. There is a lot of enthusiasm from fans eagerly anticipating the film’s opening in November as well as concerns about bad press related to Orson Scott Card’s politics.
The book club will meet on May 30 at 12pm in the Library Boardroom. You can also participate online by rating or reviewing the book, attendance is not required.
Want to check it out? The library has copies of the book on the library’s Kindles and in print. You can also borrow it from the St. Mary’s County Library.
— Pamela Mann
Sous-Bois by Paul Cezanne, courtesy of the LACMA digital collection
Earlier this year the Los Angeles County Art Museum revamped their website to include a searchable collection of over 20,000 downloadable images of artwork in their collection that are in the public domain. These are high resolution images, folks! The quality is outstanding and the search interface is fantastic. In just 5 minutes I’ve manage to pull up Magritte’s The Treachery of Images (This is not a pipe), Renoir’s Two Girls Reading, and examples of 15th century Islamic calligraphy.
This is an excellent resource for art students, researchers, or simply art enthusiasts. Enjoy!
The library’s summer hours are now in effect. You can continue to stop by the library during the summer months Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm. We’re closed on Saturday and Sunday. After the mad rush of finals the library is now calm, cool, and filled with awesome librarians, library staff, computers, and books.
We will be closed for the following holidays:
Memorial Day (Monday, May 27)
Independence Day (Thursday, July 4)
Stop by and see us. We’re not at the beach yet!
George Thomas Library – Medical Librarian
University of Utah
April 18, 2013, marked the debut of the DPLA, the Digital Public Library of America. You’ve never heard of the DPLA? You’re not alone. Lots of librarians have been reading and hearing about it since October 2010 when a group of 40 leaders from libraries, universities and foundations met to try to make the dream of a free, digital public library a reality.
The DPLA has ambitious goals to create “an open, distributed network of comprehensive online resources that would draw on the nation’s living heritage from libraries, universities, archives, and museums in order to educate, inform, and empower everyone in current and future generations.” Did they succeed?
The DPLA received important grant funding and formed important partnerships with organizations like the National Archives, the N.Y. Public Library, and the Smithsonian Institute to name a few. That means you can search the DPLA website to access digital collections at all of the partner institutions. Search by exhibit collection, place, timeline, or date.
Check out an exhibit on Activism in the USA or Parks and Public Spaces. Check out how many items are dated from the year you were born by using the timeline (11,750 from my birth year – see if you can find it).
Is the DPLA finished? Does it have “everything”? Even if we could figure out what “everything” is that wouldn’t be likely. And not everything accessible through searches in the DPLA is in the public domain so user still have to be sure they comply with copyright laws. But – it is the auspicious beginning of portal to a wide variety of important, historical, and really interesting books, historical records, images, and audiovisual materials. It might lead you to materials that can help you with that next project . . . or help you find a way to send a rainy afternoon. Check it out.
Well, they’re not quite here, but they’re coming up quickly. As always, the SMCM Library is ready to help you finish out the year on a high note.
For starters, the Reference & Instruction librarians (and myself, from behind the circulation desk) are available to provide research assistance on any and all subjects. If there isn’t anyone at the reference desk, we have an “open door” policy here – if a door is open, come on in! Beyond that, you can email any of the librarians to set up an appointment. Beyond THAT, we often have someone available to chat live, in real-time, at the Research Help page on the library website. Finally, there is an online knowledge base of frequently asked questions for you to search – or you can ask your own question and get a response within 24 hours.
What’s that you say? You don’t necessarily need research help, you just want a place where you can kip down and study? Well, you are in luck! The SMCM Library has lots of accommodations – tables, individual study carrels and comfy chairs can be found in abundance on the first and second floors of the library. If you need to use a computer, we have about two dozen of them loaded with Microsoft Office software and other goodies such as SPSS and Adobe Reader. Room 112 in the Library Annex has another 16 computers, and it is available 24/7 for night owls and early birds. The circulation desk also has laptops available. If you want a bit of privacy, we have five group study rooms, three of which can be reserved online for up to three hours at a time (the other two are first-come, first-served). These rooms all have tables/chairs, ethernet ports, power outlets, and whiteboards. One study room even has a 55″ flat screen TV with a computer connection for your laptop!
If it’s gear you need, then the circulation desk has almost certainly got what you’re looking for. We’ll loan you a laptop, headphones, dry erase markers, ethernet cables, extension cords, laptop chargers (Mac & PC), and lots of other stuff to help you make the most of your time here. By the way, I should mention that NONE of these items are subject to overdue fines 😀
In addition to all of the above, we’re offering extended hours from Tuesday, April 23 through Tuesday, May 7. Be sure to thank Carol, Reneé, and the rest of the late-night staff for helping keep us open late!
As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to let a library staff member know. If they can’t help you directly, they can put you in touch with someone who can.
Happy librarying!!
