We’ve been here since 2014, but it’s time to move on… and over to a new platform.
Navigate over to our new blog address at https://www.durhamtech.edu/blog/library-blog and subscribe to not miss out on our always exciting Library updates.
Coming soon: raffles and book clubs and Crafternoons (with a fresh new sponsor!) and much more!
The library is happy to share WRAL’s new story regarding Durham Tech’s new Academic Practice Partnership with Duke Health, which aims to “streamline the education and employment journey for students [who are earning a degree to become a registered nurse].”
Leading nursing students to quality information and scholarly resources is one of our vital responsibilities as librarians and we are frequently adding new resources to keep up with the challenging pace of healthcare developments following the COVID-19 pandemic.
While nursing students might primarily know the library for our access to Board Vitals, CINAHL Plus, and science databases such as ScienceDirect, the library is frequently adding high-quality books on the career and specific medical practices learned by our hard-working students in nursing programs. Prepare for a career in the field or sharpen your knowledge of current practices and nursing topics with these new nursing titles.
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June 19th marks the historic holiday known as Juneteenth when in 1865 a Union general spread news in Texas of that enslaved Africans were free. North Carolina recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday in 2007, but the holiday was not federally recognized until President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on June 17, 2021.
Did you know the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources offers a Juneteenth website? It offers comprehensive historical resources on African American history in NC, including historical photographs, a map of the historic places, and more.
Want a quick history lesson from Black North Carolinians on the significance of Juneteenth?
Check out this quick facts video below on Juneteenth, presented by Historically Black College and University (HBCUs) students from across the state of North Carolina:
After you finish the video, click to read more to see the excellent historical resources available on Juneteeth from Durham Tech Library!
Quick note:
The Durham Tech Main Campus Library will close from 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 8 for a College-wide staff training. Printing and chat will be unavailable during this time (since your Durham Tech librarians staff chat during the day.)
We will be open from 8:00-8:50 a.m. and then again from 12:30 -5:30 p.m. after the training has finished.
It’s summer term and summer time (kind of?), and whether you’re taking classes, teaching, working, or just taking a little break, the extended daylight hours have always seemed like a good time to try something new.
With that in mind, the Library has a variety of how-tos to activate your curiosity and build your skills, whether mending, reading ancient languages, building up your personal boundaries and emotional intelligence, getting a better night’s sleep, becoming an expert in microwave cookery, embarking on small gardening, and many more!
Keep reading to check out what we have available in print and digitally through Dogwood Digital Library (add us on your Libby app!).
Continue Reading →Today is the last official day of Mental Health Awareness Month.
Since taking care of your mental health is a year-long, lifelong process, just focusing on it for one month is obviously not enough, but as with all health awareness days or months, in order to be effective, the focus should not just be on short-term knowledge, but on long-term interventions for change.
While most folks find value in treating themselves to short-term relaxing activities*, when that no longer becomes effective or if problems persist, sometimes what we’re really seeking is a mindset shift. While we can do research to empower ourselves, it’s also okay to ask for help.
*And you should if it helps you! Don’t devalue short-term joys!
If you need to talk to someone, Durham Tech has resources for students and employees. The Employee Assistance Program (ENI) provides up to 8 free visits for a variety of interventions, including mental health. Students can contact Durham Tech’s Counseling Services, including the 24-hour Be Well hotline (833-434-1217). For emergency mental health needs for everyone, including suicidal thoughts, Hope4NC is available by calling or texting (same number, but text “hope”), and the national mental health crisis line can be reached by calling 988 (though you may also want to be informed about other options, available at the very end of the linked article: NPR’s Life Kit– “Social media posts warn people not to call 988. Here’s what you need to know”).
If you have a healthcare professional you trust, you can and should also talk to them. There is no shame in asking for help. Brains are tricky things, and we’re all still recovering in our own ways from the tumult of the last few years.
If you’re also ready to do some of your own mindset shifting and reframe or restructure some popular notions of health and wellness culture, keep reading. The Durham Tech Library has some books for you.
Continue Reading →Reminder: Durham Tech will be closed Monday, May 29 for Memorial Day. Have a nice long weekend and remember to incorporate some *real* self-care into your daily practices.
The previous link is to an article and an episode of NPR’s Code Switch that talks about self-care with psychiatrist Pooja Lakshmin, who just published a new book . Also in honor of AAPI Heritage Month and related via the NPR podcast/audio breadcrumb trail, check out the KPOP Dreaming podcast, about growing up Korean-American during the 90s, music, family history, and identity. Oh, and loving KPOP.
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Established in 1977 to elevate, highlight, and celebrate Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, May was chosen to commemorate the first documented Japanese immigrant from 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad in May 1869, which used many Chinese laborers. A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).
PBS has an excellent video playlist of their various documentaries for AAPI Heritage Month available for free. Films on Demand has the entire Asian Americans (2020) series in their AAPI playlist (off-campus, log in using your Durham Tech username and password).
Interested in reading some excellent books in all sorts of genres by Asian American and Pacific Islander Americans?
Keep reading to see some of our selection available or check out our physical displays of memoirs, fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, and cookbooks at the Orange County Campus, downstairs at the Main Campus, or ebooks and audiobooks online through Dogwood Digital Library (add us to your Libby app and sign in using your Durham Tech username and password).
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The Durham Tech Library is thrilled to introduce our new library team member, reference librarian Adrian Knight (he/him). Adrian has worked in the NC Community College library system for several years and most recently comes to us from College of the Albemarle.
A traveler since infanthood, Adrian currently has 48 stamps on his passport with Italy as his favorite place he’s visited so far and was actually born in Vatican City. He also loves cooking (especially Italian food) and is excited to explore the Triangle and Durham food scene. He has five siblings and is a proud middle child.
Adrian is a member of the Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society, Psi Chi Honor Society, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, PFLAG, NAACP, and is a Little Brother for the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.
Adrian has a real passion for reading and getting other people to like reading. He’s especially excited to work with teens and help them rediscover or discover a love of reading beyond what’s assigned in the classroom. He mostly reads and watches supernatural and horror things but is also a big fan of murder/mystery. Adrian is a big reader– ask him about anime or graphic novels!
Stop by the Main Campus during the Library’s summer hours to meet him and keep reading to learn about what Adrian has been reading–Gail Z. Martin’s Deadly Curiosities!
A supernatural antique shop employs a psychic and a vampire to protect regular folks from dangerous magical objects. Book one in a four book series.
Title: Deadly Curiosities (check out the Novelist description and related reads)
Author: Gail Z. Martin
Genre: Supernatural Murder Mystery
This book was read by Adrian Knight, Reference Librarian.
Why did you choose to read this book?
This book was a suggestion by NoveList, a database available through the library (login using your Durham Tech username and password) that shows you suggestions of similar books that you are reading, have read, or just genres, subjects that you like, or are interested in reading.
What did you like about it?
It’s a supernatural book and that always catches my attention, but the supernatural element isn’t overplayed, it blends in well with the “real” world. I also really liked the way the series pays respect to the Afro-Cultural folklore and mythology and how it is an integral part of the storylines.
What feeling did the book leave you with?
That I wanted to fight supernatural entities, then I realized I actually DO NOT want fight monsters and demons and mad gods.
Who would you recommend the book to?
Anyone who like supernatural books, but the supernatural element isn’t hitting them in the head.
Or anyone who checks out Novelist and finds it on their suggested reads. 🙂
New books at OCC just in time for summer session!
Our Library summer hours start Monday, May 15 (though Librarian hours start at OCC the week of May 15).
The Main Campus Library will be open Monday and Tuesday 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Wednesday and Thursday 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM. The Orange County Campus Library will be open for general use Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM; the Librarian will be available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Library services will be virtual on Fridays– utilize our Library Chat and virtual library services on our website! The Northern Durham Center Library will be moving over the summer; for librarian services, email the Library (library at durhamtech .edu).
Check our website for the most up-to-date information.
Keep reading for specific titles new on the Orange County shelves and click on the link in the caption to check availability or put a book on hold.
Continue Reading →National Library Week is April 23-29, 2023, a time celebrate our nation’s libraries, library workers’ contributions, and promote library use and support. This year’s theme is There’s More to the Story.
Today is Right to Read Day, a call to action to fight back against censorship to defend, protect, and celebrate your right to read freely.
The American Library Association has also released its most challenged books of 2022 as part of its State of American Libraries 2022 report [link to webpage containing pdf]. ALA documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago and nearly doubling the 729 book challenges reported in 2021. While other instances of book challenges or removals may have occurred, these are the ones reported to the ALA.
In 2022, 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship.
Removing a book from a collection due to inaccuracies, age, or condition (something libraries often do in order to provide the best resources to their users) is different than banning or requesting to ban a book– most books that are challenged because they represent marginalized communities, have “profane” or “offensive” language or content, or disagree with someone’s political, religious, or social viewpoint. In 2022, books containing LGBTQIA+ content were the top challenged materials. Self-selection and choosing to not read a book because you disagree with it is different than requesting to remove it from a collection so no one can read it.
Keep reading for ways that you can advocate for libraries, including how to read some of 2022’s most challenged books and decide for yourself.
Celebrate locally! Durham’s Earth Day Festival is on Sunday, April 23 from 12:00 to 5:00 PM at Durham Central Park. Raleigh’s community Earth Day event will be on Friday, April 21 from 5:00 to 10:00 PM at Dix Park. Orange County has several events planned, including Earth Day Celebration Carrboro, taking place on Saturday, April 22 from 3:30 to 6:00 PM in the Carrboro Town Commons.
Climate change is a huge issue and can make a lot of folks feel helpless.
So–What can you do?
While there’s no quick fix, you can always educate, advocate, and adapt (in addition to the traditional reduce, reuse, recycle).
Keep reading to find out more!
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