Author Archives: Courtney Bippley

About Courtney Bippley

Courtney is a Reference Librarian at the Main Campus Library. Her favorite genres are fantasy and science fiction. She loves dogs, coffee, and dancing.

Let’s Talk Money!

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April is Financial Literacy Month!

What’s that? April is almost over?

Better late than never!

Financial Literacy Month

Sometimes the most useful pieces of financial literacy are how to negotiate initial salary or pay raises, how to get that public service loan forgiveness, how to reduce medical bills (ask for that bill to be itemized), and other things that involve more than teaching someone how to open a checking account. See below for resources Durham Tech and the library offer for helping you handle your money.

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Out Loud in the Library: Spanish Language Collection with Tracey Callison

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Hello, hello, hello!

The podcast is back after a short break and this time I spoke with Durham Tech librarian Tracey Callison about our new Spanish Language Collection. She put in the leg work to make this happen. Find out how a library collection gets put together, why having more Spanish language materials is important, and what Tracey is reading! (Hint: She’s reading one of our favorites!)

Out Loud in the Library: Durham Tech Library Podcast

Find the 2021 Read Great Things Challenge categories on the library blog!

Follow the library on Facebook and Instagram. Contact me, Courtney Bippley, at bippleyc@durhamtech.edu. Contact the Durham Tech Library at library@durhamtech.edu. 

Music for this podcast was made by Robert Isaacs. 

Hey, It’s Earth Day!

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How are you celebrating Earth Day today? Are you watching the Earthday.org live stream? Are you heading over to the Piedmont Wildlife Center for their Earth Day Fly-Thru? Going on a hike? Attending the virtual Piedmont Earth Day Fair? Getting ready to take pictures of trees and flowers in your neighborhood to participate in the City Nature Challenge? Watching nature documentaries? 

Earth Day 2021 Reading Recommendations.

How about reading? Check out these great new books we have in the Dr. Phail Wynn Collection. Any one (or all) would be a great Earth Day choice!

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Waterfalls and Wildflowers

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 Are you planning a trip to see some waterfalls? Want to find some wildflowers nearby those waterfalls? The library can help!

We have several guidebooks to waterfall hikes in North Carolina and the surrounding areas. You read that right, these guidebooks are to WATERFALL hikes. Not boring hikes where you just look at trees, or mountains, or gorges. Waterfalls are where it’s at.*

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Out Loud in the Library with Tayari Jones

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The final Library Fest Podcast is out now! 

Out Loud in the Library: Durham Tech Library Podcast

I was honored to interview three amazing, influential, and accomplished people for Out Loud in the Library and Library Fest– Gordon C. James, Volkan Alkanoglu, and Tayari Jones. You can find the first two interviews at the links below. 

I Am Every Good Thing

Gordon C. James interview with Out Loud in the Library.

Purple sculpture from above.

Volkan Alkanoglu interview with Out Loud in the Library.

However, this blog post is to highlight the interview I did with Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage, Silver Sparrow, Leaving Atlanta, and more. I highly recommend reading at least one (or all!) of her books. She’s a great writer who approaches stories with a real grounding in character.

  • Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones
  • Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
  • An American Marriage by Tayari Jones book cover

Listen below as we discuss research, typewriters, happy mail, and what it was like to discover her book being read in the wild. 

Make sure you sign up for the Morning Call with Tayari Jones at the Library Fest website. And, check what else is going on as well. Chances are you’ll find something interesting!

Out Loud in the Library with Gordon C. James

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Have you heard about Library Fest yet? It’s next week! And as a partner of Library Fest, the Durham Tech Library was able to talk to three of the special guests that will be at Library Fest. 

Out Loud in the Library Logo, Library Fest Logo, and pictures of upcoming podcast guests.

Today’s interview is with Gordon C. James, artist and illustrator. He’s illustrated multiple award-winning books, including I Am Every Good Thing and Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut. 

  • Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
  • I Am Every Good Thing

Hit play below to listen to our conversation! 

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What We’re Reading: All We Can Save

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This book. This book, y’all. 

This book gave me a big hug. It cuddled me close and told me that everything is not going to be alright. But it also gave me hope that some things can be okay if we’re willing to work hard to make it that way.

It changed my life. Not in a hyperbolic way. In the way that it shifted my thinking so much that it will have an influence on my actions for the rest of my life. 

All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkerson
Let this book hug you too.
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