Author Archives: Durham Tech Library

Adorable library cats

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You may have heard of Dewey the cat from the book Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron.  This book chronicles Dewey’s story of living in a public library in Spencer, Iowa.  Other libraries around the world also have cats.  To see great photos and read other stories take a look at these fun links:

Dewey the Cat sits above two books.

Spencer Public Library’s Dewey the Cat

http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/quick-guide-library-cats/

http://flavorwire.com/311716/famous-and-fabulous-library-cats/

http://lovemeow.com/2010/01/library-cats-from-all-over-the-world/

 

 

 

Kuzma, a cat, wears a bow tie and walks through the library

Image from http://www.theatlanticcities.com

Kuzma who wears a  bowtie and lives in a Russian library is especially cute.  He was just promoted to assistant librarian!

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2013/09/russian-library-just-hired-stray-cat-their-assistant-librarian/6941

 

Cool author alert! Science writer Mary Roach is coming to Durham

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The Dr. Charles Sanders President’s Lecture Series at Durham Tech

presents

Mary Roach

Sunday, April 13th  7:00 p.m. Carolina Theatre, Downtown Durham

Author Mary Roach leans in a doorway

Mary Roach, from
http://www.maryroach.net/maryroach.html

Read more about the author and her fascinating books on her website.  Members of our library staff have read and enjoyed her books immensely and look forward to seeing her.
The subjects of her highly entertaining and well researched books include:  space exploration, the afterlife, sex research, human cadavers, and the digestive system!
Shows the feet of a corpse with a label, "Stiff"
An astronaut floats in space with a suitcase. Title says, "Packing for Mars"

Instead of judging a book by its cover…

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 Shows an open book with a few pages tucked back into the spine to form the shape of a heart.

Try picking a book based on it’s description!  Below are a few descriptions of some of the library’s new books. The descriptions are written a little like dating profiles (though you may never want to date these individuals!) with just a bit of information.  See if any of these books interest you.  The titles and call numbers are at the bottom of the entry, if you’re interested in reading them!

  1. I’m a poet at heart. Bilingual and bicultural, I straddle the world of modern America and the nostalgia for Cuba, passed down to me by my exile parents. I am spirited, young, and have excellent rhythm.
  2. The last of my kind, I am beautiful and powerful. I can really get inside your head. I try to use my powers for good and keep to myself, but drama keeps finding me. I am continually pulled into adventure.
  3. I am really interested in female drama, especially the relationships between mothers and daughters. I have a lot of secrets and heartache, but I can be very tender at times, especially in trying to protect others.
  4. I may be young, but I’ve been through a lot. My family and I have been attacked, and we fought back. I have done bad things, but I feel justified, and besides, you can’t take back the past. You’ve got to be strong to face the future, and I’ve got to help fight for the kind of future I want to live in.
  5. When I took power, people were hopeful about me and the promise that I had. I’ve been a real disappointment, though, and brought pain and violence to many. I keep causing problems for those around me. Read more to find out what went wrong and what the future might hold.

The descriptions above are for the following books:

1) City of a Hundred Fires by Richard Blanco. Call number PS 3552 .L36533 C58 1998.

2) Fire by Kristin Cashore. Call number PZ 7 .C26823 Fi 2011.

3) A Grown-up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson. Call number PS 3610 .A3525 G76 2012.

4) Insurgent by Veronica Roth. Call number PZ 7 .R7375 Ins 2012.

5) Syria: The Fall of the House of Assad by David Lesch. Call number DS 98.6 .L475 2013.

Black History Month

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Black and white photographs of famous African Americans. Text says, "Celebrate Black History Month with a biography! African American Biographies."

The library has lots of inspiring biographies of African Americans.  Check out our display on the lower level to learn some of these stories:

African American Entrepreneurs

African American Women Scientists and Inventors

American Tapestry : The story of the black, white, and multiracial ancestors of Michelle Obama

The Autobiography of Medgar Evers

Hand in Hand: Ten Black men who changed America

Ida: A sword among lions,  Ida B. Wells and the campaign against lynching

The Life of Sojourner Truth: “Ain’t I a woman?” (DVD and book)

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

You can also explore the online catalog for additional resources.

Two young African American males and the movie title "American Promise" Subtitle says, "A documentary 13 years in the making, American Promise provides a rare look into the lives of two middle class black families as they navigate the ups and downs of parenting and educating their sons."

The Debate Team and Vive/Viva the Arts are showing six screenings of the documentary film American Promise about America’s struggle with issues of race, class, and opportunity.  If you can’t make it to a screening on campus, the film is for streaming here for free until March 6th.  The library will also have copies available for checkout after the screenings as well.

The library also has resources related to education and the achievement gap on display this month:

The Black-White Achievement Gap : Why closing it is the greatest civil rights issue of our time

Changing School Culture for Black Males

Reducing the Black Male Dropout Rate

Unfinished Business : Closing the racial achievement gap in our schools

Young, Gifted, and Black : Promoting high achievement among African-American students

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, January 20th

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Please join members of the library staff and the college for Durham Tech’s Stop Hunger Now Meal Packaging Event on Mon. Jan. 20th from 9:00 – 6:30 at the Wynn Bldg room 1103.  Click here for more information and to sign up for a volunteer shift.  This important service project is a great way to start off the year!

Black and white photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with his hands clasped in front of him

The library has lots of resources on Dr. King’s life and work, as well as materials on poverty, social justice, activism, and service.

Titles for inspiration and information:

The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A social justice hall of fame
E 747 .D74 2012

Citizen King (DVD) E 185.97 .K5 C58 2004

Citizen You: Doing your part to change the world HN 18.3 .T57 2010 (upstairs, Dr. Phail Wynn Jr. collection)

Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice  REF HM 671 .E53 2007

Everyone Helps, Everyone Wins: How absolutely anyone can pitch in, help out, give back, and make the world a better place
HN 49 .V64 L48 2010 (upstairs, Dr. Phail Wynn Jr. collection)

Gettin’ My Word Out: Voices of urban youth activists HN 19 .A76 2007 (upstairs, Dr. Phail Wynn Jr. collection)

Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s letter from Birmingham Jail and the struggle that changed a nation F 334 .B69 N446 2013

The Great Divergence: America’s growing inequality crisis and what we can do about it  HC 110 .I5 N63 2012 (upstairs, Dr. Phail Wynn Jr. collection)

I See the Promised Land: A life of Martin Luther King, Jr  PS 3556 .L598 I8 2010

The King Years: Historic moments in the civil rights movement
E 185.61 .B7913 2013

Martin Luther King: “I have a dream.” (DVD) E 185.97 .K5 M295 2005

Poor Kids: An intimate portrait of America’s economic crisis (DVD)
HV 741 .P66 2013

Social Justice HM 671 .S623 2010 (upstairs, Dr. Phail Wynn Jr. collection)

Social Welfare: Fighting poverty and homelessness HV 1553 .S62 2011

Search the online catalog for additional materials.

 

 

 

What have the library staff been reading and watching this year?

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Green stripe on the side of a purple background. Text says, "Looking for a book or movie recommendation? Take a look at what our library staff have read, watched, and enjoyed this year."

Here are some library staff picks from 2013, which are currently on display on the lower level of the library:

Fiction Books

Arcadia by Lauren Groff

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

House of Stone by Anthony Shadid

In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar

Look Homeward Angel by Thomas Wolfe

Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

Minaret by Leila Aboulela

Mitford series by Jan Karon

Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaimon

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Truth About Forevers by Sarah Dessen

Nonfiction Books

Acts of Faith by Eboo Patel

Lean In : Women, work, and the will to lead by Sheryl Sandberg

My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor

A Psychopath Test : A journey through the madness industry by Jon Ronson

Quiet : The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking by Susan Cain

Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

Wild: From lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Movies

Argo

Exit Through the Giftshop

The Last Mountain

Moonrise Kingdom

Perks of Being a Wallflower

Project Nim

Temple Grandin

Where the Wild Things Are

Curl up with a good book or movie over winter break!

The Digital Heritage Center

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Durham Tech has a lot of partners that help provide a wide range of services and access to information. One of those partners is UNC Chapel Hill’s North Carolina Digital Heritage Center (http://www.digitalnc.org). The Center’s mission is support “community engagement and lifelong learning by promoting and increasing access to North Carolina’s cultural heritage.” This includes helping libraries like Durham Tech’s library digitize information, which increases access to the materials.

Materials from Durham Tech can be viewed here.  Publications include course catalogs, yearbooks, annual reports, and issues of The Final Draft. You can browse their collection by contributor, county, and item type as well as search by keyword.

Without the help of the Digital Heritage Center, Durham Tech would not be able to make these publications as easily available online, and we appreciate their work helping us and other organizations make these materials more easily accessible to a wider audience.

Yellow background with a black fountain pen

The Importance of Reading for Fun

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Right now, a lot, if not all, of the reading you may be doing is related to your classes: weekly readings so you know what the instructor’s talking about, researching specific topics for papers, and studying for tests. While that kind of reading is necessary, it’s also important to realize that reading for fun can be an important lifelong behavior. Reading just for pleasure promotes creative thinking, builds vocabulary and language skills, lets you see the world from different perspectives , and helps you gain tools, skills, and knowledge that you may not have developed otherwise.

With everything you’re doing just to get through classes, it may not seem like you have a lot of time for entertaining reading, but if you have a few minutes (while on the bus, eating a meal, or just before bed), try reading something just because YOU are interested in it! You may be amazed by how wonderful it can be.

For an interesting article on what wonders reading for fun can do, see what author Neil Gaiman has to say about pleasure reading here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming

Some suggestions to get you started:

Classical architecture in the blue background with the title "The Golem and the Jinni"Want to explore a world in which magical creatures like genies are real?

  • The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. Call number PS 3623 .E39775 G65 2013

    

What it’s like to be an emigrant in Puritan Massachusetts, antebellum Louisiana, or modern Toronto?

  • Astray by Emma Donoghue. Call number PR 6054 .O547 A93 2012

Predominant is a drawing of Malcolm X's faceWhat it’s like to be Malcolm X?

  • The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X. Call number E 185.97 .L5 A3 1999 (We have a lot more biographies and autobiographies.)

 

Enter a magical world in which you have to use magic to defeat your own mother:

  • Among Others by Jo Walton. Call number PR 6073 .A448 A825 2012

Dark image of two individuals walking across a landscapeWhat it’s like to live in remote parts of the world, exploring tropical rainforests?

  • It’s a Jungle up There: more tales from the treetops by Margaret Lowman. Call number QH 31 .L79 A3 2006.

 

Experience what it’s like to have to be the daughter of a Brooklyn drug kingpin in:

  • The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah. Call number PS 3569 .O7374 C6 2006.

Black background with white title, "Good Omens." The red subtitle says, "The nice and accurate prophecies of Agnes Nutter, witch"Neil Gaiman’s darkly amusing book about an angel and a demon who aren’t too thrilled about an upcoming Armageddon.

  • Good Omens. Call number PS 3557 .A3519 G6 1996

 

See what it’s like to be a modern Native American:

  • Blasphemy: new and selected stories by Sherman Alexie. Call number PS 3551 .L35774 B53 2012

Two illustrated cats facing opposite directions with the title "Boot & Shoe"Share the love of reading with a child or through a child’s eyes:

  • Boot & Shoe by Marla Frazee. Call number PZ 7 .F866 Bno 2012

 

 

If you are looking for something specific or with a certain keyword (ex. “vampire”), try searching the online catalog or ask a librarian for assistance.

Great apps for college students!

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There are excellent free apps available for mobile devices that can help you be successful at Durham Tech!  Check out this great list from Consumer Reports which features apps for time management, studying, voice recording, wellness, and more.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/08/bet-apps-college-students/index.htm

A collage of various devices like phones and tablets.

Image from http://jquerymobile.com/donate-devices/