Author Archives: Durham Tech Library

A Drawing! And Happy National Library Week!

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Enter our National Library Week “Why I Love My Durham Tech Library” Drawing to win some sweet library prizes! Fill out our form by 5:00 on Wednesday, April 7 letting us know why you love your Durham Tech Library (or if you just like us– honestly, we know love is a strong feeling). 

white ceramic coffee mug with tan cork bottom and white plastic lid, navy blue face mask with black elastic ties, and a bookmark peeking out, all with Read Great Things logos on them

Four faculty/staff and four students each will be eligible to be entered in a drawing to win a cork-bottom coffee mug (complete with lid!) and a mask from our previous Read Great Things Challenge prizes. 

You’re also welcome to let us know how the library has helped you or why you love your Durham Tech Library without entering in the drawing.

Alumni and community friends are welcome to enter, too, but priority for prizes goes to our current students, faculty, and staff. Winners will be contacted on Monday, April 12. Everyone who fills out the form is eligible to get a bookmark. 

Out Loud in the Library: Durham Tech Library Podcast

In addition to National Library Week, it’s also Durham County Public Library’s Library Fest. Our library podcaster Courtney Bippley has interviews with several of their featured presenters, including one that dropped on Saturday with artist Volkan Alkanoglu.

April 4-10, 2021 is National Library Week– an opportunity to celebrate our nation’s libraries, library workers’ contributions and promote library use and support.

Welcome to your Library! National Library Week, April 4-10, 2021

National Library Week launches with a special report from the American Library Association (ALA): “The State of America’s Libraries Report: Special Edition”

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What We’re Recommending Online for Women’s History Month

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"Girlhood (It's Complicated)" courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution by artist Krystal Quiles
Girlhood (It’s Complicated) by 
Krystal Quiles

Check out some of our staff recommendations that celebrate woman authors and experiences for Women’s History Month that are also available through Dogwood Digital Library– accessible through our database list or through the Libby app. 

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What We’re Watching: Bridgerton! (and Romance Reading through Dogwood Digital)

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bridgerton, on Netflix December 25, 2020

Title: Bridgerton, Season 1 (available streaming on Netflix)

Genre: Period drama; Romance; Regency Romance

This series was watched by Rachel Smith, Northern Durham Center Librarian. 

Set in 19th-century London, Bridgerton centers on the aristocratic Bridgerton family. The widow Violet, Dowager Viscountess Bridgerton is mother to eight children. As eldest daughter Daphne Bridgerton enters her first courting season with Queen Charlotte’s favor, she meets Simon Bassett, Duke of Hastings and best friend of her eldest brother, Anthony. Despite being encouraged by his mentor, Lady Danbury, the Duke is determined not to ever get married and he plots with Daphne to secure his bachelordom and to secure her a suitable marriage.

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Library Reads for International Women’s Day

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March 8 is International Women’s Day and was created to focus on the achievements of women across the globe and emphasize the continued need to push for gender parity. 

International Women's Day: We will choose to challenge gender stereotypes and bias #ChooseToChallenge

This year’s theme is “Choose to Challenge,” acknowledging that gender bias left unchallenged allows it to continue. 

To celebrate International Women’s Day, check out some of the books that the Durham Tech Library has online and in our physical collection to celebrate women’s voices, accomplishments, and experiences. 

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What You Could Be Watching: The Hayti Heritage Film Festival

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The Hayti Heritage Film Festival, created in 1994 to create and celebrate a “Black film ecosystem in the South” and normally held in Durham at St. Joseph’s United AME Church, is mostly virtual this year. 

Hayti Heritage Film Festival-- The Hero's Journey: Call to Action, March 1-6, 2021

Now in its 27th year, the films are centered around the theme of “The Hero’s Journey,” and has a combination of films and panels, running from Monday, March 1 to Saturday, March 6. While most films will be screened online, there will be a few drive-in movies. 

Check out the schedule to purchase tickets or passes. 

The Hayti Heritage Foundation hosts events throughout the year, including walking tours of both Black Wall Street and the Hayti neighborhood (by appointment). For more information about historic Durham, including the Hayti neighborhood, keep reading. 

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What We’re Reading Online for Black History Month

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Dogwood Digital Library

The Durham Tech Library is a member of the Dogwood Digital Library, a collection of online ebooks and audiobooks through the Overdrive/Libby app. Durham Tech faculty, staff, and students can check out books using their Durham Tech username and password, just like they can access databases off-campus. Ebooks and audiobooks check out for 21 days and can be read on your phone, tablet, or computer. 

Check out some of our staff recommendations that celebrate Black authors and experiences for Black History Month. 

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Spring 2021 Library Services: Online, In-Person, & In-Between [Updated Mon., April 26]

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Your Durham Tech librarians are here for you, virtually and in-person at the Main Campus and Orange County Campus Libraries.

A very important reminder: If you’re coming anywhere on any of the Durham Tech campuses, you need to wear an effective face covering over both your nose and mouth the entire time you’re on campus. Masks are available at the Library desk and other locations on campus for those who need them. 

Durham Tech Library Spring 2021 Schedule for April 26-30. Virtual library services are available from 8:30-5:00 Monday through Friday, but if chat is offline, please contact the Library via phone or email. The Main Campus Library plans to be open Monday through Thursday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The Orange County Campus Library plans to be open Monday from 12:30 AM to 5:00 PM. Virtual services are available on Friday from 8:30 to 5:00. Appointments are preferred for both campuses. To make an appointment, email the general library email account (library@durhamtech.edu) or call 919-536-7211 extension 1631. Before coming to campus, everyone should complete the Durham Tech Daily Check-In form to get the current code word. Face coverings over the nose and mouth are required the entire time you are on campus. Expect to show a photo ID and have your temperature taken at the Library check in desk. Hours may change during the week as required for the College's COVID response plan. Please check the library homepage or call the library before coming to campus. Updates will be posted and sent out to the college community. Library chat (ChatStaff) is staffed by Durham Tech Librarians Monday through Friday during business hours. Library staff are available through email as well. Students, faculty, and staff may request appointments at the Northern Durham Center, Orange County Campus, and Main Campus at alternate times through the library email account (library@durhamtech.edu). We will try our best to work with you.

We want to encourage you to stay online if you are able. The Center for Academic Excellence has awesome tutoring available for technology help and you can always chat with or email your librarians. Need a computer, Chromebook, or internet at home? Check out the Computer and Internet Assistance page to get started requesting help. 

If you feel sick, have been tested for COVID and are waiting for the results, or have been exposed to COVID, please stay home. Give us a call (919-536-7211, extension 1631) or send us an email (library@durhamtech.edu) to see how we can help you remotely. 

Welcome to the Durham Tech Library.

If you do need to come to campus when we are open, you will be required to complete the Durham Tech Daily Check-In form to get the daily code word. When you arrive in the library, you will be required to check in at the library desk with a photo ID (student ID preferred) for contact tracing and you will give the daily code word and have your temperature checked. Quick trips are encouraged.

We are currently operating at a 25 person maximum capacity, and our downstairs areas are closed (study areas, downstairs computer lab, and book stacks). If the Library is at maximum capacity, you’ll be asked to wait outside until someone leaves. When health conditions improve, the maximum occupancy will increase. 

Well, what can you do and what can we help you with through virtual and in-person library services? 

Read more ABOUT LIBRARY SERVICES

Library Winter Break Schedule

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All Durham Tech Libraries will be closed starting Monday, December 20 and plan to reopen on Monday, January 4, 2021. If you need to return a loaner laptop, please wait until the library reopens instead of putting it in the book return (as stated on the loaner agreement form).

Both in-person and virtual library services will be unavailable for Winter Break starting Monday, December 20. The Library plans to reopen and have services resume Monday, January 4. 

Need a loaner laptop or internet access for the Spring semester? Read over the options for computer and internet assistance and fill out the Spring 2021 Computer Request form. Students will be contacted by Maggie West, Coordinator of Student Wellness and Basic Needs, to review their application.

Unable to return your loaner laptop before Winter Break? Return it January 4 to a library staff member. Do not put it in the return boxes outside. 

Need to return a book while the library is closed? Feel free to return it to the return boxes outside. We’ll check them in when we reopen. 

Need to fill out your 2020 reading challenge forms? Check out this blog post for more info.

Impatient for the 2021 Read Great Things categories? Well, you’ll have to wait until January 1 (hint hint check this blog). 

Have a nice break and stay safe! 

Durham Tech Food Pantry– Donate on behalf of your colleagues, friends, or just because

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Give the gift of giving! Show your colleagues you care by donating on their behalf to the Campus Harvest Food Pantry. A $25 gift provides 5 students with a large grocery bag of food and a bag of fresh produce. A $50 gift provides a 6-serving frozen family meal to 6 students. A $100 gift provides a large bag of groceries, fresh produce, a frozen family meal. and personal and household hygiene items for up to 7 students. A $250 gift provides a large bag of groceries, fresh produce, a frozen family meal, personal and household hygiene items, kid-friendly snacks, and diapers to 15 students.

The Durham Tech Campus Harvest Food Pantry has launched the Give the Gift of Giving campaign. Durham Tech employees, show your co-workers that you are thinking of them this holiday season by making an online gift to the food pantry on their behalf.

To participate in the Gift of Giving campaign, complete the Foundation’s Online Giving Form and put your colleague’s name in the Tribute Information box. In the Additional Information comment box, indicate if you would prefer that your colleague receive a festive mailed letter or email to inform them that you have contributed to the food pantry on their behalf.

Want to donate on behalf of someone who is not a Durham Tech employee?
Complete the Foundation’s Online Giving Form and put your someone’s name in the Tribute Information box. In the Additional Information comment box, indicate if you would prefer that they receive a festive mailed letter or email to inform them that you have contributed to the food pantry on their behalf. Make sure to include their mailing or email address in the Additional Information box. 

Just want to donate to our awesome and hard-working Campus Harvest Food Pantry? Complete the Foundation’s Online Giving Form and select the Food Pantry as your designation. 

Check out our Food Pantry donation video to learn how the pantry has been safely serving students with expanded services and its impact on students’ lives.