2022 Durham Tech Library Poetry Month Bookmarks!

2-sided bookmarks with image on one side and poem on other side. Poems are  "Characteristics of Life" by Camille T. Dungy, "Small Kindnesses" by Danusha Laméris, "Rain" by Raymond Carver, "for grandma" by NC Poet Laureate Jackie Shelton Green, and "I Pick Up My Footprints" by Vasyl Holoborodko, translated from Ukrainian by Svetlana Lavochkina, illustrated by our own Reference Librarian Sasha Deyneka, adapted from the works of Maria Prymachenko
Click on the image to go to the 2022 Durham Tech Library Poetry Bookmark pdf file.

This year’s poetry month bookmarks have “Characteristics of Life” by Camille T. Dungy, “Small Kindnesses” by Danusha Laméris, “Rain” by Raymond Carver, “for grandma” by NC Poet Laureate Jackie Shelton Green, and “I Pick Up My Footprints” by Vasyl Holoborodko, translated from Ukrainian by Svetlana Lavochkina, illustrated by our own Reference Librarian Sasha Deyneka, adapted from the works of Maria Prymachenko.

The file is a pdf, so you can print your own (and color them in, if that’s your thing). Print 2-sided, short edge. Cardstock is recommended.

Bookmarks and bookmark sheets will be available for pick up at the Main Campus Library by Thursday (we’re having some technical difficulties with the copier) and are currently available at the Orange County Campus Library.

Click through to download Durham Tech Library Poetry Month bookmarks from 2021, 2019, and 2017, which include poems from Amanda Gorman, Terrance Hayes, Mary Oliver, Kay Ryan, Danez Smith, Rita Dove, Ellen Bass, and many more!

Continue Reading →

New Poetry for National Poetry Month, April 2022

This poster was designed by eleventh grader Lara L. from Saunders Trades and Technical High School in Yonkers, New York, who was the winner of the 2022 National Poetry Month Poster Contest, and features a line by 2021 Presidential Inaugural Poet and 2017 National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman.

This poster was designed by eleventh grader Lara L. from Saunders Trades and Technical High School in Yonkers, New York, who was the winner of the 2022 National Poetry Month Poster Contest, and features a line by 2021 Presidential Inaugural Poet and 2017 National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman.


To celebrate Poetry Month, the Durham Tech Library and Student Engagement Departments are thrilled to announce the return of the Poetry Fox!

poetry fox at typewriter in main campus library

Join us Tuesday, April 26 from 11:30-1:30 p.m. outside of the Main Campus Library (ERC, Building 5) to get a custom poem written on the spot by The Poetry Fox! (If the weather gets weird, this event will move into the Main Campus Library in the downstairs collaborative study area.)

One word for a custom poem on his typewriter!

This event is for students, faculty, and staff.


Main Campus Library has many new poetry anthologies, poet biographies and memoirs, and books about poetry for you to enjoy. Keep reading for a selection of some of our new titles.

Continue Reading →

It’s Earth Day!

April 22, 2022 is Earth Day 2022. 

Earth Day 2022: Invest in our planet. Grow the Earth's canopy. End plastic pollution. Build a green economy. Support climate literacy. Restore our Earth. Switch to sustainable fashion.

This year’s theme is Invest in our Planet, which means

We need to act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably). It’s going to take all of us. All in. Businesses, governments, and citizens — everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable. A partnership for the planet.

Durham Tech is incorporating green goals within its 2021-2026 Strategic Plan – Pathways to Institutional Excellence by prioritizing the creation of green and sustainable campuses, minimizing the College’s carbon footprint, and engaging in campus beautification efforts that culturally reflect Durham and Orange counties’ communities.

Keep reading to find out how you can learn more to do more to invest in our planet and our future.

Continue Reading →

Food Facts for Library Fest!

Join us on Thursday, April 21 from 12:30-2:00 PM in the Wynn Building Multipurpose Room for Taste & See, where you will get to taste delicious food made by Durham Tech’s own Culinary Program, learn fun food history facts, and even check out a cookbook to take home from the Durham Tech Library’s cookbook collection!

Taste & See-- Library Fest: The Food Edition. Food tasting and food history program. April 21, 2022 from noon to 2pm in the Wynn Multipurpose Room (Building 10)

Food while supplies last. This event is a collaboration between Durham County Library’s Library Fest, Durham Tech’s Culinary Program, Durham Tech Library, and the Viva the Arts Committee.

We hope to see you there!


Durham County Public Library’s Library Fest has exciting events planned for adults, teens, and children the week of April 18, about food, agriculture, and culinary history of the South.

Registration is required, but free tickets are available for the keynote events with Vivian Howard, award-winning cookbook author, tv personality, chef and restaurateur, and Michael W. Twitty, culinary historian, and food writer.

Virtual and in-person events throughout the week include programs on local mushroom foraging, community gardens, history of Durham restaurants, science of coffee, soil health, backyard chickens, and much more!

Visit https://durhamcountylibrary.org/libraryfest/ for full schedule and ticket information.  


Check out our New Main Campus Books post from April 13 for info about our Culinary Arts program (including a link to our resource guide) and for some of our newest cookbooks!

Your Voice, Your Vote 2022: Have You Registered?

As you may have noticed if you listen to the radio or watch local news, election season is upon us once again.

While national elections make a lot of noise, local election outcomes have the ability to impact folks’ day-to-day lives, so if one of your 2022 goals is to be more civically engaged, participating in local elections can be a good place to start.

vote nc

This Friday, April 22 is the deadline to get or update your voter registration in order to participate in primary elections.

Wait! Does this mean that you won’t be able to vote in future elections if you don’t register now? Nope. You can register and vote in future election, but it’s always good to get in your paperwork early.


Curious about how to register to vote in North Carolina and information about voter’s rights, your ballot, and more?

Keep reading!

Continue Reading →

Yellow Books for the Annual Pollening

It’s that time of year again. You know what I mean.

Since we can’t avoid it (unless we never leave the house) or control it, we may as well accept it and cope as best we can with itchy eyes, stuffy noses, and a dream of the few perfect days before the humidity settles in our bones.

Here are some blonde books to read outside (after taking your allergy meds) to soak up the spring weather with canary covers to hide the pollen.

Continue Reading →

New Books at Main Campus: Read about Recipes, Engaging Students, & More!

Library staff were so pleased to see Altarius Moody in The New York Times boosting Durham Tech’s Culinary Arts Program. To celebrate Durham Tech’s appearance in national culinary news, this week we’ve highlighted a few of our excellent new recipe books available for checkout.

(Psst, did you know we have a terrific research guide for Culinary Arts if you need to brush up on some cooking techniques? It has videos, the history of specific ingredients, and other culinary resources!)

Don’t forget to check out the article either through the NYT website or for free through our database access of NYT articles!

Altarius Moody, center, who runs the culinary arts program at Durham Technical Community College in North Carolina, said the aim is to meet students where they are, even if they have families and full-time jobs.
Altarius Moody, as photographed in the New York Times by Veasey Conway.

After you’ve read about Durham Tech’s culinary accomplishments, swing by the library to check out exciting titles like Leah Thomas’ The Intersectional Environmentalist, or try a new recipe from the New Native Kitchen: Celebrating Modern Recipes of the American Indian cookbook.

Keep reading to see our selection of new books.

Continue Reading →

Finishing Up National Library Week: Your Library Staff

So technically Tuesday was National Library Workers’ Day, but it was also a high pollen count day, so there’s been a bit of a delay in posting (apologies).

We may be biased (acknowledging bias is an important part of information literacy, you know), but we have a great group of library employees. Your Durham Tech Library staff participate in councils, committees, mentoring, programming, advising, campus planning, and many other parts of the Durham Tech community. We recognize that the way to best help Durham Tech is to be engaged beyond the Library walls, while still providing our necessary services and spaces for collaboration, studying, and research. We support students by collaborating with other departments to provide Chromebooks, Crafternoons, and even help host the annual Art Show (coming very soon!). We facilitate reading groups and challenges and help with tech literacy. We’re proud of our role at Durham Tech.

Oh, and your Library staff can also help you check off that final box of your Read Great Things Challenge every year— A book recommended by a Durham Tech Library staff member either in person or on the blog.

Without further ado, here’s your 2021-2022 Durham Tech Library staff with a furry or book friend.

2021-2022 Durham Tech Library staff. More details in caption, including book or animal component and professional title
Top to bottom, left to right: Courtney Bippley, Main Campus Reference Librarian, and photogenic Kira; Kyle Minton, Reference Librarian (Main Campus and Northern Durham Center) and fluffy gentleman Otto; Susan Baker, Main Campus Reference Librarian, and Dewey (the book and symbolic cat); Meredith Lewis, Orange County Campus Librarian, and George, who does not like to be held except in certain very specific situations; Charles Farrow, Main Campus Library Technician and our rock, and Educated and Your Best Life Now; Lorell Butler, Main Campus Library Technician, sassy purple glasses, and Tune In; Stephen Brooks, Main Campus Reference Librarian, and Infinite Jest (an infinite book); Sasha Deyneka, all campuses Reference Librarian, the lovely Echo (the dog), and Uncle Tungsten (the book); and our kind and generous leader Julie Humphrey, Durham Tech Library Director, and her precious angel cat man Sumo.

Don’t hug a librarian without their permission, but a thanks is always appreciated if we’ve helped you.

It’s National Library Week!

April 3-9, 2022 is National Library Week, a time celebrate our nation’s libraries, library workers’ contributions and promote library use and support. This year’s theme is Connect with your Library.

Connect with your Library for National Library Week 2022-- Durham Tech and the American Library Association

How can you connect with your Durham Tech Library? Well, follow the blog (hi!) and you can definitely check out our social media (especially our much more active Instagram but also our less active Facebook). You can also attend some of our Crafternoons or other events, such as those in collaboration with Durham Public Library’s Library Fest (this year’s theme is FOOD). You can stop in and use our resources, such as our Tech Tools, Recording Room, or study areas. You can Book-a-Librarian for research assistance and instructors can schedule library instruction or refer their students to the library for assistance with research.

We’re here and ready to connect with you in person or virtually!

The American Library Association kicks of National Library Week by releasing the annual State of America’s Libraries report, which contains the most frequently challenged books from the previous calendar year.

Learn more about banned books in the Durham Tech Library Blog’s Banned Books Week post from September 2021.

Click through to see the most frequently challenged books from the past calendar year and the stats on who, why, and where these challenges take place.

Continue Reading →

Explore the stage with our live theater database Digital Theater+

Durham Tech Libraries recently added a very exciting new database resource: Digital Theater+!

When Durham Tech students and instructors use Digital Theater+, they can explore high quality videos of award-winning plays, dig into the history of various genres of theater, and enjoy a Spotify-like curation of stories by theme. It’s an all-encompassing theatrical experience*.

*Stage fright not included.

Continue reading to see what the fuss is all about!

Continue Reading →