What We’re Reading: Persepolis

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Available at the Main Campus, located in our Graphic Novel collection, downstairs in front of the center stairwell

Title: Persepolis
Author: Marjane Satrapi
Genres: memoir, history, graphic novel
2022 Read Great Things Categor(ies): A book about travel; An Artsy Book; A book about community

Political protests in Iran have been in the headlines over the past two weeks, with numerous demonstrations in the country propelled by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died while in police custody. Today I’m highlighting an accessible and personal history of conflict within and surrounding Iran from the perspective of a young woman, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, which is available at the library.

This book was read by Main Campus Reference Librarian Kyle Minton, who loves graphic novels mixed with a history lesson. (It’s also available as a streaming film, click to read more.)

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Join us for Wearable Art (& Books for Modifying Clothes!)

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Wearable art! Plus, books to keep you fashionable after the free craft events this week!

It’s Wearable Art Week for Durham Tech Libraries: We’re hosting two crafternoons on two different campuses for students and staff to make wearable art, either with provided tote bags or with shirts or shoes from home that could use a vibrant paint brush or two to look funky and fresh. Why throw an old shirt away when you could dazzle it up with some of our fabric paint?

The first Crafternoon will take place on Orange County Campus on September 27th at 11:30 AM. A second one will be held for students at Main Campus on September 28th at 1:00 PM. Find out more on the school’s event page.

If you need inspiration or want to take the practice further and start modifying or mending more clothes at home, we have some books for you. Ditch that mall trip you’ve been putting off and click continue to see the list:

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Banned Books Week: 2022

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Since its inception in 1982, Banned Books Week has stood as an an important week of awareness and advocacy against library and book censorship.

Celebrate Banned Books Week, September 18-24, 2022. American Library Association

2021 and 2022 have seen an unprecedented rise in attempted book bans across schools and libraries in America piloted by advocacy groups, some having taken place in nearby counties. Started in the 1980s as an awareness campaign by the cooperation of the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom and the publishing community, Banned Books Week seeks to advocate for freedom by drawing attention to books that have been challenged for removal in library and school collections. It also reminds us of historical banning or removal of texts.

Celebrating Banned Books Week reminds us of the power of words. 

Click through to read more about Banned Books Week, including the books that were most frequently challenged in 2021.

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Reproductive Rights Reading List

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Nearly fifty years ago, in 1973, the Supreme Court legalized the right to abortion access through Roe v. Wade. This past June, the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling.

To learn more about this very current event, the Durham Tech Library has developed an informational reading list on the history of abortion in America, the Roe v. Wade ruling, and resources about women’s health and health care, abortion, and reproductive rights.

Click through to explore our resources and learn more for yourself.

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What We’re Reading: The Nineties: A Book

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the nineties: a book by chuck klosterman
Available at the Main Campus (E 169.12 .K556 2022) and as an ebook through Dogwood Digital Library

Title: The Nineties: A Book
Author: Chuck Klosterman
Genres: history, essays
2022 Read Great Things Category(ies): A book with a number in the title; Blast from the past: A book of short stories or essays (2020); Our favorite category–A book on the Durham Tech Library Blog

This book was read by Main Campus Reference Librarian Stephen Brooks, who is still a playful, discouraged idealist. As such, this What We’re Reading blog is less a review or summary of the book and more of a personal journey. I listened to an audiobook version of The Nineties, which is a collection of essays in approximately chronological order, over several weeks while commuting to Durham Tech, folding laundry, mowing the lawn and working in the kitchen.

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App-ly Yourself! Digital Apps for Exploring Durham Tech Libraries

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Apps to explore durham tech libraries

While students and staff can explore the library’s website and its many resources on their smartphones and tablets, dedicated standalone apps for these devices can still offer a great deal of flexibility. Users may already be familiar with Libby, which grants Durham Tech users access to the wonderful Dogwood Digital Library collection, which offers popular fiction and non-fiction books. This post highlights a few other apps that provide unique ways of accessing academic materials while on the go.

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Tap into your Creativity with Crafternoons!

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The Durham Tech Library in collaboration with the Student Enrichment Department is thrilled to announce the return of our Crafternoons for the Fall 2022 semester!

Fall 2022 Crafternoon Schedule (continue reading for additional details)

Take a few minutes to unwind with a creative break and chat with fellow Durham Tech students, faculty, and staff. Students, faculty, and staff from all programs and departments are welcome to participate. Materials will be provided.

Keep reading for more details about the upcoming Crafternoon events!

You can also find these listed on the College’s Events calendar by searching keyword: crafternoon.

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Welcome Back! Fall Semester Library Services

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Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back!

Welcome Back, Durham Tech!

We’re excited to see everyone back on campus and to “see” you online, too– just a reminder that you can chat with your Durham Tech Library staff between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday (and with other librarians evenings and weekends).

What can the Durham Tech Library do for you this semester? Whether it’s research assistance, library instruction, Tech Tool or Chromebook lending, facilitating reading communities or challenges, helping you access your creative muscles through Crafternoons, or just providing a place to study and print, the Durham Tech Libraries are here for you!

Click through and find out more!

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Body Parts: Microhistories of the Physical Self

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Unlike many of our health science folks, I was academically an English major (and then an education major and then a library science major), so my formal education surrounding anatomy and physiology is lacking. Maybe that’s why I love books about the human body so much, especially microhistories that dig deep into particular anatomical aspects.

Or maybe I remember The Magic School Bus and then the Futurama tribute episode fondly, both of which were inspired by the 1966 science fiction classic film The Fantastic Voyage.

Ms. Frizzle and Liz, the class chameleon, winking at each other from the animated children's television show The Magic School Bus

Maybe this is your genre, too? If so, check out some of our collection of books about body parts and systems and learn more about your insides and outside, too!

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Space! At the Library!

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Have you seen the new images of space from the James Webb Telescope?

Stephen's Quintet image from Webb, NASA 2022
Stephan’s Quintet, which consists of a group of five galaxies ranging between 40 and 290 million light years away from Earth

We have and we’re excited!

In addition to birds, octopuses, dinosaurs, plants, chess, cats, football, real estate, kelp, swimming, astrology, funny internet graphics, The Beatles, and art (to name a few of our department’s enthusiastic specific interests), we also like space!

Keep reading for some resources to learn more about space and even a little fiction to expand your imagination.

Lego man gif yelling "Spaceship!"
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