Your university education should help you acquire knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, intellectual and practical skills (these include inquiry & analysis, teamwork, problem-solving, and communication skills), and “foundations and skills for lifelong learning” (see the “essential learning outcomes” of Liberal Education and America’s Promise from the Association of American Colleges and Universities).
Andersen Library’s new Great Minds collection offers you the opportunity to expose yourselves to the expressions of “great minds” from all disciplines!
In the Great Minds collection you’ll find three well-known collections of classics, the Great Books of the Western World, the Gateway to the Great Books, and the Harvard Classics. You’ll also find individual titles selected by librarians and faculty. Great Minds selections include fiction and non-fiction classics that have stood the test of centuries along with publications from the 21st century. There is something in this collection to appeal to every taste, and apply to every interest. Where else could you discover Chaucer and Dante right next to Machiavelli and Hobbes?! It’s an intellectually curious, inspiration-seeking browser’s paradise.
The Great Books set includes full-length works, while the Gateway set includes shorter works and excerpts. All are meant to represent “outstanding creations of the human mind.” The Great Books titles are considered fundamental contributions to our understanding of ourselves and our universe, and to Western culture.
The Harvard Classics set is an anthology of classic works of world literature. You also can read these online through Project Gutenberg.
Books in the Great Minds collection, located on Andersen Library’s 2nd floor (facing the big screen TV), may be checked out for normal loan periods (28 days for students, semester for faculty/staff).
Enjoy.
