Are there books, graphic novels, audio books, videos, video games, CDs, etc., that you wish Andersen Library would consider acquiring? Let us know by hanging your wish(es) on the tree!
The tree is located near the Circulation Desk and the Food for Thought Café. Paper “ornaments” on which you can write your wishes are provided.
Thanks!
Child Ballads
by Anaïs Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer
POP Mit Chi
Browsing CDs, 2nd floor
The Child Ballads, a set of over 300 English and Scottish popular ballads collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century, continue to provide inspiration to musicians around the world with their haunting melodies and lyrics that tell stories of knights, ladies, royalty, fairies, witches, and all manner of creatures. Anaïs Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer, two American folk musicians, are the latest to record a collection of these ballads and draw upon past renditions of the ballads by Fairport Convention, Andy Irvine, Pentangle, and others. Mitchell and Hamer have created a beautiful, atmospheric album that showcases their unique voices and guitar playing. This music is very relaxing and would be a great accompaniment to a study session or a break from studying.
Andersen Library also has the five-volume set of the Child Ballads in print. Find it on the third floor in the Main Collection at PR1181.C5 1965.
Dr. Julius Bailey, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Wittenburg University, will talk about “Sociology and Hip Hop: How Musical Genres Impact Social Movements” on Tues., Dec. 3, from 3:45pm-4:45pm in UC259A. It’s part of the African American Heritage Lecture Series.
The book Jay-Z: Essays on hip hop’s philosopher king, edited by Dr. Bailey and containing his essay, “In search of meaning : sign, symbol, and Shawn,” can be requested from other UW campus libraries by UWW students and faculty/staff via the free Universal Borrowing service. Requested materials arrive in 2-4 weekdays.
Andersen Library has additional materials to learn more. Search HALCat to find titles such as Performing identity/performing culture: Hip hop as text, pedagogy, and lived practice (3rd-floor Main Collection, E185.86 .D55 2005), Stand and be counted: Making music, making history: The dramatic story of the artists and causes that changed America (3rd-floor Main Collection, ML3477 .C76 2000), America’s musical pulse: Popular music in twentieth-century society, and Putting popular music in its place (3rd-floor Main Collection, ML3470 .H35 1995). Search article databases to find articles including “Language in Action: Funk Music as the Critical Voice of a Post–Civil Rights Movement Counterculture” (Journal Of Black Studies, vol.42:no.1, pp.71-82) and “The Push and Pull of Hip-Hop: A Social Movement Analysis” (American Behavioral Scientist, vol.48:no.11, pp.1482-1495).
If you’d like assistance with finding additional materials, please ask a librarian.
People were chomping at the bit this morning waiting to get the “good stuff” from this month’s book sale. The books are now out. This month the selection runs to about 75% fiction, including all types of titles, from contemporary fiction like Lilian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who Blew the Whistle (we actually have about 10 of her books this month) to older more classic titles. As for the nonfiction, it includes popular titles like Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation, reference books, such as The American Heritage Dictionary (2nd College Edition), cook books, and large format art books suitable for the coffee table.
Some of the “good stuff” is of higher value than the usual, so a portion of the books are going for $2 instead of the typical $1 per volume. (Still a tremendous deal I think.) These include various and sundry volumes, mostly hard cover fiction and nonfiction, including English dictionaries and large format art books, to mention a few. These are marked with pink $2 flags. Unmarked books are $1 each.
We hope you find some books for yourself or to give your loved ones as gifts. Come and find some new treasures now!
As I was walking through Periodicals and letting my eye browse the current issues, I was stopped by the cover of Reader’s Digest‘s November 2013 issue: “Are you normal or nuts?” it asks. Well, of course I’d like to know. So I had to look at it.
And once I had the issue in my hands, I found that I was interested in reading about “How to die on Facebook” and “Humble beginnings of 5 big ideas.” I was surprised (as perhaps you will be, too) to learn that “unfriend” is an ancient word, dating back to at least 1659 (See the Library database Oxford English Dictionary if you are skeptical)! Yes, I was reminded how much I used to enjoy the Reader’s Digest, with its vocabulary builder (It Pays to Increase Your WordPower), humor, and short articles and excerpts. For several years I also enjoyed a subscription to its cousin, Utne Reader, which also offers many brief articles in every issue on a variety of topics.
So the next time you have a little time, or need a little break, try a magazine like the Reader’s Digest. It might give you conversation for the next party or lunch with a friend. The most current issue is on the magazine racks on the 2nd floor, near the Reference Desk.
Susan Freinkel will talk about “Plastic: A Toxic Love Story” at 7pm on Mon, Dec 2 (Young Auditorium). This is the last Fall 2013 Contemporary Issues Lecture.
Andersen Library owns a copy of Freinkel’s books, Plastic: A toxic love story (3rd-floor Main Collection, TP1120 .F74 2011) and American chestnut: The life, death, and rebirth of a perfect tree (3rd-floor Main Collection, SD397.A48 F74 2007), but if they’re checked out UWW faculty/staff and students may request copies from other UW libraries via the free Universal Borrowing service.
If you’d like assistance with finding additional materials, please ask a librarian.
Harry Potter and the Millennials:
Research Methods and the Politics of the Muggle Generation
by Anthony Gierzynski; with Kathryn Eddy
PR6068.O93 Z675 2013
New Arrivals, 2nd floor
There is no question that Harry Potter’s story, spanning seven hefty volumes, still keeps many of the generation that grew up with the trio of friends entranced. And why shouldn’t they? They are simply good fun. However, as University of Vermont political science professor Anthony Gierzynski and author Kathryn Eddy note in their introduction to Harry Potter and the Millennial, no story is “just a story,” but a potentially powerful vehicle for learning cultural values and perspectives.
No, don’t scoff – this is serious business. The researchers set off on a weighty quest* led by the questions, “what impact did a generation’s growing up as fans of Harry Potter have on that generation’s politics?” and “How does one find evidence for such an effect?” In their literary analysis, they identify six “subtle (and not-so-subtle) political lessons of Harry Potter,” my personal favorite being Lesson 3: Don’t Be an Authoritarian Git. The authors then devise several ways to measure exposure to these lessons among respondents beginning with a survey of 1,141 college-aged Millennial in 2009 taken at a diverse set of institutions. In the process of revisiting each of the lessons, illuminated by their questions and research data, they build a complex model of what they call the Potter Effect. It will be no surprise to the introspective Millennial that the model encompasses values ranging from feelings about diversity, tolerance, and the use of violence and torture, authoritarian dispositions, cynicism, political participation, and skepticism.
Gierzynski and Eddy have snatched the elusive snitch. They have grappled with the “methodological issues of measuring entertainment media’s political effects”; and while a peer researcher in political science or sociology might observe points where the authors may have teetered on their Cleansweep Eleven broomsticks, I hazard to say that they and the general reader will be as entertained as I was by the story of their research.
**The “quest” reference provides evidence that I am a product of the Tolkien era. It can’t be helped. I will, nevertheless, request the newly released USPS Harry Potter Forever stamps next time I visit the US Post Office. My courier newt didn’t fare so well in the owlery, so I must resort to using Muggle mail delivery. And if you aren’t sure what that was all about, look it up in the Harry Potter Lexicon and Muggle Encyclopedia.
A sampling of the articles, artwork, books, photos, compositions, and conference presentations produced by over 80 of UWW’s staff and faculty during the period July 2011-June 2012 will be displayed in the Crossman Gallery (Greenhill Center of the Arts) on Tues., Nov. 26, from 10am-5pm and 6pm-8pm. A reception will be held on Tues. from 3pm-4:30pm, with welcoming remarks by Chancellor Richard Telfer. Refreshments will be available during the reception.
This event is co-sponsored by the Chancellor, Andersen Library, Crossman Gallery, Office of Research & Sponsored Programs, and University Marketing and Media Relations.
Among this year’s honorees are two Library staff: Carol Elsen and Michael Johnson. Congratulations!
Photo from 2010 Scholarship & Creative Achievement reception
Last week, I admitted to being a big fan of Abraham Lincoln. Well, I’m an even bigger fan of John F. Kennedy. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was 150 years ago on November 19. Kennedy’s assassination was 50 years ago today. Ask anyone who is old enough to remember that day, and I’ll bet they can still tell you exactly what they were doing when they heard the news.
The number of books, films, websites, and the like that are devoted to Kennedy is higher than I can count, and with the 50th anniversary, even more books are being published. A subject search on Kennedy, John F. in the Library’s catalog brings up a list of 94 titles. One of those, a one-volume biography titled An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963, was called “the best of the full biographies” on Kennedy by The New York Times Book Review (October 27, 2013, p. 24). I’ve read it, and I agree, it’s a great work. It includes information on the health problems of the president, kept carefully guarded during his lifetime. The Library’s copy is in the Main Collection, call number E842 .D28 2003.
If you don’t want to read a book, maybe you’d like to listen to interviews with Jacqueline Kennedy about her life with JFK. Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy, Interviews with Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., 1964 is an 8-disc audio book, with an accompanying print book, located in the Browsing Books Audio collection, call number E842 .O63 2011.
Want to watch a film instead? How about, JFK: A Presidency Revealed, by the History Channel? It’s located in our Browsing Academic DVD collection, call number E842 .J45 2003.
To access digital collections, interactive exhibits, and more, check out the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum website.
Or maybe you’d like to read newspaper articles published during his presidency, or how about articles written right after the assassination? Check out our online databases, ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2009) or ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune (1849-1989).
Want to see how quickly things can change? Open the New York Times database above. Go to the Advanced Search, and limit your search to November 22, 1963, front page articles. Click Search. In the newspaper that day, there was a front page article titled: “Kennedy Pledges Space Advances; Opens Texas Tour.”
Then do a new search, and change the date to November 23, 1963. The New York Times front page headline that day, in all capital letters, was: “KENNEDY IS KILLED BY SNIPER AS HE RIDES IN CAR IN DALLAS; JOHNSON SWORN IN ON PLANE.” Kennedy opened his Texas tour one day, and was gone the next.
Rest in peace, Mr. President.
Oxford Dictionaries announced its international Word of the Year on November 19:
selfie
The origin of selfie has been traced to an Australian online forum in 2002, and apparently there are spinoffs like helfie (a selfie of your hair) and welfie (a workout selfie). Good grief. I had no idea.
The shortlist for word of the year includes bedroom tax, binge-watch, bitcoin, olinguito, schmeat, showrooming, and (unfortunately) twerk. I’ve only heard a couple of these myself. Visit the site to learn their meanings if they unfamiliar to you too.
Andersen Library provides access to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), and if you’re interested in building your vocabulary, you can visit the database to set up an RSS feed of the Word of the Day! Or, follow OED on Twitter.
