Spring Semester Events Hosted by the Libraries

Come join us for an evening of great poetry, literature and music!

February 20, Wednesday night at 7:45 p.m.—co-hosted with the Faulconer Gallery—An open mic for poetry, fiction, or music. Location: Faulconer Gallery. Join the Grinnell College Libraries and the Faulconer Art Gallery for an evening of literature and music. Read from your own poetry and fiction or that of a favorite author or poet; perform music that you've written yourself or any piece that you've been working on. Share your literary and musical passion in a beautiful setting with other members of the college and the community of Grinnell. If you have questions or want more information, contact Tilly Woodward [woodward] or Rebecca Stuhr [stuhrr].

February 27, Wednesday night at 7:45 p.m.--Will Freeman will read from his work in progress, "Road Map". Freeman's book takes the form of journal entries and recounts a father-son cross-country road trip. As with any set of plans, the unexpected, whether chance or fate, is always a determining factor. This is a book about father and son relationships, life choices, and finding one's way. Location: first floor, Burling Library

March 5, Wednesday night at 7:45 p.m.--Mark Montgomery, professor of economics at Grinnell College, will read from his humorous essays and fiction at Burling Library, First Floor. This is one of four events being hosted by the libraries during the spring semester of 2008. This event is free and open to the public. Location: first floor, Burling.

April 7, Monday night at 7:45 p.m.--Betty Moffett, short story writer (and folk singer), will read from her short fiction. Betty will be joined by the Too Many String Band to perform some of her songs. Location: first floor, Burling Library.

April 16, Wednesday night at 7:45 p.m.--David Richter, assistant professor of Spanish will be giving a talk on modern Spanish poetry. In April of 2007, the college celebrated the donation from Mary-Elizabeth Debicki of Andrew P. Debicki's personal library. This year the Grinnell College Libraries are recognizing the life and contributions of Professor Debicki with a lecture, sponsored by Mrs. Debicki, to be given by David Richter. The title of Prof. Richter's talk will be: "Death and Desire in Modern Hispanic Poetry: Reflections on Grinnell College Libraries' Andrew P. Debicki Collection." Location: first floor, Burling Library


April 23, Wednesday night at 7:45 p.m.--The students of Ralph Saverese's Craft of Poetry class will read from the poetry they have been writing throughout the semester. Location: first floor, Burling Library.

May 1, Thursday night at 7:45 p.m.--Paula Smith, Professor of English, and as of July 2008, Dean of the College, will read from her most recent literary works. Smith recently spent a portion of her sabbatical at Ragdale, an artist retreat near Lake Forest, Illinois, as an artist in residence. Location: first floor, Burling Library.

New Faces in the Libraries

During the Spring semester, library users will see three new faces at the Burling and Kistle reference desks. Simone Sidwell, Elaine Settergren, and Lorraine Hopper-Wobst will work with us part-time while we complete the search for a Data Services Librarian and while Phil Jones is on research leave.

Simone has an MLS from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with a BA in Comparative Literature. Elaine’s MLS is from the University of Pittsburgh, and her BA from Winona State is in English. Lorraine has a Master’s in Library Science from Drexel University and a BA in Spanish and English from Bucknell. Please welcome Simone, Elaine and Lorraine to Grinnell College!

Photo courtesy of the Grinnell College Libraries.

Course-level Passwords for E-reserves

This semester we are implementing a new password system for accessing electronic reserve readings, streaming audio files, etc. The password will restrict access to course materials to the students enrolled in that course. Instructors will provide the password to enrolled students at the beginning of the term. If a student forgets his/her password, it is available from the circ desk supervisor, the reference librarian, academic support assistants, and often, on the PioneerWeb page for the course. Our goal with this procedure is to improve our compliance with copyright law while ensuring that students can get help with lost or forgotten passwords.

Movie Browser Now Available Online

The Listening Room's Movie Browser has been a familiar resource for a number of years. While the hard copy version began as an effort to provide patrons a way to browse the room's video collection, it has grown to include the video collection in the AV Center. Because of this and in response to patron requests, the master list of the Movie Browser is now available online.

To access the Movie Browser Online, go to http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/collections/MovieBrowserOnline.html and select one of the available links. The videos in the Movie Browser Online are arranged in title order and split between six (6) files. The browser includes the film's format (DVD or VHS), call number and whether it is restricted to library use only. If it is located in the AV Center or requires a multi-region player, this information should also be noted; otherwise, the video should be in the Listening Room and playable on standard US equipment. To get more information about a specific title--such as whether a film is checked out, click on the title's link to access its record in the library catalog.

Graduate Programs in Library, Archival, and Information Science

Librarianship and archival work are career choices for many Grinnell graduates, We have begun to post announcements of graduate programs (Master’s and Ph.D.) on the bulletin board outside the Librarian of the College’s Office. If you are curious about career opportunities in this field, contact Catherine Rod (rod@grinnell.edu) or any of the other librarians. We’d be happy to talk with you.

Sculptural Paper Held Over by Popular Demand

The Art 295 “Sculptural Paper” installation will continue on view through the Spring semester. A few pieces have been moved to new locations in Burling. See our original posting about this installation below.

Burling Library is privileged to host this installation of paper-based sculptures created by the students in ART295. As digital forms of communication become more pervasive, our relationship to physical place and tangible objects becomes more complex and, some would say, more precious. We invite the Grinnell community to enjoy the surprise of unexpected encounters with these works, and we encourage respect for them. A listing of the artists and the locations of their works is also available at the Circulation Desk.

— Richard Fyffe, Rosenthal Librarian of the College

Artists’ Statement:

Handmade paper has a deep relationship with interior spaces. From Japanese shoji screens to fine Italian wallpaper we all have ideas about the relationship between paper and architecture. Paper is also, historically, the substrate that carries our culture. The library, the gallery, and the archive are all places that house this paper.

The Sculptural Paper class this fall has been given the gift of an invitation to create site-specific works of art that use handmade paper as their primary material for locations throughout Burling Library. The diversity of the work they have created is remarkable. Each of these works uses plant fiber: Cotton, Flax, Hemp, Abaca, or Kozo, as the primary material for form and structure in these objects.

Some of these works will be immediately apparent when one walks in the front door of Burling Library. Meredith Grove's cast human forms will cover a section of the large brick wall on the West side of Burling. Rebecca Johnston has cast scores of round shapes that hang overhead from the second floor mezzanine. Other works are hidden away. Veronica Erb's abaca domes nestle into a tree house, Trevor Austin's quiet alphabet book rests on a shelf below a dictionary. These are only a few examples of the wide range of student responses to this project.

Everyone is welcome to join a public discussion about the development, materials, and process of this project with the artists on November 13th from 1 to 4 pm.

We would like to thank the staff of Burling Library for their generous support of this project.

—Professor Lee Running and the Students of ART295, Fall 2007

Sculptural Paper: Site-Specific Installations in Burling Library

1. Alex Schechter: “Burqa”
Kozo and fabric dye
Location: Front (north) Windows, 1 st Floor.

2. Hugh Redford: Untitled
Abaca and Kozo
Location: Treehouse, 1 st Floor

3. Indrani Singh: “Making Sense of Place”
Kozo and Abaca
Location: Map and Atlas Cases, 1 st Floor

4. Kirsten Aho: Untitled
Abaca and Flax
Location: Central Staircase, 4 th Floor

5. Lindsey Walter: Untitled
Kozo
Location: Reference Collection, 1 st Floor

6. Meredith Groves: “Sense of Self”
Flax and Abaca
Location: Brick Wall, Southwest Corner, 1 st Floor

7. Paula Matallana: “Macondo Lives Only In The Mind”
Abaca, Cotton and Kozo
Location: Latino Collection, 1 st Floor

8. Rebecca Johnston: “The Collective”
Flax and Cotton
Location: Northeast Alcove, 1 st Floor

9. Sabrina Bardonille: “Quilt”
Kozo
Location: Print and Drawing Study Room, Basement Level

10. Trevor Austin: “Letters”
Cotton
Location: Dictionary Stand, 4 th Floor

11. Veronica Erb: “Hemispheres”
Abaca
Location: Treehouse, 1 st Floor

12. Camille Lindsey-Larrabee: “Tie Dye Kite”
Kozo
Location: South Windows, 1 st floor

2008 Favorite Films Festival

The Grinnell College community is invited to see the films it selected as its favorite action/adventure, science fiction and childhood favorite during the second annual Favorite Films Festival on January 25-27. The film schedule is:

Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (Action/Adventure)
Fri. Jan. 25th 4:30, 7:30 & 10:30 PM Harris
Sat. Jan. 26th 1:30 PM Harris

Star Wars: A New Hope (Science Fiction)
Sat. Jan. 26th 7:30 & 10:30 PM Harris
Sun. Jan. 27th 1:30PM Harris

The Lion King (Childhood Favorite)
Fri. Jan. 25th 7:30PM & 9:30 PM Forum
Sat. Jan. 26th 7:30PM & 9:30 PM Forum

All showings are free and open to the public.

The films were selected after a campus-wide survey conducted last semester. The festival is co-sponsored by Grinnell College Libraries and the Student Government Association Films Committee.