Friends of the UNCG Libraries

The University Libraries Staff Service Award was established in 1997 upon the retirement of Martha Ransley, former Head of the Circulation Department,"to recognize and reward members of the SPA library staff who provide outstanding leadership and service in furthering the accomplishment of the mission of the Library to provide service to students, faculty, staff and members of the community which the University serves." The 2010 University Libraries’ Staff Service Award was presented to Stacey Krim in May. Stacey works in Jackson Library, where she coordinates commercial serials binding among the Cataloging, Access Services, Music Library, Preservation and Binding departments. She also creates and maintains procedures for NC DOCKS institutional repository materials, and reformats, digitizes or collaborates with various departments for major serials cancellations and closeout projects. Stacey has been active in making the library more inclusive, sharing knowledge, and working...

On April 15, 2010, the University Libraries at UNCG, through NC LIVE, began offering a new collection of downloadable audio books via Ingram Digital's MyiLibrary Audio Book Platform. The initial collection contained 750 titles, focusing primarily on language learning, history, biography, and classic literature. The eAudio content is downloadable to either an iPod or MP3 player, and playable on a PC or Mac computer. On Friday, May 14, NC LIVE added the second installment of downloadable audio books to it's new collection, available from: http://uncgreensboro.myilibraryaudio.com/ . As with the previous installment, the new titles were made available with an LSTA grant from the State Library of North Carolina. The new titles include approximately 250 new titles, as well as additional copies of previously owned content. The collection now contains nearly 1300 copies of audio books for public and academic libraries across the state. Each audio book user will need to set up their own...

We had a great turnout at our second annual sonnetfest, held on Friday, April 23. Friends, faculty, staff, and students read all 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets in under three hours. The weather cooperated, and we celebrated in style with cake! Hope you can join us next year.

Jim was Library Director from 1970 to 1988 and then he taught in the History Dept until his retirement in 1994. Associate Dean of the University Libraries Kathy Crowe notes that during his tenure our collections and staff grew to support UNCG's expanding research and professional programs in addition to the physical space. Jim was responsible for planning and opening the Library Tower that is now a prominent campus landmark. We also purchased our first online catalog while he was here. He is remembered as an outstanding colleague, teacher, leader, and friend. James Howard Thompson, 75, of 4020 Crown Hill Drive, Durham, died at UNC Memorial Hospital on April 13, 2010, after a long illness. Born on August 20, 1934, in Memphis, TN, he was the son of Curtis Thompson and Clara Terry Thompson. He graduated from Rhodes College in 1955 and received his M.A. and Ph.D. in history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1957 and 1961 and his M.S. in Library Science at the Uni...

Frank Stasio, a familiar voice to National Public Radio listeners, headlines the annual Friends of the UNCG University Libraries Dinner Monday, May 10. Stasio, who currently hosts WUNC’s “The State of Things,” will speak on “The State of Conversation.” For the past four years, Stasio, a Buffalo, N.Y., native, has immersed himself in the culture, lore, and history of North Carolina. His studio acts as a salon, where Stasio has perfected the art of conversation with everyone from folk musicians to politicians to hound breeders to beauty queens, gaining a unique perspective on his adopted state. He will address the question of what it means to be a North Carolinian in 2010. Stasio was named permanent host of “The State of Things” in June 2006. Visit “The State of Things” on the web at http://wunc.org/programs/tsot/. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's news director. From there he went to National Public Radio, wh...

Once again, the University Libraries, along with the Department of English and the Center for Creative Writing in the Arts, are celebrating Shakespeare's birthday. Please join us on Friday, April 23 from 2:00-5:30 pm on the lawn in front of Jackson Library--right by the McIver statue. A dedicated group of students, faculty, and library staff will read aloud all of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets. And, when we finish, we will eat cake! Come in costume, stay for fabulous prizes, and enjoy the Bard's immortal words. If you would like to volunteer to read sonnets, please contact Kimberly Lutz at 256-8598 or kimberly_lutz@uncg.edu . Check out Irma Minerva's podcast for even more information.

College student Jennifer Thompson was raped at knifepoint in 1984 by a man who broke into her Burlington apartment while she slept. Her identification of Ronald Cotton as her attacker led to his conviction. Cotton maintained his innocence and after more than a decade in Raleigh’s Central Prison was exonerated by a DNA test. When Cotton met Thompson-Cannino two years later they began an unlikely friendship. With Erin Torneo, they tell their story in the New York Times Bestseller “Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption.” Thompson-Cannino will give a free, public talk and sign copies of the book from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, April 8, in the UNCG Alumni House, Virginia Dare Room. The event is sponsored by the Department of Sociology and Friends of the UNCG Libraries. The DNA test that exonerated Cotton implicated someone else in the DNA databank, Bobby Poole. Poole actually had been in Central Prison at the same time as Cotton and had told people that he raped Thompson. Poole was...