Friends of the UNCG Libraries

In its inaugural year, more than thirty persons have joined the Jackson Society to support the University Libraries at UNCG. After a kickoff brunch hosted by Chancellor Brady in May of 2010, the membership has grown rapidly. We thank all who have supported us, and invite others to consider joining. The Jackson Society honors donors who have generously contributed to the goals and enrichment of the University Libraries at UNCG As the Libraries’ leadership giving society, these dedicated supporters are committed to the Libraries’ mission -- to advance and support learning, research and service at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and throughout the state. Annual gifts of $1,000 or more ensure your place in the Jackson Society. Payments may be spread throughout the year or matched by your employer. New gifts to the Society are recognized on the Wall of Honor on the first floor of Jackson Library. For more information, please contact: Ms. Linda Burr Director of Development...

When Bobby Norfolk began reading bedtime stories for his seven year old, he found he had a slight problem. Instead of putting his son to sleep, the boy was so engaged by his father’s energetic style that he was ready for popcorn, soda, and more entertainment instead of rest. Norfolk realized that he should channel his efforts into storytelling, and he has become one of America’s best practitioners of the storytelling art. From traditional Anansi folk tales to a rap of the Three Billy Goats Gruff, historical themes to poetry, the St. Louis-based Norfolk now performs around the world and is a recipient of the prestigious Circle of Excellence Award from the National Storytelling Network. On September 12, the University Libraries at UNCG will host performances by Norfolk for the children and adults of the Triad. Norfolk will perform for invited schools and UNCG students during the day, and for the general public that evening at 7 p.m. in a free performance in the Elliott University Cen...

Author Sara Paretsky, best known her V.I. Warshawski novels, talks about the value of public and academic libraries in this video .

Mr. Tom Kirby-Smith has been elected chairperson of the Friends of the UNCG Libraries and to a new term on the Board of Directors. He was elected at the recent annual meeting of the Friends, which featured a presentation by authors Lee Smith and Hal Crowther. Mr. Kirby-Smith, who taught at UNCG for many years, was an early editor of the Greensboro Review. He is also the author of several books, including a guide to U.S. observatories, a book on the philosopher George Santayana, a book that examines free verse poetry and one on the emergence of poetry from music. His poetry and essays have been published in the Southern Review, the Sewanee Review, the Virginia Quarterly Review, Shenandoah, Poetry (magazine), the Mountain Goat, the Southern Poetry Review, Ploughshares, and the Hudson Review. He has served on the board of editors of Versification. His chapbook of poems, The Musical Constellations, was published by Unicorn Press in 2007. Among his former students is Claudia Emerson,...

2011 marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of Sense and Sensibility . Jane Austen's novels have been read, translated, adapted, critiqued, and loved ever since. On May 3, the Friends of the UNCG Libraries will gather with students from the Department of English and Professor Jim Evans to read selections from Austen's first-published novel and drink tea. Please join us! We will be at the Faculty Center from 3:30-5:30 on Tuesday, May 3. Contact Kimberly Lutz at kdlutz2@uncg.edu for more information. I posted this quiz on the many adaptations of Sense & Sensibility last week . Now, as promised, the answers, in red , below. The picture to the left? From the cover of the 2010 Marvel comic book version of the novel--we'll have it on hand at the reading next week. 1) Which actress knew, at age 22, that Sense & Sensibility would make a great movie? She later won an academy award for her screenplay and was nominated as best actress. Emma Thompson 2) How many BBC...

The Friends of the UNCG Libraries invite you to a free talk by Brett Friedlander author of "Chasing Moonlight: The True Story of Field of Dreams' Doc Graham", at 4:30 pm in the Dogwood Room of the Elliott University Center at UNCG, followed by a book signing at the UNCG-Wake Forest baseball game at the UNCG baseball stadium, which begins at 6 pm. Admission to the game is also free. Moonlight Graham was made famous by Burt Lancaster in the film, but his real life is also interesting. Moonlight's brother was UNC system president Frank Porter Graham, and his cousin was UNCG Chancellor Edward Kidder Graham. He also juggled a career in minor league baseball with his medical training, Co-sponsored with the Athletics Department. Together we invite you all to participate in the American Library Association's program, Step up to the Plate to play some baseball trivia and be entered to win a drawing for a trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstow...

Join the Friends of the UNCG Libraries and the Green Libraries Group as we look at the history of gardening on campus. In the Fall semester of 2010, students, faculty and staff broke ground on a new food garden at 123 McIver Street. But food gardening on campus has a much longer history. As this photo shows, “Farmerettes” from the State Normal and Industrial College, as UNCG was then named, were lending their labor to campus food production nearly 100 years ago in 1918. Join us as we celebrate these deep roots (excuse the pun). Carolyn Shankle will trace the history of community food gardening on campus, from the war gardens of World War I, to the victory gardens of World War II, and beyond, as captured in the pamphlets and photographs housed in the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives. Dr. Susan Andreatta, Professor of Anthropology and co-director of the UNC Greensboro Gardens will discuss the creation of the new garden and how it supports the campus mov...