Friends of the UNCG Libraries

Left to right are LaTesha Velez, Nataly Blas, and Jason Alston At the recent Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in Kansas City  all three UNCG diversity residents stopped together for a photo.  "We are very proud of our Diversity Residents," noted Dean Rosann Bazirjian, who also attended the conference.  Reference Librarian and Diversity Coordinator Gerald Holmes was also happy to get to see them.  LaTesha is now in PhD program at The University of Illinois, Jason is in the PhD program at The University of South Carolina, and Nataly has recently begun her residency at UNCG.

On Thursday, November 8 at 7:00 pm, the UNCG Student Libraries Advisory Council, along with the UNCG Historical Society, will host a book talk in the Reading Room of Jackson Library.  Author Jonathan Shectman will discuss his new book, Bound for the Future: Child Heroes of the Underground Railroad . These student groups welcome community attendance at this free event.  A book signing will follow the talk. Jonathan Shectman is former editor of a series of science education books published by the National Science Resources Center, an arm of the Smithsonian Institution. His published works include Greenwood's Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the 18th Century. As the publisher describes, Bound for the Future "illuminates the vital contributions of specific, underappreciated child activists within the extremely local circumstances of their daily work. It also provides meaningful context to the actions of these young activists within the...

A student working on a report . . . A traveler with an interest in historic literary sites . . . A teacher preparing a lesson plan . . . A writer interested in places that have inspired other writers . . . A book club planning its discussions centering around a particular author or set in a particular place . . . These are but some of the users of the North Carolina Literary Map , a new, free resource produced by the University Libraries at UNC Greensboro in collaboration with the North Carolina Center for the Book. The NC Literary Map, found on the Internet at http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/ , identifies the North Carolina places associated with more than 3000 writers and more than 4700 of their books with an interactive online tool that is designed to foster interest in the state’s rich literary tradition. In recognition of the strong literary tradition at UNCG and its award-winning MFA Writing program, and utilizing the strong technical development staff in the Univers...

The Virginia Dare Room at UNCG is 75 years old this year.   The child for whom it is named was born 425 years ago.   “Why not celebrate both?” we asked as we proposed the free program to be offered November 8 at 4 p.m. at the Alumni House on the UNCG campus. Virginia Dare is a historical figure dimly remembered more than 400 years after her birth. She was the first English child born on American soil, part of the disastrous Lost Colony of Sir Walter Raleigh which disappeared into a shroud of mystery shortly after she was born. A close scrutiny of new research in archaeology and dendrochronology has revealed new theories that may result in a solution to the mystery before long. More than that, however, the tangle of legends, oral histories, Native American connections, and even pop culture that have built around Virginia Dare over four centuries are astonishing, entertaining, and even amusing. In this program, Marjorie Hudson explores new research and old legends, from...

You Are Invited . . .  What:   A book talk by Professor Kelly Ritter on To Know Her Own History: Writing at the Woman's College. 1943-1963 . When: Thursday, October 25 at 4 pm Where: Hodges Reading Room, Jackson Library   As Professor Kelly Ritter (English Department) describes in her introduction, " To Know Her Own History is a sociohistorical study that focuses on the intertwined histories of first-year composition and creative writing at a public Southern women’s college in the mid-twentieth century in order to examine how evolving definitions of literacy, as well as evolving views of women as writers, shaped American college writing instruction during the postwar era. I offer new historical insight into the historical happenings in women’s writing postwar through an extended case study of the English department of the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina, and spotlight the national curricular trends and local institutional conditions ...

Nataly Blas has been named the 2012-2014 Diversity Resident at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro libraries. Nataly was awarded a Master’s degree from the School of Library and Information Studies at Florida State University in August, 2012. While in the program, Nataly worked as a Graduate Assistant in the Robert Manning Strozier Library, providing reference and research assistance to graduate students.  In addition to coordinating Scholar Commons programs and events, she also developed collections for the Hispanic Marketing Communication program and assisted with acquiring resources for Latin American Studies.  Nataly received her Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Florida State University in 2010 and worked as a Library & Museum Assistant while obtaining her undergraduate degree. The two year Residency Program at UNCG’s University Libraries was established to further increase the diversity of the  professional staff and foster the g...

Jerry Ensminger is an American hero to many.   His service to his country is inspiring, and his belief in his adherence to the Marine Corps motto, Semper Fi, meaning "always faithful" has been unswerving.  Jerry served as a master sergeant in the United States Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune North Carolina, where he and his family were exposed to lethal levels of toxins in the drinking water on the base.  His daughter Janey died of childhood leukemia at age nine.  Since hearing  initial news reports about the contamination of Camp Lejeune in 1997, Jerry has spent 15 years advocating for justice due to Marines and their families as a result of this exposure.  On Monday, October 22 at 7 pm in the Elliott University Center Auditorium on the UNCG campus, the Friends of the UNCG Libraries will present a screening of Semper Fi: Always Faithful , a documentary film by Rachel Libert and Tony Hardmon about Jerry’s story.  We do so to help inform t...