Friends of the UNCG Libraries

The University Libraries' Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA), along with the Library at Wake Forest University, recently hosted a "Hop into History" event at Gibbs Hundred Brewing Company in downtown Greensboro.  Forty UNCG alumni, Libraries' staff and others came to view exhibits based on a Halloween theme. Items included creepy dust jackets, the infamous McIver death mask and a William Jennings Bryan life mask. Hop into History is designed to engage the greater community to learn about the collections in SCUA.

Do you have a piece of Greensboro’s history in your possession?  Something that tells your story, or that of your family or neighborhood?  A photograph?  A document?  A letter? If so, bring it along as you come to the Hayes-Taylor YMCA to see what the Achievers Program there has been doing to learn about and save Greensboro history in digital form so that it can be seen and used by future generations. On Saturday June 20 from 11 am until 2:00 pm, students who have been participating since February in a project to collect and digitize Greensboro history will hold a free event to show others what they’ve been doing. There will be a multi-poster display of some of the interesting and important historical materials that have been discovered since February. The “Digitizing Greensboro History” staff and students also invite the public to bring a cherished letter, document or photograph (individual, family, an older image of Greensboro or perhaps their neighborhood...

In addition to the education of our students and the research of our faculty and staff, a big part of UNCG’s mission is serving the people of the state of North Carolina and beyond.  The University Libraries play a major role in that service.  A recent request for a report on our community engagement gave us a chance to look back on the service of the past year, including some areas that might not always be noticed by the casual observer. Many people may be aware of the programs and the activities offered by the Friends of the UNCG Libraries, which are advertised especially to our members and are generally open to the public.  In the period since the last school year began, we hosted 7 author visits, 2 lectures, 5 book discussions, 1 documentary film screening, and 3 signature events: •    our Friends of the UNCG Libraries annual dinner (featuring Kathy Reichs in 2015), •    our Women Veterans Historical Project luncheon (featuring a pane...

Reference Librarian Steve Cramer is doing some training at the Chamber of Commerce next Wednesday as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. His course will be Marketing Research Tools to Grow Your Business at Greensboro Entrepreneur on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM (EST). Register at http://gewnov14mrt-rest.eventbrite.com/ The North Carolina Library Association held the 2012 Leadership Institute on October 25th thru October 28th at the Caraway Conference Center. The mission of the Leadership Institute is as follows: "The Mission of the North Carolina Library Association (NCLA) Leadership Institute is to create opportunities for learning and skill building in leadership and mentoring. The Institute will cultivate an improved understanding of self and others, while inspiring participants to serve in leadership roles within the profession at local, state and national levels" The University Libraries were well represented by four of our li...

The University Libraries at UNCG engage the community in a variety of ways and on a variety of levels.   In a series of three posts over coming weeks, I am outlining some of them.   This post will focus on programs. One of the University Libraries’ longest-running engagements with the community is with the Friends of the UNCG Libraries.   Since 1959, the Friends have supported the libraries and have held an annual dinner with a major speaker each year .   This is historically one of the best attended community events of the year at UNCG.    The 2013 dinner is scheduled for the evening of Monday, April 29, 2013 when the speaker will be John Shelton Reed. For the past ten years, the Friends have also sponsored a book discussion group led by faculty members.   This is a unique opportunity for community members to enjoy the fine teaching at UNCG without charge, and to read and discuss books chosen by those faculty members and a committee of th...

Cataloging Department Head Mary Jane Conger and her team have been working with the Bienenstock Library in High Point to improve access to its rich collection. Read about the project in the High Point Enterprise . See also this article in the March 27 Furniture World and the piece on page 84 of the March/April issue of Furniture World Magazine . The first phase of the project should be completed before the Furniture Market opens Apr. 21st. The Furniture Library is planning for a 2nd phase to last eight weeks after Furniture Market and a final 3rd phase to do their rare book materials. You can follow the team's progress at their blog .