Friends of the UNCG Libraries

Join us for a screening of "The Day Carl Sandburg Died" on Tuesday, November 1 at 7:00 pm in the Elliott University Center Auditorium. Carl Sandburg died in July of 1967, but director Paul Bonesteel finds his life story and his creative legacy as relevant and provocative as it was in 1916 when his "Chicago Poems" changed American poetry. “Labor unrest, global wars, socialism, immigration and race issues… this was the subject matter that fueled Sandburg for much of his poetry and writing that shocked the world.” comments Bonesteel. “The intensity of his work was over simplified later in his life. He was both an anarchist and a deeply patriotic American.” The Friends of the UNCG Libraries are pleased to present a screening of Paul Bonesteel’s new documentary film, “The Day Carl Sandburg Died.” Bonesteel will introduce and discuss the 82 minute film on Tuesday, November 1, beginning at 7 pm in the Elliott University Center Auditorium. Please join us in re-examinin...

Across a front page featuring one of Matthew Lewis’ pictures, the iconic image of a white girl and a black girl swinging together, Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee scrawled “Just Beautiful!” with a red marker. A few years later, in 1975, Bradlee would summon Lewis to his office to tell him he had won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography. Lewis, an African American, was the first Post photographer to win a Pulitzer. “It’s about capturing that emotion on film,” Lewis says of his calling. “That’s what it’s all about.” Lewis, who now lives in Thomasville, will share his photographs and photographs by his grandfather, Harvey James Lewis, who forged a career in photography in the late 1800s, Wednesday, Oct. 19, in Jackson Library. The event, moderated by Jeri Rowe of the Greensboro News & Record, is sponsored by the Friends of the UNCG University Libraries. Lewis will begin his presentation at 5 p.m. in the Hodges Reading Room on the second floor of the library; it is free and op...

The Diversity Committee of the University Libraries is pleased to present an event with one of UNCG's distinguished faculty members and renowned poet, Dr. Mark Smith Soto. Dr. Mark Smith-Soto will discuss his writing career and the ways in which his ethnic identity has influenced both the perception and creation of his poetry. Please join us on Tuesday, October 25, at 4:00 pm in Kirkland Room, Elliott University Center. Dr. Smith-Soto was born in his father's hometown, Washington D.C., and reared in his mother's native country, Costa Rica. He is Professor of Spanish, editor of International Poetry Review , and former director of the Center for Creative Writing in the Arts at UNCG. A 2005 winner of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in creative writing, his poetry has appeared in Nimrod , The Sun , Poetry East , Quarterly West , Callaloo , Literary Review , Kenyon Review and many other literary journals. The author of three award-winning poetry chapbooks, ...

The ongoing Friends of the UNCG Libraries book sale will restart on Tuesday, October 18. Books will be restocked each Tuesday morning during the active part of each semester (monthly during the summer).

UNCG librarians and staff, as well as LIS faculty and students, were very active participants in the recent North Carolina Library Association biennial meeting in Hickory. Not counting alumni, we counted 24 presentations involving UNCG personnel and 9 poster sessions. Assistant Director Mike Crumpton also served on the Program Committee. Presentations from UNCG included the following: Educating Community College Librarians Nora Bird, UNCG & Mike Crumpton, UNCG Everybody Teaches! Creating Effective Online e-learning Experiences Beth Filar Williams, UNCG & Amy Archambault, UNCG Lauren Pressley, Wake Forest University Establishing the Library in the Cultural Fabric of the Community: Ten Tips for Linking the Library to the World Barry K. Miller, UNCG Lessons Learned: Getting the Most Out of Libguides Jennifer Balance, CPCC Randall Bowman, Elon University Michelle Cosby, NC Central Law Library Jenny Dale, UNCG Nina Exner, NC A&T University Susan Wolf Neilso...

In Spring of 2010 the University of North Carolina (UNC) system administered the biennial Sophomore and Senior surveys to all 16 campuses. Several questions about the campus libraries are included in each survey. The Senior Survey included four questions about libraries. Approximately 1,000 UNCG students answered each question. On a four-point scale with 4 as “excellent” the UNCG University Libraries received the following scores: • Hours of operation (3.7) • Staff responsiveness (3.5) • Access to databases and collections (3.6) • Library services overall (3.6) We exceeded the UNC average for these questions in each category. Because these questions have remained the same for over 10 years we are able to get a longitudinal picture of our progress; our scores have improved each year. UNCG had a 57% response rate to the Sophomore Survey. It included six questions about libraries using a five-point scale with 5 as “very satisfied.” The University Libraries received good results...

As the current construction projects remind us, our campus is always undergoing change. Where once there was a lake, we now have a three-hole golf course. Walker Avenue no longer connects Aycock and Tate Streets because Jackson Library stands in the way. And the McIver Building is the second of that name, and the first McIver Building replaced another structure on that site. Last weekend, the University Libraries began a project to connect our campus to its past. We placed QR codes (see picture) in three spots so that returning alumni, armed with smart phones, could instantly be whisked back in time and watch changes to UNCG's landscape unfold. We hope in the future to create more of these short videos and continue to unlock the history of our campus. We invite you to now watch the first video of the McIver Building. Special thanks to David Gwynn,(who provides the wonderful narration), Richard Cox, Hermann Trojanowski, and Beth Filar Williams for their work on this project.