Friends of the UNCG Libraries

As we close in on the 2012 elections, the University Libraries are making every effort to engage the campus in this exercise in civic engagement. There’s a voter registration table on the first floor of Jackson Library where potential voters may register or change their voter registration. Reference Librarian Lynda Kellam has prepared a  LibGuide to help voters educate themselves about the candidates and their positions on the issues.  Archivist Sean Mulligan has prepared an exhibit entitled Campaigns and Elections: the Race for Political Office now on display in the Hodges Reading Room on the 2 nd floor of Jackson Library. The Friends of the UNCG Libraries book discussion on October 29 features Dr. David Olson of the Political Science Department leading a discussion of Theodore White's classic,  The Making of the President 1960 at 7 pm in the Hodges Reading Room, Jackson Library. Register on our website. Even French television took an interest in the opinio...

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...

When the talk turns to saving money, as it often does, the University Libraries at UNCG have a story to tell.   And so do their colleagues in other libraries in the area. In 2005 the University Libraries at UNCG conceived and established the Carolina Consortium to leverage the buying power of the state’s libraries to acquire access to electronic journals and databases.   Less than ten years later, the Consortium now covers North and South Carolina and includes more than 140 libraries.   “Total cost avoidance savings for the UNC system libraries alone amounted to more than $100 million last year and more than $500 million since the group was formed,” says Tim Bucknall, Convener of the Consortium and Assistant Director of the University Libraries at UNCG.   “As a result of the Consortium’s deals, the libraries in the region have better access to electronic information resources at a cost far below what it would cost each of them to acquire the resources alone.”...

Each year, hundreds of new students at UNCG participate in the First Year Summer Read.  This year, the selected book, Wine to Water: A Bartender's Quest to Bring Clean Water to the World , is authored by one of Greensboro's own.  Doc Hendley , a 1997 graduate of Ragsdale High School, a 2004 graduate of NC State University, and a 2009 CNN Hero, will return to Greensboro to speak on campus.  The University Libraries are pleased to help sponsor Hendley's visit to UNCG, and we welcome our Friends and other interested community members to join us at his talk. The event is Wednesday, September 12, 2012 at 7:00pm in the Aycock Auditorium on the corner of Tate and Spring Garden Streets.  Parking is available behind the Weatherspoon Art Gallery off of Tate Street.  The event is free and open to the public.  A book signing will follow the presentation. Hendley's book describes his experience of conceptualizing and founding Wine to Water, a non-profit o...

The University Libraries are excited to announce that on August 20, the Digital Media Commons (DMC) opens in the lower level of Jackson Library.  This is a great new resource for students as they take on multimedia projects. What is the DMC? The DMC provides the space and resources for UNCG's students, faculty and staff to create and refine their multimedia projects, including web pages, digital images, digital video, digital audio, PowerPoint and more. Patrons can receive assistance with selecting, using, and citing media resources, as well as consult with experts on the rhetorical, aesthetic, and technical aspects of developing and communicating their ideas through media. Who staffs the DMC? The DMC will provide expert staff from the University Libraries, digital literacy consultants from the Undergraduate Studies’ Multilteracy Centers Program , and graduate assistants from the Media Studies and Library and Information Sciences departments. To learn more about the DMC...

Steve Cramer, the UNCG business librarian, led a feasibility workshop with 25 visiting German university students on August 6. They were Fulbright students from all over Germany participating in a month-long entrepreneurship-themed Summer Institute Program. The students are engaging in language development, community service, and entrepreneurship education, as well as enjoying field trips to the North Carolina mountains, Disney World (in part to get a taste of its intern program), and Washington D.C. Only about half of the students are business majors. Joe Erba, a UNCG Entrepreneurship faculty member who often collaborates with Steve, had been working with the students and introduced Steve. Joe and Steve began by asking each student to describe his/her Germany-based business idea, which they were assigned to come up with over the weekend. One interesting proposed idea was a kangaroo farm in Bavaria to sell the meat (including a kosher herd). Another student was impressed wi...

Here's a list of our public events this fall semester.  If you don’t see a link to a blog entry, we will provide more information on this blog nearer to each event, but suggest you save the dates and times on your calendar for those you are interested in.  Friends of the UNCG Libraries Book discussions   Fall discussions are September 17, October 29, and December 3. See http://www.uncgfol.blogspot.com/2012/07/20122013-fol-book-discussion-schedule.html .   Friday, September 7.   Author Tony Horwitz, Jackson Library Reading Room, 4-5 p.m. http://www.uncgfol.blogspot.com/2012/07/author-tony-horwitz-to-visit-uncg.html . Monday, September 10 .  Author, storyteller and musical artist John McCutcheon, Elliott University Center Auditorium.  7 p.m.  See http://www.uncgfol.blogspot.com/2012/05/john-mccutcheon-to-appear-in-greensboro.html Wednesday, September 12 .  Author Doc Hendley , whose book Wine to Water: A Bartender's Quest to...