Friends of the UNCG Libraries

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...

photo by Sarah Dorsey What a difference color (and new shelving and furniture) make!    So says Music Librarian Sarah Dorsey, noting that visitors will find that the Harold Schiffman Music Library has undergone renovation following the recent naming of the library for composer and Greensboro native Harold Schiffman. As reported in June ,   the Music Library was named in honor of a large planned gift from Schiffman and his wife Dr. Jane Perry-Camp.   At the time, Dean John Deal of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance noted "This generous bequest from Harold Schiffman and Jane Perry-Camp, along with their previous gifts to the Jackson Library, constitute the largest gift to the School of Music, Theatre and Dance since its inception in 2010 and to the School of Music since 2001.  The scholarship endowment component will provide financial assistance to hundreds of future music students.  It is truly a transformational gift.  We are tremendously ...

(L-R) Mac Nelson, John Baga Paul Hessling (photo by Carolyn Shankle)    Paul Hessling has been a cataloger at UNCG for 25 years. John Baga is beginning his career as a cataloger at Mississippi State after getting his M.L.I.S. degree from UNCG in 2011. They are linked by a passion for UNCG’s cello music collection, and their relationship with Mac Nelson, UNCG’s cello music cataloger.  Here is their story.  UNCG’s cello music collection is believed to be the world’s largest.  It has been built over nearly half a century, beginning with the acquisition of the Luigi Silva Collection by the Friends of the Library in 1964. Seven other collections have been acquired and processed in the intervening years, and the web site at http://library.uncg.edu/info/depts/scua/collections/cello/   draws more than 6000 web page views per year from  students and scholars from throughout the world each year, as well as hundreds of visitors in...

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...