Friends of the UNCG Libraries

In November, we began a series of programs examining the topic "What is College For?"  It’s a subject that has much significance for our future, both within the academe and outside it.  We need to hear from lots of stakeholders in this enterprise, and every single citizen is a stakeholder to one degree or another.  In Rich DeMillo and Andrew Delbanco , we’re inviting speakers who are leading national figures to weigh in on the subject, and we are screening a major documentary film, Ivory Tower , which has drawn much attention, especially with regard to the rising cost of higher education. The recent program at UNCG with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and students from our iSchool program illustrated the message of Rich DeMillo earlier in the same week, that technology offers remarkable potential to bring education and learning to those who might not be able to get it in more traditional ways.  I don't usually introduce a personal perspective in these po...

April 27, 2015  March 30, 2015 February 23, 2015 all at 6 pm Digital Media Commons, Lower Level, Jackson Library The Digital Media Commons and the Digital ACT Studio are hosting a New Short Film Festival (NSFF) on the last Monday of every month this semester. The events take place on the Lower Level of Jackson Library, and start at 6 p.m. The series is meant to inspire UNCG filmmakers to create, experiment, and make films that capture alternative viewpoints, display moving narratives, and embrace new filmmaking techniques. The gathering is meant to encourage filmmakers and enthusiasts to create experimental films that offer new perspectives, create inventive narratives, and make use of a variety of visual materials. Part two of the four-part series was hosted by Media Studies Department Professor, Dr. Michael Frierson, on February 23rd.  Frierson screened his own work, along with the work of other students. The next part of the series will occur on March 30, and will...

The following report comes from the Center for Creative Writing in the Arts at UNCG, courtesy of Shawn Delgado. UNCG-Affiliated & Campus Literary Events: Trudy Lewis and Cathy Carr Alumni Fiction Reading —Thursday, March 26 th , 7:00 PM Faculty Center, UNCG Free and open to the public      From the UNCG Creative Writing MFA Program: “ The MFA Writing Program at Greensboro, The Greensboro Review , The UNCG College of Arts & Sciences, and the UNCG Alumni Association will host a fiction reading by UNCG alums Trudy Lewis and Cathy Carr on Thursday, March 26th at 7:00 PM in the UNCG Faculty Center on College Avenue. The event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a book signing.      Trudy Lewis is the author of the recently released novel, The Empire Rolls , a short story collection, The Bones of Garbo , winner of the Sandstone Prize in Short Fiction, and the novel Private Correspondences , which won the William Goyen...

Head of Special Collection and University Archives Keith Gorman (far right) and Director of Development Linda Burr (second from left) hosted a group of docents from the North Carolina Museum of Art in early March.  Docents facilitate rich conversations about the Museum’s collection and exhibitions with tour groups and visitors of all ages and interests. While in the Library, the docents enjoyed seeing materials from the special collections relating to the book arts, illustration and illumination. The group also visited the Weatherspoon Art Museum .

Members of the Friends of the UNCG Libraries Board of Directors and the Jackson Society , made up of those who support the University Libraries at UNCG with gifts of $1000 or more during the past year, enjoyed a wine and cheese reception with UNCG author Michael Parker at the Scuppernong Bookstore on March 3. 

Thursday, March 26: Screening and discussion of Ivory Tower documentary film 3:30 p.m., followed by discussion at 5 p.m. in the Elliott University Center Auditorium, UNCG. Tuesday, April 14: Presentation by Andrew Delbanco of Columbia University, “What is College For?” 4 p.m. Virginia Dare Room, Alumni House, UNCG. UNCG’s “What Is College For?” series continues this spring with two related events in late March and mid-April. On March 26, the University Libraries and the Provost’s Office will host a screening and discussion of Ivory Tower, the 2014 documentary film by Andrew Rossi.  The film premiered at the Sundance Festival last year, went into theatrical release mid-year, and was broadcast by CNN in November.  There is a copy in the University Libraries DVD collection, and it is also available on NetFlix.  You can view a trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdOvSZDoCDc The official website for the movie describes it in this way: As tuition rates spiral ...

Please join us at 3:00 pm on Monday, April 13 in the Hodges Reading Room in Jackson Library for a lecture by Dr. Gregory Grieve of the UNCG Religious Studies Department. The event was originally scheduled for February but was postponed by bad weather and the closing of the campus. His talk,  "Playing with Religion and Digital Games in the Library"  will draw from both his teaching and research. For the past two years, Dr. Grieve has worked closely with the Libraries' Digital Media Commons and Undergraduate Studies' Digital ACT Studio to develop space and resources for his courses on Digital Religion and Religion in Digital Games.  Final group projects in these classes require students to develop a video. His recent books, Buddhism, the Internet and Digital Media: The Pixel in the Lotus and  Playing with Religion in Video Games explore this topic extensively. To quote Dr. Grieve: "Shaman, paragon, God-mode: modern video games are heavily coded with religio...