News & Events

The library recently acquired several Berenstain Bears books at the request of a faculty member.   These books, not only the topic of a famous "Mandela effect" regarding the authors' last name, are also some of the twentieth century's most famous children's literature.  Through the adventures of Mother, Father, Brother, and Sister, many young children learn the values of the family dynamic.  Jan would have been 101 years old today, with a birthday of July 26, 1923. Check out these children's classics from our library!

''Somebody must show that the Afro-American race is more sinned against than sinning, and it seems to have fallen upon me to do so.'' - Ida B. Wells, Southern Horrors (1892)

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice honors the victims of lynching.  It opened in 2018 in Montgomery, Alabama, with sculpture displays representing those individuals hung, tortured, and killed by extra-judicial mobs in post-Civil War America.  It would not have been possible without the pioneering work of Ida B. Wells, a late nineteenth century journalist who watched the post-Reconstruction era United States devolve into lawlessness and revenge against the newly freed people.  Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) campaigned for universal suffrage and the public acknowledgement of lynching as an extra-judicial way to exert  control over the population.   Her birthday is July 16.

Remembering Ida, Ida Remembering: Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Black Political Culture in Reconstruction-Era Mississippi

Historicizing White Supremacist Terrorism with Ida B. Wells

This weekend on June 30, we celebrate National Corvette Day.  If you're involved with either automotive engineering or industrial maintenance, you may be interested in one of Kentucky's unique manufacturing plants -- the GM Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green.  The Corvette Museum nearby sells tickets to tour the plant and see how America's premier sportscar is created on a factory floor of 1 million+ square feet.   Since its opening in 1981, it has produced over 1.1 million Corvettes.  This fall in late August, the plant will celebrate another Corvette Caravan week on the parkways of Kentucky.

12 Amazing things We Learned at the Corvette Assembly Plant Tour

Branding the Social: Leisure, Consumption, and the Corvette Community

Maintenance Strategies for Industrial Multi-Stage Machines: The Study of a Thermoforming Machine

Recently, plant tours closed amid the rumors of an "unthinkable" improvement.   Factory managers definitely didn't want any snoops to bring the news to the outside world.  Perhaps during the Corvette Caravan days the new improvements will be revealed.  For more car news, check out the library app Flipster for Motortrend and Car & Driver magazine issues!

It's Men's Health Week.    While you may celebrate Dad or Papaw's health on one particular Sunday, these articles describe different important aspects of health for men, of all ages and all backgrounds.

Have you ever wondered whether the men in your life would be struck with the so-called "widow maker"?   The most prevalent cardiovascular issues among African-Americans are heart disease and stroke.  A gene also makes African American men susceptible to high blood pressure, even when eating right and moving a lot.  All of these factors are precursors to the early brewing of fatal and long-term disabling diseases. For these reasons, we should be looking for the early signs of disease as early as childhood.  To keep their hearts healthy -- as well stave off other diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's disease -- doctors study markers from a surprising source: inflammation.

Today’s proposed “crisis of masculinity” suggests that boys remain under immense pressure to fit a specific mold of boy and manhood.  The boy code transitions into the man box, in which many academics argue that boys suppress their emotional vulnerability to preserve a macho bravado and appear strong and tough no matter the circumstance.  No one wants to be rendered an outcast by failing to fit the mold of manliness.   Studies have found a surprising way to open up boys (and the men they become) to other possibilities: camping.   A traditional, overnight boys’ camp could provide an emotionally and physically safe space for boys to eschew gender role stereotypes.  Camps have a unique role in crafting healthy conceptions of masculinity: to allow spaces to appreciate beauty, sanction physicality, model conflict resolution and celebrate ritual. 

More than 74 million guys in America right now identified as a father in a recent census--that's more than the entire populations of Texas and California combined, with room for the good people of Minnesota--and per a Pew Research study, 85 percent of fathers said that being a dad is the most or one of the most important aspects of who they are as a person. For a special issue in May 2023, Men's Health asked six dads to turn their attention to their stories, as tough and confusing as it can be raising a boy in a world that's not quite sure what to do with him.  From the dad who works (and parents) from home, to the one who had to make hard decisions about "man up"  and "you're fine" when his son was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, these dads are the epitome of modern fatherhood. 

On the American scene in recent years, millions of men nervous about their loss of cultural centrality have turned to hypermasculine posturing and regressive gender politics.  Jacob's Shadow: Reimagining Masculinity, by pastoral theologian Herbert Anderson uses the biblical Jacob story to offer a vision for a new masculine humanness. He challenges every young male he meets to practice the embodiment of two principles that he believes are fundamental to healthy masculinity: nurturing the capacity to love and be loved, and making the world a fairer place for everyone. Using Jacob's story, including his thirst for power and his eventual woundedness, highlights how a change in men's ideals can also change the world.

Are there real, actionable methods for optimizing one's path in today's world? Finding stuff that works is hard, but a lot of this advice is fundamental. Go for a walk and let ideas percolate. Sleep well and life might look better the next morning. We can't offer guarantees, but we feel confident that if you do this stuff, you won't come away with regrets. Men can make improvements in various aspects, such as listening skills, connecting with nature through birdwatching, decluttering, walking for exercise, and gardening. The goal is to optimize one's path in today's world and promote health and happiness.

We've updated the library's holdings for gender and sexuality.  For children's and young adult books, it's one of the most challenged topics in the nation.  As we welcome students from schools where they may not have been able to see themselves represented in their libraries, we say Happy Pride Month.

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

ISBN: 9780374312718

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson's All Boys Aren't Blue explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. A New York Times Bestseller! Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, Today Show, and MSNBC feature stories From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys. Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren't Blue covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. Johnson's emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults. Velshi Banned Book Club Indie Bestseller Teen Vogue Recommended Read Buzzfeed Recommended Read People Magazine Best Book of the Summer A New York Library Best Book of 2020 A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2020 ... and more!

 

 

 

Gender Queer: a Memoir by Maia Kobabe

ISBN: 9781549304002

In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns,thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographicalcomic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortablewith strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia's intenselycathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes themortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to comeout to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, andfacing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears. Started as a way toexplain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer ismore than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on genderidentity--what it means and how to think about it--for advocates,friends, and humans everywhere.  

 

 

 

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

ISBN: 9780525555254

Winner of the National Book Award A New York Times Bestseller "The queer romance we've been waiting for."--Ms. Magazine Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the feeling took root--that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible.  But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father--despite his hard-won citizenship--Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.

 

 

 

 

 

The Best Liars in Riverview by Lin Thompson

ISBN: 9780316276726

In the woods of a small Kentucky town, Aubrey and Joel are like two tomato vines that grew along the same crooked fence: weird, yet the same kind of weird. But lately, even their shared weirdness seems weird. Then Joel disappears. Vanishes.The whole town is looking for him, and Aubrey was the last person to see Joel. Aubrey can't say much, but since lies of omission are still lies, here's what they know for sure: For the last two weeks of the school year, when sixth grade became too much, Aubrey and Joel have been building a raft in the woods. The raft was supposed to be just another part of their running away game. The raft is gone now, too.. Aubrey doesn't know where Joel is, but they might know how to find him. As Aubrey, their friend Mari, and sister Teagan search along the river, Aubrey has to fess up to who they really are, all the things they never said, and the word that bully Rudy Thomas used that set all this into motion.

 

 

 

 

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson; Peter Parnell; Henry Cole (Illustrator)

ISBN: 9780689878459

And Tango Makes Three is the bestselling, heartwarming true story of two penguins who create a nontraditional family. At the penguin house at the Central Park Zoo, two penguins named Roy and Silo were a little bit different from the others. But their desire for a family was the same. And with the help of a kindly zookeeper, Roy and Silo get the chance to welcome a baby penguin of their very own. Selected as an ALA Notable Children's Book Nominee and a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, "this joyful story about the meaning of family is a must for any library" (School Library Journal, starred review).

 

 

Grandad's Camper by Harry Woodgate

ISBN: 9781499811933

Discover a wonderful grandfather-granddaughter relationship, as a little girl hatches the perfect plan to get her Grandad adventuring again.Gramps and Grandad were adventurers. They would surf, climb mountains, and tour the country in their amazing camper. Gramps just made everything extra special. But after Gramps died, Granddad hasn't felt like traveling anymore. So, their amazing granddaughter comes up with a clever plan to fix up the old camper and get Grandad excited to explore again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spend the summer with a great book!

Goodbye Earl by Leesa Cross-Smith

ISBN: 9781538707654

In 2004, Rosemarie, Ada, Caroline, and Kasey are in their final days of high school and on the precipice of all the things teenagers look forward to when anything in life seems possible . . . from falling in love, to finding their dream jobs, to becoming who they were meant to be. In 2019, Kasey has returned to her small Southern hometown of Goldie for the first time since high school--and she still hasn't told even her closest friends the truth of what really happened that summer after graduation, or what made her leave so abruptly without looking back. Now reunited with her friends in Goldie for a wedding, she's determined to focus on the simple joy of being together again. But when she notices troubling signs that one of them might be in danger, she is catapulted back to that fateful summer. This time, Kasey refuses to let the worst moments of her past define her; this time, she knows how to protect those she loves at all costs.

 

 

 

 

The Caretaker by Ron Rash

ISBN: 9780385544276

It's 1951 in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Blackburn Gant, his life irrevocably altered by a childhood case of polio, seems condemned to spend his life among the dead as the sole caretaker of a hilltop cemetery. It suits his withdrawn personality, and the inexplicable occurrences that happen from time to time rattle him less than interaction with the living. But when his best and only friend, the kind but impulsive Jacob Hampton, is conscripted to serve overseas, Blackburn is charged with caring for Jacob's wife, Naomi, as well. Sixteen-year-old Naomi Clarke is an outcast in Blowing Rock, an outsider, poor and uneducated, who works as a seasonal maid in the town's most elegant hotel. When Naomi eloped with Jacob a few months after her arrival, the marriage scandalized the community, most of all his wealthy parents who disinherited him. Shunned by the townsfolk for their differences and equally fearful that Jacob may never come home, Blackburn and Naomi grow closer and closer until a shattering development derails numerous lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forager by Michelle Dowd

ISBN: 9781643751856

As a child, Michelle Dowd grew up on a mountain in the Angeles National Forest. She was born into an ultra-religious cult-or the Field as they called it-started in the 1930s by her grandfather, a mercurial, domineering, and charismatic man who convinced generations of young male followers that he would live 500 years and ascend to the heavens when doomsday came. Comfort and care are sins, Michelle is told. At the Field, a young Michelle lives a life of abuse, poverty, and isolation, as she obeys her family's rigorous religious and patriarchal rules-which are so extreme that Michelle is convinced her mother would sacrifice her, like Abraham and Isaac, if instructed by God. Focus on what will sustain, not satiate you, she tells herself. Use everything. Waste nothing. Get to know the intricacies of the land, like the intricacies of your body. And so she does. Using stories of individual edible plants and their uses to anchor each chapter, Forager is both a searing coming-of-age story and a meditation on the ways in which understanding nature can lead to freedom, even joy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis

ISBN: 9780593499856

When level-headed Francie arrives in Roswell, New Mexico, for her college roommate's UFO-themed wedding--complete with a true-believer bridegroom--she can't help but roll her eyes at all the wide-eyed talk of aliens, which obviously don't exist. Imagine her surprise, then, when she is abducted by one. Odder still, her abductor is far from what the popular media have led her to expect, with a body like a tumbleweed and a mass of lightning-fast tentacles. Nor is Francie the only victim of the alien's abduction spree. Before long, he has acquired a charming con man named Wade, a sweet little old lady with a casino addiction, a retiree with a huge RV and a love for old Westerns, and a UFO-chasing nutjob who is thoroughly convinced the alien intends to probe them and/or take over the planet. But the more Francie gets to know the alien, the more convinced she becomes that he's not an invader. That he's in trouble and she has to help him. Only she doesn't know how--or even what the trouble is.  Part alien-abduction adventure, part road trip saga, part romantic comedy, The Road to Roswell is packed full of Men in Black, Elvis impersonators, tourist traps, rattlesnakes, chemtrails, and Close Encounters of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth kind. Can Francie, stuck in a neon green bridesmaid's dress, save the world--and still make it back for the wedding?

 

 

The #1 Lawyer by James Patterson; Nancy Allen

ISBN: 9780316499675

In his sharp suits and polished Oxford shoes, Stafford Lee Penney is Biloxi, Mississippi's #1 Lawyer and top local celebrity. Just as Penney notches his latest courtroom victory, his wife is scandalously killed. He spirals into a legal and personal losing streak, damaging his reputation and ruining his career. That's when Penney makes a bold decision. He stops trading on his power-lawyer identity and creates a new one: lawyer lifeguard. Moonlighting at the beach, showing up to court in flip-flops, mentoring a law student, the new Penney is at first unrecognizable. It's said that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. But when Penney is accused of murder, the #1 Lawyer will find a way to triumph.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Never Too Late by Danielle Steel

ISBN: 9780593498408

Kezia Cooper Hobson, recently widowed, arrives in New York from San Francisco. Bringing with her only a few personal treasures, she is excited to move into the blank slate of a beautiful midtown penthouse, in the city that she has always loved. It is also where her two adult daughters now live. As Kezia settles into her new apartment, she meets her movie-star next-door neighbor, Sam Stewart, whose terrace borders hers. Just a couple of weeks after she arrives, however, a devastating crisis strikes New York City. Kezia and Sam find themselves connecting over their strong impulse to help those in need. As they share a life-changing experience of volunteering, a bond is sparked and a friendship is formed. Kezia's daughters, Kate and Felicity, are taken aback by their mother's new friendship, both more focused on their own love lives than hers. But Kezia is learning that the changes she's making are just what she needs to open new horizons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dragons of Deepwood Fen by Bradley P. Beaulieu

ISBN: 9780756418120

Lorelei Aurelius is the smartest inquisitor in the mountain city of Ancris. Two suns bathe the world in their magic: Lux during the day and Nox during the night.The presence of these two stars participates in the creation of magic. When a mysterious tip leads Lorelei to a clandestine meeting between the Church and the hated Red Knives, she uncovers a plot that threatens not only her home but the empire itself.The trail leads her to Rylan Holbrooke, a notorious thief posing as a dragon singer. Rylan came to Ancris to solve the very same mystery she stumbled onto. Knowing his incarceration could lead to the Red Knives’ achieving their goals, Lorelei makes a fateful decision: she frees him.Now branded as traitors, the two flee the city on dragonback. In the massive forest known as the Holt, they discover something terrible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Library Hours For Summer 2024

The library will be open from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm on all campuses, Monday through Friday, as circumstances allow.  If an event -- such as a water main repair -- necessitates closing that campus, the library will be closed on that campus.   The library and ACE are also closed on all federal holidays during summer:  Monday, May 27 (Memorial Day), Wednesday June 19 (Juneteenth), and Thursday, July 4 (Independence Day). 

Please remember that we're enjoying our vacations this summer.  Some library locations may be understaffed temporarily on particular days.

When new adults leave their family of origin, everything you want to know and are required to learn can be overwhelming.   It isn't just academic skill learning.   You must learn how to search for jobs, how to maintain a household, and what steps to take to set up your life, for better or for worse.  Here are some library resources to help you find your way.

Good Housekeeping the Complete Household Handbook by Good Housekeeping Editors (Editor)

ISBN: 1588164039

For more than 100 years, the professionals at the Good Housekeeping Institute have helped readers keep their homes in top shape. This complete guide offers the Institute's expert advice everything homeowners need to know, from cleaning a floor to fixing a leaky gutter. The professionals at the Good Housekeeping Institute present practical, easy-to-understand, and simple-to-implement advice on every aspect of maintaining and managing a home. The Institute's directors have researched and tested all the time, money, and energy-saving tricks in the book, from choosing a vacuum to removing wallpaper, from getting rid of stains to keeping your family safe, and much more.

 

 

 

 

Safe and Sound by Mercury Stardust

ISBN: 9780744079074

For too many people, the simple act of contacting a plumber or repair person can feel like a game of chance. As a transwoman and a professional maintenance technician, Mercury Stardust has discovered (the hard way) that we live in a world with much to fear. If you've ever felt panicked about opening your home to strangers in order to fix a maintenance issue, this book is for you. Renting a home can be a complex process--from finding a safe and affordable space, to hiring help for moving in and out, and of course, managing any repairs that come up during your stay. You deserve to feel empowered to take matters into your own hands--and it's not as hard as you might think.

Get That Job! by Thea Kelley

ISBN: 9780998380827

Praised as "Excellent" on Forbes.com, this concise interview guide gives readers proven tips and clear instructions to prepare for breakthrough interviews. Job seekers will learn to: Identify and communicate their unique strengths, their "key selling points." Understand why employers ask many of the most common interview questions - and how to answer with confidence. Succeed with video interviews, behavioral interviews and panels. Build an arsenal of success stories. Ace every step - from the first screening to accepting the offer.

The 2-Hour Job Search, Second Edition by Steve Dalton

ISBN: 9781984857286

Use the latest technology to target potential employers and secure the first interview--no matter your experience, education, or network--with these revised and updated tools and recommendations

Rich Food Poor Food by Jayson Calton; Mira Calton; William Davis (Foreword by); Mark Sisson (Introduction by)

ISBN: 9780984755172

Do you get confused while poring over labels at the grocery store, trying to determine the healthiest options? What makes one box of cereal better for you than another, and how are we supposed to decipher the extensive lists of mysterious ingredients on every package, and then determine whether they are safe or toxic to your family's health? With nearly 40,000 items populating the average supermarket today, the Rich Food Poor Food - Grocery Purchasing System (GPS), is a unique guide that steers the consumer through the grocery store aisles, directing them to health enhancing Rich Food options while avoiding health detracting Poor Food ones.

Martha Stewart's Organizing by Martha Stewart

ISBN: 9781328508256

The ultimate guide to getting your life in order--with hundreds of practical and empowering ideas, projects, and tips--from America's most trusted lifestyle authority Trust Martha to help you master all things organizing--sorting, purging, tidying, and simplifying your life--with smart solutions and inspiration. Here, she offers her best guidance, methods, and DIY projects for organizing in and around your home. Topics include room-by-room strategies (how to sort office paperwork, when to purge the garage or attic), seasonal advice (when to swap out bedding and clothing, how to put away holiday decorations), and day-by-day or week-by-week plans for projects such as de-cluttering, house cleaning, creating a filing system, overhauling the closet, and more.

 

 

Everyday Mathematics Made Easy by Tom Begnal

ISBN: 9781577152224

Confidently solve and anticipate solutions to everyday situations where math is needed with the illustrated step-by-step instruction of Everyday Mathematics Made Easy.

 

On Tuesday, April 23, Director of Cultural Diversity Jasmine Sauceda-Izbrand hosted the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Awards Banquet.   The library was honored to see its staff and students win several of these coveted awards. 

The Multicultural Student Organization (MSO), including Ready to Work student Kaylie Boyd and library student worker Joshua Burchett, accept the award for In The Community.

Library staff, from left: Ready to Work student Kaylie Boyd, staff member Diana Hall, faculty member Judy Howell, staff member Glenna Woods, faculty member Robyn Williams, and student worker Joshua Burchett.  The library staff accepts the award for On Campus on behalf of all our library personnel, past and present, who make the library welcoming for the on campus community.

Librarian Judy Howell accepts the award for Most Innovative Initiative.

Developing a sense of belonging and inclusiveness is a great way that we welcome students.  We genuinely like the idea that we're somewhere - a place, both virtual and in person - where students can go and find something interesting, experience new understanding, and make connections with other people.  We couldn't do it without our campus community, and we thank everyone who voted.    To view more library events, you can look at these posts tagged under  "library events."

Here in Appalachia, April and May are wonderful times to make space in your gardens for plants that delight all year round.   Here are just a few ideas from our collections.

Like its close relatives, the rhododendrons, mountain laurel has been grown as a garden plant for over 200 years.  The clusters of light pink perfect flowers appear in late spring on spreading, many-branched shrubs bearing glossy, evergreen leaves. It is an eastern plant, found on well-drained, acid soils from Maine to the Gulf Coast and is especially common in the uplands within that range. Plants in the southern Appalachians have been known to reach 35 feet in height.  A mountain laurel will be an anchor plant in many perennial gardens in the mountains, helping prevent erosion and providing shade for birds and other wildlife.

Renewing America’s Food Traditions alliance (RAFT) and other researchers are discovering Appalachian perennial crops, such as creasy or greasy beans.  Agrodiversity, while clinical, is helped by the author's training and experience as an ethnoecologist and heirloom gardener, providing a mutual interest as he discussed the perennial food stock of the central Appalachians.   Most families he visited were in North Carolina.   This essay, which is the third in the series “Recollections, Reflections, and Revelations: Ethnobiologists and their First Time in the Field”, is a personal reflection by the researcher on his experience and involvement in kinship and friendship networks while conducting agrobiodiversity research in southern Appalachia. 

Tired of weeding and mowing?  70 different species and cultivars of native carex for the MidAtlantic region mean that you can place them down and then let them loose, without having to do backbreaking labor to keep them maintained.   They serve as soft as clover without the maintenance of a lawn or the annual cost of mulching.  Their neutral greens can also highlight the showier perennials in your garden.  Who wants to regularly mow a large grassy area in August anyway?   These native plants can set down roots, keep the heat controlled around larger plants, and provide show-stopping results.