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SDSU Librarians Presenting at the South Dakota Library Association Confernece

Several librarians are presenting sessions at the South Dakota Library Association conference October 4-5, 2012 in Huron, SD. Mary Caspers-Graper is presenting a session called “Mainstreaming E-books in Academic Libraries”. Elizabeth Fox and Melissa Clark are co-presenting a session called “Choosing a Chat Software.” They have created a Guide for the presentation that is located at http://libguides.sdstate.edu/SDLAChat. Finally, Melissa Clark and Elizabeth Fox are presenting a session called “Usability Testing 101: User-Centered Website Design” with a presentation linked at http://libguides.sdstate.edu/usabilitytesting.

~Elizabeth Fox, Digital Information Services Librarian

Morrill Act & Land-Grant Institutions

One hundred and fifty years ago Congress passed the Morrill Act funding institutions of higher education with grants of federal land. Sponsored by Vermont statesman Justin Smith Morrill, this legislation sought to make education at colleges and universities more practical and more available to the working classes.

If you are interested in more information on the topic consult our Morrill Act & Land-Grant Institutions Research Guide or ask a librarian for assistance.

Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian

 

Briggs Library Student Ambassadors

Have a question about #SDSU or #BriggsLibrary? Stop by the Library and ask our Student Ambassador!

Look at this friendly face. There are all kinds of friendly people at the library waiting to help you. Please stop in and we will happily answer your questions.

Celebrate the Morrill Act

From the office of SDSU’s President David Chicone:

 “The university on Monday will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Morrill Act, federal legislation that opened the doors of higher education for people previously unable to afford a college or university experience. The Morrill Act — sponsored by Rep. Justin Morrill of Vermont and signed July 2, 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln — also spawned the land-grant system of colleges and universities nationwide.

 Several invited guests will offer greetings at the event. The featured speaker will be Anderson Thorp, a founding member and first president of the Friends of the Morrill Homestead in Stafford, Vt.

 Please consider joining us at the celebration of this landmark act of Congress that has shaped today’s South Dakota State University.”

 Event details:

 Monday 2 July 2012
1 p.m.
Sylvan Theatre, SDSU

 Free SDSU Ice Cream after the program!

Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian

Common Read 2012

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is SDSU’s Common Read book for 2012.  The choice was revealed during a special party at the library on May 1st. Attendees enjoyed refreshments and received free copies of the book courtesy of the library.

This is the fourth year for SDSU’s Common Read.  Previous selections were Outcasts United, Mountains Beyond Mountains, and Three Cups of Tea.  Many students enrolled in First Year Seminar courses will be reading and discussing the current selection this fall.   A slate of activities centered on the book and its subject matter will be announced later.

Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian

Study Breaks During Finals Week

SDSU students—take a break!  Come to Briggs Library for treats during finals week.

Evening Study Breaks

Coffee, cookies and lemonade

Refreshments will be offered Sunday, Monday & Tuesday evenings
April 29, 30 & May 1
Starting at 7 p.m. in the library’s lobby

 Morning Breaks

Coffee & juice

Enjoy a morning pick-me-up Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday mornings
April 30, May 1 & 2
Starting at 8 a.m. in the library’s lobby.

Linda Kott
Information Service Librarian

National Library Week Events

Join us in celebrating National Library Week (April 8-14) by attending either or both of the following events co-sponsored by the Brookings Public Library.

Oscar Micheaux: Fact, Fiction, and Stories
H.M. Briggs Library, Room 130
Wednesday 11 April, 7 p.m.

Learn about the writing, films, and legacy of Oscar Micheaux from South Dakota Humanities Council speakers Joyce Jefferson and Jerry Wilske.  Joyce, in period clothing, will interact with scholarly Jerry, employing excerpts from Micheaux’s The Homesteader and The Conquest.  Refreshments will be served.

This program was made possible by the South Dakota Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Showing of Body and Soul, a film by Oscar Micheaux
Brookings Public Library, Cooper Room
515 3^rd Street
Friday 13 April, 7 p.m.

Body and Soul, from 1925, is actor Paul Robeson’s first film.  Robeson plays two roles—the Right Reverend Jenkins, a criminal masquerading as a preacher, and his ̒̒̒twin brother Sylvester.  Micheaux’s wrote and directed the film which features melodramatic elements as well as elements innovative for the time, including “flashbacks, dream sequences, [and] simultaneous action” (Adler, para. 2).

Who is Oscar Micheaux?

Unfamiliar with the homesteader, author, filmmaker, and entrepreneur Oscar Micheaux?  Check out the biographies below or ask a librarian for more information.

NAACP History: Oscar Micheaux

Biography of Oscar Micheaux from IMDb

Oscar Micheaux.biography

 

Works Cited

Adler, David. “̔Body and Soul’ By Oscar Micheaux, 1925 New Original Score by Wycliffe Gordon.” All About Jazz. 12 March 2004. Web. 21 March 2012.

Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian

Festival of Cultures

Briggs Library staff members will be hosting a booth at SDSU’s Annual Festival of Cultures.  The event will be held in Frost Arena on Friday 30 March, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  We will be featuring library resources related to culture and giving away candy.  Stop by and visit!

Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian

Library Renovations

The library is embarking on a remodeling project in our Technical Services area, on the west side of the building.  Remodeling and rearranging staff members’ work areas will provide room so that the Department of International Affairs can relocate here in the fall.

While construction crews are working, you will see items stored around the library and staff members making due with temporary offices.  Many Technical Services staff members are sharing tight quarters in Room 105.

Archives & Special Collections on the library’s upper level has a remodeling project of its own.  This project, scheduled for completion around April 30, will result in improved study space for the Daschle collection and an increased capability for meetings.

Please excuse any mess or noise that results from these projects.  Please let us know at the Library Services Desk if we can help you navigate the library during our “construction season.”

Linda Kott
Information Services Librarian