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