"Everyone has had at least one magical polaroid experience."

I liked this idea so much I decided to adapt to for the Columbia College Chicago Library. Below are the first sentences from twelve new books in the library. Click on the sentence to discover more information - including the title and call number.

These women of television news toughed it out and fortunately were driven enough to insist on equity.




A few years ago I met a wheat farmer from North Dakota, and couldn't stop myself from asking him how he kept from going crazy with all that windblown solitude.


Everyone has had at least one magical Polaroid experience.




It is a common misconception that when the Armistice brought the Great War to a halt at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the world was suddenly at peace.


Whether because of fervent patriotism, youthful enthusiasm, or simply a sense of adventure born in the humdrum of day-to-day living, there was no shortage of volunteers rushing to the flag after Abraham Lincoln's April 15 proclamation.


Do not mess about or play carelessly with any of the techniques, drills, or exercises you see in this book.




Ask any woman of a certain age if she read romance comics, and you'll probably get a smile and maybe a sigh.






I had truly believed that I would be six feet under before something like this took place.



If you want to understand how race works in American politics and society, you would do well to attend to ethnicity.




There is a wide-spread assumption that science and religion are at war with one another.



Throughout Saxon times until well into the Norman period the costume of men and women underwent little change.




In the 1920s, black culture exploded into the public consciousness.

Enjoy a free cup of coffee @ the Library during Finals Week

Studying late for finals? Don't do it alone! Enjoy a free cup of Caribou Coffee @ the Library during Finals Week!

Free java hours are Monday December 9th - Wednesday December 11th from 6pm-9pm at the Coffee Bar, 1st floor of the Library. Be sure to stop by for your free cup of coffee and we wish you good luck on finals!

WORLD AIDS DAY, DECEMBER 1, 2008

Today is the 20th Anniversary of World AIDS Day, commemorating those that we have lost and celebrating the lives saved by HIV prevention and treatment programs.

In recognition of World AIDS Day 2008, Critical Encounters and the Office of LGBTQ Culture and Community at Columbia College present "Speak Out: World Aids Awareness Day" on Monday, December 1, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Conaway Center, 1104 South Wabash Avenue.

Introducing Two Fabulous New Librarians

On November 4th, the Columbia College Chicago Library welcomed two new librarians:

Molly Beestrum joins the staff as the new Library Instruction Coordinator. Molly comes to Columbia from the Rebecca Crown Library of Dominican University, where she served as Instructional Services Coordinator and Systems Librarian. In addition, she has designed and taught various courses for the Dominican University Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Molly serves as Chair of the Instruction Team of the College and Research Libraries of Illinois consortium, has presented at the Illinois Library Association Conference and has served on various academic committees at Dominican University.

April Levy serves in the role of Reference and Instruction Librarian. April’s most recent position was Reference Coordinator and Instruction Librarian at Ludcke Library of Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, where she coordinated scheduling and staffing of reference and research services for both on- and off-campus students, worked with the Instruction Team to design information literacy instruction for the English Composition Program, provided technology training to faculty and library staff and served as liaison to academic departments. Previously, April served as Extension Services Librarian and Assistant Professor at Woodward Library of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN.

Welcome Molly and April!

Don't miss the Ask A Librarian roadshow!

Ask A Librarian is hitting the road!

Helpful and friendly Columbia College Chicago librarians will be available at two locations to help you with your finals needs!

Where: The Writing Center, 33 E. Congress
When: Monday, December 1st from Noon - 2:00pm

AND

Where: Columbia College Chicago Library, 624 S. Michigan, 3rd floor
When: Tuesday, December 2nd from Noon - 2:00pm

* Impress your friends and instructors with your ability to find relevant and "on target" sources!
* Get more sleep at night...research and finish papers early and with ease!
* Make a new friend! Let a librarian help you find resources instructors will love!
* Cut the angst of finals!

Use the link anytime!

Remember--there are also helpful and friendly librarians available in the Library during regular hours and the Library's web site (and through it, thousands of scholarly journals, lots of encyclopedias and other handy research stuff) is available 24x7. You can reach us by email, chat, phone or by appointment. We are here for YOU!

Library Thanksgiving Holiday Hours

The Library will be closing at 7:00pm on Wednesday, November 26st and will remain closed over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. Regular Hours will resume on Monday, December 1st.

Please have a safe and pleasant holiday!

Library's closing early on Election Day

On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4
the Library will close at 6:00pm.

Go vote!

Upcoming Friends of the Library Signature Showcase

Friends of the Library Signature Showcase Presents:

Buddhism and the Beats: The Impact of Eastern Philosophy on Beat Writers

Dr. Stephen Asma, Department of Humanities, History and Social Sciences

Come listen to Stephen T. Asma as he examines the spiritual impact of Buddhism on beat writers including Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. He will discuss several schools of Buddhism, such as Zen and Tibetan, which appealed to the iconoclasts of the Beat movement. Classes are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Wednesday, October 29, 6-8pm
Ferguson Lecture Hall
600 S. Michigan Avenue, 1^st Floor
This program is free and open to the public

Dr. Asma is the author of five books, including: Buddha for Beginners, Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads, the Cultural and Evolution of Natural History Museums and The Gods Drink Whiskey: Stumbling Toward Enlightenment in the Land of the Tattered Buddha. His forthcoming book, On Monsters: A Tour of Fears and Fascinations will be published by Oxford University Press in 2009. Explore his writings and artwork at www.stephenasma.com

Buddhism and the Beats is the first of the new Signature Showcase events sponsored by of Columbia College Chicago Friends of the Library. It is presented in conjunction with the College’s “And the Beats Go On…” series of art exhibitions, lectures, film screenings and programming. Visit www.colum.edu/beats for the complete schedule of events.

Join us for a special d.i.y. discussion about FASHION on Tuesday October 21 from 6:00 to 8:00 in the Columbia College Chicago Library, 624 S. Michigan Ave., 3^rd floor.

Panelists are:

Dieter Kirkwood, of dIETERbENNET http://www.dieterbennet.com/, a luxury women's fashion label known for its clean lines, minimalist designs and architectural precision.

Jill Linkus, designer for BCBG Max Azria Group who now works as a sales manager for the company’s new line that launched in August, BCBGeneration http://www.bcbgeneration.com/.

Maira Okuleye, owner of Armadio Boutique http://www.armadioboutique.com/ home to high-end fashion in Lincoln Park.


Refreshments will be served.

For more information about d.i.y., please visit:

http://www.lib.colum.edu/about/diy/

Exercise your right to vote!

Are you registered to vote in the November 4th Presidential election? The last day to register to vote in Cook County is TOMORROW, Tuesday October 7th.

Need more information about where you can register? Contact the Cook County Clerk’s office at (312) 603-0906 or visit their website at: http://www.voterinfonet.com/default.asp.

Also, check out the following links for information regarding voting:

Declare Yourself
Declare Yourself is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign to empower and encourage every eligible 18-year-old in America to register and vote in the presidential primaries and 2008 presidential election.

Rock The Vote
Rock the Vote’s mission is to engage and build the political power of young people in order to achieve progressive change in our country.

New Library Video!

Want to know more about the Library?

Look no further than our brand new orientation video which is now available on our website and right here on our blog!

Unveiled this summer at New Student Orientation, the library orientation video is centered on the Library’s mission statement and features Columbia faculty, students and members of the library staff (including our wonderful student workers in the Library) sharing their knowledge about who we are and what we do. Undoubtedly, you will see someone you know, have worked or will work with. If you do, let them know about it.

And yes, we are available for autographs…

Book banning is alive and well in the United States

Book banning is alive and well in the United States

Are books like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or the Harry Potter series available at your public or school library? According to the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, due to book challenges, more than one book a day faces removal from public access in school and public libraries. Challenges are defined as formal, written complaints filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. Office for Intellectual Freedom Director Judith Krug and Nathan Ritchie from the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum (above) discuss Banned Books Week 2008 on Chicago Access Network TV (27:33) August 27....

2008 Banned Books Week

"Closing Books Shuts Out Ideas"
Banned Books
Week of September 27- October 4, 2008

Banned Books Week 2008 is the 27th annual celebration of the freedom to read. This freedom, not only to choose what we read, but also to select from a full array of possibilities.



Banned Books Week 2008 will kick off in Chicago, with a Read-Out! The event will feature popular banned or challenged authors and local Chicago celebrities on Saturday, September 27, from noon to 4 p.m., at 401 N. Michigan Ave., Pioneer Plaza.

For more information about Banned Books Week, the American Library Association's website pages devoted to this year's Banned Books Week.

Joseph Lappie Joins Library Staff

Continuing the tradition of hiring talented artists, the Library is pleased to announce that Joseph Lappie has joined the library staff as Cataloging Assistant. Joseph's passion is book art, and he recently won the Grand Prize at the 2008 Seoul International Book Arts Fair with his work The Articifer Arisen, The Articifer Fallen. Shown here is a piece entitled "There is Always More Than One When There Is Always Only One".
Welcome, Joseph!

Printers Row Book Fair Poetry Reading

The library is proud that Reference Department student worker Jess Rose read her poetry in last weekend's Printers Row Book Fair. Jess, a student in the Poetry Department and an intern at Switchback Books, was one of several Columbia College Chicago students and alumni that read works at the festival. Image credit: Poetry Department blog.

Possee Foundation to Visit Library Next Week

Next week the library will host three groups of students from the Posse Foundation.
These students are from public high schools and have undergone intensive Pre-Collegiate Training in order to be enrolled in top-tier universities nationwide. Their mission is to pursue their academic careers while promoting cross-cultural communication on campus.

"Posse Foundation got its name because of one student who said he never would have dropped out of college if he had his 'posse' with him. That simple idea, of sending a group (or posse) of students together to college so they could 'back each other up', became the impetus for a program that today has sent hundreds of students to top-tier colleges throughout the United States." (from the Posse Foundation website.)

The Posse Program has succeeded in placing 1,850 students into colleges and universities, with a graduation rate of 90%-- higher than the national rate. Three of our Reference and Instruction Librarians will work with the students to encourage them to make the academic librarians at their colleges their best friends. Research basics, how to use library research databases, and how to navigate the library's resources will be stressed, in addition to information specific to the students' assignments. We look forward to meeting the students and their mentors.

Manifest Events this Week at the Library

Fine Amnesty
In conjunction with the "Poverty and Privelege" Critical Encounters theme for 2007, we will forgive your library fines if you bring your overdue books in along with donations of food for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which is critically in need of donations. Bring one non-perishable food item (not past its expiration date) for each overdue book, and your fines will be forgiven!

Open House Friday, May 16, 11am-7pm to Include Student Film Screenings
Help us celebrate Manifest while viewing select exhibits from the College Archives and Special Collections; we'll also be showing film clips featuring Columbia student work in the Instruction Room (second floor) throughout the day.

Library Book Cart Drill Team to March in Spectacle Fortuna Parade
Making a spectacle on behalf of the library, our first ever Book Cart Drill Team will demonstrate the fine art of the book cart drill, on the Spectacle Fortuna Parade Route, Friday, May 16, from 7-8pm.

Ask a Librarian Goes Live

In order to provide extra help during the last two weeks of the semester, the Ask a Librarian service has gone live on the third floor. Reference and Instruction Librarians Shirley Bennett and Paula Epstein are shown here making themselves accessible to students with laptop at the ready.

Celebrate National Library Week!

The American Library Association has designated April 13-19 as National Library Week. Stop by the Columbia College Chicago Library and celebrate with us!



Learn more about National Library Week !

Join Us at Spring "Art of the Library"

(Painting by Janet Talbot)

Thursday, 04/17/08, 5-7pm
Columbia College Chicago Library, Third Floor
624 S. Michigan Avenue

Art of the Library is an ongoing series (four times a year) of exhibitions featuring the art of Columbia College Chicago students, faculty and staff. More information here.