The Printer's Ball, Come One, Come All

The Columbia College Chicago Library will be among hundreds of literary organizations participating in this year’s Printer’s Ball, sponsored by The Poetry Foundation and co-produced by Columbia College Chicago and the Center for Book and Paper Arts.

This year celebrates the fifth anniversary of the Printer’s Ball, which will be held on Friday, July 31^st from 5:00pm-11:00pm at Columbia's Luddington Building, 1104 S. Wabash. Materials from The Big Read will be available during the evening, including copies of Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury. Quantities are limited, so arrive early!

The Printer’s Ball is an annual celebration of print culture, featuring thousands of magazines, books and broadsides available free of charge. In addition to the materials giveaway, there will be live readings, printing and paper-making demonstrations and music throughout the evening.

Admission to the Printer's Ball is free and open to all ages. Don't miss this special event!

Come to the Largest Youth Poetry Festival in the World

Columbia College Chicago is proud to have been chosen, along with other Chicago institutions, to be a presenting partner and host-site for the 2009 Brave New Voices international youth poetry slam festival.




Between July 13th and 19th, Columbia’s residence centers, lounges and performance venues will host over 500 Teen Poetry Slam Champions from 45 parts of the country and 5 additional cities from across the globe, representing over 50,000 young poets in their local communities. For those of you not familiar with Brave New Voices, you can check out the very successful documentary series about last year’s festival (hosted by George Washington University) on HBO.

Please extend a warm welcome to these students and their mentors (some of whom may be considering Columbia as their future educational home!).

Bravo Reality Show for Artists - Casting Call!

Are you an artist? Are you interested in being on a reality show like Project Runway, The Fashion Show, or Top Design?

Bravo TV is holding a Nationwide Casting Call for Artists in Chicago. Interested artists will want to read through if interested in participating. Application form and details of what to bring to the casting call are available at: http://www.bravotv.com/casting


According to the website: "We want contemporary artists. Your medium could be one of many (or several of many) – painting, sculpture, installation, video, photography, mixed-media – we want voices that believe in their art and want the world to know."

Thursday, July 16, 10 AM – 2 PM
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Sullivan Galleries, 33 S. State Street

Keep on the MAP!

Message forwarded from Columbia's Black Student Union:

State Monetary Award Program (MAP) faces 50% "doomsday" budget cut - what will you do about it?

Let's Rally Together Friday, June 26

What: Join Columbia's Black Student Union, fellow Columbia students, and college students across the state and rally for student financial aid. The legislature and governor are about to implement a new state budget that will cut MAP grants by more than half. The result would mean smaller grants given to all students in the first semester, and all second semester grants would be wiped out completely. Together, we can challenge this decision!

Let's speak out, together - explain to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) and news media that cutting your MAP grant will impact your life.

Who: Students from Illinois independent colleges, public universities, and community colleges need your help.

When: Meet up time is Friday, June 26 at 11 a.m. The rally will take place at noon.

Where: Meet at The Court: 731 South Plymouth, Floor 1. We will take the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) blue line, together. Rally Site: UIC Student Services Building, 1200 West Harrison Street.

Immediately following the rally will be a commission meeting of the ISAC.

For more information contact rally organizer Paul Frank at 312.343.9840 or, email him at paul@federationedu.org.

Learn More About MAP

The Monetary Award Program or MAP is the state's largest need-based aid program. About half of recipients come from families with no resources to pay for college. Reducing these funds will force many students out of school and many others will be forced to scramble to obtain high cost private loans in this very difficult credit market. Each year, more than 150,000 Illinois students are able to attend private and public colleges and universities due to the state's provision of $380 million in MAP grants, and more than 60 percent of MAP recipients are continuing students. This budget would result in dramatic numbers of college dropouts due to financial inability to continue.

Something's changed...?

Something's changed at the Library. Several things in fact.

1. Research Refresh! There's a new look for the Research Guides





2. Two versions of the catalog!
Quick Search? Use the Basic Catalog.
In-Depth Research? Use the Advanced Catalog.



3. Logging in to request books is different!
In the Basic Catalog the login screen will look like this:


You can create a login and password of your choosing. You will only have to enter the 14-digit barcode (on the back of your Columbia ID Card) when you create your account.

Catalog Maintenance

The library catalog is currently undergoing an upgrade. Please bear with us as these changes are made. You may notice a new look to the interface. Please Ask A Librarian if you have any questions or experience any problems.

The Library: Representin' at Printer's Row Lit Fest. Word.

The Library will be represented at the Printer's Row Lit Fest on Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7 in the Columbia College Chicago tent, located at the corner of Harrison and Dearborn.

At the Library table, you can find out more about the Friends of the Library, the Library in general and what we have to offer. The tent will also have the performance stage nearby, so come by and learn about the Library, listen to some great music and spoken word by Columbia students or just to say hello!

Be sure to pick up a free copy of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (while supplies last), courtesy of The Big Read and the Library.

Library Friends Make New City's 2009 Lit 50

Just in time for the Printer's Row Lit Fest, New City has published its annual Lit 50 list of Chicagoans making a difference in our town's literary scene. For 2009, the focus is on "behind-the-scenes literati", and features several important folks to the Columbia College Chicago Library:

#14. Randy Albers, Chair of the Fiction Writing Department
Randy is also a member of the Library's Friends Council.

#34. Suzy Takcs, Owner, The Book Cellar
Suzy is also a member of Library's Friends Council.

#46. Kristy Bowen, Poet
An accomplished poet and publisher (dancing girl press & studio) in her own right, Kristy is a Circulation Assistant in the Library.

Want to know the other 47? See Lit 50: Who really books in Chicago.

Haiku Contest Submissions 2009

Eyes fixed on the screen, / the forgotten page now blank; / the written word dies -Vanessa Pegramabout

Essence of a voice / It speaks in rhymes / Born between each breath - Joy Young

Call me Anarchist / Cuz I'd rather be burning / Starbucks and not books - Justin Dickman

Bradbury's intent / Fire no longer exists / Ink extinguishes - Brittain Williams

Burnt embers of books / Only give heat for so long. / But their words don't cool.- Vanessa Pegram

Calling of the crows / As the snow buries them deep / Leaving them frozen - Joy Young

Who is Guy Montag / What is he really burning / With his so-called life - Justin Dickman

Bruised fingers typing / Dissatisfied with T.V. / Bradbury's Future. - Brittain Williams

What would you accept / as true without resources? / Could you find the truth? - Kate Donalek

See the pile of books? / Why are you holding a match? / Educational. - Sarah Nichols

One triangle here. / More and more come from another. / Everlasting fractal. - Joyce Ogban

An honest day's work / Is not worth more in the bush / Until you've done none. - Mark Perkins

Knowledge is obtained / Through books, poems, and films, / Pictures. See. Illustrated man. Brandon Marshall

I found a new word / Guess it escaped from the flames / Imagination - Charlsey Miller

time, redirected / freeze your slang - your expressions / burnished beings be - Jaclyn Capozzoli

Words, unlike the flame / Will ignite your soul's knowledge, and can not burn out. - Vanessa Pegram

The black horned Beauty / With its poisonous embrace / Wings filled with soft bliss - Joy Young

Sirens pierced our ears / War is on the radio / Follow the river - Justin Dickman

Reasons to write / Four hundred and fifty one / ink and paper live - Brittain Williams

Could you think if you / hadn't been taught, hadn't learned? / What would you believe? - Kate Donalek

I eat my burger/ I like tomato on it/ Many Mayonnaise - Harlan Vaughn

words being essence / of thoughts blossoming between / our self and others - Kate Donalek

Ray Bradbury's Characters Brought to Life - Manifest Spectacle Fortuna 2009

Spectacle Fortuna Parade of Creativity

Join Library staff and friends as we participate in this year’s Spectacle Fortuna. The Library Book Carts will be out in full force (transformed into fire engines) while characters from Ray Bradbury’s books and stories will be brought to life.

Kick-off at Harrison Avenue and Wabash Avenue, 6:45 - 7:45 p.m.
Spectacle Fortuna is Columbia’s parade of creativity, wishing good fortune upon seniors and graduate students, and celebrating the college’s spirit and creative community. This free, public event includes: hundreds of giant puppets; spectacle items created by students, faculty, and staff; and the punk marching band Mucca Pazza.

Sneak Preview of Spectacle:

Spectacle Credits: Artistic Director, Jennifer Friedrich, lead Costume Designer Elsa Hiltner, lead Builder Joy Dennis Photo Credits: Alexis Ellers

More information on Manifest and Spectacle Fortuna


About The Big Read
The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment
for the Arts, designed to restore reading to the center
of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in
partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library
Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big
Read brings together partners across the country to
encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the
Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

The Art Institute of Chicago Modern Wing opens May 16th

The Art Institute of Chicago opens the new Modern Wing Saturday, May 16th, 2009.

Admission to the museum will be FREE the entire first week of the Modern Wing’s opening, May 16–22.
Museum Hours

Monday 10:30–5:00
Tuesday 10:30–5:00
Wednesday 10:30–5:00
Thursday 10:30–8:00 (Free General Admission 5:00–8:00)
Friday 10:30–5:00
Saturday 10:00–5:00
Sunday 10:00–5:00
Target Free Summer Evenings

The museum is free from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday evenings Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Intellectual Freedom in the Context of Fahrenheit 451

Intellectual Freedom in the Context of Fahrenheit 451
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Deputy Director,
American Library Association
Office of Intellectual Freedom

Thursday, May 7, 2009, 6-8pm
(rescheduled from April 16)
Columbia College Chicago Library
624 S. Michigan Ave., 3rd Floor

Faculty are encouraged and welcome to bring classes to this program.

Deborah Caldwell Stone is Deputy Director of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, where she works on projects dealing with censorship and privacy in libraries. An attorney by training, she practiced appellate law before the state and federal courts in Chicago before joining ALA in 2000. She now works closely with librarians to address various intellectual freedom issues affecting libraries, including the removal of books and materials from library shelves, the use of Internet filtering, and the impact of new technologies and the USA PATRIOT Act on user privacy. She is an honors graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology.

Big Read-A-Thon Tomorrow 4/28 Library 3rd Floor 9am-5pm

Burned any good books lately?

Join us for the Big Read Read-A-Thon Tomorrow - Tuesday, April 28 from 9am - 5pm as we read Fahrenheit 451 from start to finish!

Not familiar with the classic story of censorship, book burning, and the continued need for intellectual freedom and critical thought?

Come listen to readers from all over the college and the community read aloud from Ray Bradbury's 1953 classic.







Tuesday, April 28th
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Library 3rd Floor
624 S. Michigan Ave.

Earth Day in Chicago

Voted the #8 Greenest City in the USA, Chicago is hosting a number of Earth Day events on Wednesday, April 22nd.

• Columbia College Earth Day Eco Fair - 1104 S. Wabash, 1st Floor, Noon - 4pm


• Lincoln Park 5th Annual Science Celebration - 10am - Noon - Free!


• Nature Conservancy Walks - Lurie Gardens in Millenium Park - 7:30-8:30 am - Free!
  

More Earth Day events occurring around the city this week...

• Chicago Parks District - See the full list for details, dates and locations - All events are Free!


• North Lake Shore Earth Day - Saturday, April 25th 9am-4:30pm - Free!


• Garfield Park Conservatory - 17th Annual Green & Growing Fair - Saturday, April 25th - 10am - 3pm - Free!

Want to learn more about Earth Day?

• Earth Day Network


• Planet Green


• Nature Conservancy


• EarthDay.gov


• EPA - Earth Day


• EPA - Timeline for Environmental Progress


• EPA - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle


• National Science Foundation


• Library of Congress - Science Reference Services


• Department of Energy - Energy Tips

Book Sale

Columbia College Chicago Library Book Sale

Pre-Sale Wednesday, April 22nd - 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
{Friends of the Library* only}
Thursday, April 23rd - 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Friday, April 24th - 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
{grab bag $5 after 3:00 p.m.}

624 S. Michigan Ave.
3rd Floor



*are you a Friend of the Library?

Burned any good books lately?

Call for Writers! Typewriter Olympics

Students! Take up the challenge and create your Fahrenheit 451-themed short story on one of these mechanical relics. You too can write like Ray!

"I Wanna Write Like Ray!"
Friday, May 1st, 2009
623 S. Wabash
1st floor
12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

To sign-up to type your story contact Cole Robertson at 312-369-7427 or crobertson@colum.edu or fill out the online form before Friday, April 24th.

Please see the Big Read Website for more information about additional events at Columbia College Chicago Library.

Sam Weller on Ray Bradbury : The Bradbury Chronicles - Big Read

Sam Weller, Ray Bradbury's biographer and faculty at Columbia College Chicago, will provide insight into the author through the lens of their unique relationship.

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
7:00-9:00 p.m.
1104 S. Wabash Ave.,
Columbia College Chicago
Film Row Center, 8th Floor
FREE!

One of the many events in celebration of the Big Read at Columbia College Chicago.

Art in the Library Opening & Reception

Join us - Thursday April 16th, 2009 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. - for the Art in the Library Opening and Reception for the Spring 2009 Exhibition in our new 3rd floor space.

Columbia College Chicago Library, Third Floor (in the new Library wing)
624 S. Michigan Avenue.
Vision. Sound. Movement.

The Art in the Library program at Columbia College Chicago provides an open, supportive and inviting setting to showcase the talent and creativity of our own community of artists. Since its inception in 2002, Art in the Library has offered library visitors the opportunity to experience the rich cultural diversity and progressive attitudes which thrive in the Columbia environment.

Presenting the work of Columbia College Chicago students, faculty, staff and alumni, the Art in the Library program exhibits works in all forms of visual arts, including sculpture, painting, drawings, and paper and book arts. Exhibitions by different artists are shown quarterly on a rotating basis.

The Art in the Library Committee welcomes all Columbia College Chicago artists to submit work for consideration.

Please visit the Art in the Library website for more information including submission guidelines, artwork forms, and examples of current and former exhibits.

POSTPONED - Intellectual Freedom in the context of Fahrenheit 451

Intellectual Freedom in the Context of Fahrenheit 451 (originally scheduled for this Thursday April 16^th from 3-5pm in the Library), has been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. We are working with our speaker Deborah Caldwell-Stone to reschedule this program for early May. An announcement will be made when a new date and time has been selected.

Please check The Big Read website at http://www.colum.edu/bigread for the latest information regarding this and other Big Read programs. We apologize for any inconvenience.