The JKM Library Blog

With the recent passing of one of my idols, Bill Moyers, I am compelled to share my connection, albeit via electronic means only, to someone who was part of my daily existence during one of the most meaningful periods in my life.

As an art student in NYC in the 1980s-1990s, I had the priviledge of meeting a few famous people: Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, to name two; with the latter being a lecturer-in-residence at my school (Pratt Institute) as I was tasked with ‘handling his slide carousels’ (ask your parents, or grandparents).

But the highlight of my time as a graduate student supervisor in the Media Library was circulating, viewing, and analyzing a multi-series program on VHS tape (with the master on Beta - ask your great-grandparents) entitled “Joseph Campbell and the power of myth”, a set of tapes that we would regularly have to review and re-master in order to manage their playback quality.

The buzz in the academic art world (and others I suppose) was to “read Joseph Campbell,” but as a visual artist, me and many of my classmates, including little Bobby Mapplethorpe (he grew about a foot right after he dropped-out and became famous with his whips and such) lined up, patiently awaiting the rewinding of a tape so we could watch the magic interactions between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, sharing insights, questions, and interpretations between the myth and reality of idols, icons, gods and goddesses.

As an anti-social art-punk trying to learn how to conduct an adult conversation - let alone a librarian interview -  these guys -these 2 guys-  were full frontal in my daily analog memory glands of how words talk mouth use to… (sic)

Not only a gateway to the fabulous writings of Joseph Campbell, such as The Hero with a Thousand Faces among others, the videos were thought provoking and packed with enough subject matter to last any art student multiple semesters of imagery.

Beyond the melancholy I can see Bill and Joseph flowing alongside in the the Golden Bough, perhaps with Keith, Jean-Michel and Robert, but back on Earth we can celebrate a great series of moments recorded on film, video, or copied to DVD (as allowed by Section 110 (1) of the Copyright Act of 1976).

I'm sure one could easily locate a stream or YouTube clip, but below are links to the library holdings of the video series as as well as books authored by these two beautiful entities.

Other works in our library by-or-about:

Bill Moyers

https://chatham.bywatersolutions.com/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?idx=&q=an%3A35883&sort_by=popularity_dsc&count=20

Joseph Campbell

https://chatham.bywatersolutions.com/cgi-bin/koha/opac-search.pl?idx=&q=an%3A68570&sort_by=popularity_dsc&count=20

As the JKM library's highly respected resident film critic (my boss asked if I'd review one of the movies on the shelves) I’ll admit that this review took longer than I thought and that is mainly due to the truly unique inventory that the library has to offer. For example, there are dozens of films in the collection that I know for a fact aren’t on streaming, such as the 1999 Kevin Smith film Dogma, or the 1992 Rick Seback documentary simply titled Downtown Pittsburgh. This very exciting collection of films left me eager to review the movies that I hadn't heard of before, and that's exactly what I hope to do with this series.  

The film I chose was 1984’s Teachers– a movie I've never heard of before despite its totally incredible cast, featuring karate kids and McFly's alike with the duo of Ralph Macchio and Crispin Glover as trouble-making students who sneak out of school and hot-wire cars.

This fun casting choice (and the DVD cover of an apple with a stem lit like a stick of dynamite) would make you think that this would be a wacky comedy where the school staff (Nick Nolte, Judd Hirsch, and Morgan Freeman)  struggle to teach a group of trouble-making students, and end up learning new unorthodox ways to teach the students. Instead of the comedy basics I expected from a 1980s movie called Teachers, I was surprised to see that the movie  focused on very real issues of gun violence, budget cuts, and the neglect of children in a massive public school. It goes without saying that these are real problems, and if you have talked to a teacher about difficulties in teaching, or even just had the experience of attending an underfunded school, I feel you will take something away from this movie.

While the film tackles very dark subject matter, it is able to find ways to add humor undermining the real world issues it portrays–something I feel many movies often struggle with. In short, Teachers may not be laugh out loud funny, but it still gives the audience funny moments while exploring what it means to work in a difficult profession.    

Rating: 8 cartoonishly dark red apples out of 10

Ethan Newton is currently a freshman at Chatham University (and JKM Library student employee) who has decided that instead of choosing a major he will start smaller and choose different films from the library to review. Ethan urges cool Chatham students to come up to him to discuss old movies and 70s comic books.

May 2022

Did you know that the JKM Library has hundreds of thousands of eBooks available to you? They range from bestselling fiction to course texts. We know that sometimes our eBooks can be overlooked, so we decided to show them a bit of love with this roundup of some interesting fiction titles that you can read right now through the JKM Library. A few things to know about our eBooks…most of them come to us packaged as a larger subscription, so we don’t actually hand pick all of our eBooks (although we do handpick some of them!). We trust the third-party academic vendors to include titles of worth in these subscriptions. That being said, sometimes you can find some surprising titles in these packages. Make sure to always evaluate your sources, even if they’re coming from the library. Because many eBook titles are included in larger subscriptions, they operate a bit like movies on Netflix. Sometimes they are removed from the package and we no longer have access to them. This is up to the third-party vendor, and can result in broken links on our end. Lastly, our eBooks are not compatible with most eReaders, like Kindle. You need a browser to read them. This is again due to the ways the third-party academic vendors operate. Just an fyi! All summaries comes from the publisher. Images are from Goodreads. A Million Aunties by Alecia McKenzie American-born artist Chris is forced to reconsider his conception of family during a visit to his mother’s Caribbean homeland. Told from different points of view, this is a compelling novel about unlikely love, friendship, and community, with several surprises along the way. The story takes place against the backdrop of rural Jamaica, New York City, and Paris, France. An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon Aster lives in the low-deck slums of the HSS Matilda, a space vessel organized much like the antebellum South. For generations, the Matilda has ferried the last of humanity to a mythical Promised Land. On its way, the ship’s leaders have imposed harsh moral restrictions and deep indignities on dark-skinned sharecroppers like Aster, who they consider to be less than human. When the autopsy of Matilda‘s sovereign reveals a surprising link between his death and her mother’s suicide some quarter-century before, Aster retraces her mother’s footsteps. Embroiled in a grudge with a brutal overseer and sowing the seeds of civil war, Aster learns there may be a way off the ship if she’s willing to fight for it The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda In the 1960s, 17 people die of cyanide poisoning at a party given by the owners of a prominent clinic in a town on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The only surviving links to what might have happened are a cryptic verse that could be the killer’s, and the physician’s bewitching blind daughter, Hisako, the only person spared injury. The police are convinced Hisako had a role in the crime, as are many in the town, including the author of a bestselling book about the murders written a decade after the incident, who was herself a childhood friend of Hisako’s and witness to the discovery of the killings. The truth is revealed through a skillful juggling of testimony by different voices: family members, witnesses and neighbors, police investigators and of course the mesmerizing Hisako herself. The Bear by Andrew Krivak From National Book Award in Fiction finalist Andrew Krivak comes a gorgeous fable of Earth’s last two human inhabitants and a girl’s journey home. Coming In Third by Amber Kell Fancy some erotica? With his mother plotting to have him wed, Niall decides to sneak out of the fae palace and fulfill one of his greatest fantasies. At the Unconventional bar, he finds a pair of lion shifters looking to spice up their love life. Unable to resist the strong attraction between them, Niall lets the persuasive pair take him home. Daughters of Smoke and Fire by Ava Homa Set in Iran, this extraordinary debut novel takes readers into the everyday lives of the Kurds. Leila dreams of making films to bring the suppressed stories of her people onto the global stage, but obstacles keep piling up. Leila’s younger brother Chia, influenced by their father’s past torture, imprisonment, and his deep-seated desire for justice, begins to engage with social and political affairs. But his activism grows increasingly risky and one day he disappears in Tehran. Seeking answers about her brother’s whereabouts, Leila fears the worst and begins a campaign to save him. But when she publishes Chia’s writings online, she finds herself in grave danger as well. Monsterland (aka North American Lake Monsters) by Nathan Ballingrud Recently adapted into a tv show for Hulu! Nathan Ballingrud’s Shirley Jackson Award winning debut collection is a shattering and luminous experience not to be missed by those who love to explore the darker parts of the human psyche. Monsters, real and imagined, external and internal, are the subject. They are us and we are them and Ballingrud’s intense focus makes these stories incredibly intense and irresistible. Monsters of the Week: The Complete Critical Companion to The X-Files by Zack Handlen and Emily Todd VanDerWerff TV critics Zack Handlen and Emily Todd VanDerWerff look back at exactly what made the long-running cult series so groundbreaking. Packed with insightful reviews of every episode—including the tenth and eleventh seasons and both major motion pictures—Monsters of the Week leaves no mystery unsolved and no monster unexplained. Mr. Cadmus by Peter Ackroyd A wickedly satirical novel, filled with mystery, revenge, outlandish killings, greed and jealousy, from the multi-award winning author. The arrival of an enigmatic stranger wreaks havoc on the denizens of the idyllic English village of Little Camborne; most notably two apparently harmless women. Miss Finch and Miss Swallow, cousins, have put their pasts behind them and settled into conventional country life. But when Theodore Cadmus – from Caldera, a Mediterranean island nobody has heard of – moves into the middle cottage, the safe monotony of their lives is shattered. My Greek Island Summer by Mandy Baggot Becky Rowe has just landed her dream job house-sitting at a top-end villa on the island of Corfu. What could be better than six weeks laying by an infinity pool overlooking the gorgeous Ionian waters while mending her broken heart. Elias Mardas is travelling back to Corfu on business whilst dealing with his own personal demons. Late arriving in Athens, Becky and Elias have to spend a night in the Greek capital. When they have to emergency land in Kefalonia, Becky’s got to decide whether to suck up the adventure and this gorgeous companion she seems to have been thrown together with or panic about when she’s going to arrive at Corfu… Finally reaching the beautiful island, Becky is happy to put Elias behind her and get on with her adventure. Until he turns up at the villa… Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn—but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself? The Revelations by Erik Hoel Monday, Kierk wakes up. Once a rising star in neuroscience, Kierk Suren is now homeless, broken by his all-consuming quest to find a scientific theory of consciousness. But when he’s offered a spot in a prestigious postdoctoral program, he decides to rejoin society and vows not to self-destruct again. Instead of focusing on his work, however, Kierk becomes obsessed with another project—investigating the sudden and suspicious death of a colleague. As his search for truth brings him closer to Carmen Green, another postdoc, their list of suspects grows, along with the sense that something sinister may be happening all around them. Sea Change by Nancy Kress In 2022, GMOs were banned after a biopharmed drug caused the Catastrophe: worldwide economic collapse, agricultural standstill, and personal tragedy for a lawyer and her son. Ten years later, Renata, a.k.a. Caroline Denton, is an operative of the Org, an underground group that could save the world from itself. Their illegal research is performed and protected by splinter cells, which are hunted by the feds. Now a mole is in the Org. Who would put the entire Org in jeopardy? Renata is the only one who can find out–and she will need to go to her clients in the Quinault Nation for answers. Search History by Eugene Lim Search History oscillates between a wild cyberdog chase and lunch-date monologues as Eugene Lim deconstructs grieving and storytelling with uncanny juxtapositions and subversive satire. Frank Exit is dead–or is he? While eavesdropping on two women discussing a dog-sitting gig over lunch, a bereft friend comes to a shocking realization: Frank has been reincarnated as a dog! This epiphany launches a series of adventures–interlaced with digressions about AIgenerated fiction, virtual reality, Asian American identity in the arts, and lost parents–as an unlikely cast of accomplices and enemies pursues the mysterious canine. In elliptical, propulsive prose, Search History plumbs the depths of personal and collective consciousness, questioning what we consume, how we grieve, and the stories we tell ourselves. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw The Secret Lives of Church Ladies explores the raw and tender places where black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good. The nine stories in this collection feature four generations of characters grappling with who they want to be in the world, caught as they are between the church’s double standards and their own needs and passions. With their secret longings, new love, and forbidden affairs, these church ladies are as seductive as they want to be, as vulnerable as they need to be, as unfaithful and unrepentant as they care to be, and as free as they deserve to be. Temporary by Hilary Leichter In Temporary, a young woman’s workplace is the size of the world. She fills increasingly bizarre placements in search of steadiness, connection, and something, at last, to call her own. Whether it’s shining an endless closet of shoes, swabbing the deck of a pirate ship, assisting an assassin, or filling in for the Chairman of the Board, for the mythical Temporary, “there is nothing more personal than doing your job.” This riveting quest, at once hilarious and profound, will resonate with anyone who has ever done their best at work, even when the work is only temporary. The Tiger Flu by Larissa Lai In this visionary novel by Larissa Lai–her first in sixteen years–a community of parthenogenic women, sent into exile by the male-dominated Salt Water City, goes to war against disease, technology, and powerful men that threaten them with extinction. Bold, beautiful, and wildly imaginative, The Tiger Flu is at once a female hero’s saga, a cyberpunk thriller, and a convention-breaking cautionary tale–a striking metaphor for our complicated times. 

March 2022

We at the JKM Library know how difficult COVID-19 has been on our Chatham community. Many of us have never had the opportunity to meet, when in normal circumstances there would have been plenty of moments for librarians and library staff to meet you, help you personally, and put faces to names. Now that we are mostly back on campus, and some faces are being revealed, we decided to put together a fun “Staff Picks” book display and Spotify playlist to help you get to know us a bit better! Stop into the JKM Library in March to browse our physical book display showing off some of the library staff’s favorite books from our collection, and visit our Spotify account to listen to a playlist of some of our favorite songs. We have a broad range of tastes, and we’re always delighted to talk to you about books, music and more! If you’d like to get in contact with one of the librarians, you can find our emails on our Staff Directory page of our website. All books included in the display are available for you to checkout and read yourself. Perhaps you’ll discover a new personal favorite. Keep reading to learn more about your library staff, our areas of academic expertise (that we’re more than happy to help you in), fun facts and interesting hobbies about each of us, and then the book and song we each picked!

Jill Ausel
Job title: Library Director
Favorite part of job: I really enjoy my job, and the
best part is helping students and making the library a place of learning and fun.
A fun fact: I’m an Ancient Greek History nerd!
My book pick: The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World by Adrienne Mayor
My song pick: “In These Shoes?” by Kristy MacColl

Kate Wenger
Job title: Head of Access Service
Liaison areas: Accounting, Business, Economics, Criminology, Psychology, Social Work
Favorite part of job: Working with students, including our wonderful student workers!
An interesting hobby: I enjoy vegetable gardening,
and I love the snow and am excited to use my new cross-country skis again soon!
My book pick: Think Again by Adam Grant
My song pick: “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker” by O.A.R.

Dana Mastroianni
Job title: Head of Public Services
Liaison areas: Health Sciences, Art & Design, Communication
Favorite part of job: Being a practical help to students. Helping them discover, think and rethink,
and successfully fulfill their information needs. And my fellow librarians are pretty awesome
An interesting skill: My car karaoke skills are on point.
My book pick: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
My song pick: “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2

Daniel Lincoln Nolting
Job title: Head of Technical Services
Specialty areas: Data and materials management.
Favorite part of job: Stickers! Putting call numbers on books! Never gets old…
An interesting skill: Along with an MFA in painting, while in NYC, I also learned an old Japanese woodcut method.
My book pick: These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore
My song pick: “Keep It Comin’ Love” by KC & The Sunshine Band

Molly Tighe
Job title: Archivist & Public Services Librarian
Academic expertise: Archives, preservation, and museums
Liaison areas: History, Political Science, Policy Studies, Bio, Chem, Math, Physics
Favorite part of job: Sharing and discovering (or helping others discover) Chatham history and how it informs campus activities today.
An interesting hobby: I sew my clothes! While I still
wear a fair bit of ready-to-wear, I try to include a me-made in every outfit.
My book pick: Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia by Steven Stoll
My song pick: “Jolie Holland” by All the Morning Birds

Jocelyn Codner
Job title: Reference & Outreach Librarian
Liaison areas: Food Studies, Sustainability,
Environmental Science, Education, English, Creative Writing/MFA
Favorite part of job: Working one-on-one with students!
An interesting skill: I play Irish flute.
A fun fact: I used to DJ my high school dances.
My book pick: The Diviners by Libba Bray
My song pick: “No Quiero Saber” by Selena

Carina Stopenski
Job title: Access Services Associate
Academic expertise: Gender and cultural studies, media studies, comics
Favorite part of job: Getting to see all the
interesting titles that patrons request!
A fun fact: I love to collect natural curios, like rocks, herbs, crystals, and resins!
My book pick: Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
My song pick: “Calamity Song” by The Decemberists

Jennifer Langilotti
Job title: Technical Services Assistant
Favorite part of job: Learning from more experienced librarians.
A fun fact: Good at Tetris!
My book pick: A Lost Lady by Willa Cather
My song pick: “Dennis Quaid” by Taylor Janzen

Alley Lindner
Job title: Reference Associate
Specialty areas: English Literature with a focus in Queer Theory
Other areas of interest: Juicy pop culture takes!
Favorite part of job: I love working with students–helping with research, talking through book recommendations, etc.
A fun fact: I was named after my grandmother’s three-legged dog.
My book pick: Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson
My song pick: “Motion Sickness” by Phoebe Bridgers

Chelsea Gabrielson
Job title: Reference Associate
Specialty areas: Health Sciences and Children’s Literature
Favorite part of job: I love when I can help students with research!
A fun fact: I once did a 185-mile bicycle ride down the coast of Oregon.
My book pick: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
My song pick: “Dark Red” by Steve Lacy

Amy Melnyk
Job title: Reference Associate
Specialty areas: Social Sciences
Favorite part of job: Definitely helping students!
A fun fact: I have 51 tabs currently open.
My book pick: Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
My song pick: “Family Affair” by Mary J. Blige

Jackson Adkins
Job title: Access Services Aide
Major: Management Information Systems, Data Science minor
Favorite task at the JKM Library: Getting journals and scanning them from the basement!
A hobby: I have been snowboarding for 12 years.
An interesting skill: I can clap with one hand!
My book pick: Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black
Youth’s Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa by Mark Mathabane
My song pick: “Footsteps in the Dark” by The Isley Brothers

Trai BreenLusen
Job title: Access Services Aide
Major: English, Creative Writing and Studio Arts minors
Area of academic interest: Animation
Favorite task at the JKM Library: Pulling books for EZ Borrow and packing mail.
Something interesting about me: I’m an artist hoping to start my own business.
My book pick: The Hobbit: There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkin
My song pick: “Hey Look Ma, I Made It” by Panic! At The Disco

Riley Hurst Brubaker
Job title: Access Services Aide
Major: Journalism and Film
Favorite task at the JKM Library: Shelving and interacting with staff and fellow students.
An interesting skill: Arranging flower bouquets.
My book pick: A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey and Kali Nicole Gross
My song pick: “Highway Unicorn” by The Highwomen

Leyla Fevola
Job title: Access Services Aide
Major: Mathmatics and Secondary Education
Favorite task at the JKM Library: I love helping and creating projects with other staff members!
Something interesting about me: I am a dual citizen, I am a citizen of the USA and Italy!
My book pick: Beautiful Boy by David Sheff
My song pick: “All For Us” by Labrinth and Zendaya

Becca Pennington
Job title: Access Services Aide
Major: Exercise Science
Favorite task at the JKM Library: Stack searches (searching for missing books)
A hobby of mine: I run cross country and track
My book pick: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
My song pick: “Runaway” by Linkin Park

Jolie Phan
Job title: Access Services Aide
Major: Human Biology
Favorite task at the JKM Library: Checking books in and out to patrons
A hobby of mine: I love playing the piano and violin
My book pick: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
My song pick: “Heroes” by David Bowie

Stephanie Spano
Job title: Access Services Aide
Major: Cell and Molecular Biology
Area of Academic Interest: Genetics
Favorite task at the JKM Library: Stack searches
(searching for missing books) or helping patrons at the desk!
A fun fact about me: I’ve been to 25 out of 50 states in the US!
My book pick: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
My song pick: “Oh My God” by Adele

Julia Windsheimer
Job title: Access Services Aide
Major: Interior Architecture, Music minor
Favorite task at the JKM Library: Shelving books
A hobby of mine: I like playing the flute
My book pick: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
My song pick: “Rock and Roll” by The Velvet Underground

Savannah Wood
Job title: Access Services Aide
Major: Psychology
Favorite task at the JKM Library: Doing inventory
An interesting skill of mine: I can twirl batons and was the majorette captain at my high school.
My book pick: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur My song pick: “Thelma + Louise” by Bastille

December 2021

As the world begins to open back up again and we start to see each other beyond the fuzziness of a Zoom screen, sitting at home reading may be the furthest thing from our minds. However, 2021 gave us some fantastic titles, both entertaining and educational alike. With a breadth of pandemic and political literature at the forefront of the literary movement right now, though, it can be beneficial to sit down with some creative titles to keep us engaged over the winter break. Here are some of 2021’s best books that you can find right here in the JKM Library collection! Call Us What We Carry, Amanda Gorman After performing her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the 2020 inauguration, Amanda Gorman quickly became a household name. Her use of impactful aesthetics, politically charged dialogue, and sprawling free verse creates an honest, almost journalistic approach in her writing that even non-poetry fans can enjoy. The collection’s inclusion of “The Hill We Climb” sets up this text to fit in the collections of humanitarians and political activists alike. Only released just this December, Gorman’s words will keep audiences engaged, enamored, and most importantly, motivated to make change in the world that we live in. Punch Me Up to the Gods, Brian Broome This memoir from Chatham alum Brian Broome has made its way onto many book lists and accrued a few awards already this year, and for good reason. Broome’s striking portrayal of growing up Black and gay in Ohio’s Rust Belt. Full of striking prose and unflinching portrayals of a complex adolescence, Broome’s words will make your heart ache in the best way possible. Broome opens up the reader to a version of Appalachia that is unlike the whitewashed depictions we’re so used to seeing in the media. This year’s Kirkus Prize winner for nonfiction, Punch Me Up to the Gods has garnered attention from all over the literary world. An Alternative History of Pittsburgh, Ed Simon You don’t need to be a history buff to enjoy Ed Simon’s book on eclectic Pittsburgh history. In this nonfiction text on Pittsburgh’s hidden histories, Simon opens up the reader to a Pittsburgh that is not often discussed. An accessible read that presents history in an easy-to-follow narrative, this book breathes life into local tales spanning from the Whiskey Rebellion to the legacy of Andy Warhol, with plenty of vignettes in between. Simon highlights a version of Pittsburgh that even locals may be shocked to learn about, and all through a lens that’s both entertaining and informative. American Bastard, Jan Beatty Pittsburgh poet Jan Beatty has released another poetry collection, this one specifically centering around her identity as an adopted child. Beatty recalls the search for her birth parents with heart-wrenching lyricism and the effects of a broken system that decentralizes identity. Beatty holds back no punches when she discusses the corruption of the adoption industry and the nuances of parenthood once the bridge between birth family and adoptive family starts to crumble. Her approach is stark, but still hopeful for a future that could be better for adoptees. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, Deeshaw Philyaw Even though it was released at the tail end of 2020, Deeshaw Philyaw’s short story collection gained a ton of traction in 2021. A tour-de-force example of literary fiction, Philyaw paints vivid scenes of the lives of Black women and girls, punctuated by themes of sexuality and religious-associated guilt. Drawing from the “church ladies” that she knew growing up in the church, women who approached life in a perfectionist, godly way, Philyaw forces us to question the rhetoric surrounding Black women’s bodies and sexual feelings. We Could Be Heroes, Mike Chen Mike Chen’s speculative fiction-superhero novel is one that’ll keep readers on their toes from start to finish. Telling the story of two amnesiacs who have mysteriously gained superpowers, Chen explores the intricacies of the human condition paired with some high-octane action scenes and witty dialogue. When these two superpowered characters encounter each other in a memory loss support group, readers get to watch the unraveling and paranoia happen firsthand. A fast-paced read for the hero in all of us. 
~Carina Stopenski is the Access Services Associate at Chatham University’s Jennie King Mellon Library. They started out as a student worker while getting their creative writing degree at Chatham, and received their Master’s of Library Science at Clarion University in summer 2020. They enjoy games of both the board and video persuasion, vegan baking, and reading graphic novels. They also teach cultural studies and “cartoon theory” classes on the platform Outschool. 
 

December 2021

The JKM Library is honoring the cultures and history of Native Americans through a book display. Native American and Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month may have already passed (please take a look at our related resources page), but we should continue to reflect on the past, present, and future of these communities and their relationship to of the United States of America: how Indigenous people were colonized, how they were almost decimated, and how they are still oppressed. We recognize that we occupy the unceded, ancestral land of many Indigenous peoples, including the Delaware, the Shawnee, and the Seneca Nation, who were members of the Haudenosaunee (hoe-dee-no-SHOW-nee) Confederacy. As recently as the 1960s, nearly one-third of the Seneca’s tribal lands were taken by the U.S. government to build the Kinzua Dam northeast of the Pittsburgh (for more on land acknowledgments, see this handout). Located in the first floor, the display offers a curated selection of more than 40 books with an interdisciplinary focus, ranging from literature and history to environmental studies. Part of our goal is to make these resources more visible, which often remain hidden in the stacks. In addition, we wanted to center texts by Indigenous voices. In the case of books by non-Native American authors, we have tried to include works that are inclusive in their approach and do not reproduce problematic stereotypes. For instance, we excluded a critically acclaimed book, S.C. Gwynne’s Empire of the Summer Moon, because of its description of the Comanches as “primitive” and “barbarian.” Such language harks back to the racist discourse of past centuries, but the book was published only ten years ago and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. We also did not choose to share most of our Native American art books because they perpetuate the colonialist idea that Indigenous cultures are to be collected by white institutions without any attention to Native American perspectives. It is therefore urgent to share correctives to these narratives, especially from the perspective of institutions like ours, which not only occupy unceded land but also play a role in the formation of collective memory. In addition, the library’s DVD collection does not include any films directed by Native Americans except for Reel Injun, a documentary about the depiction of indigeneity in Hollywood movies, which is part of the display. We hope to be adding more items to our collection that reflect these concerns. We invite everyone to experience the exhibit and check out any books that might interest you. Some books that we would like to highlight because of their importance for Native American history and cultures are: Roxane Dunbar-Ortiz, An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (history) Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality (gender and sexuality) Natalie Diaz, When My Brother Was an Aztec (poetry) Cherie Dimaline, The Marrow Thieves (fiction) The Book of Elders: the life Stories of Great American Indians (testimony) Terese Marie Mailhot, Heart Berries (memoir) Native Americans and the Environment: Perspectives on the Ecological Indian (environmental studies) David J. Silverman, This Land is their Land: the Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled history of Thanksgiving (history) Sean Sherman, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen (cooking)
~Khalila Chaar-Pérez (she/they) is Reference Associate at the JKM Library and also works at the People’s Media Record, a grassroots video archive in Philly. She’s a proud trans Puerto Rican committed to cultivating transformative justice, antiracism, and a world without capitalism. She is also an avid hiker, a film nerd, and a trekkie. 

January 2021

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown was a wonderful book. At several points in the book I found myself wondering what the next twist would be. The Da Vinci Code is about a symbologist named Robert Langdon. One night, while staying in Paris, he is called to the Louvre to help out on a murder investigation. The victim is in a peculiar pose with instructions to find Langdon scrawled on the floor. Little to his knowledge, Langdon is being investigated as one of the criminals. Now to clear his name, Langdon must solve the mystery himself using his knowledge of symbols. I enjoyed how the author tied symbology into his novel. I learned things that I was not expecting to in a way that did not feel like I was in a class. I also feel that the action packed novel kept me engaged with the characters. I often found myself sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next piece of the puzzle to be revealed. I highly recommend The Da Vinci Code to any who love mysteries or even to those looking for an adventure. You can put a hold on The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown today through the JKM Library catalog and pick the book up at the library! Click here to get started. 
Nerice Breen Lusen is an English Major here at Chatham University with a minor in Creative Writing. They have been working at the Jenny King Mellon Library as a student worker since their freshmen year, starting in 2018. Following their time at Chatham they plan to gain their master’s degree in Library and Information Science and become a librarian themself. 
 

December 2020

2020 has truly been a year of turmoil and adversity, but that doesn’t mean it stopped the literature industry from producing new gems. Our shifting cultural climate has been met with a new wave of prose and poetry that addresses issues of injustice on a deeper level, and now more than ever, books are providing us with an outlet for the powerlessness we’re feeling due to the effects of this year’s chaos. In order to be culturally responsible literary citizens, we need to expand our horizons and develop as wide of a cultural canon as we can. I’ve compiled a list of 2020’s best inclusive titles and while the JKM Library is currently closed for the winter season before the next semester, upon our reopening, patrons can utilize E-ZBorrow and Interlibrary Loan to request newer title that we may not have on our own shelves. Best Fiction The Night Watchman, by Louise Erdrich Erdrich is known for her impressive blend of historical and literary fiction, highlighting the struggles of Native Americans suffering the effects of colonialism. The Night Watchman is loosely based on Erdrich’s grandfather’s experience working as a nightwatchman during the Native dispossession era. One of the novel’s protagonists, Patrice, desires a life outside of the reservation and rejects the matriarchal roles that are setout for her, longing to move to Minneapolis to follow the lead of her older sister. The second hero, Thomas, is a night watchman and Chippewa council member on their North Dakota reservation, fighting against Congress’ new “termination” bill to eradicate Native communities. Erdrich does not romanticize life on the rez–rather, she paints a colorful cast of characters that encapsulates the essence of the Native struggle, one that is poignant, witty, and tender. The Death of Vivek Oji, by Akwaeke Emezi  Powerhouse newcomer Akwaeke Emezi third novel addresses the intersection of African identity with queer identity, highlighting otherness, isolation, and the feeling of finding home. A deep, complex mystery that finds itself in the middle of political reform in the 1990s Nigeria, The Death of Vivek Oji forces the reader into complicated literary disorientation. The titular protagonist Vivek struggles with dissociation and a sense of belonging, befriending the mixed-race children of immigrant mothers to Africa and struggling with what he considers a “sinful” relationship. Emezi’s swirling prose coupled with the layered cultural narrative present in the novel creates a tension that is so hard to achieve in literary fiction, but when attained, is incredibly significant. Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel, by Julian K. Jarboe This is my personal favorite title of 2020, and for good reason. Jarboe’s debut fiction collection covers everything from cyberpunk dystopia, body horror, mythical lore, subtle romance, and stories of abusive religious institutions. All of these vastly different narratives share a common thread, though: the constant threat of being stripped of our individuality, whether it be our culture, our community, our physical vessel. Jarboe’s literary voice is spectacular from segment to segment and the pacing never falls flat. I particularly enjoyed the stories “I Am a Beautiful Bug!,” which is part love letter to Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and part transgender allegory, and “Self Care,” an antiestablishment stream-of consciousness narrative that highlights the end of times at the hands of ostentatious religiosity and greed. Homeland Elegies, by Ayad Akhtar Loosely inspired by Akhtar’s own experiences as an Arab-American following 9/11, Homeland Elegies tells the story of a family struggling with feelings of national dispossession. While the story is fictional, the content is autobiographical in nature, drawing directlyontheoppression thatAkhbar felt in the field of the humanities. He makes you long for an America that never truly existed, one that could have hyperbolized peace and unity. Rather, we’re exposed to a more complex, pessimistic America whose racial bias and detestment of immigrants bleeds through to our everyday life whether we’re cognizant of it or not. Best Nonfiction Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot, by Mikki Kendall If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that racial injustice has always been a reality, it has only become more apparent in the media because we have more access to the struggles of others. Kendall discusses the overwhelming power of white feminism, and how so often gender overpowers other facets of identity. The crux at which true allyship happens includes race, class, ability, and sexuality, and Kendall’s thesis statement enforces that all issues of denial to access are issues of feminism. The critique of mainstream feminist scholars is biting and well-written, tackling issues like food insecurity, education, medical care, and more in its analysis. Kendall truly reminds us that it’s not feminism unless it’s inclusive and intersectional. Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning, by Cathy Park Hong Part immigration memoir, part critical cultural studies, Hong’s essays directly confront modern-day racial consciousness here in America with a twist. What she calls “minor feelings” are stand-ins for the grief, shame, and internalized notions about race that we face in a society that is so inherently whitewashed. Hong works to unpack this implicit bias of self and others in a way that is both intellectual and entertaining, peppering in stories from her youth to punctuate the more theoretical elements of the text. Park discusses the stereotypes typically inscribed upon Asian Americans; she manages to blend the educational with the conversational in a way that even the newest of allies can process. Me and White Supremacy, by Layla Saad What started as an Instagram challenge to encourage white people to address their implicit biases became one of the year’s best tools for white allies to use to confront their implicit biases surrounding race and ethnicity. Saad creates a resource that elevates BIPOC people and teaches white people about their levels of privilege and unconscious engagement in the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy without forcing people of color to exert their emotional labor. So often, communities exploit the emotional and mental work of its scholars of color and assume they will be educators for white people without providing compensation. This book can provide that insight for white allies to understand that they must use their power to support people of color, and that with privilege comes a special position to support others. The Undocumented Americans, by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio DACA recipient Villavicencio decided to start writing this collection in response to the 2016 election results, and in it paints a beautiful depiction of undocumented immigrants in the United States. She meets with immigrants all over the country and learns their stories in order to come up with some semblance of her own. It is a touching, unrestrained take on refuge and sanctuary, how with citizenship comes privilege, and the denial to access that goes hand-in-hand with undocumented status. Rather than living in the shadows of her own identity, Villavicencio advocates on behalf of other undocumented people in an unflinching critique on how our society treats those simply seeking solace in the world. Best Poetry Just Us: An American Conversation, by Claudia Rankine A spiritual successor to her collection Citizen, Rankine tackles the big issues of white supremacy in a jarring collection of poems, short prose, and art. Just Us highlights the microcosms of Americana, a nation divided, and how indifference has made even liminal spaces hostile for non-white individuals. Rankine dives into the politics of politeness, calling attention to the way that privilege often encourages the majority to turn a blind eye to oppression and marginalization. Her poetic voice is blatant and urgent while still providing a strong aesthetic flow, a varied poetic voice that has cemented itself as one of the most strikingofthe21st century. Wicked Enchantment: Selected Poems, by Wanda Coleman. Poetry spanning a forty year body of work, Wicked Enchantment is a consciously anti-racist collection that confronts marginalization with humor, ennui, and sometimes anger. Coleman’s legacy on the poetry community is insurmountable, and with an introduction and edits from the great Terrence Hayes, she so rawly and honestly depicts the progression of racism in America. The poems in this collection are not about being pretty or being pleasing. They are about feeling and filling a void where society has failed us. In addition to the overarching theme of racial injustice, Coleman also tackles concepts like mental illness, wealth inequality, and the failings of the healthcare system particularly against Black women. This is a dense read, but a very worthwhile one. Music for the Dead and Resurrected: Poems, by Valzhyna Mort Belarusian poet Mort discusses the traumatic intergenerational legacy of war and propaganda in this heart-wrenching collection of love letters to the dead. She weaves historical elements likeWorld WarII, Soviet labor camps, and tyrannical dictatorships throughout the text, tracing the timeline of her native country’s development to her and her family’s experiences in these toxic, violent environments. Tethering her own comingof-age with the mythology of a fragmented nation, Mort creates a lyricism of ghosts, an existence that will always be permeated by the atrocities committed against or by our ancestors. Music for the Dead and Resurrected confronts the American historical myths and forces the reader to take an uncomfortable but nonetheless poetic look at how they got to where they are. Inheritance, by TaylorJohnson A recent release, TaylorJohnson asserts the precariousness of poor Black identity in a nation that constantly surveils our most at-risk populations in this collection. They elaborate in their poems about the intrinsic link of capitalism to the exploitation of bodies of color, and with broad lyricism, Johnson opens a dialogue as to what a world without the boundaries of class and financial standing would look like. Cynicism of cultural monoliths permeate the text as Johnson conveys their theories through the lens of radical love and sex. There is a stark juxtaposition of lightheartedness with the prison industrial complex, pleasure against poverty. This jarring dichotomy conveys the meaning of the collection: suffering will always plague us so long as we allow ourselves to adhere to oppressive cultural rules. Best Children’s and Young Adult You Should See Me in a Crown, by Leah Johnson Johnson’s debut novel is one that is sweet and fun, typical of YA, but tackles the very real issues of growing up a minority in small- town America. Protagonist Liz Lighty views herself as being “too Black, too poor, too awkward” to be taken seriously in her rural, conservative community, and she desires nothing more than to break out of this restrictive town and attend a prestigious university. Johnson highlights the very real threat of financial insecurity that plagues teens and young adults, and Liz’s reluctant journey to attain prom royalty to assure financial aid is an interesting subversion of the traditional high school narrative. It’s so important to see young, empowered Black girls in stories where they have agency and dreams, and where their hardships are not fetishized–Johnson creates a new kind of Black hero in Liz, one in which many young viewers can see bits of themselves. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, by Hank Green The follow-up to Hank Green’s bestseller An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is just as stunning as its predecessor, a science- fiction tale that tackles concepts like colonization, decimation of lands, and class consciousness. Green’s social commentary is presented in a youth-friendly way, fast-paced and action- packed. The elements of mystery and eclectic cast of characters is what will draw you in, but the interesting theories surrounding technology, reality, and virtuality will keep you coming back for more. Considering Green’s science background, there’s validity to the scientific elements of the text, but it’s not so academic that it’ll go over the head of the readers. Clap When You Land, by Elizabeth Acevedo In a similar style to her bestseller The Poet X, Acevedo crafts a novel-in-verse that ties together the notions of togetherness and grief in an incredibly touching testament to the power of familial love. Camino, who lives in the Dominican Republic, and Yahaira, who lives in New York City, are sisters who are totally unaware of one another’s existence until a horrible tragedy brings them together. Their intrinsic connection forces them to think about the boundaries between their cultures and what sorts of secrets lurked within their families. The blend of poetry and prose makes for an easy reading experience and the content helps to show the subtle differences between groups of Latinx identity. The Degenerates, by J. Albert Mann Disability is a subject of intersectionality that we don’t see too often in modern fiction, or at least when it’s not portrayed in the unfortunate genre of “inspiration porn.” The Degenerates does not glamorize the disabled experience in the case of mental, physical, and learning disabilities. Taking place in an institution for the mentally ill or disabled, these girls are not portrayed as weak, simple, or naive. Instead, they are empowered and fierce young women, dedicated to escaping the system that oppresses them. The Degenerates also doesn’t shy away from the severity of institutionalization–the interactions are coarse, belittling, and show the reality of living with a disability in a world that does not provide access or accommodations. Carina Stopenski is the Access Services Associate at Chatham University’s Jennie King Mellon Library. They started out as a student work while getting their creative writing degree at Chatham, and received their Master’s of Library Science at Clarion University in summer2020.Theyenjoygamesof both the board and video persuasion, vegan baking, and reading graphic novels. They also teach cultural studies and “cartoon theory” classes on the platform Outschool. 

December 2020

The book Carmilla is an 1872 English novella by J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Carmilla can be downloaded as a PDF from the library’s website or it can also be requested in tangible form through E-ZBorrow (when E-ZBorrow is accessible). The novella features the first appearances of a female vampire in English gothic literature. Carmilla served as an inspiration for Brim Stoker’s Dracula, which was published about twenty-five years later in May of 1897. The novella begins with a prologue from a doctor’s assistant explaining that the tale that follows is a recounting of events that befell one of the doctor’s patients. It is told from a young woman named Laura’s point of view. She begins by telling the reader of her first encounter with Carmilla when she was just six years old, saying that it is her oldest memory. She is left scared and scarred from this encounter. The story picks up years later as Laura explains the castle she and her father have come to live in. Together with Laura’s governess and “finishing governess” – as Laura calls her – Laura and her father live in Syria but are originally from England. One day Laura and her father receive a letter from one General Spielsdorf. He has unfortunately cancelled his visit to them because his niece and ward had died, claiming that she was killed by a monster. On a walk shortly after, a carriage crashes in front of Laura and her father. The riders of the carriage consist of an elderly woman and a younger woman the elder claims as her daughter. The young woman is hurt in the crash but seeing as her mother is on an important journey, she leaves her daughter in the care of Laura’s father. The girl is introduced as Carmilla, and Laura is excited to have a friend to spend the foreseeable days with. I thought the novella was well written, though the dialect – being that of the 1800’s can be a bit confusing for the modern reader. While I was reading there were passages that I read twice to make sure I understood them, but I don’t think this detracted from the story that was being told. Carmilla, the character, was not forth coming with details about herself. This gripped me as a reader and made me want to read onwards. Vampires are often characterized in stories with alluring and mysterious airs. Carmilla is no exception. There are often times in the story where either Carmilla speaks to Laura, vice versa, or even when Laura describes Carmilla to the reader that shows an attraction between the girls – romantically and even physically. It is not explicit in the novel that Carmilla and Laura are together in any sense, but it creates a dynamic between the two characters that made me want to read more. It made me what to learn more about the mysterious Carmilla just as Laura wished to. The story is not one of grand fights or intense dramas like novels or novellas of today, but I felt that Carmilla was a great book. It is a quick read and holds themes and motifs that are ahead of its time. Sydney Nerice Breen Lusen is an English Major here at Chatham University with a minor in Creative Writing. She has been working at the Jenny King Mellon Library as a student worker since her freshmen year, starting in 2018. Following her time at Chatham she plans to gain her master’s degree in Library and Information Science and become a librarian herself. 

June 10, 2020

Many organizations and institutions have been offering incredible antiracist reading lists, packed with critically acclaimed fiction and nonfiction that add to our individual education on systemic and institutional racism in the United States and around the world. You should consult these lists and make your own TBR (to be read) pile of antiracist titles. It is a personal, moral, and civic duty that we commit to learning about the history, hardships, and experiences of our fellow Americans. It is also our duty to confront white supremacy on personal, local, and systemic levels. These reading lists can be an excellent start to that work. Armed with new knowledge and understanding, we can be better equipped to help push for lasting change in this country and around the world. Knowledge truly is power. Below is a list of eBook titles that can be accessed freely by Chatham University students, faculty, and staff. Some are antiracist staples, some are more specifically focused on education, and some can help you take the next step in turning your knowledge into productive action for the collective good. Images are from Goodreads. Descriptions are from the publishers and/or Goodreads. Follow the linked titles to check out the eBook today. The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois “This collection of essays by scholar-activist W. E. B. Du Bois is a masterpiece in the African American canon. Du Bois, arguably the most influential African American leader of the early twentieth century, offers insightful commentary on Black history, racism, and the struggles of Black Americans following emancipation. In his groundbreaking work, the author presciently writes that ‘the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line,’ and offers powerful arguments for the absolute necessity of moral, social, political, and economic equality. These essays on the Black experience in America range from sociological studies of the African American community to illuminating discourses on religion and ‘Negro music,’ and remain essential reading. A new introduction by Jonathan Holloway explores Du Bois’s signature accomplishments while helping readers to better understand his writings in the context of his time as well as ours.” The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander “Once in a great while a book comes along that changes the way we see the world and helps to fuel a nationwide social movement. The New Jim Crow is such a book. Praised by Harvard Law professor Lani Guinier as ‘brave and bold,’ this book directly challenges the notion that the election of Barack Obama signals a new era of colorblindness. With dazzling candor, legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues that ‘we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.’ By targeting Black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control —relegating millions to a permanent second-class status—even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness. In the words of Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, this book is a ‘call to action.’ Called ‘stunning’ by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Levering Lewis, ‘invaluable’ by the Daily Kos, ‘explosive’ by Kirkus, and ‘profoundly necessary’ by the Miami Herald, this updated and revised paperback edition of The New Jim Crow, now with a foreword by Cornel West, is a must-read for all people of conscience.” Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment by Patricia Hill Collins “In spite of the double burden of racial and gender discrimination, African-American women have developed a rich intellectual tradition that is not widely known. In Black Feminist Thought, Patricia Hill Collins explores the words and ideas of Black feminist intellectuals as well as those African-American women outside academe. She provides an interpretive framework for the work of such prominent Black feminist thinkers as Angela Davis, bell hooks, Alice Walker, and Audre Lorde. The result is a superbly crafted book that provides the first synthetic overview of Black feminist thought.” On Lynchings by Ida B. Wells-Barnett “Though the end of the Civil War brought legal emancipation to Blacks, it is a fact of history that their social oppression continued long after. The most virulent form of this ongoing persecution was the practice of lynching carried out by mob rule, often as local law enforcement officials looked the other way. During the 1880s and 1890s, more than 100 African Americans per year were lynched, and in 1892 alone the toll of murdered men and women reached a peak of 161. In that awful year, the 23-year-old Ida B. Wells, the editor of a small newspaper for Blacks in Memphis, Tennessee, raised one lone voice of protest. In her paper, she charged that white businessmen had instigated three local lynchings against their black competitors. In retaliation for her outspoken courage, a goon-squad of angry whites destroyed her editorial office and print shop, and she was forced to flee the South and move to New York City. So began a crusade against lynching which became the focus of her long, active, and very courageous life. In New York, she began lecturing against the abhorrent vigilante practice and published her first pamphlet on the subject called ‘Southern Horrors.’After moving to Chicago and marrying lawyer Ferdinand Barnett, she continued her campaign, publishing ‘A Red Record’ in 1895 and ‘Mob Rule in New Orleans,’ about the race riots in that city, in 1900. All three of these documents are collected in On Lynchings, a shocking testament to cruelty and the dark American legacy of racial prejudice.” Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave: Written by Himself, Critical Edition “A new edition of one of the most influential literary documents in American and African American history. Ideal for coursework in American and African American history, this revised edition of Frederick Douglass’s memoir of his life as a slave in pre-Civil War Maryland incorporates a wide range of supplemental materials to enhance students’ understanding of slavery, abolitionism, and the role of race in American society. Offering readers a new appreciation of Douglass’s world, it includes documents relating to the slave narrative genre and to the later career of an essential figure in the nineteenth-century abolition movement.” Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor “By the late 1960s and early 1970s, reeling from a wave of urban uprisings, politicians finally worked to end the practice of redlining. Reasoning that the turbulence could be calmed by turning Black city-dwellers into homeowners, they passed the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, and set about establishing policies to induce mortgage lenders and the real estate industry to treat Black homebuyers equally. The disaster that ensued revealed that racist exclusion had not been eradicated, but rather transmuted into a new phenomenon of predatory inclusion. Race for Profit uncovers how exploitative real estate practices continued well after housing discrimination was banned. The same racist structures and individuals remained intact after redlining’s end, and close relationships between regulators and the industry created incentives to ignore improprieties. Meanwhile, new policies meant to encourage low-income homeownership created new methods to exploit Black homeowners. The federal government guaranteed urban mortgages in an attempt to overcome resistance to lending to Black buyers – as if unprofitability, rather than racism, was the cause of housing segregation. Bankers, investors, and real estate agents took advantage of the perverse incentives, targeting the Black women most likely to fail to keep up their home payments and slip into foreclosure, multiplying their profits. As a result, by the end of the 1970s, the nation’s first programs to encourage Black homeownership ended with tens of thousands of foreclosures in Black communities across the country. The push to uplift Black homeownership had descended into a goldmine for realtors and mortgage lenders, and a ready-made cudgel for the champions of deregulation to wield against government intervention of any kind. Narrating the story of a sea-change in housing policy and its dire impact on African Americans, Race for Profit reveals how the urban core was transformed into a new frontier of cynical extraction.” Black and Blue: The Origins and Consequences of Medical Racism by John Hoberman “Black and Blue is the first systematic description of how American doctors think about racial differences and how this kind of thinking affects the treatment of their black patients. The standard studies of medical racism examine past medical abuses of Black people and do not address the racially motivated thinking and behaviors of physicians practicing medicine today. Black and Blue penetrates the physician’s private sphere where racial fantasies and misinformation distort diagnoses and treatments. Doctors have always absorbed the racial stereotypes and folkloric beliefs about racial differences that permeate the general population. Within the world of medicine this racial folklore has infiltrated all of the medical sub-disciplines, from cardiology to gynecology to psychiatry. Doctors have thus imposed White or Black racial identities upon every organ system of the human body, along with racial interpretations of Black children, the Black elderly, the Black athlete, Black musicality, Black pain thresholds, and other aspects of Black minds and bodies. The American medical establishment does not readily absorb either historical or current information about medical racism. For this reason, racial enlightenment will not reach medical schools until the current race-aversive curricula include new historical and sociological perspectives.” We Have Not Been Moved: Resisting Racism and Militarism in 21st Century America by Elizabeth Betita Martinez (Editor) Matt Meyer (Editor), Mandy Carter (Editor), Alice Walker (Afterword), Sonia Sanchez (Afterword), Cornel West (Foreword) “A compendium of writings that detail the grassroots actions of social and political activists from the civil rights era of the early 1960s to the present day, this book reviews the major points of intersection between white supremacy and the war machine through historic and contemporary articles from a diverse range of scholars and activists. Among the historic texts included are rarely seen writings by antiracist icons such as Anne Braden, Barbara Deming, and Audre Lorde as well as a dialogue between Dr. King, revolutionary nationalist Robert F. Williams, Dave Dellinger, and Dorothy Day. Never-before-published pieces appear from civil rights and gay rights organizer Bayard Rustin and from celebrated U.S. pacifist supporter of Puerto Rican sovereignty Ruth Reynolds. Additional articles, essays, interviews, and poems from numerous contributors examine the strategic and tactical possibilities of radical transformation for lasting social change through revolutionary nonviolence.” Antiracist School Leadership: Toward Equity in Education for America’s Students by Jeffrey S. Brooks “Since the passing of Brown versus Board of Education to the election of the first Black president of the United States, there has been much discussion on how far we have come as a nation on issues of race. Some continue to assert that Barack Obama’s election ushered in a new era—making the US a post-racial society. But this argument is either a political contrivance, borne of ignorance or a bold-faced lie. There is no recent data on school inequities, or inequity in society for that matter, that suggests we have arrived at Dr. King’s dream that his ‘four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.’ Children today are instead still judged by the color of their skin, and this inequitable practice is manifest in today’s schools for students of color in the form of disproportionate student discipline referrals, achievement and opportunity gaps, pushout rates, overrepresentation in special education and underrepresentation in advanced coursework, among other indicators (Brooks, 2012). Though issues of race in the public education system may take an overt or covert form; racial injustice in public schools is still pervasive, complex, and cumulative. The authors in this book explore various ways that racism is manifest in the American school system. Through a plurality of perspectives, they deconstruct, challenge, and reconstruct an educational leadership committed to equity and excellence for marginalized students and educators.” Towards Collective Liberation: Anti-Racist Organizing, Feminist Praxis, and Movement Building Strategy by Chris Crass “Organized into four sections, this collection of essays is geared toward activists engaging with the dynamic questions of how to create and support effective movements for visionary systemic change. These essays and interviews present powerful lessons for transformative organizing. It offers a firsthand look at the challenges and the opportunities of antiracist work in white communities, feminist work with men, and bringing women of color feminism into the heart of social movements. Drawing on two decades of personal activist experience and case studies within these areas, Crass’s essays insightfully explore ways of transforming divisions of race, class, and gender into catalysts for powerful vision, strategy, and building movements in the United States today. This collection will inspire and empower anyone who is interested in implementing change through organizing.” The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century by Grace Lee Boggs “The pioneering Asian American labor organizer and writer’s vision for intersectional and anti-racist activism. In this powerful, deeply humanistic book, Grace Lee Boggs, a legendary figure in the struggle for justice in America, shrewdly assesses the current crisis—political, economical, and environmental—and shows how to create the radical social change we need to confront new realities. A vibrant, inspirational force, Boggs has participated in all of the twentieth century’s major social movements —for civil rights, women’s rights, workers’rights, and more. She draws from seven decades of activist experience, and a rigorous commitment to critical thinking, to redefine “revolution” for our times. From her home in Detroit, she reveals how hope and creativity are overcoming despair and decay within the most devastated urban communities. Her book is a manifesto for creating alternative modes of work, politics, and human interaction that will collectively constitute the next American Revolution—which is unraveling before our eyes.” We hope you find this eBook reading list helpful as you begin or continue your antiracist work. You can follow the JKM Library’s Instagram account (@jkmlibrary) for more book recommendations on various topics. And you can recommend a specific book to be added to the JKM Library’s collection by emailing Reference@Chatham.edu or reaching out to a specific librarian. 

May 27, 2020

The JKM Library has a new database worth checking out! Academic Video Online (AVON) is a premier database that holds over 68,000 videos spanning a variety of disciplines and subjects. Whether you’re in the mood for a documentary, news, feature films, or interviews, AVON has access across the board. Explore videos of different genres, lengths, and age, and expand your horizons; search for the exact title you’re looking for, or just peruse the homepage! The database’s wide variety provides a wellrounded collection of both educational and entertaining resources, and Chatham users can see it all! Here’s a few titles that both highlight the diversity of AVON and can lift your spirits! 1.) Candide, libretto by Leonard Bernstein Bernstein’s operatic adaptation of Voltaire novella comes to life in the 2004 production with the New York Philharmonic, featuring the musical stylings of theatre giants like Kristin Chenoweth and Patti LuPone. The show tells the story of the eponymous protagonist as he traverses through adulthood meeting bizarre new people and learning important life lessons. Candide boasts an impressive score full of bright, exuberant numbers and an overall feeling of comedy and joy throughout. Viewers can expect to laugh their way all the way through this musical adventure. A true testament to the quality of AVON’s performing arts selection, Candide is fun for everyone. 2.) Land Ho!, directed by Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens Here’s one raucous comedy evokes the feeling of the ’80s road trip movies, but turns the trope on its head with its elderly protagonist. This feature film follows former brothers-in-law Mitch and Colin as they attempt to relive their youth while taking a trip through Iceland. This indie darling is simple and character-driven, and while it has the occasional heavy moment, the majority of Land Ho! is chock full of quirk and witty humor. Coupled with the beautiful scenery of Reykjavik, this movie is a short and sweet romp that prioritizes mischief, friendship, and the idea that we all need someone to be there for us every now and then. 3.) Awake: The Life of Yogananda, directed by Pablo Di Florio and Lisa Leeman In this documentary, the life of acclaimed yogi Paramahansa Yogananda serves as the subject. His story of enlightenment and self-discovery is juxtaposed against his personal struggles growing up, and paints an incredible picture of his journey. Often credited as bringing yoga to the west via his memoir Autobiography of a Yogi, Yogananda’s grounded view of life and practice of self-realization helped to propel yoga into the mainstream. This documentary would be a great fit both for those who want to further inform their practice of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness as well as those brand new to the topic and wanting to learn more. 4.) Fermented, directed by Jonathan Cianfrani Part science, part history, all educational, this documentary explores the roots of one of oldest forms of food preservation, perfect for the sustainability-savvy viewer. Learn all about the different ways that fermentation can occur, from pickling to making alcohol, and their importance to the world of food! Host Edward Lee is incredibly passionate about exploring this food practice, and his enthusiasm could very well extend to the viewer. Considering the growing popularity of food studies and sustainable food practice, this film would serve as a great supplement to learning about current food trends–canning and pickling may make a quarantine comeback! 5.) Mister Rogers: It’s You I Like, directed by John Paulson Nothing says “feel-good” quite like Mister Rogers. 2019 gave us two great movies, Won’t You Be My Neighbor and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, but this earlier documentary pays homage directly to Mister Rogers’ television legacy. Highlighting some of the show’s most memorable clips and performances, and featuring interviews with celebrities on how Mister Rogers shaped their lives, It’s You I Like gives an inside glimpse of the importance of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood in its 900 episode run. You’re guaranteed to finish this documentary with a smile on your face, and an even greater understanding of the importance of this hometown hero on children’s television. These are just a few of the thousands of titles available through AVON. Whether you’re interested in a three-minute mindfulness video, a fashion show, or a virtual trip to the orchestra, AVON has something for everyone. Watch with your significant other, your kids, or with friends, maybe host a Zoom watch party–regardless of what you choose, the possibilities seem endless! Access the database here, and remember to also check out our other available library resources during our closure. Happy watching! Carina Stopenski is the Access Services Associate at Chatham University’s Jennie King Mellon Library. They started out as a student worker while getting their creative writing degree at Chatham, and have since started working on their Master’s of Library Science at Clarion University. They enjoy games of both the board and video persuasion, vegan baking, and reading graphic novels. 

May 2020

During this difficult period of shelter-in-place, one can sometimes feel trapped by the ennui of their everyday life. As we all acclimate to our new “normal,” things may feel stale or boring, and it can be hard to keep positive. Have no fear–fiction can provide a welcome escape from the real world turmoil we face! Take a gander at this list to find some titles either available freely online or via our eBook collection that can help you find a bit of respite during this trying time! How to Fracture a Fairy Tale, Jane Yolen (available in the JKM Library eBook collection) This collection of short stories takes some of the most well-known fairy tales and turns them on their heads, exploring new, modern structures and complex, unexpected takes. Yolen even gives notes at the end of the book on how she decided to construct each tale, giving the worlds an even richer history. These stories provide a perfect escape from the real world, and despite being an adult-oriented book, evokes a sense of childlike wonder due to its roots in familiar stories. I highly recommend “The Undine,” a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid,” and “The Foxwife,” which delves into the folklore of the Japanese kitsune. While some stories in this book may be a bit dark, the nostalgic ties that readers have to fairy tales may just provide a bit of escapism from the comfort of your own couch! The Weekend Bucket List, Mia Kerick (available in the JKM Library eBook collection) This coming-of-age adventure centers around friends Cady and Cooper as they try to burn through their high-school “bucket list” two days before their high school graduation. The story is sweet, adventurous, and full of teenage shenanigans, and provides a great way to get away from the stress of everyday adult life. Kerick captures the adolescent experience well, and the light, fast-paced story is coupled with a really wonderful message about the significance of good relationships. Even though the reader may be stuck at home unable to see friends right now, watching Cooper and Cady engage in these wacky adventures may just fill that space that’s been a little empty. On a Sunbeam, Tillie Walden (available on the author’s website) I personally believe that everyone should read Walden’s graphic novels, not only because of their rich stories but their incredible illustrations. This story takes place in outer space, where protagonist Mia works on a team restoring decrepit intergalactic monuments. It’s a poignant, beautiful story, full of love, family, and self-discovery, but what is most striking is its gorgeous artwork. Through detailed spacecrafts, swirling galaxies, and flashback scenes of a prestigious academy, Walden transports the reader through to a brand new universe that is so unlike our own but still full of humanity. Plus, the whole book is available in an online serialized format for easy access! Rodrigo Salazar: A Warrior’s Tale, David A. Ballentine (available in the JKM Library eBook collection) This historical fiction piece is jam-packed with action and is bound to transport you to 10th-century medieval Iberia! The titular main character encounters everything from monasteries to war to escaping enslavement–talk about a wild ride! While some turn their nose up at historical fiction, the adventure that this story brings to the table is definitely enough to bring you out of your doldrums and allow the reader to explore an incredibly complicated world that may they may never have had experience with before! While the author expresses that the characters are purely fictional, the writing truly makes these characters feel real! Nimona, Noelle Stevenson (available on the Internet Archive) From the creator of the popular Lumberjanes series, this young adult graphic novel focused around the eponymous Nimona, a teen shapeshifter who works with a supervillain in order to showcase a “good guy” as a fraud. Part witty comedy, part fantasy adventure, and part emotional journey about how everything is not as it seems, Nimona has a bit of something for everybody! Stevenson builds a diverse world that diverts the typical fantasy tropes by creating sympathetic characters in typically “evil” stereotypes. Published online in a webcomic format, it makes for easy reading, and Stevenson’s distinctive art style adds fun and flair to an already-interesting storyline! These are just a few interesting titles worth exploring. Remember that the library has a list of COVID-19 digital resources that features thousands of eBooks worth exploring! Also consider checking out the Internet Archive–by making an account, you can get free access to thousands more titles through digital checkout. Hope everyone gets some good reading in during this troubling time, sometimes a little literary escapism can go a long way! 
Carina Stopenski is the Access Services Associate at Chatham University’s Jennie King Mellon Library. They started out as a student worker while getting their creative writing degree at Chatham, and have since started working on their Master’s of Library Science at Clarion University. They enjoy games of both the board and video persuasion, vegan baking, and reading graphic novels. 

September 2019

In Jenny Odell’s How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, she makes a strong case for moving away from the capitalist idea that we need to be constantly optimizing, producing, and innovating. Instead, we should turn our attention back to our actual place in the world and try to reconnect with people, animals, and our bioregion in a way that repairs the harmful results of behavior capitalism has encouraged and even required of us. With the rise of internet culture, student and credit card debt, the gig-economy, environmental and social crises, and late stage capitalism, we find ourselves increasingly burnt out and restricted. As a group, humans are disconnected and fractured. We spend so much time working or distracted by the internet and media that we regularly forget to look up. According to Odell, removing ourselves from the attention economy and invasive addictive technology for a time allows us to refocus our attention. Her book does an amazing job at illustrating how powerful our attention is, both for destruction and for building. She uses successful acts of activism from the past as examples of the positive power of our combined sustained focus. Unfortunately, our attention is currently being drained from us at a rate impossible for us to maintain, hence the constant overwhelmed state. Due to that, we no longer know how to focus together as a group on shared goals. Odell champions the idea that not every space, be it physical, digital, or mental, needs to have what capitalism would consider a net gain. Not every idea or thought needs to be profitable. Sometimes the important work is not that of optimizing, but of sustaining. To undo the harm of constant “innovation”, humans can learn instead how to be stewards of the spaces around them, offering only the amount of support needed for it to maintain a stable existence. Odell brings in ideas from environmentalism, art, technology, psychology, philosophy, sociology, and more to illustrate her points. Part of the beauty of How To Do Nothing is watching Odell seamlessly blend together these multiple concepts into a cohesive message. Odell, a visual artists and professor at Stanford, is both highly academic and engaging in her discussion. How To Do Nothing is incredibly well researched without being dry. Odell’s arguments feel plausible and urgent. This is important for a book discussing what might be considered by some as a breakdown of society. Those who read How To Do Nothing will see their world in a new light and, if Odell has been successful, be inspired to make changes to how they exist in it. You can checkout Odell’s How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy from the JKM Library today! 

October 2018

Looking for something spooky to read under the covers with some tea tonight? Look no further than Shirley Jackson, the master of creeping dread and spooky suspense. You may know Jackson’s famous short story The Lottery from high school, or perhaps you have watched the recent Netflix reimagining of her classic The Haunting of Hill House. Her works are often described as horror, but the subtlety of her writing gives it something more universal. Her themes often focus on the dark side of domestic life and isolation, and they often feature agoraphobia and critiques of the expectations of traditional society.

Jackson also wrote nonfiction about what it was like to be a mother and manage a home, something she considered to hold its own degree of horror. Jackson also felt that she and her family were considered outcasts in her small New England town, and they experienced anti-Semitism in the insidious manner one sees in “civilized society”.  Toward the end of her life, she became so painfully agoraphobic she wouldn’t leave her bedroom. Much of what makes her fiction work horrific is because it is Jackson’s true-life experiences expressed through a fantastical lens, and as such there is something recognizable in it to all of us. We see how easy it could be for us to slip into some kind of madness, or for the precarious society around us to suddenly turn vicious. It is not gore or jump scares that make Jackson’s work terrifying, it is how she exposes the truth and ugliness in us all.

For this fall, I wanted to recommend a lesser talked about Jackson classic: We Have Always Lived in the Castle. This short (under 200 pages) novel is dark, twisted, unconventional, and incredibly beautiful. We enter into the lives of Mary Katherine (Merricat) and Constance Blackwood, two young women who live isolated in their large house with their wheelchair-bound uncle, Julian. The fractured family fell into disrepair after arsenic in the sugar bowl killed the rest of the Blackwoods half a decade ago. The only two who were not poisoned in the incident were Merricat and Constance, while Uncle Julian did not ingest enough of the poison to kill him. Constance, having been put on trial and then acquitted of the crime, now suffers from such extreme agoraphobia that she cannot leave the house. Uncle Julian is so much diminished from the poisoning that he struggles to keep one foot in reality. He depends on his nieces to care for him, which they do lovingly. The town is happy to keep them isolated, making disparaging comments and singing a haunting little nursery rhyme about the murders whenever Merricat comes near. And it is only ever Merricat that leaves their extensive grounds to go grocery shopping and run quick errands.

We view the story of their lives alone through Merricat’s point of view via her first-person narrative, which is both childlike and vicious. Joyce Carol Oates has described the character of Merricat as feral, which I would have to agree with. You don’t quite recognize it at first, but that feeling of wrongness builds throughout the story until finally you see what Merricat truly is. Even though she does all the shopping and errands for the household in the outside world, she is the most detached from reality of them all. Merricat’s disjointed thought process and her invented system of superstitions is incredibly off-putting and creates an atmosphere of sharp unease. It is easy to feel dizzy and disoriented while following Merricat as she runs through her protection rituals and buries her totems. She thrives in their isolation, and any talk of breaking the spell of seclusion literally chills Merricat. She cannot stomach the thought of it.

Through Merricat’s perceived efforts and rituals, their version of reality remains precariously balanced so that they don’t plunge back into chaos. That balance is broken when their long-lost cousin Charles arrives one day with motives of his own. He upsets the delicate atmosphere, and Merricat suffers the most. As she feared, chaos takes hold of the small family of survivors, opening their reality up to the vicious nature of society and the outside world. Their situation begins to resemble Merricat’s surreal interpretation of reality. Merricat has her own role to play in this chaos, however, and as the truth of their story is revealed you will wonder whether she truly feared these outcomes or wished for them to come. In the end, however, Merricat wins even in the family’s destitution.

Like in much of Jackson’s work, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is an exploration of otherness, persecution, and feelings of isolation. It’s a slow burn that crawls right under your skin and lives there. You can check out We Have Always Lived in the Castle, from the JKM Library by putting it on hold via our catalog here or coming into the library and finding it on the shelf on the 3rd floor, call number 813 J138wH and 813 J138wr (two copies available). Ask a librarian for help!

Jocelyn Codner is the Jennie King Library’s Reference & Outreach Librarian and resident horror lover. Shirley Jackson is one of her favorite authors, and she will gladly talk your ear off about her work or the work of other horror writers. Her love of horror extends to film and television, as Halloween is her all-time favorite holiday.
 

August 2018

Lori Jakiela opens her memoir with a line as humble as the title, describing her memoir “primarily a work of nonfiction.” What follows is a dramatic account of Jakiela’s search to make contact with her biological family after the death of her adoptive parents. Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe is an evocative story of one woman’s yearning for closure, love, and family. The presentation of these ideals are developed through Jakiela’s description of loss. She articulates her pain in ways that are acute, poignant, familiar. Her pages are decorated with mediations on a particular grief—the kind of unique sorrow that stems from her identity as an adoptee. Through her attempts to contact her native family, for example, she continues, with insistence, to refer to her adoptive family as her “real” family. Some craft elements will engage readers from the start. Jakiela, a native Pittsburgher, describes a setting that Chatham students will find pleasantly relatable. More
uniquely, Jakiela subtly challenges storytelling conventions through experimental use of dialogue. She presents uninterrupted, staccato quotes and repetitive dialogue tags, both of which reveal a one-of-a-kind style—clever and intentional in its pacing. The structure and content of the story parallels these formal choices. Jakiela’s chapters are broken into chaplets—a complement to the fractured, confused identity she experiences through her meandering quest to establish contact with the mother who abandoned her. These chaplets range from two short sentences to four dense pages. Though there are disjointed non-sequiturs and seemingly irrelevant flashbacks, Jakiela doesn’t skimp to connect them to the overarching story. Regardless of their seeming importance, the reader quickly learns to trust Jakiela’s moving parts, assured that she will manipulate the audience’s attention with a careful grace. Lori Jakiela, image taken from author website The sentences, frankly, beg to be read. Jakiela, who is also a poet, crafts phrases that are simultaneously elegant in their gentleness and rich in their depth. As she discusses the history that adoptive children must create for themselves—the sort of radical subjectivism that permeates their lives or the ever-relevant questions of nature/nurture—she does so with a simplicity and accessibility that invites readers of all ages, despite the tragedy and difficulty one must find in grappling with the concept. Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of the book is its integrity. The memoir does not romanticize the notion of family, nor does it disgrace it. Alongside heart-wrenching familial conflict, Jakiela depicts her own husband and children, as well as the influence and love of her adoptive parents. Her account is quotidian, utterly free of sophistry, politics, or bullshit. As her title mentions, she approaches something that all of us would benefit to understand. A kind of truth. Maybe. You can check out Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe from the JKM Library by putting it on hold via our catalog here or coming into the library and finding it on the shelf on the 3rd floor, call number 811.6 J257Be. Ask a librarian for help! RK Taylor is a loyal library employee, ILL’s biggest fan, and a Chatham graduate student of creative writing. In his spare time, he enjoys baking, using his whiteboard to work through existential angst, and checking out as many CDs as the library will permit. He teaches creative writing at the Allegheny County Jail through Chatham’s Words Without Walls program.
 

April 23, 2018

April is National Poetry Month, and we at the JKM Library have a soft spot in our literary hearts for poetry. This month, student workers Alie Davis and Carina Stopenski worked together to design and curate our Main Book Display. Items selected ranged from classics like Sylvia Plath to Chatham students’ chapbooks and everything in between. While all the poetry collections on display are worth checking out and exploring, Alie Davis has selected three that stand out to her. Read her bite-sized reviews below for poetry collections you can check out today!
Andrea Gibson’s first book, Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns, inspires action in all of its readers. This collection is brimming with brutal tenderness. Gibson covers topics that are relevant to the current political climate. This collection is full of poems about gender, love, violence, and an overwhelming optimism for surviving no matter what.  Lori Jakiela, a local Pittsburgh poet, released her chapbook, Big Fish in 2016. This collection sings with humor, playfulness, and light, but does not shy away from the hard things. Jakiela writes about landscape, motherhood, and giant fish sandwiches. Big Fish is a rich collection to dive into and swim through. Lighthead by Terrance Hayes is his fourth collection to be published. Always blurring the line between story and song, and reality and dream, Hayes engages with how we ground ourselves in the everyday and how we construct experience. Musical and dream-like, Lighthead offers meditations on desires and history. Masterful precision of language and sound moves this collection to a Must-Read for all.

April 16, 2018

Name: Ryan Woodward
What do you do here at The Jennie King Mellon Library?
I’m a reference associate on nights and weekends.
What made you choose your current profession?
I have always been a fan of the library. As a graduate assistant in my master’s program, my office was in the library where I helped students find resources for their papers and projects and found the library to be a natural fit for helping students reach their research goals.
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Either a carpenter like my dad or a veterinarian because I loved animals. Both required math and science skills far above my abilities in those areas.
What’s your favorite part of your job?
Occasionally, I am able to help a student in an area of particular interest to me (music, history, the humanities) and I’m able to have conversations about their research, make recommendations on sources, or just discuss their interests beyond just helping them locate a book or article.
If you could do one thing to change/improve the JKM Library- with no worries about time or expense, what would you do?
Maybe have in-house IT help to assist students some of their technology issues. I can help a bit, but sometimes if they’re coming to me with tech questions, it is likely on an issue that is best addressed with the Help Desk.
What do you like to do on your days off?
I spend a lot of time with cats and dogs, and when possible, supporting live music and the arts. On weekends, I am a fan of seeking out good, no-frills diners for breakfast, of which Pittsburgh has several that are pretty great.
What’s the last thing you checked out?
From JKM, I checked out the DVD From Pittsburgh to Poland (2005), produced locally by WQED. This was a nicely done documentary detailing a group of Pittsburgh area teachers traveling to Poland with three Holocaust survivors and touring historic sites from World War II. (You can currently find this item on the Holocaust Remembrance display on the first floor of the library.) Having studied this subject and made a similar trip a few years ago, I can attest to the impact visiting historical sites can have. There is an enormous layer of perspective gained when you are able to view artifacts up close, walk in places where events occurred, and fully take in the dimensions of buildings, spaces, and the contemporary culture. This appreciation of perspective is evident in the educators who are interviewed throughout the film. The diversity of the of the three survivors’ experiences underscores how the Holocaust should be viewed and studied not as a single event, but rather a period when millions of lives were affected differently, even if major elements of each constitute a shared experience.
Among the survivors, we meet a ghetto escapee who later joins the partisans to fight the Nazis and their collaborators, a child hidden and cared for by a Gentile family, and a laborer rescued by being included on Oskar Schindler’s list. Highlighting the experiences of survivors who would later settle in Pittsburgh makes a deeper connection for local viewers of the film. Each person could very well be a neighbor or co-worker, reinforcing the idea that the Holocaust did not happen in some alien dimension nor did it occur in ancient history. It can happen anywhere and to anyone.
From Pittsburgh to Poland runs 60 minutes and is available at the library’s Media Shelves when not included in displays. It is an asset to the collection due to its thoughtful portrayal of historical events as seen by local citizens.
What book do you think everyone should read? Why?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960) might seem like a generic answer of a go-to classic, but the novel remains legendary for good reason. Regardless of time, the themes found in small American towns, particularly in the south, are relatable to a lot of people whose own upbringings may resemble those in the story. Themes of racism, poverty, gender roles, and justice are unfortunately still hot topics today, but everyone has the capacity to read about attitudes and events of the past and apply them toward making a better future.
What are 5 or so of your favorite books or movies that we have here in the JKM Library that are available for checkout?
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain (2012): Invaluable for those with introverted personalities and helpful for anyone who will manage diverse groups of employees, work with students, or cultivate meaningful interpersonal relations.
Orchestral works [sound recording] by Richard Strauss (2000): Specifically, the piece Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration), a tone poem that lasts over 20 minutes. I played this with my college orchestra and it was one of the most challenging yet satisfying music experiences ever. Amazing piece!
Fun home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel (2006): I read this just this year for a book group at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. It turned me on to graphic novels, which I had not read many of before and offers some great universal coming of age themes as well as experiences unique to LGBTQ+ people.
Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate by Barbara Mikulski [and others] (2000): While the number of women in the U.S. Senate has grown, only three of those profiled in this book remain in Congress. It’s interesting to see the diverse paths each took to become some of the most powerful people in the world and how some issues such as family and medical leave or funding for women’s health research held little priority until women were elected to high office.
Batman [DVD] (1966): The 1960s Batman movie and television series are ridiculously fun. I met Lee Meriwether (Catwoman) several years ago. Super nice and a class act.
What’s one thing you think everyone should do while they live in the city?
Celebrate Pittsburgh’s rich zombie-film heritage, OR, at least appreciate the region’s popularity with filmmakers. I am a horror fan and have been excited during my year and a half in Pittsburgh to have tracked down filming locations for some of my favorite movies. There are a number of festivals, screenings, and conventions to attend throughout the year and the city is lucky to have several small, independent theaters that routinely show independent films, art house cinema, and documentaries.
Tell us some surprising things about yourself:
1. I’ve lived in 4 states, have traveled to 8 different countries.
2. I work with a non-profit organization that creates opportunities and advocates for increased participation of women and girls in all areas of baseball.
3. I helped create a music camp for student string players as an undergraduate for my university, which will celebrate its 14th year next year.

February 2017

Wasn’t Khalid Raheem’s Black History Month Lunch & Learn lecture today so thought-provoking? Did it make you curious about some of the books, events, individuals, and organizations that played a role in the history of the Black Panther party? It made us curious and we’re pleased to let you know that many of the topics discussed can be investigated further at the JKM Library. For one, the JKM Library has available for check-out the George Jackson book, Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson. Mr. Raheem’s description of Mr. Jackson’s role in the Revolutionary Prison movement was compelling and this primary source resource provides a direct view of the activist’s experiences. Click here to find the book in the JKM Library catalog. Huey Newton, whom Mr. Raheem discussed in relation to the effect of imprisonment had on the eventual splintering of the Black Panther Party, is also well represented in the JKM Library collection. Click here to listen in on Huey Newton’s conversation with Erik Erikson. There are many more volumes in the JKM collections that discuss the history and legacy of the Black Panther Party and the JKM Library staff are always happy to help you find even more resources in our collections. In fact, we were thrilled to hear Mr. Raheem discuss the Black Panther Party in Pittsburgh and in Philadelphia because we have a brand, new resource that makes Pennsylvania history research even easier! To search through online databases of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (from 1786 – 1985) and the Philadelphia Enquirer (from 1860 – 2001), just click “P” on the Databases A-Z tab and select the newspaper of your choice. From here, you can find lots of articles about the history of the Black Panther Party in our region. We’re only scratching the surface of the resources available in this post, so stop by the JKM Library and let us know if you’d like to dig a little deeper. We’re always happy to help! Thanks to the Office of Student Affairs for bringing to Chatham such a compelling speaker and social activist!  

August 2016

The books of the 2016 Summer Reading List are now on display on the first floor of the Library!!
What is the Summer Reading List? Your friendly Chatham University Librarians have been keeping an eye out for interesting, informative, and exciting books over the
past year and thought you might enjoy reading some of these as you start your first year at Chatham. Featuring popular nonfiction, as well as some great literature, this list
contains something for everyone! Find the full 2016 Summer Reading List here!
Some highlights of the List include:
Tattoos: Philosophy for Everyone: I Ink, Therefore I Am by Robert Arp
Body art or eyesore, a celebration of individuality, or at very least a conversation piece, tattoos provide fertile ground for philosophical discussion, raising intriguing
questions from aesthetics to feminism, from semiotics to the philosophy of the person.
The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist: When Girl Meets Oil by Christine Bader
The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist: Girl Meets Oil is based on Bader’s experience with BP and then with a United Nations effort to prevent and address human rights
abuses linked to business. Using her story as its skeleton, Bader weaves in the stories of other “Corporate Idealists” working inside some of the world’s biggest and bestknown companies.
How to Do Things with Videogames by Ian Bogost
Until games are understood to have valid applications across the cultural spectrum, their true potential will remain unrealized. How to Do Things with Videogames offers a
fresh starting point to more fully consider games’ progress today and promise for the future.
It’s Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living by Crissy Trask
It’s Easy Being Green is a handy tool to help you make better choices for the environment. This is what the busy person needs to start making changes today. Get
informative, comprehensive and practical information for adopting greener buying habits and identifying earth-friendly products; shopping for green products online;
participating in online activism; and learning from over 250 eco-tips for cultivating a sustainable environment.
Half a Lifelong Romance by Eileen Chang; translated by Karen S. Kingsbury Shanghai, 1930s. Shen Shijun, a young engineer, has fallen in love with his colleague, the beautiful Gu Manzhen. He is determined to resist his family’s efforts to match him with his wealthy cousin so that he can marry her. But dark circumstances—a lustful brother-in-law, a treacherous sister, a family secret—force the two young lovers apart…A glamorous, wrenching tale set against the glittering backdrop of an extraordinary city, Half a Lifelong Romance is a beloved classic from one of the essential writers of twentieth-century China.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Stephen King reflects on how his writing has helped him through difficult times and describes various aspects of the art of writing.
Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop by Adam Bradley
Examining rap history’s most memorable lyricists and their inimitable techniques, literary scholar Adam Bradley argues that we must understand rap as poetry or miss the vanguard of poetry today. Book of Rhymes explores America’s least understood poets, unpacking their surprisingly complex craft, and according rap poetry the respect it deserves.
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
In this book Bill Bryson explores the most intriguing and consequential questions that science seeks to answer and attempts to understand everything that has transpired from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. To that end, Bill Bryson apprenticed himself to a host of the world’s most profound scientific minds, living and dead.
Crazy: A Father’s Search through America’s Mental Health Madness by Pete Earley
Former Washington Post reporter Pete Earley had written extensively about the criminal justice system. But it was only when his own son-in the throes of a manic
episode-broke into a neighbor’s house that he learned what happens to mentally ill people who break a law. This is the Earley family’s compelling story, a troubling look at bureaucratic apathy and the countless thousands who suffer confinement instead of care, brutal conditions instead of treatment, in the ‘revolving doors’ between hospital and jail.
The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789 by Joseph J. Ellis
From Pulitzer Prize–winning American historian Joseph J. Ellis, the unexpected story of why the thirteen colonies, having just fought off the imposition of a distant
centralized governing power, would decide to subordinate themselves anew. In 1776, thirteen American colonies declared themselves independent states that only
temporarily joined forces in order to defeat the British. Once victorious, they planned to go their separate ways. The Quartet is the story of the second American founding and of the men most responsible—George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison.
 

May 2016

Spring semester is over, the weather is (getting) warmer- it’s a great time to explore Pittsburgh and meet new people! The popular social networking site, Meetup, has a mobile app available for both Android and iOS. Founded in 2002, Meetup provides an online platform to help people organize groups and events off-line. Access to your phone’s GPS data tells the app where you are. There are tons of Pittsburgh meetup groups to choose from. Events are organized around common interests such as hiking, music, art, movies, politics, dancing, foreign language learning, or computer coding. There’s even a meetup group for introverts! User accounts are free. However, organizers have to pay based on the size of their event or group. Within the app, you can: Create an account or log in to an existing one. After selecting from a set of general interests, Meetup will begin recommending groups and events to you. Join groups to receive event notifications. Get event details and view profiles of other users. RSVP to events. Receive and manage messages from organizers or other users of the site. There are four main tabs: An activity homepage featuring a vertical list of upcoming events, recent comments, and new groups that may fit your interests A calendar of upcoming events hosted by your groups, displayed as a vertical list by date and time A visual tile listing of groups you currently belong to and more groups you may be interested in joining Section for reading, composing, and otherwise managing messages It could be easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of groups and events featured on the app, but the design is simple and intuitive. The color scheme and layout remind me of the Gmail app, which many users may already be familiar with. Message notifications are pushed to your phone’s home screen and can be archived to keep your inbox clean. The app also links out to other web pages- some organizations on Meetup have their own websites or an event may require the purchase of tickets on a separate site. I would highly recommend using the Meetup app this summer, especially if you are interested in learning about inexpensive events around town or just want to expand your radius of activity in the city! 

April 2016

Looking to catch up on some much needed rest and relaxation by watching a movie? If you’re like me, you’re looking to enhance your viewing experience by learning background information about the actors, script, or filming locations. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) offers the IMDb Movies & TV mobile app, which incorporates the functions of the popular website. The app is free to download and available for iOS and Android users. IMDb is owned by Amazon.com. Within the app, you can: -Search and browse by movie titles, t.v., celebrities, news, and special features like details about seasonal television, award shows, film festivals, and IMDb user polls. The “movies” section allows you to browse by U.S. box office results, top and lowest rated movies, best picture winners, and more. New movie pages include a feature where you can check show times in your local area. -In individual movie pages, you can watch trailers, access major quotes, trivia, soundtrack information, and read reviews. -If you have an account on IMDb you can use the app to add to your watchlist, track your ratings, manage lists, and “check-in” to movies or television programs you are currently watching. You do not have to have an account to access your viewing history or view notifications. -Under settings, you can manage access to your device location, control video quality, and manage notifications about opening movies, recent trailers, or individual people. The “Contact Us” section includes links out to IMDb support pages, the site’s Google+ Community page, and email. The “About” section includes your app’s version number, updates to that version, legal information, and similar Apps from Amazon. I like this app because I can get quick information without having to open a browser or interrupting whatever I’m watching, which is usually streaming from my computer. With around 185 million data items, there is a lot of content to access. There are in-app advertisements, but they are not overly intrusive. The mobile interface is also very similar to the web version, making it easy to navigate for regular users of the site. If you’re looking for a source of movies to watch, you can now stream for free from Swank now available through our database portal. 

April 2016

Happy National Poetry Month 2016! National Poetry Month was founded in April 1996 to highlight the achievements of poets in the United States, increase publication and distribution of poetic works, and aid teachers in bringing poetry to their students. Last year, we reviewed The Poetry Foundation’s POETRY app. This year, we’ll take a look at a few apps to help you celebrate. The Poet’s Almanac, created by the journal Poetry East at DePaul University in Chicago, matches a poem published in its pages to the current weather in your location using GPS and meteorological data. It is developed by digital publisher Appoet and is free to download for both Android and iOS devices. The layout is simple and easy to navigate and there are built-in options to share poems via Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus. A shopping cart icon links out to the publisher’s website for purchase of the physical journal. Although the selection is limited to poems already published by Poetry East, I find myself checking the app regularly to see what poems are selected on rainy days or when it’s particularly sunny. To get your own creative juices flowing, try the Diamante Poems app to experiment with a specific poetry style. Diamante poems are written in the shape of a diamond and use nouns, adjectives and gerunds (nouns made from verbs by adding –ing) to describe two opposing or one central topic. The Diamante Poems app is freely available for both Android and iOS. It was created by the International Reading Association, ReadWriteThink, and the National Council of Teachers of English. It provides a template to create a diamante poem and includes definitions for each element. It has a profile system that allows for multiple users to save and edit completed poems within the app. While a great tool for teaching, the text is very small and does not scale well to small mobile devices. Check out some experimental digital poetry with Speak, part of a series of poems meant to be read as interactive text called P.o.E.M.M (Poetry for Excitable [Mobile] Media). Speak is free to download, but only available for iOS. To read the poem, you simply drag your finger across a black screen and letters from the background gather to form lines of the poem “What They Speak When They Speak to Me.” The longer you drag on the screen, the more words form in line and once you break contact, the letters dissipate once more into the background. According to the app’s description, this process is meant to replicate the confusion and frustration of communicating in a foreign place. You’re given the option to write your own poem or pull text from Twitter to interact in the same way. Looking for more ways to celebrate? The Academy of American Poets has 30 ways to celebrate national poetry month. 

February 2016

Did you know that, as a Chatham student, staff, or faculty member, you can experience a world-class symphony for $15-20 (http://bit.ly/1PpszOp)? And you don’t have to leave town! The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has been bringing classical music to Pittsburgh audiences since 1896 and today they have a mobile app that makes it easy to purchase tickets, listen to music, and more. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Fan App is free and available for both Android and iOS users. It is developed by Instant Encore, a company that has helped create similar apps for institutions such as the New York Philharmonic and Houston Ballet. Designed for phone and tablet use, the interface is attractive and easy to navigate. A rotating set of images representing upcoming performances set the background of the main page and a series of tabs at the bottom of the frame correspond to different content and media types. The content included in this app is dynamic and includes audio, video, maps, and calendar schedules. Additionally, the in-app browser makes it easy to view content on YouTube, various news sites, and the Symphony’s main webpage without taking you out of the app. Don’t know anything about classical music? Or looking to learn more? The app connects you to the Pittsburgh Symphony’s YouTube channel. The channel features videos demonstrating different instruments as well as interviews with Symphony musicians and audience members. This function is available when clicking “Videos” from the “More” tab. The “Music” tab features free audio clips of Symphony performances, so you can get a small taste of the experience. The “What’s New” tab includes links and clips of news articles, the Symphony’s blog, and videos relating to current performances. Looking to plan a visit? You can view a calendar of events in a list form in the “Events” tab as well as in a calendar in the “More” tab. You can purchase tickets and share event information from the app. Information about parking, dining, and accessibility services is also located in the “More” tab. You can set up notifications for upcoming shows and concert series when you first download the app or later under “Settings.” If you are interested in attending a Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performance (they offer everything from Beethoven to music from the Pokémon video games), the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Fan App is definitely worth the download.  

February 2016

Think you might spend the entire weekend indoors, huddled under a blanket, drinking hot beverages, and watching movies? If so, we have an exciting new database just for you: Swank! Swank features 300 streaming movies, from current popular titles to classics to documentaries.
With February’s celebration of Black History Month, we’d like to point out that Swank includes a number of great titles you can watch: For a full list of the 300 movies available, please click here (Excel file). Access to Swank is on a trial basis only and will end on June 30, 2016.
Swank requires Google Widevine, which you may need to install in your browser. It should just prompt you through the installation process, but if you have any difficulty, please contact a librarian for assistance.
Please note: Swank movies do not include public performance rights and are only intended for individual or classroom use.
 

June 2015

The summer reading list for first-year Chatham students has been posted! The contents of the list were chosen by your friendly neighborhood librarians, and include entries from different subject areas. There’s something on this list for everyone (and several things that I’ll be adding to my own summer reading list). Here’s a preview of some of the titles; make sure to access the complete list to see some other choices.
The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap Matt Taibbi
In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and the Occupy movement, The Divide focuses on the myriad ways that wealth—or lack thereof—affects the rights afforded to US citizens (as well as the way this system impacts the immigration debate). Mass incarceration, stop-and-frisk, and the contemporary landscape of the US justice system provide evidence for Taibbi’s portrayal of a system that privileges wealth above all else.
Eating Together: Food, Friendship, and Inequality Alice P. Julier
What is the social impact of shared meals? Julier (director of the Master’s program in Food Studies here at Chatham) writes about the intersection of social eating experiences and social inequality, examining the literal and figurative aspects of who has a seat at the table.
The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years Sonia Shah
The Fever addresses malaria as a subject with various historical, scientific, and socio-political resonances. Alongside anecdotal evidence of the way the disease is approached and conceived of in malaria-afflicted areas, Shah takes on the ineffectual attempts of various global organizations to curb its effects. The Fever offers a deeper understanding of the way malaria has shaped and continues to affect human history.
Citizen: An American Lyric Claudia Rankine
From microaggressions to overt racial violence, Citizen addresses life in “post-race” America. Rankine meditates on the ways that this constant narrative of otherness impacts daily life and, in some cases, even personal safety. Composed of prose poems, verse, essays, and images, Rankine’s work is a form-agnostic witness account of
contemporary race and racism in America.
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don’t Nate Silver
Silver takes on the art and science of forecasting, analyzing the various reasons—from a mastery of statistics to a healthy understanding of uncertainty—why some predictions are successful while others are not. The Signal and the Noise investigates forecasting from multiple vantage points, using examples of correct and incorrect predictions from sports, politics, economics, and more.
Source: Music of the Avant-garde, 1966-1973 Edited by Larry Austin and Douglas Kahn
This volume reproduces issues of the avant-garde periodical Source, which published a variety of experimental music bits and pieces. Introductory material provides some historical context, followed by the downright weirdness of the content itself, with pieces from John Cage, Morton Feldman,
Steve Reich, Nam June Paik, Harry Partch, and others.
The Paris of Appalachia: Pittsburgh in the Twenty-First Century Brian O’Neill
An affectionate tribute to Pittsburgh that also deals some tough love in response to some of the city’s ongoing problems. O’Neill includes the stories of Pittsburgh natives in his analysis, attempting to capture the character of a city situated somewhere between the East Coast and the Midwest both in terms of physical location and regional character.

May 2015

Equal parts guidebook, GPS locator, and crowdsourced data platform, Clio is an app designed to help you discover local history. Named after the ancient Greek muse of history, Clio uses your location to provide information about nearby historical and cultural sites. Whether you’re a hardcore history buff or are just looking to get to know your city a little better, the network of professional and amateur contributors at work on improving Clio can point you to the important, unique, or just plain weird historical features of a city. You can also add your favorite historical sites to the map for everyone to see!
For new residents, Clio could help you catch up on your Pittsburgh history in no time. While on the Chatham campus, I found 43 sites within 10 miles of the JKM Library. Although there were a handful outside of the city proper, most were concentrated within an area easily navigable on foot or using public transit. Beyond addresses and
navigational content, entries tended to provide a robust about of information about individual sites; the records that I previewed included detailed historical descriptions (occasionally including citations), images, hours of operation, contact information, and links to outside resources.
In addition to currently operational historical sites such as monuments, historic buildings, and museums, Clio includes “Time Capsule” entries that point to sites where things happened or—particularly relevant to Pittsburgh—where things used to be. A pin at 6th and Wood downtown, for example, identifies it as the site of a “Protest Against Gimbels Department Store, 1935,” while another pin on South Bouquet Street marks the location of the former
Forbes Field. Whether you happen to be roaming the city or would like to plan your own historic Pittsburgh outing, Clio could be a useful tool for finding the hidden history all around the city.
Users can create accounts to help build the site database by adding and revising entries. All additions are subject to verification and approval, but the review process seems fairly transparent as revisions (even those by Clio administrators) are displayed in a change log at the bottom of the entry. According to the FAQ, entries are
published under a Creative Commons license that acknowledges the creator.
Because you can either search for a location or allow the app to use your GPS coordinates, Clio would work well both for travelers and for local exploration. In its best formulation, this crowdsourced data model could lead to some degree of local flair in terms of the sites included and their descriptions—after all, there’s no better way to
learn about a city than from the people that live there! Available for iOS and Android, and on the web.

May  2015

For us voracious readers, any place is a good place to check back in with our latest read: on the bus, in line at the coffee shop, maybe even during those lulls in conversation with our friends. And for those of us who find physical books sometimes burdensome to carry around (A Game of Thrones is 835 pages!), e-readers are a
must-have. But did you know that you can check out digital titles for your e-reader or phone from your local public library?
OverDrive Bookshelf
OverDrive is a free app which, through access to your local library’s collection, allows you to check out and download digital copies of their works. The downloaded file
will self-delete when the borrowing period has expired; no physical return is needed, so no late fees will be incurred!
The vast menu of options has featured collections (such as Award-Winning Young Adult Titles), but can also be browsed by genre or searched by keyword. The app allows you to place titles that interest you into a wish list for later, which is convenient for titles that are not immediately available, though you can also place those titles on hold and secure yourself a place on the waitlist.
OverDrive Audiobook Interface
Highlights:
The app is compatible with Kindle software, so many OverDrive titles can be downloaded directly into your Kindle account, and be read on a Kindle, the Kindle Cloud Reader, or a Kindle app on any device. However, you don’t need to use Kindle technology to enjoy OverDrive: the app comes with its own reader interface.
If you download a title to a Kindle app, the app also syncs across your different devices. The Kindle cloud ensures that you will be able to access the title on whatever device you are using—it will even find the last page you read! (The OverDrive app does not sync across devices, but most titles can be downloaded more
than once, and to more than one device.)
OverDrive makes accessible tons of audio content, including audio books, comedy and drama performances, and foreign language learning exercises. The app has a listening interface built into it on which to play your audio downloads. Many titles can also be transferred to mp3 players and some can even be burned to CD,
though the digital rights vary from work to work.
OverDrive Reading Interface
Problems:
The interface can be a little fussy on a very small screen (e.g. a smartphone). It might be more worth your while to load your account up with books on a computer, and then pull the books from your account into your phone and tinier devices. Popular titles can have long waitlists. (Silver lining: if the title you know you want is not available, you can browse the collection and find something you didn’t know you wanted!)
Requirements:
A compatible device. The app is available on iPhones and iPads, Androids, Windows phones, the Chromebook, Kindle Fires, Nooks, and, of course, your computer.
A user account with Carnegie Public Library. If you already have a CPL account, find their OverDrive page here. Click here if you would like to open an account.
Your hometown library may also participate with OverDrive. Check the full list of participating libraries here.
 

May 2015

Trying to keep up with what’s going on in and around the city this summer? For warm-weather events and year-round happenings, check out CP HAPPS. Brought to you by the folks who publish the independent weekly Pittsburgh City Paper, CP HAPPS is billed as “Pittsburgh City Paper’s Event & Entertainment Guide.” It works as an interactive expansion of the paper’s event listings, so you can check out what’s happening throughout the city while you’re on the go.
There are several different ways to browse for events within the app. The first is a list view that lets you choose by type of event. Following the catch-all “CP Listings,” categories include “Live Music” (with a separate category for “Classical, Jazz & Blues”), “DJ’s,” “Theater & Performance,” “Discount Tickets,” “Comedy,” “Art,” “Food & Drink,” “Sports,” and “Trivia.” You can browse by specific dates, or just take a look through the upcoming listings. If there is sponsored content it will float to the top of the list, which can be irksome when it consists solely of sponsored happy hours; be sure to scroll past to view the list of suggested events arranged in chronological order.
If you’re looking to see what’s going on nearby, the map view is even more useful. This view will default to the current day, but make sure to tap individual events to check the date—ongoing events that list dates in the description only (I’m looking at you, trivia nights) will always appear on the map! Regardless of this little glitch, this
view may be extra useful if you’re new to the Pittsburgh area or are in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Because the map function relies on your current location, you can even get GPS directions right to event locations.
Throughout the app you can select events to get more information and bookmark them for the future. The Activity tab lets you look at your bookmarks, as well as any notifications you’ve received. The Groups tab brings a social component to the app, allowing you to notify and chat with friends about cool things that are coming up on
the calendar. A criticism of the app is that it requires users to create an account or log in with Facebook. Remember, also, that in order to use the map and group functions, you will have to allow the app to access your location and/or contacts.
Overall, though, the CP HAPPS app is a good mobile addition to the already indispensable City Paper listings. Don’t forget to click the More tab for headlines, contests, and more!
CP HAPPS is available for iOS and Android.

April 2015

Get out and explore the city this summer with inspiration from one of the books displayed on the First Floor.
Whether you’re interested in art, architecture, or the culture of Pittsburgh, you’ll find a helpful guide to your summer adventures.
Dates to the biggest festivals and events around the city will be posted in the Lobby for your convenience.
Find something that peaked your interest? Make sure to ask a librarian about how you can find more books about the Steel City!

April 2015

April is National Poetry Month! Why not take a selection of poems with you everywhere with the help of an app? POETRY, the appropriately-titled but obnoxiously capitalized app from The Poetry Foundation (publishers of Poetry magazine), can help you search for and save your favorite poems. You can also find new poems to love with the help of the “Discover Poetry” feature, which caused me to happily while away a good amount of time while writing this review.
The app opens and presents you with a curious button: “Spin.” Hitting this button starts a scrolling rainbow of options which eventually settles on a mood and a subject.
On my first try I got “Humor & Youth,” which displayed 25 poems beneath the header. Dragging the colored bar displaying the mood, I was delighted to find that you can search by any combination of mood and subject and the app will display poems that are tagged with both. From gloomy combinations such as “Boredom & Love” to the more colorful “Joy & Celebrations,” this approach allows for an interactive and engaging discovery process. My one complaint is that this view displays only the title of the poem and not the author, so I ended up selecting a number of titles that I would have otherwise avoided. On the other hand, perhaps this allows for serendipitous discovery and destruction of literary comfort zones, or at least the element of surprise.
If you’re looking for poems by a specific author, or trying to locate a poem by title or by a line or phrase, there is also a “Find Poetry” search feature. This may be more useful for poems you have encountered while using the Poetry Foundation website or the POETRY app, as the collection is necessarily somewhat limited. The mobile collection does not include all of the poems available on the Poetry Foundation website, probably due to the issues inherent in obtaining the correct permissions. What the app does contain are poems from Poetry magazine, poems in the public domain, and those poems for which the app creators have secured mobile permissions. New poems are added on a monthly basis.
There is a sharing function which allows you to integrate your Twitter, Facebook, and/or email account. Otherwise, there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of integration between the app and the website proper, so your favorites appear to be accessible only within the app interface. The only other distracting element of the app is its (understandable) struggle to represent poetic structure, so line breaks and irregular spacing may not be reproduced faithfully.
I will admit that I downloaded this app in order to review it, but I’m not giving it up. I will be celebrating throughout April and beyond by browsing through its collection while on the bus, waiting in line, and probably in many other places throughout Pittsburgh. (Don’t worry, Twitter app, I still love you. But it’s National Poetry Month.)
POETRY is available for iOS and Android. - Gesina A. Phillips

March 2015

On March 16, 2015, Jennie King Mellon Library celebrated Freedom of Information Day, an annual observance of our rights to speak out, to share information freely, and to obtain information that the public has a right to know. See our display of related books and materials in the first floor lobby!
Libraries are information repositories, and are based upon the idea that information should be freely shared and experienced. Libraries and librarians are often on the front lines of First Amendment and information freedom concerns. A recent example is the controversy that occurred when, in 2013, the Chicago Public School System pulled Marjane Satrapi’s award-winning graphic novel Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood from their curriculum.

Persepolis
The banning of the work could not have happened without discussion amongst various administrators in the school system, much of which occurred in writing, and so the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF), and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) all put in Freedom of Information Act requests for the correspondence in early 2013. FOIA allows for anyone to access, or to request and receive, any information held by the federal government (including public schools) that is not specifically required to be kept confidential. The professional organizations received only a few pages of documents, including a heavily-edited version of the email chain which began with a complaint about the book and ended with the determination that it would be banned.
Over a year later, in December 2014, Jarrett Dapier, a student of library science at the University of Illinois who was writing a paper on censorship in K-12 classrooms, submitted his own Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on the subject and received the complete email correspondence chain. The full correspondence received by Dapier reveals that the decision to pull the book from the curriculum was based on two pages in Persepolis identified as being “not appropriate” by one school principal. In a domino-effect panic, the book was thus ordered to be removed from curricula across the entire Chicago Public School System.
The correspondence also reveals that some teachers and librarians at the affected schools initiated “pushback,” by noting that the book is acclaimed, and that librarians retain the authority to purchase and make available to students even those texts that have been deemed controversial. Responding to the controversy, the Chicago Public School System ultimately allowed the work to remain in its libraries, and approved it for study in 11th and 12th grade classrooms. The story indicates how progressive causes can use information transparency to effect change, but also how imperfect the system can be. Information access is a right that needs to be exercised continually to be retained. March 16 is a better time than any to take advantage of this right! See http://www.foia.gov/ for more information.
Sources:
http://www.foia.gov/
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/persepolis-rising/
http://ncac.org/blog/how-chicago-public-schools-dumped-persepolis/
http://www.ftrf.org/blogpost/852091/161174/FTRF-files-FOIA-request-to-Chicago-Public-Schools-over-removal-of-Persepolis
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/federallegislation/govinfo/opengov/freedomofinfo
 

February 2015

January 2015

June 2014

June 2014

May 2014

April 2014

April 12014

April 9, 2014

March  2014

December 2013

October 2013

September 2013

August  2013

July 2013

May 2013

April 2013

March 2013

December 2012

November 2012