Great Book for the Who Dat Nation! February 4, 2010

Sr. Patricia Lynch is writing the history of Xavier University of Louisiana here in her library office.  She often relays tidbits of Louisiana history to the reference librarians as she passes our desk and we’ve come to rely on her insights about Xavier and New Orleans.

A few weeks ago, just in time for the Super Bowl XLIV season, Sr. Patricia recommended that we read the book Patron Saints: How the Saints Gave New Orleans a Reason to Believe.  Written by sports reporter Alan Donnes, this book recounts the amazing season the New Orleans Saints played in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina.  At that time some skeptics thought New Orleans might loose its NFL team to another state.   Sr. Patricia thinks the book  “shows how alert the entire Saints organization became to the needs of the people and it shows the positive, unitive experiences people received from the team.”

Reading Patron Saints is a great way to get fired up for Sunday…WhoDat!

NetLibrary…it’s a green thing January 28, 2010

Reading ebooks online is made most convenient with our Netlibrary database.  Thanks to librarian Thomas Bender (our  go-to guy for electronic databases and serial collections) we offer this resource which lends itself perfectly to those that prefer researching electronically.  As students, you can access Netlibrary via the library website on campus or from home.  You may then create a profile and search over 30,000 full-text ebooks.  Useful titles can be saved to your “Favorites list” and referred to whenever needed.  An electronic dictionary and encyclopedia are located in the lefthand sidebar of each ebook so that you can look up unfamiliar terms as you read.  Each book has an electronic index and best of all allows its readers to make and save notes to themselves.  Who needs paper to write a thesis when you can just do it online.  Geaux Green!

Who Needs a Kindle? Or a Nook for That Matter? January 12, 2010

Last year I was coveting Amazon.com’s Kindle ebook reader ($480) as well as Barnes & Noble’s nook($259).  This new year however has slapped me with the reality of my annual post holiday budget constraints.  I have therefore renewed my appreciation for Google scholar!  Several of my favorite classic books are available for free via Google Books.  I am currently rereading the novel Jane Eyre which was first published as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Currer Bell.  Later this month I plan to read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland before seeing its movie version starring Johnny Depp in March 2010.

Google Books have been a success with students here at Xavier too.  Many of those who are required to do scholarly reading for literary Spring semester classes already know about the resource.  One student confided in me that she will start reading The Adventures of Don Quixote for free online until next month when she can purchase the book at the campus bookstore.  Homer’s Illiad & Odyssey are being read online by groups of students this semester along with Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha and Willa Cather’s My Antonia.

No one has mentioned the ‘Bard of Avon’ yet this year, but the great plays of William Shakespeare (Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet,  et al) are all published by Google Books.  And just for fun, freshman wanting to continue reading books by Barack Obama may enjoy The Audacity of Hope.  Another free New York Times bestseller from recent history is Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point.

Now all we need is a portable device that allows us to carry these ebooks everywhere.  Browse through Google books this semester and enjoy!

On Tuesday, Mary Shelly fans attended the debut of Frankenstein November 20, 2009

including the library’s Frankenstein committee… November 20, 2009

some frankenstein enthusiasts posed with the monster November 20, 2009

November 20, 2009

Overall it was a fantastic event! November 20, 2009

coming soon…the december 2nd Frankenstein panel discussion November 20, 2009

A Night with Frankstein November 20, 2009

On Tuesday evening, the Frankenstein exhibit was unveiled in the Norman C. Francis Building’s atrium.  Dr. Greene introduced the plight of Mary Shelly to an enthusiastic audience of Frankenstein book and movie buffs prior to letting them puruse the exhibition on their own.  Seven foot high panels depict the varying ways in which playwrights and filmmakers interpreted Mary Shelly’s mythical character.

Following the exhibit viewing, refreshments were served.  A jolly time was had by all.