Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Dark Side of the Archives




Archives sustain civilization. Civilization is the total of human experience. Archival repositories hold the records of that experience, good or bad, gained over time. Archives orient people in society, and create a foundation for profiting by historical context. Archives touch peoples’ lives when individuals are introduced or connected to the documents we hold in our collections. Sometimes it is finding information about an ancestor that brings joy. Other times the documents bring up memories of a darker time in our past. 


As we come to the end of Black History Month, the document featured is one of those records that document a darker time in the history of America. It is a receipt from 1847 for the purchase of a female slave named Silvy. The receipt states that on April 3, 1847, in Union County, North Carolina, John S. Leany paid $213 ($6,000 in 2015 dollars) for a “Negro girl Silvy” who was lately sold as the property of another individual. It further states that she is healthy and in sound condition. In addition, it transfers the title to Silvy to John S. Leany and his heirs and offspring.
    

In this one document, the whole issue of an individual owned by another is summed up. It is clear that slaves had no rights and were thought of as nothing more than a piece of property to be bought and sold as one would do with land.


For more information about slavery from those in bondage, the Dick Smith Library has The Slave Narratives of Texas by Ron Tyler, and from the Federal Writers Project, Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States, From Interviews with Former Slaves. This 17-volume set is also available online from the Library of Congress at https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/about-this-collection/.
 

The Texas Slavery Project, http://www.texasslaveryproject.org/, explores slavery in Texas in the years between 1820 and 1850.

The Texas State Historical Association has a free eBook on the trials and triumphs of African Americans in Texas at https://tshaonline.org/membership/african-american/.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Full Text Finder and Citation Finder

Tarleton's Dick Smith library subscribes to more than 200 databases, which provide access to a multitude of publications. Determining which database contains the particular source you are looking for can be a daunting task. Fortunately we have Full Text Finder and Citation Finder, powerful tools that can find and link you to specific periodicals or specific articles within our myriad of databases.

Full Text Finder

To use Full Text Finder first go to the library's webpage: http://www.tarleton.edu/library/. Then click on the Full Text Finder link highlighted in the screenshot below:
Full Text Finder link highlighted in yellow. 

After you click the Full Text Finder link you will come to a search screen where you can type in the name of a particular periodical title (journal, magazine, newspaper). Below the search box there are links that allow you to browse for periodicals by title or by discipline.
Searching for the Journal of Marketing
Your search results will let you know which databases have the periodical  you are looking for, and the date range of coverage provided in each database. There is also a search box, which allows you to search within that periodical.
Search results. 

Citation Finder 

Another useful tool is Citation Finder. This is helpful when you are trying to track down a specific article. For example, you are reading a source and you want to find an article that is listed in that source's references.
Example citation.
After reading an article I found the citation above, and decided to use Citation Finder to see if this article was available through a Tarleton library database. To use Citation Finder first go to the library's website: http://www.tarleton.edu/library/. Then click on the Citation Finder link highlighted in the screenshot below.
Citation Finder link highlighted in yellow.

After you click the Citation Finder link you will come to a search screen where you will need to input the article's bibliographic information. That information is found in the citation (see example above).
Input as much information as you can. If there is something you don't know, then leave it blank. The more information you provide, the more likely you will be linked to the correct source. At a minimum you should provide the journal title, article title, date, and author's last name. 
Fortunately, the article I'm looking for is available in the JSTOR database. Clicking on the link in the screenshot below took me directly to the article.
Link to full text of the article in the JSTOR database. 
If you need assistance using Full Text Finder or Citation Finder then contact the library at 254-968-1898 or reference@tarleton.edu.


Monday, February 13, 2017

OverDrive Romance Novels

Just in time for Valentine's Day, head over to OverDrive to read some of our romance novels.
https://texasam.libraryreserve.com/

Here are 5 popular titles that we have on overdrive. However, OverDrive has over 200 romance genre titles to choose from. The checkout periods are for 21 days and can be renewed as long as no one has placed a hold on it. Otherwise, you can also place a hold on a book and it will automatically appear in your account once it is returned.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. Jane Austen shows us the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life.


2. Ink by Amanda Sun
On the heels of a family tragedy, Katie Greene must move halfway across the world. Stuck with her Aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels alone, lost and disconnected since she barley know the language. When Katie meets aloof but gorgeous Tomohiro, the star of the school's kendo team, she is intrigued by him. But, Tomo is connected to the kami, powerful ancient beings who once ruled Japan—and as feelings develop between Katie and Tomo, things begin to spiral out of control.


3. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
 Seventeen ­year-old Mia got into a horrible car accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, this will change the way you look at life, love, and family.


4. The Fault in our Stars by John Green
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.


5. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon. But Juliette has plans of her own. After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever.


book summary sources



Thursday, February 2, 2017

Throwback Thursday-Dean Cox's 1918 Annual Report

In November of 1918 Dean Cox presented his first annual report to the A&M System. In his report you can hear Cox's pride in the progress Tarleton has made in a years time from being a private local college to a member of a state system.The previous year John Tarleton College was in dire financial straits and Dean Cox knew the only way the college could survive was to join a State system. At the time time the college was having trouble paying their faculty and in fact had little faculty at all. 

Cox notes that by an act of the 35th Legislature the institution was made a branch of A&M College and the State took control of the property September 1,1917. Cox continues that a "good faculty was secured, some advertising was done and the institution was opened for students Sept. 18th." In the first year 261 students enrolled. "Of these 174 were enrolled in the literary department and 87 in the Music." Summer enrollment was125 making a total for the year of 386 students. Students from Stephenville numbered 110, with 122 from other parts of Erath County. Students from counties adjoining Erath County made up 35 per cent of the remaining students.Of the 386 students 137 were working in Home Economics and 83 in the School of Agriculture. The enrollment for 1918 increased by 50 per cent to 273 students. Clearly John Tarleton Agricultural College was growing.

Dean Cox goes on to note challenges of changing from a local institution to a State institution and branch of the Agricultural and mechanical College of Texas. He notes that more than 200 students were turned away due to lack of means or lacking the required educational requirements. However, the school is crowded as it is needing more class rooms, offices, and laboratory space. Cox wanted to make sure that the courses taught at Tarleton were academically equal to those at the parent institution. He also felt the role of the junior agricultural college in Texas was to bridge the gap between the rural high school and the junior year of a standard college. Cox additionally felt the junior college should strive to serve those in the neighboring community first. 

Looking forward to the future Cox states that steps have been taken to establish affiliations with the rural high schools of Erath County and Tarleton. He believes this would be beneficial to the schools and Tarleton. He hopes that a program can be developed that would allow these students to enter Tarleton without examination. he closes the report by stating that the $75,000 raised by the citizens of Stephenville for a student loan fund will be very helpful and that due to severe drought the farm was not an asset.

So as we celebrate our Centennial of joining the A&M System read Dean Cox's report below and think of what the future held  and holds for Tarleton.