Donate! - The Library is hosting a Blood Drive

The Library is sponsoring a blood drive Tuesday, June 24 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Thompson Student Center, Ballroom A.

Tarleton Throwback Thursday...Baseball

Did you know that on this day in 1846 the first organized baseball game was played?  To honor that great day here is a picture of the Tarleton College Baseball Team in 1905.

For more historic images check out the Cross Timbers Historic Images.  The library has many resources for Tarleton history as well as local history.  You can find those resources on our Special Collections and Archives pages.

Small Engine Repair Reference Center

It's summer time! Which means many of us will spend more time having fun boating or jet-skiing on the lakes or riding ATVs. Summer also means that lawns have to be mowed more often. (Not so fun!) And we all know that these engines need repair and maintenance from time to time, especially in the summer. But, no worries, whatever your small engine repair needs this summer, the library has you covered.

Our database, Small Engine Repair Reference Center, includes repair and maintenance guides for boat motors, personal watercraft, lawnmowers, motorcycles, ATVs, tractors and more. Each section gives a basic overview of that type of engine, and then includes more detailed guides for top brands. Hopefully you won't have any problems while you're out working or having fun this summer, but if you do, this is a great resource for repairing and maintaining your engines.

Movies That Were Originally Books

In case you missed it, here's Huffington Post's "14 Movies You Definitely Didn't Know Were Based on Books." I only knew that two or three of these were originally books.

For those who'd like to give some of these a try, the library has:

• The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
• Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
• Jaws by Peter Benchley
• Father of the Bride by Edward Streeter
• The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
• Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers

Research Leads to Award

Prajapati with Professor Telegenhoff

Medical Laboratory Science student, Manashree Prajapati's research on her Master's thesis lead to a prestigious award.  Prajapati, under the guidance of Professor Dale Telegenhoff, wrote "The Effects of Cholesterol Carrier Proteins and Statin on Fibrobalst Migration and Signal Transduction via Sterol Regulatory Element Building Proteins (SREBP) - 2" after thoroughly researching her topic.  The ground work research really paid off as Prajapati was awarded the 2014 Master's Thesis Award for Life Science by the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools (CSGS).  The award was presented to her in February 2014 at the Annual Meeting of CSGS. Of particular note is that Prajapati is Tarleton's first Master's level Medical Laboratory Sciences student to receive her degree.

Prajapati's work stemmed from the research by Telegehoff on wound healing.  Prajapati explored how low-density lipoprotein (LDL) might be used to affect cell migration causing the multiplication of fibroblasts promoting wound healing.  This research is useful for those who suffer from wounds that are hard to heal and is especially important due to the rise of diabetes whose sufferers tend to develop hard-to-heal wounds. Prajapati worked with Telegehoff for 2.5 years in order to produce her award winning research.

In August 2013, Prajapati received her Master of Science in Medical Laboratory Science. She plans on earning her Ph.D. after she works for a few years as a molecular technologist.

Telegehoff's research, which includes research by Prajapati, is available through the library:

Passion For Fashion (Print Books)?

If you're interested in fashion, here's a quick way to find our fashion books upstairs.

1.  Go to www.tarleton.edu/library
2.  Click Library Catalog and Advanced Search.
3.  Next to subject, type in fashion
4. Change type to book.
5. Click Search.

Use the library's catalog to find (print) fashion books.

1. Click on book titles for more details.
2. Write down the call # (for the item below, the call # is TT507 .S93 2013). 
Hint: General Stacks = upstairs.  Make sure the book is not checked out!
3.  Note: If you need help finding the book, ask our staff! We feel happy and needed when you do.

Item record for one of our books.

Feeling overwhelmed?  Here's a fun book to start with:

20th Century Fashion: 100 Years of Style by Decade and Designer, in Association with Vogue, by Linda Watson. It is located in the General Stacks, call # GT596 .W38 2004.

One of our many books on fashion.

Campus Renovations

photo by Amanda Pape

We're super excited about the soon-to-be-opened Library Learning Commons, but the Dick Smith Library isn't the only building on campus undergoing renovations.

Check out Tarleton's renovations website for updates on other projects:  the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center, the One-Stop Shop at the Tarleton Center, new residence hall construction, Alumni Island, and the O. A. Grant Humanities Building.

The latter has a cool glass tower on the southwest corner of the building, facing the intersection of Washington and Lillian streets.  This tower is also adjacent to the visitor parking lot (P12) next to the library.  The photo at right was taken on Sunday night as I was leaving the library.  Check out the cool lighting on the tower!

A photo of the tower in daylight can be found on the university's Instagram account.

Tarleton Libraries: Year(s) in Review

You may have heard about the Library Chronicles but do you know what it is?

Library Chronicles is a newsletter magazine published annually by the library's Marketing and Outreach Committee which spotlights events and happenings that have occurred within the library for the specific newsletter's year. Basically, if you've ever wondered what goes on at the library you can find the answer within the Library Chronicles' pages.

The newsletter contains interesting facts about the library and its staff members as well as fun images of events that happen on all the Tarleton campuses.

Check out the Library Chronicles' archive to review the last four years.
http://www.tarleton.edu/library/chronicles.html

Find out about our READ poster reveal, social media accounts, contributions to the campus and surrounding community, and more!

Want more information about the Library Chronicles?

Contact the library's 

Marketing and Outreach Co-Chairs:

Cathy Wilterding

wilterding@tarleton.edu

254-968-9456.

Kym Schow

schow@tarleton.edu

254-968-9871

Did you know?

Did you know that the University has a tobacco use policy? It is part of the Campus Rules & Procedure put out by the Division of Student Life at Tarleton State University. Below you will see the excerpt, on the use of tobacco, from the rules.

The Dick Smith Library and Texan Hall are both Tobacco Free Facilities. Please take care to recognize the policy set in place. If you have questions, call the information desk at 254/968-9249.

Explore Activities for Summer Fun

How will you spend your free time this summer?  The Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center database is a great source for exploring your hobbies or finding new ones.  You can also check out the library's Discovery Tool for more books and articles on activities to fill your summer.  I have included a couple of books that the library has in our general stacks.

As our house is gearing up for summer I decided to check out this database to get some ideas to keep us busy.  I know there will be some outdoor activities we will be doing so I started out there.  They have an Outdoor Recreation category that includes hiking, camping, fishing, sailing, scuba diving, and much more.

Hiking and Backpacking

GV199.5 .H55 2008

GV199.5 .H55 2008

Since we have a garden I then headed to the Home & Garden category.  I soon got distracted from the garden when I saw that there is a topic covering cake decorating.  We have been trying to learn how to decorate cakes and cupcakes so this will be a great resource for us.

My Cooking Class
TX771 .F3913 2011

After checking out the things I knew we would need I got curious and did some more exploring and found that you can even find out about handwriting analysis under the Science and Technology category.  For those hot 100+ afternoons there is a category on Indoor Recreations that includes topics on different types of games.  Other categories include Scrapbooking, Performing Arts, Needlecrafts, Model Building, Kid's Crafts, and more.

Passionate Gardening
SB455 .S816 2000

Brand New FAQs

We have a brand new FAQs page.

Topics addressed include:
--campus wifi,
--Texan card money,
---item checkout,
---course reserves,
--printing, and more.

Library FAQs

1. Go to www.tarleton.edu/library

2.  Click Help & FAQs

Maya Angelou (1928-2014)

Maya Angelou (1928-2014), was one of the most well-known persons of the 20th and 21st century.  She was a poet, autobiographer, playwright, educator, actress, dancer, singer, show-host, lecturer, feminist, political activists, and leader.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (E185.97 .A56 A3 1970), Angelou's first authobiography, which was nominated for the National Book Award is part of the collection at the Dick Smith Library.  Many of Angelou's autobiographies, as well as poetry, were inspired by her childhood in the years when discrimination and segregation were strong.  The strength of her close-knit family along shines through in her poems as illustrated by this poem,

Touched by an Angel

We, unaccustomed to courage

exiles from delight

live coiled in shells of loneliness

until love leaves its high holy temple

and comes into our sight

to liberate us into life.

Love arrives

and in its train come ecstasies

old memories of pleasure

ancient histories of pain.

Yet if we are bold,

love strikes away the chains of fear

from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity

In the flush of love's light

we dare be brave

And suddenly we see

that love costs all we are

and will ever be.

Yet it is only love

which sets us free.

Angelou read her poem, On the Pulse of Morning, at the inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1993.  Only one other person, Robert Frost, has ever been invited to read their poetry at the inauguration of a president. Here is a small portion of this poem:

Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out upon me,
The rock, the river, the tree, your country.
No less to Midas than the mendicant.
No less to you now than the mastodon then.
Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes,
Into your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.

The Dick Smith Library’s collection of books by Maya Angelou includes:

Mother: A Cradle to Hold Me, 

PS3551.N464 M68 2006

                           The Heart of a Woman,

                           PS3551.N464 Z465 1997

Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now, 

               PS3551.N464 W68 1997

                                  

       I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 

                       E185.97 .A56 A3 1970.

Maybe you'll be as lucky as I was when I received one of Angelou's books from my children on Mother's Day a few years back!

Move Your Computer Like a Pro!

It's summer time, which means many of us in the Tarleton community will be moving. Whether that means moving from a dorm into an apartment, graduating and moving to a new town for your next adventure, or, for us in the library, moving into our new learning commons space (YAY!), you want to make sure your most valuable possessions make it safe and sound.

So, I though this recent article from Lifehacker on the best way to move your desktop computer came out at a great time, and I wanted to share it with you. It includes this video on how to pack a computer like a manufacturer and other great tips on keeping your computer safe.

Enjoy and good luck to those who are moving!

Graphic Novels (and Manga!)

I wrote a post about the library's graphic novel collection a couple years ago. Happily, our collection has expanded since then! Click here if you'd like to browse what we have in our catalog.

A few examples:

Avengers Forever (Busiek, Pacheco) - This has Captain America, Hawkeye, Giant-Man, the Wasp, Yellowjacket, Captain Marvel, Songbird, and more.

Thor (J. Michael Straczynski, Olivier Coipel) - Another one for all you Marvel fans. We own volumes 1 and 2.

Mixed Vegetables by Ayumi Komura - For those who have asked in the past - we now have a few volumes of Japanese manga! This series is about a pastry chef's daughter and a sushi chef's son.

Bake Sale by Sara Varon - This stars anthropomorphic foods - the main character is a cupcake, and his best friend is an eggplant.