After several weeks of work on the library’s front doors and patio, we are pleased to announce that the front entrance has re-opened. Until stair railings are installed, you must use the handicap ramp (from the Mallory side).
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Maj. Flanagan
Visitors to Preston Library will notice that the main front door is not accessible due to demolition and construction of the patio, steps and sidewalk.
During the construction, the library is accessible through Nichols Engineering Building, the front door of which is to the left of Preston Library. Signs are posted directing library users downstairs to the 4th floor of Nichols. At the end of the hallway, there’s a door that enters to the library’s 4th floor.
The circulation desk and many library staff are up one level, on the 5th floor.
If you need assistance or have any questions, please call 540-464-7129.
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There are many great things to say about short stories.
- Their length is appealing to those of us who always read something before going to sleep as well as those of you who read on your phones and other electronic gadgets.
- Often short stories are dense and rich with all the dialog and description that we appreciate in our favorite novels.
- As readers, we can be introduced to the work of an author without having to commit to something as long as a novel.
- Frequently, novel writers also write short stories which are less known than their novels.
I could go on – instead, I’ll provide you with a couple suggestions. Raymond Carver, Cathedral. Roald Dahl (did you know he wrote short stories?) Collected Stories. And a perennial favorite, JD Salinger’s Nine Stories.
If you’re interested in searching the Preston Library catalog to see what other short story collections we have, take a look here.
Who’s your favorite short story author?
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Check out the National Jukebox! Developed by the Library of Congress, with assets provided by Sony Music Entertainment, the National Jukebox offers free online access to a vast selection of music and spoken-word recordings produced in the U.S. between the years 1901 and 1925. You can stream the music and create playlists, too. http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/
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On March 9 in 1976, the first female cadets entered West Point. Twenty years later, VMI joined the ranks. Gaining admission to these institutions marked an important passage in women’s history.
March is National Women’s History Month – and today International Women’s Day – a time to bring our attention to events like this in our country’s and the world’s history. In 1920, the 20th Amendment granted women the right to vote. Eleanor Roosevelt was first lady from 1933-1945 and later on helped get the second wave of feminism started. Today, women still earn, on average, a considerably smaller income than men, and people worldwide are paying more attention to the particular issues facing women in the Middle East.
Please visit the Women’s History Month display in Preston Library, where you can take a quiz about women’s history, collect a bookmark, and see some of the items that the library owns honoring women in history.
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The Power of Poetry is the theme to the 2011 VMI Poetry Symposium, to be held Friday and Saturday, March 4-5.
The program opens Friday with a reading by celebrated Iraq War poet Brian Turner, 7:45 p.m. in Gillis Theater. All-day events Saturday will feature student paper and poem presentations, a keynote by James A. Winn, author of The Poetry of War (Cambridge University Press, 2008), and a panel discussion, “The Poetry of War” with Turner and Winn.
Student presenters are from VMI, W&L, Mary Washington, Hollins, Sweet Briar, UNC Asheville, JMU, ODU, Roanoke College, Lynchburg College and the University of Richmond.
Please visit the Poetry Symposium display, in Preston Library, featuring books by Winn, Turner, and VMI’s COL David Rachels, moderator of the panel discussion.
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Do you use the Oxford English Dictionary online? If you haven’t used it, check it out the next time you need a good definition, word history, or a thesaurus search. Those of you who have been using the OED will notice many of the same features and tools as well as some new ways to search and browse and a tool to help you cite the entry.
Check out the new OED, and if you have questions about it, Ask A Librarian!
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Ring Figure, the dance and ceremony in which Second Class cadets receive their class rings, will be happening on Sunday, November 21. Check out the VMI Archives’ page to learn more about the history of Ring Figure and see images of some previous ring designs. You can see a large model of this year’s ring design painted on the cannon ball on the edge of the parade ground across from J.M. Hall.
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That’s how librarians are described in this recent piece on Huffington Post.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hack-college/make-life-easier-ask-a-li_b_748521.html
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In Preston Library’s Periodicals Room you’ll find a display in honor of Banned Books Week. This week marks the 29th year that Americans have been celebrating the freedom to read. Each year many books are challenged as being objectionable by individuals and groups who ask for them to be removed by public and school libraries everywhere. See the top 10 books challenged in 2009, as reported by the American Library Association Office for International Freedom here. When an individual or group makes a challenge, it’s more than stating a negative opinion about that book – it’s asking that others don’t have the freedom to choose to read that book.
All sorts of books are challenged for reasons ranging from content to language to age level. Of the top 100 novels of the 20th Century (as designated by the well-respected Radcliffe Publishing Course), 46 have been challenged or banned. Libraries are great supporters of the First Amendment, and further, the freedom to choose what to read. Stop in the Periodicals Room to learn more about Banned Books week and see some of Preston Library’s books that were once challenged or banned.
See other news about Banned Books Week here.
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