Seniors: Vote for Teacher of the Year!

Our partners in crime over at the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) asked us to remind graduating seniors put in their votes for this year’s Teacher of the Year award.

CTLE says…

Each year the Graduating Senior Class selects its “Teacher of the Year”. Beginning Monday, April 11th, please vote for the faculty member who you believe best exhibits the following characteristics:
•    Maintains the highest standards of academic excellence and fairness.
•    Inspires interest in the discipline through personal enthusiasm and dedication.
•    Is consistently effective in communication.
•    Is available outside of the classroom.

To vote, make sure to cast your electronic ballot between 9am on Monday, April 11th and 5pm on Friday, April 15th. The award will be presented during Class Night on May 27th.

Class of 2011, your vote counts – so be sure to remember and recognize a faculty member whose teaching has inspired you!

E-Readers and Tablets: The Hype and the Facts

On Wednesday, April 6, our Spring 2011 Technology on Your Own Terms series will wrap up with E-Readers and Tablets: The Hype and the Facts from 11am-3pm in WML305.

Nook, Sony, Kindle, iPad, Galaxy…  There are so many e-readers and tablet computers available that it’s getting harder to know which product to choose to fill a certain need.  Want some answers?  Drop in any time during our four hour showcase of e-readers and tablet computers at the Weinberg Memorial Library. Best Buy will have many products on display and provide knowledgeable staff to answer your questions.  You will learn about the Weinberg Memorial Library e-books available for download as well as where you can find free e-books and how to convert regular documents to ereader formats.  Light refreshments will be served. (With representatives from Best Buy, the Weinberg Memorial Library, and the CTLE)

Foreign Film Series

Photo courtesy of Film Movement

Please join us for the Foreign Film Series showing of the Canadian comedy 1981 on Friday April 8, 2011 at 7:00 P.M. in Room 305 of The Weinberg Memorial Library.   Dr. Marzia Caporale will lead a discussion following the film.

Film Movement describes 1981 as a cheeky, semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale that tells the comedic story of eleven year-old Ricardo, who, struggling with his family’s move and a new school, decides to become a liar. With a flair for inventiveness and a desperate desire to impress his classmates who are all from wealthier backgrounds, Ricardo dismisses his family and weaves an elaborate web of untruths, inventing a new family history, which he must vigilantly maintain to keep up appearances for his new friends.  The film is directed by Ricardo Trogi and is in French with English subtitles.

This event is open to faculty, staff students and the public, but seating is limited, so please contact Sharon Finnerty at (570) 941-6330 or finnertys2@scranton.edu for reservations.

Doors open at 6:30 P.M.; the film begins at 7:00 P.M.  Light refreshments will be served.

Steve Berry, Distinguished Author Award Recipient

From left to right: Dr. Hal W. Baillie, Provost; Steve Berry; Dr. Gretchen A. Welby, Chair, Distinguished Author Award Event; Charles E. Kratz, Jr., Dean of the Library and Information Fluency

Steve Berry was presented with the Royden B. Davis, S.J. Distinguished Author Award at a gala dinner with an oriental theme on Saturday, March 19 in the DeNaples Center Ballroom.  Steve Berry spoke to the audience about how he became a writer.  He stated that he did not begin writing until he was 35 years old.  He said that “every writer has a little voice in their head” that keeps nagging at them to write and is not satisfied until they start.  He started writing and kept at it for a number of years, going to a weekly writers’ criticism group, to improve his work.  And then he got lucky.  He got an agent which can actually be more difficult than getting a publisher.  He got 88 rejections and then he got a break.  In spring 2002, Doubleday bought a book from an unknown author.  The book turned out to be The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.  It turned out to be a blockbuster hit.  Because of the genre that he writes, mystery thrillers, the next thing he knew Berry was signed by a publisher.  The main character of many of his books, detective Cotton Malone, is featured in his most recent work, The Emperor’s Tomb. Berry’s books have been translated into multiple languages and are now in 51 countries.  Along with his successful writing career, Berry’s love of history has led him and his wife Elizabeth, to create a foundation:  History Matters (http://www.steveberry.org/berry-history.htm) to help raise funds for the preservation and restoration of historical treasures.  His advice for anyone who is writing or wanting to write is to: “stick in there.”

Spring Break 2011

Crocuses

Image courtesy of Flickr user amortize under a CC license

Spring has finally arrived in Scranton, and with it, Spring Break!

The Library’s hours over Spring Break are as follows:

Friday, March 18          8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday- Sunday, March 19-20          Closed
Monday-Thursday, March 21-24          8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Friday, March 25          8:00 a.m. –   4:30 p.m.
Saturday March 26          Closed
Sunday, March 27          Noon-11:30 p.m.

Have a great break everyone–enjoy the sunshine!

Prep for Parade Day with Resources on St. Patrick

As every Scrantonian knows, the big excitement in town this weekend is Parade Day.  Whether you’re planning to watch the parade or stay home and avoid the crowds, it’s also a nice weekend to reflect on St. Patrick and the history and traditions of Ireland.

Here in the Weinberg Memorial Library, we have several biographies of St. Patrick as well as the texts of his two surviving writings – the Confessio and the Epistola ad milites Corotici.  And of course we have a lot of resources on Ireland, including some great films and media resources.  You can also find a lot of interesting articles about St. Patrick, Irish history and culture, and the history of St. Patrick’s Day by searching our Academic Search Elite, America: History and Life, and ProQuest Central databases.

There are also some great resources out there on the web. Take a few minutes to check out:

Scranton’s Native Son Returns Home

“Follow the underground railroad” via the Center for Anti-Slavery Studies exhibit at the Weinberg Memorial Library, Heritage Room, March 10-18, during regular library hours. Join “Scranton’s Native Son” Sherman Wooden for a reception and book signing on March 15, 2011, from 4:30-6:30pm at the same venue. read more

Finding New Books Made Easy

WML Research GuidesThanks to the Library’s Cataloging Department, finding new books has never been easier.

Now, if you want to see what new books have come in for a specific subject, then all you have to do is visit the Library’s Research Guides at www.scranton.edu/library/researchguides.

You would then pick a subject, for example “History.” In the History Research Guides page you will see useful links which direct you to helpful Databases, Reference Books, Websites, and contact information for the Librarian Subject Specialist; but now there is also a link to “New Library Books.” Clicking New Library Books will take you to the library’s Catalog and a display of all of the new books that the library has acquired for that specific Academic Department!

Library Game Night!

The Library will be hosting a Game Night on March 8th @ 8PM in the Heritage Room on the 5th floor.  We’ll have Wii, Mario Cart, Rockband and board games too!  Stop by for some snacks, play some games, and enter to win a grand prize!  We’ll be raffling off 2 Amazon Gift Cards!  Students, Faculty and Staff are all welcome! We hope to see you there!