Thanksgiving Hours

The Ross Pendergraft Library & Technology Center will have adjusted hours this week due to the Thanksgiving Holiday:

  • Tuesday, Nov. 21st: 7:00 AM – 9:00 PM
  • Wednesday, Nov. 22nd: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
  • Thursday, Nov. 23rd: CLOSED
  • Friday, Nov. 24th: CLOSED
  • Saturday, Nov. 25th: CLOSED
  • Sunday, Nov. 26th: Resuming normal hours, open 1:00 PM – Midnight.

Screenshot of Libby app featuring book covers for titles like "Staying on Top in Academia" and "Ask a Science Teacher"As you make travel plans, don’t forget about our new streaming Audiobook service, Libby, available for download to your mobile devices.  Enjoy newer fiction and non-fiction titles on the long road-trip to grandma’s house or your own Friendsgiving feast.

Stay tuned to more events, including our special hours for finals, by following us on Instagram, X, or Facebook.

Start Spooky Season with Kevin Brockmeier

Join us on Monday, October 9, in RPL 300B as we welcome award-winning author from Arkansas, Kevin Brockmeier for the October edition of our Second Monday Author Series.  The event starts at 6:00 P.M., and admission is free and open to the public.

Cover art for "Ghost Variations" featuring a grid of small illustrations of ghosts, axes, pendants, dice, and other random objects.A resident of Little Rock, Brockmeier will discuss his latest book, The Ghost Variations: One Hundred Stories, and share his general insights as an author.

Brockmeier is also author of the memoir, A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip; the novels, The Illumination, The Brief History of the Dead, and The Truth About Celia; the story collections Things That Fall from the Sky and The View from the Seventh Layer; and the children’s novels City of Names and Grooves: A Kind of Mystery.

Brockmeier’s work has been translated into 18 languages and has been published in The New Yorker, The Georgia Review, McSweeney’s, Zoetrope, Tin House, The Oxford American, The Best American Short Stories, The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and New Stories from the South. In 2007, he was named one of Granta‘s Best Young American Novelists.  He has received the Borders Original Voices Award, three O. Henry Awards (including one first prize), the PEN USA Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts Grant. He teaches frequently at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Photograph of Kevin Brockmeier wearing black shirt.You can find more about Kevin Brockmeier, including his books, events, and news, from his website: https://kevinbrockmeier.com

For more information about the ATU Second Monday Author Series, contact Luke Heffley at (479) 964-0546.  Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or X to hear about the next Second Monday Author event.

 

 

Fighting Back on 9/11

Join us at the Ross Pendergraft Library on Monday, September 11th, at 6:00 PM in Room 300 as we welcome author Deena Burnett Bailey to talk about her book, Fighting Back: Living Life Beyond Ourselves“as part of our Second Monday Author Series.  The event is free and open to the public.

Photograph of Deena Burnett Bailey, authorFighting Back relates her struggle to overcome grief and personal tragedy after the death of her husband, Flight 93 hero, Tom Burnett, who perished in the 9/11 attacks.

A native of Arkansas, Burnett Bailey was raised on a cotton farm in the Desha County community of Halley. She grew up to become a flight attendant living in Georgia, which led her to meet Tom Burnett. They were married in 1992 and became parents of daughters Halley, Madison and Anna Clare.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Tom was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco. It was hijacked and later crashed in Shanksville, Pa.

Burnett Bailey wrote Fighting Back following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and it was published by Advantage Inspirational in 2006. According to information provided by the publisher, the book “demonstrates how each of us can move forward through the hardships of life and have a positive impact on others through the belief that at some point in our lives, we are all called on to be heroes.”

Copies of the book will be available for purchase during Burnett Bailey’s appearance at ATU on Monday, Sept. 11.

An assortment of books on display about the terrorist attacks on 9/11, including a large photographic book open to photos of firefighters and police officers, gazing upwards in horror, covered in dust and ashYou can pick up a copy of Fighting Back at the Ross Pendergraft Library on the first floor, near our display featuring books and materials remembering the  22nd anniversary of September 11, 2001.  You can also buy a copy for yourself through your local bookstore, Dogear Books, or wherever you get fine books.

For more information about the ATU Second Monday Author Series, contact Luke Heffley at (479) 964-0546.  Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or X to hear about the next Second Monday Author event.

 

Get In the Car With OverDrive

Cancel your Audible subscription and download the Libby app to enjoy your favorite audiobooks and ebooks now available for free from the Ross Pendergraft Library:

Click Here to Acccess OverDrive

Access thousands of ebooks titles and nearly 100 audiobook titles from the Libby app.  Download the Libby app via Google Play or at the Apple Store.  You can also access the platform using the link above from our A-to-Z Databases page.

Screenshot of a phone with the Libby App open to choosing a new library. The words "Arkansas Tech" are typed into the search box.

After you’ve downloaded the app, you’ll be asked to locate your library.  Type the zip code (72801) or search for “Arkansas Tech University”.  You will be asked to authenticate as a Tech user.

Once you’ve logged into your account, enjoy up to two books at a time.  Selecting a book will download it for 14 days to your account.  If 14 days is too soon, you can renew it once for another 14 days.  If 14 days is too long, you can return the book early and check out another.

Is your must-read of Fall 2023 checked out?  Just like our regular collection in Find It, you can also place Holds on titles that are currently checked out.  Find the title you want, and click the option “PLACE HOLD.”  Once the title is available, you will get a notification that your item is ready to borrow.

Screenshot from a phone showing the Libby app, where a title is checked out, with the option to "Place Hold" below the text: "Sorry all copies of this title are out on loan. Try again soon, or place a hold instread."

What if you already have a Libby account at another library, like the Pope County Library?  No problem–just choose the option in your account settings: “Add Library”.

Do you prefer to consume your fiction and non-fiction with eyeballs instead of earlobes?  Thousands of titles–including new, best-sellers–are available on Libby, too.  You can either read via the app or push your ebooks to the Kindle app for tablet reading.  While the Library has offered access to hundreds of thousands of ebooks, this is our first foray into more popular, Kindle-friendly collections.

The addition of OverDrive ebooks and audiobooks via Libby represents another request made by students on our annual library survey from Spring 2023.  If you prefer the old-fashioned, analog experience, our current physical audiobook collection is still located on the first floor, next to the DVD collection.  These audiobooks are searchable in Find It, but you can also browse a list of titles here.

Screenshot of a phone showing the Libby app, displaying covers of the popular fiction titles available through the app like "Demon Copperhead", "Covenant of Water," "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy", and many more

However, with the decline of CD-players in car stereos, e-audiobooks are fast becoming the format of choice.  The library already hosts another streaming audiobook collection called Naxos Spoken Word, available also through our A-Z Databases page.  It features thousands of literary classics–perfect for those English class reading assignments you can listen to while on the treadmill.

But now that the Library is finally getting into the driver seat with OverDrive, newer and more popular titles can now be delivered via an easy-to-use app on any mobile device.

If you need help getting started, Ask Us via text, email, Instagram, or face-to-face during our expansive Fall 2023 hours.  There’s also a handy webpage featuring step-by-step instructions and a video.  Take it for a spin today!

Library Hours

The library’s current interim hours are:

Monday-Friday: 8:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.

Saturday-Sunday: Closed

Starting August 23rd, the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center will resume regular semester hours:

Monday-Thursday: 7:00 A.M. – 12:00 A.M.

Friday: 7:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M.

Saturday: 10:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M.

Sunday: 1:00 P.M. – 12:00 A.M.

Please see our complete hours, including all exceptions to regular hours during Labor Day, Fall Break, Thanksgiving, and Final Exams, by visiting our hours page: https://libguides.atu.edu/about/hours/

You can also follow us on social media via Instagram, Facebook, or the X formerly known as Twitter.

Photo of the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center on a sunny afternoon with blooming, pink crepe myrtle trees

 

 

Events, Authors, and Speakers Planned for April

Starting April 4th, the Ross Pendergraft Library & Technology Center kicks off several events and lectures celebrating books, culture, history, diversity, and understanding both close to home and from the other side of the world.

Tuesday, April 4th at 6:00 P.M. in RPL 300AB

Photo of Eli Cranor, author, speaking before a large audienceAward-winning author and Russellville native, Eli Cranor, hosted a special event debuting  his latest novel, Ozark Dogs.   Publisher Soho Crime describes Ozark Dogs as a Southern thriller in which “two families grapple with the aftermath of a murder in their small Arkansas town.”

His first novel, Don’t Know Tough, won the Peter Lovesey First Crime Novel contest and was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel, the Lefty Award for best debut Mystery Novel, and was a finalist for the 2022 Dashiell Hammett Award.  He writes to a monthly column in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette called “Where I’m Writing From,” and his work has been featured in Missouri Review, Oxford American, Ellery Queen, The Strand and other notable journals.  You can find his first thriller, Don’t Know Tough, available in our book collection.

Monday, April 10th at 7:00 P.M. in RPL 300B

Cover of book featuring an illustrated tiger and brightly colored bird next to it, perched on a rockThe Library will host John Kutko as part of its Second Monday Author Series to talk about his children’s book, The Tiger & the Painted Bunting.  The book is about a Shanti, a tiger cub who is captured from the wild and sold by poachers to a rich man.  When the tiger inevitably grows too big, she is sent to a zoo where she makes friends with a painted bunting named Al.  Kutko, a retired school teacher from Clarksville School District, developed the story which his granddaughter, Abbriel Harrison, who wrote and illustrated the book.  There will be a drawing for a free signed copy of his book at the event, along with additional copies available for purchase.

Thursday, April 13th at 2:30 P.M. in RPL 300AB

Cover of Ronnie Williams featuring tombstone superimposed below an older photograph of a black man wearing an army dress uniform.The Arkansas Tech University Black Faculty & Staff Organization will host Ronnie Williams as part of the Diversity Speaks Lecture Series.  He is the author of Markham Street: The Haunting Truth Behind the Murder of My Brother Marvin Leonard Williams, which shares the story of his brother, his murder, subsequent fight for justice, and what life was like for Black families in the South during the 1960’s.

A native of Menifee, Arkansas, Ronnie Williams recently retired as Vice President for Student Services and Institutional Diversity at the University of Central Arkansas.  During his three decades of service, he served as assistant dean of students, director of Minority Affairs, Assistant to the President, and Chief Diversity Office.  He is the former chair of the Arkansas Educational Television Commission, and the first person of color to chair the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce and the Conway Development Corporation Board.  A small reception of light refreshments, provided by the Ross Pendergraft Library & Technology Center, will be available after the lecture.  For more information about Ronnie Williams or his book, visit his webpage at: https://www.ronniewilliamsauthor.com/

Friday, April 14th from 1:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M. in RPL 300B

A cartoon black and white logo of a person with a blank, open book for its head next to the words "human library"The Human Library is back at the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center featuring people volunteering to tell their own stories about in a non-judgemental, personal conversation-style setting.  As part of a project in the Social Movements and Social Change class in the Behavioral Sciences department, students have been recruiting volunteers to act as “books” that can be read by an individual in a one-on-one setting.  These “books” tell their personal stories of struggle and success in overcoming challenges in life like discrimination, poverty, disability, immigration, abuse, judgement, or oppression.  You can ‘check-out’ a book just by listening to their story face-to-face to gain a broader perspective for the path they have walked.

The Human Library Event has been taking place at ATU for several years and is part of a larger, national organization to promote dialogue and understanding with groups in our society that are often subjected to prejudice, stigmatization or discrimination because of their lifestyle, diagnosis, belief, disability, social status, ethnic origin, etc.  All are welcome to this event.

Monday, April 17th at 6:00 P.M. in RPL 300B

Text with "Talk Series with Dr. Hashimoto: Manga, an introductory series to Japanese culture, language, history, and art inside anime and manga.The final lecture of the spring semester from the popular “Manga Talk  Series” from Dr. Hashimoto is titled: “Jujutsu Kaisen: History of Curse in Japan” will take place on April 17th.  Dr. Hashimoto, visiting lecturer of Japanese, will discuss the popular manga and anime series and how it relates to Japanese culture, language, and history.  Frequent attendees of the lecture series often report samples of Japanese candies and treats present at such events.  You can get started on the English-language version of the manga series with v.0 “Blinding Darkness” currently located in the New Books collection of the ATU Library.

For more information about these and other events in the library, contact our Special Events Coordinator and Second Monday Author Series wrangler, Luke Heffley.  You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for up-to-date information on all the happenings happening at RPL.

Like Us? Love Us? Tell Us!

8 book spines with titles like, Love, I Feel Love, As You Like It, Happiness, Wow, No Thank You, Hatred, Fear and Loathing, and MaliceThe annual library survey is now live and listening:

https://questionpro.com/t/ADooIZwmzQ

Tell us how the library’s collections, services, and spaces mattered to YOU in 2022.  If you’ve ever used our website or stepped foot in any of the library buildings (Ozark Campus Library or the Ross Pendergraft Library & Technology Center), we want to hear what you think about your library.  The survey is short and completely anonymous because–as always–we value the privacy of our users.

Have you ever wanted something different in the library?  More study spaces?  More books?  Less noise? An all-you-can-eat seafood buffet and chocolate fountain?*

Man washing his face in a chocolate fountain while the chef looks on in shock*Actual survey comment from 2022

From now until April 10th when the survey closes is your chance to let us know!

Because of your feedback last year, we’ve made a lot of changes already:

  • A beverage vending machine has been added to the south foyer.A picture of a Pepsi Vending Machine
  • Expanded full-text journal coverage with additional 998 journals from Sage Premier, 1724 journals from Taylor & Francis, & 453 journals from JSTOR’s Arts and Sciences V and VI collections.
  • Periodic pop-up libraries through-out the year to improve outreach and advertising of our great book collections.
  • Reduced noise on the 2nd floor by moving more evening personnel to the quiet floor.
  • Added access to printers from the study room computers.
  • Revamped freshmen orientation tours to describe more about the services we provide.
  • Remained open during inclement weather days.

In some cases, you’ve made some great suggestions for things we ALREADY have, but just not advertised as well as we should.  For example…

  • Did you know we have a gender-neutral bathroom?  This frequently asked-for facility is a bit hidden, but you can find it just outside of campus support at the north entrance.
  • Want to renew books online?  Yes, you can!  Just go to findit.atu.edu and sign-in to review your checked-out items and renew them online.
  • Need computers with webcams for Respondus tests?  We have the next best thing.  You can actually check-out webcams from the Circulation Desk for all your test-taking needs.  We even check-out laptops with webcams included.

Some requests, however, remain just out of reach:

  • Expansion of Hours–This is the number one request since the survey began.  Currently, the Ross Pendergraft Library & Technology ranks fourth in the amount of open hours offered at a four-year, public academic library in Arkansas.  While we would love to expand hours, we cannot safely do so without additional staff.  But keep telling us what hours you want!  Open later on Fridays?  Earlier on Sundays?  24-Hours/7 Days?  We will do what we can with the resources we have.
  • More Study Rooms–With only 10 study rooms, we know it can be difficult to find an empty one when you need it.  We recommend booking a study room as early as possible.  These go fast, particularly in the evening.  We hope we can add additional rooms in the future, but keep asking!  Your feedback and usage protects our existing spaces for student use.
  • Food in the Library–Like you, we also enjoy eating ribs and reading, but sometimes the two activities don’t mix.  Food can bring pests and frankly, we’re scared of the ants reading our collection and becoming too powerful with knowledge.
  • Digitize the DVD Collection–We would be violating a lot of laws to do this, and our librarians are still on probation for shushing in the second degree.  But you can always check out our (totally legal) streaming video collection through Swank, Kanopy, or Academic Videos Online.

We hope you will continue to tell us what we do best and what we can do better on this year’s survey.  If you want a more direct approach, send us a text, email, or chat.  If you prefer the socials, we can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.  No matter how you do it, let us know how we can make your library better (aside from chocolate fountains and seafood buffets).

 

 

 

Gifts from Japan

The Ross Pendergraft Library wishes to say “Domo arigatou gozaimasu” to the Read Japan Project for the donation of 162 books about Japanese studies to the library’s collection.  The books were received last week from the Nippon Foundation through the Japan Science Society as a token of friendship between the United States and Japan.

Dr. Kae Hashimoto Reed stands next to Philippe Van Houtte with award letter from the Nippon Foundation

Philippe Van Houtte, Systems librarian and visiting French instructor, applied for the book grant with Dr. Kae Hashimoto Reed, visiting instructor of music and Japanese.  Together, they worked on a proposal which highlighted Arkansas Tech University’s current efforts at showcasing Japanese culture to the Nippon Foundation by including examples such as the International Film Festival and the Light the Night Festival.  Their efforts culminated in the recognition of the Ross Pendergraft Library as a recipient of the Read Japan Project.

The books cover a wide range of subjects including literature, art, science, history, economics, and culture.  Most of the volumes are in English, though a few Japanese language titles were also included.  This collection is meant to promote the understanding of Japan around the world through the donation of books.

A row of books on Japanese history and culture

As books are added to the library, they can be searched in Find It by using the phrase “Read Japan Project”.  You can also find a list of some of the donated titles at the Nippon Foundation website: https://www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/en/what/projects/readjapan/.  Once the books are processed, they will be available to the entire campus community for borrowing.

For more on Japanese culture, be sure to check out the next installment of Dr. Kae Hashimoto Reed’s Manga Lecture Series: “Demon Slayer” on November 15th at 7:00 P.M. in RPL 300A.

 

 

The Time of Your Life

Are you experiencing FOMO watching all your friends travel to distant places for their summer vacation?  Too broke or too busy to fly?  The library has just purchased two first-class tickets to the most exotic and hard-to-reach destination of all: the past.  Travel back in time with our new archive collection: Time Magazine Archive and Life Magazine Archive.

These two American magazines covered news events, popular culture, and daily life for Americans during most of the twentieth century.   They were the most popular weekly news and entertainment magazines of their time, and both were noteable for their award-winning photography and writing.

Cover of Time Magazine featuring portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Cover of Time Magazine, January 3rd, 1964.

Time Magazine began in 1923 as a weekly magazine, and may be familiar to many for their most famous feature story: “Person of the Year.”  It is still in print today, but the archive database provides full cover-to-cover PDFs for every issue published between 1923 and 2000. Between its pages, you’ll find interviews from the most famous celebrities, world leaders, authors, scientists, and thinkers of the past 100 years.

 

Photograph of navy sailor kissing woman in a nurse uniform on VJ day, 1941 in Times Square

“Victory Celebrations.” Life Magazine. August 27, 1945. p. 27

Life Magazine, published from 1883 until 2000, is best known for its photographic excellence in documenting American life and world events during the 1930s through the 1970s.  If you’ve ever seen the iconic World War II victory photograph of a nurse being kissed by a sailor, it was first published in Life magazine.

That photograph and many others are fully searchable and delivered through the archive database.  You can browse and keyword search all available issues from 1936-2000.

The landing page for both databases features the familiar search box of an Ebscohost Database.

Screenshot of main search box for the database, featuring "Arkansas Tech University" as a search term in quotation marks

You can search by keyword, author, subjects, or article title.  You can limit results by illustrations, as well as date and subject.  If you would rather browse issues by date, click “Publications” at the top of the search page in the blue border.  Then click the title of the magazine to navigate by issue.

Screenshot of a browse publication menu for Life magazine, list all available issues.

If you search for “Arkansas Tech University” in the Life Magazine Archive, you’ll find a feature story on the university published February 3rd, 1941.  The magazine was photographing a farewell party the university organized for 104 students who were leaving for National Guard training—not knowing at the time if they would be sent to the war raging overseas.  Pearl Harbor had not yet been bombed, and the article remarked, “Of all sections, the South is ready to fight Hitler, readiest to risk war to save Britain.”

Photograph of students in 1941 dancing a jitterbug

Unlike other article databases that only display text in html, results for Life Magazine and Time come complete with fully rendered PDFs of the original pages—ads and all.

Photograph of students sitting in football bleachers from 1941 beside an advertisement for Vicks inhalers, featuring an illustratrion of a 1950's man and woman holding what looks like lipstick containers to their noses.

A photograph of a group of male students dressed in military uniform sitting on the grass, gazing at female student standing under a tree. From 1941.

Want to learn more about these databases and others?  Ask Us via chat, email, phone, text, or some ancient form of letter writing.  Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook to learn about more new collections or events as we return to our present destination on the sacred timeline.

Safe travels this summer—wherever or whenever you go!

photograph of Neil Armstrong on the moon wearing full astronaut suit

“A Giant Leap for Mankind.” Life Magazine, July 20, 1969, p. 7

Like Us? Love Us? Want Us to Do Better? Tell us!

If you haven’t had a chance to take the Library survey, take three minutes and help us, help you: Take the Library Survey.  Available until Friday, April 16th, the annual library survey is your chance to suggest changes, recommend new services or collections, and/or lodge complaints about the temperature.    

Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation television show is seen at his desk with a coat and hat, visibly cold and uncomfortable

Because of your input, we’ve made the following changes to the library:

  • Extended hours, including later hours during the week, on Fridays, and a 24 hour opening period during finals.
  • Stayed open during the entire pandemic to provide in-person, masked and socially distant service.
  • Increased number of study rooms
  • Added computers to the study rooms
  • Increased number of computer stations
  • Provided laptops, web cameras, and microphone headsets for check-out
  • Increased number of journals and databases to support sciences, nursing, and other STEM fields.
  • Added multiple platforms for streaming video like Swank, Kanopy, and Academic Video Online.
  • Extended check-out times for calculators and DVDs for students
  • Replaced all chairs from the late 1990’s (in progress)
  • Purchased more board games and graphic novels.
  • Changed policy to allow drinks
  • Traveled back in time to 1992 and brought back a fax machine for general student use.
  • Unlocked the balcony on the 3rd Floor
  • Purchased many of the required General Education Textbooks for check-out and/or for viewing online as ebooks.
  • Made this annual survey shorter

As you can see, we’re eager to make the same changes, and your comments and input help us advocate for your needs. While we always try to improve what we can, there are always a few requests we get almost every year that we have not been able to make happen:

  • Allow Food – Nothing makes students hungrier than late-night studying. Unfortunately, where food happens, pests follow, and the last thing we need are well-educated mice trying to take over the world.
  • Maintain the Perfect Temperature for Everyone–While have made great strides in upgrading our central AC/Heat, it is not always going to be optimum for everyone at all times of the year. But let our staff know if you are too cold or too hot–we might be able to make adjustments or at least give you tips on low-price cardigans.
  • A Quieter Library--The library used to be a silent refuge from a noisy world, but learning can sometimes make sounds, especially group-learning. That’s why we have designated the 1st floor as low noise and the 2nd floor as a quiet zone. But since we cannot be everywhere all of the time, we have implemented a Text-A-Librarian service you can use to a summon shushing librarian to quiet things down. We do our best, but we need your help.
  • Open 24 Hours All The Time–This convenience and procrastination fuel is sorely needed on campus, we agree. However, until the funds, the security, the staffing, and the coffee are available for such a service, it will remain just out of reach.  In the meantime, we will continue to offer 24/7 service during the first part of final exams week.
  • More Monster Trucks–This is an actual comment.

Even if there is a limit to what we can do, there is no limit to how hard we will work to help you succeed academically. Tell us how best we can help: https://techlibraries2021.questionpro.com/

In the meantime, stay up to date on all library events and happenings, including our upcoming 24 hour schedule for finals on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.