What’s New in the News?

The Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center is test driving a new source of newspapers, both historical and current, with NewsBank.  Read all about it here:

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/best/febhp

The collection features a search box that you can use to find the What, When, Where, and Why’s of the world from both today’s news and historical newspapers.

An image of a search box featuring the text: "NewsBank provides a comprehensive collection of reliable news sources covering a wide array of topics and issues"

Explore results from national newspapers, college newspapers, state and local papers, plus videos, audio, and other formats.

Screenshot of results from a search for "Taylor Swift" featuring results that include videos, newspapers, college newspapers, and audio.

Explore the “hot topics” section to find focused news on Hispanic Life in America, Black Life in America, the San Francisco Chronicle Collection, and the Cannabis NewsHub Research Edition.  You can browse newspaper results by subject or location.  Sources also include newspapers from around the world, in multiple languages.

Want to find something closer to home?  The database includes access to 93 newspapers in Arkansas, including the Arka Tech, the Courier, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the Arkansas Times, and college and city newspapers from all over the state.

News article result from the Feb. 14th issue of the courier. Headline reads: "Tacos 4 Life hitting ATU campus".

Currently, the only way you can read back issues of the state’s newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, is to use microfilm or browse the bound copies from more recent years.  This interface finally makes searching and accessing the state’s newspaper of record online possible within the library.

Give it a try between now and Feb. 29th when the trial ends.  You can let us know what you think by emailing us, texting us, calling us, chatting with us, or whisper-yelling your feedback to us from inside the library.

For more database trials or newsworthy stories, follow us on social medias: Instagram, Facebook, or X.

 

Explore Abandoned Arkansas on Monday, February 10th

Poster for the Abandoned Arkansas announcing times and locaitonJoin the Ross Pendergraft Library on Monday, Feb. 10th at 7:00 P.M. in RPL 300A as we take a trip through the state’s forgotten places with authors Ginger Beck and Michael Schwarz who will discuss their book, Abandoned Arkansas: An Echo From the Past. As part of the Library’s Second Monday Author series, we are featuring two local authors who will share their adventures and photographs of once popular destinations which now lie in ruins throughout the state.

Book cover for featured book, Abandoned ArkansasExplore the forgotten history of the Natural State, from the Majestic Hotel in Hot Springs to Dogpatch near Jasper in Newton County. Abandoned Arkansas weaves historical background and photographs from the past alongside their heartbreaking pictures of ruin from the present.  Through historic documentation, these photographers hope to immortalize the stories of the places they visit beyond the building’s finite lifespan, and to preserve an echo from the past.

For more information on their work, as well as photographs of more than 150 locations they have visited, see their website, Abandoned Arkansas, at https://abandonedar.com/

For more information about this event or the Second Monday Author series, contact Luke Heffley at (479) 964-0546 or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to stay in the loop on all Library events.

POSTPONED UNTIL NOV. 18 – Hipbillies: Deep Revolution in the Arkansas Ozarks

Join us on Monday, November 18th, at 7:00 pm in RPL 300A as we welcome Dr. Jared M. Phillips, professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, who will discuss his recent book, Hipbillies: Deep Revolution in the Arkansas Ozarks. 

book cover of Hipbillies, featuring an embroidered sunsetCounterculture flourished nationwide in the 1960s and 1970s, and while the hippies of Haight–Ashbury occupied the public eye, a faction of back to the landers were quietly creating their own haven off the beaten path in the Arkansas Ozarks.  Hipbillies combines oral histories and archival resources to weave the story of the Ozarks and its population of country beatniks into the national narrative, showing how the back to the landers engaged in “deep revolution” by sharing their ideas on rural development, small farm economy, and education with the locals—and how they became a fascinating part of a traditional region’s coming to terms with the modern world in the process.

If you have an interest in hippies, hillbillies, environmental activism, solar energy, farmer’s markets, or the history of the Ozarks, you don’t want to miss this talk.  Read more about Hipbillies in this article from the Arkansas Times or check out a copy from the Ross Pendergraft Library.

Photo of Jared PhillipsJared Phillips is an assistant professor of international studies at the University of Arkansas and specializes in the history of U.S. foreign policy and U.S.-Sino relations in the late twentieth century.  He lives and works on a small farm outside of Prairie Grove.

This event is part of the Second Monday Author Series, featuring local authors from the university, region, or state. Copies of Hipbillies will be available for purchase.

For more information (479) 964-0546 or http://library.atu.edu. This event is free and accessible to the public.

Haunted Sites at Arkansas Tech University

Flyer for haunted sites featuring grayed out images of the buildings of Tucker, Caraway, and WitherspoonHave you heard of the ghostly piano player at Witherspoon?  Have you felt a cold presence in Caraway Hall?  Are you worried that your classroom was built on an old Cherokee burial ground?  Does Tucker terrify you?  Prepare to be creeped out on Monday, October 28th at 7:00 in RPL 300A as we welcome a guest presentation from Amy Milliken on the spooky stories and folklore centered around several historic buildings at Arkansas Tech University and other campuses around the state.

Amy is the Education Outreach Coordinator for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program at the Department of Arkansas Heritage.   This agency is responsible for identifying, evaluating, registering, and preserving the stat’s cultural resources.  She will share not only historical information about the buildings and grounds, but she will also separate the myths from the facts behind the campus’s most famous ghosts and ghost stories.

This event is free and open to the public.  For more information about the event, contact Luke Heffley at 479-964-0546 or lheffley@atu.edu.


 

Monday Night – The Rabbi and the Civil Rights Movement

Poster featuring Rabbi Ira Sanders advertising a talk by Dr. James Moses, "The Rabbi and the Civil Rights Movement"Join us Monday night, March 11th, at 7:00 P.M. in RPL 300B for a look back at the struggle for Civil Rights in Arkansas from professor of history and author, Dr. James Moses.  Dr. Moses’s latest book, Just and Righteous Causes: Rabbi Ira Sanders and the Fight for Racial and Social Justice in Arkansas, 1926-1963, focuses on the efforts of Rabbi Ira Sanders of Little Rock who fought for justice and equality for African Americans in the segregated south.  Dr. Moses will discuss Rabbi Ira Sanders as well as the role of Southern rabbis as change agents.  All are welcome to attend.

Photo of Dr. James Moses

Dr. Moses earned his Bachelor of Arts from Louisiana State University, a Master of Arts from the University of New Hampshire, and a Doctor of Philosophy from Tulane University.  He has been a professor at Arkansas Tech since 1999 and specializes in modern United States and cultural history.   His current research projects include the completion of his book on the career of Justice William O. Douglas, and a project tentatively entitled Before Brown: The Long Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1954, which focuses on the often-overlooked decade between the end of World War II and the Court’s landmark Brown decision. In his off time, he enjoys jazz, playing drums, and collecting comics.

Photo of book cover, "Just and Righteous Causes"His book, Just and Righteous Causes, was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In one review, Mark K. Bauman, editor of Southern Jewish History called it,  “. . a must read for anyone interested in Little Rock, Arkansas and southern history, the civil rights movement, and southern and American Jewish history.”  Read more about the book and Ira Sanders in Tablet Magazine’s article, “Tikkun Olam, Y’all: Rabbi Ira Sanders of Arkansas, little-known Civil Rights hero”.

Stay up to date on more library events, including our next second Monday Author, on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.  For questions or more information about the library, email your friendly neighborhood librarians at: askus@atu.libanswers.com.  We hope to see you this Monday!

On Trial

This month, the Ross Pendergraft Library is trialing many new databases up for purchase consideration for next year.  Now is the time for you to test drive and give your feedback on the resources important to you.

BizMiner – TRIAL EXPIRES OCT. 22

BizMiner produces industry statistical reports, offering industry financial analysis benchmarks for more than 5,000 lines of business and industry market trends on thousands more. … These financial and industry market trend reports are used by business valuation professionals, accountants, and business owners.

Have a business plan you need to write?  Use this tool to gather market information on thousands of industries at the national, state, and city-level.  Need to know what it takes to open a hamburger restaurant in Russellville?  Look up annual sales, market volume, employment, productivity and more:

Screenshot of Bizminer report for hamburger businesses in Russellville

Early American Newspapers, Series 1 (1690-1876) and Series 6 (1741-1922)

This trial includes full text, digitized access to nearly 1,000 titles including the Weekly Arkansas Gazette (1819-1876) and Arkansas Gazette (1987-1908).  Series 6 is currently the ONLY way to access earlier editions of the state’s newspaper without using microfilm.  This resource is valuable for finding primary sources to the historical events that shaped our country and region.  The database is searchable by keyword or users can browse by newspaper title, place of publication, article types, and languages.  Once a newspaper article is selected, users will view the original, digitized version of the newspaper (includes photographs, advertising, and more).

Screenshot of Weekly Gazette showing map of new Iron Railroad passing through Arkansas

Take a trip through Arkansas history with this important resource!  But hurry!  It expires October 31st, 2018!

English Reports (HeinOnline)

Looking for early English Law?  The English Reports delivers exact page images of the original bound reprint edition, containing more than 100,000 cases, together with the Indexes and Book of Charts. This series includes the nominate reports or common-law rulings from various courts in England from the Middle Ages to the 1860s. The reports themselves were published in the early 20th century and would fill multiple shelves.  However, you can access this entire collection online using multiple navigation tools, such as a Case Locator, Chart Tool, and an Advanced Search feature enhance the ease of access to specific cases. Also included in this collection is the Statutes of the Realm (1235-1713), along with Pre-1865 Law Reports.

Screenshot of English Reports interface

Review and judge this database until November 5th.

Seldon Society Publications and the History of Early English Law (HeinOnline)

This library includes the Selden Society Annual Series, Selden Society Supplementary Series and the Centenary Guide to the Publications of the Selden Society published in 1987. The Seldon Society dedicates itself to the study and publication of English legal history. It also includes more than 220 English Legal History Classics including abridgments, digests and dictionaries. Moreover, you will be able to access early English case law and link to other online publications in early English history.

Screenshot of title page of early English text

Perufe thif collection of fine Englifh legal hiftory before it expiref on November 5th.

Like them?  Hate them?  Make a case for these trial databases at askus@atu.libanswers.com.  You can also reach us via text, phone, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or in person at the Ross Pendergraft Library.   Remember, your feedback determines what resources we purchase and what we don’t.  So let us know!

Dardanelle and the Bottoms

book jacket image featuring two crows on a lifeless tree branch

Learn about local history with a special presentation at the Ross Pendergraft Library on Monday, September 11th, as we welcome Dr. Diane Gleason to discuss her latest book, Dardanelle and the Bottoms: Environment, Agriculture, and Economy in an Arkansas River Community, 1819-1970.  Join us at 7:00 PM in Room 300B of the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center for this opportunity to explore the fascinating history of our own backyard.

Dr. Gleason is a recently retired associate professor of history from Arkansas Tech, who ended a forty-year teaching career last May in order to devote time to historical research and writing.  While at Tech, she created and taught the Southern Women’s History course, reintroduced and reinvigorated several defunct courses such as American Labor History and American Economic History, and taught a broad spectrum of other history classes.

She has written several entries in the Arkansas Encyclopedia of History and Culture, Arkansas Biography, and Writing Women’s History: A Tribute to Anne Firor Scott.  She co-authored Warren G. Harding, Harbinger of Normalcy with Dr. H. Micheal Tarver.

Dardanelle and the Bottoms describes the interdependence between the rural farming community known as the Dardanelle Bottoms and the nearby town of Dardanelle.  The book explores the history of that relationship beginning in the early 1800’s through the 1940’s and the economic upheaval brought about by changes in farming, particularly in the cotton industry.  Dr. Gleason examines the complex rural/town dichotomy revealing and analyzing key components of each area, including aspects of race, education, the cotton economy and its demise, the devastation of floods and droughts, leisure, crime, and the impact of the Great Depression.

This event is free and open to the public.  Following the presentation, there will be a question and answer period and a book signing, with copies of the book available for purchase.  For more information, contact Luke Heffley at (479) 964-0546 or lheffley@atu.edu.