The Breakthrough, by Gwen Ifill

Gwen Ifill, Holy Names’ 2012 commencement speaker, kindly autographed two copies of The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama. These books are available for checkout in the library.

Belo Cipriani reading in San Francisco

Tomorrow, Thursday May 17^th, 6.30 – 8.30 pm, recent Sophia Center graduate Belo Cipriani will be reading from Blind: A Memoir, at Alley Cat Books, 3036 24th Street. The reading will also feature Ericka Lutz (The Edge of Maybe), Dodie Bellamy (The Buddhist), Ayize Jama-Everett (The Liminal People), and Tim Floreen.  $5 donation.

Here’s a reminder of our summer hours at Cushing Library:

Monday – Thursday: 12pm – 6pm
Friday: 12pm – 5pm
Saturday: 10am – 3pm
Sunday: Closed

Reminder: We’re Here For You!

Looking for a quiet spot to study, do other work, or recharge (you, or your devices)? We have study rooms, a small conference room, and study tables. Food and covered beverages are welcome everywhere except at the computers. We can also provide research help, information literacy instruction, and other assistance. Finally, don’t forget that in addition to our books, DVDs, and our 60+  databases, you can place self-service requests for books and other materials from libraries worldwide. See our website for other services.

http://library.hnu.edu is back up again after a brief hiatus. Thanks to Campus IT for getting us up and running again so quickly!

Proposed Summer Hours for Cushing Library

Our proposed hours for summer, effective Monday, May 14, are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 5 pm Friday, and 10 am to 3 pm on Saturday. We’ll offer additional hours on Nursing Weekends. Faculty, please let us know if these hours don’t work for your summer students!

As a reminder, to support Commencement activities, the Library will close at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 9, and will reopen on Monday, May 14.

Summer Reading

Overdrive eBooks: Read them anywhere!

Summer: a great time to kick back with pleasure reading — from wherever you roam! In addition to our traditional popular reading collection, don’t forget our Overdrive collection, which you can use with your mobile devices (iPads, Nooks, Sony E-readers, Kindles, iPhones, etc.).

By Commencement we will have replenished both traditional and Overdrive collections with delicious summer reading, but if you’ve had your nose in textbooks all year, you might be surprised at what’s available already.

And please do use our website to request new books–for pleasure, for instruction, or whatever!

Cold War Clock by Flickr user ckaiserca

We have all kinds of news about library hours, including a short closure today, extended hours for finals, and our Commencement break!

As a reminder, for most weekday afternoons and evenings and on Saturdays we have librarians available for research help in person or through email or chat (see our website, http://library.hnu.edu for more information).

Founders’ Day (today, Wednesday, April 25)

Today, Founders’ Day, we CLOSE at 11:45 a.m. and REOPEN at 2 p.m.

Extended Hours Through Tuesday, May 1

• 9 am – 10 pm, Thursday April 26
• 9 am – 5 pm, Friday April 27
• 10 am – 5 pm Saturday, April 28
• 1 pm – 7 pm, Sunday April 29
• 9 am – 10 pm, Monday April 30 and Tuesday May 1 (Study Day)

Commencement Closure Wednesday, May 9 through Sunday, May 13

The library resumes regular hours Wednesday, May 2 through Tuesday, May 8, then closes at 1 pm on Wednesday, May 9, and reopens Monday, May 14 for our limited summer hours (to be announced next week).

DING-DONG! The library now has a doorbell (switched on when we’re closed, switched off when we’re open).  No more scratching at the door or throwing pebbles at the director’s window–announce your arrival in style!

Pink Triangles

FILM SHOWING: PINK TRIANGLES, THURSDAY APRIL 19, 12:30 – 1:30: In cooperation with HNU’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), the Library will be hosting a showing of Pink Triangles: A Study of Prejudice against Lesbians and Gay Men on April 19 (Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the eve of the National Day of Silence). Pink Triangles is a historic 32-minute documentary produced in 1982 that used the Nazi persecution of homosexuals as a launching point for an exploration of “the nature of discrimination against lesbians and gay men and … some of society’s attitudes toward homosexuality.” Location: Library Classroom (which has awesome new projectors). No RSVP necessary. Light refreshments served.

Unless otherwise noted, all movies shown in the Library have public performance rights, in accordance with U.S. copyright law, and are open to all students, faculty, staff, and visitors.

OCCUPY APA TO BE REPEATED THURSDAY APRIL 12, 4-6 PM: Space still available–but filling up fast! In response to unprecedented demand, the Library is pleased to offer a REPEAT DEMONSTRATION of our workshop on the American Psychological Association citation style (APA). This workshop is open to all HNU students, faculty and staff. Our last workshop was standing room only, so RSVP to Daniel Ransom and Nicole Branch to ensure you get a seat (email hnulibrary@hnu.edu or call 510.436.1060). Location: Library Classroom.

Pink Triangles

FILM SHOWING: PINK TRIANGLES, THURSDAY APRIL 19, 12:30 – 1:30: In cooperation with HNU’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), the Library will be hosting a showing of Pink Triangles: A Study of Prejudice against Lesbians and Gay Men on April 19 (Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the eve of the National Day of Silence). Pink Triangles is a historic 32-minute documentary produced in 1982 that used the Nazi persecution of homosexuals as a launching point for an exploration of “the nature of discrimination against lesbians and gay men and … some of society’s attitudes toward homosexuality.” Location: Library Classroom. No RSVP necessary.

Unless otherwise noted, all movies shown in the Library have public performance rights, in accordance with U.S. copyright law, and are open to all students, faculty, staff, and visitors.

Light refreshments served at both events.

FILM SHOWING: PINK TRIANGLES, THURSDAY APRIL 19, 12:30 – 1:30: In cooperation with HNU’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), the Library will be hosting a showing of Pink Triangles on April 19 (Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the eve of the National Day of Silence). Pink Triangles is a historic 32-minute documentary produced in 1982. Location: Library Classroom.

Light refreshments served at both events.

Cats

Selections from the work of Andrew Lloyd Webber will be featured in Friday’s lunchtime concert by HNU student Christiana Hargrave and her colleague Erika Apel. The library will provide treats, fruit, sodas, and sparkling cider. Please feel free to come and go, as your schedule allows.

As we move toward the end of the semester, we try not to hold events that clash with the need for quiet study space.  However, we do have limited availability for end-of-semester student readings in our South Lounge.

OCCUPY APA: The People Have Spoken!

Last week’s “Occupy APA” citation-style workshop had a standing-room-only crowd. Students reported this timely class, taught by Daniel Ransom and Nicole Branch, was both useful and fun. Watch for another APA session in April!

A Citation Sit-in for Students and Faculty: Are you a student or faculty member driven to frustration by the challenges of APA (American Psychological Association) citation? Are your APA citation skills in need of a tune-up? Would you like an introduction to using RefWorks to format your citations? Librarians Nicole Branch and Daniel Ransom are offering a workshop about this ubiquitous and challenging citation format designed to help you format citations and reference lists easily and quickly. We still have space; email hnulibrary@hnu.edu to reserve a spot.

eBook Update–Mostly Good News, Plus Rumblings from Publishers

For users of our  ebrary collection (over 50,000 titles, primarily scholarly reading), ebrary now offers a free app compatible with Apple iOS devices, such as iPad and iPhone. See ebrary’s guide to setting up your device. A  nice little app, indeed.

Our mobile-friendly Overdrive collection, compatible with many devices, now has hundreds of books–primarily popular titles, but also some scholarly titles, plus a number of titles related to Zeitoun, the 2011-2012 HNU Connections Project reading, as well as student-success topics such as test-taking and job-hunting. We even offer two copies of Killing the Messenger, the book featured in last week’s Salon.

However, the Library has been asked from time to time why we don’t buy such-and-such books for our Overdrive collection. The problem is that many of the largest publishers balk at library ebook lending. Some publishers simply won’t play at all. Recently, Random House raised its ebook prices over 300%, making ebooks that had been within our means  too pricey for us. Others impose rules such as “Ok for Nook but not for Kindle,” and so forth.

We’ll continue to offer books in all formats, but we wanted to let you know some of the challenges libraries face in the eBook world. Keep on reading!

Thomas Peele

EVENT REMINDER…

Thursday, March 15, 7-8 pm, the Cushing Library at Holy Names University in Oakland (directions here) continues its Salon Series with a book talk and signing by award-winning local investigative reporter Thomas Peele,who will be reading from Killing the Messenger: A Story of Radical Faith, Racism’s Backlash, and the Assassination of a Journalist.

Peele’s narrative digs deep into the murder of Oakland Post journalist Chauncey Bailey by a local crime family,  exposing their efforts to stifle free speech and intimidate the press by gunning down a reporter in broad daylight. Killing the Messenger also builds on the efforts of The Chauncey Bailey Project, formed by local journalists determined to ensure that the silencing of Bailey would not end the search for truth and justice.

Reviews for this book have been strong. SF Chronicle called Killing the Messenger “an urgent new book”; Columbia Journalism Review compared Peele to James Michener; and the Cleveland Plain Dealer compared Peele to David Simon of The Wire.

A Q&A will follow Peele’s reading. The Bookstore at Holy Names University will be on hand to sell books at the author signing (cash only). Peele’s book is also available for checkout in print and through our Overdrive ebook collection. Light refreshments served.

WORKSHOP REMINDER: OCCUPY APA! A Citation Sit-in for Students and Faculty,  Thursday, March 22, 5-7 PM, Library Classroom: Are you a student or faculty member driven to frustration by the challenges of APA (American Psychological Association) citation? Are your APA citation skills in need of a tune-up? Would you like an introduction to using RefWorks to format your citations? Librarians Nicole Branch and Daniel Ransom are offering a workshop about this ubiquitous and challenging citation format designed to help you format citations and reference lists easily and quickly. Email hnulibrary@hnu.edu to reserve a spot.

Thomas Peele

Thursday, March 15, 7-8 pm, the Cushing Library at Holy Names University in Oakland (directions here) continues its Salon Series with a book talk and signing by award-winning local investigative reporter Thomas Peele,who will be reading from Killing the Messenger: A Story of Radical Faith, Racism’s Backlash, and the Assassination of a Journalist.

Peele’s narrative — which the San Francisco Chronicle calls an “urgent new book” — digs deep into the murder of Oakland Post journalist Chauncey Bailey by a local crime family,  exposing their efforts to stifle and intimidate the press. Killing the Messenger also builds on the courageous efforts of The Chauncey Bailey Project, a group of journalists determined to ensure that the silencing of Bailey would not end the search for truth and justice.

At once tautly crafted and epic in scope, Killing the Messenger plunges back in time to the post-war migration of African-Americans to Northern cities such as Detroit, describing how broken dreams and rampant discrimination made it possible for a strange offshoot of the Nation of Islam to make its way to California and establish both a bakery and a three-decade reign of terror that culminated in the assassination of a reporter.

The Bookstore at Holy Names University will be on hand to sell books at the author signing (cash only). Light refreshments served.

This event is open to the public; no RSVP required. For more information, email hnulibrary@hnu.edu.