Thursday, December 16, 2010

Winter Break Hours 2010-2011

With finals behind us, the library is moving to its Winter Break schedule.  A full description of the library's hours can be found on the library's website.  Our schedule over the break will be:
  • Monday - Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
  • Saturday - Sunday: Closed
Hewes Library will be closed the following dates for the holidays: December 23 - December 27 and December 31.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Title Highlight: Encyclopedia of North American Eating & Drinking Traditions, Customs & Rituals

Encyclopedia of North American Eating & Drinking Traditions, Customs & Rituals

1 volume: Illustrations, Appendix: Eating and Drinking Traditions, Customs and Rituals by Category, Bibliography, Index

This highly entertaining encyclopedia covers topics ranging from after dinner drinks to zucchini bread, describing along the way a multitude of topics relating to the various eating and drinking customs found across North America. It covers types of food: crème-filled sandwich cookies, lutefisk, hush puppies, salsa; holidays when special foods are eaten and drunk; not only the traditional Christian holidays of Christmas and Easter but those of other cultures and religions such as Diwali (Hindu), Oban(Japanese), Ramadan (Islam), and Passover (Jewish). It also covers different life cycle events, births, marriages, Prom night, Spring Break, and death. Other topics include different types of places ranging from brew pubs to soup kitchens, and the foods, beverages and traditions of many ethnic and national groups. So if you want to know why those of Swedish extraction eat lutefisk, those of Polish descent break an oplatki among the family at Christmas or how to celebrate the Chinese New Year or the Mexican Dia Los Muertos, look in this book. There are many see also references at the end of entries to refer you to more information as well as references to different sources for more information.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Title Highlight: Encyclopedia of the Essay

Encyclopedia of the Essay

1 volume: List of entries, Title Index, General Index

This encyclopedia attempts to categorize and explore the little known literary discipline of essay writing. The definition of essay used by the book is a short nonfiction prose text that does not seek to definitely explain subjects, but rather to explore a topic or topics, raising questions and pushing the boundary of ideas beyond the usual, somewhat in the nature of some 21st century blogs. Essays are often personal in nature, reflecting the ideas of the writer and written in a way to appeal to a larger audience of non-specialists.

The primary focus of the book is the European-American written tradition, although entries on the essays of other cultures can be found. There is information on the careers and writings of such essayists as Frederick Douglass, James Thurber, and Oscar Wilde. Short biographical notes giving birth and death details are added at the end of each personal entry.

Also included are descriptions of a number of magazines devoted to the essay such as the New Yorker and descriptions of the essay traditions found in various countries. At the end of each article is a list of selected writings, a bibliography and suggestions for further reading. The Preface to the book gives a good introduction to the essay and reasons that this genre could and should be studied further.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Finals Hours: Einstein Brothers Bagels & Coffee Shop

Don't forget!  Einstein Brothers Bagels will be open their normal hours through finals.  They will be offering complimentary coffee late in the evenings to get you through your last minute studying.

New Items at Hewes Library

New items are added to the Hewes Library Collection on a continual basis. Recent titles have included:

  • Crusades by Thomas Asbridge
  • Kennedy Detail by Gerald Blaine
  • Pushing for Midwives by Christa Craven
  • Murder in the Cathedral by T. S. Eliot
  • First Family: Abigail and John by Joseph J. Ellis
  • Wind Doesn't Need a Passport by Tyche Hendricks
  • On the Edge of Earth by Steven Lambakis
  • Joyce: A Guide for the Perplexed by Peter Mahon
  • Marie Curie by Marilyn Bailey Ogilive
  • Food Politics by Robert Paarlberg

Quiet Hours

Just a reminder that the library is currently under Quiet Hours now that Finals have begun.  If you are looking for a lower traffic area to study in the library, check out the study carrels on the south side of Lower Level.  All of the tables and chairs in the stacks, located throughout the building, are great places too!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Hours through Finals

Hewes Library will be open more hours to allow students time to wrap up the semester and prepare for finals. The extended hours are:
  • Wednesday - Friday, December 6 - 10: 7:30 a.m. - Midnight
  • Saturday - Sunday, December 11 - 12: 9:00 a.m. - Midnight
  • Monday - Tuesday, December 13 - 14: 7:30 a.m. - Midnight
  • Wednesday, December 15: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
The full schedule of the library's hours is also available on the library's website.  Good luck on finals!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Title Highlight: International Encyclopedia of Dance

International Encyclopedia of Dance

6 volumes
Illustrations, Alphabetical list of entries (v. 6), Synoptic Outline of Contents (v.6), Index (v.6)

This large set took 24 years to be published; the idea for an international encyclopedia of dance first being suggested in 1974, with the results printed in 1998. It attempts to include all forms of dance in all countries of the world, broken into 3 broad categories: Western theatrical dance, theatrical dance in the non-Western world and ritual and recreational forms of dance. Thus ballet, tap and jazz dance are described, but also Japanese Kabuki and No theater, Balinese mask theatre dance, square dancing and the polka. The work also includes biographies of selected dancers and choreographers along with descriptions of famous theatrical dances such as the Nutcracker, Swan Lake and others.

There are many illustrations of techniques, famous dancers and choreographers as well as a nice synoptic outline at the end of volume 6 that groups dance into various topics covered by the encyclopedia. The outline allows you to see the types of articles found in the encyclopedia and offers a more visual way to find a topic that you are interested in. Each article is signed and has see also references to other parts of the encyclopedia. There are suggestions for further reading and in some cases references to video recordings that highlight a particular dancer. In cases where archives exist with collections relevant to the topic, these are also listed at the end of an article. If you have any questions about dance, this would be the first place to look.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Title Highlight: Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants

Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
1 volume: Illustrations, Glossary, Additional Reading & Bibliography, Index, Index of herbs by ailment

This encyclopedia deals with a growing topic of interest in medicine, medicinal plants. Prior to the development of synthetic chemical pharmaceuticals, plants were used to treat ailments ranging from cuts and bruises to heart disease. This well-illustrated book covers both the history and current use of plants in treating disease. There are sections on the development of herbal medicine, the history of their use in various parts of the world and descriptions of key medicinal plants and their uses along with a How-To section on herbal remedies which discusses the growing and harvesting of medicinal plants. The How-To section also contains recipes for preparing home remedies. However, before trying any of this at home, it would be well to read the cautions sections under each plant as many medicinal plants can be poisonous if misused.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Title Highlight: Macmillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery

Macmillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery

2 volumes: Illustrations, maps, tables
At the end of volume 2: Synoptic Outline of Entries, Timeline of Slavery, Bibliography, Index

Americans generally think of slavery as involving the ownership of black Africans by white Americans in the pre-Civil War south. Although this is true; slavery has a much wider history involving all races, places and times.

Interestingly enough, not all situations involving slaves involved people of different colors or even of different nationalities. In Ancient Greece and Rome other Europeans considered “barbarians” were often enslaved, but many native Greeks and Romans were also slaves. And in the Muslim parts of Africa, non-Muslims of any color were considered available for slavery.
This set covers the topic in depth, showing that no place or time has been free of the practice. The timeline of slavery illustrates that slavery was present as early as 3000 B.C. in Ancient Sumer and has been alleged in places like Burma, the Sudan, Brazil and Mauritania as recently as the 1990s. Each volume begins with maps displaying the history of slavery in various parts of the world and continues with articles on various topics including how slavery was practiced in various parts of the world, legal and political issues, and the abolition movement and its leaders. There are many illustrations and each article give references for further reading.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

More ScotsRead Titles arriving!

ScotsRead titles are always arriving and a few of the latest are:
  • Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy
  • The Alchemist: A Graphic Novel by Derek Ruiz
  • Of Love and Evil: A Novel by Anne Rice
  • An Object of Beauty: A Novel by Steve Martin
If you have suggestions for a popular title or author that you would like to see added to the collection, please send an email to referenceATmonmDOTedu.

Fall 2010: Extended Hours for Finals

Starting on Friday, December 3, Hewes Library will be open more hours to allow students time to wrap up the semester and prepare for finals.  The extended hours are:
  • Friday, December 3: 7:30 a.m. - Midnight
  • Saturday - Sunday, December 4 - 5:  9:00 a.m. - Midnight
  • Monday - Friday, December 6 - 10:  7:30 a.m. - Midnight
  • Saturday - Sunday, December 11 - 12:  9:00 a.m. - Midnight
  • Monday - Tuesday, December 13 - 14: 7:30 a.m. - Midnight
  • Wednesday, December 15:  7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

The full schedule of the library's hours is also available on the library's website.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Renew your library materials!

It's a busy time of the semester with the end of classes and finals approaching!  Don't forgot to renew your library materials to avoid late fines. 

To renew items that you have checked out, please visit your account - which is accessible from the Hewes Library Catalog - to login and renew materials.  If you have any interlibrary loans that you requested via your ILLiad Account, don't worry - you can renew those items online in your ILLiad Account if you need to keep them a little longer. 

If you have questions or problems, please call the library's circulation desk at 309-457-2190.

The Big Read: The Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

Once again, the Galesburg Public Library has received a grant to participate in The Big Read  - a nationwide program organized by the National Endowment for the Arts.  The selection for the upcoming year is The Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe.  After the first of the year, look for events, book discussions, and other activities related to the stories that will be happening in the west-central area of Illinois.  Look for more information to come!

Title Highlight: Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion

Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion
2 volumes: Photos, Maps
Appendices: Documents on Politics and Religion
Selected Readings, Reference Materials, Index (both volumes)

The purpose of this two volume set is to describe the roots of the relations between politics and religion in the modern world and the global connections between these topics. Primarily covering the 19th and 20th centuries, the book looks at diverse subjects including major world religions, geographic regions and countries, secularization, abortion and slavery, individual religious and political leaders from around the world and events ranging from the Crusades to the Holocaust.

Each article is written by a different author, so there are several different viewpoints expressed throughout the encyclopedia. Of particular interest is the appendix dealing with the constitutions of the world. These show that some countries proclaim freedom of religion as a fundamental right (United States) while others require adherence to a particular religion on the part of their citizens (Iran). The book covers contemporary topics showing how religious belief influences political issues like a society’s treatment of homosexuals. It also gives short histories of many of the world’s major religions and how those religions influence the countries and regions where they developed and are practiced.