Thursday, May 31, 2012

MC Yearbooks and Catalogs Available Online

The MC Digital Collections is an ongoing project, and to begin, Hewes Library has started with some of the archival publications of Monmouth College.  The Monmouth College Digital Collections is currently available through the Hewes Library website and links to digital publications can also be found in the Hewes Library catalog.  Titles currently available are:
Special Titles:
  • Monmouth College in the War of the Rebellion, 1911: A souvenir edition of the May 30, 1911, Monmouth College Oracle chronicling the parts of Monmouth College students and faculty during the Civil War.
  • Diary of Alexander Blaikie, 1804 - 1885: Alexander Blaikie chronicled his travels as a missionary in Western Illinois and Chicago. The diary contains his observations on Presbyterians, accommodations, religious climate, plague and pioneer society. It was donated to Monmouth College by Alexander Blaikie on June 16, 1876.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Blast from the Past!


We love “rediscovering” historic resources from our collections.  Recently we happened upon a government document from the 1890’s that mapped battle sites and fortifications from the Civil War.  Published between 1891 and 1895, the 3 volume set Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies contains reprints of state and territorial maps, plans of battles and military campaigns, as well as etchings of landscapes and battlefield panoramas.  Primary resources don’t get much better than this!

Friday, May 25, 2012

Hewes Library Closed Memorial Day

Hewes Library will be closed on Monday, May 28, 2012 in observance of Memorial Day.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Summer Hours

Hewes Library is currently operating on Summer Hours.  The library will be open Monday - Friday from 8am until 4:30pm.  The library is closed on Saturdays and Sundays with a few special events exceptions.

We will be closed on Monday, May 28 for Memorial Day and Wednesday, July 4 for Independence Day. 

Monday, May 21, 2012

Title Highlight: The Devil's Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary

This short dictionary, found online in both Credo Reference and Netlibrary is a collection of definitions written between 1881 and 1906 by Ambrose Bierce an American journalist and writer. Bierce, once known as “the wickedest man in San Francisco” and who vanished in Mexico in 1914, wrote these biting, sarcastic, often humorous definitions as part of a large body of written work. He is most remembered today for his tale of the Civil War, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and his tales of the supernatural. The Devils Dictionary reflects the author’s dislike of hypocrisy, corruption and what he viewed as false values. In the Credo version, the definitions are arranged with alphabetic links, in the Netlibrary version the book is displayed in PDF-style page views that can be quickly navigated through links found in the left-hand column. The first edition of this work was titled “The Cynic’s Word Book”, which gives an idea of the irreverent, satirical nature of the contents. Many of the definitions contain short poems that further illustrate his point of view and many would still be considered politically incorrect today, more than 100 years after they were written. A few examples:

BIGOT, n. One who is obstinately and zealously attached to an opinion that you do not entertain.

BORE, n. A person who talks when you wish him to listen.

WITCH, n. (1) Any ugly and repulsive old woman, in a wicked league with the devil. (2) A beautiful and attractive young woman, in wickedness a league beyond the devil.

So if you are in need of some short, humorous reading this summer, start here.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

New ScotsRead Titles

A few more new ScotsRead titles have arrived.  Find them on the main floor:
  • Lady, go die! A Mike Hammer Novel by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins
  • The Skinny Rules: the simple, nonnegotiable principles for getting to thin by Bob Harper
  • The Columbus Affair: A Novel by Steve Berry

Monday, May 14, 2012

Title Highlight: Webster's Sports Dictionary

Webster's Sports Dictionary

1 volume: Illustrations, Appendices: Abbreviations, Referee Signals, and Scorekeeping

Many of you will watch the Olympics this summer to see athletes in sports ranging from Archery to Yachting compete for gold medals. During the broadcasts, announcers often use sport specific terms to describe the action; for instance when watching fencing, you might hear the terms ”cutover”, “feint” or “en garde” used. During a table tennis match, you may hear that a player holds his/her “bat” in a “pen hold” style. The explanations for these and other terms used in many other sports are found and illustrated in this dictionary. Along with the descriptions of terms used to explain the action, there are also brief descriptions of many sports, not only those found in the Olympics, but those of other disciplines as well.

It is interesting to note that the same term may have different meanings depending upon the sport. For example the term “balk” is not only used in baseball, but also in racquet sports and to describe an area on a billiard or snooker table. Some of the definitions are quite extensive; the term “ball” not only has illustrations and written descriptions of different types of balls used in different sports, but also has a table giving the size of the ball in circumference and diameter, its weight and construction materials.

The abbreviations appendix gives explanations of some of the many sports shorthand terms you may hear or read in sports articles. The referee signals appendix illustrates the signals used by referees in the sports of American football, basketball and ice hockey. The scorekeeping section introduces two lost arts in these days of electronic recordkeeping; how to fill out a baseball scorecard and how to manually score bowling.

Friday, May 11, 2012

New Items at Hewes Library

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

  • Polemical Pain: Slavery, Cruelty and the Rise of Humanitarianism by Margaret Abruzzo
  • Birds of Paradise:  A Novel by Diana Abu-Jaber
  • Pueblo Stories & Storytellers by  Mark Bahti
  • How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything by Mike Berners-Lee
  • Decolonization and African Society by Frederick Cooper
  • Shakespeare and Amateur Performance: A Cultural History by Michale Dobson
  • Fatal Colours: Towton 1461 - England's Most Brutal Battle by George Goodwin
  • Joan Littlewood's Theatre by Nadine Holdsworth
  • Aboriginal Art by Howard Morphy
  • Railroad Stations; The Buildings That Linked The Nation by David Naylor

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Reading Day and Finals Hours

Hewes Library will begin its extended pre-finals and finals hours this weekend and continue through May 16. A current schedule can be found on the library's hours page or here on the library's blog.


Finals Week, Spring 2012

  • Thursday, May 10: 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 a.m. (Reading Day)
  • Friday, May 11: 7:30 a.m. - Midnight (Final Exams Begin)
  • Saturday, May 12: 9:00 a.m. - Midnight
  • Sunday, May 13: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.
  • Monday, May 14: 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.
  • Tuesday, May 15: 7:30 a.m. - Midnight
  • Wednesday, May 16: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Good luck on all of your final exams!

Monday, May 7, 2012

Title Highlight: Facts on File Visual Dictionary

Facts on File Visual Dictionary

1 volume: General Index, Thematic Indexes, Specialized indexes, Selective bibliography

Dictionaries do not just define terms with words. In some cases, as the old saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” This dictionary, found in the reference section, demonstrates the truth of that saying. The only words found in this book are those in the introduction and the ones used as labels for the illustrations that comprise most of the book. In here, one can find illustrations of a wide variety of items ranging from the constellations of the northern and southern hemispheres, to the structure of a flower or fruit, architectural terms, tools used in different trades, clothing, weapons, measuring devices and much more. The terms are arranged into categories in the Table of Contents for easy reference. The general index at the end lists all of the objects illustrated in the book (there are 9 different illustrations of a “claw”). The thematic index is a listing of terms by broad topics using the categories found in the table of contents and the specialized indexes are more narrowly defined listings of objects (e.g., automobiles, plumbing, sewing) These illustrations would be useful as in papers or for showing the details of something discussed or described in a talk or just to find out what a “coulter” is on a piece of agricultural equipment or what the differences are between a “plain weave”, “twill weave” and “satin weave” in weaving.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

ScotsRead Titles continue to arrive

The following ScotsRead titles have just been added to the collection on the Main Level:
  • Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse) by Charlaine Harris
  • In One Person: A Novel by John Irving
  • The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer
  • This is How by Augusten Burroughs
  • 11th Hour by James Patterson
  • 30 Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know by the Time that She's 30 by Pamela Redmond Satran

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Pre-Finals and Finals Library Hours Start this Weekend

Hewes Library will begin its extended pre-finals and finals hours this weekend and continue through May 16.  A current schedule can be found on the library's hours page or here on the library's blog. 

Pre-Finals & Finals Week, Spring 2012 (May 4 - 16)


  • Friday, May 4: 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
  • Saturday, May 5: 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
  • Sunday, May 6: 9:00 a.m. - Midnight
  • Monday - Wednesday, May 7 - 9: 7:30 a.m. - Midnight
  • Thursday, May 10: 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.   (Reading Day)
  • Friday, May 11: 7:30 a.m. - Midnight    (Final Exams Begin)
  • Saturday, May 12: 9:00 a.m. - Midnight
  • Sunday, May 13: 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.
  • Monday, May 14: 7:30 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.
  • Tuesday, May 15: 7:30 a.m. - Midnight
  • Wednesday, May 16: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.