New ScotsRead Titles

The following titles arrived and were added to the ScotsRead Collection on the main floor of the library.  Stop by and check one out for some fun summer reading!

• The Hit by David Baldacci
• Wedding Night: A Novel by Sophie Kinsella
• Butch Cassidy: The Lost Years by William W. Johnstone
• A Delicate Truth by John Le Carre
• Muder as a fine art by David Morrell
• Inferno: A Novel by Dan Brown

Databases to Use this Summer!

As summer break begins, accessing a Hewes Library Database may be the furthest thing from your mind.  However, here are 5 reasons why you might want to access some of the Library’s databases during the summer months.

1. You’d like to listen to some music besides the titles currently on your I-pod.  If you would like to listen to some different music, try the database Music Online.  This database has a wide variety of music available ranging from classical to World Music.  While most of the collection cannot be downloaded there are free downloads of classical and world music that change weekly.  Included in the collection American song are tunes from singers including Billie Holiday, Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby, and from composers Oscar Hammerstein, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and others.  The world music collection has music from various countries and cultural groups; Afro-Cuban, Jamaican, Greek and many others.  You’re sure to find something interesting to listen to in this collection.
2. You’d like to watch something other than Netflix and what’s at the local Cinema.   The VAST database from Alexander Street Press contains thousands of videos.  There are numerous stage and screen dramatizations of plays found under the “performance” tab.  Some of the types of films are movies of historical plays such as Andersonville, the classic film Birth of a Nation and films of many Shakespeare plays.  Also included are a large number of dance and opera performances and PBS documentaries.  
3. You want to learn more about your grandparents.   The Ancestry.com database contains many historical records that can be searched by name.  There are birth, death, census and marriage records, along with the ship manifests from some of many ships of immigrants that came to the United States from Europe and other places in the 19^th century.  It is fairly easy to use and can return some interesting results.
4. You want to do some research on or for prospective employers.  If you have been lucky enough to land an internship with a business for the summer, you can impress your bosses by your insight into the industry you are working in by using the database Business Insights Global.  For instance, you have an internship at Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria for the summer.  Just looking up the company name (Caterpillar Inc.) takes you to a page with information on their business history, strategy, brands, current legal issues, number of employees, overall profits and much other information.  It also has a listing of their major competitors.  This database also lets you create charts and diagrams comparing various statistics and is updated regularly.  So get creative and let your business sense shine and impress your boss!
5. You want to learn enough Spanish to order in a restaurant during your family vacation in Mexico or you’re not sure whether or not to take that course in Ancient Greek in the fall.  Mango Languages is a database that will allow you to do all of these things or to investigate many other languages.   You do not need to create a log-in or profile to use it.  Just click on “courses” and you can begin any of the language courses offered by Mango.  If English is not your first language, you can work on improving your ability in English by choosing one of the English learning courses offered for speakers of Spanish, French, Russian, Greek, Vietnamese or several other languages.  The database also has a translate feature where you can translate from one language to another.  It will translate individual words or the full-text of something written in another language.  So, baw się dobrze with a new language this summer!

How do I access these databases from my location?  When you attempt to connect to any of our databases from off-campus, a window will pop-up asking for your login and password.  Use the same login and password that you use while on-campus.   This will allow you to access all of our databases from remote locations.  For more information on remote access, check here.

Have a great summer and hope to see you all again in the fall!

Library's Summer Hours

Today Hewes Library begins its summer hours.  The library will be open Monday - Friday from 8am until 4:30pm each day and is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.  We will also be closed for Memorial Day (Monday, May 27) and the Fourth of July (Thursday, July 4).

Treasures of the Collection: Cha-no-yu; Tea Cult of Japan

Treasures of the Collection:  Cha-no-yu; tea cult of Japan

In the 1930s Dr. Howard Martin returned from Japan with a large number of Japanese books which he then donated to Monmouth College.  Many of these books are exquisite examples of the Japanese bookbinder’s art, which is famous worldwide.  For instance, this title is not only found inside a slipcover with pictures on the front and back, but the striped fabric cover of the book itself is a beautiful example of Japanese detailing.

The book itself presents an English language version of the art of drinking tea, a subject taken very seriously by many nations in the Far East, especially Japan and China.  In Japanese culture, one is not just invited over for a microwaved mug of hot water with a teabag in it, but one can be treated to a centuries’ old ritual involving a number of special implements, towels, cups, saucers and tea pots. 
This book goes into detail not only on the tea ceremony itself, but describes the proper setting for such a ceremony. 

In the past, it was customary for wealthy people to have a tea house on their property, where the tea ceremony could be performed properly for the family and guests.  There are numerous “schools” of the tea ceremony, with each ones rituals being slightly different.  A short history of the tea ceremony is given at the beginning of the book and some of the schools are mentioned.  However this book was printed for the traveler to Japan to learn something about the tea ceremony, so it just gives a general overview of the ceremony. 

The Special Collections title referred to above is not the only example of tea ceremony titles held by Hewes Library.  There is a book from the 1960’s on the tea ceremony found in the regular collection and one found in the oversize collection.  Monmouth College is also one of the few places with copies of a magazine devoted to the culture of tea, Chanyou Quarterly, Tea and the Arts of Japan.  This title, published by the Urasenke school of tea ceremonies can be found in the basement periodicals section. 

The tea ceremony is not dead, but alive and well with many practitioners found in America.  There are several videos on YouTube of the tea ceremony; here is a link to a short one (8 minutes) which demonstrates the simplest form of tea ceremony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebQ384WZ5Po
For those with more interest, here is a link to a long video demonstrating the Urasenke tea ceremony in full (nearly 30 minutes in length) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCM6l1r1SqQ

The tea ceremony encourages relaxation and refreshment, so during exams, take a little time to have your own tea ceremony.  Have a cup of tea and take a short breather before hitting the books again. 

Don't forget! Return your library materials

As the spring semester winds down, don't forget to return your Hewes Library, I-Share, and Interlibrary Loan materials once you are done with them.  You can return materials to the library's circulation desk or drop boxes are available inside the library and outside, on the west terrace.

Finals Week Hours: Open until 2am!

Hewes Library will be open until 2am during finals.  Our full hours are:

Finals Week, Spring 2013 (May 2 - May 8)

• Thursday - Friday, May 2 - 3: 7:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
• Saturday - Sunday, May 4 - 5: 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
• Monday - Tuesday, May 6 - 7: 7:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
• Wednesday, May 8: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m