Art Piece by Terry Adkins Installed in STL

~ colvsonm ~ Leave a comment

Today (Monday, March 26) and tomorrow Terry Adkins’ sculpture “Mvet

portion of Mvet Truth by Terry Adkins [credit C. Nyquist]
Portion of Mvet Truth by Terry Adkins. [credit C. Nyquist]
Truth” will be installed on the Main Floor of the Library.  There will be periods of noise and disruption caused by drilling and the mounting of four large pieces.

More about “Mvet Truth”

A gift to the Sojourner Truth Library by the late Terry Adkins, the piece is a tribute to the spirit of Sojourner Truth. The late Mr. Adkins, an internationally known artist and former faculty member, said of this piece “MVET is

onomatopoetic, it refers to the sound made by some West African instruments. It is also symbolic of [Sojourner Truth’s] love of music and her angelic nature.”

Mr. Adkins NY Times obituary documents his extraordinary artistic range, and helps place in context the significance of this important gift to the Library.

Formerly mounted in the main entrance lobby, the sculpture was removed in November 2014 in preparation for the $14 million Library renovation.  A formal celebration of the re-installation is planned for Fall 2018.

Black History for the other 11…

~ dinovoa ~ Leave a comment

If you’re looking for a great way to expand your encounter with Black history beyond the month of February, check out Glory Days by Janus Adams*. This book – available in the Library – provides 365 brief, powerful essays highlighting African American contributions to the political, scientific, athletic, artistic, and economic life of the U.S., one for each day of the year.Glory Days / Janus Adams

Each essay carries the reader on a journey, propelled by Dr. Adams’ passionate, unsparing prose.  For in celebrating achievement, she doesn’t hesitate to expose the viciousness of the obstacles overcome.  Even if you don’t check out the book, I urge you to read the introduction. Written in 1995 it sounds notes of eerie familiarity, of an era of growing hostility toward people of color. It states as the book’s purpose: to remind those people – and those who would undermine them – of their majestic determination to rise, to love themselves and their children, and assert their right to happiness and success, again and again, often over the persecution and hatred of their countrymen.

If you marveled at the power of her oratory, or are curious what compelled a return performance of her brilliant lecture, Glory Days will prove that performance was no fluke.

*Last Fall’s Distinguished Speaker at SUNY New Paltz, the first ever invited to reprise her lecture.  She delivered her talk “Know When to Leave the Plantation” again last week.

Gary Oliver

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Gary Oliver, the technician who supports nearly all Library technology, celebrated his 25th anniversary working for NYS. It’s his extraordinary skill, and speed which keeps most of our technology running so reliably. If you’ve used a Library PC, laptop, or iPad; used inter library loan, or borrowed a book, you’ve probably benefited from Gary’s quiet excellence. Thanks Gary from all of us.

Library in Inclement Weather

~ Richard Mcelrath

Friends and Colleagues,

Occasionally, despite our best efforts to ensure adequate staffing, weather conditions may make it necessary to close the Library early or open late.

Whenever the Library has an unexpected schedule change, we will always update

Please check one or more of these sources before planning a trip to the Library, especially when the weather is bad.  We will make every attempt to remain open for our regularly scheduled hours despite the predicted winter storm.

Thanks for your understanding.

Greetings to our fabulous Library Student Workers!

~ Richard Mcelrath

When I was in college, everyone knew the Library was the best place to work on campus. You didn’t have to serve cafeteria food, it was quiet, and you got to work with interesting people.

Well that’s all still true of Sojourner Truth Library, except the part about it being quiet! There’s almost always something going on here. Whether it’s helping a fellow student find resources for a research paper, figuring out a printer problem, helping prepare an exhibit, or searching for lost books, it’s rare that we run out of jobs for our student staff. Just this summer, our students completed a major project to shift over 200,000 books, freeing up access to our Art, Art History and Music collections.

To our newest student staff: welcome! You’ve joined an exceptional team. Get ready to learn and grow together with our veterans. To our returning students: welcome back! We look forward to another great year working with you and delivering quality library services.

Welcome to the Sojourner Truth Library – until 3am!

~ Richard Mcelrath

To the Class of 2017, Welcome!  And to our returning students, and faculty, Welcome Back!  Here’s a quick update on what’s new in the Sojourner Truth Library at SUNY New Paltz.  

Need help?  Visit our LibAnswers/Frequently Asked Questions page!

Late Night Study open until 3am

If, like me, you’re a late night person, and want a place to work after your roommate goes to sleep, the Library once again offers extended hours. Starting this week, the Library Late Night Study @ the Terrace is open from 11pm until 3am, Sunday through Wednesday.  Wireless, laptops and a printer will be available, and most important: a quiet place to work.  Remember, during Midterms and Finals the Late Night Study Room will be open all night until 8am.

The Terrace is located to the west of the Library, across from the main Library parking lot.

 James H. Ottaway to Speak

James H. Ottaway, Jr., distinguished journalist, publisher, and newspaper executive will deliver the seventh annual Dennis O’Keefe Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Friends of the Sojourner Truth Library, at 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 19, in Coykendall Science Building Auditorium..

Mr. Ottaway’s long career in journalism began as a reporter and associate editor of the News-Times of Danbury, Connecticut and culminated in his retirement from the Board of Directors of Dow Jones & Company. He has long been affiliated with numerous philanthropic organizations, serving on the boards of Doctors without Boarders, Human Rights Watch, the American School of Classical Studies (Athens), and the Walkill Valley Land Trust, among other organizations.  Please join us for a stimulating talk and reception afterwards.

 [London] Times Online & other major additions

Over the last few months, the Library has added significant new digital collections. These include the Times Digital Archive, which provides the London Times newspaper in full text from 1785 (yes, before the French Revolution) to 2007.  Also added: Art Index Retrospective, which indexes articles from more than 420 periodicals published throughout the world from 1928 to 1984; and Readers’ Guide Retrospective, which indexes popular, general-interest periodicals published in the United States from 1890 to 1982.  Finally, the Gannett Newspapers Database provides access to over 85 Gannett newspapers, six from New York State: Poughkeepsie Journal, Press and Sun Bulletin (Binghamton), Ithaca Journal, Democrat & Chronicle(Rochester), Journal News (White Plains), and the Star Gazette (Elmira).

More iPads

The Library now has 25 iPads available at the Checkout Desk for 7 day loan and five available for 3 hour in-library use, more than double what we offered at the start of last year.  Be sure and review the lending policy before borrowing.

Starbucks coming back

We in the Library were thrilled along with all of you at the opening of the “We Proudly Serve Starbucks” mini-cafe in the Sojourner Truth Library.  Likewise, we mourn the temporary closing, due to some required extra plumbing work.  But the good news is that it should be back online in 1½ – 2 weeks — just in time for midterms!

Art, Art History and Music Back in Open Stacks

Finally, our heavily used Art, Art History and Music books have been liberated from moveable shelving into fully accessible open stacks.  Library student workers worked tirelessly over the summer to shift the entire ground floor collection to recover the space needed.  Heartfelt thanks to our junior colleagues for this extraordinary effort!

We look forward to making you feel welcome in the Library. No question is too simple, or too unimportant to ask.  Try us out when you’re facing your next research paper or assignment.

Thanks!

 Mark