Canned Food Drive Returns!

It's that time of the year again -- donate your canned or non-perishable food items to earn up to $2.50 per item in credits towards your late fees.

All food items will be donated to the Hartsville Soup Kitchen.

(Picture courtesy of the Friends of Newark (Delaware) Free Library)

Thanks and have a great Summer!

American History in Video

We've got a new e-resource to show off, one that we think a lot of students and faculty will be excited about. American History in Video features over 5000 videos from various sources, including PBS, the History Channel, A&E, and also classic newsreels (for the time before television...!)

Students will love the transcripts that follow the video (when viewed from the AHV website) because it makes quoting the videos very easy.

Faculty will love the breadth of the collection as well as the ability to make smaller clips, perfect for showing during a lecture.

If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.

Were you ready?

With help from Dean of Students Jason Umfress, we had a little bit of fun in the LITC last night -- in honor of final exams week.

ARTSY - SMARTSY!

Our library was host of one of the college's Senior Art Exhibits.

Neil Gaiman on Libraries

Celebrated author Neil Gaiman speaks about the importance of libraries and librarians in today's economy and information landscape:


"Google can bring you back, you know, 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one."

Thanks to John Kennerly of Erskine College and the Library Stuff Blog by Steven Cohen.

Paper Airplane Contest

That's right, We're hosting a paper airplane contest!

On Tuesday, April 20 at 11:00am and 7:45pm, planes will be launched from the second floor through the atrium down to the first floor.

You may use only the following materials to build your paper airplane:

* 1-2 standard-size sheets of used computer paper (supplied by library)
* 1 standard paper clip (optional)
* 3 inches of tape (optional)
* a dab of glue (optional)
* 3 staples (optional)

The top 3 airplanes with the longest distance will win fabulous prizes!!!


Congratulations to Thaddeus Abreu and Wall Boatwright for winning our 2010 Airplane Contest!

"That was so fancy flying, boys!"

Coker Library to be "book-free" by 2012

April 1st, 2010

Hartsville, SC: The Coker College Library, known as the Charles W. and Joan S. Coker Library-Information Technology Center, announced that it will become effectively "book-free" by early 2012. The announcement was made following the fanfare of the inauguration of the liberal arts college's 16th president, Dr. Robert L. Wyatt on March 26th.

So what will happen to the more than 70,000 volumes currently held at the library? According to library and school officials, there will be a large book sale, followed by a large bonfire for the remaining unsold books.

Special flamethrowers for the bonfire have been ordered already. "These [flamethrowers] are designed to ignite books and other printed material at the perfect temperature, 451 degrees Fahrenheit," says Electronic Resources and Instruction Librarian Todd Rix. "From the ashes of these books, a new method of learning will rise, like a Phoenix," continues Rix. "It will be very symbolic."

In the books' place, the school will distribute e-book readers and other mobile devices like the netbooks, iPads, and other tablet PCs to their faculty and students beginning next Fall. These devices will be able to download or access thousands of books, journals, and other materials for as long as they either employed or attend Coker College.

The Coker librarians feel that it was time for a change. "We felt it was time to look to the future and hold true to our new president's mantra of 'redefining ready,'" says Alexa Bartel, Director of the Library. "It's a new way of delivering content to reach a broader audience," says Melinda Deyasi, Assistant Director of the Library. "The books are dusty and take up WAY too much room," adds Rix.

Not surprisingly, opinion on campus has been mixed:

"This is an outrage. What's wrong with real books and journals in a library? They are an essential part of learning! Disgraceful!" exclaims Dr. Joseph Rubinstein, professor of education, before shuffling away in disgust.

Business professors Dr. Darryl Holliday and Dr. Joseph Stevano issued a joint statement applauding the move: "We support this move. It shows how forward thinking our librarians really are."

"I think it's an interesting idea -- I spend all day looking at some sort of digital device. What difference does a few hours more a day make?" says first-year student Erin Record, of Anderson, SC.

An anonymous student asked "Can we roast marshmallows at the bonfire? That would be really cool."

Not all of the books will be destroyed or sold, however. Mr. Rix stated that he would probably keep the library's copy of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds for posterity.

Haggadot Display

Because of its ancient roots, inspiring content, and ongoing relevance, the haggadah is an especially beloved Jewish ritual. Since the days of Amram Ben Sheshna Gaon and Rashi, it has attracted a vast number of commentaries and supercommentaries as well as translations into many languages. Moreover, the fact that each participant in the Seder must have his or her own copy led to artistic embellishment of the haggadah on a grand scale, often for the participating women and children. Richly illuminated haggadot were commissioned by wealthy Jews of the Middle Ages, great care being lavished on both the illustrations and the text (an entire page sometimes being devoted to one theme or word). Separate artistic traditions developed in Muslim Spain and Christian Germany and Italy; and a growing number of the finest illuminated manuscripts are now available in facsimile editions. The first printed haggadot came from Spain (c. 1482) and Italy (1505), but the oldest surviving illustrated edition was that printed by Gershom Cohen in Prague (1526). Since then, it is estimated, more than 2,000 editions of the haggadah have appeared in print, and new ones are still being published.

"HAGGADAH." The New Encyclopedia of Judaism. New York: New York University Press, 2002. Credo Reference. Web. 01 April 2010.



Stop by the library and check out the many haggadot that Dr. Joseph Rubinstein has on display. Arrangement and display commentary by Brandy Roscoe.