Board Games and Pizza Tonight!

Come join us from 6-9 tonight for classic board games, pizza, and free drinks!

Food for Fines 2014

It's that time of the semester!  Bring in a canned food item and get up to $2.50 per item in fines waived!  (Repair/replacement costs cannot be waived, however).

All canned items will be donated to a local charity, the Harvest Hope Food Bank.

Image courtesy of nyclovesnyc.blogspot.com

November is Native American Heritage Month

November is Native American Heritage Month, created in 1990 and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.  From the National Congress of American Indian's Heritage Month website:

November is Native American Heritage Month and it’s an important time to celebrate the current and historic role the Native American voice has played in the United States. It’s a time to celebrate the modern and traditional cultures, people, and societies of Native American peoples. It’s also an opportunity to highlight the important contributions of Native peoples and the shared histories between tribal nations and other communities.

Today, Native American cultures, people, and communities are strong and vibrant. According to the 2010 Census, there are over 5.2 million American Indian and Alaska Native people (in combination or alone) and there are 566 federally recognized tribal nations - that exist as sovereign nations within 33 states of the United States.

The strength of culture and community comes from a myriad of voices. Like many American citizens we too, are doctors, athletes, artists, leaders of nations, leaders of businesses, active duty soldiers and military veterans, elders, teachers, government employees, women and men, children and young adults.

We have a history of story and our voice remains. In the past many tried to quiet our voices, we could not be silenced. Today we celebrate; to remember and recognize our past, to bear witness to what our people face today; to give voice to great work and contributions we make; and to share our promise for the future generations. 

Fall Tutoring Hours

Greetings, Cokerites!

Here are the Fall semester tutoring* hours:

Subject	Days	Time
Accounting and Economics	Mon. & Thu	8-9 PM
Biology	Tue & Thu	6-8 PM
Chemistry	Tue. & Thu	7-9 PM
Chinese	Mon. & Wed.	7-9 PM
Math	Mon.- Thu.	6-9 PM
Spanish	Mon. - Thu.	6-8 PM
Technology Help	Mon. & Thu.	5-7 PM

All tutoring sessions are held in LITC 228.  Writer's Studio is available from 3-10 PM, Monday - Thursday, just around the corner. *May cause increased knowledge and elevated GPAs. Your experience may vary.  Times subject to change.

Database Access Issues

Post by Charles W. and Joan S. Coker Library-Information Technology Center.

Library Staff Day

Americans value their libraries, and they show that appreciation by using their libraries in large numbers and by supporting library funding. The library is seen, quite correctly, as both a benign and benevolent pillar of the community and is one of the very few places you can go and be provided with educational, recreational, and/or useful materials for free. You can walk out the door of a public library with hundreds of dollars worth of your tax money all because you have a library card! 

In these challenging economic times, libraries are being used more than ever, and with less financial backing. Therefore, the same amount of library staff, almost all with fewer resources, are providing more services such as story hours, reference and outreach.

Today, Tuesday April 15, 2014, during National Library Week, schools, campuses and communities across the country will celebrate the second National Library Workers Day and the valuable contributions of our librarians and library support staff. Libraries are part of the American dream – places for opportunity, education, lifelong learning and free and equal access to a world of resources no matter your age, income or background -- but that dream would not exist if it were not for the people who work in libraries.

Library workers organize and maintain everything that is in the library. Materials need to be selected, ordered, processed, and then made available for users. From a book for research or leisure reading to a laptop that can be checked out to a display for Black History Month, dedicated human is responsible for its presence in the library. Library workers—catalogers, circulation clerks, reference librarians, evening supervisors, and student assistants, to name a few, provide access to the past while preserving the present.

They plan for the libraries of the future and Banned Book Week displays. They choose, order, catalog, label, and shelve all of the books, media, serials, and other materials. They lobby for funding and crusade against censorship. Library workers read stories to children and books to the blind. They suggest good reads, organize book clubs, and drive bookmobiles. They advise vampire slayers, fight crime, and throw fabulous parties (Think Buffy's Mr. Giles, Bat Girl, and Party Girl).  In the local college or university they provide the educational support for students, faculty, and staff.

Those in public service, whether it's in a public, school, or university library, are skilled and knowledgeable researchers who know how just which tool to use for which information need, navigating through a variety of electronic and print resources: almanacs, bibliographies, catalogs, databases, dictionaries, gazetteers, encyclopedias, reviews, and yearbooks. And they know! More and more those who work in libraries need to know how to use technology. Sometimes locating just the right answer appears so simple that the users do not realize that it is isn't easy. Often times library workers are drawing on education and experience that make it look that way.

Library workers do all this and more, even though they are rarely thanked. Yet, working in the library is rewarding for most people because it involves giving a service that contributes to the overall quality of life in a community. It is positive work that should be recognized in a society that values knowledge, learning and opportunity.

Take a moment today to thank our library workers for the services they provide and to remind our campus officials that libraries and library workers provide vital services, programs and collections each and every day. The Charles W. & Joan S. Coker Library works because Brandy, Jared, Margaret, Nancy, Veronica, Todd, and Emily do!

This week, the Charles W. & Joan S. Coker Library at Coker College joins libraries in schools, campuses and communities nationwide in celebrating National Library Week, a time to highlight the value of libraries, librarians and library workers.  

Libraries today are more than repositories for books and other resources. Often the heart of their communities, campuses or schools, libraries are deeply committed to the places where their patrons live, work and study.  Libraries are trusted places where everyone in the community can gather to reconnect and reengage with each other to enrich and shape their communities and address local issues. 

Librarians work with elected officials, small business owners, students, college administrators, faculty and the public at large to discover what their communities needs are and meet them.  Librarians listen to the community they serve, and they respond.

The Charles W. & Joan S. Coker Library serves Coker College by providing print, audio visual and electronic resources that support the curriculum and the academic research of our students and faculty. Service to the college community has always been the focus of the library. While this aspect has never changed, our library has grown and evolved in how we provide for the needs of every member of the Coker College community.  We are celebrating National Library Week with daily activities. Stop the library and check out the egg hunt, giveaways and food.

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April.  

For more information, visit library’s Web site at https://coker.edu/library.  Libraries hours this week are Monday through Thursday 7:30am to 12:00am; Good Friday 10:00am to 5:00pm; Saturday 12:00pm to 5:00pm; and Easter Sunday 1:00pm to 12:00am.

 Thursday April 10 at 7pm as part of the Civil War 150 exhibition, the movie, Glory will be shown at the Hartsville Memorial Library.

Starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, and Cary Elwes and directed by Edward Zwick, this is one the best US Civil War movies to be made. The movie tells the story of the Captain Robert Shaw and the first all-black regiment, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. The program is free and open to the public.

Click here for a review of the movie from American Heritage Magazine.

Bruce Blackmon will present a lecture entitled "Tsars, Vain Men, Bad Women and the Myth of the Ragged Rebel" in conjunction with the Civil War 150 exhibition in the Charles W. Coker Auditorium on Monday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

The Civil War in South Carolina boasted of several prominent women who would make  the fictional Scarlett O'Hara look tame. Bruce Blackmon will talk about the tumultuous lives of these fiery women (along with a few vain men)  and how they impacted, not only what the average S.C. soldier wore during the conflict, but also the myths that arose about them after the war. 

Blackmon is a native of Hartsville, S.C. and has been a civil war re-enactor for over 15 years. He has participated in countless reenactments on over 25 original battlefields. Currently, Blackmon serves as 'Colonel' of the Palmetto Battalion, a reenacting organization in the state that boasts over 400 members. It includes branches of infantry, artillery and cavalry.

Blackmon graduated from Coker in 1985. He double majored in communications and political science and was first honor graduate of his class. He received his master’s in public administration from UNC-Pembroke in 2005.

This event is a part of Civil War 150, a national traveling exhibition from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History from Mar. 31 to Apr. 21 hosted by The Charles W. and Joan S. Coker Library. The Gilder Lehrman Institute developed the exhibition to mark the Civil War Sesquicentennial.

Confederates at the Keyboard: Southern Piano Music During the Civil War Era

The Civil War 150 exhibition is now on display in the Library. We are excited to have Dr. David Thompson with us for our opening program. Dr. Thompson will present a lecture with recital on “Confederates at the Keyboard: Southern Piano Music during the Civil War Era” in the Hannah Lide Coker Recital Hall on Tuesday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Thompson, a South Carolina native, completed his master’s and doctorate in piano pedagogy at the University of South Carolina and his bachelor’s in piano performance at Limestone College. He is a member of the College Music Society, Music Teachers National Association, and Music Educators National Conference.  He recently completed a two-year term as State President of the South Carolina Music Teachers Association.

Thompson is currently professor of music at Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C.  He teaches private and group piano, music theory and history. Thompson also accompanies the college–community chorus and serves as co-chair of the musical theater major.  A nationally certified piano teacher, Thompson maintains an active schedule as soloist, collaborative artist and adjudicator.  He adjudicates for many organizations including the Music Teachers National Association, the National Guild of Piano Teachers and the National Federation of Junior Music Clubs. Thompson has performed in many different national and international venues, including the United States, England, Germany, Austria, Korea and Iceland.  

Thompson has presented programs, lectures and recitals for various musical and historical events including the Society for American Music National Conference, The Civil War and American Society Seminar, The Spoleto Festival, Civil War Music Heritage Gathering and Encampment, the Symposium on South Carolina Civil War History, South Carolina Music Teachers Convention and College Music Society Mid-Atlantic Conference.

His publications include a CD recording entitled “Confederates at the Keyboard: Southern Piano Music during the Civil War Era” and an essay by the same title published in “Bugles Resounding: Music and Musicians of the Civil War Era” published by the University of Missouri Press.

This event is a part of Civil War 150, a national traveling exhibition from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History from Mar. 31 to Apr. 21 hosted by The Charles W. & Joan S. Coker Library-Information Technology Center. The Gilder Lehrman Institute developed the exhibition to mark the Civil War Sesquicentennial.

Civil War 150 exhibit now open!

From the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

The Library is hosting Civil War 150, a national traveling exhibition from March 31 to April 21. The Civil War is one of the most transformative periods in U.S. history. After long-simmering sectional tensions led to seven slaveholding states seceding, the ensuring political strife gave way to war in April 1861. Four years of fighting resulted in 1.5 million casualties making the Civil War the bloodiest conflict in U.S. history. One hundred and fifty years after the Civil War, the voices of soldiers and their families still ring true.

The Coker Library is one of fifty sites nationwide selected to host the Civil War 150 exhibition. We are excited to have been selected as a site for this exhibition. Through reproductions of documents, photographs, and posters, the exhibition invites visitors to learn about events that took place during the war through the eyes of individuals. Though the Civil War took place one hundred and fifty years ago, people today can still identify with the thoughts and fears of ordinary citizens and soldiers, many of which reflect a humanity that is forever consistent. We hope that the exhibit will help you better understand the human and political costs of war.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute developed the exhibition to mark the Civil War Sesquicentennial. The Civil War 150 is divided into five panels: The Nation Divides, 1861; The Union is Dissolved; This Cruel War; Turning Points; and The Price of Victory (1864-1865). Drawing from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, each section traces major events during the Civil War.

The exhibit allows visitors to experience the battle through the eyes of major political figures, soldiers, families, and freedmen. Letters, personal accounts and images tell the stories of how people grappled with the end of slavery, the nature of democracy and citizenship, the human toll of civil war and the role of a president in wartime.

The Coker Library, along with Hartsville Memorial Library, is sponsoring free programs and other events for the public in connection with the exhibition. Contact the Coker Library at 843-383-8125, email Alexa Bartel (abartel@coker.edu) or visit http://libguides.coker.edu/civilwar for more information.

Developed by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in partnership with The Library of America, this exhibition was made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The exhibition is part ofCivil War 150: Exploring the War and Its Meaning through the Words of Those Who Lived It, a major three-year project funded by the National Endowment for Humanities. The project is centered on the four-volume Library of America series, Civil War 150: Exploring the War and Its Meaning through the Words of Those Who Lived It.

Winner of the 2014 Library Prize for Undergraduate Research

Congratulations are in order for Holly Evans, a senior English major from Andrews, SC. Holly was awarded the Coker College Library Prize for Undergraduate Research for her Senior Seminar paper titled “Iola Leroy, or, Shadows Uplifted: The Politics of African American Literary Criticism during the Last Century” at the Honors Convocation March 25, 2014. The 20 page paper reflects on the history of reader response to the text of Iola Leroy, or, Shadows Uplifted.

Evans began her research journey after choosing a research topic and realizing she needed to clarify her research question and topic. “Essentially, it was research that led me in the direction I went and helped me to refine my paper,” said Evans. In the process of writing her senior seminar paper Evans realized research took an inventive mind. ” In order to get the information needed, I had to get creative and resourceful with the research methods. I had to utilize the aid of professors...also, I spent a lot of time working with the research librarians.”

Her hard work showed says professor of English Jasna Shannon, “Holly chose her topic carefully and purposefully…[her] writing and research skills developed and progressed as she moved from draft to draft and final revision of her thesis. Her thesis was certainly original and demonstrated strong writing skills, correct use of citations and skillful integration of sources that reflect multiple perspectives.”

Evans is an active student and volunteer. She is President of Excursions Literary Magazine and Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honor Society, a Senior Sparrow Scholar and a tutor in the Writer’s Studio. She is also a resident assistant and does regular community service at Rosenwald Elementary/Middle School. After graduation this May she plans to take some time off and then continue her education in graduate school.

With support from the Charles W. and Joan S. Coker Library and the Coker College Undergraduate Research Program, the Library Prize was established in 2013 to encourage the use of library research techniques and to honor the best research project produced each year by Coker College undergraduate students.

Entries for the prize are judged on originality, depth, breadth and the demonstration of a sophisticated use of library collections, the ability to select, evaluate, synthesize and use library resources in the creation of a project as well as evidence of personal growth through the acquisition of new-found knowledge.
                                                                                                                                        --Emily Mann