Library Newsletter Spring 2015

John F. Moss Library

April 6, 2015 Issue 3

Bookmark AT LAST! SPRING HAS ARRIVED! Welcome to Issue 3 of Bookmark! Like our readers, the library staff is happy to see the arrival of spring. If you’ve never sat by the windows on the fourth floor to study, you’re missing out on a wonderful view of the campus, particularly during springtime.

Spring is also a time for new opportunities and positive change, and John F. Moss Library continues to develop and make improvements to its collections and services. Last fall, we announced our new search tool, SWOOP, an impressive addition to our research resources. This year, we’ll be introducing a brand-new library service and updating our integrated library system to provide faster and better assistance to our library visitors.

We’re also excited about this month’s National Library Week festivities. The library will be unveiling an awesome new feature and offering students and staff the opportunity to display creativity and culinary expertise.

Don’t forget to check our Calendar of Events in this issue for dates and times for National Library Week events, book club meetings, and extended hours for this Spring semester.

COMING SOON: ASK US! During National Library Week, JFM Library will be launching a new online service called

INSIDE THIS ISSUE National Library Week ............ 2 Edible Book Contest ................ 2 Divergent Costume Contest .... 3 The Factions of Divergent ...... 3

Ask Us!, which is a real-time application that allows library patrons to open help tickets,

Art in The Library.................... 4

request a live chat session with a library staff member, and access a continuously updated

New Bestsellers ....................... 5

FAQ system.

And because Ask Us! works seamlessly with integrated widgets, you can submit questions via email or text messages. Through this new service, the JFM Library staff will be capable of providing more comprehensive assistance to students, faculty, and staff.

We’re excited about Ask Us! and confident that you’ll soon find it an invaluable asset to making the most of your research time. Please check your email for upcoming announcements and information.

Calendar of Events .................. 5

NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK 2015 Copies of the Divergent series are availaThis year, National Library Week will be observed on April 20-24. There will be a magazine giveaway and unveiling of the

ble for check-out. An invitation email will soon be sent, so please RSVP if you plan to attend the book club session.

new Free Little Library on April 20. On April 21, the library will host a book club

On April 22, the library will once again

discussion of Veronica Roth’s Insurgent as

host the Edible Book Contest. Instruc-

well as a Costume Contest. The library

tions on how to enter the contest will be

staff invites students to wear a costume

sent via email. If you’d like to check out

that best represents the spirit and ideals

past entries, visit our Facebook page at

of their chosen faction. Are you Erudite,

facebook.com/TAMUTLIBRARY.

Abnegation, Amity, Candor, or Dauntless?

Don’t forget to complete our Library Satisfaction Survey during Library Week! Participants will be eligible to win a Kindle Fire HD, Starbucks gift bag, Power Pack, or a $25 Darden Restaurants gift card redeemable at Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Longhorn Steakhouse.

WHAT’S THAT? PRIZES, YOU SAY?!

We hope you like cool prizes because we like awarding them!

Below are prizes for the Edible Book Contest:



Most Creative—Kindle Fire HD



Best Student Entry— $25 restaurant gift card



Best Faculty/Staff Entry— $25 restaurant gift card



Funniest/Punniest — $25 restaurant gift card



People’s Choice — $50 gift card to Texas Roadhouse

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EDIBLE BOOK CONTEST If you’ve never participated in an Edible Book Contest, the rules are simple and straightforward: 1) Each edible creation must depict a fictional or non-fictional work or literary character; 2) Each food creation must be at least 95% edible; and 3) Entries must be delivered to the library between 8:00—10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, April 22. Judges will be voting on the following categories: Most Creative, Best Student Entry, Best Faculty/Staff Entry, and “Funniest/Punniest.” Attendees will be able to vote for their favorite entries in the People’s Choice category.

INSIDE THE FACTIONS OF DIVERGENT

Abnegation: The Selfless.

Devoted to helping mankind and abjuring vanity and greed.

Amity: The Peaceful. Dedicated to harmony and kinship with nature.

ARE YOU. . . DIVERGENT? If you’ve not yet had a chance to read the Divergent series but would like to participate in the book club discussion and costume contest, let us help you get up to speed!

The library has copies of all three installments available for check out.

There are also numerous resources online to help you determine which faction best suits you! Try taking the faction quiz at http://divergentthemovie.com/aptitudetest

Candor: The Honest. Committed to justice and the pursuit of truth.

or take the test at the end of Divergent. You can also visit www.divergentlexicon.com/factions and view their faction wardrobe ideas.

Dauntless: The Brave. Resolute in their duty to protect and defend.

Erudite: The Intelligent.

Determined to seek out knowledge at all costs.

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ART IN THE LIBRARY For as long as she can recall, Brenda Rochelle has loved to draw, paint and enjoy all forms of art. Beginning in elementary school, she would draw and paint whatever was in her imaginative mind. However, one day a teacher told her to put the paints and crayons away, because she would not ever be able to help her. "I cannot see inside your mind, Brenda, so quit the art and read a book." Brenda did not let that stop her from trying to draw everything she saw in magazines, catalogs and other printed materials, but she did quit putting down on paper what she saw in her mind for a long, long time.

“Come Back Wagons”

After being married and having a family she put away the brushes and paints for several years. Instead of artist tools such as paints, canvas and easels, she began using pen, paper and a tape measure to paint THE AMERICAN DREAM: selling homes. Brenda has loved real estate for 40 years, but her true passion is oil painting.

Although she was too busy to paint, she met with Nancy Wommack, Sandy Spearman, Helen McMillen, and Gale Gill in the late 60's to form the Four States Regional Art Club, a non-profit artists’ group. Brenda has served in many of the offices of the organization and still is very active with it. Over the years FSRAC has continued to meet on the second Thursday of each month at the Collins Building on Texas Blvd. and 31st St. You are invited to join!

In the late 90's Brenda picked up the tools to paint again, checked into a studio and took lessons from Martha Riley for 15 years. Even though Mar-

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tha would tell her, "I cannot help you, Brenda, because you paint form your mind and I cannot see what is there", she would tell her that she needed to have a picture or a model in order to receive help. This time when she heard those words, Brenda did not let that be a discouragement but accepted the assistance of all of her teachers and the other students in order to paint what she imagined.

Brenda not only has love for art but a true passion to teach others and let them see the beauty in color and brushstrokes. She knows what it is to be discouraged and to overcome other peoples' opinions for what God has placed in our hearts to pursue. She always encourages others to follow their dreams, and she is willing to help them to achieve those dreams.

Some of the instructors Brenda has had lessons from over the years are Walter MacDonald, Michael Shane Neal, Pat Waymon, Sherri McGraw, JoAnna Arnett, Karen Patton, Luphelia Middlebrooks, John Potoschnick, and Bruce Peil. Her favorite artists of all time are these: Xian Xang, Carol Durham, Dean Lynn, Raymond Everett Kintsler, Norman Rockwell, Monet, Manet and all the old masters of art.

At the Portrait Society of America in Philadelphia, Brenda attended workshops held by Kintsler, John Sanden, and several other renowned artists.

Many of the local and area artists are also favored by Brenda; she has said she would leave someone out if she began naming each one.

“I Love To Paint” will be available from March 5 to April 30.

NEW BESTSELLER TITLES From the New York Times bestselling author of The Red Tent and Day After Night, comes an unforgettable novel about family ties and values, friendship and feminism told through the eyes of a young Jewish woman growing up in Boston in the early twentieth century.

Vampire Henry Sturges returns in the highly anticipated sequel to Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter—a sweeping, alternate history of twentieth-century America by New York Times bestselling author Seth GrahameSmith.

Brimming with all the insight, humor, and generosity of spirit that are the hallmarks of Anne Tyler’s work, A Spool of Blue Thread tells a poignant yet unsentimental story in praise of family in all its emotional complexity.

It is a novel to cherish.

The work of exciting young newcomer Priya Parmar, Vanessa and Her Sister exquisitely captures the champagne-heady days of prewar London and the extraordinary lives of sisters Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf.

Twin boys grow up in the same family, in the same town. Dramatically different, they become bitter enemies, even as children. One good, one bad. The reunion of brothers, sweet and healing at first, exposes shattering revelations of good and evil. #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel tells a brilliant, suspenseful story of suspicion, betrayal, and a life-and-death struggle for survival.

Walter Mosley's talent knows no bounds. Inside a Silver Box continues to explore the cosmic questions entertainingly discussed in his Crosstown to Oblivion. From life's meaning to the nature of good and evil, Mosley takes readers on a speculative journey beyond reality.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 20: Unveiling of Free Little Library and magazine giveaway APRIL 21: Insurgent book club and costume contest, 12:15-1:30 APRIL 22: Edible Book Contest, 11:00-12:30 APRIL 24: “Roll Out the Red Carpet” faculty event, 5:00 p.m.

MAY 4-MAY 12: Extended library hours and coffee bar MAY 13: All day coffee bar

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