At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality: The Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington

2013 marks the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, which “set the United States on the path of ending slavery.” The University Libraries are celebrating this event with an exhibit which provides information and common myths about the Emancipation Proclamation. There is also a display of books providing more information about the Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington.

The exhibit, created by Edison Simmons esimmons@odu.edu, will be available in the Learning Commons through the month of February 2013.

Old Dominion University Libraries and DOVE (Desegregation of Virginia Education), a collaborative history project, formed a partnership with AARP Virginia, Virginia Conference NAACP and the Urban League of Virginia to collect stories and historic documents detailing Virginia’s historic journey toward the desegregation of its schools.

The initiative held a series of events entitled “School Desegregation: Learn, Preserve and Empower” in Hampton, Portsmouth, Richmond, Farmville, Lynchburg, Alexandria, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and Roanoke during the spring and summer. The events included an audio-visual exhibition that includes photographs of those involved in the struggle for school equality, such as Oliver W. Hill, Thurgood Marshall and others, along with a timeline of key events. Visitors to the traveling exhibit were encouraged to share their community’s experience through the donation of photographs, letters, fliers or posters, or by telling their own personal experiences through oral histories.

The exhibit will be on display in the Learning Commons at the Patricia W. and J. Douglas Perry Library of Old Dominion University from January 15 to February 14, 2013.

Oral history interviews will be conducted on Sunday, February 3, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Please contact Sonia Yaco, Special Collections Librarian and University Archivist, at 757-683-4483 or at syaco@odu.edu to make an appointment.

Old Dominion University and Sonia Yaco have been awarded the AARP 2012 Community Partner of the Year Award for their collaboration on the traveling DOVE exhibit.

The DOVE project, hosted at Old Dominion University Libraries, seeks to identify and preserve materials relating to school desegregation. A growing catalog and other information are available at the DOVE website, http://www.lib.odu.edu/specialcollections/dove/

For more information, contact Sonia Yaco, Special Collections Librarian and University Archivist, at syaco@odu.edu.

ODU Undergraduate Research has taken over the Art Gallery in Perry Library. Consider it an appetizer for the ODU Undergraduate Research Symposium on February 9th. See the Facebook post with photos!!

Come to the Perry Library to enjoy A LEGO Winterland!! Our new exhibit will be up through the end of January. It features a fun winter display and information about LEGO Mindstorms. Contact Valentina Neblitt-Jones vneblitt@odu.edu for more information.

If you've watched "The Big Bang Theory" on television, you're probably wondering what our real physicists do.

Come to the Learning Commons @ Perry Library to view an exhibit of the current research of ODU Physics faculty as part of our Spotlight on Scholarship series. Their research programs are diverse and include theoretical and experimental work in nuclear and particle physics, atomic, molecular and optical physics, materials science, solid state physics, plasma physics, accelerator physics, and geophysics. ODU physicists work in labs on and around the Norfolk campus in addition to the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF) and the NASA Langley Research Center on the peninsula.

In addition to the scholarship exhibit, two display cases feature demonstrations of lasers and magnets. The exhitit will be available through December 15. More information at: http://www.lib.odu.edu/exhibits/spotlight/fall2012/index.htm

For the fall 2012 semester, the old Dominion University Libraries will shine a spotlight on the research of the Department of Physics. Their research programs are diverse and include theoretical and experimental work in nuclear and particle physics, atomic, molecular and optical physics, materials science, solid state physics, plasma physics, accelerator physics, and geophysics. Old Dominion University physicists work in labs on and around the Norfolk campus in addition to the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF) and the NASA Langley Research Center on the peninsula.

An exhibit in the Learning Commons @ Perry Library from November 5 through December 14 will feature statements of current research as well as selected journal articles and books.

At a reception on Thursday, November 15 from 3:00-5:00pm in the Learning Commons Conference Room, Room 1310, faculty will discuss some of their recent work. If you'd like to come, contact Fern McDougal fmcdouga@odu.edu More information at: http://www.lib.odu.edu/exhibits/spotlight/fall2012/index.htm

For more information, contact Karen Vaughan kvaughan@odu.edu

Come see the new exhibit at the Hofheimer Art Library: Charmingly Grotesque.

When considering the word “grotesque”, it is easy to get caught up in only the negative connotation it infers. The images created by the artists in this exhibit, however, manage to visually illustrate the wide expanse of the word’s definitions. By using a mixture of fantastical creatures, distorted humans, and dreamlike surroundings, the artists manage to create whimsical narratives that skirt on the edge of macabre while remaining delightfully pleasant to view. As a result, the works act as an interesting commentary on human nature’s tendency towards the dark and unknown.

In honor of Halloween, take a moment to enjoy the images featured in this display and discover what the word “grotesque” means to you. Happy Halloween!

http://oduhofheimerartlibrary.wordpress.com/

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community -- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types -- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

Come to the Perry Library lobby to discover which of your childhood favorites and grown-up classics have been banned or challenged at some point in history. The exhibit, which also features posters from students in English 395: Banned Books, will be available through October 22.

Visit these Web sites for more information about banned books:
    http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek
    http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/print-censorship-banned-books-week
    http://books.google.com/googlebooks/banned/

For more information, contact Edison Simmons esimmons@odu.edu or Amy Wilkins awilkins@odu.edu

Be sure to come to the Learning Commons@Perry Library today (Tuesday, October 2nd) to hear Patrick Rosal, one of the authors of this year's Annual Literary Festival. He is the author of three full-length poetry collections and will read from his works at 2:30 pm in the front east side of the Learning Commons.

The Literary Festival runs from September 30 through October 5, 2012.

In the Learning Commons you'll also find an exhibit featuring information about and books by the featured authors of the Festival, “Words with Teeth.” Come to the first floor Learning Commons @ Perry Library to view the month-long exhibit.

See the schedule for all events at http://www.lib.odu.edu/litfest/35th. On that site, you'll also find a digital archive of the Literary Festival back to 1978.

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

The Student Success Center interviewed several of ODU's Hispanic and Latino students, faculty and staff to find out how they feel about "success." Find out for yourself by viewing an exhibit in the Learning Commons @ Perry Library that celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month. The exhibit will be available through October 31.

Contact Marissa Jimenez mjimenez@odu.edu for more information.