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!

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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.

The University Libraries is welcoming students back with an exhibit celebrating Big Blue. Step into the Learning Commons @ Perry Library where you’ll be able to view the many faces of Big Blue from the 1970s til now. The exhibit features photos from the University Archives and Athletics Department and borrows from a recent article by Steve Daniel, ODU Public Relations Director. The exhibit was created by Teresa Statler-Keener. Contact Teresa tstatler@odu.edu with questions or comments.

You may also view a Web exhibit.

Did you know ODU had a Tree Trail? It's new! ODU’s “Tree Trail” provides an occasion to learn about thirty of the different varieties of trees on campus. Beginning at the Kaplan Orchid Conservatory, the trail meanders along the notable Quarantine Road and behind Webb Center, passes around the Engineering and Computational Sciences building and then around the pond of the Oceanography and Physics Buildings. Signage for each tree indicates common and scientific names and a brief description.

The ODU Libraries is recognizing and promoting the Tree Trail with an exhibit in the Learning Commons featuring photos, books, and some greenery. Come see the exhibit which runs through August 22 -- and be sure to walk the trail! A Website which complements the exhibit is also available.

Did you know ODU had a Tree Trail? It's new! ODU’s “Tree Trail” provides an occasion to learn about thirty of the different varieties of trees on campus. Beginning at the Kaplan Orchid Conservatory, the trail meanders along the notable Quarantine Road and behind Webb Center, passes around the Engineering and Computational Sciences building and then around the pond of the Oceanography and Physics Buildings. Signage for each tree indicates common and scientific names and a brief description.

The ODU Libraries is recognizing and promoting the Tree Trail with an exhibit in the Learning Commons featuring photos, books, and some greenery. Come see the exhibit which runs through August 22 -- and be sure to walk the trail! A Website which complements the exhibit is also available.

And... Join the staff of the University Libraries for an informative talk and tour of ODU’s Tree Trail on Monday, August 6, 2012, 9:30 – 11:00am, in the Library Instruction Room 1306. Chad Peevy, ODU Grounds Department Supervisor, and Ed and Linda Bradley, local Master Gardeners, will talk briefly about campus trees, how the Tree Trail came about, and what things to look for when identifying trees. After that, we’ll have a walking tour of the Tree Trail.

From May 16 to June 28, 2012, “The Face of the Ghetto” exhibition will be on display in the Learning Commons at ODU Perry Library. The official opening will take place on May 16th, 6 – 8 pm, and is open to the public.

“The Face of the Ghetto” in Norfolk is a collaboration of the Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding, College of Arts and Letters; the Federal Republic of Germany; and the Old Dominion University Libraries. As part of the Holocaust remembrance activities in and around Hampton Roads, the exhibition will be on display in the Learning Commons @ Perry Library of the Old Dominion University Libraries.

During World War II, the German Nazis established the second largest ghetto for Jews in the occupied Polish city of Lodz, renamed Litzmannstadt by the German occupants. In April 1940, more than 160,000 Jews from the Warthegau region were crowded into the Litzmannstadt Ghetto which consisted of an area of 4.14 square kilometers. Later on, 20,000 Jews from the German Reich, Prague and Luxembourg were deported to Litzmannstadt. More than 5,000 Roma also were incarcerated there in 1941.

As a result of the abominable conditions, more than 43,000 people died in the Litzmannstadt Ghetto. In 1942, tens of thousands of Jews with thousands of children among them were deported and killed in the Kulmhof extermination camp. The ghetto was dissolved in August 1944, and all save a handful of remaining inhabitants were killed in the Auschwitz extermination camp.

Professional Jewish photographers were instructed by the Jewish council of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto to photograph the daily life and work. They took pictures of children playing, working and eating and produced touching portraits as well. The pictures were intended to show a functioning community and testify to the utility of Jewish workers for the German economy. A collection of 12,000 contact prints by these Jewish photographers in the Litzmannstadt Ghetto is preserved in the Lodz State Archive. For this exhibition, 50 prints were selected and enlarged. Quotations from survivor reports and from the chronicle of the ghetto accompany each photograph. A short overview of the ghetto’s history, a description of the photography as an historic source and information about the photographers provide an introduction into the exhibition.

The exhibition is composed and provided by the Topography of Terror Foundation in Berlin, Germany and is supported by the Foreign Office, Federal Republic of Germany. The exhibition was first shown in the United States at the United Nations in New York City, and is currently on tour.

A Web exhibit is available at http://www.lib.odu.edu/exhibits/faceghetto/index.htm