Happy Independence Day!

The library will be closed this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday for the July 4th weekend (that's July 2-4). We will reopen at 8am on Tuesday, July 5th.

We hope everyone has a happy (and safe!) Independence Day!

Congratulations, BSC Library Award Winners!

Each year, the BSC Library sponsors two awards: the Library Research Award and the Library Art Purchase Award.  This year, the winners are Sophie Cheng and Timothy McOmber.

The Library Research Award is a cash prize recognizing the paper written by any current first- or second-year student that best demonstrates an advanced understanding and appropriate use of the Library's services and collections.  The paper must be submitted to the Southern Academic Review, BSC's journal of student scholarship, and must be approved by its editors for publication.  Sophie Cheng is the winner of the 2016 award for her excellent paper titled "Creating Play Spaces: Exploring the Use of Space and Place in Play Spaces." Congratulations, Sophie!

The Library Art Purchase Award goes to a student whose work is selected from the annual BSC Juried Student Art Exhibition, for acquisition and display in the Library building.  Proceeds from the Library's used book sale fund this award.  Timothy McOmber is the winner of the 2016 award for his inspired piece, "Origin."  Congratulations, Timothy!

Kudos to all the BSC students who've worked so hard on publications, presentations, performances, and creations this past year.  Your work makes BSC, and the world, a better place!

Final exams and library hours

The end of the term is almost upon us. For many of you, this means long nights and marathon study sessions fueled by copious amounts of caffeine. Luckily for everyone, the library is here to help with group seminar rooms and extended hours for the BSC community. 

We have several rooms available for checkout for those of you keen on studying in groups. All of them have a whiteboard, and a few of them contain A/V equipment for those of you who need to practice presentations or watch a movie for a class. Click here to check out the room availability, and you can follow the link on that page if you would like submit a reservation request.  

Please note, there is a 3-hour time limit on the room checkouts, and if you would like to make a reservation on short notice, please call the Circulation Desk directly (205-226-4740)!


Also, beginning on Thursday, May 12, the library will have extended hours, as follows:

Thursday, May 12: 8am-open all night*
Friday, May 13: open until 10pm
Saturday, May 14: 9am-midnight
Sunday, May 15: 2pm-open all night*
Monday, May 16: open 24 hours*
Tuesday, May 17: open 24 hours*
Wednesday, May 18: open 24 hours*
Thursday, May 19: open until 10pm
Friday, May 20: 8am-5pm
Saturday, May 21: CLOSED
Sunday, May 22: CLOSED
Monday-Friday, May 23-27: 8am-5pm
*The Circulation Desk will be closing at 1am on these nights, and will reopen at 8am the following morning.

The library will be open only to BSC students, faculty, and staff during exams (beginning Thursday, May 12th). Community patrons will be welcome again on Friday, May 20.

Prepare for Finals!

Join us for Honors Day, May 5th

Honors Day is fast approaching!

As described in the press release from BSC's Communications Department:

Honors Day, a celebrated annual tradition in which seniors demonstrate the results of their studies on the Hilltop, is free and open to the public. During the Convocation, BSC students from all classes will be recognized for outstanding academic achievements and leadership roles; honors will also be bestowed on faculty and staff.

Rev. Caitlin E. Harper '09 

Convocation, which includes a processional of graduating seniors and faculty in regalia, begins at 10 a.m. in Munger Hall Auditorium on the campus and is followed by a full day of student presentations, musical performances, and other demonstrations of scholarly and creative work.

This year's Convocation will feature an address from Rev. Caitlin E. Harper '09, "Staying Animated in an Anesthetized World," about rejecting traditional narratives about adulthood in favor of incorporating liberal arts education.

Harper is a 2009 graduate of the College with a major in religion and received her masters of divinity from Emory University in 2012.

A schedule of events can be found here.

Big Read T-Shirt and Book Raffle!

Attention BSC Students!

In honor of the last week of The Big Read program you can enter your name in a lottery to win two great prizes:  

• a copy of the Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson, with a preface by Billy Collins
• a t-shirt from award-winning American artist Lesley Dill 

Come by the Library and put your name in the jar--it's in front of the Reference Office.  While you're there, be sure to take a selfie with Emily!

From The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, 1960.

XXI

A BOOK

HE ate and drank the precious words,
His spirit grew robust;
He knew no more that he was poor,
Nor that his frame was dust.
He danced along the dingy days,	5
And this bequest of wings
Was but a book. What liberty
A loosened spirit brings!

Many Thanks to Ms. Stacey Thornberry who wrote the grant to bring The Big Read to BSC.

Arabic Studies and the BSC Library

Question: What do the following have in common?

• Love in Two Languages
• Sleeping in the Forest
• Moroccan Folktales
• My Soul Is a Woman: The Feminine in Islam
• The Pistachio Seller 
• Bent Familia

Answer: They are among the many dozens of books and films related to Arabic language, literature, history, politics, religion, and culture that the BSC Library has recently acquired... all thanks to a Mellon grant procured by Birmingham-Southern to fund Arabic Studies at the College!

The BSC Library is pleased to be a part of this important initiative to build classes and teaching resources related to Arabic Studies.  With the input of BSC faculty, we have been building our collections throughout the academic year to support students interested in learning about Arabic language and cultures.  Most of the books and films are available for checkout and all are listed in the library catalog.

Want to know more about BSC's Arabic Studies program?  Join the Modern Foreign Languages faculty and students for Zaytuniyat (Arabic Culture Day) on Wednesday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the second floor of the Norton Center.  A flyer is available here.  Hope to see you there!

Image from manuscript for Qissat Bayad wa Reyad tale,
late 12th century (Source: Wikimedia images)