Tag Archives: Arts & Humanities

Events, Library News, School of Arts, Sciences & Education

Ink Cloud 2023

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Ink Cloud returned this year with more participation than it has seen in years. With 28 contributors and 60 pages of passionate content, the talented poets and artists of Fort Wayne and Warsaw Ivy Tech campuses collectively created a stirring and thoughtful representation of our city and college.

It was a privilege to compile their work into this year’s edition. Prefaced beautifully by Sumita Chakraborty in the epigraph, their expressions and artistry memorably mark our shared experiences. Please take some time to appreciate their artistry, vulnerability and strength.

View: Ink Cloud 2023
Ink Cloud Archive

Events, Library News

What are digital humanities? Find out at THATCamp!

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The Humanities And Technology = THATCamp

We are participating in THATCamp Midwest @ Purdue University Fort Wayne. It will take place Friday October 5th from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., followed by optional discussion time. THATCamp Midwest @ Purdue Fort Wayne will function a bit differently than the usual THATCamp as there will be more focus on learning about digital humanities, which means we will have more structure and pre-scheduled sessions. It is perfect for faculty, staff, and students wishing to move into this field.

The day will include brief presentations, panel discussions, and workshops covering topics including: metadata tagging, social networking and data visualization, digital collections, digital project management, animation, augmented reality, and incorporating digital projects in classes/programs. A preliminary schedule is posted here on the website, where you can also register to attend. We hope to see you there!

Books, School of Arts, Sciences & Education

Secret Lives: What Your Teachers Never Told You

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Read this series to discover the secrets behind some of the world’s best-known people, including authors, artists, politicians, and more!

 

Titles included:

Books, Databases, Library News, Staff Profiles

Celebrate October

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October feels like a month of holidays! This year October encompasses Sukkot, Diwali, and Samhain/Hallowe’en among others. We have cookbooks with recipes for these holidays, and children’s books about them too. Come on in and browse!

As the leaves fall, you can use the online TreeFinder to identify the tree species they are from. And of course you can find many uses for colorful leaves, and leaf-themed designs, in our Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center.

Don’t forget to observe All Hallows Read by giving someone you love a scary book that they would like. Our new favorite for children is I Want to Be in a Scary Story. Check it out!

Other new books received this month include:
The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies, by Jason Fagone.
George and Lizzie by Nancy Pearl, the acclaimed debut novel by NPR books commentator.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, a young adult novel of which Kirkus Reviews says: “This story is necessary. This story is important.”
Sleeping Beauties, another novel with topical overtones, from horror master Steven King and his son Owen King.

Meet Your Library Staff
There is no better illustration of talent hiding behind a job description than Library Director Nicole Treesh. (That’s her on the left)

What do you do at the Library?
I have been the Library Director for almost a year.  The synopsis of what I do is oversee the Fort Wayne, Wabash, and now Warsaw library services, resources, and staff while supporting the mission and goals of the College particularly related to student success.  I can’t do what I do without the amazing staff on my team.  I represent the library on several committees and consortia including the Statewide Library Director’s Committee, our Regional Academic Affairs Team, and the Regional Extended Cabinet.
I develop, manage, and evaluate the library budgets, the library collections, and our online resources.  My brain is always working, thinking, and learning about trends in information technology, library services, and community college completion and retention.  I’m always striving to tell the story of the library and our mission to serve the students, faculty, and staff in more ways than just offering books and resources.

How did you gain your expertise?
I have a BS in Counseling and worked several years in community mental health organizations.  My passion for wanting to help people overcome adversity and obtain their goals in life started when I was in elementary school.  I’ve also always loved libraries, books, and technology.  I got a part time job at a library and quickly realized that my passions for helping people and information technology go hand in hand.  I decided to get my MLS and started pursuing full time library jobs.  I spent a couple years working in secondary schools in both IT, media centers, and as a Computer Programming Teacher.  My first MLS job was as a librarian here at Ivy Tech!  Soon after I started, the library director resigned and I became interim director until hired officially in November 2016.  My library career path isn’t traditional and certainly moved rapidly, but I couldn’t be happier or feel more blessed.

What is unique about you that could be of service to the Ivy Tech Community?
I believe that my background in mental health is invaluable, but also my personal experience with mental illness particularly as it relates to suicide prevention and awareness having lost my dad to suicide when I was just 17.  I’m compassionate and empathetic, can relate to the struggles of many of our students, and have the strength to move mountains for our students to succeed.

What is your favorite thing to do outside the Library?
I should say reading, right?  But truthfully, I’m a Netflix addict.  I love gardening, spending time with my husband, my kitty Maggie, and family.  I also dance obnoxiously to Kelly Clarkson 24/7 who I’ve seen 4 times in concert.

What books would you recommend to readers?
The Watersong series by Amanda Hocking who is a terrific YA author, I also have loved anything by Jandy Nelson, Jodi Picoult, or Ellen DeGeneres who is my favorite person/philanthropist.

What website do you recommend just for fun?
Everyone needs a goodreads.com account!

Databases, Library News

In the steamy days of late summer, think of STEAM … and Steampunk

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Ivy Tech takes another interim break in August, just before kids return to school. When the weather is hot and stormy, is a great time to indulge in crafting and hobbies.

Research shows these activities are good for your brain:
“Having at least one persistent and intellectually stimulating hobby is a better predictor of career success in any discipline than IQ, standardized test scores, or grades.”1
“Nobel laureates were: twenty-five times as likely as an average scientist to sing, dance, or act; seventeen times as likely to be an artist; twelve times more likely to write poetry and literature; eight times more likely to do woodworking or some other craft; four times as likely to be a musician; and twice as likely to be a photographer.”2

Educators know that the arts are a crucial addition to math, science, engineering and technology training. The non-linear problem-solving techniques, and creative flow, exercised in artistic endeavors stimulate innovation.

Crochet and knitting are used by mathematicians to demonstrate hyperbolic surfaces. Dr. Daina Taimina, visiting professor at Cornell University, was one of the pioneers in demonstrating hyperbolic crochet. Dr. Sarah-Marie Belcastro at Smith College and Dr. Carolyn Yackel at Mercer University publish on mathematical knitting. Dr. Maryam Mirzakhani, the Fields Medal winner who died of cancer July 14th, also worked on complex surfaces by “doodling” on large sheets of paper, writing the mathematical formulas in the margins.3

Margaret Wertheim explains the math of coral reefs using crocheted models from Dr. Taimina in a TED talk.

To get your creativity flowing, we have books to check out and page through on our DIY shelf in the Creative Commons. These are for all ages, and there are more crafting books in our children’s section.

We have access to the Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center as part of our databases subscription. This is an excellent resource for techniques tutorials and designs, linking to how-to instructions and creative ideas with full text and illustrations from periodicals and books. It is organized into broad categories you can browse: Arts & Crafts, Collecting, Home & Garden, Indoor Recreation [games], Kids’ Crafts, Model Building, Needlecrafts & Textiles, Outdoor Recreation, Performing Arts, Science & Technology, Scrapbooking & Paper Crafts. A keyword search will pull up periodicals and books on “cake decoration” and other such specific activities within these. Or, you can do a keyword search across all categories for style topics, like Cosplay or Steampunk. Both are well covered here, from clothing to cakes to household furnishings.

1 Milgram, R., and Hong, E. (1997). “Out-of-school activities in gifted adolescents as a predictor of vocational choice and work.” Journal Of Secondary Gifted Education 8/3:111. Quoted in Colegrove, T. (2017). “Editorial Board Thoughts: Arts into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – STEAM, Creative Abrasion, and the Opportunity in Libraries Today,” Information Technology and Libraries, 36/1:7. https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v36i1.9733

2 Root-Bernstein, et al. (2008). “Arts Foster Scientific Success: Avocations of Nobel, National Academy, Royal Society, and Sigma Xi Members.” Journal of Psychology of Science and Technology https://doi.org/10.1891/1939-7054.1.2.51; quoted in Colegrove 2017.

3 http://news.stanford.edu/2017/07/15/maryam-mirzakhani-stanford-mathematician-and-fields-medal-winner-dies/

Books

Rainbow in the cloud : the wisdom and spirit of Maya Angelou / by Maya Angelou

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Call number: FIC ANG

“Words mean more than what is set down on paper,” Maya Angelou wrote in her groundbreaking memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Indeed, Angelou’s words have traveled the world and transformed lives—inspiring, strengthening, healing. Through a long and prolific career in letters, she became one of the most celebrated voices of our time.

Now, in this collection of sage advice, humorous quips, and pointed observations culled from the author’s great works, including The Heart of a Woman, On the Pulse of Morning, Gather Together in My Name, and Letter to My Daughter, Maya Angelou’s spirit endures. Rainbow in the Cloud offers resonant and rewarding quotes on such topics as creativity and culture, family and community, equality and race, values and spirituality, parenting and relationships. Perhaps most special, Maya Angelou’s only son, Guy Johnson, has contributed some of his mother’s most powerful sayings, shared directly with him and the members of their family.

A treasured keepsake as well as a beautiful tribute to a woman who touched so many, Rainbow in the Cloud reminds us that “If one has courage, nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” (From B&N)

Books

Icons of African American literature : the Black literary world / Yolanda Williams Page, editor

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Call number: PS153.N5 I33 2011

African American literature has a long and fascinating history. This book examines 24 of the most recognizable and popular topics related to African American literature. Each piece is substantial enough to provide more information than a typical encyclopedia entry but not so long as to be tedious or overwhelming. Arranged alphabetically, the entries cover such writers as Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and August Wilson; major works, such as Invisible Man, Native Son, and Their Eyes Were Watching God; and a range of cultural topics, including the black arts movement, the Harlem Renaissance, and the jazz aesthetic. Entries are written by expert contributors and discuss the enduring significance of these topics in American history and popular culture. Each entry provides sidebars of interesting information and suggestions for further reading, while the set closes with a selected, general bibliography of print and electronic resources for student research. (From Google Books)

Databases

What do peanuts, alcohol, and sugar cane have in common?

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Did you know…following the arrival of the automobile, scientists immediately turned to biofuels? The German inventor Rudolf Diesel fueled his engine with peanut oil, while Henry Ford predicted that the fuel of choice would be alcohol-based. Now, all these years later, this interest in biofuels has been reawakened among the scientific community. Learn more about the options and our progress toward making them a reality in Achieving Sustainability, available on GVRL.Check it out!

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GVRL (Gale Virtual Reference Library) is a wonderful eReference source available through your Ivy Tech Library. GVRL offers students thousands of full-text proprietary titles Subject areas include:

  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Biography & Genealogy
  • Business& Economics
  • Computing & IT
  • Education
  • Professional Development
  • Fiction
  • General Reference, Interests & Hobbies
  • Health & Nursing
  • History
  • Humanities & Social Sciences
  • Language
  • Law, Government & Politics
  • Literature
  • Mathematics & Science
  • Philosophy & Psychology
  • Religion & Mythology
Databases, Updates

JSTOR News

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Hebrew Journals Collection

JSTOR Adds Hebrew Language Journals

In December 2013, JSTOR announced the Hebrew Journals Collection, which will add at least 40 Hebrew-language titles to JSTOR by completion.

The collection culminates JSTOR’s collaboration with the National Library of Israel and the University of Haifa Library. It also builds upon a free pilot program for four Hebrew-language journals begun in 2008. Hebrew journals are fully integrated and searchable on the JSTOR platform, with added support for Hebrew content including right-to-left reading for Hebrew articles.

This is the first collection of journals in a non-Roman language on JSTOR, and expands JSTOR’s efforts to add global scholarship to the platform.

Read the full press release for more on Hebrew Journals.

Arts & Sciences XIII Expands Global Humanities Content

Arts & Sciences XIII Expands Global Humanities Content

Launching in April, the Arts & Sciences XIII Collection will add 125 new journals to JSTOR in foundational humanities fields.

More than 60 percent of titles in the collection are published outside of the United States. Core disciplines in the collection include Religion, Language & Literature, Philosophy, and Art & Art History. Notable titles in the collection include Literature and Theology (Oxford University Press), the Journal of Indian Philosophy (Springer Science + Business Media), and the Journal of Korean Religions (Institute for the Study of Religion at Sogang University, South Korea).

Want more on Arts & Sciences XIII? Contact participation@jstor.org.
Books

2014 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market / Mary Burzlaff Bostic (Editor)

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Call number: N8600 .A76 2014

2014 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market is the must-have reference guide for any artist who wants to establish or expand a career in fine art, illustration or graphic design. Thousands of successful artists have relied on us to help develop their careers and navigate the changing business landscape. The 2014 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market introduces a whole host of new features and guarantees the most up-to-date, individually verified market contacts possible. (From Barnes & Noble)