May 2012 - Volume 4, Issue 9

With Spring well upon us, it's difficult not to draw a comparison between the Music Department and a hive of happily productive bees. What IS difficult is finding a way to encapsulate all of the energy and enthusiasm of that prolific department into something that makes sense in a couple of static display cases.  In our latest installment of our rotating Bring Your World Into Our World display, we try to do just that: to celebrate the essence of the Music Department by featuring its professors, musical groups, classes, productions, etc. From a stirring video clip of a recent performance of Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah (featuring Dr. David Luther as Elijah) to the script and poster of February's Street Scene (the college's first full-length opera theatre production, directed by Professor Kim Keck), from the numerous articles by Dr. Mel Wilhoit to the professional activities of Dr. Sigrid Luther and her students, this display attempts to scratch the surface of what it means to be a part of the music discipline and what students should expect from taking classes in the department. The exhibit will be available now through the end of September.

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Saving Private Information

May 1-7 is Choose Privacy Week, an effort by the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom and other allied organizations to highlight the growing trend of personal information gathering. From web sites to brick-and-mortar establishments (grocery stores, for instance), companies are collecting increasingly personal information, which allows them to tailor goods and services to meet your preferences but also to make money by selling your information to third party vendors. There's a dark side to giving up your personal information: it makes you vulnerable to identity theft and, worse, to government surveillance and profiling, which threatens your civil liberties. Visit the PrivacyRevolution.org page or stop by the library's current atrium display to educate yourself on this important issue. 

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Films on Demand: now with Interactive Transcripts

Our streaming video service, Films on Demand, now offers an enhancement sure to please students and faculty alike: interactive, searchable transcripts. With this new feature, users can read the transcript while watching the film, select any word in the transcript and jump to that part of the film, and print the transcript for offline reading. Click here for more information. (Bryan ID and password required to use the database.)

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Monday, April 16: Student Adam Parker reads Leonardo the Terrible Monster to one of our little visitors during the library's last Listen to This! event of the season, in which members of the audience chose favorite children's stories to read aloud.