As part of Junior Studies, the required course that all ninth-graders take, all 17 sections heard a 50-minute presentation on the Academy Archives. Students enjoyed a rare opportunity to view first-hand items such as the original deed of gift, early trustee minutes, faculty minutes, school catalogs and view books, sheet music for school songs, club records, student diaries, and scrapbooks, as well as first copies of student publications like The Exonian, The PEAN and the E-Book. The period ended with excerpts from student letters and a selection of images from the vast collection of archival images.
The chart above gives a visualization of the number of classes that are meeting in the library this week. The total number was 72. That works out to more than two classes in the building for every regular class format throughout the week (on average). Also, note that every class year from prep to senior is represented in the classes coming in.
It’s good to see so many students taking advantage of the library! Here are a couple photos we took of scholars at work:
Last July we reported that after replacing 120 films missing from the CinemExeter collection, we would embark upon a large-scale project to replace all VHS films in the Library with DVD (where available and appropriate.) We are happy to report that the first stages of this project – replacing VHS films in the ever-popular CinemExeter collection – are nearing completion. After evaluating titles to determine recent demand as well as availability in the DVD format, we ordered close to 300 DVD replacements for a variety of great films. Many of these DVDs have already made their way onto the shelves, with many more to appear in the coming months as they are processed. Most will be reshelved in the CinemExeter collection, but some will find new homes in Classic Films (now housed behind the circulation desk) or the Lawrence Room /1M collection. We are hoping that patrons will rediscover old favorites as well as make new ones!
We anticipate that the VHS replacement project will continue throughout the school year and into next summer, as we work our way through the video collection on 1M (above the circulation desk) and in Lawrence Room/1M (above the old card catalog.)
The NoodleBib servers will be down for an upgrade on Friday night, Nov. 6th, starting at 8:00 pm. Most likely the servers will still be down on Saturday morning, Nov. 7th, for testing. Students should plan accordingly.
The library is known the world over for its beautiful architecture. In the last few weeks, architects from many different countries have visited our Library to experience Kahn’s design for themselves. Groups of 15 to 30 have come from Italy, Mexico and Norway. Our guest book records the names and comments of visitors from the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia, Iceland, Germany, Croatia and Japan, as well as states as far away as Florida and California. Visitors have written comments like: “What a masterpiece!,” “Great Architecture,” “Awesome,” and “Wow!” The building also continues to be a teaching tool for professors of architecture. Individuals and groups from the Yale School of Architecture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, and the Dalhousie School of Architecture in Halifax, Nova Scotia have recently visited the Library for projects they were working on.
Groups visiting the building should notify us ahead of time whenever possible, and be sure to check the library’s hours.
A digital artist who goes by the alias Alex Roman has created an exceptional short film inspired by Louis Kahn’s design of the Academy’s library. Working only with computers and special software as his tools (no still- or motion cameras were used), Roman has created a dreamlike view of the library’s interior spaces. It’s worth noting that Roman has never actually been to our library, and some of the details in the film don’t represent the actual physical reality of the space. It’s more a brilliant visual poem than an exact blueprint, and after watching it, we hope you’ll agree that Roman is an extremely talented young man.
We asked Roman to give us a little bio for this entry, and here’s his reply:
Jorge Seva, aka Alex Roman
“I was born in 1979, in Alacant (Alicante), a city in Spain. I would first like to say that my real name is Jorge Seva, but I use ‘Alex Roman’ as an artistic alias for publishing independent work. After being trained in traditional painting at a few academies, I discovered this other world called CG. After school, I made the move to Madrid and began working at a visual effects company. That stint did not last too long due to the lack of demand for visual effects in the Spanish market at the time. It was then, that I switched into the VIZ business. I have been working for several companies since. Currently, I work on an “already-built work” visualization series which will be stitched together into a short animated piece.”
A few notes about the film:
- After clicking the play button, you’ll see a box that say “HD is On.” You can click it to see the non-HD version if you find that it’s taking to long to load properly.
- Click the box with the four arrows (in the bottom lefthand corner of the player) to see the film in fullscreen.
- The falling pieces of paper that you’ll see near the end of the film are Kahn’s blueprints for the library.
About 150 items, originally housed throughout the Library, have been pulled together to create the Mind/Body collection over the past year. The collection has a lot to offer the campus, from DVD’s on beginner yoga and tai chi, to books on the need for sleep and healthy eating, to audio CD’s of soothing sounds and music. These items have been kept on a cart in the library’s Rockefeller Hall but are now shelved in the Map room on the main floor.
The library’s computer lab was updated last week with 16 new computers. The new machines are faster and should provide a better experience for students using the lab.
The specifications on the new computers (particularly the CPU type/speed and the amount of installed RAM) are a definite step up from the ones that were replaced, particularly
Other computers throughout the library are scheduled to be replaced later this fall.
This week the Library unveiled new and improved History Research Guides for the Fall Term. Since fall classes are two weeks shorter this year, History 331 guides had to be completely reworked to match the curriculum. The guides revised for Fall term include History 331 and History 213. There is also a brand new guide for History 109 (Classical Greece). Watch for more new guides for Winter and Spring Terms.
Those of you who use the MLA style for citations will notice that NoodleBib has changed its forms to MLA 7th edition. For Turabian/Chicago users, NoodleBib has created forms for legal sources including Court cases and Federal and State bills. The Library’s Cite-a-Source guides have also been redesigned in a new format for easier reading as well as updated to reflect NoodleBib’s changes. When and how to cite sources can be challenging; ask a Librarian for help.
Click here to see the Library’s NoodleBib and Cite-a-Source page.
As part of Junior Studies, the required course that all ninth-graders take, all 17 sections heard a 50-minute presentation on the Academy Archives. Students enjoyed a rare opportunity to view first-hand items such as the original deed of gift, early trustee minutes, faculty minutes, school catalogs and view books, sheet music for school songs, club records, student diaries, and scrapbooks, as well as first copies of student publications like The Exonian, The PEAN and the E-Book. The period ended with excerpts from student letters and a selection of images from the vast collection of archival images.
