Hispanic Heritage Month

The Library celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15) with an exhibit in the library entrance hall of materials that have to do with our country’s Hispanic heritage. There is also a cart of books, CDs and DVDs next to the circulation desk that are ready to circulate. Both the exhibit and the cart were arranged by Andra Crawford and Eileen Cusick.

National Hispanic Heritage Month started in 1968 when Congress authorized President Lyndon Johnson to proclaim Hispanic Heritage Week. The observance was expanded by Congress in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It is intended to be a time to celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of Americans who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking areas of the Caribbean and Central and South America. This year’s theme is “Heritage, Diversity, Integrity and Honor: The Renewed Hope of America.”

September 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. They all declared independence in 1821. In addition, Mexico, Chile and Belize celebrate their independence days on September 16, September 18 and September 21, respectively. More information about the Hispanic heritage of the United States can be found at the National Hispanic Heritage Month web site: http://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov.

CinemExeter Makes a Move

The film collections are among the most popular collections in the Library, and until recently, among the hardest to browse. Newer films were kept in two wooden racks with slide-out drawers, older films were kept behind the Circulation Desk, and a large assortment of television shows and other films were kept near the music CDs on floor 1M. Not only did this cause a great deal of confusion among patrons, it even befuddled the staff a bit when trying to determine where to reshelve a returned DVD.

Thankfully, over the summer, different sections of the collection were combined and given a new home on the Library’s main floor. Located behind the row of computer terminals on the main floor of the library, the entire CinemExeter collection is now shelved in straight alphabetical order. Whether you’re looking for a new movie, a classic film, or a television series, you’ll find them all in the same place. (The educational programs and some of the older foreign films are still located in the room above the Circulation Desk.)

Integrating the collection opened up a lot of shelving in the Lawrence Music area (outside the Computer Lab on 1M), so we moved the entire paperback collection to this space for good measure. The paperbacks include fiction and non-fiction, are shelved alphabetically by author, and are selected as quick reads rather than research tools.

The CinemExeter collection in its new location

Part of the paperback collection on floor 1M

A Gift of Shakespeare

The Library was recently given a wonderful 7-volume set of Shakespeare  from  Robert I. Smith, Class of 1948. Published in stages between 1723 and 1725, this set was edited by Alexander Pope. It was only the second critical edition at the time, meaning that it was edited by a scholar other than the original author, and contains added scholarly information such as essays and annotations. This particular set is also special because it includes an often missing 7th volume, which includes Venus and Adonis, Tarquin and Lucrece, and Miscellany Poems.