The Library at the Center for Graduate Studies of Asheville

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!  We've been getting into the spirit by watching the Thanksgiving playlist from  Jas. Townsend and Son  (otherwise known as our newest YouTube obsession). Watch as Jas. (short for James), cooks his way through a traditional Thanksgiving feast with recipes from America's first cookbook - Amelia Simmons' 1796  American Cookery  (or  the art of dressing viands, fish, poultry, and vegetables, and the best modes of making pastes, puffs, pies, tarts, puddings, custards, and preserves, and all kinds of cakes, from the imperial plum to plain cake: Adapted to this country, and all grades of life .) The best part is, they're all prepared in true 18th century fashion - it makes for a fascinating watch, even if you aren't inclined in the ways of cooking. Watch the playlist here   via Wikimedia

All Hallow's Eve! Let the Magick begin! It's Halloween and the University of Iowa Special Collections is at it again on their excellent blog - this time featuring Halloween-y illustrations from their rare books. They've created GIFs to bring some of those illustrations to life.  from http://uispeccoll.tumblr.com/ Visit the University of Iowa Tumblr for the full post, and to be connected to more items like this from those amazing special collections crew. from http://uispeccoll.tumblr.com/ While you're at it, here's an interesting read on Halloween and similar traditions around the world.  from thebleedingpelican.com The day after Halloween, November 1st, is Dia de los Muertos (or The Day of the Dead). Originating in Mexico, Dia de los Muertos honors the dead with celebration rather than mourning. People visit the graves of their loved ones and set up altars for them at home. Images of calacas and calaveras (skeletons and skulls) are u

Halloween Edition v.2 - Haunted Libraries If you had to haunt a place for the rest of eternity, I suppose a library would be a fine place to haunt...in our (librarian) opinions, that is. Did you know that the building that houses Lenoir-Rhyne University in Asheville is on a site of an old Civil War jail? We have had students report strange noises and creepy feelings when here alone late at night studying. We have not witnessed any such thing, but who knows? Maybe our little library office is haunted, too... from the movie Ghostbusters Check out this link to read Buzzfeed's list of the 10 Most Haunted Libraries in America!   Have a spooky weekend!

Halloween Edition: Ghost Stories on eBooks! Photo from Pixabay.com In honor of Halloween coming up at the end of the month, we wanted to highlight some ghost story ebooks you can find in our online library catalog.  Photo from Pixabay.com Please note that if you are off-campus, you will need to login to access any library materials. Off-campus password information can be found at this link:  http://libguides.lr.edu/rudisilllibrary/offcampus To get to our Online Catalog, go to our Library Homepage at library.lr.edu  and scroll down to find the Online Catalog link. Or, click right here ! Here are a few finds we wanted to share with you. There are much more where these came from. Have a look for yourself by following the links above! Happy Halloween eBook Hunting! photo from Pixabay.com (The results shown were found by going to the online catalog, clicking on "advanced search", limiting the material type to "EBOOKS", and usin

This week we celebrate Banned Books Week! from ala.org/bbooks What is Banned Books Week? Banned Books Week, typically falling in the last week of September each year, is a week that recognizes and highlights the importance of our right and freedom to read as we please, as well as the freedom of free and open access to information. These are freedoms that, as librarians, we celebrate every day. Many of us became librarians because we believe so strongly in upholding these freedoms. We hope that Banned Books Week can remind you! of this freedom you may often take for granted.  Why Do People Want to Ban Books? Most book challenges and bans are based on claims that the literature is inappropriate, obscene, a danger to the innocence of children, or a danger to the public. Some examples: A K-12 parent is concerned that a book from their child’s school library is inappropriate for them; a book at the public library speaks candidly about a controversial issue;

In today's Database Spotlight, the lightning bolt is going to hit the  NC Live Home Grown eBook Collection !  As a student or faculty member at LR, you have access to wonderful library resources*. Some of the resources are provided to us by NC Live and you have access to them because you live in North Carolina. How cool is that? This database is one of them. The Home Grown eBook Collection  is a collection of hundreds of ebooks curated by NC Live. Explore all the genres from academic literature to poetry to fiction and much more. There are so many to find and devour, either for research or pleasure...and if you're lucky...both!  You can access the ebooks on your computer and/or download them to an e-reader using the Biblioboard app. It is super easy. Want to know the BEST part? These ebooks are a "permanent part" of the NC Live collection and they have unlimited and simultaneous  user access! That means  NC Live will always have these ebooks availabl

Today is the last official day of the summer semester here at Lenoir-Rhyne Asheville, and we're saying, "sayonara summer semester!" with this list of excellent & FREE Internet tools to check out before the fall sweeps you up: 1.  Piktochart   The online infographic maker! This tool is perfect for those times you have a lot of information to share - it keeps the reader interested with a lively layout. This infographic maker is pre-loaded with icons and fonts, and tips to help you organize your information concisely. Try the presentation mode to spice up your presentations or print it up on legal paper to make the coolest flyer. 2.  Pixlr A free, web-based alternative to photoshop, with most of the functionality and none of the payment. Make quick edits to your photos or save long term projects for later. You can use it online or dowload the free software. 3.  Jing   Your basic screen capture tool, in a free download. Capture pictures and short videos of

THIS JUST IN! Before we get to talking about commas, we wanted you to know: Your awesome and friendly Asheville librarians will now be offering face-to-face help with your academic writing!  Summer Hours - by appointment M-TH - 3:00-9:00PM Fall Writing Help hours coming soon.  Allison Etzel                            Sarah Reeves allison.etzel@lr.edu              sarah.reeves@lr.edu 828.407.4259                           828.407.4271 www.azquotes.com Commas ( , ) are an essential part of writing. However, they can also make your writing confusing to read when used excessively and improperly. On the flip side of that equation, under-using a comma will also confuse your reader. Oh, the agony! One common mistake people make when it comes to using commas is placing them in your writing every time you would take a pause when speaking. Yes, you typically do take a pause when reading when you come across a comma. However, a pause in the flow of s

Today, the summer solstice marks the longest day of the year. The sun is at it's northernmost point today, and as a result we're getting 14.35 hours of sunlight in Asheville! In relationship to the sun in its highest point, the moon will be at at its lowest point in order to give us a cool sight:  This year, the summer solstice coincides with a full moon for the first time since 1948. Tonight, the sun will linger long enough for us to see the sun and a FULL moon in the sky together.  It may be worth your while to turn your eyes westward for sunset (8:49 pm in Asheville) and moonrise (8:55 pm in Asheville) to witness this once in a lifetime night sky. You can also watch a live webcast from the online Slooh Community Observatory. Traditionally, June's full moon is known as the Full Strawberry Moon, signifying that the time is 'ripe' to pick berries. Later, notice that the moon is more amber in color as its beams must shine through denser, more humid summe

It's (almost officially) Summer!   Summer sparks images of travel, mountain hikes, river floats, cookouts, and lazy hangs with your crew listening to that classic jam Summertime by Will Smith & Jazzy Jeff feeling like this: No? Well, um, ok. Guess that last bit is only some of us I suppose...carry on... If you're a graduate student, though, summer may be looking like nothing but attending class and studying for you.  Here are a few quick summer school tips to make summer school worthwhile and, hopefully, inspire.  Keep yourself motivated and engaged with school.  Immerse yourself in what you are studying. Consider creating a study group with your classmates. A study group will not only help keep you accountable, but it is also a support system for your summer time woes i.e. it can help to remind you you're not the only one working through summer. It just may turn school work into fun, too.  Study outside!   If you are m

Welcome back, Lenoir-Rhyne Asheville!   Make an appointment with a librarian today - before your assignment is due! We can help you: Find scholarly/academic articles, e-books, and more at library.lr.edu Find leisurely articles, ebooks, videos, etc. too! Request print books and other resources through InterLibrary Loan Select and start on a research topic Employ APA/MLA/Chicago/AP format correctly  Finish your cookies Polish off your sandwich AND MORE For the Summer semester, you can find us in our office from 3 pm - 9pm (Sarah on Mondays & Tuesdays; Allison on Wednesdays & Thursdays). Feel free to call us, email us, or chat any time! More info at  libguides.lr.edu/ashevillelibrary

We are wrapping up the last week of classes here in Asheville. WooHoo! We thought we could help give your brains a break before any finals you may have left and allow you to gaze upon our glorious view from the library computer lab. Recently very cloudy, but we have a feeling the sun will be showing its bright eyes very soon. Good luck on all your finals. Enjoy the view! 04/28/16 05/04/16 05/05/16   05/05/16

In late March, the FCC released its proposed rules for consumer Internet privacy . If adopted, these rules could mark first step in implementing strong net neutrality rules (stay tuned for our blog post on Net Neutrality). Last week, the House of Representatives passed the Email Privacy Act (H.R. 699) in a landslide vote. The Email Privacy Act provides a reform to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act: the government is now required to obtain a warrant to access digital communications stored in the cloud. Choose Privacy Week , put on yearly by the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, reminds us to assert to our individual rights to privacy, lest we forget we ever had them. You may think that you don't have anything to hide, so you don't care who sees what you do -- but that's kind of the point. Accessing information, even that of a sensitive nature, is not indicative of guilt. In fact, many believe there should be reasonable

We are smack dab in the middle of NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK! That means that on Monday, the 2016 State of America's Libraries Report was released, and we take this week to reflect on how libraries have impacted our lives and our communities! You can check out some of the modern trends that libraries of various types are keeping an eye on in 2016 at the libraries transform website . Trends such as: connected learning, resilience, data everywhere, and Internet of things reveal the meaning behind the theme of "Libraries Transform" - libraries are tuned in to the needs of the communities they serve, and are evolving to meet those needs. There's no denying that the Internet has been revolutionary - it has changed the way we do a lot of things in our society, but it should also be said that access to the Internet is still not a given for many Americans - in fact, one of the " because statements " for the Libraries Transform campaign reads: "becaus

As graduate students , you specialize in your field of study. As you learn the lingo of the profession, the names of influential people and theories, and get familiar with popular academic journals in the field, you begin to conduct more informed searches. Citation searching is a shortcut to all this hard-earned knowledge. Using this research technique, you can easily find related resources which you can use to strengthen your reference pool and also gain insight into the field - a holistic view that you can't get when cherry picking individual resources from a results list. Citation Searching: L ook backward  at the references list of a resource.  Look forward  to see if this resource appears on other references lists. Two essential tools:  Journal Finder  and  Powersearch Journal Finder  helps you locate the academic/scholarly journals you have access to as a LR student, as well as other periodical publications, like newspapers and magazines.* Powersearch  lets you sear