Students Spread Dance across Campus

On May 4, students from the Improvisational Forms dance class performed at various locations around campus, including inside and outside Schonberg Dance Studio, Exley Science Center and Olin Memorial Library. Students in the movement-based class study improvisation from a number of perspectives. Improvising in so many different environments challenges the dancers' ability to focus while exploring the “score” (prompts/rules) they have pre-set for each specific site, continuously relating to each other and to the unique architecture and nature of each space. The class is taught by Susan Lourie, adjunct professor of dance. (Photos by Laurie Kenney) (more…)

On April 21, Dione Longley '82 spoke about her new book, Heroes for All Time: Connecticut Civil War Soldiers Tell Their Stories, co-authored by Buck Zaidel (Wesleyan University Press), in the Davison Rare Book Room at Olin Memorial Library as part of the 2015 Friends of the Wesleyan Library Annual Meeting Talk. The book uses soldiers’ letters and diaries, and written accounts by nurses, doctors, soldiers’ families, and volunteers on the home front to vividly portray the war. Hundreds of period photographs (most, previously unpublished) add to the narrative. Longley was director of the Middlesex County Historical Society in Middletown for 20 years. Now a…

On April 9, more than 200 students gathered at Olin Library for a vigil to remember the 147 people—most of them students—killed in the massacre at Garissa University College in Kenya earlier this month. Speakers at the vigil included Arnelle Williams '17, Giselle Torres '16, Claudia Kahindi '18, Geofrey Yatich '17, Ismael Coleman '15, Nyanen Deng '17, Alexandria Williams '15, and Irvine Peck’s-Agaya ’18. (more…)

Joy Mlozanowski, library assistant/accounting specialist, is the author of Night Flying, published by Port Yonder Press in January 2015. Abstract: In her diary, Mae questions God as she and her husband confront the news of an abnormal pregnancy and agonize over the decisions they face. Needing time away to think, she visits her childhood home and reconnects with Will, a deaf friend who taught her to sign when they were young. After her visit, Mae and Will continue an intimate written exchange in which she confides her despair, while Will shares his own struggle to honor the wishes of his…

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The process of removing about 60,000 volumes from Olin Library (to make room for others, including Art Library holdings) is nearly complete, according to University Librarian Pat Tully. Olin started the work in 2012, guided by faculty and other experts in selecting duplicate, out of date, rarely circulated, and other books for removal as the library anticipated greater demand on the stacks starting in 2014. Olin holds about one million volumes and will continue to acquire books and other material every year. “Weeding will be on hold through the summer,” Tully said. “Sometime next fall we will begin an ongoing…

The Friends of the Wesleyan Library held its annual Book Sale on Nov. 2 at Olin Library. More than 3,500 books were offered at prices from $1 to $10. Members of the lacrosse team (see last photo) helped by moving more than 100 heavy boxes of books for the sale. The Friends of the Wesleyan Library is a community of readers dedicated to celebrating and enjoying books of all kinds from vellum bound manuscripts to humble paperbacks to the latest digital innovation. The Friends raise funds to support the library's important work and activities including lectures, workshops, symposia and exhibitions; Consitution…

Thanks a million, WesScholar! The open-access repository of scholarly work at Wesleyan had its one millionth download sometime in the wee hours between Oct. 1 and 2, and the number of downloads now stands at 1,000,082, according to WesScholar’s keepers at Olin Library and ITS. The title or nature of the millionth download, however, remains obscure. “We’ve been wondering about that ourselves,” said University Archivist Leith Johnson. Perhaps it was one of the all-time top-10 downloads of faculty work, say, “A Sorcerer’s Bottle: The Visual Art of Magic in Haiti,” by Professor of Religion Elizabeth McAlister, or one of the…

Need a nap? Newly installed in both Olin and the Science Library are what appear to be lounge chairs enclosed by white spheres of plastic. These sleek, futuristic-looking machines are built for the sole purpose of squeezing in that midday, mid-study power nap—a recharging center for the mind. The EnergyPod, as it’s called, is the brainchild of a company called MetroNaps and the very first of its kind. Donated by co-founders and Wesleyan alumni Christopher Lindholst ’97 and Arshad Chowdury ’98, these pods are designed to create the ideal energy enhancing environment. "There is a tremendous amount of research that…

Suzy Taraba, director of Special Collections and Archives, is the co-editor of Past or Portal? Enhancing Undergraduate Learning through Special Collections and Archives, published by the Association of College and Research Libraries Insider, 2012. In the age of ubiquitous access to information, library special collections and archives have received renewed attention through digitization projects designed to share collections with the world at large. Yet these materials also offer opportunities for student learning though direct engagement with rare or unique items. While special collections and archives have largely been used by advanced researchers and scholars, an increasing number of undergraduate courses…

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On Feb. 21, Melissa Behney joined the staff at Olin Library as a reference librarian.

Students Spread Dance across Campus

Longley ’82 Speaks at Friends of Wesleyan Library Event

Students Gather to Mourn Kenyan Victims

Mlozanowski Author of Night Flying

Rabban ’71 Speaks on Academic Freedom at American Universities

“Weeding Out” a Success as Olin Makes Room for More

Friends of Wesleyan Library Raises Funds at Book Sale

WesScholar Reaches 1M Downloads

Alumni Donate, Install 2 EnergyPods in Wesleyan Libraries

Taraba Co-Edits Past or Portal

Wesleyan Hosts New England Archivist Conference

Behney New Reference Librarian in Olin