Upcoming Book Sale

Coming up this fall the library will be having a book sale and would like to invite faculty students and members of the community to come and look though our collections of books donated by an assortment of people, with the chance of purchasing books for a great price. While looking briefly at some of the titles that will be in out upcoming sale; I have seen some of William Shakespeare’s classics, many books about travel and the world,  and quite a few books about art and art history. There are many other books that will be available during our sale and we hope to see you there. ~Gordon

Computers

Computers. Super important here at Coe and I'm glad the library has so many. Last semester, my computer was broken so I spent a LOT of time in the library at one of the computers. The library also seems to be immune to whatever seems to be going on with Coe's wi-fi (most of the time). Even though the library isn't open all day, there's usually a good bet that you can use a computer when you need one. ~Angela A.

Bones of Paris--Book Review

The Stewart Memorial Library has much to offer to people with all types of interests. For example, if someone is just looking for something to read for leisure and have an interest in suspenseful fiction and like France, and more specifically Paris, they may be interested in The Bones of Paris by Laurie King. This book involves a little bit of history, especially about the lives of those famous writers and artists that made up the infamous Jazz Age of the 1920's. In this book you will be following an investigator from the United States who was hired by an American family from Boston who's daughter moved to Paris to pursue her dreams of being an actor/model, but then suddenly lost all contact with her family who began to worry. The investigator, Harris Struyvesant, was more than happy to take the job and have the opportunity to walk the streets of Paris and sit in all the wonderful cafes and bars. He saw this as more of a vacation because he felt that he would find the young woman in the arms of some up and coming artist, which happens to many. But as his search continues it takes a turn he wasn't expecting because now the trail leads him in search of a....murderer.

If this book sounds interesting to you then don't hesitate to come check it out, it'll be waiting just for you! It is located in the Browsing Area on the first floor of the library. The call # is PS3561 I4813 B66 2013.

If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask, anyone from the Circulation or Reference desk would more than willing to assist you! Rachel S.

Library FAQs

Working in the library, I get many questions on the rules and general knowledge of the library. Why is it so loud in the library? You aren’t allowed to eat in there are you? Do they have any books that I could check out to read just for fun? These are some questions I get asked frequently. So why not write them all down and answer them for the masses?
In regards to the first—and most frequently discussed—question, it may be your location. The library has four floors, and there is an unspoken rule that the farther up you go the quieter you should be. So if you would like some silence, third floor is the place for you. If you have a project to work on with others try the basement, or a study room on second floor. As far as eating in the library goes, go for it. People have gone as far as to order a pizza, and have it delivered to the library. If you ever need to just spend the day in the library and crack out some hard core studying, don’t be shy bring as much or as little food and beverage as you desire.
For the last question there are indeed many different books that you can check out just for fun. We have the Whipple section right on the main floor, which is full of books that are popular now. It’s always worth a look. We also have young adult, and children book sections in the basement. You can find Harry Potter, Divergent, or even Dr. Seuss. Brittany B.

Notes from a Summer Worker Chapter 2

What I did in the Library this Summer
This summer, my coworkers and I have been working primarily on two projects. The first of which is transcription. Transcription is listening to accounts of the flood of ’08 and rendering it in on archival paper that will be stored in the library’s archives. I have had two individuals that I have transcribed. The first was a fantastical man who had traveled the country and the world performing in a show in which he dressed as a woman and performed comedic acts. He finally settled in Cedar Rapids, only to have his home flooded and his sequined costumes tarnished by the Cedar River’s bloat. With the help of his neighborhood, the community came together and repaired a broken morale. The second transcription assignment is about one of our own fellow Coe Students. She was a nursing student during the time of the “Epic Surge” and worked at St. Luke’s and lived there when her apartment was flooded. During the spring and summer of 2008, not one person was unaffected in some part by the flood.
The second project is that of digitizing students’ honors theses from past years. Currently, students are expected to submit a digital copy of their thesis, but in years past this was not the case. In order to preserve their hard work and showcase Coe’s intellect for future Kohawks and curious minds, we have been scanning the theses and making them accessible online.

What you look forward to in the school year
The school year is going to be the busiest yet for me. It’s bittersweet to be approaching my last year here at Coe College, but I have plenty of events and projects to assure that I don’t coast through it. I am heavily involved with Coe Human Rights Advocates here on campus (inquire if interested, friends!). We have a gala scheduled for the fall that will benefit a non-profit dedicated to eradicating the presence of anti-personnel mines whose purpose has longer expired through mine-dogs. The dogs are able to discover mines through scent, and humans are able to disassemble them. There will be a sampling of area restaurants’ appetizers to lure in community members and Kohawks to pledge their support. My school year will also include various activities and conferences that I will attend with fellow Coe College Democrats. There is no off-season in politics. Whether it’s the ice-cream social(ist), or hosting a speaker, there will be plenty to do. On the academic side, I will be focusing on writing my honors thesis about religious resurgence in politics in Turkey and India (which I expect to have a throng of faithful devotees to my writing. Or my advisor. Or just me). Regardless, it shall be written and bound and contain my blood, sweat, tears, and the stains from too many midnight espressos. In what free time I have left, it will be spent with my Tri-Delta sisters, doing weird things. Whether it is doing head stands in the hallway whilst listening to sitar music during tour season, crafting until glitter coats our lungs, or shopping with the money that I just do not have, we will make time for each other and treasure the little time we have left. ~~~~Shanel

Notes from a Summer Worker Chapter 1

1) Contradictory to popular belief, circulation workers have a lot to do in the library over summer. My coworkers and I have been biding our time with regular circulation work on top of some special projects. A special project that has been going on for the duration of the summer is transcribing interviews about the 2008 flood in Cedar Rapids. Once completed the transcriptions will be placed into archives and be accessible for students. Eventually, we hope to have everything in the archives on the Internet. We are working towards that with not only the transcriptions but scanning student theses as PDF documents as well.

You may be thinking okay so you’re busy with work but does anyone ever come into the library? The answer is yes, not as many as there is during school but people still visit the library. This summer Coe was the host to several programs for children in the community. One program was College for Kids that has two-week sessions, twice during the summer. The library was the host of several of the classes this program offered. The second program Coe hosted was Reading Camp where children in the community came to campus to improve their reading. As you would suspect, that was a busy time for the library! Coe was also involved in Iowa Private College Week and of course the library was one of many tour stops.

As fun as this summer has been at the library, I know we are all looking forward to having students back on campus. Even though we have had visitors throughout the summer, there is nothing like the Kohawks!

2) This is my last year at Coe. For the school year I am looking forward to seeing all of my fellow Kohawks back on campus. Instead of missing home, I am the opposite in that I miss school. Not necessarily the homework and test part, but having my Coe family on campus. The summer always seems too long with everyone away. Is there some way we could have everyone stay on campus for the summer and not have to have class?

I am also looking forward to recruitment this fall. From what I gather there is another big class of Kohawks coming in. We could possibly get thirty new members! It is amazing to see how fast Tri Delta has grown since my time here. As a freshman we only had 38 members and now we are in the sixties. I am excited to get to know these new members and continue to get to know the existing members. Yes, this is somewhat of a plug for Tri Delta but what I am most excited about for Delta is our philanthropic events for St. Jude. As a national organization we made the goal of raising $15 million in 5 years. Well we have finished our third year at $14.2 million! I can’t wait to get my fellow Kohawks involved in our events for fundraising.
~~~Kallie

Manliness

Ever wonder if there was more to being a man than having six-pack abs? The book, "The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man" will teach you how to handle nearly any situation life may throw at you. From learning how to live a virtuous life like Ben Franklin to getting fitted for a suit, this book has it all. As the introduction of the book states, "Our goal with this book is to hopefully encourage a new generation of men to pick up where their grandfathers left off in the history and legacy of manliness." You can read this cover to cover or pick out sections to read as this book is both fun to read and packed full of useful information. Stop reading ridiculous memes on the internet and do yourself a favor by reading this book.

Ninja Squirrel has been found!

Looks like she just earned her black belt in awesomeness! Here's our first certified Ninja Squirrel winner, Laura! She found Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a parody of the timeless Jane Austen novel which pairs Regency romance with a Zombie apocalypse, creating a delightful read for a summer afternoon read. Check it out! Call number is PS3607 .R33848 P75 2009.

Check out twitter for further clues to other Ninja Squirrel sightings. @StewartNinjaSquirrels

Unbroken by Hillenbrand

One of the best books that I have ever read is Unbroken. The story of an Olympic level sprinter, he was in the 1936 Games in Berlin, who was drafted into the Army Air Force during World War II. The book details Louis Zamperini’s incredible story of being shot down during a mission, spending over two months floating in a small rubber raft in the Pacific and being rescued by a Japanese boat. He then spends the remainder of World War II stuck in a variety of prison camps. Written by the same woman as Seabiscuit, also a really good book and movie, this tale runs the full gamut of emotions. ~Andrew, Reference student

The library owns a copy of this book.  The call number is D805 J3 Z364 2010 and is located on the 2nd floor.  I agree with Andrew.  This book was an amazing testament to human suffering, loss of dreams and the ability to forgive. ~Sandy

Time for Finals

The library is one of the best places to go study if you need to get out of your dorm room for a while. There are so many nooks and crannies here that you can curl yourself into and just get work done without any distractions. Every floor has some sort of study area, whether it's an actual enclosed room or just a bunch of comfy couches up in the Over-Sized Reading Room.

For me, I really love working either up on the second floor in one of the study rooms, if I can get one, or down on the first floor in the reference area. The study rooms are great if you're working with a couple other people and you need to chat about what you're working on or if you can't study in open spaces. Be careful, though, if you're working in there with friends; work might not actually get done if you spend too long chatting!

I also like working in the reference area. It's secluded enough that if you need to be on your own there are spaces for it, but if you want to work near a friend, there's place for that too. The good thing about working on the first floor is that there aren't any places where you can shut the door, so you can actually get work done instead of chatting (which is something I've been guilty of in the past.) Of course, the library isn't the only place on campus you can study, but if you need to work in almost absolute silence or absolute silence, the library is a wonderful place to come to work.

The great thing about it is there are a lot of places to try and work. If you're not sure what works for you, try out study areas on all four floors (people seem to forget about third floor a lot for some unknown reason) and figure out what works for you. Maybe you need walls around you or light or something. You'll probably find a perfect place somewhere in the library.~Anita, Reference student

Upper Reading Room

 When I was a first year, it was difficult to get into the swing of appropriate study methods. In high school I always studied at home at the dining table, never in a library. Depending on what time of the day you are studying, Coe's library can be a very distracting place. It took probably the whole first semester to learn how to use the library to my advantage. It was a long semester of trial and error; studying at a table with other people, listening to music while studying, facing a window while studying, etc. None of those methods worked for me. I found that the best way for me to use the library is the second floor reading room. In those cubbies, I am removed from distraction and most of the time it is silent. There are plug ins in each cubbie so I am able to charge my laptop while working. I also believe it is the best spot to pick up WiFi in the library! ~Kallie