Author Archives: Michelle McKinney

On Display: Black History Month and National African American Read In Titles

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Black history month display

 

The National African American Read-In display represents a selection of “Must Read” books by African American authors available at UC Blue Ash Library. Books will be on display until February 28, 2020. Borrow a book and volunteer to read an excerpt from a book by an African American Author by visiting ucblueash.edu/readin. Rachelle Lawson, UC staff alumna and author of Girl, Get Yo’ Life is the special guest for this year’s National African American Read In on February 13, 2020 at 11:00 am in the Muntz Auditorium Lobby.

 

 

February Book of the Month

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Your UBCA Library’s Book of the Month for February 2020

 

Native Son by Richard Wright

Native Son bookcover

Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic.

Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Richard Wright’s powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.

 

Is it checked out?  Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered:

Invisible Man (PS3555.L625 I5 1995): A first novel by an unknown writer, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century. The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of “the Brotherhood”, and retreating amid violence and confusion to the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be.

Lighting the Fires of Freedom: African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement by Janet Dewart Bell (E185.61 .B375 2018): Lighting the Fires of Freedom Janet Dewart Bell shines a light on women’s all-too-often overlooked achievements in the Movement. Through wide-ranging conversations with nine women, several now in their nineties with decades of untold stories, we hear what ignited and fueled their activism, as Bell vividly captures their inspiring voices. Lighting the Fires of Freedom offers these deeply personal and intimate accounts of extraordinary struggles for justice that resulted in profound social change, stories that are vital and relevant today.

A vital document for understanding the Civil Rights Movement, Lighting the Fires of Freedom is an enduring testament to the vitality of women’s leadership during one of the most dramatic periods of American history.

Richard Wright: Native Son, Actor, Activist (streaming film): Richard Wright was an African-American author of novels, short stories and non-fiction that dealt with powerful themes and controversial topics. Much of his works concerned racial themes that helped redefine discussions of race relations in America in the mid-20th century. Born on a plantation in Mississippi, Wright was a descendent of the first slaves who arrived in Jamestown Massachusetts. This program follows his arduous path from sharecropper to literary giant. Through authors like H.L. Menken, Sinclair Lewis, Theodore Dreiser, he discovered that literature could be used as a catalyst for social change. In 1937 Wright moved to New York and his work began to garner national attention for it’s political and social commentary. Much of Wright’s writing focused on the African American community and experience; his novel Native Son won him a Guggenheim Fellowship and was adapted to the Broadway stage with Orson Welles directing in 1941.

 

by Christian Boyles 

Closed in Honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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Martin Luther King in front of US flag

The UCBA Library will be closed Monday, January 20, 2020 in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will resume our regular Spring Semester hours on Tuesday, January 21st at 7:30 am.

Please visit our website to view all UCBA Library hours, including holidays and any exceptions to our regular schedule.

Study Room Reservations Are Changing in Spring 2020

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Photo of study room

Study room reservations are changing starting Spring Semester 2020. During peak times, Monday – Friday 7:30 am to 2:00 pm, all study rooms are reserved in 30 minute increments for a maximum of 3 hours per day. Reservations can be extended online while in a study room, but this must be in advance of the reservation ending time. Staff at the Information Desk must be notified of the extended reservation.

After 2pm and until close, Monday – Friday, all rooms are open to students with no reservation required on a first come first serve basis, with no time limit.

Visit Study Rooms or stop by the Information Desk for more information.

 

November Book of The Month

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by Christian Boyles

You know a bit about them from the hit musical….Now, you can get the rest of the story.

 

Eliza Hamilton book cover

Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton

A strong pioneer woman, a loving sister, a caring mother, and in her later years, a generous philanthropist, Elizabeth “Eliza” Schuyler Hamilton had many sides. Mazzeo follows Eliza through her early years in New York, into the ups and downs of her married life with Alexander, beyond the aftermath of his tragic murder, and finally to her involvement in many projects that cemented her legacy as one of the unsung heroes of our nation’s early days.

Hamilton book cover

Hamilton: An American Biography by Tony Williams

Tony Williams provides readers with a concise biography that traces the events and values that enabled Hamilton to rise from his youth as a dispossessed orphan to Revolutionary War hero and Founding Father, a life uniquely shaped by America and who, in turn, contributed to the creation of the American regime of liberty and self-government. He was one of key leaders in the American Revolution, a chief architect of America’s constitutional order of self-government, and the key figure in Washington’s administration creating the institutions that governed America. Williams expertly weaves together biography with historical events to place Hamilton as one of the most important founding fathers.

Are they checked out?  Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

James Madison and the Making of America (E342 .G88 2012): James Madison, our fourth President and icon of the conservative movement. In it, the author, a historian looks beyond Madison’s traditional moniker, “The Father of the Constitution”, to find a more complex and realistic portrait of this influential Founding Father. Instead of an idealized portrait of Madison, the author treats readers to the story of a man who often performed his founding deeds in spite of himself: Madison’s fame rests on his participation in the writing of The Federalist Papers and his role in drafting the Bill of Rights and Constitution. Yet, he thought that the Bill of Rights was unnecessary and insisted that it not be included in the unamended Constitution which, he lamented, was entirely inadequate and, likely, would soon fail.

Ladies of Liberty: the Women that Shaped Our Nation (E302.5 .R64 2008): Cokie Roberts sheds new light on the generation of heroines, reformers, and visionaries who helped shape our nation with this blend of biographical portraits and behind-the-scenes vignettes chronicling women’s public roles and private responsibilities. Drawing on personal correspondence, private journals, and other primary sources–many of them previously unpublished–Roberts brings to life the extraordinary accomplishments of women who laid the groundwork for a better society. Alm

ost every quotation here is written by a woman, to a woman, or about a woman.

The History of the United States – The Founding Fathers of the United States (streaming film): A fascinating, in-depth study of the founding fathers of the United States. Learn about the cultures and societies upon which they based the U.S. government and discover the influence of Egyptian, Greek and Native American cultures on our own. This program discusses the former system of government our founders took notice of most and explore the origin and creation of the Declaration of Independence.

Libraries in Canvas Workshop

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Libraries in Canvas Workshop 

canvas logo

 

 

Learn how the library can be utilized by you and your students in your Canvas course!  The first hour will be a workshop reviewing new Canvas tools for information literacy and library resources, while the last half hour will be open for consultations. All levels of Canvas experience are welcome.

Wednesday October 23, 2019
10:00 am – 11:30 am
Muntz 117 

Note: please bring your laptop or tablet. 

Register Now Button

 

 

 

By Lauren Wahman

October Book of the Month

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No Visible Bruises bookcover

We call it domestic violence. We call it private violence. Sometimes we call it intimate terrorism. But whatever we call it, we generally do not believe it has anything at all to do with us, despite the World Health Organization deeming it a “global epidemic.” In America, domestic violence accounts for 15 percent of all violent crime, and yet it remains locked in silence, even as its tendrils reach unseen into so many of our most pressing national issues, from our economy to our education system, from mass shootings to mass incarceration to #MeToo. We still have not taken the true measure of this problem.

In No Visible Bruises, journalist Rachel Louise Snyder gives context for what we don’t know we’re seeing. She frames this urgent and immersive account of the scale of domestic violence in our country around key stories that explode the common myths—that if things were bad enough, victims would just leave; that a violent person cannot become nonviolent; that shelter is an adequate response; and most insidiously that violence inside the home is a private matter, sealed from the public sphere and disconnected from other forms of violence. Through the stories of victims, perpetrators, law enforcement, and reform movements from across the country, Snyder explores the real roots of private violence, its far-reaching consequences for society, and what it will take to truly address it.

Is it checked out?

No worries, we have more titles on the subject.

Framing the Victim : Domestic Violence, Media, and Social Problems – HN59.2 .B468 2004

Violent Partners : a Breakthrough Plan for Ending the Cycle of Abuse – HV6626.2 .M58 2008

Teen Dating Violence : How Peers Affect Risk & Protective Factors – ebook

 By Christian Boyles

Banned Books Week at Your UCBA Library

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banned books week graphicYour UCBA Library presents Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. It highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship.

Please stop by the library and check out our selection of books that have or are currently being challenged due to the ideas they present, the language they use, or content that has been deemed to be objectionable. Your UCBA Library remains committed to preserving your intellectual freedom from censorship and attempts to restrict access.

 

by Christian Boyles and Kellie Tilton

On Display for Hispanic Heritage Month

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Visit the UCBA Library to browse a selection of print books about the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

Be sure to also visit the Hispanic Heritage Month Display online guide.

Hispanic Heritage Month

 

by Christian Boyles

Book of the Month for September 2019

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Your UCBA Library’s Book of the Month for September:

Money: 5000 Years of Debt and Power 

by Michel Aglietta 

Money book cover 

As the financial crisis reached its climax in September 2008, the most important figure on the planet was Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. The whole financial system was collapsing, with little to stop it. When a senator asked Bernanke what would happen if the central bank did not carry out its rescue package, he replied, “If we don’t do this, we may not have an economy on Monday.” 

What saved finance, and the Western economy, was fiscal and monetary stimulus – an influx of money, created ad hoc. It was a strategy that raised questions about the unexamined nature of money itself, an object suddenly revealed as something other than a neutral signifier of value. Through its grip on finance and the debt system, money confers sovereign power on the economy. If confidence in money is not maintained, crises follow. Looking over the last 5,000 years, Michel Aglietta explores the development of money and its close connection to sovereign power. This book employs the tools of anthropology, history and political economy in order to analyse how political structures and monetary systems have transformed one another. We can thus grasp the different eras of monetary regulation and the crises capitalism has endured throughout its history. 

Is it checked out?  Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered: 

The Ascent of Money: a Financial History of the World (DVD)
HG171 .A83 2009 

Bestselling author, economist and historian Niall Ferguson takes a look at how money evolved, from the concept of credit and debt in the Renaissance to the emergence of a global economy and the subprime crisis we face today 

A History of Money (E-Book) 

A History of Money looks at how money as we know it developed through time. Starting with the barter system, the basic function of exchanging goods evolved into a monetary system based on coins made up of precious metals and, from the 1500s onwards, financial systems were established through which money became intertwined with commerce and trade, to settle by the mid-1800s into a stable system based upon Gold. This book presents its closing argument that, since the collapse of the Gold Standard, the global monetary system has undergone constant crisis and evolution continuing into the present day. 

Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money 
HG1710 .P68/ 2015

The notion of a new currency, maintained by the computers of users around the world, has been the butt of many jokes, but that has not stopped it from growing into a technology worth billions of dollars, supported by the hordes of followers who have come to view it as the most important new idea since the creation of the Internet. Believers from Beijing to Buenos Aires see the potential for a financial system free from banks and governments. More than just a tech industry fad, Bitcoin has threatened to decentralize some of society’s most basic institutions. An unusual tale of group invention, Digital Gold charts the rise of the Bitcoin technology through the eyes of the movement’s colorful central characters, including a British anarchist, an Argentinian millionaire, a Chinese entrepreneur, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and Bitcoin’s elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Already, Bitcoin has led to untold riches for some, and prison terms for others. 

 

by Christian Boyles