Fun

Category: Fun

Meet the Staff, Student Worker Edition: Devin Ditto

001 (Medium)Devin Ditto is a psychology major from St. Louis, Missouri, and works as a Circulation Assistant at the Seeley G. Mudd Library. We love to see her smiling face from behind the Circulation Desk, where she helps students and faculty access course reserves, locates materials and assists students in navigating the stacks, and helps patrons use the copier, scanner, and printer. Devin enjoys working in the Mudd, and it shows!

We asked this circulation assistant a few questions so that you, our faithful patrons, could get to know her and her work in the library a little bit better. Be sure to say hello the next time you see her in the Mudd, and you may get a glimpse of her shining smile yourself.

Devin, how long have you been working at the Mudd?

This will be my second year working in the library.

What’s the best part of your job?

I think my favorite part is helping students find what they are looking for. The other staff members are pretty great as well.

As a student, where is your favorite study/relaxation/hang-out spot in the Mudd?

It depends on what kind of mood I’m in. If I actually want to be productive, somewhere on the second or third floor. If I want to be a little bit productive but still talk to friends, the first floor. And if I want to make myself believe that I’m being productive, the Kruse room.

What are your hobbies?

Cooking and baking

What’s the last book you read that you couldn’t put down?

Gone Girl – I read at least 200 pages in one day over reading period.

What are your favorite bands or performers?

Oh my gosh, so many favorites that I don’t think I actually have a favorite!

What groups and/or organizations are you active in (on or off campus)?

LUCC (Lawrence University Community Council)

When will you graduate? What are your post-graduation plans?

I will graduate in June. I’m not sure what my post-graduation plans are, but hopefully working, so that I can save up to go back to school, is on the agenda.

Is there anything you’d like to share about the Mudd with your fellow students?

Actually use it! It has so much stuff to offer, from great study spots to a friendly environment. The staff is always really helpful, and you will almost always be able to find what you need or are looking for.

The Weekend of Trivia L Has Arrived!

ARC2008-06Beginning Friday, January 23 at 10:00:37pm and lasting through midnight on Sunday, will be the 50th edition of the Great Midwest Trivia Contest hosted by Lawrence University.

For those who aren’t familiar with this Lawrence tradition, Trivia is a 50 hour competition among both on-campus and off-campus teams to answer obscure questions penned by the year’s Trivia Masters.  With one question read every ten minutes, teams have three minutes to complete each question, usually after an intense amount of Google-searching. In past years before energy drinks and laptops, teams would search through encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs, and other print sources to find answers.

The Mudd Library’s archives feature some fantastic images from Trivias past, including photos of teams, sample questions, and more! Here is where you can check those out. In addition, Lux contains digitized copies of past editions of The Lawrentian– browse through student articles about Trivia!

And for those of you participating in Trivia L this year, check out the MIT Libraries’ Google search tips!

It’s a New Year in the Mudd!

003 (Medium)You know that you can rely on the Mudd as a place to research and relax, but we can also help you resolve, too! If you’ve made New Year’s resolutions, we have many materials on hand that just may support and inspire your intentions for 2015.

If incorporating more physical fitness into your daily routine is a goal for you in the upcoming year, check out our video collection, which includes DVDs on yoga, strength training, zumba, belly dancing, and more. We also have multiple versions of the video game Just Dance, if you wish to work out while learning some great new dance moves. Perhaps you’re interested in being more mindful about the food that you purchase and eat. If so, we have many documentaries to inform and inspire you, including Forks Over Knives, Fed Up, and Food, Inc. The third floor houses cookbooks and books about mindful eating, with titles like Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life and Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship With Food.

Speaking of mindfulness, if beginning or deepening a meditation practice or dealing more constructively with stress and anxiety is a challenge that you’re hoping to tackle in 2015, we have many resources on the practices of mindfulness and meditation. These include books and CDs by Jon Kabat-Zinn, the works of Pema Chödrön, and titles such as LinkCalming Your Anxious Mind: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You From Anxiety, Fear, and Panic and Five Good Minutes: 100 Morning Practices to Help You Stay Calm and Focused All Day Long. Or, head to Circulation to check out the Wii that we have available and try out Deepak Chopra’s game Leela: body. mind. spirit. play.

Of course, the best way to abate stress and anxiety is to remain on top of your academic workload and to seek assistance early and often from your friendly and helpful librarians. If you’ve resolved to become more studious this year, check out the research guides that we’ve compiled for various subjects and an array of classes; these guides highlight useful resources that support academic work for specific classes and subjects. The Reference Desk is an obvious place to turn for support in maintaining your academic goals, and we offer help either in person or virtually. Reference librarians are on hand six days a week to answer questions and to help with research. If you’re in need of in-depth support, research appointments are a great way to access advanced research assistance for your project, paper, or bibliography. Staying abreast of your studies and coursework is a laudable resolution for the new year, and the Mudd librarians will do their best to support you in this endeavor.

The Mudd can help with even more resolutions. Perhaps you intend to stay more informed on current events, either domestically or internationally. We subscribe to a large number of local and international newspapers to help you do just that. Are you interested in learning another language? We’ve got you covered with a large selection of language media, including resources to help you study Estonian, Finnish, Chinese, Latvian, French, and many more. If you aim to unplug a bit and to spend more time offline in the new year, we have a ton of contemporary literature and many graphic novels for pleasure reading to your hearts’ content. We also have board games available for check-out, like Chutes and Ladders, CandyLand, Twister, and Scrabble.

Regardless of what you’ve resolved to change or to begin in the new year, and even if you don’t make any resolutions at all, all of us in the Mudd wish you a wonderful 2015, and sincerely hope that you will take full advantage of the multitude of materials and resources that we work so hard to provide. Here’s to a great year!

Celebrating the Holidays!

Are you looking for some holiday cheer? Check out the Mudd’s impressive collection of holiday books, CDs, movies, and more!

We have a varied and extensive  selection of  holiday favorites, sure to fill your home with joy and mirth, regardless of how you choose to celebrate the season. Grab your family and some hot chocolate and hunker down to enjoy a classic holiday movie such as A Christmas Story, The Nightmare Before Christmas, A Christmas Carol, or It’s a Wonderful Life. Enjoy the magic of The Nutcracker as you wrap gifts, or decorate your tree to the sounds of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Light some candles and learn more about Kwanzaa or the history and meaning  behind popular Christmas traditions, or relax with some Yule and Winter Solstice-inspired refrains. Gather around the fire for a read-aloud of Christmas poetry by Dylan Thomas or Maya Angelou. Counteract the stress of your holiday shopping with the hilarious Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris or You Better Not Cry by Augusten Burroughs.

Check out our Pinterest page to see an assortment of the holiday materials we have available for checkout. Or, stop by the Mudd to hang out; the library is a cozy, quiet oasis in the midst of whipping winds and holiday bustle.

All of us at the Mudd wish you and your family the very best this holiday season!

Featured Spooky Materials!

Just in time for reading period and Halloween, the Mudd’s best scary books and movies will be on the display shelf! Our materials range from newer releases to classics, from endearingly campy to downright scary (depending on how easily you scare).

This past week there has been an assortment of wonderfully chilling literature including:

Some of the featured movies for this week will be:

2014 Welcome Week Library Events

Library Open HouseFor the first time in forever- the library will be full of students!*

We have some fun events planned for new students and their parents during Welcome Week. Come to the library for any or all of these events, or just stop by to check out some novels, movies, or video games. The library will be open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during the week, 10 a.m to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Visit our table at the services fair
Tuesday from 1-4 in the Somerset Room of the Warch Campus Center
Stop by our table to learn about the services the library offers our students, our collections, and meet some of our awesome staff.

Parent Drop-In at the Library
Tuesday September 9, 1:30-3:30
Parents, need a place to read the paper, get some coffee, and charge your phones? Stop by the library to relax and talk with the Mudd librarians about how we can help your students succeed.

Library Open House Party
Thursday, September 11, 9 a.m.– noon
Come for the doughnuts and coffee, stay for the games, tours, library giveaways, crafts, and friendly librarians. We also have a mountain of prizes that were donated from downtown businesses.

We’ve also put together an informative welcome page for new students to help you learn all about the Mudd Library.

*We apologize to those of you who will now have the Frozen soundtrack stuck in your heads for the remainder of the day.

Canine Therapy at the Library!

The term is coming to an end and finals are looming closer…must be time to pet some dogs!

5783382104_57cd827071_b

For the past few years, the Mudd has hosted canine therapy for students to de-stress for a bit and take their minds off the pressure of spring term finals.  Faculty, staff, and students bring their dogs for Lawrence students to get some puppy love!

It’s a whole lot of fun and this year it will be on Monday, June 9th from 2-3pm, outside of the Mudd. Pictures from past years’ canine therapy events can be found on our Flickr page!

Meet the Staff, Student Worker Edition: Allison Wray

003 (Large)We are pleased to introduce Allison Wray, the library’s new Student Social Media Assistant! In the short while that she’s held this position, she’s impressed us with her skill and talent, and we are so grateful to have her social media acumen here at the Mudd. You may have already noticed that Allison has been writing some wonderful posts for this blog, and she is also helping us maintain all of our social media sites.  She recently shared with us that Lawrence students tend to use tumblr more than any other social media site; thanks to her insight, we’re now aiming to reach more of the Lawrence community through our tumblr page.

We’re looking forward to continued collaboration with Allison, who also shares her talents at the Circulation desk. Read on to learn more about this multifaceted and talented student worker.

What’s your major?

English, but I’m thinking about adding art history as well.

Where are you from?

West Bend, Wisconsin

How long have you been working at the Mudd?

Fall term of this year.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

I really like being a part of the “behind-the-scenes” work of a central campus spot. It’s so cool to see how the library operates!

Share something you’ve done at work that has made you especially proud.

I redesigned the theme on the tumblr page! It’s not awfully difficult, but I’m really glad with how it turned out. Designing a nice theme is very satisfying for me.

As a student, where is your favorite study/relaxation/hang-out spot in the Mudd?

I don’t usually stick to one spot, but as long as there’s a big window, I’m happy. I am a fan of the upper floors, though.

What are your hobbies?

Knitting, watercolor and oil painting, reading, sleeping, and binge watching television on Netflix.

What’s the last book you read that you couldn’t put down?

It’s been so long since I read a book for fun! I can’t name one, but I just started Full Bloom: The Art and Life of Georgia O’Keeffe and I’m excited to get into it.

What are your favorite bands or performers?

I really enjoy folk and indie music; some of my favorites are Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, Laura Marling, and Johnny Flynn.

List your favorite blogs and/or magazines.

I really love Autostraddle.com and Nylon magazine.

What groups and/or organizations are you active in (on or off campus)?

I’m involved in Tropos (the literary magazine) and the Downer Feminist Council, and I adore both!

When will you graduate? What are your post-graduation plans?

2017. I don’t know yet, but I think I’d like to go to grad school for library sciences or museum studies.

 

 

 

National Library Week 2014!

Come celebrate National Library Week here at the Mudd from April 13-19! The festivities will begin Monday, some highlights include:

National Library Week 2014

  • Hidden prizes all over the library! Plastic eggs containing a slip redeemable a prize have been hidden around the library. Bring the egg to the reference desk to pick a prize!
  • Enter the annual Library Haiku Contest!
  • Library Student Worker Appreciation Day on Tuesday, April 15th- make sure to say thanks for all the hard work they do!
  • Ask a question at the reference desk, get a cookie on Wednesday, April 16th from 6-10 PM!
  • Tell us your favorite thing about the library, and see why the staff and students love it too!

Take a look at our Facebook album to see photos of the library staff sharing what it is that we love about working at the Mudd Library.

We hope to see you here!

Fox Cities Book Festival Authors at Lawrence: Bruce Machart and Matthew Batt

As part of the Fox Cities Book Festival, Bruce Machart and Matthew Batt will present on the Lawrence University campus on Friday, April 11 at 4pm in the Pusey Room in the Warch Campus Center.

tumblr_n3f4lyK2t71rhgrsso1_1280

 

Bruce Machart is the author of the award-winning novel, The Wake of Forgiveness (2010), and the collection of short stories, Men in the Making (2011), both published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Reviewers have called The Wake of Forgiveness mesmerizing, evocative, and a dazzling tale of retribution, redemption, and morality. The novel won the Texas Institute of Letters Steven Turner Prize for fiction and the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association’s Reading the West Prize. It was also named to several “top ten title” lists for 2010.

Both of Machart’s books are available in the Mudd, and more information on the author can be found on his website and the Fox Cities Book Festival author page.

Matthew Batt is the author of Sugarhouse, tumblr_n3f5nrKijx1rhgrsso1_500a nonfiction account of renovating a Salt Lake City crack house and his life along with it. He’s the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the McKnight Foundation, and his work has been featured in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Huffington Post, and elsewhere. He teaches creative writing at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota and has lately been finishing work on a collection of essays and a novel set in Milwaukee.

Sugarhouse can be found in the Mudd Library, and more information on Batt can be found on the Fox Cities Book festival author page.