El Día De Los Muertos – Una Celebración

Come join the Rohrbach Library Voices and Choices Center and the KU Spanish classes as they celebrate el Día De Los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead.

The Day of the Dead is a celebration of life and death that is popular in North, Central, and Latin American countries like Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, Brazil, and others. This celebration occurs around the beginning of November. Although it coincides with our Halloween celebrations, the Day of the Dead celebration is quite different.

The Day of the Dead celebration doesn’t involve spooky stories about ghosts haunting you. Rather it’s about remembering those whom you’ve lost. People make offerings to those they’ve lost, and they present these offerings either in their homes or at the grave sites. It is not uncommon for people to bring the favorite meal of the deceased to the grave site and to eat the meal there. In some cultures, people even sleep on the grave sites. In some countries, offers are made to family members who have emigrated to other countries; this is not the traditional practice, but it an emerging trend.

The most famous depictions of the Day of the Dead celebration come from José Guadalupe Posada, whose pictures of skeletons engaged in typical daily activities and dressed in clothing poke fun at death while at the same time making us acknowledge that it is in fact a part of life.

Day of the Dead celebrations are often colorful, with bright flowers, sugar skulls, and papiér maché skeletons. There is also a famous traditional dish that is prepared — Pan del Muerte, or Bread of the Dead. You can see some of these decorations on display, along with posters and pictures, in the Rohrbach Library’s Voices and Choices Center’s Day of the Dead display. In addition to a display in the Rohrbach Library, you can also visit the Language Lab in the DeFrancesco building to check out the display created by Spanish professor Dr. Dawn Slack’s classes.

Dr. Dawn Slack; Dr. Linda Matthews, associate library dean; Professor Bruce Jensen, multicultural support and reference librarian; and Professor Michael Weber, technical services and reference librarian have created a wonderful Day of the Dead display in the library. In addition to sugar skulls, colorful posters, flowers, and artwork from communication design professor Kevin McCloskey’s “ASARO of Mexico” collection, there will be a fact sheet available for your reference. You also will get the chance to sample some Bread of the Dead.

But that’s not all that Rohrbach Library is doing for this celebration. There will be life-size papiér maché skeletons on display, too. These skeletons were created by Yolanda Reyes, a local artist who had her skeletons on display a few years ago at the Reading Public Museum’s Day of the Dead feature.

Setup for the displays begins today. The displays will be available for you to view over the next few weeks. Look for upcoming information about your chance to sample some Bread of the Dead.

For more information about el Día De Los Muertos, visit the LibGuide designed for the celebration. You will find basic facts about it, as well as books, videos, articles, and news feeds full of information.

So check out the LibGuide and the display, and enjoy el Día De Los Muertos. It truly is as much a celebration of life as it is a celebration of death.

-CS

Happy Birthday, Adelaide Procter!

We’ve all heard of poets like Robert Frost, EE Cummings, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and many other popular names that seem to fill the English class curricula. Unless you study Victorian poetry, though, you may not have heard of Adelaide Procter.

Born October 30, 1825, Adelaide Procter was the extremely gifted daughter of poet Bryan Waller Procter (a.k.a. “Barry Cornwall”), and Anne Skepper. Her parents were friends with Charles Dickens, and so Adelaide was raised in a distinguished literary circle.

She began having her work published when she was only eighteen years old. In 1853, she contributed to Book of Beauty and Household Words under the pseudonym Mary Berwick so the publisher, Charles Dickens, would publish her poetry based on its merit and not based on his relationship with her family.

Adelaide’s poems continued to be published in magazines and books. She published Legends and Lyrics, the first series of her principal work, in 1858. Nine editions of Legends and Lyrics were published in seven years. Charles Dickens eventually, and accidentally, discovered her identity and wrote an introduction for the edition published in 1866.

In addition to being a poet, Adelaide was a true women’s rights activist. She wrote about and advocated for women’s rights and to further women’s education and employment until her death. She died of tuberculosis on February 2, 1864, at just 38 years old.

Check out some of Adelaide Procter’s poems at http://www.poemhunter.com/adelaide-a-procter/. You can also go to the Rohrbach Library catalog and do an author search for “Procter, Adelaide.”

Happy birthday, Adelaide!

-CS

Information taken from http://gerald-massey.org.uk/procter/index.htm.

Today in History

1793*
Eli Whitney applied for a patent for the cotton gin.

1886*
The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Celveland.

1919*
Congress passed the Volstead Act, or the National Prohibition Act, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto.

1922*
Benito Mussolini took control of the Italian government.

1940*
Italy invaded Greece during WWII.

1958*
Pope John Paul XXIII was elected.

1962*
Nikita Khrushchev told the U.S. that he ordered the dismantling of Soviet missiles in Cuba.

2009
You filmed a YouTube video for Rohrbach Library. What am I talking about? I’m talking about SnapShot PA!

On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the Rohrbach Library will be participating in SnapShot-PA, a statewide initiative aimed at capturing the impact that Pennsylvania libraries have on their communities on a typical day. Patrons can stop by the library from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Oct. 28 to record a brief video telling us why they are in the library and how they use the library’s services and resources. Some of the videos will be posted to YouTube, and the results (statistics, photos, videos, and comments) from all participating libraries will be posted online on the SnapShot-PA Web site: http://snapshotpa.org. For more information, please contact professor Karen Wanamaker, Education Librarian, at ext. 3-4709.

*Information taken from Infoplease.com.

-CS

October 28th is SnapShot-PA Day

On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the Rohrbach Library will be participating in SnapShot-PA, a statewide initiative aimed at capturing the impact that Pennsylvania libraries have on their communities on a typical day. Patrons can stop by the library from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Oct. 28 to record a brief video telling us why they are in the library and how they use the library’s services and resources. Some of the videos will be posted to YouTube, and the results (statistics, photos, videos, and comments) from all participating libraries will be posted online on the SnapShot-PA Web site: http://snapshotpa.org. For more information, please contact professor Karen Wanamaker, Education Librarian, at ext. 3-4709.

Ghosts, Ghouls, and Goblins – Spooky Stories are a Halloween Tradition

Halloween is almost here. People will soon be carving pumpkins, dressing up, trick-or-treating, and getting more candy than they can eat. And in the midst of all the Halloween celebrations, many people will be telling ghost stories.

While the traditions of dressing up and trick-or-treating have a few possible origins, the origins of Halloween ghost stories are rather consistent. Halloween began in ancient Britain and Ireland with Samhain, a Celtic festival. Samhain was observed on October 31, at the end of summer. According to CBN.com (information taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica):

“The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, goblins, black cats, fairies and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favorable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes.”

Because Halloween was a Pagan holiday, it took some time for the United States, with its strong Christian heritage, to adopt it. Eventually in the 1800s Irish settlers began to celebrate it; Irish Catholic churches, and later the entire Catholic Church, adopted it and named it All Hallows Eve because it occurred on the eve of All Saints Day. From then on, Halloween worked its way into the fabric of American tradition.

The tradition of telling ghost stories grew out of the idea that dead souls were roaming around visiting people. They were also common because the devil was thought to have a hand in helping the aforementioned divinations. Thus ghost stories have been ingrained in Halloween traditions from the start; they’ve just adapted over time.

Clearly telling ghost stories is an important part of Halloween. So when it’s time to tell them, don’t just tell the same old stories. Visit the library and check out our folklore and ghost stories books so you have some new stories to tell. Go to Rohrbach Library’s catalog and do a title search for “ghost stories” to get a list of the resources available for you here.

Also, you can check out the storytelling and folklore sections as well. These are some great resources for any budding young teachers who want something fun to read in class. The Dewey Decimal call number for storytelling is 372. The Library of Congress classifications are as follows: LB 1042 for teaching and Z 7183 for storytelling in libraries. The Dewey Decimal number for folklore is 398.2 and the Library of Congress section for folklore collections is GR. If you want folklore teaching resources, check out LB 1583.8. Items are available in our main collection and CMC collection.

References:

Ankerberg, John, John Weldon, and Dillon Burroughs. “The Pagan Roots of 
        Halloween.” CBN.com, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. 
       <http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/onlinediscipleship/halloween/
        halloween_Pagan_Ankerberg.aspx>.

Siemer, Hal. “Spooky Halloween: A Celebration of the Dark.”  
        QuestMagazine.com. Quest Magazine, 2009. Web. 27 Oct. 2009.  
        http://www.questmagazine.com/halloween.html.

-CS

Happy (Early) Birthday United Nations

October 24 is United Nations Day. On October 24, 1945, the United Nations Charter went into effect, formally establishing the United Nations. People have celebrated the UN’s birthday since 1948, although it wasn’t until 1971 that the General Assembly recommended member states observe this date as a public holiday.

So how do people across the world celebrate the UN’s birthday? Groups have meetings, discussions and exhibits about the organization’s achievements. UN Headquarters also has its own special celebration. It holds an international concert in the General Assembly Hall, and there are often other special events that are broadcast to other cities around the world.

For more information about UN Day, including information about some UN milestones, click here. You can also go to Rohrbach Library’s catalog and do a title search for “United Nations” to learn more about the organization.

Information taken from http://www.un.org.

-CS

“There is no frigate like a book”

If you were in the CMC yesterday, you may have noticed a new bulletin board under the clock outside of the kit room. The board has the quote, “There is no frigate like a book.” Because there have been some questions about the quote I put up, I figured I should explain it.

This is a quote from Emily Dickinson’s poem “There is no frigate like a book.” Here is the entire poem:

“There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!”

After studying Emily Dickinson in high school, this soon became one of my favorite poems. I guess you could tell then that I would get an English degree. I adore reading, and know that there is nothing like a book to carry you to far off lands, to take you wherever you want to go. A book truly is a “frigate” (small boat)⁺ that allows you to travel anywhere you want to go, and you can go there for free.

There are many other wonderful poems by Emily Dickinson, and you can find them right here in the library. Just do an author search in the library catalog for “Dickinson, Emily.”

So read on, everyone. Go find your frigates and travel the world, if only for a few hours.

⁺ Check out the Rohrbach Library’s Twitter page to see a definition of “frigate,” as well as other “Word of the Day” tweets.

-CS

National Gallery of Writing NOW OPEN

Happy National Day on Writing!

For those of you who submitted writings to the National Gallery of Writing, the Gallery is now open! Check it out. If you still want to add your writing, you can still add it.

“At 12:01 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 20, the National Gallery of Writing will be opened up for everyone to view a wide variety of pieces.  A Web cast will air live from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 20.” (From NCTE’s site)

To enter the Gallery, go to: http://galleryofwriting.org/

For more information on the National Day on Writing go to: http://www.ncte.org/dayonwriting/learn

Love Your Body Day

The KU Women’s Center invites you to celebrate National Love Your Body Day today, Tuesday, October 20, from 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. in the Student Union Building’s Multipurpose Room.

Organized by the National Organization for Women (NOW), Love Your Body Day is a day for women to accept and love themselves for who they are. In this day and age of the media showing us women with bodies that are impossible for us to ever attain, either because they are entirely too thin or Photoshopped to remove imperfections, it is important for us to take a step back to be happy with ourselves, and to enjoy that fact that women come in all kinds of beautiful shapes and sizes.

Although this day is geared toward women, it’s important for men to come out and support the women in their lives. Men can also take away a lesson in how to learn to love themselves for who they are, and to be happy with their bodies.

Here is the schedule of events, taken from the Love Your Body Day Facebook page:

All Day Events
Information available on the benefits of chocolate, ingredients in makeup, condoms, STDs, healthy eating and snacks, cosmetic surgery, tobacco awareness, bra-sizing, breast cancer, and more! Other all-day events include an interactive, collaborative Love Your Body Day banner, making “positive thoughts” mirror stickers and tissue paper flowers.

Yoga
10 – 11 a.m.
Professor Walke, Instructor/Associate Director of Act 101, offers an introduction to Yoga through a series of sun salutations.

Attraction’s Tell-Tale Signs
12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
Discusses how body language plays a role in attraction, dating, and relationships. With a reported 93% of communication coming from body language, learn how each part of the body and face can show you if someone is attracted to you.

Youthful You Institute of Lehigh Valley Health Network
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Learn safe sun habits and sun damage prevention tips to keep your skin beautiful and healthy. The UV facial analysis machine, as seen in recent skincare commercials, shows a detailed report of skin damage from the sun.

Goddesses Have Hips
11 a.m. – Noon
Embrace the goddess in you! Presented by Planned Parenthood, this program emphasizes positive body image and self-esteem.

The Doll Project
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
A lively presentation from Denise DiJoseph focusing on the time-honored and controversial fashion icon – the Barbie doll – and its positive empowerment by reminding us that we are all unique works of art. DiJoseph explains how participants chose their artistic muse based on personal attributes and interests to produce altered Barbies that express realistic body image and messages of social change. The presentation shares original journal entries and prototype dolls and includes an exhibit of sculptural and assembled works by DiJoseph and students from girls’ clubs and teens residing at the Chester County Youth Center shelter and detention facilities.

PicturePerfect
3 – 4 p.m.
This year’s featured film, PicturePerfect explores the impact of the media on young women’s physical, psychological, and emotional health.

To learn more about any of the topics discussed at Love Your Body Day, check out the books in the Rohrbach Library and in the Women’s Center lending library. There are also plenty of great articles on these topics in the Rohrbach Library databases. Come in and ask a reference librarian how you can learn more about women’s health.

-CS

Last chance to win!

Tuesday, October 20 and Wednesday, October 21, are your last chances to complete a quick library services survey and enter to win some great prizes. This internationally known LibQUAL survey is only conducted once every 3 years, so don’t miss out on your opportunity to tell us how we can improve our services to you.

Give us your opinion and you can enter to win:

*$100 cash
*Macy’s gift card
*KU Bookstore gift bundle
*Mark’s Sub coupons
*Library mugs, water bottles, and other library accessories

Follow this link to complete the survey⁺: http://survey.libqual.org/index.cfm?ID=385016

⁺Must be at least 18 years old to complete survey. Only KU students are eligible for prizes.

-CS