Congratulations Brandon Ruff!

Brandon correctly identified Alice Paul as the author of the original version of the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA was first introduced before Congress in 1923. It has been introduced many times since then, but has yet to be ratified. Hmmm...

Well done, students! Thanks for your interest in Women's History!

Tomorrow's Year Of Movie Trailer

Also, don't forget author Bill Lightle's talk at the library today, 1 pm! Great chance to learn about life in the Georgia cotton mills, a big topic in the history of this area. Thanks Dr. Lindquist for heading this up!

Author Bill Lightle to speak tomorrow at 1 pm

Thanks to Dr. Curt Lindquist for the following information:

Author Bill Lightle will discuss his book Mill Daddy: The Life and Times of Roy Davis on Wednesday, March 31st, 1PM in the library. This book describes the life of an Albany, Georgia cotton mill "daddy." Lightle weaves together themes of family, love, and friendship against the backdrop of twentieth century Southern history.

Besides being the author of other books such as Made or Broken: Football & Survival in the Georgia Woods, Lightle wrote for the following newspapers: The Albany Herald, Greenville (SC) News, Florida-Times Union and Atlanta-Journal Constitution. After publishing his book Made or Broken: Football & Survival in the Georgia Woods, the Georgia senate passed a resolution honoring Mr. Lightle for “his passion for education, history, and the furtherance of social justice.”

You can check out the author's personal Web site here.

Last one! Women's History Month Trivia Question!

Who wrote the first version of the Equal Rights Amendment, and when was it first introduced in Congress?

The first student to the service desk with the correct answer wins a tasty box of Girl Scout cookies! Good luck!

Nancy Pearl interview in this month's Council Chronicle

"Life's too short to read a book you don't love. At age 50 or younger, give a book 50 pages to see if you like it. Over 50, subtract your age from 100, and that's the number of pages to read before you bail on a book you're not enjoying. And when you turn 100, you get to judge a book by its cover!"--Nancy Pearl

I have to admit--my ultimate goal in life is to have my own action figure. As far as I know, however, only one librarian is actually cool enough for that honor*: Nancy Pearl.

Pearl is the author of the Book Lust series of reading recommendations (good books listed for "every mood, moment and reason) and the founder, in 1998, of the program "If All Seattle Read the Same Book," which has since been adapted for cities, communities and schools across the nation. She has a call-in radio show for NPR and a Book Lust television show on Seattlechannel.org. And, yes, she's a blogging librarian, too, posting book reviews on http://nancypearlbooks.wordpress.com/.

You can check out an interview with Nancy Pearl in the March 2010 issue of the NCTE Council Chronicle, available in our serials section on the second floor of the library.

*No, come to think of it--I know several librarians who are so cool they SHOULD have their own action figures: Michael, Karen and Joel to name a few!

Congratulations Beth McDougald!

Beth has won the Women's History Month Trivia Contest for the second time. She identified the cross-dressing stagecoach driver as Charlie Parkhurst, born Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst. Legend says Charlie may have been the first woman in America to vote, although there's no hard proof of that.

Way to go, Beth! Enjoy those cookies!

"Year Of" Movie TODAY: The Business of Fancydancing

Don't miss this week's free movie, sponsored by The Year of North American Native Peoples! Today's offering, The Business of Fancydancing from acclaimed indigenous filmmaker Sherman Alexie, will be shown at 2 pm in the theater at the Funk Heritage Center.

The following plot synopsis is taken from the official Web site, http://www.fallsapart.com/fancydancing/:

"Buddies Forever, Man!"

A poetic story of growth, death and the choices that define us, The Business of Fancydancing reunites Spokane Reservation best friends Aristotle Joseph (Gene Tagaban) and Seymour Polatkin (Evan Adams) sixteen years after their high school graduation.

Beginning with a brief flashback to the young men's enthusiastic look to the unlimited future, the film mirrors both Aristotle and Seymour as they leave the "rez" for college in Seattle. Though these co-valedictorians left the rez for the white world in an identical state of excitement, their success in Seattle would ultimately differ dramatically and eventually set them against one another.

As Seymour flourishes in college and embraces the advantages and opportunities in the white world, things don't go as well for Aristotle . The rift between the two former friends opens wider as Seymour builds a successful literary career as a poet, becoming (as Aristotle describes him), "the little public relations warrior," and the not-entirely willing spokesman for all American Indians, many of whom can't stomach him.

Complicating Seymour's life further is news of the sudden death of his childhood friend, Mouse (Swil Kanim), a talented violinist and the cynical jester of the rez. Seymour feels obligated to return for the first time in years to the people who would probably prefer that he just stay away. His white lover, Steven, would also prefer Seymour not turn back to his past, and fears that if Seymour goes, he might not come back.

"They're not your tribe anymore, I'm your tribe."

The only person on the rez who seems to welcome Seymour is his college girlfriend, Agnes Roth (Michelle St. John), who though not rez-born and raised, is half-Jewish and half Spokane Indian. Though in love with Seymour in college, Agnes had the unfortunate experience of being the second person to learn that Seymour was gay, and as a result hasn't seen him for years. Agnes' perspective of the past is more forgiving then others' however, perhaps colored by her present life as a schoolteacher on the Spokane reservation.

Once at the wake, tensions are heightened as Aristotle and Agnes have now become lovers, and Aristotle's long festering bitterness is dangerously exposed by Seymour's arrival.

One by one, memories of Mouse are shared...and eventually it is Seymour's turn to speak. Does anyone want to hear him? Does he even have anything to say?

The secrets of these people and their pasts are coaxed out by way of interspersed interviews conducted by a very aggressive woman (Rebecca Carroll). Sitting confrontationally in a black room situated between our world and the next, the unnamed interviewer continually pushes for answers in an unanswerable situation, drawing the audience ever nearer to the heart of Alexie's story.

(I'm just going to go ahead and let you all know right now: you'd better go to the Funk today to watch this movie, because I intend to check the movie out as soon as it's returned to the library)!

As always, library director (and Year Of chair) Michael Martinez will be on hand to discuss the film and answer any questions.

Don't forget: our "Year Of" contest is coming to an end! If you want a chance to win a Wii, you need to enter by April 15! Just watch any "Year Of" film (this one counts) or read any "Year Of" book on reserve at the library, write a brief review and send it to Karen Preslock at kp1@reinhardt.edu.

Here's a little something to whet your appetite for the movie today:

Women's History Month Trivia Question

Who drove a stagecoack across the roughest part of the West without anyone knowing until her death that she was a woman?

The first student to the service desk with the correct answer wins a box of Girl Scout Thin Mints. Good luck!

The gauntlet has been thrown by Barton College!

I've been researching other library blogs today, and I stumbled across this charming little video by the staff of the Hackney Library at Barton College.



You know, it's cute, simple, SHORT and funny. It does a good job of introducing the library staff to the students at BC. (Although I'm not sure-- are today's college students familiar with the source material? Do they still watch reruns of The Brady Bunch? Seriously. For some reason, I kind of need to know that right now.) Even the infamous curmudgeon the Annoyed Librarian approves.

Kudos to the Hackney Bunch! I like it!

Do you all think the Hill Freeman gang can do better? Hmmm.

Congratulations to Brandon Ruff!

Brandon is the winner of today's Women's History Month trivia contest. He correctly identified intrepid Victorian-era journalist Nellie Bly (real name: Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman) as the woman who traveled around the world in 72 days in 1890.
Bly's life story is fascinating. She once campaigned for the reform of insane asylums by going undercover as a mentally-ill person--an early example of the undercover journalist!

Enjoy your cookies, Brandon!

Don't forget the "Year Of" speaker tonight!

Remember to come out to the Funk Heritage Center at 7:00 tonight to hear renowned authority Dr. Theda Perdue speak on "The Southeastern Indians and Jim Crow." Dr. Perdue will be signing copies of her books after the event.

This program is sponsored by the Year of North American Indigenous Peoples.

Women's History Month trivia question

What journalist did Jules Verne one better and traveled around the world in 72 days in 1890?

The first student to the service desk with the correct answer wins a box of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies! Good luck!

CATHY WILSON IS A WINNER!!!

Congratulations to Education major Cathy Wilson! Cathy won the Year Of North American Indigenous Peoples contest for the month of March with her review of Look to the Mountain: an Ecology of Indigenous Education by Gregory Cajete, Ph.D. For her efforts Cathy has won a SNAZZY "Year Of" t-shirt and a 4 gig flash drive, and her name has been entered into our drawing for the Wii we're giving away next month.

If you'd like a shot at the Wii, just read any "Year Of" book or watch any "Year Of" movie (on reserve at the library), write a brief review and send it to Karen Preslock at kp1@reinhardt.edu. All entrants will be eligible for the drawing, BUT you must enter by April 15! Good luck, and way to go, Cathy!

"Year Of" Event: Tuesday night at 7 in the Funk Heritage Center

The Year of North American Indigenous Peoples is very honored to host Dr. Theda Perdue tomorrow night at 7:00 in the Funk Heritage Center. She will be speaking on the topic "The Southeastern Indians and Jim Crow."

Dr. Perdue is a Professor of Southern Culture at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an acknowledged expert on the indigenous peoples of this region. A brief biography from the UNC Web site follows:
Professor Perdue's research focuses on the Native peoples of the southeastern
United States. She is the author or co-author of seven books including Cherokee
Women: Gender and Culture Change, 1700-1835 (1998), which won the Julia Cherry Spruill Award for the best book in southern women's history and the James Mooney Prize for the best book in the anthropology of the South. More recently, she has published "Mixed Blood" Indians: Racial Construction in the Early South (2003) and, with co-author Michael D. Green, The Columbia Guide to American Indians of the Southeast (2001) and The Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears (2007). She is the editor or co-editor of six books including Sifters: The Lives of Native American Women (2001). She has held a number of fellowships including ones from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Newberry Library, and the Rockefeller Foundation. She has served as president of the Southern Association for Women Historians (1985-86) and the American Society for Ethnohistory (2001).
Professor Perdue currently has three projects underway: a book on Indians in the segregated South, the Averitt lectures on race and the Cotton States Exposition which will be published as a book, and, with Michael D. Green, A Very Short Introduction to North American Indians.
Yawn's Books & More of Canton will provide copies of some of Dr. Perdue's books for purchase at the event tomorrow night. Come out and take advantage of this rare opportunity to meet Dr. Perdue and hear her speak!

By the way, check out today's Cherokee Tribune!

There's some exciting Reinhardt news on the front page! The university's own horticulturist Zach White is heading up the project to bring Waleska its own Farmers' Market this summer!

The Waleska Farmers Market at Reinhardt University is scheduled to open May 6 and will be open the first Thursday of each month from May to August from 4:30 to 8:30 pm. It will be located in the parking lot of the former Waleska Baptist Church.

I for one am certainly excited to pick up fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables on my way home from work this summer! I'll bet the market will become a favorite tradition of Reinhardt students staying on campus during the summer too. Sure beats Ramen noodles!

You can read the article by Ashley Fuller here. Contact Zach at zmw@reinhardt.edu for more information.

Congratulations Beth McDougald!

Beth won our Women's History Month Trivia Contest! She correctly identified Donaldina Cameron, right, as the woman credited with helping free more than 2,000 Chinese women and children smuggled into San Francisco to be sold as slaves. Cameron House, a social-services agency located in San Francisco's Chinatown, is named after her.

Beth won a box of Girl Scout Thin Mints for her correct answer! Way to go!

"Year Of" Movie TODAY: Dance Me Outside

The Year of North American Indigenous Peoples is sponsoring a movie today at 2 pm in the theater of the Funk Heritage Center. Today's movie is the 1995 film "Dance Me Outside," directed by Bruce McDonald and based on a book by W. P. Kinsella. It is the story of a young man and his friends on the Kidabanesee reserve in Northern Ontario.

Silas Crow, 18, an aspiring writer, is conflicted about the decision to go to college to study auto mechanics. He spends his most of his time bumming around with his buddy Frank. When the community is shattered by the murder of a girl from the reserve by a white man, Silas's world begins to change.



The film deals with issues of injustice, redemption,love and honor, but has many light moments due to the charm and humor of the main characters. One hilarious scene involves the boys getting Silas's uptight white brother-in-law drunk and introducing him to his "animal spirit." (It's on Youtube. I'd upload it here but I don't want to spoil it).

If you've been dragging your feet about whether to enter our "Year Of" contest, you'd better not delay! There's only one month left to enter! Read any "Year Of" book or watch any "Year Of" movie, write a brief review (one or two paragraphs) and email it to Karen Preslock (kp1@reinhardt.edu) by APRIL 15 if you want a chance to win the Wii! Right now your chances are pretty good! I know some of you have had to read these books or watch these movies in your classes. It wouldn't take long for you to repurpose that paper you had to write and send it in. What are you waiting for?

Women's History Trivia Question

What woman helped free over 2,000 Chinese women and children smuggled into San Francisco to be sold as slaves?

The first student to the service desk with the correct answer wins a box of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies! Good luck!

Virtual Irish Vacation, courtesy of your library

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm sure you understand if a blogger named McGee has more than a passing fondness for this holiday. I wish I could take you all to Ireland for the day (or at least to Savannah), but I imagine most of us are pretty much stuck on campus this March 17th.

So I'll try to do the next best thing. Go to Global Road Warrior and look up Ireland. While this database is particularly geared toward the business traveler, there's plenty here for the pure tourist--even the virtual one. You'll find all sorts of facts at the ready, from customs to folklore and widely-held stereotypes, from maps to travel tips to places of interest.

Take a break from your studying today and spend a few moments checking out the photo gallery. Here are just a few images to whet your Irish appetite:










Wasn't that nice? Better than a pint of green beer? Well, more suitable for 9 am on a work day, at any rate.

This virtual Irish vacation has been brought to you courtesy of your library and Global Road Warrior. Please keep us in mind for all your travel daydreams. We now return you reluctantly to your schoolwork.

Congratulations Kirsten Rodning!

Way to go, Kirsten! She got the Women's History Month trivia answer AGAIN! The woman who campaigned for the rights of indigenous peoples in the 1880s was Sarah Winnemucca!

Kirsten found the answer in a book in our "Year Of" section-- hint hint everybody.

Women's History Month Trivia Question for the Day

Who spoke out for the rights of indigenous peoples from speakers' platforms and before Congressional committees in the 1880s?

The first student to the service desk with the correct answer wins a box of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies!

A "serious institution's" library

Hello all!

You know I always enjoy reading The Hiltonian. Misti and the gang always do a great job with their fingers on the pulse of student opinion and give us their take on Reinhardt community news. I always read it and take it very seriously.

So it was with great interest that I read Tyler Hinson's list of things Reinhardt University should do to be worthy of its new name. Especially this one:

"6. Open the library 24/7/365. Every serious institution features this service.
Students need the opportunity to study and prepare at their leisure."

First of all, Tyler, thanks! I'm very flattered that you guys want more of us!

Actually our library is open 24/7/365 already! Our 24 hour study areas, complete with computers, printer and scanner, are always accessible to Reinhardt students with their Eagle cards. Our databases are always available. A large part of our collection is the 80,000 e-books and the 34,000 full-text electronic journals (more being added all the time), and those can also be accessed at any time by our students, even at 3:30 am when the paper's due at 9:00! We actually have far more electronic materials than we do physical books and journals, so don't judge our books by their covers, haha.

But I'm probably being a little disingenuous here. I expect Tyler's talking about staffed library hours. I wondered how ours really stacked up, so I did a little research. I think you'll be pleased. The 2008 Academic Libraries Survey conducted by the United States Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, states that the majority of academic libraries--2,530--were open between 60-99 hours during a typical week. Another 683 academic libraries were open between 40-59 hours per typical week, and 532 were open more than 100 hours per typical week. Our 78 staffed hours per week are right in the majority, and quite respectable, I think.

As to whether every serious institution keeps its library open (and staffed) all the time, I did a little checking. UGA doesn't. Georgia Tech actually does keep their library open 24 hours, but not staffed by librarians; they have security guards there and after a certain hour students have to use their IDs to get in. Neither Harvard, Yale, nor Princeton keep their libraries open 24 hours, and they would probably like to be thought of as "serious institutions." MIT doesn't keep their library open 24 hours either, although during Finals Week they do stay open until 2 a.m.--for those with a student ID card of course.

But, Tyler, if they ever decide to keep our library staffed 24/7, I'll be happy to volunteer for the third shift! ;) I'm a night owl anyway. In the meantime, be comforted that we're doing the best we can to be worthy of the name "Reinhardt University." And thanks for thinking of us!

Student worker in the spotlight: Bo Higgins

If you've ever checked out our library's manga collection (located on the second floor next to the reference section), you owe a debt of gratitude to one of our student workers. The entire manga collection is actually part of Bo Higgins' private library, which he has generously offered to share with the Reinhardt community.

"We're going to miss it when he leaves!" said library director Michael Martinez.

Bo, who is from Powder Springs but grew up in downtown Atlanta, is in his second year at Reinhardt but his first year working for us here in the library. He is an English major with a concentration in creative writing (hey, that sounds familiar--me, too)! One day he plans to become a college professor, and he also hopes to publish at least one novel and one book of poetry. He describes himself as "an active student," and when he's not studying he can often be found hanging out with his close group of friends and perhaps crushing them in a mean game of chess (I know I'm afraid to take him on, and evidently he's one of the few people ever to defeat Mr. Martinez).

Bo serves Reinhardt as a sophomore representative in SGA, and he is also the vice president of the anime club. Mr. Martinez, who serves as the anime club's faculty advisor, praises Bo's work with the club, saying he's seen it grow in both size and visibility since Bo has been involved.

Bo says the most significant thing he's learned at Reinhardt so far is that "communication is important."

"Waiting often ends up with negative results."

Bo says his favorite thing about working here is "the people" (aww, thanks, Bo, we kinda like you, too), but that he needs to work out more "because bending down to put away books kills your back after a while!"

We appreciate your hard work, Bo, and we're glad to have you on board.

Way to Go Whitney Chadwick!

Whitney is the winner of the Girl Scout cookies for today's Women's History Month trivia question! She correctly identified Chien-Shiung Wu as the woman who taught nuclear physics at Princeton before women were admitted as students!

What's even better? Not only did Whitney not Google for the answer, she didn't even have to use the computer to find it!

Way to go!

"Year Of" movie today: "Skins" (TIME IS RUNNING OUT!)

Today's offering in the Year of North American Indigenous Peoples film series is "Skins," a 2002 film by acclaimed Cheyenne director Chris Eyre. "Skins" is a gritty and moving story of two brothers on the fictional Beaver Creek Indian Reservation in South Dakota, a place very like the Lakota Pine Ridge reservation where the film was shot. Rudy is a tribal police officer who witnesses firsthand the oppression and despair faced by most of the reservation's population, including his brother Mogie. Mogie is a former football star and a wounded Vietnam veteran, an unemployed alcoholic with a teenage son. Rudy attempts to save his brother from his own self-destructive path, but when circumstances become extreme, Rudy has to go on his own quest to avenge his family and seek justice for his people.

The movie will be shown at 2pm in the theater at the Funk Heritage Center.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT for our "Year Of" contest! The deadline to enter for this month is March 15. We have yet to receive any entries. If we get just one, that person will win a flash drive and a t-shirt! EVERY person who enters will be eligible for the drawing next month for the Nintendo Wii. Your chances are EXCELLENT--but you have to enter! Just see "Skins" or any "Year Of" film or read any "Year Of" book, write a brief review and send it to Karen Preslock at kp1@reinhardt.edu. Did you see one of the films in your class? Send the paper you've already written! We'll take it! TIME IS RUNNING OUT. You could start your summer vacation with a new Wii! See any staff member if you need more details.

New Women's History Month Trivia Question:

What woman was invited to teach nuclear physics at Princeton University at a time when no women were allowed to study there?

First student to the service desk with the correct answer wins a box of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies! Good luck!

Don't forget our speakers today!

We have a truly fascinating program in the library today! At 1pm and again at 7 pm, Reinhardt's own Dr. Ken Wheeler and local historian Richard Wright will be speaking on the Cherokees and the early history of Cherokee County. This talk caused quite a stir when they presented it at a meeting of the Cherokee County Historical Society. You do not want to miss it!

Congratulations Kirsten Rodning!

Kirsten correctly answered our trivia question with Victoria Woodhull, Equal Rights Party, 1872!

Enjoy your cookies, Kirsten!

Women's History Month Trivia Contest!

Hey, students!

Every Tuesday and Thursday for the rest of this month, we will be having a Women's History Trivia contest in the library! On the white board on the second floor will be a trivia question. The first student to the circulation desk with the correct answer wins a box of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies (and bragging rights). Sweet!

Today's question: Who was the first woman to run for president? What was her party, and in what year did she run?

(Thin Mint cookies are also for sale in the library for $3.50-- see Amy McGee for details. You know, just in case you're the second student with the correct answer and you really need your cookie fix).

Good Luck!

Happy International Women's Day

Welcome back! Hope you all had a great spring break!

As you may or may not know, March 8 is International Women's Day. The observance actually had its birth in the American Socialist movement in the early 20th century. As industrialization continued to spread and more women entered the workplace, female workers understandably began to chafe under what they saw as oppressive inequality. In 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. The next year, the first National Woman's Day was observed across the United States. The year after that, an International Conference of Working Women held in Copenhagen was attended by over 100 women representing 17 countries. The conference members unanimously voted to declare an International Women's Day, a day set aside for women in all countries to campaign for their rights and for social change.

Today International Women's Day is celebrated all over the globe. It is a national holiday in fifteen countries. In some countries, the holiday is analogous to Mother's Day in the US. For many years the United Nations has held an annual IWD conference to coordinate international efforts for women's rights. Women's organisations and governments around the world also observe IWD by holding large-scale events that honor women's advancement while serving as a reminder of the continued vigilance and action necessary to ensure that women's equality is gained and maintained in all countries, in every aspect of life.

Year Of Movie TODAY: Edge of America

Stuck on campus (or in the area) during Spring Break? Working, like me? Take a break around 2 pm and head over to the Funk Heritage Center for today's movie, sponsored by the Year of North American Indigenous Peoples. Today's offering is "Edge of America." Directed by Chris Eyre (who People magazine calls "the preeminent Native American filmmaker of his time"), Edge of America was the opening night film at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Based on a true story, this film focuses on Kenny Williams, the new English teacher at the Three Nations Reservation in Utah. Williams, who is black, has some difficulty fitting in with the tight-knit Indian community. He takes over the job of coaching the girls' basketball team and helps them climb from the bottom of their division to compete for the state championship. This movie emphasizes cross-cultural communication and acceptance and the value of community along with the sports-movie thrill of seeing the underdog rise to victory.

(Students: take advantage of spring break! See the movie and write a review for our contest! Someone is going to win a Wii next month, but you can't win if you don't enter).

Database spotlight: Women and Social Movements, Scholar's Edition

Women's History Month is an appropriate time to let you know about another great database from Alexander Street Press, Women and Social Movements, Scholar's Edition. The Reinhardt community can access this database at any time through the library, but in honor of Women's History Month, Alexander Street is offering free online access to the collection for all of March. Click here for easy access.

The winner of a 2004 Oustanding Academic Title Award from Choice journal (a publication of the Association of College & Research Libraries), Women and Social Movements is used by students of women's history and American history all over the world. This resource seeks to document the history of women's activism in public life from 1600 to 2000, advancing scholarship in US history by making the insights of women's history accessible to teachers and students at universities, colleges and high schools.

The collection includes 91 document projects and archives with more than 3,600 documents and 150,000 pages of additional full-text documents, and more than 2,060 primary authors. The document projects are written by leading scholars and are organized around interpretive questions, each with 20 to 50 primary documents that address the question. Some examples are "How Did the Ladies' Association of Philadelphia Shape New Forms of Women's Activism During the American Revolution?," "How did White Women Aid Former Slaves During the Civil War?" and "How did Black and White Southern Women Campaign to End Lynching?" How easy would that make your term paper research?

Full-text primary documents include the proceedings of all women's rights conventions from 1848 to 1869, the proceedings of the Women's Christian Temperance Union from 1874 to 1898, and selected publications from the League of Women Voters, dating as far back as the '20s. The collection is updated semi-annually; recent additions include the five-volume biographical dictionary Notable American Women, which might be EXTREMELY useful for our upcoming trivia contest, and the collected publications of federal, state and local Commissions on the Status of Women.

The collection also includes book, film and Web site reviews, notes from the archives, and teaching tools. And, surprise, surprise--there's even a blog and discussion group, which I think will be of particular interest to the history faculty, where their peers discuss how they've used the collection in the classroom, share syllabi and exchange ideas.

Check it out!

Women's History Month

When I started working on women's history about thirty years ago, the field did not exist. People didn't think that women had a history worth knowing.

—Gerda Lerner, Women and History (1986; 1993)

Hello! Rather quiet here in the library today. One would almost think it were Spring Break or something! I hope all of you are having a wonderful break on some warm beach somewhere. I hear we may see a little snow tomorrow in Waleska, GA!

I took advantage of the peace and quiet this morning to assemble a little book display in honor of Women's History Month. March 8, 2010 marks 30 years since President Carter issued a Presidential Proclamation declaring the first Women's History Week. In 1987 Congress voted to expand the observation and declare the entire month of March to be Women's History Month.

I hope you'll take a look at the display and remember the often-unsung contributions made by women in American and world history.

Starting next week, we'll be having a Women's History Trivia Contest on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You'll want to participate, because the prizes are boxes of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies! We'll be honoring the great women of the past while helping to encourage and support the great women of the future! Did you know that over 50 million American women have belonged to the Girl Scouts, including almost every single female astronaut?