Celebrate Hector P. Garcia Day at the Library

Library Events, Mid-Valley Campus, Movies, Pecan Campus, Previous Events

libevents-Movies8Pictured with President Lyndon B. Johnson

In 2009, the State of Texas decreed the third Wednesday of September to be Hector P. Garcia Day.  In honor, the STC Library will be screening a documentary about his life.  Dr. Hector P. Garcia was born in Mercedes.  He was a doctor, World War II veteran, civil rights advocate, and founder of the American G.I. Forum.  He was a U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

For more information about Dr. Hector P. Garcia look for the book about his life: Hector P. García by Ignacio M. Garcia (check for availability).

Also visit UTMB’s website dedicated to Dr. Garcia (click here).

Times
 Locations
9/15 at 12pm Pecan Library
9/15 at 12pm MidValley Library
9/16 at 12pm MidValley Library

For more information contact the MidValley Library at 447-6663 or the Pecan Library at 872-6485.

Staff Pick: The Lost Cause

Book Reviews, Our Collections

libevents-lostcause Rolle, Andrew. The Lost Cause: The Confederate Exodus to Mexico. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992.

Today we often hear a lot about Mexican immigration to the United States. However, we rarely hear much about American immigration to Mexico. Well, in 1865 at the end of the US Civil War several thousand southerners chose to cross the border into Mexico rather than face the humiliation of surrendering to the northern states.

The primary focus of this book is the journey of General Joseph Shelby who led the largest group of ex-Confederate soldiers into Mexico. They went there under the invitation of Emperor Maxmilian who hoped to use them in his struggle with Benito Juarez over control of Mexico. These immigrants established small colonies near Vera Cruz. There they attempted to set up a profitable farming community. However, they did not succeed. After Maximilian was executed in 1867 these immigrants lost their protector. Juarez’s supporters viewed them as foreign invaders, and attacked their settlements. Some of them died in the conflict, but the majority of them returned to the US or fled to other countries. Today nothing remains of the towns they established. If you’re interested in learning more about this fascinating story then I highly recommend this book to you.

Click here to check for availability.

Contributed by Joshua Wallace, Reference Librarian at the Pecan Campus.

Staff Pick: Navigating Your Freshman Year

Book Displays, Mid-Valley Campus, Our Collections

Lombardo, Allison, and Katharine Jackson, eds. Navigating Your Freshman Year. New York, NY: Prentice Hall Press, 2005. Print.

In the Fall 2009 semester alone, South Texas College experienced a 23% increase in enrollment. As the Fall 2010 semester quickly approaches, we can only imagine how many first-time college students will be looking to STC for their educational needs. How many of these students will enter college as wide-eyed freshmen only to be overwhelmed by seemingly insurmountable reading assignments, research papers, and tests? Countless freshmen have entered college unaware of the strategies and skills needed to survive their first year.

Fortunately, in addition to the extremely helpful College Success course taught at STC, our campus libraries house a number of books that focus on the skills needed to be successful in a college environment. One such book, Navigating Your Freshman Year, consists only of “brutally honest advice, ideas, and personal stories” contributed by college students all over the country. While certain chapters of the books may not be relevant to the average STC student (the first 3 chapters consist mostly of stories about homesickness and “roommate hell”), there are many ideas and lessons worth reading. Some of the best stories and advice are about learning to study, prioritize, and remain relatively stress-free, but there are dozens more about dating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Most of these suggestions are not groundbreaking, but this guide packages them in a way that is both realistic and humorous. Navigating Your Freshman Year is well-rounded and caters to the average student who seeks good grades and an active social life.

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Contributed by Jessica Cruz, Library Specialist at the Mid-Valley Campus.

David Adickes: A World of Splendor

Library Art Gallery, Previous Exhibits

lag-adickes The art exhibit, “David Adickes: A World of Splendor,” will be on display at South Texas College’s Pecan Campus Library Art Gallery from September 16 to December 11, 2010. The exhibit will feature mixed media paintings and giclée prints. On Thursday, September 16, art talks will be held at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at STC’s Pecan Campus Library Rainbow Room, Bldg F. An opening reception will take place the same evening from 6 to 8 p.m. in STC’s Pecan Campus Library Art Gallery, Bldg. F located at 3201 W. Pecan Blvd. in McAllen. Admission to the exhibition and all events is free and open to the public.

David Adickes is a Houston-based painter and sculptor whose career in the visual arts is now well into its sixth decade. Adickes received a degree in both math and physics from Sam Houston State University. A man of many talents, Adickes also studied art at the Kansas City Art Institute and in Paris, France with the modern French master Fernand Léger. Adickes later taught art at The University of Texas at Austin.

All together, Adickes’s paintings encompass landscapes, stills and figure groups that are primarily composed of geometric shapes and vibrant, bold colors reminiscent of classic French scenes. Many of Adickes’s works are in museum collections, as well as hundreds of corporate and private collections in the U.S. and around the globe. In addition to his paintings, Adickes is also known for his monumental concrete bust sculptures of U.S. Presidents. Today there are two parks adorned with Adickes’s 20 foot sculptures of all forty-three American presidents in South Dakota and Virginia.

In regard to his artistic philosophy, Adickes believes that, “art should be created with purpose and intent that should have a sense of form, and a feeling of permanence.”

“Adickes is steadfast and meticulous throughout his process and the artistic creation of his work,” said Sofia K. Vestweber, STC’s Library Art Gallery associate. “His paintings are powerful and stimulating in nature, bringing the viewer an extraordinary sense of whimsy and splendor.”

STC’s Library Art Gallery Program exhibits regional, national and international artwork, explores new visions and theories of creativity, and introduces innovative artistic expressions to the South Texas region.

For more information contact Sofia K. Vestweber at 956-872-3488 or at libraryart@southtexascollege.edu, or visit the Library Art Gallery Website.

Staff Pick: Making Jack Falcone

Book Reviews, Our Collections

libblog-BookReview6Levin, Michael G, and Joaquin Garcia. Making Jack Falcone: An Undercover FBI Agent Takes Down a Mafia Family. New York, N.Y: Simon & Schuster, 2008.

In the book Making Jack Falcone, FBI undercover agent Joaquin Garcia infiltrates the most powerful mafia family in New York City.  This book tells the true story of how FBI agent Joaquin Garcia assumes the role of Jack Falcone and helps take down thirty members of the Gambino Crime Family.  Using different aliases agent Garcia works different undercover cases at the same time throughout his career.

Follow Jack Falcone as he is taken under the wing of an old school capo Greg DePalma.  DePalma once cared for an ailing John Gotti in prison and used to socialize with stars like Frank Sinatra.  Greg DePalma introduces Jack Falcone to the world of shakedowns, beatings, and envelopes full of cash.   A must read for anyone wanting to know about the sacrifices people in law enforcement make to ensure a better way of life for ordinary citizens.  Click here to check for availability.

Contributed by Jesus Resendez, Library Specialist at the Nursing Campus.

Frida screening Aug. 5th

Library Events, Mid-Valley Campus, Movies, Pecan Campus, Previous Events

libevents-Movies6The Pecan and MidValley Libraries will be showing the movie Frida.  The movie is based on the Hayden Herrera biography, and was nominated for six Oscars, and it won two.

“Salma Hayek plays the Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo, whose tempestuous life with her unfaithful husband, muralist Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina), drives the story of Frida. Maverick director Julie Taymor (Titus, the Broadway stage production of The Lion King) pulls out a wealth of gorgeous visuals to capture everything from the horrific bus accident that damaged Kahlo’s spine to her and Rivera’s trip to New York City, where Rivera’s political leanings ruptured a commission from the Rockefeller family.  Taymor’s dynamic energy and Kahlo’s forceful personality give Frida genuine emotional impact. The superb cast includes Roger Rees, Valeria Golino, Ashley Judd, Geoffrey Rush, Antonio Banderas, and Edward Norton. –Bret Fetzer from Amazon.com Editorial Review

Pecan Aug. 5 at 12pm

MidValley Aug. 5 at 12pm

For more information contact Esther Garcia at egarcia10@southtexascollege.edu or 956-872-6485.

Summer Displays

Book Displays, Our Collections, Pecan Campus

Due to Hurricane Alex, the Displays committee has extended June’s displays until the end of July. This will give students, faculty, staff, and patrons an opportunity to view books about how to improve their communication skills such as public speaking, interpersonal, organizational, small group, persuasion etc.

We also have a library display up about Men’s Health. The books for this specific display will help men who are dealing with physical, mental issues, and taboo topics that society rarely talks about. These books allow our STC campus and community to become aware of struggles men deal with on a day-to-day basis and a look at how to solve those issues.

In addition, committee members put up three additional displays that celebrated LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered) Month, Ceramics, and Hurricane Awareness Month. Check them out.

If you would like the library to add any books to any of these displays, let us know! Enjoy!

Check out our slideshow here:

Contributed by Amy Gowarty from the Pecan Campus Library.

John Adams movie June 7th!

Library Events, Mid-Valley Campus, Movies, Pecan Campus, Previous Events

libevents-Movies5To celebrate Independence Day, the Pecan and MidValley Libraries will be showing the monumental HBO miniseries John Adams. The miniseries is based off of David McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize winning book (click here to check for availability of book). We will be showing the first two episodes of the seven part miniseries.

Part 1: Join or Die opens with the night of the Boston Massacre. John Adams was a farmer and a lawyer, and he takes on the unpopular task of defending the British soldiers accused of murdering several American colonists.

Part 2: Independence shows John Adams as a new member of the Continental Congress that will eventually declare independence from Great Britain.

John Adams was described as “quite simply, as good as TV gets,” by the New York Daily News, and has won more Emmy’s than any other miniseries.

Pecan MidValley
July 7 at 12pm July 7 at 10pm

http://youtu.be/9CNbQOrxQ-g