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

The Spanish Borderlands Frontier, 1513-1821

Book Reviews, Our Collections

libblog-spanishborder Bannon, John Francis.  The Spanish Borderlands Frontier, 1513 – 1821.  Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1997.

Before Texas was part of the United States, and even before it was part of Mexico, it was part of a vast Spanish Empire.  Not only Texas, but much of the US once belonged to Spain.  Florida, New Mexico, California, Arizona, and other areas were explored and settled by the Spanish centuries before they became part of the US.

Popular culture often portrays the story of American expansion in the West as one in which Anglo-American pioneers tamed an unknown wilderness.  This is an exaggeration at best, especially in the American Southwest, as this area had long been settled by the Spanish.  These early Spanish explorers and settlers left a lasting impact that affects us today; especially in regards to language, culture, religion and even place names.  Most of the rivers in Texas have Spanish names.

This book begins in 1513 when the first Spanish explorer arrived in Florida, and ends in 1821 when Mexico won its independence thus ending Spain’s involvement in North America.  If you are interested in knowing about the people and events that shaped this period of history, then I highly recommend this book for you.

(Click here to check for availability.)

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

Personal Expressions

Library Art Gallery, Previous Exhibits
“Teen Spirit Jaguar,” a paper mache work by Edith Rodriguez.

“Teen Spirit Jaguar,” a paper mache work by Edith Rodriguez.

“Personal Expressions,” featuring artwork by students in South Texas College’s Early College High School Program and Mid-Valley Campus Underground Art Club, will be on display at the college’s Pecan Campus Library Art Gallery located at 3201 West Pecan Blvd. from June 10 to July 3. On Thursday, June 10, a reception will take place at the same location from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission to the exhibition and reception is free and open to the public.

The exhibit features sophomores from McAllen ISD, Mercedes ISD, Progresso ISD and PSJA ISD, who took Art Appreciation with STC art instructor Chris Leonard. The students are part of STC’s ECHS Program, which allows participants to earn an associate degree at the same time they earn a high school diploma. This is the first year an art course is offered as part of the curriculum at the schools.

Through the exhibition, the students share their versions of the jaguar, an endangered species native to the Rio Grande Valley and STC’s own mascot. The depictions are three-dimensional and paper mache figures. Sixteen students are displaying artworks within the exhibition including Marcela Banda, Adrian Castro, Jerry Contreras, Sonia Garcia, Angelita Godinez, Jerry Grimaldo, Ezra Huerta, Zuremia Marquez, Alvaro Martinez, Melody Navarro, Heriberto Picasso, Edith Rodriguez, Ramona Saenz, Alma Viera, Maria Fernanda Villareal and Brenda Zuniga.

“Untitled,” a charcoal, India ink and oil pastel on paper work by Angy Garza.

“Untitled,” a charcoal, India ink and oil pastel on paper work by Angy Garza.

In addition to the ECHS students, student members the college’s Mid-Valley Campus Underground Art Club, which formed in spring 2010, will also experience their very first exhibition together. The seven club members are exhibiting a combination of drawings, paintings and sculpture. Participants include Victoria Almaguer, A.J. Alvarado, Angy Garza, Mariana Hernandez, Jorge Martinez, Frank Ramirez and Rick Ramon.

“The collaboration of artworks ranging from high school to college students provides our community with an opportunity to see the next generation of rising Rio Grande Valley artists,” said Gina Otvos, STC Library Art Gallery Program technician.

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.

Ceramics Showdown: Up and Down and All Around

Library Art Gallery, Previous Exhibits
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Carl Block, “Face Jug,” earthenware clay, colored slips and glaze.

South Texas College’s Art Department, together with the college’s Library Art Gallery Program, presents “A South Texas Ceramic Showdown: Up and Down and All Around.” Featuring the RGV’s fourth annual ceramics exhibition and conference, the event includes a full display of ceramics works by art students and professors from 11 regional universities and community colleges. Participating institutions include South Texas College, The University of Texas-Pan American, The University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College, The University of Texas at San Antonio, Tarrant County College, Texas A&M Kingsville, Galveston College, Central Arizona College, Kent State University and Northwest Vista College.

The exhibit will be on view from July 8 to September 4, 2010. A reception will be held on Saturday, July 17 from 4 to 6 p.m. at STC’s Pecan Campus Library Art Gallery, Bldg F. located at 3201 W. Pecan Blvd. in McAllen. The free, two-day conference and workshop begins Friday, July 16 and ends Saturday, July 17 at STC’s Pecan Campus Art Building Ceramics Lab. Art talks will also take place Saturday, July 17 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. in the college’s Pecan Campus Library Rainbow Room. All activities are free and open to the public.

Max Butler, “Rooster Platter,” Eathenware.

Max Butler, “Rooster Platter,” Eathenware.

The conference includes clay demonstrations and talks by Carl Block of Flatland Pottery and Max Butler of Butler Pottery. Both ceramicists are graduates of The University of North Texas, currently teach at Texas ISD schools, own clay studios, and are active musicians. Among Block’s vast accomplishments, his work is featured in permanent art collections including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., Rice University, The University of Houston, The Chinati Foundation, and the personal collection of former president George H. Bush, to name a few. Butler studied in France and was apprentice to Jean Louis Gaudin. In 2004, he received the prestigious Fulbright Memorial Grant to study in Japan.

“We are pleased to have Block and Butler as our featured clay artists for ‘A South Texas Ceramic Showdown,’” said Chris Leonard, STC ceramics instructor and conference organizer. “As friends, Block and Butler share a history of creating utilitarian forms that are delightful. They don’t decorate, they do.

“Both of these UNT alums know their way around the wheel, but their work is anything but faceless,” Leonard added. “Both gentlemen, who teach school by day, make hard work look effortless, and yes, even fun. They are entertainers with muscle and thought provoking products. Their pieces tell stories and I’m sure they will tell a few stories, too.”

South Texas College’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.

Celebrate 100 years of Glacier National Park with these videos and E-Books

Book Displays, Our Collections

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Glacier National Park marks its 100th anniversary this month. To celebrate our national parks and kick off the summer travel season check out Ken Burn’s National Parks, available at the STC Library.   Also, in honor of the centennial Gale offers you free access to three eBooks through June 6th.

  • Check out The Rough Guide to the USA and the Encyclopedia of Recreation and Leisure in America for information on the parks and surrounding areas.
  • And all the information you’ll need to make a reservation at any National Park in the US is available in the United States Government Internet Manual.

Preview the video here.

Access the ebooks here.

Happy 40th Anniversary, Aztlán Journal

Book Displays, Our Collections, Pecan Campus

Happy 40th Anniversary, Aztlán Journal!

The South Texas College Library congratulates Aztlán: Journal of Chicano Studies on forty great years. To commemorate, the Pecan Campus library created the display shown below.

Library Journal says about Aztlán: “this esteemed journal of record is essential for virtually all academic libraries.”

To find out more about the Mexican-American Studies Program at South Texas College visit the website, or take a look at the classes offered.

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Contributed by Esther Garcia, Library Specialist at the Pecan Campus.

Celebrate the 40th year of Earth Day with a showing of An Inconvenient Truth

Library Events, Movies, Pecan Campus, Previous Events

To mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the STC Pecan Campus library will be having a showing of An Inconvenient Truth on April 22nd at 4pm on the first floor at F-102.

There will be an introduction to the movie by Biology instructor, Dr. Mehrad Mahmoudian-Geller, and Lillian Martinez, the Pecan Biology Club President.

To find out  more about the Pecan Biology Club visit this site: http://news.southtexascollege.edu/?p=2075.

For more information about this event, please contact Esther Garcia at 956-872-6485 or egarcia10@southtexascollege.edu.

Author Harold Jaffe to speak on Wed. April 28th

Author / Scholar Visit, Library Events, Pecan Campus, Previous Events

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The English Dept at STC is bringing acclaimed author Harold Jaffe to speak at the Pecan Campus Library in the Rainbow Room.  Mr. Jaffe is the author of the books Beyond the Techno-Crave, Terror-Dot-Gov, and Anti-Twitter, a book of stories limited to 50 words.

Jaffe is the author of 17 books, translated into Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian French Turkish, Dutch, Czech, and Serbo-Croatian. Jaffe has won two NEA Grants in fiction, two Fulbright fellowships, a San Diego fellowship, three Pushcart prizes, and many other awards. His work has appeared in many journals and anthologies, including “Paris Review”, “Black Warrior Review”, “Pushcart Prize”, and “Best American Stories”. Jaffe is Editor of “Fiction International” and professor of English and comparative literature at San Diego State University.

American Book Review has said that Harold Jaffe “is like no one else writing today,” and the San Diego Union-Tribune says that his writing is “potent and prophetic.”

Harold Jaffe will be speaking on Wednesday April 28th start at 4:00 pm.

For more information please contact Dr. Raphael Bennett at 956-872-7266 or rbennett@southtexascollege.edu.

Contributed by Esther Garcia, Library Specialist at Pecan.