Read, Listen, Watch

Staff Picks and Suggestions

Short-takes: A new look at librarians

Over the weekend, I read this interview with Marilyn Johnson, about her new book, This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All. Johnson, author of The Dead Beat, follows up her chronicle of obituary-writers with an account of librarians. She even mentions book cart drills, which I’ve learned about from our own Debbie Pennino! I think librarians and library users might get a kick out of the piece.

Exhibit Celebrates Black History Month

“Educate, Inspire, and Celebrate” are the headlines of a lovely display now on view on the First Floor of Snell Library. Colorful posters are surrounded by inspiring quotes commemorating Black History Month. A wide range of information is available including a history of African kings and queens, African Americans in the old West, and black scientists and inventors. There are also posters displaying some of the most influential figures in black history including Ella Fitzgerald, Madam C.J. Walker, Sojourner Truth, Malcolm X, and Colin Powell (click on the names to find what resources Snell Library has to offer about their lives and legacy). Thank you to Mr. Kantigi Camara, the Head Librarian of the African American Institute, and his students Tawana Howard and Misha Thomas for curating and installing this exhibit.

Meet the Author: Aisling Shen on Feb 23

On Tuesday, February 23, author Aisling Shen will be talking and giving a book signing at Northeastern University for her book, A Tiger’s Heart: A Memoir of A Modern Chinese Woman.  Her book is available at Snell Library. In A Tiger’s Heart, Shen takes the reader on her personal journey through China’s history.  From her early days in the rice fields through China’s major economic boom, her story demonstrates the massive changes, both social and economic, that have shaped China today.  Her talk will be held on Friday, February 23 @ 6 pm, in 405 Ell Hall. To download the event flyer, click here.

American History in Video Trial

Faculty, Staff and Students: NU Libraries has launched a trial of the video streaming collection, American History in Video until March 25th, 2010. The URL for the trial is: http://ahiv.alexanderstreet.com Visit this product’s help page for search tips and more informaton. American History in Video collection includes 2,000 hours of video and more than 5,000 titles. “The collection allows students and researchers to analyze historical events, and their presentation over time, through commercial and governmental newsreels, archival footage, public affairs footage, and important documentaries. This release provides videos from new partners Newsreel Films and Documentary Educational Resources, additional PBS and The History Channel titles, archival footage from NASA and NARA, additional Universal Newsreel, and much more.” Feel free to send your feedback to Debra Mandel at d.mandel@neu.edu or call her at 617-373-4902.

Carmen Pola records now available for research

The Carmen A. Pola papers are open for research in the Archives and Special Collections Department, 92 Snell Library.  A guide to the collection is available online.  Carmen Pola is a community activist who settled in Mission Hill, Boston, in 1972. The materials date from 1970-2006 and document Pola’s work with the Puerto Rican Festival, the Boston Public Schools, the Project to Monitor the Code of Discipline, Mayor Raymond Flynn’s Administration, and Roxbury Unites for Families and Children. The collection includes photographs, correspondence, grant proposals and reports, surveys, charts, organizational records, legal materials, political campaign literature, catalogs, booklets, and meeting minutes. Read the full press release here. If you’re interested in this topic, in addtion to perusing the records in Archives, you might be interested in checking out Latina Politics, Latino Politics: Gender, Culture, and Political Participation in Boston by Carol Hardy-Fanta. Below is a picture of Carmen Pola and Mayor Ray Flynn viewing a report in the Mayor’s office, ca. 1986.

Carmen Pola and Mayor Ray Flynn view a report in the Mayor's office, ca. 1986