Library News

Welcome Back to Snell: What You Need to Know

On behalf of Snell Library, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all new and returning members of the Northeastern community for the start of the Fall 2015 semester. Snell Library offers services and resources for everyone at Northeastern. Click a link below to explore how you can use your library! We have spent the summer creating new study spaces, enriching our collections, and planning some very special events to celebrate 25 years of Snell Library. To kick-off the semester, we will hold an information table on the library porch through Friday, September 11th. Subject librarians and ITS staff will be there to answer your questions and give out free goodies.   The Hub   During the week of September 14th, we are hosting a social media-based challenge called #HuskyHideAndSeek as a part of our celebration of Snell’s 25th birthday.
  • 25 3D printed huskies will be hiding all around the building.
  • Follow @ClubSnell on Twitter and Instagram for clues.
  • Find a husky, share on social media, and win!
Winners will:
  • Keep their husky
  • Win a $5 gift card to the 3D Printing Studio
  • Be entered to win a brand new Fujifilm Instamax Mini polaroid camera
The rest of the semester includes a full calendar of great events, from 3D Printing and DMC Studios workshops to Meet the Author and Neighborhood Matters events and a month long celebration of Open Access. Be sure to check our events calendar for the most up-to-date information. Good luck this fall. Snell Library’s resources and staff are here to help make this your best semester yet!  

6 Reasons to Love the New Furniture on the Third Floor

Quiet floor studiers, rejoice! Thanks to a generous donation from Northeastern parents, the third floor now has 20 new tables, 80 new chairs, and additional outlets. The new furniture features subtle design improvements that make a world of difference for the student experience. Here’s why we think you will love the new study space: 1. There’s more usable study space

With visits to Snell Library increasing each year, their gift funded the reconfiguration of thousands of square feet — answering the demand for more study space! The new tables and chairs are perfect for quiet study on the third floor. 2. The clean, modern look

The new chairs and frosted partitions give this new study space a clean, modern, aesthetic. And of course, these features aren’t just nice to look at; they are functional, too! 3. These are some comfortable chairs

Yup, that’s a cushion, and it is super comfortable. The chairs are lightweight while offering plenty of plush support. 4. The partitions prevent large groups from forming on the quiet floor

Groups don’t always mean to be noisy… But it happens. The new partitions remind students that the third floor is for individual and quiet “parallel” study, not group gatherings and conversations. 5. The partitions encourage table sharing

Some students like to spread out, (you know who you are) and hey, we understand. It’s nice to see all of your study material at once. However, we also know how it feels when you can’t find space in Club Snell, especially during midterms and finals. The new partitions will prevent single studiers from occupying an entire table during busy periods, leaving more room for their peers! 6. You get more privacy Though it is small, the partition does create privacy. The person across from you can’t see what you’re working on, and you won’t be distracted by your table-mate’s rainbow of post-its or choice of study snack. Come try out the new furniture on the third floor! We’d love to hear what you think. Comment here or tweet us @ClubSnell. Enjoy the new study space, and we’ll see you soon!    

Meet Snell’s New Co-ops

Erin Borst: Graphic Design Co-op Hello! My name is Erin Borst and I am the new Graphic Design Co-op at the Communications Office in Snell. While I was born and raised in New Jersey, I am now a proud resident of Boston and am going into my third, or “middler,” year here at Northeastern. I am pursuing a BFA in Design with a concentration in Graphic and Information Design. When I’m not designing, you can find me listening to music, reading a fashion magazine, or feeding my coffee addiction. I’m looking forward to becoming a member of the library community!         Pete Leger: Digital Media Commons Studios Co-op Hello! My name is Pete Leger, and I have just started my Co-op here at the Snell DMC Studios. I am going into my final year at NU, and my major is the Music Industry. I have been interested in music production for many years now, and I am super excited to finally get involved with a team of professionals. I was in a unique program at my high school- the FAA, or, Franklin Arts Academy- that blended arts, media, and design into our class curriculum and projects. I feel that this was a great experience to prepare me to enter this type of field. More recently here at NU, I have been working on Recording and Business Administration minors. I can’t wait to get to know some of you during my Co-op!     Zach Smith: 3D Printing Studio Co-op My name is Zachary Smith, and I am the new 3D Printing Studio Co-op. I am a business student with a marketing concentration here at Northeastern. I know 3D printing does not seem closely related to marketing but I have always been interested in engineering. Unfortunately, I am not “engineering level” strong at math so business will have to do. I am excited to learn more about the printers and technologies associated with 3D printing and see what designs my peers think up throughout the semester. Outside of school and work I will usually be tinkering with cars and boats or rock-climbing. Come by the studio sometime, I would love to show you around and tell you more about the 3D printing process.     Tom Petrini: Marketing and Events Co-op My name is Tom Petrini, and I am the new Marketing and Events Co-op here at Snell. That’s ironic because for my first two years here I spent as little time in the library as possible, but I’m now discovering everything it has to offer. I’m very excited to help plan our Meet the Author events, Neighborhood Matters series, and the library’s 25th birthday Snellebration. Outside of work you can find me at a concert, a sporting event, or Taco Bell. I would be an NFL quarterback if I were taller than 5’10¾” and/or athletic. My favorite poets are Tauheed Epps and Horst Simco. I’m currently living my dream of being paid to tweet.      

Meet the Inaugural DRS Pilot Projects

 
The Library’s Digital Scholarship Group is excited to announce projects chosen for the 2015 DRS Project Toolkit Pilot program. In this Pilot program, we work with selected digital projects at Northeastern to develop new tools for online scholarship. Projects will store and preserve their digital content in Northeastern’s next generation Digital Repository Service (learn more about the DRS here). Projects can then use platforms like WordPress and Omeka to curate and display this work in an engaging and accessible manner on the web. The Digital Scholarship Group received impressive proposals from a wide range of Northeastern’s colleges and departments, and are looking forward to working with the following three proposals for 2015-2016:
  • Debra Mandel (Libraries) will showcase the exciting work Northeastern students have created in Snell Library’s Digital Media Commons and Studios. A collaborative facility with state-of-the-art audio and video technology and support, the Digital Media Commons has helped students at Northeastern record music, create animated films, and produce a range of high-quality creative projects. The Digital Scholarship Group will help Digital Media Commons staff celebrate and preserve this work.
  • Giordana Mecagni (Archives and Special Collections) will create digital exhibits about the Boston Public Schools Desegregation, a process which began in the fall of 1974. The Digital Scholarship Group will help Northeastern’s Archives and Special Collections make digital records of this important event in the history of Boston more widely accessible and visible. In addition to Archives and Special Collections, an interdisciplinary coalition of students, faculty members, and archivists from the Northeastern community will participate in this project.
  • Jenny Sartori (Jewish Studies) and the University’s Holocaust Awareness Committee will create a publicly-accessible archive of Northeastern’s Holocaust Awareness Week programming. For more than thirty years, these events have reflected Northeastern’s commitment to Holocaust awareness and genocide prevention. This will be an important educational resource that highlights the digital records of survivor testimonies, distinguished lectures, and roundtable discussions, as well as the history of the Holocaust Awareness Committee itself.
These projects join three other new DSG initiatives from earlier in Spring 2015:
  • a web presence for content from the Library’s Arader Galleries collection (and the creation of new signage that directs viewers of the physical prints to this online collection)
  • the addition of Stephen Sadow’s collection of interviews with Latin American artists and writers to the DRS
  • the migration of the Catskill Institute materials from their current home at Brown University to the DRS (and a new website at Northeastern)
The Digital Scholarship Group also continues to support the ongoing work of the Women Writers Project; Our Marathon: The Boston Bombing Digital Archive; The Early Caribbean Digital Archive; Viral Texts; Digital Humanities Quarterly; and TAPAS. For more information on projects supported by the Digital Scholarship Group, please visit our Projects page. If you’d like to contact the Digital Scholarship Group, please email us: dsg@neu.edu. We are also on Twitter: @NU_DSG.

Summer Reading Suggestions

Now’s the time to start tackling your summer reading list! Whether you’re staying in town or going on an elaborate trip, you’re bound to have some down time. Why not spend that time taking advantage of Snell Library’s thousands of available books, e-books, journals, and more! Snell Library staff have suggested some of their favorites to get you started:   The Darkest Minds By Alexandra Bracken Recommended by Ernesto Valencia “When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.”       Feynman By Jim Ottaviani and Leyland Myrick Recommended by Sarah Sweeney “This is a lovely and fascinating graphic novel that illustrates bits and pieces of various works by Richard Feynman, the famous physicist.”               Wonder By R.J. Palacio Recommended by Jen Ferguson “This New York Times bestseller, available in Snell Library’s Favat Children’s Collection, tells the story of Auggie, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face. Told skillfully from Auggie’s point of view as well as the perspectives of others in his life, this fast read will transport you back to the glories and agonies of childhood.”           Bagombo Snuff Box By Kurt Vonnegut Recommended by Mark Sivak “If people are looking for a good book for a plane ride, I recommend Bagombo Snuff Box, which is a collection of short fiction by Kurt Vonnegut.”               The Heart is a Lonely Hunter By Carson McCullers Recommended by Molly Dupere “Set in Georgia in the 1930s,  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter follows four residents of a small town, each a loner and all struggling with feeling misunderstood within the confines of their lives. Independently, the four seek the company of another local, a def-mute who is himself an enigma in the town, but upon whom each character projects what they want him to be – a sounding board for what’s going on in their heads, often to heart-breaking effect. The plot is both simple and complex, and a must-read for any fan of Southern Gothic literature.”     Not what you’re looking for? Browse our collections online using Scholar OneSearch to find your new favorite read!