News and information about the upcoming 2016 Presidential Election is everywhere! It’s practically information overload, and for you, a busy member of the Northeastern community, it’s probably just one other thing to stay on top of or avoid completely. To help make the time leading up to the primaries and election more manageable, Snell Library has created a 2016 Presidential Election Guide. It’s your one-stop-shop for news, voting how-tos, candidate and campaign information, debate analysis and transcripts, important dates, a refresher on the Electoral College system, and more! So much more—in an easy to use and fun (yes, fun) web resource. There’s even a poll to determine which candidate the NU community would like to see elected. Aren’t you curious? Check it out HERE.
And remember: the Massachusetts Primary Election is this Tuesday, March 1st. So get out there and vote if you are a resident of this state! And if you aren’t, remember to vote in your home state’s primary if you haven’t already done so. You have to be registered to vote to do so, and while the deadline for voter registration for the primaries has passed in most places, it’s not too late to become a registered voter and let your voice be heard in the Presidential and/or (the always important) Congressional Election in November. Snell’s 2016 Presidential Election Guide has all the information you need learn how to register, along with where and when to vote.
Here’s what you need to know about the library this semester.
Archives and Special Collections Acquires The Boston Phoenix
In September 2015, Phoenix owner Stephen Mindich donated the paper’s archive as well as its sister publications to the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections. For nearly 50 years, The Boston Phoenix was Boston’s alternative newspaper of record, the first word on social justice, politics, as well as the arts and music scene.
The physical collection is available in the Archives for research and perusal.
New: GIS and Data Visualization Drop-in Hours
This semester, Bahare Sanaie-Mohaved and Steven Braun will hold weekly, informal drop-in hours for students and faculty interested in Geographic Information Services and Data Visualization. Whether you need help with specific projects or just want to know what GIS is, all are welcome. Walk-in hours are every Thursday afternoon from 2:00 to 3:30pm in CoLab D, on the first floor of Snell Library near Argo Tea.
Follow Northeastern Data Visualization on Twitter!
Spring 2016 Events and Workshops
From exploring the history of Boston’s neighborhoods, to introductory workshops in the 3D printing and recording studios, to a storytelling slam with Foundation Year students, this Spring’s events at Snell cover a range of topics.
Keep your eyes on our calendar and follow us on Twitter @ClubSnell for the most up to date information.
Support in Your Subject Area
Did you know there’s a librarian who’s an expert in you subject? No research question is too small or too complicated for our subject librarians.
Snell Library is happy to welcome three new co-ops this semester:
Aidan Breen: Digital Media Commons Studios Co-op
Aidan Breen is the DMC Studios recording engineer and video co-op. He is almost done earning a degree in Music Industry. He enjoys making noise and songs with his friends and making short films, as well as writing short stories and screenplays. He looks forward to learning as much as possible about the recording process and techniques, in addition to getting more experience with video production. His favorite films are “Night of the Hunter,” followed in close second by “The Proposition.” His favorite band right now is either Ava Luna or Show Me The Body, though he has been listening to the soundtrack of the Broadway production of Sweeney Todd quite a bit. Come visit him in the DMC studio on the second floor in Snell.
Madison Maduri: 3D Printing Studio Co-op
Madison Maduri is the new 3D Printing Studio Manager Co-op in Snell Library. Madison got her start at Northeastern with NUin. England, and is now a third year Art+Design student, majoring in Media Arts with a concentration in Animation. Madison looks forward to learning the 3D printing technologies, which are increasingly being used in the development stages at animation studios. She also hopes to create a friendly and inviting environment in the studio to share the technology with the Northeastern community. Madison grew up close by on the South Shore of Massachusetts and enjoys her summers visiting the beautiful beaches on the Cape and Islands. She also looks forward to another season on the slopes snowboarding.
Kaley Bachelder: Marketing and Events Co-op
Kaley Bachelder is the new Marketing and Events Co-op here at Snell. She’s earning a degree in English and Theatre, a major that doesn’t yet exist (but she’s working on that). Kaley looks forward to planning events this semester, particularly the Neighborhood Matters series, where her passion for social activism can find an outlet. When not in the office, you can find her attending club meetings, watching television, or rummaging through someone’s fridge. Her favorite authors include Terry Pratchett and Jennifer Egan, and her new favorite past time is tearing each page off her page-a-day calendar. Kaley is excited to become a member of the library community!
Saturday, November 7, 2015 marked Snell Library’s 25th Birthday Celebration, and the library transformed into a veritable bazaar with projects, resources, collections, and artifacts from Northeastern’s history on display, along with interactive activities for all ages. From recording memories in the audio visual studios and watching 3D printers in action, to browsing Cauldron yearbooks and digital research projects, members across the entire Northeastern community joined to reflect on the library’s history and experience what today’s modern facility has to offer.
(Clockwise: Linda Leahy and featured speaker William Fowler; Library Co-op Zach Smith, DMSB’17 scans a student to 3D print their bust; Helen Sharma, SSH’17, reads a book from the Favat collection to a young guest; Dean Wakeling with Jim Smith, E’88 and Amie Smith, AS’87 .)
Dean Will Wakeling and Distinguished Professor of History, William Fowler kicked off the celebration with a special reception to recognize the generosity of library supporters whose contributions have improved library space and collections through the years. As the Chairman of the Campus Campaign to build Snell Library in 1987-1988, Dr. Fowler honored the efforts of fellow leaders including former Senior Vice President for Development, Eugene Reppucci, and the campus campaign co-chairs, committee, and volunteers. Their campus wide effort to build a library raised $1.4 million from over 900 faculty and staff, and is recognized with a quilt on the second floor of Snell Library.
“A quarter of a century ago we, the fabric of the university, came together and through our efforts helped build this library. It changed our world and gave an example of what Northeastern was on the road to be – one of this nation’s great universities. In a very real sense that journey began the day this library opened.”
Boston Phoenix owner Stephen Mindich decided in September to donate the paper’s archives to Snell Library. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Originally Published in News@Northeastern on November 24, 2015
By Noelle Shough
For nearly 50 years, The Boston Phoenix was Boston’s alternative newspaper of record, the first word on social justice, politics, as well as the arts and music scene. Its intrepid journalists tackled issues from safe sex and AIDS awareness to gay rights, marriage equality, and the legalization of marijuana. Ads for roommates, romantic mates, and band mates—one could find all these and more in the newspaper’s probing, irreverent, entertaining pages.
It ceased publication in March 2013, but the Phoenix will be preserved for posterity—thanks to owner Stephen Mindich’s decision in September to donate the paper’s archives to Northeastern’s Snell Library.
Snell’s Archives and Special Collections already houses an impressive array of historical records of Boston’s social movements, including civil and political rights, immigrant rights, homelessness, and environmental justice.
“The Phoenix never shied away from covering topics of neighborhood interest, supporting the rights of individuals and groups,” says Will Wakeling, dean of University Libraries. “So it will form a perfect complement to this growing collection.”
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The Boston Phoenix will be preserved in Snell Library’s Archives and Special Collections. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
LOCALHISTORYWRITLARGE
Mindich’s gift encompasses much more than The Boston Phoenix. The archives include sister publications in Worcester, Massachusetts, Portland, Maine, and Providence; Boston After Dark; The Real Paper; the alternative programming of WFNXFM; and Stuff and Stuff at Night magazines. These sources, including a full Web archive of material not included in the print editions, provide a richly nuanced perspective on how people thought and put ideas into action when it came to social issues and social justice from the 1960s to the near-present day. They are documentation of the ways social change happens.
“Our vision for the archives is digitizing all the print and making it fully text-searchable, so all that history lives on,” says Dan Kennedy, associate professor at Northeastern’s School of Journalism and a former Phoenix media columnist and nationally-known media commentator.
Adds Wakeling, “As the library works on the complex digitizing strategy, the archives will be made available to the public.”
The Boston Phoenix not only reported on the news, it made the news. In 1987, during the height of the AIDS crisis, it distributed 150,000 condoms to readers. In 2001, Phoenix reporter Kristen Lombardi described troubling patterns in how Catholic Church leaders were transferring priests accused of sexually abusing children to new parishes. The alternative weekly also followed the evolving rights of the LGBTQ community.
“A great strength of the paper was also its arts coverage, which is also Stephen’s passion,” notes Kennedy. In 1994, writer Lloyd Schwartz won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his coverage of classical music. Many former Phoenix writers—Susan Orlean, David Denby, Mark Leibovich, and Michael Rezendes among them—went on to illustrious careers at top U.S. newspapers and magazines.
Though Boston’s anti-establishment spirit has faded somewhat over the years, Mindich’s donation ensures that its history never will. “Scholars and researchers in this area will be licking their lips in anticipation,” says Wakeling.
