John T. Richardson Library now opens at 10:00am on Sundays during the academic quarter.  This gives students two additional hours to use the library's quiet and group study space, collections, and computer labs. In additional to having two Windows computer labs, the Richardson Library also has a Mac lab located in the Media Center on the first floor. Not only can you complete your course work on our Mac's, but you can also listen to the library's music CDs or watch videos. And now CDs and videos can also be checked out for your use in your dorm room or home!

An important word of caution:  Never leave your personal valuables unattended (laptop, wallet, purse, cell phone, expensive textbooks or bookbags that contain them) in the library, labs, student center or other public space.  While it is inconvenient to pack these up and take them with you to the snack machine, restroom, or just around the corner, far too many of our students and visitors have found it is a most unhappy inconvenience and expense to replace these items.

The new search box on the library's website will help you easily find a specific database.  It's located toward the middle and left of the library's homepage.  Just type in the name of the database you need, such as JSTOR and a list of resources will come up.  The database name will be at or near the top of the list.  Click right in and start searching.  If you're off-campus, you'll be prompted for your campus connection username and password before you can search the database.  The new search box, it's quick and easy.  We think you'll like it!

Today marks the first day of Autumn, and it officially began at 11:44am, eastern daylight time, here in the Northern Hemisphere. Everywhere on Earth (except near the poles) will have an equal amount of daylight and darkness, about 12 hours and 8 minutes.

For those of us who love sunlight, this also marks the day that our daylight hours will get progressively shorter as we move through Autumn and into Winter until we reach the Winter Solstice....so get out there and enjoy the day!

If the Equinox does not add enough excitement to your day, today is also Hobbit Day! This day celebrates the birthdays of Frodo and Bilbo Baggins and their creator J.R.R. Tolkien, and is just part of the festivities during Tolkien week, which runs from 9/21-27*.

* source: Chase's Calendar of Events, 2008. R. 905 C487A1 

Ahoy, land lubbers! Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, a day devoted to being silly and exploring a usually untapped english dialect. If you are looking for some simple pirate vocabulary to incorporate into your speech today, try:

Arrrr...

Aye!

Avast!

In honor of this holiday, and for a good laugh, request "pirate speak" when chatting with a librarian on our IM service!

special note: this day does not advocate any other pirate behavior like stealing, plundering, or pillaging 

The Center for Latino Research presents two photo exhibits for Fall Quarter in the Richardson Library. The collections will be displayed in the Haber Lounge on the first floor, and are entitled:

"Radicals in Black & Brown: Palante, People's Power, and Common Cause in the Black Panthers and the Young Lords Organization" and "Chicago's Original Rainbow Coalition 1969-1975: the Young Lords Organization, the Black Panthers, and Rising Up Angry."

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This exhibit will run from September 19, 2008, through January 12, 2009, and will be the subject matter for film screenings and lectures throughout the quarter. Please join us in the Richardson Library on Friday, September 19th, at 6:00pm for the opening reception.   

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DePaul Univeristy Co-Sponsers: The Center for Black Diaspora, The Cultural Center, the Egan Urban Center, University Libraries, and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity

1.  Photographer: Carlos Flores, photo courtesy of Carlos Flores Collection.  Photo taken on the corner of Wilton and Grace in 1975, 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez talking to crowd at a Young Lord Rally.

2.  Photographer: unknown, photo courtesy of Archives of Michael James, Rising Up Angry and Heartland Journal.  Photo taken outside WTTW at a press conference on the 1 year anniversary of Martin Luther Jr.'s assassination.  The groups include the Young Lords Organization, the Black Panther Party, the Young Patriots, and Rising Up Angry.  The first three groups (the Young Lords Organization and the Black Panther Party) made up of the Rainbow Coalition and hosted the press conference to call on their communities to quell riots and racial violence.

The Chicago Public Library system is incredible! Not only can you check out books and movies, and rent passes to the Adler Planetarium and other fabulous museums, but it's all free to Chicago residents (which includes DePaul students)!

Chicago Public will be at DePaul this week signing up people for CPL cards, making this decision a no-brainer:

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Richardson Library, Lincoln Park campus; 3pm - 6pm

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Loop Library, DePaul Center Blg, 10th Floor; 3pm - 6pm

All DePaul students, faculty, and staff are invited to take advantage of this opportunity to get a CPL card! Just bring a picture ID, and documentation proving Chicago residency, like a bill or piece of mail from the University with your Chicago address on it. 

Ex Libris: Estelle Doheny

First in a series highlighting the book collectors whose subject expertise, passion, and resources have contributed to DePaul’s Special Collections

One of the earliest female book collectors in the United States, Estelle Doheny, purchased her first rare book in 1931 and continued buying books and manuscripts until her death in 1958.  She is the only woman collector who developed a library notable for both its scope and quality. 

Estelle Doheny (1875-1958) married the wealthy oil man and philanthropist Edward Doheny (1856-1935) in 1900.  Her great collection was for many years housed at the Vincentian Seminary of St. John’s in California.  She also gave parts of her collection to the Vincentian Seminary of St. Mary’s of the Barrens in Perryville, Missouri as gifts and some of these came to DePaul University through a sale at Christie’s Auction House in New York.

In 2001, over 400 pieces of art in the form of rare books and objects d’art from St. Mary’s of the Barrens, were sold at Christie’s.  DePaul University bought seventeen books in this auction.  One of these books was an 18th century book of poetry.  

This work is significant because it is the first book of poetry written by a slave, published by her owner.  It is a first edition of Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, 1773, written by Phyllis Wheatley, who was brought as a slave from Senegal in 1761 to Boston. 

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  Many book collectors paste bookplates inside the front covers of their books, and the Latin words ex libris (meaning “from the library of”) are often used.