Show some Library Love today!
Posted: February 14, 2019 Filed under: Archives & Special Collections, Art Library, Ekstrom Library, Kornhauser Health Sciences Library, Law Library, Music Library, People, Reviews, University Archives & Records Center, University of Louisville, University of Louisville Libraries | Tags: love, University of Louisville Libraries Leave a commentWhat do you love about your library? In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’ve asked some of our patrons for their insights into this question. Here are some of their responses:
“The library is one of the last places with a “community” feel where you can go without being expected to spend money.” – Caleb Bridgwater, Senior. UofL Libraries Student Advisory Board member
“Everyone deserves a quiet place to learn and feel comfortable. Libraries do that, and they provide a knowledge opportunity to people who may not have that opportunity elsewhere.” – Erynn Overfield, Freshman. UofL Libraries Student Advisory Board member.
“I love the library because it’s the one place I can go and not get distracted. There is something about being in such a sacred study place that makes me buckle down and work! It’s a one-stop destination for productivity with the comfy seating, the Starbucks and the calm atmosphere.” – Jonah Hermes, UofL Libraries Student Advisory Board member.
“I love Ekstrom Library because it has many places to study that can cater to everyone’s study habits. The Poetry Room is my absolute favorite place on campus to rea and to write papers because it is such a quiet and calm place to get my thoughts in order.” – Taylor Chatmon, UofL Libraries Student Advisory Board member.
“The Music Library’s collection of CDs is one of the campus’s hidden treasures. (And their books are pretty good too.) Chatting with Mark Dickson while he checks out your materials is an additional bonus.” – Scott Campbell, Technical Services Librarian at UofL Law Library.
“I love the eagerness of the staff to help you succeed and the availability of every study necessity possible.” – Anora Morton, 1L student at UofL Brandeis School of Law.
“Over the past 15 years, i have served in various roles at Kornhauser Library from student assistant to junior faculty member. There have been two constant themes that have remained with me over the years – customer service and support. I love Kornhauser because I know every faculty and staff member is always willing to go above and beyond for patrons, and they will do the same for each other. It’s nice to work in such a positive, caring, and supportive environment.” – Tiffney Gipson, Head of Collections at Kornhauser Library.
“I love browsing the collection at Ekstrom Library, where I always leave with an unexpected book that has captured my interest while looking for something entirely different! I also rely on the quiet spaces in the Law Library where I can retreat to focus on my work without the distractions and interruptions that crop up in my office.” – Erin Gow, Online Services Librarian at UofL Law Library.
“The artists’ books at the Art Library come in all shapes and sizes, constructed in such beautiful and colorful materials and each one with a cool, unique vibe. They are works of art in themselves and one of the things I truly love about this library.” – Carolyn Dowd, Sr. Communications Coordinator for the University Libraries.
“I love the law library because the library faculty members are so helpful and thoughtful. They will go above and beyond to help students find resources, and they always strive to accommodate students’ needs, whether that be providing more phone and computer chargers or installing a phone booth!” – Calesia Henson, 3L student at UofL Brandeis School of Law.
“My favorite library is Ekstrom. I like the quiet spaces with tables for spreading out my books. I’ve written papers, completed assignments, and done math problems in this space. It’s very peaceful. I love this space.” – Isabel Rozema, Senior. UofL Libraries Student Advisory Board member.
Show some love for your library and leave an anecdote if the spirit of Valentine’s Day moves you!
Summer TV Recommendations
Posted: June 14, 2013 Filed under: Ekstrom Library, Reviews, Videos Leave a commentby Hannah Parks, Ekstrom Library Media Resources
Summer is such a wonderful season. Schedules aren’t so tight, the weather is (usually) sunny, and people seem to be in a better mood than they were during the winter. I love to spend the summer hiking and cycling, but I also enjoy the rainy days, when I have an excuse to stay inside and be lazy. I usually spend these lazy days watching television shows and reading. Once I finish a show’s series or a book, though, I find it difficult to find a new one to start. I usually look for suggestions from friends, which, regarding television shows, aren’t hard to find here in Media Resources.
For those of you who share the same difficulty as I do in finding new shows to watch, I’ve consulted with my fellow Media Resources experts, and we’ve come up with a definitive list of eleven great TV shows to watch this summer, all of which are available through our department’s SGA collection. I’ve limited them to recent shows (aired within the past year) and separated them into genres, in case you’re interested in a specific type of show. I’ve also included their parental ratings.
Need more suggestions? Stop by the Media Department and we’ll help you out!
Comedy
Arrested Development TV-PG
Community TV-PG
Psych TV-PG
How I Met Your Mother TV-PG
Drama
Breaking Bad TV-14
Walking Dead TV-14
Game of Thrones TV-MA
Justified TV-14
Animated
Archer TV-MA
Venture Brothers TV-MA
Family Guy TV-14
Encyclopedia of Human Rights
Posted: April 23, 2012 Filed under: Books, Ekstrom Library, Reviews Leave a comment[The following is a guest post from Joanna Thompson, one of our excellent student assistants in Ekstrom Library. Thank you, Joanna!]
The Encyclopedia of Human Rights, edited by David P. Forsythe, is a five-volume compilation of in-depth essays by experts in the many facets of the field of Human Rights.
This encyclopedia is of personal interest to me because of my interest in cultural anthropology and refugee issues. This interest in refugee issues naturally leads me to a discussion about human rights violations around the world.
The publication covers four aspects of human rights: rights, organizations, persons, and situations. Under the category of rights, topics such as freedom from torture and freedom from genocide are discussed. The organizations discussed range from organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to the United Nations Security Council. The people discussed included all of the Nobel laureates who had a pronounced interest in promoting human rights. Finally, the situations are laid out according to country, explaining what the current situation is in regards to human rights and the history or background that led them to that particular situation. Although this Encyclopedia, published in 2009, is for the most part events ranging from 1945-today, it also reaches back to events such as the Holocaust and the Irish Famine and provides an in-depth explanation of colonialism. These are important in this publication as a comparison: In order to understand human rights today, it is important to understand past weaknesses. It is one of the most in-depth publications in the University of Louisville collection regarding topics of human rights, and is a perfect tool for individuals who are interested in promoting human rights and equality in the communities, nations, or around the world.
[The Encyclopedia of Human Rights is available in the Ekstrom Library reference collection at JC571 .E673 2009.]
Jimmy Stewart gets classically political
Posted: March 20, 2012 Filed under: Ekstrom Library, Reviews | Tags: Capra, Jimmy Stewart, movie review, politics, videos Leave a commentby Brittney Thompson
Can one person really make a difference? Is all it really takes for one person’s voice to be heard? Director Frank Capra (It’s a Wonderful Life, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town) attempts to answer these questions in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Jimmy Stewart (The Philadelphia Story, Harvey, Rear Window) stars as Jefferson Smith, an Everyman character who generations of audiences can’t help but get behind. Jefferson is naïve, but hopeful. As the den father of a boy scouts group, how could he be anything but kind and selfless for sake of his community? Unfortunately, the bigwigs in Washington take him as a simpleton and assume that Jefferson (along with being quite the patriot) will be easy to manipulate into carrying out misdeeds (as long as Jefferson believes what he is doing is for AMERICA) or to set him up as the perfect scapegoat. Ultimately, Mr. Smith is selected by Washington to replace a recently deceased senator if only because he is a ‘good ole boy’ who isn’t quite long in the tooth with politics yet. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington not only has an alluring plotline, but does great things with language. This is a movie that almost everyone knows by one scene (even if they’ve never seen the movie in full): the filibuster ordeal. Here is where some of the best speeches in film history are made. If anything, we could all take a lesson from Jefferson in public speaking. This film also works to spark the audience interests in politics for the previously apolitical. Running time is 2 hours and 15 minutes. The SGA movie collection has two copies.
Experience the Darker Side of Love
Posted: February 14, 2012 Filed under: Ekstrom Library, Reviews | Tags: movie review, romantic dramedy Leave a commentby Brittney Thompson
How could one not celebrate Valentine’s Day this year without watching a movie guaranteed to emit second-hand embarrassment from its blundering characters? The Girl in the Cafe is one of those movies that reminds viewers (should one’s February 14th not go swimmingly) things could always be worse. Screenwriter Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary) never fails to do just this to audiences. David Yates (Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts 1&2) directs Curtis’s painfully awkward romantic dramedy, The Girl in the Café, starring Bill Nighy (Pirate Radio, Love Actually) as Lawrence: a socially backwards gentleman who works for the British Prime Minister as a well-paid and prestigious number cruncher for the global economy. Lawrence is tired of being alone and by a random twist of fate meets Gina (Kelly Macdonald) in a coffee shop where he decides to take a chance on a follow up date. He eventually brings her along to a G8 summit in Reykjavik, Iceland. This becomes problematic when Lawrence learns of Gina’s outspoken nature. Their relationship is one to make viewers cringe with the highly intense romantic tension that begs resolution. This movie is an emotional train wreck that incites the audience to peek at the screen through fingers—it is a story in which one must see what happens next even though you almost certainly know it won’t be good for any of the characters. Along with the romantic emotional dilemma the main couple experiences, Curtis and Yates provide audience members a lesson on the more cold-hearted side of how Foreign Policy and Globalization is viewed by those in charge and how it is organized and considered.
A very happy un-Valentine to you, indeed!
This film is available for checkout by members of the University community in the Media Resources department in Ekstrom library. It’s a part of the SGA Video Collection.
Curious moviegoer seeking new director?
Posted: January 10, 2012 Filed under: Ekstrom Library, Reviews Leave a commentWes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited
by Brittney Thompson
Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Fantastic Mr. Fox) directs The Darjeeling Limited: a story of three brothers, Francis, Peter, and Jack Whitman (Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman) reunited one year after not speaking to or seeing one another following the funeral of their father. They travel throughout India on a train called the Darjeeling Limited and manage to get into ridiculous shenanigans (buying a poisonous snake meant for a pet; having one loafer worth thousands of dollars stolen by a shoe-shine boy; facing the threat of being thrown off the train at any moment regardless of how desolate the locations are; attempting to rescue three boys; running around with dozens of heavy and expensive pieces of luggage) before reaching their destination to visit their mother (Anjelica Huston).
The brothers are escapists; their respective problems and shared dysfunctional family prove to be most harrowing during their time together. Francis, the eldest and self-declared leader of the three, recently suffered from a motorcycle accident and remains in bandages and in possession of a cane for the whole of the film. He is overbearing and must know every aspect of his younger brothers’ lives—not because he cares, but because he wants the information that they are not sharing with him. He goes as far as to hold onto their passports to ground them to him. Peter discloses to Jack that he has left his pregnant wife behind in the United States and that the child will be born soon—he will not be present for the birth. He is convinced that he was the closest to their father and his favorite son. Peter has taken some of their father’s belongings such as his razor and prescription sunglasses out of which he can’t see, but insists on wearing both inside and outside. Jack is a writer whose characters in his pieces are striking to him and the people in his life although he won’t admit it. He refuses to let go of a failed relationship with his ex-girlfriend (Natalie Portman) and allows it to consume his life.
The themes of depression, isolation and loneliness while surrounded with people, familial duty, not to mention responsibility (of lack thereof) and bored wealthy people, are showcased in nearly every Wes Anderson film, but are unique to this dramedy. With loveable and quick-witted characters, audience members are sure to enjoy this fast paced story and be inspired to check out the rest of Anderson’s filmography.
Check out the film in the SGA Collection in the Media Resources Department of Ekstrom Library.
Looking for a fun holiday flick?
Posted: December 5, 2011 Filed under: Ekstrom Library, Reviews 1 CommentLove Actually is all around
by Brittney Thompson
Tired of all the cliché seasonal films that you have seen a billion times? Well, if you liked Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary, or Pirate Radio, then Love Actually is the perfect holiday season romantic comedy for you! It has a stellar ensemble cast including (but not limited to) Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant, and Keira Knightley, who star in their own storyline in this networking motion picture. The separate, yet intersecting plotlines include: a newlywed couple, a long time married couple in which the wife doubts her husband’s loyalty, a young woman who must decide between a brother who needs her or having a love life, a scorned writer who moves to France for a few weeks, a man grieving the loss of his wife and learning how to be a single father rearing his step-son, a down and out aging pop star trying to make a comeback with a Christmas-centric hit single, the newly elected Prime Minister dealing with responsibility and his heart, a young Englishman who leaves his home country in order to get a dates with women in America, and a pair of body doubles on a film set who connect. Some of the most fun parts about the movie are the moments when the audience finds out just how all of the characters know one another. The actors bring out their designated character roles so well that the viewer is lead to believe they are real life people. We feel sorry for them, laugh with them, laugh at them, and cry with them. Writer and Director of the film, Richard Curtis, keeps his audience entertained from the exposition until the credits roll.
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Ekstrom Library’s Media Resources Department has 3 copies in the SGA Collection for the University community’s viewing pleasure.
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