Erwin Woodye, Chief Librarian of the University of Belize, is currently visiting WKU Libraries. He arrived on Monday, July 20, 2009.
On the evening of July 23, Erwin was invited to the home of librarian Haiwang Yuan and treated to a table of homemade Chinese dinner.
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A new addition to the Manuscripts collection of WKU’s Special Collections Library is an 1844 letter from John C. Easton, a Taylorsville, Spencer County, Kentucky lawyer, to his brother James. He discusses the forthcoming presidential election, including the possibility that the “Locos” (short for Locofocos, a radical wing of the Democratic Party) might nominate former vice president and Kentucky native Richard Mentor Johnson. Opponents had criticized Johnson for his relationship with a mulatto slave with whom he had two children, and Easton refers to Johnson’s “colored” wife in his letter. A finding aid and transcription of the letter can be accessed here.
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The Military Order of the Stars and Bars has selected Josie Underwood’s Civil War Diary, edited by Nancy Disher Baird as the winner of the 2009 Basil W. Duke Award, which recognizes the publisher who reissues the best work in Confederate history.
Available for the first time in print, Josie Underwood’s Civil War Diary offers a vivid, firsthand account of a family that owned slaves and opposed Lincoln, yet remained unshakably loyal to the Union. Josie’s father, Warner, played an important role in keeping Kentucky from seceding. Among the many highlights of the diary is Josie’s record of meeting the president in wartime Washington, which served to soften her opinion of him. Josie describes her fear of secession and war, and the anguish of having relatives and friends fighting on opposite sides, noting in the spring of 1861 that many friendships and families were breaking up “faster than the Union.” The diary also brings to life the fears, frustrations, and deprivations of living under occupation in strategically important Bowling Green, KY known as the “Gibraltar of the Confederacy” during the war. Despite the wartime upheaval, Josie’s life is also refreshingly normal at times and she recounts travel, parties, local gossip, and the search for her “true Prince.”
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The Southern Kentucky (SOKY) Book Fest partners have received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to host another Big Read project in Bowling Green and the surrounding region. The Big Read gives communities the opportunity to come together to read, discuss, and celebrate one of 30 selections from American and world literature. The Big Read in Bowling Green will center on the classic book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald<. The project will be held September 15 to November 15 and focus on the theme of the American Dream.
“During these challenging economic times reading The Great Gatsby is especially relevant,” said WKU Libraries Community Outreach Manager Tracy Harkins. Warren County Public Library Director Lisa Rice said, “The book’s 1920s period will provide for community dialogues about social class and how success is defined in America.” Big Read activities will include a roaring twenties party, national guest speakers, numerous book discussions, and book giveaways of 1000 copies of the novel. This is the second Big Read for SOKY Book Fest which previously hosted a To Kill a Mockingbird program.
The partners chose The Great Gatsby because of several Kentucky ties to the book. Author Fitzgerald was stationed in Kentucky during WWI, and he frequented the famous Seelbach Hotel in Louisville. His wife Zelda’s family was also from Kentucky. The Great Gatsby characters Nick and Daisy meet in Louisville where she is said to be from a wealthy Southern family.
SOKY Book Fest is one of 269 organizations nationwide and seven in Kentucky to receive a grant to host The Big Read during the upcoming academic year. To date, the NEA has given more than 800 grants to support local Big Read projects. For more information about The Big Read please visit www.neabigread.org
SOKY Book Fest is a partnership project of WKU Libraries, Warren County Public Library, and Barnes and Noble booksellers. For more information visit www.sokybookfest.org or contact Tracy Harkins at 270-745-5016.
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WKU’s Project Muse database has been expanded to include “Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies” and “Western American Literature.”
“The Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies” contains original peer-reviewed research and book reviews on the humanities in Asia, focusing at present on of China, Japan, Korea, and Inner Asia. WKU Libraries provides access via Project Muse beginning with volume 69 (2009). The library also provides access to the journal in JSTOR from 1936 to 2003.
“Western American Literature” is a peer-reviewed journal published quarterly by the Western Literature Association and Utah State University. Devoted to groundbreaking critical essays on the literature, culture, landscape, and art of the American West, the journal publishes criticism dealing with Western culture and literature (both contemporary and traditional). WKU Libraries provides access to this journal through Project Muse beginning with volume 44 (2009).
To access these journals, use WKU Libraries’ E-Journal Finder (TDnet) available on the Libraries’ Website.
The Kentucky Library & Museum hosted its fifth annual Appraisal Day on Saturday, June 6, 2009 at Western Kentucky University. Professional appraisers were on hand to assess the public’s antiques and collectibles. Several people brought in their family treasures to see what kind of value they had.
“We saw some very nice items,” said Timothy Mullin, Department Head for Special Collections. “One couple brought in a piece from England that was recovered during World War II that was quite lovely and another lady displayed a beautiful gold watch locket.”
To view pictures from Appraisal Day or to learn about upcoming events at the Kentucky Library & Museum, go to www.wku.edu/library/kylm.
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University Libraries’ faculty and staff (Brian Coutts, Brian Carson, Jack Montgomery, Charles Smith, Doug Wiles and Alan Logsdon) toured the Gordon Wilson library storage facility Wednesday morning. The group will make suggestions for improved organization of the facility. A summer student project will include transfer of some older serials titles from Helm to storage.
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Louisville singer/songwriter and WKU Music Alumni, Tyrone Cotton entertained an appreciative audience with his lyrical prowess and relaxed guitar style.
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Educational Resources Center hosted the Scholastic Book Fair: Buy One Get One Free event on the morning of Saturday, May 2 at DUC as part of the Young Authors Conference held in the same building.
The Young Authors Conference and the Scholastic Book Fair were sponsored by the Western Kentucky Reading Council of the Kentucky Reading Association, an affiliate of the International Reading Association.
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Dr. Brian Coutts, Head of Library Public Services at WKU, publishes his “Best Reference Sources” of the Year annually in the April 15 issue of Library Journal, the nation’s leading library trade journal. It’s one of two such “Best Ref” lists. Each year he gives a workshop on the “Best Reference Books” of the past year for WKU Library faculty and staff. This year’s presentation was held on Friday, April 24 at 9:00 a.m. A reception followed.
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