WKU Libraries kicked off the spring season of “Far Away Places” with Dr. Jason Polk and Dr. Leslie North, Asstant Professors from the Department of Geography and Geology at WKU, who talked about leading a study abroad group to Iceland in the summer of 2015. The speaker series event took place at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Bowling Green, KY on the evening of February 18, 2016.
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The Southern Kentucky Book Fest partnership announces the three finalists for the 2016 Kentucky Literary Award. This year’s award will go to a work of fiction by a Kentucky author or with a significant Kentucky theme that was published in 2014 or 2015. The three finalists include:
The Marble Orchard, Alex Taylor
Cementville, Paulette Livers
Hurry Please, I Want to Know, Paul Griner
The winner will be announced at the Southern Kentucky Book Fest’s Meet the Authors Reception to be held Friday, April 22– the night before the main Book Fest event. The Kentucky Literary Award is presented annually by the Southern Kentucky Book Fest partnership. The 2016 award is sponsored by the Friends of WKU Libraries. For more information about the award, contact Sara Volpi, Book Fest and Literary Outreach Coordinator, at sara.volpi@wku.edu or 270-745-4502.
The Southern Kentucky Book Fest is a partnership of Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Warren County Public Library, and Western Kentucky University Libraries. For more information, visit sokybookfest.org.
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Dean Connie Foster, Library Public Services Department Head Brian Coutts, Library Faculty John Gottfried, and Marketing Coordinator Jennifer Wilson represented the Libraries at a student fair for the incoming International Students on Tuesday, January 19 at the Honors College and International Center. Approximately 100 international students who are new to WKU’s campus participated in the orientation, asking many questions, including library hours, locations, and services.
On the evening of February 11, 2016 at Barnes & Noble in Bowling Green, KY, WKU Libraries kicks off its spring season of Kentucky Live! with Tom Kimmerer, Chief Scientist at Venerable Trees Inc., in Lexington, KY. Tom Kimmerer talked about his new book Venerable Trees: History, Biology, and Conservation in the Bluegrass. A graduate of the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, with a PhD. in Forestry and Botany from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kimmerer has studied trees and woodland for over forty years, the last thirty-two of which have been in the Kentucky Bluegrass.
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Friday, November 20, YA author Alecia Whitaker was honored at a reception at the Kentucky Building on Western Kentucky University’s campus for winning the Evelyn Thurman Young Readers Book Award for her novel Wildflower, featuring a teen girl from Kentucky.
Prior to the luncheon, Ms. Whitaker visited three middle schools in the area to talk to students about writing and what it takes to publish a book. Ms. Whitaker was pleasantly surprised to be serenaded by the student body at Moss Middle who sang the main character’s featured song “Notice Me” from the book.
This program is made possible by the Evelyn Thurman Children’s Author Fund, the Southern Kentucky Book Fest partnership, and WKU Libraries.
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Late in the afternoon on Tuesday, November 10, members of the English Club began trickling through the doors at Java City, notebooks and hand-written pages in hand, backpacks crammed with brick-sized volumes of literature; the words of poets past and present buzzing in the air between the scent of brewing coffee and cinnamon roll samples. You may have seen the “Poetry Open Mic” fliers dotting tables and bulletin boards in the library (if not, you missed out; they were pretty cool).
The English Club and WKU Libraries teamed up to host this open mic on a small stage near the entrance of Java City. Eight student readers representing a broad swath of English interests and specialties took to the stage to read their wares to an audience that waxed and waned during the hour long event. Passersby and patrons tuned their ears to hear passionate verse exploring everything from heartbreak to politics to culinary obsessions to The Simpsons. A choral ensemble even showed up and showered the crowd with some lovely South African-themed song.
The impetus behind an event like this is pretty simple. Open mics and similar opportunities to share the written word encourage students to nix stage fright and get their work out there to a larger audience. It’s also just great reading practice to cultivate that poetic voice. Not only does this help poets practice rhythm, it builds community and creates a fun atmosphere where writers can be comfortable in sharing their writing with no judgment or criticism.
Next time there’s an open mic, don’t be afraid to share your work. You don’t have to be a Creative Writing Major – all are welcome. We’d love to have you join!
Do you have a literary event you’d like to bring to the library? Want to see more Open Mics and the like? Send Sara Volpi an email at sara.volpi@wku.edu, and she’ll help you out!
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Bowling Green author Molly McCaffrey was the speaker in the Kentucky Live! series on November 19, 2015 at Barnes & Noble Bookstore. She talked about and read from her newest book You Belong to Us: One Baby, Two Sets of Parents, a memoir which tells the story of her experience meeting her biological family just after her thirtieth birthday.
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WKU Libraries’ November 12, 2015 “Far Away Places” speaker series event at Barnes & Noble Bookseller, Bowling Green, Kentucky featured Professor Akiko Takenaka, who teaches the History of Modern Japan at the University of Kentucky. She talked about her new book Yasukuni Shrine: History, Memory, and Japan’s Unending Postwar, published this summer by the University of Hawaii Press.
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Library faculty and staff took a “Behind the Scenes” tour of the Educational Resources Center (ERC) October 28 to learn more about the materials, patrons, and resources available for use. Ellen Micheletti, longtime staff member of the ERC staff, escorted the group, offering interesting information and tidbits about the ERC.
Dr. Scott Lyons, Associate Professor and Director for School of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport and WKU alum Ann Epperson were honored on October 22 at a reception in Helm Library as the inaugural inductees into WKU Libraries Open Access Hall of Fame.
Lyons is the founder and editor of the International Journal of Exercise Science (IJES) which debuted on TopSCHOLAR®, the research and creative activity database of WKU, in 2007 with over 345,000 downloads to date.
Epperson was honored in the student category for her thesis Internet GIS as a Historic Place-Making Tool for Mammoth Cave National Park which has been downloaded nearly 15,000 times.
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