On Thursday, April 16 at Barnes & Noble Bookstore, Prof. Haiwang Yuan from WKU Libraries spoke about his book Tibetan Folktales in the final program in the 2014-2015 season of Far Away Places. Yuan spoke about his 2013 trip to Tibet and the history, food, and culture of the Tibetan people. A book signing followed.
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More than 150 authors and illustrators are expected to be in attendance for the Southern Kentucky Book Fest weekend of April 17-18, including New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon, well known for her Outlander series.
“We are very pleased with the number and quality of authors and illustrators we will have with us this year,” said Kristie Lowry, Literary Outreach Coordinator for WKU Libraries and Book Fest organizer. “In addition to the headliner, who has a very loyal following, there are many wonderful authors for readers of all ages.”
Book Fest weekend is full of author presentations, panel discussions, and book signings as well as the Kentucky Writers Conference featuring writing workshops on Friday, April 17 presented by several authors who will be at the main Book Fest event on Saturday. Friday also includes Children’s Day with hundreds of school-aged children visiting presentations and getting book signed by favorite and newly discovered authors. A new program this year is a Writers Workshop for Teens geared toward youth in grades 9 through 12. For more information on that or to register, go to sokybookfest.org and click on Children’s Day.
Jamie Ford, Terry Brooks, and Chloe Neill are a few well-known authors who will be on hand at SOKY Book Fest. Bestselling picture book author Doreen Cronin, known for Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type and Duck for President, will be attending both days along with illustrator Mark Crilley who has his work featured in USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, and CNN Headline News and Comcast on Demand.
SOKY Book Fest is a partnership project of WKU Libraries, Warren County Public Library, and Barnes and Noble Booksellers. For more information, visit the website at sokybookfest.org or contact Book Fest organizer Kristie Lowry at WKU Libraries at (270) 745-4502.
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WKU Libraries is one of several sponsors of this two week series of visiting speakers and documentary films. On Tuesday, March 17 at 4 p.m. at GRH 1074 Professor Luz Maria de la Torre, an indigenous activist and scholar from Otavalo, Ecuador talked about the role of indigenous women in changing ethnic relations in Ecuador. She’s currently a visiting professor and instructor of Quechua at UCLA. A reception followed. She also spoke to classes on campus.
On Wednesday, March 18 in MMTH 166, With My Heart in Yambo, an award winning documentary film directed by Maria Fernandez Restrepo was shown. The film describes how her two brothers were abducted by the police and later murdered more than 25 years ago. The documentary was introduced by Professor Sonia Lenk who had once met the Restrepos at their Quito store prior to the murders.
On Tuesday, March 24 at 4 p.m. at GRH 1074 Xavier Bonilla (aka Bonil), Ecuador’s most famous and controversial political cartoonist, spoke about “Political Humor/Cartoons in an Ecuadorian Context: A Free Press or Censorship.” He does cartoons for numerous periodicals and magazines in Ecuador including El Universo, Ecuador’s largest newspaper. Professor Melissa Stewart provided the translation, which was created by her Spanish Translation class. A reception followed. Bonilla also spoke to classes on campus and did media interviews with English and Spanish language press.
On Tuesday, March 31 at 5 p.m. in MMTH 166, Cesar’s Grill a 2013 documentary film directed by Dario Aguirre was shown. It describes how a vegetarian artist’s son living in Germany gets called back to Ecuador to help his father Cesar with his failing grill restaurant. It was recently nominated as the best documentary film at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. The director prepared a special video introduction especially for this showing at WKU. Professor Fabian Alvarez served as moderator. The film opened in Ecuadorian theaters in April and has awards at several film festivals.
De la Torre Photo Album | Bonilla Photo Album | De La Torre Podcast | Bonilla Podcast
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WKU Libraries’ Kentucky Live! series hosted Nathaniel Northington, the first African American football player in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), on the evening of Thursday, March 19 at Barnes & Noble bookstore.
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The Southern Kentucky Book Fest held its used book sale this past weekend. The event was delayed a day due to winter storm weather that kept the parking lots and roads snow covered on the original starting date Friday, March 6. The cold, snowy weather didn’t keep out the crowds as they eagerly sought out their favorite authors and books on Saturday and Sunday with the discount book day on Monday.
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In an effort to allow students a study outlet, Cravens Library opened on Thursday, February 19 and Friday, February 20 from 10am-4pm. All classes were cancelled for the week; however, Cravens was open for business. Dean Connie Foster offered the students and staff donuts for breakfast and pizza for lunch while they worked at the Libraries.
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We are proud to announce that Meijer is a new sponsor for SOKY Book Fest. Gwen Tinsley and Bill Thompson from Meijer presented SOKY Book Fest Coordinator, Kristie Lowry, with a check today as they signed on as sponsors of the 2015 event.
Book Fest sponsors are how we keep our events and programs free, so please visit the sponsor page at http://sokybookfest.org/sponsors-2/. The next time you visit a sponsor’s business or talk to one of their employees, thank them for their commitment to encourage reading and the love of books! #SOKYBF
Western Kentucky University senior Katherine “Katie” DeCoursey was recognized last week for being selected as the recipient of the inaugural WKU Library Student Assistant Scholarship. From Hopkinsville, Kentucky, DeCoursey has worked for the Libraries for three years and will be graduating in May 2015 with a degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders.
“Katie has embraced a professional demeanor and work ethic from the beginning of her academic career,” said Doug Wiles, library security coordinator and DeCoursey’s supervisor. “She has maintained exemplary academic performance in a rigorous Communication Disorders program (while working) and has engaged in numerous extracurricular and professional engagement activities in her chosen field.”
Her library duties include working as a Circulation Assistant and as a Stacks Management Assistant, has cross-trained for library security functions, and has assisted with complex projects, such as implementing StackMap (digital search software), installing compact shelving, shifting entire floors of main collections, and relocating Circulation Services during a remodeling project.
DeCoursey was hired the second semester of her freshman year, working winter and summer breaks in addition to the regular academic school year. “I am very proud of my job. The Library has supplied an environment that has helped me grow as a student through my college experience,” said DeCoursey.
The scholarship is sponsored through funding from the Friends of WKU Libraries. For more information on the Friends program, go to wku.edu/library and click on “Support Us.”
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Kentucky Ancestors is a publication of the Kentucky Historical Society which features article topics appealing to family historians of all levels. They have ‘How-To’, Case Studies, and individual family histories as well as Book Notes, stories and commentary. They focus on content related to Kentucky families and locations, as well as those areas from which many Kentuckians migrated. The resource is no longer issued in print but is freely available online. A new feature for the magazine is “Repository Roundup.” They note that “Kentucky has a great reputation for being ‘Records Rich’ – but we want to know WHERE the records are located throughout the state.” We were pleased that the Special Collections Library was chosen as the first library to be featured for this new series. Family historians and other patrons from around the United States and the world visit to see and use the many “books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, audio, video, and other material documenting the history, politics, culture, literature, daily life and folkways” of the families of the Commonwealth and beyond. The article featuring the Special Collections library is available at http://kentuckyancestors.org/repository-roundup-western-kentucky-university/
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WKU Libraries partnered with the Confucius Institute and offered a Homecoming Reception Saturday morning in Helm Library, Room 100. Faculty, staff, students, and alumni visited the event in the morning from 10 to 11:30 am. There were opportunities to participate in a tea ceremony, try calligraphy, view Tai Chi demonstrations, and listen to the Chinese Music Club as well as enjoy the American and Chinese reception food.
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