Thanks for Making National Library Week a Success!

A big thank you goes out to all of our wonderful patrons for helping to make National Library Week a tremendous success!!!

 

 

National Library Week

Monday, April 15 – Thursday, April 18 the Cardinal Beran Library is celebrating National Library Week. We will have events and prizes scheduled each day and a huge spring blow out bash on Thursday, April 18 from 3-6PM.

On Monday, stop by the library and tell us why you say “I love my library” and take home a cool button or pen. Tuesday we will be introducing our new library mascot, St. Jerome, and the first patron to find Jerome hiding in the stacks will win a $5 copy card. Wednesday we will be highlighting the special collections and archives of the Beran Library. Thursday will be our library appreciation party with games, food, and fun from 3:00 – 6:00 PM (need I remind you of the awesome Christmas party?!). We will play a game of library trivia bingo and the winner will receive a $10 copy card! Hooray!

Can’t wait to see you all this week!!!

Flash Workshops @ the Beran Library

Just in time for final assignments, the Beran Library will be hosting two different short, quick, casual FLASH workshops on RefWorks and the new UST OneSearch. No need to sign up, just show up. Bring your own laptop and get hands on help!

Can’t come during one of the times listed below? Request a one-on-one tutorial or arrange your own workshop time with classmates. Just email the librarians at beran@smseminary.com to set up a date.

RefWorks Flash Workshops

Thursday, April 18 @ 4:15 and 6:15

UST OneSearch Flash Workshops

Saturday, April 20 @ 3:00
Monday, April 22 @ 3:00
Wednesday, April 24 @ 6:00
Monday, April 29 @ 6:00

The Big Bang Theory!

The Big Bang Theory is totally one of my favorite shows on TV but this blog post isn’t about me coveting Sheldon and Leonard’s super awesome card catalog, but instead remind everyone about the Beran Library’s Catholic Intellectual Tradition @ St. Mary’s lecture series this Wednesday, March 13, at 4PM. Our inaugural lecture, “Cosmology, the Big Bang, and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition,” will be presented by Dr. Jim Clarage, Assistant Professor in Chemistry and Physics at the University of St. Thomas.

Dr. Clarage’s talk will focus on the cosmology work of Fr. Georges Lemaitre, a Belgian priest and physicist who was instrumental in the development of the modern Big Bang. He will focus on Lemaitre’s 1950 book “The Primeval Atom” where Lemaitre outlines his cosmology. As background Dr. Clarage will touch on previous cosmology in history. His main thesis is to elevate the Big Bang theory to part of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition.

Immediately following the 4PM lecture will be a reception on the second floor of the Beran Library. Light refreshments and drinks will be served. And cookies. And brownies.

There will be no test after the lecture (this is fun learning!) but if you feel the need to brush up on your Belgian Catholic astrophysicists here is a very informative article about  Fr. Georges Lemaitre; from Wikipedia no less, every librarian’s guilty pleasure! If you would like to argue with me about the “scholarlyness” of Wikipedia, or your professor frowns upon it, you can always read this slightly more authoritative* article from the October 2007 (vol. 64, n. 4) issue of Annals of Science, “The Context of Discovery: Lemaitre and the Origin of the Primeval-Atom Universe,” by Helge S. Kragh and Dominique Lambert (link requires CeltID login).

I hope to see everyone there, even though it means less cookies for me to take home!

*If you care to discuss “authoratativeness” and “scholarlyness” with any of the librarians checkout our sweet LibGuide on the subject!

Pre Vatican II Pamphlet Exhibit

As established in previous posts, the Beran Library is a literal treasure trove full relics from years past. Our collection of Catholic & theology resources is not just limited to books and databases. The Beran Library has a rich collection of over 700 pamphlets.

Dedicated librarian Ashley Pitts has been working to provide better access to these materials by systematically weeding and cataloging the individual items for our online catalog. A tiresome project that occasionally provides some comic relief by the well-meaning, though misguided, pre-Vatican II pamphlets. With titles like “How Wives Fail in Marriage” it’s hard not to chuckle a little.

(clockwise) “How Wives Fail in Marriage,” “Purity and Power,” “Frequent and Early Communion,” and “What Every Catholic Should Know.”

As an Art History graduate I am drawn to the pamphlets 1960′s bold textual cover designs. Neon and psychedelic colors, harsh diagonal lines, and sans-serif fonts; simplistic design and copy you don’t see much of these days (who’s stoked about the new season of Mad Men?!).

A selection of these pamphlets are on display in the foyer of the Cardinal Beran Library. Take a look at them and then browse our ever improving pamphlet collection in the Library’s reference room.

Special Events, Holidays, and Special Hours @ Beran Library

We are approaching the Season of Lent and with it we have some special events and hours planned.

The Library will be celebrating Fat Tuesday, February 12 with an all day long snack feast! We will have sweets, treats, and meats for all day grazing. Feel free to bring back your favorite rich and fatty snacks! I call dibs on the baby!

UST Spring Break is Thursday, February 28 – Sunday, March 3. The library will be open normal hours during spring break.

Holy Week is Sunday, March 24 - Saturday, March 30. The library will be open normal hours, 2-8PM, on Palm Sunday (March 24). Monday, March 25 – Wednesday, March 27, the library will be open 8:30 – 5:00 PM. The library will close at 12 noon on Holy Thursday (March 28) and remain closed through Easter Sunday. The library will resume normal hours on Easter Monday, 8:30 – 11:00 PM.

New Faculty Articles

Did you know the library has a bullentin board highlighting recent publications by faculty members? The board is located by the copy machine on the first floor of the library.

Recent addition to the board include Fr. Francis Macatangay’s “One More Look at Martha’s ‘Perfect’ Statement in John 11:27″ published in the Winter 2012 Southeastern Theological Review.

Come check it out!