To celebrate Black History Month, which takes place throughout the month of February, a display was created in the BookEnd Lounge of Herrick Library. We would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to Yanairy Guerrero for taking the time and effort to set it up for our patrons to enjoy.
Women's Suffrage Exhibit
Alfred University’s Herrick Memorial Library is hosting the traveling exhibit, Recognizing Women’s Right to Vote in New York State, from now through Friday, March 2.
New York State is celebrating the centennial of women gaining the right to vote in New York State on November 6, 1917—three years before the 19th Amendment was passed and women throughout the United States gained the right to vote. The South Central Regional Library Council and the Empire State Library Network have partnered with the Digital Public Library of America on the exhibit, which looks beyond the traditional Women’s Suffrage narrative and explores the history behind the movement that made New York State such an important place in the fight for Women’s Suffrage.
The exhibit includes five panels, each showing a different theme:
Woman Suffrage before 1848 – Explores voting in New York State before the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, including in the colonies and among the Haudenosaunee people.
Women’s Rights Activity up to 1848 and the Seneca Falls and Rochester Conventions – Women and men organized to restore the right to vote to women, among other rights.
Pop Culture Suffrage – Suffragists displayed brilliance when it came to promoting their cause, and packaged their message in consumer goods, created songs and theater performances, formed parades and processions, and traveled through rural areas, knocking on doors.
Anti-Suffrage – Most women and men believed that equality for women would lead to the destruction of the state. The Anti-suffrage movement engaged in public debates, created publicity materials to counter those of the suffragists, and argued that support for Women’s Suffrage was unpatriotic, especially during World War I.
Race and Diversity – The early Women’s Suffrage movement embraced women of all races, but overt racism in the later years led some suffragists to argue for the inclusion of all races winning the right to vote—including those effectively denied their voting rights.
For more information, contact Herrick Library at herricklibrary@alfred.edu.
Binns Letters Digitized
A selection of personal letters to and from Charles F. Binns, the father of American studio ceramics, are now available to view online. These archived letters have recently been digitized, transcribed, and uploaded to AURA (Alfred University Research & Archives). There are currently 135 transcribed letters, with many more on the way!
For those who may not be in the know, Charles F. Binns was an artist (potter), as well as a major influence during the Arts and Crafts movement at the turn of the century. This movement promoted the unique physical beauty and aesthetics of handmade pottery and other art pieces, as opposed to the mass produced products that were becoming widely available due to the Industrial Revolution.
Binns was also the first director of the New York State College of Clay-Working and Ceramics, which was the first school to combine ceramic art and engineering. Today it is know as The New York State College of Ceramics (NYSCC) at Alfred University. For 30 years, this was the only school to have combined the two. Additionally, Binns was one of the first to strongly promote taking a scientific approach to glaze study. Binns worked with, as well as taught, many famous artists such as Elizabeth Overbeck, Mary Chase Perry Stratton, Arthur Eugene Baggs, and R. Guy Cowan. He continued to correspond and give advice to his students well after they had graduated. This was done through letters, some of which can now be viewed through the AURA site. Binns was so well respected by his students as well as other artists that he was often consulted about techniques, clay, kilns, glazes, and general guidance. The NYSCC Archives in Scholes Library also holds correspondence between Binns and famous contemporaries such as Gustav Stickley, Frederick Carder, and Paul Gardner.
So, you are interested in finding these letters but you are unfamiliar with AURA? No problem! Here is a step by step guide on accessing the letters.
Step 1) You will find a link to AURA on the Scholes Library or Herrick Library web sites, or follow the direct link https://aura.alfred.edu.
Step 2) On AURA‘s main page enter Charles Fergus Binns in the search box.
From here, you can browse everything uploaded so far!
So now you know a little more about Charles F. Binns and how important he was to Alfred University and to modern ceramics. Make sure to check AURA periodically for updates and additional letter uploads. For more information, or if you would like to visit the NYSCC Archives in Scholes Library, contact Verna Mullen, Archives Manager, at mullenvc@alfred.edu.
Have you been wondering what that weird white board is in the Scholes Library?
Let me introduce you to the SMARTkapp white board!
SMARTkapp is the share-as-you-go whiteboard! What does that mean exactly? Allow me to explain. Whatever you write on the board can be sent directly to the smart phones of everyone in your group! Once you have filled up the board, you save the page to your phone, erase the board and start on the next page. It’s as simple as that!
The SMARTkapp board is perfect for study groups and group projects. I think we can all agree, one of the hardest parts of a group project is coming up with an agreed upon time to meet. The SMARTkapp app makes it easier than ever. If for some reason a member of your group can not be there, they can easily get the notes with the SMARTkapp app!
SMARTkapp also saves time consuming re-copying. During group study, one person can take notes and other group members can easily send the notes to their phones.
The board and app are completely free to use for all students. No reservations are needed. You can check out and return the markers and eraser at the front desk. There are easy to understand instructions attached to the board. It reads as follows,
Step 1) Plug in the SMARTKapp Board
Step 2) Download the SMARTKapp App
Step 3) Enable Bluetooth on your phone
Step 4) Gently tap your device to sync the SMARTKapp
Step 5) Use a regular dry erase marker to write notes
Step 6) Share!
It’s that simple! Remember, regardless of color marker, the contents will always appear black on the app. Try and write clearly and deliberately. Complicated, dense drawings will not transfer clearly. Snapshots can be taken as you go in a PDF format. Just press the camera button! You can also use a USB to share and save work.
So next time your group has a project or just needs to get some study time in, stop in to the Scholes Library and give the SMARTkapp white board a try!
OERs: Helping to bring down the cost of textbooks
In the spring of 2017, the Alfred University (AU) Libraries conducted surveys of students and faculty about textbooks.
Below are some of the highlights from the surveys. You can view a complete summary of the results here.
Student Survey
- 20% of students spend $0-$100 per semester on textbooks, 52% spend $101-$300, 20% spend $301-$500, 7% spend $501-$800.
- Students reported that the high cost of textbooks has caused them to not purchase the text (47%), to charge texts to credit card even though they can’t afford them (25%), to forego essentials such as food or rent to pay for texts (23%), or to earn a poor grade because they could not afford the text (15%).
- 53% of students say that the high cost of textbooks sometimes prevents them from doing readings or assignments, and 11% say that it frequently prevents them from doing readings or assignments.
Faculty Survey
- 55% of faculty said that students occasionally tell them that they can’t afford the textbook for their class, and 20% of faculty said that students tell them this frequently.
- 55% of faculty had not heard of OERs prior to taking the survey, 10% of faculty say that they have assigned open textbooks in the past, and 9% were unsure.
- Faculty say that not knowing enough about OERs is the biggest barrier to using them, followed by a lack of OER resources in certain subject areas, concerns about quality, and not knowing where to find OER material.
- 60% of faculty say that they might be interested in using currently available OERs, and 27% say that they are definitely interested.
Since conducting the survey, the AU Libraries have engaged in a variety of activities to make faculty more aware of the impact of the cost of textbooks on our students and to share information about opportunities to use OERs in place of traditional textbooks.
Here are some of the steps we have taken:
- We shared the results of the surveys at a spring 2017 meeting of AU faculty.
- We developed some resources for faculty to make it easier for faculty to find Open Educational Resources.
- We are participating in a program sponsored by the State University of New York (SUNY) that provides stipends to faculty who adopt OERs as textbooks. A handful of faculty are participating in the program and we hope to grow participation going forward.
- We have encouraged faculty to put textbooks and other required readings on reserve at Herrick and Scholes Libraries.
- We have had some conversations with the bookstore about student concerns regarding the cost of textbooks and how we might collaborate around OERs.
Our goal is to continue raising awareness about the high cost of textbooks and the impact it has on students’ wallets and academic success. As always, we welcome your input and feedback.
Why you should know about interlibrary loan
Looking for a book or article that the library doesn’t have? What if we told you that you could still borrow that book or article? With interlibrary loan (ILL), you can do just that! The interlibrary loan system allows students the ability to expand their research past the limits of their local library. Over 10,000 libraries, across 56 countries are involved in ILL!
Here’s how it works: A student is searching for a certain material, but the library doesn’t have it. Through interlibrary loan the ILL manager reaches out to other libraries and requests to borrow the materials the student needs. A requested library will then mail or scan that material to the library that needs it. It’s that simple!
To start using ILL you will access https://alfred.illiad.oclc.org/illiad/YAH/logon.html on either the Herrick Library homepage
or Scholes Library homepage.
You will use your Alfred University username and password to login. The first time you log in, you must complete the registration form. Please note that textbooks generally cannot be borrowed through the ILL. The average time you can keep the material is around 3 weeks. However, you can renew the material through the ILLiad website. So next time you’re worried that the library doesn’t have what you’re looking for, just remember about the interlibrary loan system!
Patty Barber and Amanda Criss are our interlibrary loan staff at Scholes and Herrick Libraries. Amanda Criss, who manages ILL at Herrick Library had this to say, ” AU is a wonderful community! I enjoy working at the Herrick Library! My job is very rewarding because I get to help people. I strive toward providing the best service I can for our library patrons. If you have any other questions, please let me know.” Both Patty and Amanda would be happy to help any and all who have questions concerning ILL.
For any additional questions, please see the FAQ provided in the interlibrary loan link on both the Herrick and Scholes home pages or stop by either library and speak with Amanda Criss at Herrick or Patty Barber at Scholes.
Start Using Kanopy Movie Streaming!
Kanopy is a movie steaming service that is available to Alfred University students, faculty, and staff through the AU Libraries. Kanopy has a large selection of movies including documentaries, classic films, and independent films. Kanopy is a great resource for assignments, classes, or for when you are just looking for something different to watch!
Here is how you can access Kanopy from either library website:
-First go to either the Herrick or Scholes library home page:
http://herrick.alfred.edu/
http://scholes.alfred.edu/
-Then select the Databases tab (as shown below)
-From there click on All databases A-Z (as shown below)
-From the databases page click on K at the top of the page
-In the K section click the link for Kanopy
-Clicking the link will automatically take you to the Kanopy website if you are signed in using your Alfred account. If you are not signed in, or if you are off campus, you can still access Kanopy by entering your Alfred username and password. From there you can create your own Kanopy account. It’s as simple as that!
Another way you can access Kanopy is to go to the Herrick Library home page:
-Click on Movies/Music under Quick Links (as shown below)
-Next click the Kanopy link at the top of the page (as shown below)
-Clicking this link will take you to the Kanopy website where you can make an account or first sign in as is mentioned above.
Alan Littell: Ruminations on Local History
The following article, by Alan Littell, appeared in a recent issue of The Alfred Sun; it is reproduced here with his permission. Additional issues of The Alfred Student are available in Alfred University’s institutional repository, AURA (Alfred University Research and Archives). Managed by the libraries, AURA collects, distributes and preserves research and scholarship created by faculty, staff and students, as well as documents of historical or archival significance.
Ruminations on Local History: Alfred and its University, 1876
I recently stumbled on a curious publication. Housed in the archives of Alfred University and dated October 1876, the document—The Alfred Student—is a hodgepodge of essays, exhortations, biblical allusions and paid advertisements. It has less the look of a campus newspaper, more of a literary magazine and journal of cultural and political opinion.
In an image dating from the 1880s, Civil War veterans gather for Memorial Day parade on Alfred’s Main Street.
The Civil War was of recent memory. The American commonwealth found itself in the grip of novel societal forces as emancipated slaves migrated north and west. A progressive Republican from Ohio, Rutherford B. Hayes, trailed in the run for the presidency (he would win after a disputed Electoral College vote).
The Alfred Student was a sometimes sensitive, sometimes amusing mirror of its time, of its university and of the remote rural backwater, called Alfred Centre, where it was written, edited and set in type. To get some idea of how people had actually lived in this particular place and age, we turn to the paper’s ads.
The range of goods and services then available included at least one that would be impossible to find locally today—the repair of mechanical clocks and watches. But in 1876, a Main Street jeweler named Amos Shaw guaranteed that his corrective surgery on weight- or spring-driven timepieces would be “done in the best manner.” Nearby, a variety store operated by a certain Silas Burdick advertised itself an embryonic Walmart. It sold books, shoes, wallpaper, lamps, toys, candy and drugs.
Alfred and its university in the mid 1870s. White building in foreground is the Burdick Hotel. Dome of Alfred University’s first astronomical observatory and the school’s Greek-revival chapel—now the admissions office (Alumni Hall)—can be seen in the middle distance.
There were many Burdicks living at the time in Alfred, and a hotel proprietor of that name offered “good accommodations for both man and beast, terms reasonable.” The Williams & Titsworth emporium, “over Coon’s Book Store, Alfred Centre,” sold white shirts for $1, while Mrs. E.J. Potter, dealer in “Millinery and Ladies’ Furnishing Goods,” on University Street, urged students and residents to “please call and examine.” And in a village in which outhouses accounted for sanitary arrangements and wells for water, Burdick & Green’s Hardware Store, on Main Street, stocked a supply of “eavetroughs” (roof gutters) to “furnish cisterns with good soft water” while protecting “walls from being thrown down by water freezing against them, which is a source of great annoyance.”
In its editorial columns, The Alfred Student’s lead article extolled Alfred University’s pioneering support for the cause of coeducational schooling. The piece argued that instead of “shutting [a girl] apart” or by teaching a boy that “rudeness and selfishness are manly qualities,” joining them in the common enterprise of education resulted in “natural diversity and a richer character—a quick perception of mutual proprieties, delicate attention to manly and womanly habits…a higher and purer tone of morality.”
Elsewhere, the paper urged adoption of the metric system of measurement. We’re told also that Dartmouth College had raised its tuition and that one of its faculty members, a Professor Dimond, “died of brain disease.” At Alfred University, meanwhile, instruction was reported to be available in classical, scientific and teachers’ courses as well as in theology, the school having been founded by the breakaway sect of New England Baptists who observed Saturday, rather than Sunday, as the biblically enjoined day of rest and worship. Also offered was course work in industrial mechanics and in the leading communications wonder of the era, telegraphy.
The paper noted that tuition and “incidentals” came to $11 for each of the year’s three academic terms: fall, winter and spring. Board was priced at $30 to $40, room $3 to $6. The school assessed students $3 to $6 for “fuel” and $2 to $3 for “washing.” Mention was made that “rooms for ladies are furnished and carpeted” and that off-campus housing could be obtained from private families
One item jarred. It ran under the heading “Plain Language Concerning a Recent Unpleasantness.” A casual yet singularly stupid buffoonery of rhymed couplets, blatantly racist in idiom and tone, the piece had been reprinted—without critical comment or disclaimer—from Princeton’s student newspaper, The Princetonian.
It later surfaced in another college publication, The Chronicle of the University of Michigan, as “the song of five juniors at Princeton who objected to having a colored man sit behind them in class.
What was so surprising about the item is that Alfred University and its Seventh Day Baptist founders had been in the forefront of agitation for ending slavery. The radical abolitionists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Frederick Douglass had lectured at the school. Before and during the Civil War, local church members, historically associated with the cause of emancipation, aided runaway slaves escaping to Canada on the so-called “underground railroad.” And in the spring of 1861, the nine male members of Alfred’s senior class heeded President Lincoln’s call for volunteers to fight for restoration of the Union. Moved by patriotism and religious fervor, they enlisted in two of the infantry regiments then forming in New York
In their classic survey, “The Growth of the American Republic,” historians Samuel Eliot Morison and Henry Steele Commager contended that Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation had been “potentially more revolutionary in human relations than any event in American history since 1776.” The authors went on to say that the document had, in a very real sense, “lifted the Civil War to the dignity of a crusade.”
Yet make no mistake. Emancipation may have ended slavery; it did not end the racism that grew out of slavery in a national polity undergoing the strains of post-war reunification
“Lincoln’s own state of Illinois barred newly freed slaves from settling [there] in 1863,” notes Gary Ostrower, professor of history at today’s Alfred University
“I’d be surprised,” he added, “if some Alfredians…were not influenced by popular racist attitudes during the post-war years.”
– Alan Littell
Junior ceramic work on display in Herrick
Herrick Library was honored to display work from Professor Linda Sormin’s junior ceramics students this semester. The work will come down soon, so if you want to see it in person hurry on over to Herrick!
Emotional Rollercoaster, Jackie Fisher
Changling: Child in Peril, Christina Rhodes
Untitled, Hannah Hones
Dignified Distortion (series of three heads), Corran Shrimpton
Michelin Meadow, Matt Watterson
Calling All Bird Lovers: Birds of North America Online
The Libraries have a new subscription to Birds of North America Online, a resource maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in partnership with the American Ornithologists’ Union.
Birds of North America Online is acknowledged as the preeminent source of life history information for the over 750 species of birds that breed in the United States and Canada. Each species account includes information on systematics, distribution, identification, behavior, breeding biology, and conservation. Each species account also includes a comprehensive bibliography of research conducted on the species. The accompanying multimedia includes photos of various plumages, examples of sounds, and videos of interesting behaviors. In addition to the advantages of remote and multiple simultaneous user access, this online reference resource is continually updated to ensure that it contains the latest information.