Muntz Library Features Book Display for Hispanic Heritage Month

The Robert R. Muntz Library is featuring a book display in observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month.  National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15 annually. This month celebrates “the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30 day period” (from the site linked above).

We are displaying some books and material that may be of interest. The display is located in the library’s third floor. Like other displays, books  on display are available to be checked out. If you look them up in the catalog, and they show as checked out, they are “checked out” to our display case. Just let us know at the reference desk, and we will be happy to open the case so you can take the book and read it. We really want people to read our books, which is why we display them. Books, unless otherwise noted, are usually in the library’s general collection in the third floor. The books are listed, in no particular order, with their call numbers:

• Andrew Garrod, Mi Voz, Mi Vida: Latino College Students Tell their Lives. LC2670.6 .M58 2007.
• Elizabeth Sutherland Martínez, 500 Years of Chicana Women’s History. E184 .M5 M375 2008.
• David T. Abalos, Latinos in the United States: the Sacred and the Political. E184 .S75 A63 2007.
• Gregory Rodríguez, Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans, and Vagabonds: Mexican Immigration and the Future of Race in America. E184 .M5 R587 2008. We have a copy in the Bestseller Collection and a second copy in the third floor General Collection. We placed the General Collection copy in the display.
• Anna Marie Ortiz, Addressing the Unique Needs of Latino Students. LC2670.6 .A35 2004.
• Rosario Díaz-Greenberg, The Emergence of Voice in Latino/a High School Students. LC2670.4 .D53 2003.
• Carlos Fuentes, The Eagle’s Throne: A Novel. PQ7297 .F793 S5513 2006.
• Roberto Bolaño, 2666. PQ 8098.12 .O38 A12213 2008 (Bestseller Collection; this is an English translation).
• Angeles Mastretta, Mujeres de Ojos Grandes. PQ7298.23.A795 M85 2003.
• Alberto Fuguet, Por Favor, Rebobinar. PQ8098.16.U48 P6 1999.
• Mario Vargas Llosa, Death in the Andes. PQ8498.32.A65 L5813 1997 (English translation of Lituma en los Andes).
• Edwin Williamson, Borges, A Life. PQ7797 .B635 Z953 2004.
• Alfredo Bryce Echenique, El Huerto de mi Amada. PQ8498.12 .R94 H84 2002.
• Miguel Angel Asturias, Leyendas de Guatemala. PQ7499.A75 L4 1999.
• Gabriel García Márquez, El Amor en los Tiempos del Cólera. PQ8180.17.A73 A8 1996.
• Gabriel García Márquez. Love in the Time of Cholera. PQ8180.17 .A73 A813 2003 (This is the English translation).

“Voces Americanas/American Voices” Exhibit at Muntz Library

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Robert R. Muntz is presenting “Voces Americanas/American Voices: Latino Literature in the United States.” This is an exhibition produced by Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The exhibit shows a celebratory survey of works by Latinos in the past thirty years, and it presents images of authors, books, movie stills, public presentations, and illustrations. It is based on an original exhibition at the University of Houston Library that documented a quarter century of Hispanic publishing in the United States.

The exhibit is available for public viewing from September 21, 2009 to October 17, 2009 during regular library hours.

Additional Reading Suggestions on Islam and the Middle East

When making a book display, I often pick out more books than I can fit in the display case. I still think these books are worth reading. This second list includes the books that did not make it into the display case for the “Learn about Islam and the Middle East” book display we have running until the end of September, which is part of our September Project celebration.

The books on this list are located in the third floor stacks of the library unless noted otherwise. They are listed in call number order. I would like to invite our library patrons to pick up any of these books, and if they do, to let us know what they think and about what they read. Feel free to leave us a comment here on the blog.

• Joseph E.B. Lumbard. Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition: Essays by Western Muslim Scholars. BP 60 .I7848 2004.
• Robert Spencer. The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World’s Most Intolerant Religion. BT 1170 .S657 2006.
• Frederick Quinn. The Sum of all Heresies: The Image of Islam in Western Thought. DS 35.74 .E85 Q45 2008.
• Michael Scheuer. Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam after Iraq. DS 35.74 .U6 S34 2008.
• Maxine Rodison. Europe and the Mystique of Islam. DS 36.855 .R613 2002.
• Albert Hourani. A History of the Arab Peoples. DS 37.7 .H67 1991.
• François Massoulié. Middle East Conflicts. DS 62.8 .M3213 2003.
• Roger Owen. State, Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East. DS 63 .O94 2004.
• Robert B. Silvers and Barbara Epstein, eds. A Middle East Reader: Selected Essays from The New York Review of Books. DS 63.1 .M490 1991.
• Kenneth M. Pollack. A Path Out of the Desert: A Grand Strategy for America in the Middle East. DS 63.2 .U5 P67 2008.
• Jimmy Carter. Palestine Peace Not Apartheid. DS 119.7 .C3583 2006.
• Arthur P. Clark and Muhammad A. Tahlawi, eds. A Land Transformed: The Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Aramco. DS 204 .L36 2006. (located in Oversize Collection, third floor stacks).
• Jonathan Curiel. Al’America: Travels Through America’s Arab and Islamic Roots. E 169.1 .C853 2008.
• Edward E. Curtis IV, ed. The Columbia Sourcebook of Muslims in the United States. E 184 .M88 C65 2008.
• Mahmood Mandani. Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror. E 840 .M346 2004.
• Aslam Syed, ed. Islam: Enduring Myths and Changing Realities. H1 .A4 v.588 (part of the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences).
• Valérie Marcel. Oil Titans: National Oil Companies in the Middle East. HD 9578 .M628 M37 2006.
• Tarek S. Zaher and M. Kabir Hassan. A Comparative Literature Survey of Islamic Finance and Banking. HG 173 .F52 v.10 no.4 (this is part of the Financial Markets, Institutions and Instruments series).
• Rosemarie Skaine. Women of Afghanistan in the Post-Taliban Era: How Lives Have Changed and Where They Stand Today. HQ 1735.6 .S385 2008.
• Gilles Kepel and Jean-Pierre Milelli, eds. Al Qaeda In Its Own Words. HV 6431 .A4613 2008.

Library features book display: “Learn About Islam and The Middle East”

As part of its activities for the International September Project, the Robert R. Muntz Library has created a book display on “Learn About Islam and the Middle East.” The September Project is “a grassroots effort to encourage events about freedom and democracy in all libraries in all countries during the month of September.” With that goal in mind, and as part of our educational mission, we have created the display. In addition, the display gives us a small opportunity to recognize the Muslim observance of Ramadan and provide complementary readings to go along with the “Legacy of the Middle East” exhibit which runs until September 11, 2009.

Though Islamic societies are present around the world, we have chosen to highlight the Middle East to coordinate with the traveling exhibit. We could have created an exhibit of Islam around the world as well (maybe this can be a project for next year). For instance, did you know that Indonesia has the largest national Muslim population? We recognize that the diversity of Islamic societies is more than what we reflect in our small display.

This display will run through the month of September. It is located in the library’s third floor.

This is the list of books featured in the display case. When not in our display, these books are usually located in the third floor stacks, unless otherwise noted. They are presented in LC call number order:

• Rukhasana Khan, with illustrations by Patty Gallinger. Muslim Child: Understanding Islam Through Stories and Poems. 297 K4535 MU (CML-Dewey).
• Philip Wilkinson. Islam. 297 W6873IS (CML-Dewey).
• Joseph E.B. Lumbard, ed.. Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition. BP 60 .I7848 2004.
• The Qur’an. (Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik, translator. English Translation of the Meaning of Al-Qur’an). BP 109 .K45 1997.
• I.A. Ibrahim. A Brief Guide to Understanding Islam. BP161.2 .I27 1996.
• Thomas W. Lippman. Understanding Islam: an Introduction to the Muslim World. BP161.2 .L56 1995.
• Ira G. Zepp. A Muslim Primer: Beginner’s Guide to Islam. BP 161.2 .Z46 1992.
• Reza Aslan, No God But God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam. BP 161.3 .A79 2005 (Bestseller Collection).
• Paul Findley. Silent No More: Confronting America’s False Images of Islam. BP 170 .F56 2001.
• M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. Islam and World Peace: Explanations of a Sufi. BP 170 .M83 2004.
• Bernard Lewis. The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror. BP 182 .L48 2004.
• Roy P. Mottahedeh. The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran. BP 192.7 .I68 M67 2000.
• Justin Marozzi. Tamerlane: Sword of Islam, Conqueror of the World. DS .M37 2007.
• P.M. Holt, et.al., eds. The Cambridge History of Islam. DS 35.6 .C3 1977 V.1A.
• Ira M. Lapidus. A History of Islamic Societies. DS 35.63 .L37 2002.
• Hugh Kennedy. When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: the Rise and Fall of Islam’s Greatest Dynasty. DS 38.6 .K463 2006.
• Zachary Lochman. Contending Visions of the Middle East: the History and Politics of Orientalism. DS 61.8 .L63 2004.
• Martin Sicker. The Pre-Islamic Middle East. DS 62.2 .S54 2000.
• William L. Cleveland. A History of the Modern Middle East. DS 62.4 .C53 2004.
• David Fromkin. A Peace to End All Peace: the Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East. DS 63.2 .G7 F76 2001.
• Jimmy Carter. The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East. DS 119.7 .C358 2007.
• Hooman Majd. The Ayatollah Begs To Differ. DS 318.9 .M35 2008 (Bestseller Collection).
• Benazir Bhutto. Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West. DS 389.22 .B48 A3 2008 (Bestseller Collection).
• David R. Farber. Taken Hostage: the Iran Hostage Crisis and America’s First Encounter with Radical Islam. E 183.8 .I55 F37 2005.
• National Geographic Atlas of the Middle East. G2205 .N34 2008. (Reference).
• Elsa Marston. Figs and Fate: Stories About Growing Up in the Arab World Today. M3744FI (CML-Young Adult).
• Marjane Satrapi. Persepolis. PN 6747 .S245 p4713 2003.
• Marjane Satrapi. Persepolis 2: the Story of a Return. PN 6747 .S245 p4713.

Note that the books on the display case, except for the atlas (a reference book), are available for check out. If you see a book you wish to read, feel free to visit the reference or circulation desks, and we will be happy to open the display case for you so you can check it out. We do want people to check out and read these and other books in our library.

As always, if you need assistance locating other books or finding further information on these or other topics, feel free to stop by our reference desk or visit our website.

eBook of the Month: The Naked Roommate

… And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College.
By Harlan Cohen

Whether you’re returning for your senior year of college or just starting out at as a freshman, this ebook offers useful, straight-forward and often humorous expert and student advice on all facets of college life:

• Roommates
• Laundry
• Classes
• Dating/Relationships/Sex
• Dorm Life
• Alcohol & Parties
• Managing money & Credit cards
• And everything in between.

Freshmen will likely find the sections on dealing with roommates, finding friends, and getting involved to be most helpful during these first few weeks on campus. And of course, since the main point of college is getting that degree, you’ll want to study chapter 7, which offers tips for how to be successful in the classroom.

Though some of the information in the book might be old news for upperclassmen, it is nice to be reminded of how to make the best of your time in college. Check out Chapter 12 (Money, Laundry & Cheap Eats) for a quick lesson in how building good credit now makes it easier to have a successful future.

One of the best features about The Naked Roommate is that the advice is real (much of it coming from students like you) without being preachy. This is a fantastic source to get the new school year started off right.

The Naked Roommate is an ebook offered through NetLibrary, meaning you can read it for free online from anywhere. It is available only to students, faculty and staff of UT Tyler. Access this book:

• On campus: go to www.netlibrary.com, and search for The Naked Roommate.
• Off campus: go to http://library.uttyler.edu/databasesAll.html#N and click on NetLibrary in the center of the page. You will be required to sign in with your Patriots username and password. Then search for The Naked Roommate to view the book.

Reference Book of the Week: United States History: A Multicultural, Interdisciplinary Guide to Information Sources

We wrap up our July theme of celebrating American Independence with a feature for researchers on United States History. This week we are featuring United States History: A Multicultural, Interdisciplinary Guide to Information Sources by Anna H. Perrault and Ron Blazek as our Reference Book of the Week. This is a tool that librarians often use; I am recommending it to our students and researchers as well. I think students will find it specially useful. This second edition has been expanded, and it now features sources on diverse topics such as the Asian experience, religion, science and technology, and popular culture. This is in addition to what readers already expect in a guide like this. It is a great guide to resources in topics like politics and government, economic history, and military history. In addition to reference books and print sources, the expanded coverage in this edition also includes online databases, Websites, CD-ROM titles and even microform items. There are some older standard works, but most of the coverage emphasizes resources with publication dates from the 1980s to 2002.

The guide features 1,250 major entries. It is divided in two parts. First, there is an introductory section for general sources. The second part then covers specific topics in United State History. You get bibliographical information for the items listed as well as a very good annotation that not only tells you what the book or material is about, but it also considers the audience for a particular work and gives small hints on how the particular work is useful, say as a supplement to another work or topic.

The way to make a resource like this work is find the items you are interested in. For most materials, you can then look them up in the library catalog to see if the library owns them. If not, you can do an Interlibrary Loan request. For instance, you could use this book to help you find other good books on Civil War maps or on Native Americans and civil rights. To help readers further, the book also features an “Author/Title Index” and a “Subject Index” in the back. The book is published by Libraries Unlimited, which is known for its subject guide books. If you need a good place to learn more about United States Independence or any other U.S. topic, this is a very good place to start.

This book is located in the library’s Reference Section in the second floor. The call number is E 178 .P45 2003.

Reference Book of the Week: The Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War

Welcome to another edition of Reference Book of the Week here at The Patriot Spot. Following the July theme of  celebrating America’s independence, we are featuring a great work on the topic: The Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War: A Political, Social, and Military History. This five-volume set is a standard work for learning about the American Revolution.

The work features over 1,000 signed entries arranged in alphabetical order. Each entry includes a small list of references for further reading as well as cross-references to other terms in the work. Entries are written by scholars from a variety of disciplines. The work also features illustrations and maps. You can learn about prominent persons, key battles and events, cultural and political developments of the time. The fifth volume in the set is a compilation of primary source documents from the era. This last volume makes a very good complement to the rest of the work. Not only can you read essays about the various events, people, places, and so on, but you can also read some of the writings of the time.

The work overall covers the time span from the end of the French and Indian War to George Washington becoming the first President of the United States. Unlike other narrower works, this encyclopedia looks at the War of American Independence from a wide perspective considering not just the war itself but the political and social issues as well. You can find this excellent work in the library’s Reference Collection in the second floor. The call number is E 208 .E64 2006.

Reference Book of the Week: Milestone Documents in American History

I would like to start by reminding our local readers to visit our library display, “Celebrating American Independence,” in the library’s third floor. It will be available until the end of the month. To go with the theme, we have chosen an excellent collection of documents from American history. This week we are featuring Milestone Documents of American History.

This four volume set contains a collection of significant documents in American history from the Revolutionary Era to the twenty-first century. For example, you can read items ranging from Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death” speech to the Bybee Torture Memo. The four volumes are organized in chronological order (1763-1823; 1824-1887; 1888-1955; 1956-2003).  One thing I like about reference works like this one is that you can find various items in one place. This allows you to compare documents as well as see how certain lines of thought progressed over time. These documents cover issues such as politics, economics, science, gender equality, and religious freedom.

This resource has more than just the text of historical documents. The work also includes various features that are useful for students and educators. Some of those features are:

• An overview gives you a quick summary of the document and why it is important.
• The context places it in its historical time.
• You get a note about the document’s author.
• A time line of key events related to the document.
• An explanation and analysis of the document.
• An audience note discusses the audience of the time. Who was this document addressing?
• The impact note tells us the historical influence, or why we still read it now.
• a references list for further reading.

In conclusion, this may be the best reason to look at this work: “understanding these historical documents and their context will prepare students to better appreciate the complexities of the twenty-first century” (from the Introduction, xv). In this month when the United States celebrates its birthday as a nation, what better way to celebrate than to look at the documents that shaped the nation? This is an excellent tool to go back and read the words that have empowered the nation (like Cesar Chavez’s Commonwealth Address), the words that have moved so many people (say JFK’s Inaugural Address), the words that at times were shameful (for example, the Chinese Exclusion Act). It is also a great tool for students studying rhetoric, history, and communications. And while some readers may argue why some other primary document was not included, the book serves as a very good starting point.

The set can be found in the library’s Reference Collection in the second floor. The call number is E173 .M62 2008.

A few additional books on early American History

This post could also be labeled as “books that did not make it into the display case” for the “Celebrate American Independence” display we are currently presenting. If you have an interest in the politics of the early days after the United States gained its independence or just the period in general, then some of these may be of interest. The books, unless otherwise noted, are located in the library’s third floor General Stacks. I have listed them in call number order.

• Kenneth C. Davis, America’s Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation. Davis, the best-selling author of works like Don’t Know Much About History, returns with a collection of tales about little-known people and overlooked historical episodes that helped shape the American nation.  For instance, find out who the real first Pilgrims to America were (and they were not British). E 178 .D26 2008 (this one is located in the second floor’s Bestseller Collection).
• Nancy L. Rhoden and Ian K. Steele, eds., The Human Tradition in the American Revolution. This collection of essays looks at the American Revolution from various points of view by looking at 19 lives of patriots, neutrals, and loyalists. E 206 .H88 2000.
• Don Higginbotham, Daniel Morgan: Revolutionary Rifleman. Morgan was illiterate, uncultivated, and contentious,  but he was also a resourceful frontiersman who went on to be a great tactician and leader. This is a story of a man rising from humble origins to become a hero. E 207 .M8 H5 1979.
• Gordon S. Wood, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin. This is a selective biography of Benjamin Franklin that looks at how Franklin became an American.  E 302 .F8 W 84 2004.
• Joanne B. Freeman, Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic. This book gives readers a look at the very tumultuous politics of early America, a time when if you had differences with a political opponent, you called them out to a duel. Read about men like Jefferson, Hamilton, and Burr. Some of the narrative may seem relevant today when you read how gossip and rhetoric were used as weapons of political combat. E 310 .F85 2002.
• James Roger Sharp, American Politics in the Early Republic. Sharp argues that the rise of the nation was not as harmonious as most people think. It was contentious, and the animosity between Federalists and Republicans almost led to the nation falling apart. E 310 .S48 1993.

Reference Book of the Week: Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America

Welcome to another edition of Reference Book of the Week. We continue honoring LGBT Pride Month with another selection from our reference collection. This week we are featuring the three volume set Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America. This excellent work covers more than 500 entries and looks at more than 400 years of historical developments. LGBT history and culture are dynamic. The scholarship in this reference book reflects how thinking on LGBT issues, nature, identities, culture, and history has changed over time. The work focuses on the United States, including the colonial era. There are other works that focus on the rest of the world; this one provides more in-depth focus on the United States. Some of the subjects covered include people, politics, arts, academic disciplines, identities, communities and cultures, geography, law and public policy, civil rights, economics and labor, sex and sexuality, religion and spirituality.

The encyclopedia is designed for the general reader as well as the scholar wishing to start research on LGBT topics in the U.S. You can find a list of entry terms in the first volume. The first volume also features a chronology of events with cross-references to entries in the work. Entries are organized alphabetically, and they include bibliographical references as well as suggested terms for further research. This is a useful feature for readers who wish to do further research on a particular topic. Bibliographical reference can give you other works to consider while the suggested terms (labeled as “see also”) can give you terms you can use on a database as well as look up in the encyclopedia. At the end of the third volume, there is a directory of LGBT libraries and archives in the United States and Canada. There is also a comprehensive index at the end of the third volume and a directory of contributors.

The reviews have been positive on this work. In 2004, Booklist said of this reference work that it is “an exceptional work that should be useful for academic and public libraries. General readers, students, researchers, and members of the LGBT communities alike will find this to be a most welcome resource.” Library Journal said that “this invaluable work isn’t just a fascinating read; it goes a long way toward alleviating the dearth of basic resources in the burgeoning field of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender studies.”

Thus we have chosen the Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America as our Reference Book of the Week.