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.

Muntz Library Features Book Display for Constitution Day 2009

U.S. Constitution and Quill Pen

The Robert R. Muntz Library is featuring a book display in observance of Constitution Day. Constitution Day is observed each year on September 17 to commemorate the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787. As part of the library’s educational mission and to promote learning more about this important document that is the foundation of the United States, we are displaying some books and material that may be of interest. The display is located in the library’s second floor next to the Circulation Desk.

The following books and materials are inside the display case. Like other displays, books and A/V material on display is 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. Note that A/V material is usually kept behind circulation. If you wish to check it out (after the display), jot down the call number and request it at circulation. Books, unless otherwise noted, are usually in the library’s general collection in the third floor.

DVDs:

• You Can’t Say That: “Politically Correct” Free Speech. JC 591 .Y68 2004.
• Key Constitutional Concepts. KF 5130 .S9 K3.
• Our Constitution: A Conversation. KF 4550 .O87 2005.

Books:

• Peter Spier, We the People: The Constitution of the United States. 342.73 S755w (CML-Dewey).
• Ellen Alderman and Caroline Kennedy, The Right to Privacy. KF 1262 .A97 1997.
• Jack N. Rakove, Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution. KF 4541 .R35 1997.
• Craig R. Smith, To Form a More Perfect Union. KF 4541 .S58 1993.

In addition, the display features highlights of the following online resources. Both are freely available online:

• The Electronic Frontier Foundation.
• Reporters Without Borders‘ Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents.

For more information about Constitution Day, you can visit the library. You can also check out these other websites:

• From the Law Library of Congress, part of the Library of Congress, information about Constitution Day. This includes links to the various pieces of legislation that have led to the observance as we know it today.
• The National Constitution Center. Here is their page on Constitution Day. Their page for the observance has some good educational resources including a challenge: can you pass the citizenship test?
• Resources for observing Constitution Day, from the National Archives.

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.

Library to show film Persepolis

As part of its activities for the International September Project, the Robert R. Muntz Library will present a screening of the film Persepolis. The film is based on the popular autobiographical graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. The author directs the film with Vincent Paronnaud. The film tells the story of a young girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The idealistic dreams her family and her hoped for with the defeat of the Shah are shattered when the Islamic fundamentalists take over and create another tyranny.The young girl refuses to remain silent at the injustices she sees. Her parents send her off to Vienna to protect her and give her a better life. However, living in Vienna is challenging as well as she faces growing up away from home, a different culture, and disappointments. The return home shows her how her homeland has changed, too much, and she must decide where she truly belongs.

The screening will take place on Wednesday September 9th, 2009. The event starts at 7:00pm in library room LIB 401.

The event will open with remarks by two UT Tyler scholars. Dr. Kazem Mahdavi will speak on the time period and provide some historical context of the time in Iran. Dr. Paul D. Streufert will speak on the genre of graphic novels and how Persepolis exemplifies the genre and its literary qualities. The film will be screened right after the scholars speak. There will be time after the end for questions and comments from the audience.

Here is a sampling of what the reviews have said about this award-winning film:

• R oger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times says, “while so many films about coming of age involve manufactured dilemmas, here is one about a woman who indeed does come of age, and magnificently” and says the film’s story is told “carefully, lovingly and with great style” (Full review).
• Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Carina Chocano says that it is  “a familiar story set in an unfamiliar context, it’s a paean to the universality of human experience, a testament to the endurance of individuality during great political and fanatical upheaval, and a reminder that even the most complex situations, identities and stories are heartbreakingly simple” (Full review).
• And Stephanie Zacharek, writing for Salon, tells us that “‘Persepolis’ is all about the ways people find to get on with life, even when their governments work hard to prevent them from doing so. It’s also, quite simply, a resonant and universal story about coming of age” (Full review).

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.” The September Project started out four years ago focusing on September 11, but it has evolved to include events during the month of September focusing on issues of freedom and democracy.”

This event is free and open to the public.

In addition, we are also inviting visitors to take a moment and view the Humanities Texas exhibit “The Legacy of the Middle East.” The exhibit is being displayed in the library’s reading room on the second floor. See details on the exhibit here.

Library Presents Exhibit on “The Legacy of the Middle East”

The Robert R. Muntz Library is proud to present the exhibit “The Legacy of the Middle East.” This exhibit was created to honor the centennial anniversary of the unification of Saudi Arabia. Produced by Humanities Texas, this exhibit tells how “as early as 12,000 years ago, people in the Middle East began to domesticate animals, plant and harvest crops, use metal, make glass, construct monumental buildings, and organize cities and states. Using photographs, drawings, maps, charts, and replicas of artifacts, the exhibit tells the story of the great cultural revolution that began when hunters and gatherers settled down and began farming.” The exhibit features 20 panels with with 175 images and replicas.

The Muntz Library is featuring this to coincide in part with the celebration of Ramadan and as part of our educational mission.  The exhibit is also part of our activities for the International September Project. Since 2004, libraries around the world have organized events about freedom and issues that matter to their communities during the month of September. This grassroots project favors free over fee, public over private, and voices over silence. This is the second year that the Muntz Library has participated in the September Project. The library will also host other events, displays, and activities during September leading to Banned Books Week at the end of the month.

“The Legacy of the Middle East” is free and open to the public during library regular hours. It is produced by Humanities Texas, and it is made possible locally by the UT Tyler Friends of the Arts.

Summer 09 Edition of Library Newsletter Now Available

The Summer 2009 edition of Muntz Library Musings, our library newsletter, is now available. Some highlights from this issue include:

• The Muntz Library Gardens are now open.
• The Library Director discusses new changes at the library.
• Upcoming library events.

You can come by the library and obtain a copy. You can also read the newsletter online or print a copy from our website. Here is the direct link.  In addition, if you visit the library’s website at http://library.uttyler.edu and click on “About” then “Newsletter” you can view previous issues of our newsletter as well. ‘

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.

Library Features Display Celebrating U.S. Independence

Signing of Declaration of Independence

The Robert R. Muntz Library is featuring a library display to “Celebrate American Independence.” This coming Saturday is the 4th of July holiday commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We have chosen to create a month-long display of books about the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and Early American history. Come visit the library and see the display in the third floor display cases.

Like all our displays, this one is open and free to the public. It is viewable during library regular hours.

We have placed the following books in the display case along with other materials, including the text of the Declaration of Independence for our visitors to read.  All books are usually located in the library’s General Collection in the third floor, unless otherwise noted. The list is in call number order:

• Cokie Roberts, Founding Mothers: the Women Who Raised Our Nation. This one is part of the Bestseller Collection, located in the second floor Reading Room. E 176 .R63.
• Ray Raphael, A People’s History of the American Revolution. E 208 .R25 2002.
• Gordon S. Wood, The Radicalism of the American Revolution. E 209 .W65 1993.
• Christopher Hibbert, Redcoats and Rebels: the American Revolution through British Eyes. E 230 .H31 2002. A look at the war from the British perspective.
• H.T. Dickinson, Britain and the American Revolution. E 249.3 .B69 1998.
• Charles Royster, A Revolutionary People at War: the Continental Army and American Character, 1775-1783. E 259 .R69 1996
• Sylvia R. Frey, Water from the Rock: Black Resistance in a Revolutionary Age. A look at Blacks in the war. E 269 .N3 F74 1992.
• Thomas Jefferson, The Portable Thomas Jefferson. A small collection of his major writings, including the Declaration of Independence. E 302 .J442 1975.
• Bernard Bailyn, To Begin the World Anew: the Genius and Ambiguities of the American Founders. E 302.1 B16 2004.
• Edward G. Lengel, General George Washington: a Military Life.  E 312.25 .L46 2005.
• David McCullough, John Adams. The biography by the prominent historian who has also written about Harry Truman. E 322 .M38 2001.
• Ralph Ketcham, James Madison: a Biography. E 342 .K46 1990.
• Rand McNally Atlas of the American Revolution. This atlas is usually found in the Reference Collection, 2nd Floor. REF G 1201 .S3 N4 1974.
• The Federalist Papers. The writings of Madison, Jay, and Hamilton in support of the U.S. Constitution. JK 154 1966.

Except for the reference book above, all these books 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. As for the reference book, if you really want to check it out, let us know. We can probably work something out.

I would like to remind our readers that if they have any questions on this or other topics, they can visit our reference desk, or visit the library’s website to access our resources. You can also find complete contact information in our website so you can call us, e-mail us, or chat with a librarian.