mdilwort | Library Blog - Indiana University East

Author Archives: mdilwort

Chocolate: Food of the Gods

chocolate, KT Lowe October 9, 2017 Library Resources, Programs mdilwort

In honor of Halloween, we’re going to profile the world’s favorite sweet. Yes, we’re going to talk about chocolate. The cacao tree, which grows cacao, the raw material for chocolate, is native to Brazil and spread to what is now Ecuador, Guatemala and parts of Mexico at an unspecified time before 2000 BCE. It grows in the tropics, favors partial shade and needs both good soil and a consistent water source. For roughly 4000 years, people have enjoyed this complex substance – it possesses over 500 volatile and nonvolatile compounds, and its genome was mapped in 2000. Chocolate is more than a fun treat, however. Its history is inextricably linked to empire, conquest, trade and luxury. Its origins in Mesoamerica … Continued

My Quest on Heritage Quest

genealogy, KT Lowe, one book many voices October 2, 2017 Library Resources, Research mdilwort

This year’s One Book selection, The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf, traces both the life of Khadra Shamy and that of her family, going back two generations. A key moment in the book covers Khadra’s visit to Syria, where she meets with her aunt Teta and learns more about her family history. Here on campus, we can help you with the same research. All IU East students, faculty and staff have access to Heritage Quest, a rich resource full of census records, city directories, family trees and other related genealogical materials. Heritage Quest, powered by ProQuest and Ancestry.com, can help you discover your background – even the stories that your family has held true for generations. I decided to check … Continued

Immigration

diversity, libguides, one book many voices September 25, 2017 Programs, Sue McFadden mdilwort

Immigration around the world is in the news, on our TVs and social media, and in the discussions of world leaders and ordinary citizens. It is part of politics and daily life for most Americans and it is an IU East Campus topic theme for Fall semester 2017. What are the facts, the issues, and the opinions? The Campus Library has a resource for you to find out about Immigration. The purpose of the LibGuide is to provide reliable, factual, and editorial information about Immigration in the United States. Consider the last 600 years; unless you are Native American from the American Continents, you are of immigrant heritage. European settlers began a migration soon after Columbus landed on an island … Continued

Constitution Day

constitution, holidays, scholarly resources September 18, 2017 Library Resources, Matt Dilworth mdilwort

Sunday was Constitution Day (sometimes called Citizenship Day), marking the anniversary in 1787, when 39 delegates in Independence Hall in Philadelphia signed the Constitution, bringing our form of representative democracy into being. It’s worth noting that, while our founders described the equality of “we the people” as being “self-evident”, in 1787 it was actually an open question. No similar government had ever yet succeeded. But because ours did, it has become a model for all similar governments founded since. Studying this historic document is a privilege of citizenship, and IU East is offering plenty of opportunities for doing just that. On Wednesday, September 20th, from 11 am to 2 pm in the lobby of Springwood Hall, there will be contests … Continued

INSPIRE ebooks now available, plus other ebook facts!

e-books, ebrary, Elizabeth South, inspire September 11, 2017 Library Resources mdilwort

INSPIRE is Indiana’s virtual online library offered by the Indiana State Library and accessible to all Indiana residents. It is a collection of academic databases, and also has ebooks available through one of our ebook vendors, EBSCO. You can now search IUCat for titles that are offered by INSPIRE and can access them in EBSCO ebooks. There are more than 2,500 ebooks now available in all major subject areas. If you want to view the extensive list, you can check out the titles here https://iu.box.com/s/hnmtti5nfpzfxx4m2l7fybfv1xjc8h58. While we are on the topic of ebooks, it is good to know that we have a few ebook platforms, but our two largest are Ebooks by EBSCO and Ebook Central by ProQuest. Both of … Continued