Author

Author

Fascinating facts, reliable resources, and delightful databases

Fascinating facts, reliable resources, and delightful databases

Interested in fascinating facts, reliable resources, and delightful databases? Then be sure to “like” the IU East Campus Library Facebook page for weekly highlights of databases found in our A-Z Index. Here are some recent highlights. History The Gilded Age was just that, Gilded. NOT Golden. From afar, all appeared golden with fancy balls, jewels and mansions, urban industrialization, and rising gross national products. But, under the surface were very real problems such as unsafe tenement housing, political corruption, environmental destruction, and non-regulation of basic goods. The Gilded Age and Progressive Era database contains collections from McKim, Mead & White architectural firm (designers of the Brooklyn Museum), political cartoon collections of Thomas Nast and Joseph Keppler, documents from Standard Oil, and more. On … Continued
Celebrating Comics and More: Will Eisner Week

Celebrating Comics and More: Will Eisner Week

Among those who have shaped the field of comics, few people were as influential as Will Eisner.  Born in 1917, he got his start drawing pulp illustrations and comic strips, and created Sheena, Queen of the Jungle and The Spirit at the beginning of the rise of the superhero/adventurer comics trend.  During World War II, he created cartoons for the military journal Army Motors, (most prominently featuring Joe Dope), in which he used his knack for writing for G.I.s in terms they could understand to transform the comics genre into a genuine teaching tool. After the war, Eisner continued to create more comics with lasting meaning and educational relevance, popularizing the idea of a ‘graphic novel’ for adults, with work … Continued
Black Archives and Special Collections

Black Archives and Special Collections

Celebrate Black History Month by remembering and reflecting on the many people and groups who participated in the fight for civil rights. These Black Archives and Special Collections offer a range of materials from primary source documents to newspaper archives and podcasts. The New York Public Radio Archives & Preservation celebrates Black History Month by assembling a collection of their leading preservation work, series, and sonic artifacts focusing on African American history. Listen to opera singer Marian Anderson, who in 1955 was the First African American to sing at the Metropolitan Opera House, addresses some of the prejudice and segregation she experienced. One instance that Anderson recounts is when she received the Key to the City from the Atlantic City’s … Continued
Black History at Home

Black History at Home

When we contemplate Black History Month, the names of historic giants come to mind – inventors and businesspeople, ministers and activists, musicians and politicians – the kind of people who redirect the flow of history and inspire millions.  The people that have the most influence, though, are often the nearest – local people who tirelessly build up their communities, mentor others, and give younger people their first role models. This local community has been fortunate to have many nearby heroes who have improved and shaped the city and county to the betterment of all.  And this has been true from the very beginning.  For example, Rev. James M. Townsend, born in 1841, became an ordained minister by the age of … Continued
University Presses and eBooks

University Presses and eBooks

A university press publishes books that have been written and reviewed by scholars in their fields. IU East Campus Library has access to more than 300,000 eBooks from various databases. They are free to access for anyone with IU East log-in credentials. The Oxford Scholarship Online (OSO) database provides access to more than 20,000 academic works from the Oxford University Press. OSO covers subjects from humanities and social sciences to medicine and law. Within the past few days, OSO has added over 100 new titles to their collection, covering a diverse range of topics from 19th century Dutch Protestant theology and Baroque violins to questions about communication and censorship and how mental disorders affect one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. Yiddish … Continued