Library Resources

Library Resources

Chocolate: Food of the Gods

Chocolate: Food of the Gods

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

My Quest on Heritage Quest

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
Constitution Day

Constitution Day

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!

INSPIRE ebooks now available, plus other ebook facts!

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
Class Prep

Class Prep

Welcome to all our new students, and to our returning students, welcome back! As you enjoy your ice cream, pancakes, movies, and other Back with the Pack activities, you’ll quickly be settling into a routine of coursework, study, research, and writing. And the library is a vital part of that – not just later, when things are coming due, but right now, at the beginning of the semester – whether you need scholarly resources, computers, a place to print out your syllabi (remember to bring your new Crimson Card, available in room 109), or just a quiet place to study. One common request we get at this time of year is for textbooks. Like most college libraries, we have a … Continued