The Buzz from SU Libraries

November 5-9 is Distance Learning Week where we celebrate the patrons who use our library services and resources from afar. Today we’re highlighting one student, Alejandro Castillo, who has taken advantage of our wonderful distance program.

My name is Alejandro Castillo and I'm currently stationed at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily. Originally I'm from California but I have been living abroad for close to five years, mostly Asia and Europe. I absolutely love to travel so I've enjoyed every moment of it. I spend most of my free time trying new foods, experiencing different cultures, and watching professional soccer games around the world. 

Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, has long been a holiday to remember American armed forces who have died in service. In 1971, the holiday was moved from May 30 to the last Monday in May in order to make a uniform three-day weekend. While some people have chosen to visit war memorials or cemeteries, others have often participated in parades or used the weekend to begin the summer vacation season.

In 1931 and 1932, a couple from New Holland, Pennsylvania—Lydia and Harry Stauffer—took a road trip down to Ocean City, Maryland for Memorial Day vacations. According to Lydia’s diary entries—which contain memories of all of their trips from 1910 to 1935—the couple stayed at the Stephen Decatur Hotel on the boardwalk at 12th Street both years. While in Ocean City, the Stauffers spent time on the beach, saw “talkie” films, and went to the Methodist Episcopal Church led by Reverend Zimmerman.

The landscape and roads of the Eastern Shore that the Stauffers drove were notably different from today. In 1931, the couple took “the Du Pont Road” to Cape Henlopen and, after Ocean City, drove to Snow Hill where they were amazed by the orchards of peaches, apples, and grapes. The following year, in 1932, the Stauffers went from Ocean City to Salisbury before Route 50 was constructed. After Salisbury, they passed through Federalsburg and Easton on their way to the ferry that took passengers across the Chesapeake Bay to Annapolis before completion of the Bay Bridge in 1953.

In the 1920s, Carel Langeler accepted a job that required him to travel across the United States. A recent Dutch immigrant who left school at a young age, his persistent curiosity about the world led him into thrift and antique stores, where he purchased items of historical interest. This collection is the result of his efforts, and contains dozens of magazines and newspapers spanning from the 1850s to the mid-20th century.

Early periodicals in the United States were expensive to produce, and reading them was a practice of the wealthy and well-educated. Literary journals like Lippincott’s and Scribner’s Monthly were popular among America’s upper-classes. They published fictional stories and poetry in monthly installments, featuring well-known authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald. Most early newspapers were intended for the same well-to-do audience, since average Americas were unlikely to have time to keep up with international news and politics.  

In the mid-1800s, the production of magazines and newspapers became less costly. Publishers targeted a wider audience, lowering prices to make their materials accessible for the general public. A new kind of magazine intended for entertainment slowly gained popularity. These “miscellanies” contained light reading, illustrations, and other amusements, very different from the dense journals and newspapers of prior decades. Hybridized “popular interest” periodicals also emerged to fill the gap between the two extremes, featuring both serious and light-hearted content.

The 19th century witnessed the introduction of “women’s magazines,” and periodicals for children and youth. Women’s publications offered tips for parenting and homemaking, crafting patterns and recipes, and the latest fashion trends. Early children’s publications were usually very short, intended to teach and reinforce morals through stories and Bible verses. However, by the end of the century, most also included riddles and puzzles.

Interning at the Nabb Center for these three very short weeks has been an amazing experience. The Research Room is what most students are familiar with, an area dedicated to local and general history books, newspapers, and microfilm for research. Many community members use it for genealogical research while students use the resources for a number of classes, such as history and environmental science. Behind-the-scenes there are extensive storage areas for other documents and artifacts. This includes everything from old Salisbury SU mascot costumes, antique chairs, botanical tracings from the 1800s, stereoview cards of Yellowstone from 1904, political cartoons, and even more.

I had the opportunity to go through some of these collections and gather some items for a history class to use. While going through the database I was almost overwhelmed by the sheer amount and variety of resources that have been collected and donated over the years. I ended up pulling photos of a Chippewa tribe, posters from 20th century China, Soviet Russian postcards, and a “mental photograph” journal, which one of the archivists called the “Buzzfeed quizzes of the late 19th century.” The students were able to study these objects and learn how to use such sources in their own research.

For me personally, one of the coolest things I was able to do during my time here was read and transcribe the letters of Ruth Stull, who was a missionary in South America during the 1920s. Not only was her story fascinating (and later recorded in her novel Sand and Stars) but it was a more engaging experience reading about it through her personal letters. Most of them were typed but one was handwritten which gave even more insight into her personality, seeing the differences in the language she used typing versus handwriting.

I was also able to listen to a few oral histories about the history of the school and practice transcribing them. This was a great opportunity to learn more about the history of the school through personal stories rather than a list of general facts. Making history personal is one of the great things that Nabb Center allows SU students to do.

Another aspect of the Nabb Center is the exhibits designed to display its artifacts. Faculty and student workers spend months researching the artifacts, the history behind them, and planning how best to showcase them. I was able to contribute a small part to the next exhibit which will be on World War 1. SU has a wheelchair from this era in its collection which will be on display. After doing some research on the history of wheelchairs and their use in World War 1, I wrote a label which will be used in the exhibit. I loved being able to contribute and work on an actual museum exhibit and now my perspective on museums is forever changed.

Create a poem using the titles on the spines of our books and email it to [email protected]. The poem that generates the most likes on Instagram by April 30 wins a magnetic poetry kit! 

Incredible people lead to the amazing services provided in the Patricia R. Guerrieri Academic Commons—whether it’s the Library, Writing Center, Nabb Center, Center for Student Achievement, Information Technology, Instructional Design and Delivery, and more. The building has become the hub for SU’s academic success, so this year we’re taking a closer look at the individuals who work to make that possible.

Today we’re meeting the libraries’ Chair of Research and Instructional Services, Susan Brazer (who chose to be creative with a bookface photo!). 

Title/Department:  Science Research & Instruction Librarian / RIS Department Chair - Research & Instructional Services Department

What’s your favorite part about this job?  I really like working with the students and the faculty on “I don’t know if this will work but let’s try it out anyway” ideas that they and I both come up with - like when I worked with the BIOL 215/216 faculty to support the Anatomy & Physiology classes, and when I worked with an entire ENVR class on their semester-long research projects.  

How has being in the GAC affected your work?  It has made me way way way more visible both to students and faculty alike - folks just drop by now to say hi casually when they NEVER did over in Blackwell, plus I will see folks standing in line to get coffee or whatnot and can chat and catch up in a way that I never could do before.  I also really like how it means I get to see the folks on the 2nd and 4th floor more often than before!  

Recommended Chesapeake Bay Roasting Co. drink:  Dark Roast.  Large.  Often.  

Did you know that the first college in the world established specifically to provide education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students is in Washington, DC? Gallaudet College (now University) was founded on April 15, 1817 through a charter signed by Abraham Lincoln. 

Did you also know that the University did not have a deaf president until thirty years ago today, on March 13, 1988, when the Deaf President Now movement resulted in the appointment of Dr. I King Jordan?

These two historical events now mark the first (March 13) and last (April 15) days of Deaf History Month annually. Celebrate these moments and other significant landmarks for the deaf and hard-of-hearing culture and community throughout these weeks! 

Check out this Timeline of Deaf History, from Ancient Greece to the present, to learn more. Translations available in English, French, German, Korean, and Spanish. http://www.deafjam.org/timeline.html

Resource Spotlight

Photo credit: Made-By-Hand, LLC. (n.d.). “Press Kit”. DeafJam.org. Retrieved from http://www.deafjam.org/presskit.html

Deaf Jam (2011) Available to watch through our Kanopy video streaming service: http://proxy-su.researchport.umd.edu/login?url=http://www.salisbury.kanopystreaming.com/video/deaf-jam

Read more about this film on its official website:

In Deaf Jam, Aneta Brodski seizes the day. She is a deaf teen introduced to American Sign Language (ASL) Poetry, who then boldly enters the spoken word slam scene. In a wondrous twist, Aneta, an Israeli immigrant living in the Queens section of New York City, eventually meets Tahani, a hearing Palestinian slam poet. The two women embark on a collaboration/performance duet - creating a new form of slam poetry that speaks to both the hearing and the Deaf. (DeafJam.org, “About the Film”)

Incredible people lead to the amazing services provided in the Patricia R. Guerrieri Academic Commons—whether it’s the Library, Writing Center, Nabb Center, Center for Student Achievement, Information Technology, Instructional Design and Delivery, and more. The building has become the hub for SU’s academic success, so this year we’re taking a closer look at the individuals who work to make that possible.

To start off the semester, we’re meeting with Dr. Melissa Bugdal in the University Writing Center on the 3rd floor of the GAC.

Title/Department

Assistant Professor of English and Director of the University Writing Center

What’s your favorite part about this job?

Working with writers, writing consultants, staff, and faculty from across departments and schools.

How has being in the GAC affected your work?

The GAC is such a great space for productivity and collaboration, so as writers are here working, we’re even more visible and accessible.

Recommended Chesapeake Bay Roasting Co. drink

Iced chai latte.

Currently reading

Incredible people lead to the amazing services provided in the Patricia R. Guerrieri Academic Commons—whether it’s the Library, Writing Center, Nabb Center, Center for Student Achievement, Information Technology, Instructional Design and Delivery, and more. The building has become the hub for SU’s academic success, so this year we’re taking a closer look at the individuals who work to make that possible.

Today we’re meeting Safaa Said from Instructional Design and Delivery on the 2nd floor of the GAC.    

Title/Department

Instructional Designer, Instructional Design and Delivery Office (ID&D)

What’s your favorite part about this job?  

Working with faculty across schools and departments in designing quality online and hybrid courses as well as creating course content for all type of courses, traditional face-to-face, hybrid and online.

How has being in the GAC affected your work?  

It is nice to be in the center of campus close to most schools and departments. The addition of the two recording studios is also very useful in creating quality instructional videos.

Recommended Chesapeake Bay Roasting Co. drink  

Black Water Nitro

Currently reading…  

On April 24, 1928, 17 men from Somerset County, Maryland met at the Washington Hotel to receive the Charter for the newly organized Princess Anne Rotary Club. Under the Rotary International Foundation, the club is one of the earliest Rotary Clubs established in the United States.

The club fostered friendships with people from different occupations to build a well-connected community. This was accomplished by allowing one person of a specific career (Doctor, Lawyer, Lumber Merchant, Shirt Factory Manager, etc.) to have membership at a time. The Princess Anne Rotary Club also held close relationships with fellow rotary clubs in the Lower Eastern Shore region, such as the Crisfield Rotary Club and the Salisbury Rotary Club.

The club’s main purpose was to help the local Princess Anne community. They actively raised money for students to go to weekend programs, funded a boy scout’s campsite, bought bullet proof vests for the police, and more to help the community of Princess Anne. The Princess Anne Rotary Club was also very well known for their annual Ladies Night, which encouraged bringing members of the community and other rotary club members together for a fun night to celebrate the ladies of Princess Anne, Maryland. All these community engagement events where meant to foster friendship and good-will with the community and fellow rotary clubs.

Incredible people lead to the amazing services provided in the Patricia R. Guerrieri Academic Commons—whether it’s the Library, Writing Center, Nabb Center, Center for Student Achievement, Information Technology, Instructional Design and Delivery, and more. The building has become the hub for SU’s academic success, so this year we’re taking a closer look at the individuals who work to make that possible.

Today we’re meeting Melissa Thomas from Instructional Design and Delivery on the 2nd floor of the GAC.

Title/Department 

Manager, Instructional Design & Delivery

What’s your favorite part about this job?  

Working with faculty on creative and innovative projects to support teaching and learning in traditional, hybrid and online courses.

How has being in the GAC affected your work?  

Central to campus and the addition of new recording rooms for faculty, such as the lightboard. (seen in the photo above)

Recommended Chesapeake Bay Roasting Co. drink  

Strawberry Smoothie

Currently reading

The Nabb Research Center houses the correspondence, reports, photographs and militaria of a noteworthy veteran from Delmarva. Albert Laws was born in Wango on August 6, 1868. He was educated at Salisbury High School and received an appointment to West Point. He graduated in 1893 and was commissioned a lieutenant in the 24th Infantry. The 24th was one of the original four Buffalo Soldier regiments, composed of white officers and African American enlisted soldiers. Laws saw action in Cuba during the Spanish American War. He was wounded and cited for bravery at the Battle of San Juan Hill.

In 1899, Laws was assigned to the 35th Volunteer Infantry. He was involved in counterinsurgency operations during the Philippine-American War, and participated in the Battle of Macahambus Hill. In 1901, the 35th was mustered out and Laws returned to the regular army as a captain. Over the course of his extraordinary 15-year career, Laws also served on posts in Ohio, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, California and New York.

Incredible people lead to the amazing services provided in the Patricia R. Guerrieri Academic Commons—whether it’s the Library, Writing Center, Nabb Center, Center for Student Achievement, Information Technology, Instructional Design and Delivery, and more. The building has become the hub for SU’s academic success, so this year we’re taking a closer look at the individuals who work to make that possible.

Today we’re meeting Amy Jones, who can usually be found near the circulation desk on the first floor of the GAC.

Title/Department

Head of Circulation/Access Services Department

What’s your favorite part about this job? 

I really enjoy connecting our patrons with the resources and equipment they need. I am fortunate to be part of a team of people who share this goal and are all focused on providing the best possible service to our users. 

How has being in the GAC affected your work? 

The GAC truly has become the academic heart of campus.  This makes it a very exciting place to work, with students, staff, faculty, and community members streaming through the building all day. Now our collections and equipment have even greater visibility and accessibility, and we are inspired to raise our level of service to match our impressive building.

Recommended Chesapeake Bay Roasting Co. drink 

I enjoy a hot cup of decaf coffee nearly every day.  

Currently reading… 

Congratulations to Dr. Sherry Maykrantz of the Health and Sport Sciences Department, who is the SU Libraries’ Information Literacy Partner of the Month for September-October.  This is what Caroline Eckardt, Research/Instructional Services Librarian and liaison to HSS, wrote in nominating her:

“While Dr. Maykrantz has been an adjunct at SU for several years, this is her first semester as a full-time professor, and she has hit the ground running at full steam! For her HLTH classes this semester (“Health Behavior” and “Drug Education”), we worked together in tailoring the library instruction sessions to focus on the needed skills to be successful on the given assignments, as well as beyond the classroom. Students practiced their skills in identifying and evaluating empirical research in the community health field, then worked hard to find the same kind of research related to their various topics using library resources. As these are entry-level courses in the community health major, a number of students had never conducted this kind of research previously, and during these sessions, many of the students had those “lightbulb moments,” where they grasped more fully how to identify and incorporate high quality research into their projects. I'm excited for the opportunity to work more with Dr. Maykrantz and her classes in semesters to come.”

It is for this willingness to creatively work with librarians to help students develop a comfort level with the library that we have chosen Dr. Maykrantz as the SU Libraries’ Information Literacy Partner of the Month for September-October.

In addition to recognizing Dr. Maykrantz on the SU Libraries’ website and social media, we also will purchase a book in a field of her choice to be added to the Libraries’ collection in her honor.  Please join me in congratulating Dr. Maykrantz.

Sincerely,

Dr. Bea Hardy Dean of Libraries and Instructional Resources

Past Winners

April/May 2017 Christina Camillo & Meghan East

February/March 2017 Laura Marinaro

November/December 2016 Dr. Diane Illig

April/May 2016 Dr. Sarah Lowery

February/March 2016 Dr. Victoria Pass

November/December 2015 Leanne Wood & Lauren Hill

April/May 2015 Dr. Mark de Socio

March 2015 Dr. Loren Marquez

November 2014 Dr. Seth Friese

Incredible people lead to the amazing services provided in the Patricia R. Guerrieri Academic Commons—whether it’s the Library, Writing Center, Nabb Center, Center for Student Achievement, Information Technology, Instructional Design and Delivery, and more. The building has become the hub for SU’s academic success, so this year we’re taking a closer look at the individuals who work to make that possible.

Today we’re meeting Dr. Creston Long, director of the Nabb Research Center, which is located on the 4th floor of the GAC. 

Title/Department

Director of the Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture and an Associate Professor in the Salisbury University History Department

What’s your favorite part about this job?  

Working with students and professors who are studying some aspect of the region’s history, culture, economy or geography is my favorite part of this position. 

How has being in the GAC affected your work?  

Being in the GAC makes the Nabb Center’s collections far more accessible for students and the new facility ensures the long term security of our manuscript and artifacts collections. 

Recommended Chesapeake Bay Roasting Co. drink  

Coffee—medium roast with half and half.

Currently reading…  

For the avid student of history, searching through historic newspapers can be like a treasure hunt.  The articles provide an opportunity to look back and see how the world perceived momentous events.  Old newspaper records can be a useful resource for genealogists and can lead to names of places, individuals, births and obituaries.

Did your family own a farm on the Eastern Shore? Search issues of newspapers around the county fair to see if your family had prize winning livestock or if great-grandma’s pie won the blue ribbon.  Have you seen a photo of your great-grandfather with a specific brand of automobile? Maybe there is an ad for the local Ford or Chevrolet dealer in the town where he purchased that favorite truck.