Holiday Card Display

Holiday Card Display
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

As the stress of exams subsides we hope you all take a moment to check out the Governors Holiday Card Display in the Cobb Room of the Phillips Building. These festive cards from the school’s past are a lovely reminder of the rich history and holiday spirit here at Governors. You can read more about the display in the archives blog.
As you all pack up to head home for the holiday don’t forget to stop by the library to pick up a new book to read or a holiday DVD to watch with your family and friends!
The library will be closing today at 3:45 and will reopen with normal business hours on January 4th.

Latest New Books

Nonfiction - 600s - December 11
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Just in time for the Holiday break, we have a batch of new books available. Here are a few of the latest books to hit our shelves.

Check out the just added titles - and more! - in the new books nook on the first floor and the small display stand in the lobby. We have also refreshed the end-of-shelf display stands in the fiction section. All of the books and DVDs in our displays are available for checkout as well - just grab them, or ask us to open a case for you.

More new books are visible via Flickr and LibraryThing, and The Book Network offers short reviews should you find yourself stumped for reading.

Object of the Week 8

Object of the Week 8 Presents
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Each student in Ms. Struck's art class will be transforming one object a week. Each week the objects will be displayed somewhere in the library until the next objects arrive.

This week's item is a roll of aluminum foil. The range of transformed items is really impressive!

Spanish Christmas Carols

Spanish Christmas Carols a video by Pesky Library on Flickr.

Day two of Christmas caroling in the library! Yesterday the German class treated us with Christmas carols, today it was Christmas carols in Spanish.

Singing Christmas Carols

Singing Christmas Carols
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Can you think of a better way to start your day than having a group of students arrive and sign Christmas carols to you? We thoroughly enjoyed their performance and appreciated their thoughtfulness.

Now we're looking forward to a visit from the Spanish class! We hear they'll be stopping by tomorrow to sing Spanish Christmas carols.

Pearl Harbor Display Updated

Pearl Harbor Display Updated1
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

This December 7, 2011 is the 70th Anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Mrs. Marnell’s brother lives in Hawaii where he works as a systems analyst for Northrup Grumman. Since he works right on the navy base at Pearl Harbor, he sent us items to use in our Pearl Harbor display. He mailed us a copy of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin from December 7, 1941 for students to peruse. He gave us two posters: one details the leaders and the fleet of the United States; the other provides insight into Japan’s leaders and fleet. We also received postcards from the USS Arizona Memorial which honors the 1,177 crewmen who lost their lives that day. Lastly, we included a photo of an Unknown Soldier grave taken at the National Cemetery of the Pacific on Memorial Day 2011.
We also included a copy of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Infamy speech from the National Archives. Students who have been working on their history thesis will recognize this as a primary source document.

Latest Reviews: December 2011

Witchs Daughter
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

If you need a breather before the exams, or want to give your brain something else besides textbooks to read during the break, consider borrowing a book reviewed by our staff.

Just some of the latest reviews linked to our "virtual collection" include The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler, The Witch’s Daughter by Paula Brackston, The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson, and The Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra.

You can always find even more reviews through our LibraryThing profile.

From Book to Buffet

Over the holidays, the book Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make was an inspiration for making holiday treats. Although Tom Turkey was in keeping with the Thanksgiving tradition, we decided to make a new tradition of our own by including Swampy as another holiday dessert. This book is available on our shelves: check it out, have fun, and feed your friends! After all, who doesn't like cupcakes?

Thankful Tree

Thankful Tree
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

As everyone is packing up for Thanksgiving break, we can feel a collective sigh of relief as everyone passes in their last assignments and begins thinking of the family and food to come. So as you are feeling this relief, it is the perfect time to think of what you are thankful for.
Here in the library we have a Thankful Tree filled with the thanks of the students here at Govs. People are thankful for everything ranging from ‘coffee’ and ‘guys who make them smile’ to ‘friends’, ‘family’ and ‘heat and electricity.’ A few students were even thankful for Governors Academy! So as everyone thinks how thankful they are for this break and passing in their assignments on time, we hope you take a moment to think of all the amazing people and things in your life that you are thankful for!
The staff of the library is very thankful for all of the wonderful students who visit us. 
The library closes today (November 18, 2011) at 3:45 and will reopen after break on November 29th with normal business hours.
Happy Thanksgiving! See you all soon.

JSTOR Early Journal Content

JSTOR announced recently that they are now providing free access to early journal articles. By this they mean journal content published prior to 1923 in the United States and prior to 1870 elsewhere. Anyone, anywhere in the world can search and read these articles. This “Early Journal Content” includes discourse and scholarship in the arts and humanities, economics and politics, and in mathematics and other sciences.  Although only 6% of the content on JSTOR, it includes nearly 500,000 articles from more than 200 journals.



We have added a link and short instructions on how to get to this content on our Catalogs and Databases page. For more information, check out the JSTOR video above, or read their Frequently Asked Questions.

Object of the Week 7

Object of the Week 7b
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Each student in Ms. Struck's art class will be transforming one object a week. Each week, the objects will be displayed somewhere in the library for that week, until the next objects arrive.

This week's item is a rubber chicken, and you can tell that students had fun with it! There are so many clever ideas here. We're looking forward to even more student artwork in the library!

“Why join the Navy if you can be a pirate?”

Steve Jobs Display2
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Steve Jobs died last month, and we thought it only fitting to construct a display highlighting the innovation that influenced, and continues to influence, the iGeneration. His vision helped to revolutionize the use of personal computers, the way we listen to music, and how we stay connected to friends and family. What did we do before iPhones and status updates? We have many resources in the library related to internet technology. Students may be interested in watching a Pixar movie, reading Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography, Steve Jobs, or reading iBoy, a book about a boy turned App after an accident embeds a shattered iPhone in his head. The students at Governor’s Academy are creative, independent thinkers. If Steve Jobs can keep on plugging, even after losing a quarter of a billion dollars, he might inspire future entrepreneurs to “put a ding in the universe.” The legacy of Steve Jobs is more about believing in yourself and pursuing your passion than it is about the products he created.

Diversity Display

Diversity Display1
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

At the end of September, our headmaster Dr. Quimby announced the formation of a focus group to consider how to address diversity in all its facets in our community. The committee is jointly chaired by a faculty member and a student from the junior class.

The first meetings were a success, with over 30 members of our school community, both adults and students, volunteering their time and energy. The conversations were thoughtful and productive.

To support the work of the focus group, we in the library put together a display. It highlights as many kinds of variety as we could think of. Included are both non-fiction works and novels. Please come by to have a look!

Object of the Week 6

Object of the Week 6 Closeup
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Each student in Ms. Struck's art class will be transforming one object a week. Each week the objects will be displayed somewhere in the library until the next objects arrive.

This week's item is a small, humble roll of duct tape. The transformed objects are a far cry from humble, though, as you can see in this photo!

Primary Research for AP US History

Primary Research for AP US History
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Students in Mr. Quigley's AP US History class are writing their thesis papers on topics drawn from the academy's history. They have been meeting with our archivist, Mrs. Dimodica, and using Archons, school catalogs (for curriculum offerings,) and headmaster correspondence as well as many other primary source documents. They have also meet with a librarian on finding secondary sources to support their research. We are all learning (quite serendipitously!) wonderful nuggets of our school's past and are looking forward to reading the completed papers.

Latest Reviews: November 2011

Dogtown
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Thanksgiving break is almost here! If you need a breather in the middle of the pre-break push, consider borrowing a book reviewed by our staff.

The latest reviews linked to our "virtual collection" include Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town by Elyssa East, and Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan.

You can always find even more reviews through our LibraryThing profile.

Hadrian's Wall Display

Hadrians Wall3
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

This colorful display at the back of the reference section was inspired by Ms. Jensen's summer trip to Britain. She had a hiking holiday, and walked the Hadrian's Wall Path end to end, all 84 miles (135 km) of it.

The display highlights the features of the wall and aspects of life in Roman Britain. Books, reference books, and videos complement the display posters.

We also collected relevant and interesting links and online sources on a Hadrian's Wall PageFlakes page - something new we're trying out this year. Check it out and tell us how you like it!

Parents' Weekend

Studying.......
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Last weekend, the Academy invited parents to come join us and see what their children's school environment is like. Friday's academic schedule was rearranged to accommodate performances, concerts, community service, and the regular afternoon activities.

We at the library were happy to offer some of our spaces for teacher-parent meetings. There was a lot of activity. In the middle of all the hullabaloo, students were nevertheless able to put in work. As you can see in this photo, also the weather cooperated and presented some of the very best fall decor for parents to admire. We hope everyone is refreshed by the weekend and today's school holiday.

Have some Happiness

Have some Happiness
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”
Frederick Keonig
“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”
~ Marcus Aurelius

It is strange to think that happiness is a challenge. We assume that it is normal to be happy and it is abnormal to be sad or angry. However, this is not the case. Most people are content, but happiness takes work. In high school students are overwhelmed with homework, friends, family and the day to day struggles of existing. In the midst of this chaos of high school, happiness sometimes falls by the wayside. Students often just try and get through the day.
Here in the library we are going to try and cultivate real happiness. We have put up a “Have Some Happiness” display right behind the “Rules of the Library” (a little ironic I know). While this may sound cheesy (let’s all skip and hold hands) this display is just a reminder to take a moment to smile, or do something silly that makes you happy. Skipping and holding hands is all well and good, but it is the small things that we can appreciate and make us happy.
What you will find on the “Have Some Happiness” display is inspirational quotes, helpful lists, cartoons, pretty pictures, jokes and anything else that could (hopefully) bring a small smile to someone. Students are encouraged to make suggestions of things to add to the board, and if you think it’s too cheesy, say something and we will try to de-cheese.

Object of the Week 5

Object of the Week 4a
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Each student in Ms. Struck's art class will be transforming one object a week. Each week on Monday afternoon, the objects will be displayed somewhere in the library for that week, until the next objects arrive.

This week's item is a breathing mask. In addition to modifying the item itself, students transformed existing items (like statuary) around campus with the mask and photographed the results.

P.S. Did you get a sudden urge for ice cream?

Getting Ready for Halloween

Halloween DVDs 2011
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

We are prepared for Halloween!

We may not have witches, ghosts, ghouls and other ghastly creatures lurking in our foyer - at least not yet... Instead, we do have a selection of our newest and scariest titles on DVD. The titles include Sleepy Hollow, The Thing, Shaun of the Dead, Them, An Evening of Edgar Allen Poe, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Signs, Dracula, Corpse Bride, The Sixth Sense, The Exorcist, and many more.

For the faint of heart, we selected scary books for the lobby display stand. Pick your favorite from among cobwebs and spiders... Titles include Dracula the Un-Dead, Gothic!, Haunting Violet, Book of Ghost Stories, The Haunting of Hill House, Everlost, The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein, and The Devil's Alphabet, among others.

There is nothing like watching a film or reading a book that makes you think twice about turning off the lights!

Archival Storage for National Geographic

Archival National Geographic
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Our collection of National Geographic magazines goes back to 1902. The oldest issues have been bound into book format for easier browsing and better protection. They are nevertheless showing their age: The spines are brittle, pages are dog-eared, and the old paper attracts dust. We want to keep them available for our users, though, so we purchased archival boxes to store them in.

Each box is clearly labeled with the magazine name and year(s). The boxes are shelved with the rest of the National Geographics, in the Bragdon Reading Room, in order by year. Feel free to have a - gentle! - look. And if you have questions about our magazine collection, we're happy to answer!

Object of the Week 4

Object of the Week4
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Each student in Ms. Struck's art class will be transforming one object a week. Each week on Monday afternoon, the objects will be displayed somewhere in the library for that week, until the next objects arrive.

This week's item is a deck of cards. Feel free to visit the lobby display for a glimpse of these resourceful creations!

Womens Land Army

Womens Land Army
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Through our Archives, we discovered the following:

In the 1917-1918 Annual Report for Radcliffe College, the College President relates Dummer farming to patriotism:

“The most important patriotic work of our students was in farming. By an arrangement with Dummer Academy, a boys’ school in South Byfield, Massachusetts, a farm, planted by the boys in the spring, was taken over by Radcliffe College for the summer. When the girls came back to College and the boys went back to school, the boys became available for harvesting. Throughout the summer, the girls went and came, no squad staying for more than three weeks, though one or two individuals remained through the season. Besides caring for the Dummer farm, squads of our students worked for neighboring farmers who could not have picked and marketed their summer vegetables without such help. The good impression made by our young farmers wherever they went, their actual service to the country in furthering production of food, their evident health and happiness, and the new world that was opened to them in a vigorous out-of-door life have more than paid the College for the money that the experiment demanded. In this first year we expected no pecuniary profit and were quite prepared for a loss. The spirit shown by the girls and the education they received are profit enough. I believe that there are few uses of a summer vacation to which college girls can look back with such measure of satisfaction, and that no year will seem complete without a Radcliffe farm.”
--L.B.R. Briggs, President

We were intrigued. After all, it was the rents of the original farm which financed the Master Moody and his teaching in the Little Red Schoolhouse. So,this additional reference to farming sent us on a research hunt. We discovered the Women's Land Army and School Garden Army which supported the war effort at home during both of the World Wars.

Our display has pictures of the farm here on campus as well as farm implements of the WWI period which came from a farm in Freedom, NH and would have been of the type used here.

Latest Reviews: October 2011

Burning Bright
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

We hope you have enjoyed returning to the full swing of the new academic year. If you need a breather, consider borrowing a book reviewed by our staff.

The latest reviews linked to our "virtual collection" include Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier and A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me about Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter by William Deresiewicz.

You can always find even more reviews through our LibraryThing profile.

Object of the Week 3

Object of the Week3a
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Each student in Ms. Struck's art class will be transforming one object a week. Each week on Monday afternoon, the objects will be displayed somewhere in the library for that week, until the next objects arrive.

This week's item is a seven-day pill box. We were happy to note that among the transformations are several miniature book cases - proof that electronic readers have not displaced paper books yet.

Banned Books Week 2011

Banned Books Pins
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

We are celebrating Banned Books Week with a large display in the first floor hallway case, and these colorful pins.

Discussion about book challenges and banning books from libraries have already risen between students and staff alike.

Feel free to come have a look! Our display highlights just a fraction of banned or challenged books, and gives some of the reasons behind the attempted or successful bans.

Did you know, for example, that Roald Dahl's children's book James and the Giant Peach is often challenged? Come in and find out why!

Object of the Week 2

Object of the Week2a
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Each student in Ms. Struck's art class will be transforming one object a week. Each week on Monday afternoon, the objects will be displayed somewhere in the library for that week, until the next objects arrive.

This week's item is a rubber glove. We are very impressed with the creativity that students have treated and transformed them.

Text Books!

Tired of lugging all your text books around? Come to the library! Not only do we offer comfy chairs, a studious atmosphere and plenty of computers, but we also have all your text books. 

Over the past few years, we have been keeping a cache of text books for students to use while in the library and it has become one of our most popular features. Students can come in, sans back ache, and ask one of the helpful librarians for any text book. We have all your subjects covered, from your 50 pound Science books to your small novels for English, all are available to be checked out and used in the library.

This is also helpful if you forget one of your books. Since we also have a copier, you can copy a few pages out of a text book; that way you are still prepared for class. 

So stop in and lighten the load! Knowledge is power but it doesn’t have to be so heavy!

Computational Help Online

Search engines bring us data from around the world, which is fantastic. Sometimes there is just too much information to go through, which is less fantastic. Ultimately, though, selecting, interpreting and further processing the information brought to us by a search engine requires a human brain. There is help out there, too.

One novel approach to searching and data processing is called Wolfram|Alpha. It is not a search engine. Instead, it uses its own internal knowledge base to return answers to user questions. Their web site says t his about the project goals:

"We aim to collect and curate all objective data; implement every known model, method, and algorithm; and make it possible to compute whatever can be computed about anything. Our goal is to build on the achievements of science and other systematizations of knowledge to provide a single source that can be relied on by everyone for definitive answers to factual queries". 

For example, typing in "birth rate Massachusetts" returns a results page that shows you a number of things. Firstly, it tells you that "Massachusetts annual births" was used instead of the literal query. Secondly, the results for the query are displayed in a demographics table. Options to display additional information are given as well; in this case, age and gender, ethnicity, and education information is available with the click of a button. The numbers are also converted into hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly birth rates. Lastly, it is possible to view thorough source information for these numbers, and download the data as a .pdf file.

Sounds like there are a lot of possibilities! Wolfram|Alpha is free for personal noncommercial use.

Object of the Week

Object of the Week1
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Each student in Ms. Struck's art class will be transforming one object a week. Each week on Monday afternoon, the objects will be displayed somewhere in the library for that week, until the next objects arrive.

This week's item is a spray bottle. Unfortunately, "[n]ot every artist is represented each week," according to Ms. Struck, "for a variety of possible reasons."

Ms. Struck describes the project: "The idea behind this assignment is to challenge, question, and re-imagine our relationship with everyday objects. Through the process of doing this, hopefully we gain insights into our own preconceptions as well as into our methods of creative thinking."

We're thrilled to have such creative items on display in our library!

This I Believe

This I Believe
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Dr. Quimby's chapel speech this morning referred to the NPR series This I Believe. The series was introduced in the 1950's by Edward R. Murrow who stated, "In this brief space, a banker or a butcher, a painter or a social worker ... will write about the rules they live by, the things they have found to be the basic values in their lives." It was brought back from 2005-2009.

You can search npr.org for the series and listen as both famous and ordinary Americans speak. Both the 1950's and the more contemporary ones are available.

You can also browse through either of the books in this display for a selection of essays to read.

Settling In for the New Academic Year

Settling In Before Semester Starts
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Welcome back students, staff, and faculty! Pictured on the right is someone already settling in last Friday, before the semester officially started.

Here at the library, we have been getting ready for the new semester for weeks. New books - fiction, nonfiction plus textbooks - have been coming in and added to the collection. New nonfiction DVDs and movies are now available as well. Check out the new books nook and the lobby displays for selected acquisitions, or ask us!

We hope that everyone enjoys the fresh start and the wonderful community on campus.

Summer Activities

Summer Activities Display
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

The semester is almost over, and summer break is looming. Why not do something different this summer? Pick up a new hobby from among the suggestions in our lobby display. This selection comes from our most recent acquisitions, and there are plenty of more sources. Just ask; we're here to help!

Graduation Bouquet

Graduation Bouquet 2011
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

The finals week is half over; only two exams remain. Besides seeing how hard library users are studying, we're delighted by these beautiful flowers. They were dropped off by Mrs. Doggett, the Headmaster's wife. She was kind enough to deliver them to us after this year's Commencement ceremonies.

Memorial Day Display

Memorial Day
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

According to the Department of Veteran's Affairs, the origins of special services to honor those who die in war can be found in antiquity. The Athenian leader Pericles offered a tribute to the fallen heroes of the Peloponnesian War over 24 centuries ago that could be applied today to Americans who have died in the nation’s wars:

“Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men.”

Stop by our Memorial Day display in the lobby.

Latest Reviews: June 2011

The Lace Reader
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Looking for relaxing reads for the summer break? Why not select a book reviewed by our staff!

The latest reviews linked to our "virtual collection" include Because I am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas, Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible’s Harlot Queen by Lesley Hazleton, and The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger’s by Temple Grandin.

Also reviewed are The Map of True Places and The Lace Reader, both by Brunonia Barry, and, finally, The King’s Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi.

You can always find even more reviews through our LibraryThing profile.

Happy summer!

Growing at a High School

Nonfiction - 600s - May 2011
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

"High school" and "gardening resources" is perhaps not an intuitive combination. We find that our collection of gardening books is in surprisingly high demand. In fact, one of our seniors grew herbs and documented the process as well as some common uses of the herbs for her senior project. Perhaps it's the beautiful Byfield countryside, thriftiness in the current economic situation, or the need to balance studies with something completely different; perhaps it's a yearning for concrete results nurtured by your own efforts.

Here is the latest addition to our growing collection (pun totally intended). Please stop by to look at our gardening and yard books. They are upstairs, in the 635s range.

How Do You Spell... Successful Initiative?

How do you spell?
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

As a part of getting our end-of-the-year report together, we did a web search to see how our Web 2.0 social networking initiatives are faring. (We maintain an active presence in Flickr, LibraryThing, and Facebook, for example.)

It is a delight to see how often our Flickr images - under creative commons licensing - are used and re-used. We find them in personal blogs, informational web sites, association newsletters, and, occasionally, national news corporation blogs.

Screen capture from The Atlantic Wire blog post (April 19, 2011).

We are very excited to have earned a prime location in a post on The Atlantic Wire blog about the Western spelling of Gaddafi's name. They used a photo of our display from March 2011.

100 Year Old Sweater May 19 2011

100 Year Old Sweater May 19 2011
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Fascinating pieces of school history destined for the Archives often walk in the front door. This amazing sweater was a recent donation, found in the attic of a long graduated alum. Two pictures accompanied it - one of a class in front of the little Red Schoolhouse from 1919 and one of the football team from 1918. The young man holding the football in the photo was wearing this sweater. The sweater looks to be hand knit with a homemade D on the front and is free of moth incursions.

Following Your Online Footsteps: The Button Issue

Earlier this spring we wrote about social networking issues to be aware of, namely malware and clickjacking, and the importance of managing your online presence. Another issue seems to have surfaced: using social networking widgets to track website visits. Your visits.

Everyone knows of the "Like" (for Facebook) and "Tweet" (for Twitter) buttons, which were created to make it easy to share content with friends. These buttons are called social widgets, and they can be found on various web sites. With them you can link a page (for example, news, articles, or even products) easily and effortlessly on your Facebook wall or in your Twitter feed.

According to a study done for The Wall Street Journal, these widgets notify Facebook and Twitter that you visited a site even when you don't click on the buttons during a visit. The study also found that once you've logged into your Facebook or Twitter account in the past month, the widgets will continue to collect browsing data. This happens even if you close your browser or turn off your computer. Only after you explicitly log out does data collecting stop.

As mentioned earlier in this blog, your online reputation is worth preserving. Peter Eckersley, a senior technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (a privacy-advocacy group), is quoted in the Wall Street Journal article mentioned above. He says, "Our reading habits online encompass everything we're thinking about, political and religious views, health and relationship problems." Awareness of our choices and their safely implications - including whether to log off or to leave yourself logged in - is as important as being aware of cars when crossing a road. And like exercising caution when crossing a road, caution online will soon become second nature.

Women's Firsts Display

Women's Firsts - Amelia Earhart
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

May 20, 1932, Amelia Earhart took off from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, for Europe. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. This trip took place exactly five years after the first transatlantic solo flight by Charles Lindbergh.

To honor Amelia Earhart and other pioneer women, we pulled together facts and sources on some of the first achievements for women in western history.

Take a look at our display in the reference area!

Lost and Found Table

Lost and Found Table
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

As the semester draws to an end, we want to reunite these lost items with their owners.

Are you missing a hat? Mittens? A shirt? Books? Math CD-ROMs?

Stop by the library lobby to have a look and pick up your property.

School History and Traditions Highlighted

Do you ever wonder where the school traditions come from? Or what might lurk in the school's past? Our Archives Manager Ms. DiModica an the enviable position: our history is literally at her fingertips. Whenever she finds especially delicious nuggets, she lifts the veil in her Archives blog posts.

For example, in her latest post, Mrs. DiModica quotes a speech by Headmaster Doggett revealing the origins of two graduation traditions (jumping the Mansion House wall and marching around the Milestone). We also have records indicating Govs alumni involvement in the Civil War, and of various student building projects. Sports activities like fencing and the existence of a rifle club on campus are also described.

Ms. DiModica highlights some of the items held in the archives as well as papers, photographs, and paintings. There is a genuine antique sword from the 1800s that belonged to an officer in the Dummer Guard, a cherub weather vane, and a 1937 lacrosse stick, to name just a few.

Please have a look at the Archives blog. There really is such an unequaled wealth of history there. If nothing else, you have got to see the donkey basketball photos from the 1980s!

McSweeney’s Display

McSweeneys
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

The end of the semester is drawing near. To offer a respite from finals cramming, we put together a display highlighting the quirky, unique McSweeney’s series.

McSweeney’s, or more properly, Timothy McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, is a journal unlike any other. It has been published quarterly by McSweeney’s publishing house and edited by Dave Eggers from 1998.

McSweeney’s Quarterly often plays around with both content and physical appearance. As Village Voice writer Matt Goldberg puts it, it’s a journal that “comprises killed articles and odd, obliquely humorous experiments”. Eggers himself describes it as “a weird, esoteric thing.” The issues can appear in a cigar box (Spring 2006), as an 8-volume set that sits in a tray (Summer 2008), or as a cubic human head (Winter 2010/2011), for example.

Inevitably, there’s also a web page. As a cheap and timely way to publish, Eggers uses the web to distribute “sarcastic, ephemeral rants about pop culture and the media,” to quote Goldberg. The web site is updated regularly in between issues, with jokes, columns, memories, humor, sarcasm, and more.

Visit our display in the Bragdon Reading Room!

Social Media Presence for College and for Life

Privacy and online profile are even more important nowadays than before. Credit card purchases have become ubiquitous, but online stores are no longer the only businesses hankering after your life's story. Some businesses go through your personal data and mine information they can exploit for their benefit. Writing of a 13-year old student, Cecilia Kang says:

"The games he plays know his location at any given moment through the phone’s GPS technology. He has entered his parents’ credit card number to buy apps, and iTunes has his family’s e-mail address and everyone’s full names. Facebook knows his birth date and the school he attends." (Boston Sunday Globe, May 15, 2011.)

If you play any online games, even on your cell phone or other mobile device, chances are that at least a part of your behavior is recorded and stored. At the least, you'll leave a track. At the worst, like Kang writes, you'll hand out personal information that can be reviewed by prospective employers, insurance companies, and colleges. Who would want to be rejected as a prospective student because of a Facebook photo, or fired because of online activities? (And this is not even getting into malware and phishing attempts.) In 2008, in 500 of the nation's top colleges, 80 % of admissions officers said they use social media to evaluate applicants. Furthermore, of the schools that did check social networking sites, 38 % said that what they saw negatively affected their view of the applicants.

Try googling yourself. If you're not happy with what you find, take action. The best time to start managing your online presence is now. When you sign up with a new service, take a minute right away to check your account settings. Go check the privacy settings for services you're already using. Many services turn information sharing on by default. Change those defaults. Very few media applications actually require you to share your personal details to work. Protect your online reputation as you would protect your real-life reputation. There are many how-to guides for managing your online presence, especially for college-bound students. The basics, however, are easy: be safe, use common sense, and create a positive message.

Cultural Goings-On at Campus

It sure is a busy cultural week here at Governor's campus! Tonight, we have the Fine Arts Excellence Awards ceremony at 6:30 in the PAC. We are constantly amazed at the superb quality of our student work. Every incoming class seems to outdo the previous. This year's winners are sure to inspire their peers, too.

Collage made with images from the school website. 

In addition to the fine arts awards tonight, the winners of the Murphy-Mercer Short Story and Poetry Contest will be announced tomorrow (Friday) at the morning meeting. Also happening tomorrow is the release of this year's edition of our literary magazine, The Spire, followed by the release party at 6:30 in the Remis Library. (Student publications can be downloaded from the school website.) Finally, The Guild presents poets, writers, and other talents. Enjoy The Guild show from 7:30 to 9:00 in the PAC on Friday.

Research Help: NoodleTools

All of our students know NoodleTools through the application that helps them format their bibliographies (NoodleBib). However, few know that NoodleTools has many more resources to offer.

The Choose the Best Search page is definitely worth a look. This valuable NoodleTools page introduces a number of search engines besides the most commonly known ones. The search engines are broken down into groups according to broad types of information needs. The broad search categories include defining the topic, finding quality results, researching a specific discipline, timeliness of information, facts and opinions/perspectives, specific media, special search requirements (e.g. file type), and kinds of searchers. Each of these groups contains several suggested search engines to try, and lists the types of searches that each engine is best suited for.

NoodleQuest assists beginning researchers who have trouble figuring out where to start. Selecting as many pertinent choices as desired and submitting the selection will create a personalized searching strategy. The Teacher Resources list sources for 21st century literacies, curriculum collaboration, and the ethics of information use.

We recommend that you at least look at the Best Search page. There will certainly be something useful - and new - for anybody.

Way Cool May

Way Cool May
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

We have prepared an updated selection of new reads for the library lobby display.

These books are recent acquisitions, and are sure to entertain. Check back often - we do refill the display spots as books are checked out.

If you're looking for reading inspiration, don't forget to check out The Book Network and LibraryThing for reviews.

Finals Looming, Study Tips Blooming

Finals Looming, Study Tips Blooming
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Finals, dreaded finals, are barely a month away. We’ve collected some helpful tips for improving your brain performance. The key, of course, is to keep lots of oxygenated blood rushing up there! To this end exercise breaks are encouraged, along with using stress balls which stimulate pressure points in your palm thereby encouraging release of muscle tension in your arms and increased circulation.
Beware the dangers of multi-tasking! The consensus seems to be that this will only inhibit the brain’s power to draw up and retain information…this will be so perhaps until such time as the next generation’s brain is Darwinistically altered to adapt. In the meantime sign yourself up for one of the numerous web distraction blocker sites such as “SelfControl”,” Freedom”, or “Leechblock”. And don’t miss the article by our own Reed Kennedy in which he tests the impact of listening to music while you study – and it doesn’t look good!
MAT

Batch of New Books

Story Collection - April 30 2011
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

The academic year is dwindling down. We are still buying books and DVDs, however.

Here is one of the latest books to hit our shelves. Check out the new books nook for this title - and more!

Freedom Riders Display

Freedom Riders
Originally uploaded by Pesky Library

Fifty years ago this week, on May 04, 1961, the first of many civil rights activists left Washington, D.C., for the segregated southern states on interstate buses. They were testing the Supreme Court decision Boynton vs. Virginia, which outlawed racial segregation in the restaurants and waiting rooms in terminals for public transportation that crossed state lines.

The Freedom Riders set out to challenge the status quo by riding public transportation in the South to challenge local laws or customs that enforced segregation. Upon arrival, many Riders were arrested for trespassing, unlawful assembly, and violating state and local Jim Crow laws. Beatings and mob violence against the Riders eventually called federal attention to the issue.

Our display highlights a part of our collection on segregation and civil rights. Feel free to check our catalog for more.

JFK: A Wealth of Virtual Materials

Boston area residents who are also history buffs will be glad to hear that the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum has just opened a new wing. The JFK Library is one of 13 Presidential Libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration.

The Library is dedicated to the memory of our nation's thirty-fifth president. Besides exhibits, library materials, and archives, it hosts a series of talks, Kennedy Library Forums, to foster public discussion on a range of historical, political and cultural topics that reflect the legacy of President Kennedy's White House years.

You do not have to visit the Library in person to benefit from its collection, though. Their Virtual Museum Tour offers excerpts of film and exhibit materials. The Library website offers ample materials: for example, there are short articles on JFK in history and the on Kennedy family. Also posted are a number of JFK's speeches (with both video and audio), and a fantastic media gallery with both color and black and white images. The website Research section covers all possible ways to research JFK, including a link to search the Digital Archives; the Ready Reference section offers speeches, quotations, and a chronology, links to databases, plus answers FAQs. They also participate in social networking; check out at least their YouTube materials and podcasts.

This resource should prove a great help for our juniors, or anyone else interested in the JFK era.

Govs Graduate Makes Quite an Impression

We recently discovered that John Leslie Breck grew up in the Boston area and, in fact, attended Governor's during the years 1868 and 1869. He was recognized in his day as the first American impressionist.

According to the academy’s records, Breck resided in Newton Lower Falls, a village of Newton, Massachusetts, through at least 1871. He would subsequently study in Munich, Germany, and in 1886, at the Academie Julian in Paris, France (1886). Later Breck would become one of the few Americans to enter the inner circle of Claude Monet.

Read more at the Governor's Archives blog and the City of Newton website!