QuickSearch Tips & Tricks

The Libraries’ QuickSearch allows you to search a ton of library databases all at once (though, unfortunately, it can’t search all of them, so don’t give up if you can’t find what you’re looking for on QuickSearch!). QuickSearch is more robust than Google Scholar, and it shows you materials you can access as a UofM student/employee! We created a “Find and Download Full Text Articles in UofM Libraries QuickSearch” video (7 min.) to help guide you through the process, too.

Here are a few tips and tricks to make the most out of your QuickSearch experience: Continue reading →

National Voter Registration Day at The Ned!

September 23, 2019September 25, 2019 Meghan Campbell Events

One of the greatest but most underutilized privilege we have as Americans is our right to vote. The ability to go to a local polling station and place a vote for a candidate you believe in is infinitely important. Voting is something you can do to contribute to your community, city, and country. Having your own say in who you want to represent you is invaluable, and you should take advantage of it! If you want to be registered to vote but are unsure of where to start, don’t worry.

The Ned has you covered.

If you’re on campus on September 24^th, come on over to the McWherter Library. From 9am until 6pm there will be a registration table with prizes, library staff volunteers, and representatives from the Shelby County Election Commission available to answer all your questions. Unable to wander over to the library? No worries! From 1pm until 3pm we will also have a table in the University Center ready to help you register too. To make it even easier for you to become a registered voter, we will have iPads and laptops fired up and available to help you! It’s as easy as that.

If all of this sounds wonderful to you, we’re ready for and look forward to seeing you on the 24^th!

Have questions? Here are some voting related resources for you:

Book Review: Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

September 23, 2019September 25, 2019 Benjamin Clanton Books, Collections, Reviews

Written by Benjamin Clanton, Government Publications:

Esi Edugyan, with the highly acclaimed novel Washington Black (one of President Obama’s favorite books of 2018!), has written a harsh but touching story of a runaway slave and his journey to find identity and his place in the world. The title character, Washington Black, or Wash as he comes to be known, is a field slave early in life on a sugar plantation in Barbados. Watched over by a female slave named Big Kit, his world is one of unceasing labor and vicious treatment at the hands of the plantation owner and overseers. Erasmus Wilde, whose family owns Faith Plantation, rules over it with brutality, displayed in his almost casual violence towards the slaves, viewing them truly as mere property. Sugar plantations were historically notorious in the Caribbean for their awful and inhumane working conditions. Therefore, it is not unrealistic that Erasmus treats his slaves in such a manner, something he explains to his brother Christopher: ‘My language cannot offend her. She has no sensibilities to offend . . . They are not the help, Titch. They are the furniture.’ Continue reading →

Database Spotlight: Gale Virtual Reference Library/Gale eBooks

September 19, 2019September 25, 2019 Brannen Varner Collections, Databases, Technology

When starting off with a research project, where’s the first place (after class notes and lecture) you turn to for more information? I think most of us would answer “Wikipedia.” (Librarians use Wikipedia, too!) However, most instructors discourage citing Wikipedia. Luckily, you have access to many online scholarly reference collections that can be cited as background information for your project! Continue reading →

Constitution Day: September 17th

September 17, 2019September 25, 2019 Benjamin Clanton Events, Film Screening, Government Publications

Written by Benjamin Clanton and Meghan Campbell, Government Publications:

On September 17, 1787, delegates to the aptly named Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed the U.S. Constitution, setting in place the structure of our nation’s government that is still followed today. We here in Government Publications regularly handle documents that relate to what was adopted on that day over two hundred years ago. One of the wonderful things about the Constitution is that avenues were put in place to make additions and changes to its original form. With that in mind, we have written about a couple of Constitutional Amendments that both intrigue us and have personal meaning to us as individuals. Enjoy and have a wonderful Constitution Day!

Join us on the 2nd Floor Commons Area in McWherter Library today from 12 – 3 pm, where you can pick up a U.S. Constitution and snacks, and watch a documentary titled The Words that Built America. Continue reading →

Lambuth Library News from The University of Memphis Lambuth

September 12, 2019September 12, 2019 Lisa Reilly Branch Libraries, Events Lambuth

Written by Lisa Reilly, Lambuth Campus Librarian:

What’s New

Additions of graphics and art have recently spruced up the Lambuth Library. The junction of two walls provided the foundation for a three-dimensional UofM tiger that greets patrons as they enter the library; our stairwell now hosts art from the “What I Kept” and “Four Freedoms” exhibits recently highlighted on campus; and new signage directs students to our extensive collection of books and quiet study areas.

Not only does the library look different, but we’ve been making some program updates. Last Spring, we began offering extended hours and it was so popular that we continued this Fall. The Lambuth Library is now open late on Monday through Thursday and is open on Sunday afternoons. And now, just like their main campus peers, Lambuth students may now schedule an appointment with the campus librarian for 30- or 60-minute research consultation sessions. Of course, we welcome research questions anytime we are open, but sometimes it helps to have scheduled time to sit down and discuss research challenges with a librarian!

Upcoming Lambuth Library Events:

September 25 from 3:30-4:30: Stress Less Workshop – Don’t let life stress you out! Attend this workshop to get tips from our Academic Support Services Counselor on managing stress.

September 30 – October 4 (anytime during library hours): Maker Monthly Paper Pretties – Weave strips of magazine pages into functional art. Don’t have much time? Stop by to get started and take what you need to finish it later.

Resource Highlight of the Month

Check out a robot from the library? Absolutely! The Lambuth Library has Sphero BOLTs available for checkout. These amazing little electronic balls are programmable with pieces of easy-to-use code- make them zig, zag, light up, make sounds, the possibilities are endless. Check one out, get the free app for your device and try your hand at programming! A part of the West TN STEM Hub, these robots are perfect for student teachers and local educators who want to enhance their science, technology, engineering, and math lessons with a fun hands-on activity.

Know Where to Go to Get Going

September 11, 2019September 25, 2019 amroach Research and Instructional Services

The University Libraries are here to help you at every step of your relationship with the University of Memphis. One of the best resources we provide are Research Guides designed to offer insight into resources that could be useful to you in your chosen field of study. However, you might need something a little more general to help you move forward.

That’s why the Libraries have created Orientation Research Guides. Whether you are new to the University as an undergraduate student, are continuing your studies in Graduate School, we have an orientation guide for you. We *also* have guides for students who are studying abroad or study online.

These guides will fill you in on the library services and resources that will be the most beneficial for where you are at, whether that is your first research paper, or you are preparing to teach your first class, or you are studying in Costa Rica or your hometown in Wisconsin.

Check them out:

Kanopy Movie Review: Throne of Blood

September 11, 2019September 25, 2019 Benjamin Clanton Databases, Movies, Reviews

Fog rolls across a desolate landscape. A chanting song gives an ominous command to the viewer: “Look upon the ruins / Of the castle of delusion.” Thus begins Akira Kurosawa’s 1957 film ‘Throne of Blood,’ a retelling of William Shakespeare’s infamous play ‘Macbeth’ set in feudal Japan. Kurosawa, considered a master of Japanese cinema and samurai films, provides a haunting portrait of ambition and the corruption of power. So, if you like murder and betrayal, prophecy and the descent into madness, this is one you should check out. Continue reading →

Seeking great speakers for NEDtalks!

September 10, 2019September 10, 2019 amroach Events, NEDTalks

NEDtalks is a bi-annual research forum hosted by the Ned McWherter Library.

We are looking for UofM professors (faculty, instructors) of any discipline to present short, engaging, entertaining 15-minute presentations in the TEDtalks style. Past speakers have engaged topics both diverse and fascinating, including presentations on blackface in opera, the scholarly path of a research chemist, whiteness in the Bible, feminist strategies used by “booby streamers” in the online gaming world, and supermassive black holes. We’d love to know what makes you excited about what you are researching, and to carry your audience into that thrill.

Get more information at the libraries’ NEDtalks website. Got a great proposal? Submit by Friday, October 18.

NEDtalks will take place Wednesday, November 13, and Thursday, November 14, 2019, 3-5 PM in the 2nd Floor Commons Area.

Footnotes from the Grid Iron

September 5, 2019September 10, 2019 Shelia Gaines Collections

Written by Shelia Gaines, Circulation Coordinator:

Friday night lights. Season Openers. Homecoming. Saturday tailgating. Yes. You guessed it. It’s football season. That time of the year when team loyalties test family ties and some spouses suffer through their annual season as living “sports widows”.

If you are wondering this year (and every year) what all the fuss is about, why not visit The Ned and check out the literary side of the game? If you need to start from scratch, Football: The First 100 Years: The Untold Story may be the perfect book for you. But, be warned that football on the other side of the pond is a little different than the grid iron.

If you are a more seasoned sports fan and think you would enjoy the players’ stories that have been told on the big screen, we have something for you, too. Did you know that former NFL Tackle, Michael Oher, began his road to fame at our regional rival, Ole Miss? If not you can read all about it in The Blind Side by Michael Lewis. Better yet, read the story in his own words in How I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness, to the Blind Side, and Beyond. Find out how he felt when he went to see the movie incognito and saw the fan’s reaction. If your loyalties divide anytime you don’t see a Memphis connection, don’t forget that Michael Oher’s adoptive father was a broadcaster for the Memphis Grizzlies for many years.

Find these and other sports-related tomes in the library. Take some time to peruse the stacks or find an interesting article or research idea from one of our databases. But, be sure you take care of all of your library business during the weekdays, because you may have better things to do with your weekends.

University Libraries Blog

Year: 2019