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10/30/2024
profile-icon Joseph Moore
No Subjects
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If you love libraries and all things archival, then visiting Newberry Library in downtown Chicago should be at the top of your bucket list.

 

This semester, a group from Dominican University, including two faculty members and fifteen students ranging from undergraduate to Ph.D., took a field trip to Newberry Library. The outing was hosted by two of Dominican’s student organizations: the Information Science Student Association (ISSA) and Society for Archivist of America Dominican University Chapter (SAADUC).

 

This intimate sheaf of librarians enjoyed a private viewing of rare books, photographs, and postcards held at Newberry. Dominican alum Anula Lopez, the Ayer Librarian and Assistant Curator of American Indian and Indigenous Studies, provided access and information for these special collection items. 

Into the Vault

In one of the Newberry's reading rooms, carefully selected items were set on tables for perusing. The selected old books were displayed lovingly on soft blue book supports, with gently weighted “book snakes” holding them open. Gloves were provided for students wanting to leaf through the ancient tomes, some of which dated back to the 17th century.

Hubble, Claire. (2024).

Not surprisingly, some of the items had fascinating tales to tell. One such item was Mi Ultimo Pensamiento, a poem written by Filipino propagandist and writer José Rizal. During his family's last visit before his execution by firing squad, Rizal dropped hints that some of his writings were hidden in an alcohol stove and in his shoes. The Spanish colonial government executed Rizal for his work, which was considered critical to the Philippine Independance movement.

Lopez, Jose. (1896). Mi Ultimo Pensamiento

A brighter anecdote came from the background of an anonymously written one-act play thought to be written by an Indigenous author, which was donated to Newberry Library in 2018. Together with Victorino Torres Nava, a native Nahuatl speaker and linguist, Anula translated the short comedic and satirical play, which is sometimes called The Old Lady and Her Grandson. The plot features a grandmother who strictly forbids her grandson to eat honey, which Lopez said her study of the Nahuatl language helped discover was likely an alcoholic drink. Further study revealed the matriarch in the play to be pregnant!

Diversity Issues in Librarianship

Librarians go through great lengths to meet the diverse needs of their learning community. “Decolonization” may be a bit of a buzzword in academia, but it is nonetheless an extremely important concept. Institutions such as the Newberry Library that preserve cultural heritages play a crucial role in allowing historically marginalized groups to have their stories told accurately and respectfully. 

When a student asked where she currently sees decolonization efforts in the field of librarianship, Anula answered, “It depends what you mean by ‘decolonize.’ “ For example, it is not enough for institutions preserving Indigenous culture to have an Indigenous member on staff, because those staff members will need support as well. Anula explained she has adopted the term ”internationalist," which recognizes the universal utility in preserving cultural property.

Kwandibens, Nadya. (2019). The Red hair Sessions.

It is not always clear how to respect cultural patrimony, Anula explained. The Newberry Library gives first right of refusal of donated artifacts belonging Native American people, but items intended for return to rightful owners may instead end up in a museum or government institution. While some headway was made during COVID in updating cultural protocols, there is still more work to be done.

Indigenous Chicago

After the meeting room, the group saw The Newberry's current main exhibit in the Trienens Gallery, Indigenous Chicago. For several years, Anula worked on the project gathering maps, photographs, treaty documents, and other historical records. The exhibit pronounces the powerful message, “Chicago has always been a native place.”

Indigenous Chicago. (2024). The Newberry.

“Home to the Potawatomi, Odawa, Ojibwe, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Myaamia, Wea, Sauk, Meskwaki, and Ho-Chunk peoples,” reads the exhibit's website, "the place we now call Chicago has long been a historic crossroads for many Indigenous people and remains home to an extensive urban Native community." The exhibit combines works from current Native artists with items from the Newberry's extensive Indigenous collection.

Indigenous Chicago includes eye-catching and informative labels covering the history of treaties, the importance of terminology, and activism and resistance. Another placard tells the history of important Native organizations such as The Indian Council Fire. Meticulously curated, the displays work together to ask the audience: "How does our understanding of Chicago change when seen through Native perspectives?

Thinking of making your way to the The Newberry soon? While open to the public, The Newberry is not part of the Chicago Public Library system. Members of the public can apply for a Newberry reader's card, which they can use to browse the Newberry's non-circulating collections. Readers can use the online catalog, finding aids, and research guides to browse the library's many offerings. Just like at our Crown Library, readers can use the “Ask a Librarian” feature to for direct research help. 

10/30/2024
profile-icon Ben DeBiasio
No Subjects
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The Rebecca Crown Library is taking an active role in celebrating el Día de los Muertos on campus. Check out our upcoming events and resources:

  • In collaboration with the Organization of Latin American Students, the library is hosting a celebration of the traditional holiday of "Día de los Muertos", Day of the Dead. The Calaveritas & Velitas event will have 3-d printed skull painting, champurrado, face painting and a photo booth.

     

  • The Rebecca Crown Library is also one of the locations of University Ministry's ofrendas which will be highlighted in the Día de los Muertos Celebration Event. University Ministry welcome you to drop-off photos of your deceased loved ones and friends at the University Ministry Center. They will place all photos on our ofrendas. If you would like for your photos to be returned once our celebration have concluded, please make sure to write your name and email address somewhere behind the photo.

 

  • If you want to learn more about Día de los Muertos, The Rebecca Crown Library has also curated resource guides both in Spanish and in English. These guides contain information and history about Día de los Muertos, information about ofrendas (alters), and also has fun videos and recopies for making your own sugar skulls!

     

  •  We also want to highlight our ever growing Spanish Language Collection. You can also request that we add new materials if there is a book you are dying to read.

 

10/16/2024
profile-icon Joseph Moore
No Subjects
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Isn’t writing great? The written word is an excellent way to organize thoughts, express creativity, and discover passions. Whenever I have been disciplined enough to pick up a pen – or keyboard – and produce a written self-expression, it has nearly always paid wonderful dividends.

 

The blog staff at Rebecca Crown Library is looking for submissions for our blog, and that means you. Are you taking a class you’re excited about and want to gush? Did you visit a really cool library recently and want to nerd out about it? If you are a graduate student in the Library and Information Science program or an undergraduate student working at the library, we want to know what’s cooking in that noodle of yours.

 

Below are just a few terrific reasons why you should contribute to the RCL blog.

 

Express Your Passion

 

Isn’t it the worst when you turn in an excellent paper that only your professor reads? A thoughtful discussion post, short paper, or class project description could make an excellent blog post. Your passion for learning is contagious so let your little light shine.

 

Learning can happen in sporadic ways. Perhaps a tangential topic comes up in class that you’d like a platform to explore further (recently for me, it has been prison librarianship). The RCL blog can be an excellent platform to channel that interest and share it with others. 

 

For example, a decade ago, out of pure passion I began blogging about Newbery Award winning children’s books. Fast forward to the present when I am in the Youth Literature graduate program here at Dominican. 

 

Reset, Reflect, Rekindle

 

Feeling a mid-semester motivational slump? Creativity is a powerful balm for your brain. Writing about a library-related topic you care about may be exactly the endorphins your brain craves. For integrating creativity with learning, I also highly recommend attending a workshop in our Innovation Lab and/or familiarizing yourself with our Recording Studio. But I digress!

 

Reflecting on our experiences are essential for growth. Are you graduating at the end of the semester and want to reflect on your academic journey thus far? Are you thinking about declaring or changing your major? There have been some excellent reflection posts on professional development experiences such as internships and conferences on the RCL blog. This could be a fantastic platform to share your insights. 

 

Blogging can be a safe, structured way to pursue interests. Last semester, writing for the RCL blog was the catalyst I needed to research libraries in Iceland. Researching for the post allowed me to gather information I needed to rekindle my love for traveling. And I’m glad I did! The inter-continental adventure changed my life.

 

Connect with your Community

 

There are many activities on campus to enrich your mind and connect you with community. This week I attended two events: The Journey of a Reconnection Taino, led by Dr. Lizette Rivera in celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day, and Blackened Bodies at the Hands of White America, a lecture by Dr. Safiyyah Kai El-Amin. Attending a campus event and writing a post not only allows us to reflect on what we’ve learned, but connects us with the stories and wisdom of others in our learning community. 

 

Writing is an important expression and self-affirmation of values, but it also shows one cares about the intellectual and creative needs of their learning community. That internship you had last summer? That class you took that exceeded your expectations? That library conference you attended? Let your community know about these experiences and become part of an informal mentoring process that enriches yourself and others.

 

Create Resume material

 

A blog piece byline shows employers your capability to write comprehensively on a topic. Especially if you are interviewing for a library position, hiring managers may be impressed you took the time and effort to write about a topic relevant to the library field. 

 

Perhaps you’d like to practice a professional development skill, such as interviewing. Writing a blog piece after interviewing a professor, librarian or educator is a great way to learn from their experiences and develop this useful skill. Who knows, a strategic interview could lead to future collaboration or provide you with useful connections.

 

As you can see, there are many reasons to write for the RCL blog. Your learning community is waiting for your insights – so let it rip. Don’t let those brilliant insights fade forever in tonight’s dreams. 

 

For information on submission: Want to Write for the RCL Blog?

10/14/2024
Ana Hernandez
No Subjects

The Rebecca Crown Library happily invites contributions from Dominican University graduate students who are pursuing a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science, undergraduate students who are employed at the library, and other writers. To do so, please fill out this form to share your proposal with us.

It does not have to be fully formed - we would love to help you workshop your idea and build out your piece. It can be something you have previously submitted for a class.

Please feel free to reach out to Ana Hernandez at ahernandez20@my.dom.edu and/or view the best practices document for more information.

Field is required.