Harding History Comes to Life

Brackett Library is pleased to announce the publication of our newly enhanced Digital Archives site. In addition to the thousands of images available in Flickr, social club history, and oral histories are being made available in a new and exciting format.

"What we want to do is preserve as much of Harding's history as we can," said Library Director Ann Dixon in an interview with the Bison. In the same interview, Systems Librarian Brenda Breezeel stated, "We want to make available Harding’s history for people to view it from wherever they are."

Our hope is that digital archives site the will help in both of those goals. Current contents include social club scrapbooks, a collection of Jim Bill McInteer's sermon outlines, Spring Sing programs, and interviews with Dr. George S. Benson. Many of the entries are multimedia presentations. Scrapbook pages make noises as pages are turned, and a collection of slide shows from the past have been reformatted into movies accompanied by their soundtracks.

So whether or not you have time to return for Homecoming, you can still enjoy the memories of your days at Harding. If you have club scrapbooks you would like to donate to the project, please contact Ann Dixon at 501-279-4354 or Brenda Breezeel at 501-279-5387. A waiting list for future digitization has already been started, and projects will be completed as time and personnel allows.

October Faculty Favorite

This month's READ poster features Dale Manor and the book series at the top of his reading list - Ramses.

"I'm in the middle of the third volume of this series which puts a narrative spin on the life and times of ancient Egypt, using Ramses, who was the longest reigning monarch of ancient Egypt, as the focus for the story. Often we read the raw data of 'life in ancient times' without the fabric of human interaction and emotion. Jacq puts 'flesh' on those times, incorporating historical events and people (as well as fictional, of course) to produce an interesting and thought-provoking historical novel."

Stop by the library to check out Ramses or another faculty favorite today!

September Faculty Favorite: Janice Hurd and Crazy Love

This month's featured Faculty member is Janice Hurd! She chose Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan. Here is what she has to say about this inspiring book:


"Many today are searching for something, searching for something that will answer our religious discontentment. Some of us believe we have found a solution to our searching through our faith and love for God. This author, Frances Chan, has put together a book that addresses these issues and provides us with some guidelines that will make us look further into our relationship with God. The purpose of the book says the answer is found when we start falling in love with God. Read this book and let it challenge you to learn about the love mentioned in Matthew 22."


Come on over to Brackett and check out Crazy Love today!

FAQ Friday

What are you reading, Hannah Wood?

Please welcome our newest librarian, Hannah Wood! Hannah is joining us as Circulation Librarian and will become a familiar face when the fall starts.

So, Ms. Wood, what are you reading?
The Gates of Sleep by Mercedes Lackey and America: A Narrative History by Tindall and Shi

What do you plan to read next? The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

Are you going to see Harry Potter on Friday? I won’t be seeing it Friday, but I will definitely be seeing it! I’m sensing IMAX 3-D in my near future.

Are there any other book-to-movie adaptations you're looking forward to? The Help which comes out in August.

What's the WORST book-to-move adaptation you've endured? A couple come to mind: Timeline (based on the Michael Crichton book) because they rewrote most of the story, and The Da Vinci Code (based on Dan Brown’s novel) because it was Tom Hanks and not Johnny Depp. When you have a character pictured one way in your mind and the actor in the movie looks/acts nothing like what you had pictured, it makes it harder to like the movie.

Who is your favorite classic author? My favorite classic author is, hands down, Jane Austen. (Though I do have to admit I also love Anne Bronte.)

Contemporary? My favorite contemporary author really depends on the genre and my mood. Right now I’m on a Mercedes Lackey kick. I’m re-reading all of her books that I own.

BONUS question: If you could hop into any novel a la Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next character, which novel would you choose? There are so many that I would love to step into, but I think I would have to pick The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James. Even though it’s a fictionalized account of my favorite author, I would love meet the Jane in that book.

Be sure to stop by the circulation desk and say hello to Ms. Wood the next time you're in the library.

Why I love my job

There are many reasons I love my job, but today reminded me of something that's always at the top of my list.

Harding people.

This morning, I met with a class of our graduate students and helped them with a research project. Grad school can be a scary time. Even great students sometimes flounder a bit. I love that my role allows me to provide encouragement and support, but not grades.

Yep -- I love Harding students!

This afternoon, three alumni came by and asked if we had any scrapbooks from their social club, which has disbanded in recent years. Thankfully, I was able to say YES!


Seeing the faces of these women as they remembered their own time as students was a joy. It's always an honor to hear the stories, see the hopes of reconnection, and share the comfort of returning to thoughts of a simpler time.


It's wonderful when people can come in and look at our scrapbooks, but you don't have to be on campus to revisit the memories. All of our yearbooks are available online and we have over 5,000 images in our Flickr account. We also hope to make the club scrapbooks available in the near future.

So check us out! If you have any questions about our archival holdings, call us at 279-4775. We'll be glad to see if we have what you need.

It's time for what-are-you-reading Wednesday!

After a brief hiatus in June, it's time for the return of What are you Reading Wednesday. This week, we'll be talking to Serials Librarian Henry Terrill, who is retiring June 30 after thirty-two years of service to the Brackett Library.


So, Mr. Terrill, What are you reading?

This month's issue of Family Handyman magazine. But I skip the car repair parts.

What's the last book you finished?

At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon

What do you plan to do next?

Retire and read the rest of the Mitford series. I'm spending the next few months in Rochester, New Hampshire and look forward to borrowing them from the Rochester Public Library.



Favorite fictional character?

David Copperfield.

Favorite author?

The Holy Spirit

What's a classic book that you feel like you should have read but never really have?

Moby Dick. It's just too long.

Thanks, Henry, for spending a few minutes of your next-to-last day with us!