Watch This: The Ref

A bi-weekly series featuring a recommendation of a movie available in the Reeves Memorial Library DVD collection

The Ref (1994)
Directed by Ted Demme

There are Christmas movies that reaffirm the importance of family and friends, revealing that the true gift is time spent together in joy and harmony with the ones you love.  There are Christmas movies that show us how important it is to be kind to others, not just during the holidays, but all year round.  There are Christmas movies that remind us we should be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, not focusing on the materialistic desire for presents.

Then, there is The Ref.

Starring actor/comedian Denis Leary in his first lead role, The Ref follows hapless cat burglar Gus (Leary) after a botched Christmas Eve robbery in a small Connecticut town.  Having triggered an alarm, and looking to hide from the police, Gus jumps into the car of Lloyd and Caroline Chasseur (portrayed by Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis), a married couple on their way home from a counseling session.  Gus orders them to drive him to their house, where he hopes to lay low while he plans his escape.  He quickly realizes that he kidnapped the wrong couple, as Lloyd and Caroline's incessant bickering offers him no respite or time to think.  Exasperated, Gus tries to force an end to their arguments: "From now on, the only person who gets to yell is me. Why? Because I have a gun."  However, even under the threat of violence, they remain at each other's throats.

Gus's problems grow with the arrival of teenage son Jesse Chasseur, home from military school, and the later arrival of more relatives for Christmas Eve dinner.  Gus gradually begins to soften, learning that his only way out of the situation is to act as mediator between Lloyd and Caroline until he can escape.

The premise begins to wear a bit thin in the third act, and there are no big surprises in the concluding scenes; the film ends pretty much how most viewers would expect.  However, it remains engaging because of a funny, fast-paced script and strong performances from the talented cast.  Spacey and Davis are particular standouts, bringing an articulate ferocity to their characters' barbed exchanges.  It's also fun watching Glynis Johns, best known for playing the kindhearted Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins (1964), in the role of Lloyd's domineering, mean-spirited mother (Gus aptly sums up her character: "I know loan sharks who are more forgiving than you").  Director Ted Demme proves very adept at handling a talented ensemble, a skill he would put to good use in his next film, the woefully underrated Beautiful Girls (1996).

The Ref is by no means a great film.  However, like the masterful Bad Santa (2003), it's a profane, darkly funny alternative to standard Christmas entertainment.

Christmas Break Hours

Christmas Break
December 15: Closed
December 16 - December 20: 8:00 a.m. - 4:50 p.m.
December 21 & 22: Closed
December 23: 8:00 a.m. - 4:50 p.m.
December 24 - January 1: Closed

Have a wonderful break! Happy holidays.

A busy week at Reeves

Take a deep breath… finals are over!

Hopefully the Christmas break finds you triumphant and ready to relax and enjoy the people and activities that you love for a few weeks.

Speaking of activities, the library had several in the last week of the semester. On the evening of Friday, December 6th, we welcomed 10 children and their families to our annual Christmas story time event, and a good time was had by all!

Dr. Stanley regaled us with a spirited reading of The Grinch that Stole Christmas:

Kelly Clever got some giggles when sharing A Pirate's Night Before Christmas:

And some of our guests took to the rocking chair to share their favorites:

Two nights later, the library began staying open for an extra hour for the next three nights. As students prepared for their final exams and projects, we provided our usual spread of cookies and coffee:

On Monday and Tuesday evenings, the librarians on duty even brought their dogs in to encourage the students and provide a little break from the tension! 

Find more photos from our finals-week fun on the library's Flickr page!

Finals Week, Night #2

Bree will be happy to help you eat cookies… which go out (along with the coffee, etc.) at 7:00.

Watch This: Sullivan's Travels

A bi-weekly series featuring a recommendation of a movie available in the Reeves Memorial Library DVD collection

Sullivan's Travels (1941)
Written and directed by Preston Sturges

Sullivan's Travels is one of the great movies about movies.  There have been numerous other films in which Hollywood has attempted to hold a mirror up to itself, revealing the various stages of the filmmaking process and the inflated egos of studio bosses, directors, and on-screen talent.  Some have approached their subject with reverence, while others have made the industry the target of vicious criticism.  Sullivan's Travels aims for a target somewhere in the middle, lampooning Hollywood producers focused solely on box office revenues, while simultaneously underscoring the value of popular entertainment.

Hollywood director John L. Sullivan (Joel McCrea) is tired of making lightweight comedies, films with titles like Hey Hey in the Hayloft and Ants in Your Pants of 1939 (easily two of the best fictional film titles of all time).  He has decided that his next film will be a serious, socially-conscious film about human suffering and misery, an adaptation of a novel entitled O Brother, Where Art Thou? (another wonderful fictional title that was borrowed by the Coen brothers for their 2000 comedy film).  The studio executives point out that Sullivan has lived a privileged life, and knows nothing about hard luck and misery.  He realizes that they are right, and sets out in a hobo costume with only ten cents in his pocket, hoping to learn firsthand what trouble is.

Sullivan's plans are constantly undermined.  The studio has him followed on the road by a luxury tour bus and a team of journalists, whose newspaper stories they hope will generate publicity for his film.  He hitches a ride in the back of a truck, only to find himself back in Hollywood when the truck stops the next morning.  He meets a young woman (Veronica Lake, credited only as The Girl), and she talks him into letting her accompany him on his travels (she knows about trouble, and can help him with his experiment).  Not surprisingly, they fall for each other over the course of their journey.

The story takes some unexpected turns, and Sullivan gets a bigger dose of trouble and hard luck than he originally intended.  At one point, he is imprisoned in a labor camp, and the film's best scene comes when the inmates journey to a local church for a Sunday evening picture show.  An animated Mickey Mouse comedy short puts everyone in the church, parishioners and prisoners alike, in stitches.  Sullivan is at first surprised, then delighted, to find himself joining in the laughter, temporarily forgetting about his woeful circumstances.

The film is brimming over with incredibly funny dialogue.  In the opening scene, as Sullivan describes his serious film to the studio execs ("a commentary on modern conditions, stark realism, the problems that confront the average man"), one of them repeatedly insists that it should have "a little sex in it."  Later in the film, a police officer asks Sullivan why he's wearing such ratty clothes if he's a successful film director.  Sullivan responds, "I just paid my income tax."

Sullivan's Travels is about the importance of film as a means of escapism, uplifting us and lightening our burdens, if only for a couple of hours.  More than anything, the film is a tribute to the power of humor.  Writer/director Preston Sturges was one of the most successful comedy directors of his era, and in a way Sullivan's Travels can be seen as an apologia of sorts, a justification for a career built on laughs.  As if that needed any justification.

Transitions photos

Check out the latest photos added to our "Transitions" album on Flickr. Judith Koveleskie has been busy weeding bound periodicals. It's going to look completely different down there!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7943750@N03/sets/72157634232270967/

Christmas Story Time

If you have children, you should bring them to our annual Christmas story time this Friday evening! A good time is always had by all.

Hope to see you there!

Thanksgiving Break Hours

Monday, Nov. 25: 8:00 AM - 11:50 PM
Tuesday, Nov. 26 & Wednesday, Nov. 27: 8:00 AM - 4:50 PM

Thursday, November 28 - Sunday, December 1: CLOSED

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Watch This: Oldboy

A bi-weekly series featuring a recommendation of a movie available in the Reeves Memorial Library DVD collection

Oldboy (2003)
Directed by Park Chan-wook

With Spike Lee's American remake of Oldboy slated for theatrical release on November 27, it's worth revisiting director Park Chan-wook's acclaimed 2003 original, a violent, twisty masterpiece that has remained a hallmark of South Korea's recent filmmaking renaissance.  Oldboy is the second film in Park's so-called "Vengeance Trilogy" (alongside Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) and Lady Vengeance (2005)), a trio of films which share the central theme of revenge.  None of the three films is a straightforward revenge thriller, and Park demonstrates a knack for exposing the complex web of violence and unforeseen consequences that can spring from acts of vengeance.

Oldboy begins with a drunken man named Oh Dae-su being abducted on the street after calling home to apologize for missing his young daughter's birthday.  He is imprisoned without explanation in what appears to be a shabby hotel room.  The room has a television, and he learns from a news broadcast that his wife was murdered, and that he is the prime suspect, his blood and fingerprints having been found at the scene of the crime.  He is gassed periodically, awakening to find his hair cut and his room cleaned.  He keeps a journal listing all of the people he wronged over the years, a surprisingly long chronicle of his misdeeds, and he becomes obsessed with the idea of finding and killing the person who had him imprisoned.  He stays in shape and learns to fight by watching boxing on television, and then shadowboxing and punching the walls of his cell.

Inexplicably, after 15 years, he is set free, finding himself clad in an expensive suit and wristwatch, and in possession of a cell phone and a wallet full of cash.  He goes to a restaurant, where the young female chef tells him he looks familiar.  He says she looks familiar too.  His phone rings, and on the other end of the line is the man who imprisoned him, asking him to think back over his whole lifetime to solve the riddle of his imprisonment.  After passing out, Dae-su wakes up in the apartment of the young chef, whose name is Mi-do.  She has been caring for him, and as she helps him begin to track down those who imprisoned him, they fall quickly in love.  Dae-su locates the prison by finding the restaurant the prison's food came from, then following a delivery boy.  Soon after, the identity of Oh Dae-su's adversary is revealed, and Dae-su must race to find the reason for his imprisonment in order to save Mi-do's life.

I will refrain from revealing any further plot details, as one of the primary pleasures of watching the film is seeing the unexpected twists and turns that the story takes.  Suffice it to say that Lee Woo-jin, the man responsible for Dae-su's imprisonment, has his own plans for vengeance that extend well beyond simple isolation in a cell for 15 years, and that these plans are for more diabolical than anything Dae-su, or most viewers, would have initially anticipated.

Admittedly, Oldboy is not for everyone.  There are scenes of shocking violence (although no scene may be harder to watch than that in which Dae-su devours of a live octopus), and revelations that will make even the most seasoned viewer uneasy.  The film is also pervaded by a humor streak as black as they come.  However, there are numerous instances of dazzling technical virtuosity (the fight scene in the prison hallway was shot in a single take), and many viewers may be surprised at how affecting the film's third act is.  It is unusual for a work as violent and dark as Oldboy to explore such extreme emotional depths, and there are very few films that so effectively convey the repercussions of a life spent consumed by vengeance.

Watch This: Homicide

A bi-weekly series featuring a recommendation of a movie available in the Reeves Memorial Library DVD collection

Homicide (1991)
Written and directed by David Mamet

"What are you, then?"

Very rarely can the central theme of a film be summed up in a single, short line of spoken dialogue.  On its surface, David Mamet's Homicide is a murder mystery, concerned with a police detective's investigation into the killing of an elderly Jewish candy store owner.  At the film's heart, however, lies the detective's exploration of his own identity.

Detective Bobby Gold (portrayed by Mamet regular Joe Mantegna) is a secular Jew.  His Jewish heritage does not appear to be a significant part of how he defines himself, and only seems to be important to him when he becomes the target of anti-Semitic slurs.  Gold is respected by his colleagues, although there are inklings that he must downplay his Jewish heritage in order to fit in.  Still, much of his sense of self seems to come from his inclusion in the community of his fellow police officers.  "I'm a cop" is the way he identifies himself to others.

Gold and his partner, Sullivan (William H. Macy in a standout performance), have become involved in the high-profile case of Robert Randolph, a violent criminal in hiding from the police.  On their way to apprehend one of his associates, they happen upon a fresh crime scene, where an elderly Jewish woman has been shot behind the counter of her corner candy store.  The woman's family is convinced that she was the victim of an anti-Semitic hate crime.  After finding out that Gold is Jewish, they use their influence to get him assigned to her case.  Gold is at first uncooperative, preferring to work on the Randolph case instead, and dismissing their assertions that the woman was killed because she was Jewish.  However, as obscure clues begin to suggest that she was involved in gun running for a Zionist organization, and that she may indeed have been the target of an anti-Semitic group, the case becomes the catalyst for Gold's exploration of his own Jewish identity.

In a pivotal scene, Gold visits a library to ask a Jewish scholar for help in deciphering the meaning of a clue.  While Gold is waiting, he converses with a Jewish man who is reading at a nearby study table.  Gold says he is Jewish, but when the man asks him to read a passage in Hebrew from the Book of Esther, Gold responds with some embarrassment that he can't.  The man replies, "You say you're a Jew, but you can't read Hebrew.  What are you, then?"  Gold has no answer.  Determined to find the woman's killers, and more importantly to prove to himself and others that he is a good Jew, he becomes involved with a secret organization whose motives are not what they appear to be.

As a playwright and filmmaker, David Mamet is best known for creating works in which things are never what they seem, in which deception and duplicity take center stage.  Here, the deception lies not only in the machinations of the plot, but also in Gold's misapprehension that he can embrace his Jewish identity without sacrificing his standing among his fellow police officers.  As the case of the murdered woman and Gold's own journey of self-discovery begin to dominate his professional and personal lives, the Randolph case moves further and further into the periphery, and he risks alienating himself from his peers on the police force.  It seems that Gold must make a choice about who he is: cop or Jew?  The question is, if he alienates himself from both groups, then who is he?

Library Hours Nov. 4-6

Library hours will be adjusted for Monday, November 4th through Wednesday, November 6th for the services for Dr. Boyle.

Monday & Tuesday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Wednesday: CLOSED

Please keep the Boyle family in your thoughts and prayers. 

Watch This: The Night of the Hunter

A bi-weekly series featuring a recommendation of a movie available in the Reeves Memorial Library DVD collection

The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Directed by Charles Laughton

There are any number of horror films in the library's collection that would make for potent Halloween viewing, from silent classics like Nosferatu (1922) to modern works such as The Exorcist (1973), The Shining (1980), and Saw (2004).  However, it is outside of traditional horror that we find a villain more frightening than most, Robert Mitchum's Reverend Harry Powell in The Night of the Hunter (1955).  Masquerading as a preacher in order to marry widows and murder them for their money, Powell is the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing.  Powell himself feels he is doing God's work by disposing of sinful women (any woman who arouses desire in men or who acts upon her own carnal desires is a sinner in his book), and that God rewards him with the money of his victims.

After being arrested for auto theft, Powell shares a prison cell with condemned killer Ben Harper (Peter Graves), who stashed $10,000 in stolen cash somewhere in his house before his arrest, then made his two children swear to keep the location a secret.  After failing to obtain the location of the money from Harper before his execution, Powell proceeds to charm his way into the life of Harper's widow, Willa (Shelley Winters), and her two young children, nine year-old John and four year-old Pearl.  John is suspicious of Powell from the start, and soon realizes that he is after the money.  After Willa overhears Powell trying to force Pearl to reveal the money's location, Powell disposes of her, telling the locals that she ran off.  The children narrowly escape and flee downriver with Powell in pursuit, eventually finding refuge alongside a handful of other orphaned children in the home of the Bible-fearing, strong-willed Mrs. Cooper (Lillian Gish), whose determination to protect her young wards leads to a tense showdown with Powell.

 The Night of the Hunter was the only film directed by the lauded actor Charles Laughton, best known for his portrayals of Captain Bligh in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939).  Working with cinematographer Stanley Cortez, Laughton crafted a singular film of incredibly striking visual fantasy, a melange of suspense thriller, fairy tale, morality play, expressionistic nightmare, and film noir.  Many scenes provide haunting images that linger in the viewer's mind: Willa's dead body behind the wheel of her car at the bottom of the river, her hair wafting gently with the seaweed; the exaggerated shadow of Powell's silhouette as it is cast on John and Pearl's bedroom wall the night before he first appears in town; Mrs. Cooper leading the children down the sidewalk, looking remarkably like a mother duck with her ducklings trailing close behind.
 
Mitchum oozes pure menace in a chilling performance, revealing dangerous qualities would also serve him well in his performance as vengeful ex-con Max Cady in Cape Fear (1962).  Note the scene where he stands at the top of the cellar stairs, calling down to the hiding John and Pearl ("Chillll ... dren?!"), then clamors after them up the stairs, lunging with his arms outstretched like Frankenstein's monster.  Mitchum makes Powell scarier than any otherworldly ghoul, a real-life monster bent on the slaughter of innocents to get what he wants.

Watch This: Mean Streets

A bi-weekly series featuring a recommendation of a movie available in the Reeves Memorial Library DVD collection

Mean Streets (1973)
Directed by Martin Scorsese

"You don't make up for your sins in church.  You do it in the streets."

These words from the opening voiceover of Mean Streets echo through the rest of the film.  While the plot is generally that of a gangster film, following the struggles of Charlie, a young, small-time mobster in New York City's Little Italy, it is Charlie's preoccupation with sin that lies at the heart of the film.  Charlie is Catholic, and wrestles with feelings of guilt as he tries to reconcile his love life and criminal activities with his notions of purity.  In one memorable scene, Charlie seeks penance by holding his hand in the flame of a votive candle before a church altar.  Later in the film, after dancing onstage with a stripper in a local club, he lights a match and holds his finger above the flame.

Charlie (played by Harvey Keitel) works as a collector for the local mob boss, who admonishes him for hanging around with the volatile hoodlum Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro, in a star-making performance).  Johnny Boy owes money to a local loan shark, but Charlie's fondness for his friend causes him to get sucked into Johnny Boy's self-destructive spiral.  Meanwhile, Charlie has become involved with the epileptic Teresa, but must keep their relationship a secret due to his boss's disapproval of her.

De Niro is a standout, infusing Johnny Boy with an endearing clownishness and a reckless, childlike energy that makes it easy to see why Charlie is so easily drawn to him.  The film's best scene, apparently improvised by De Niro and Keitel, finds Johnny Boy explaining his inability to pay his debts by relating a concocted story about a raided poker game.  The expert give-and-take between the two actors in this scene shows why they have since become frequent collaborators.

While it was not the first feature film Martin Scorsese directed, Mean Streets was the film that launched his career.  It has an unpolished rawness that is lacking in his later work, but this only adds to its power.  Even in this early film, many of the signatures of his directorial style are present, including the distinctively stylized camera movement, the use of slow motion, and the popular music soundtrack.  While Scorsese has since become well-known to viewers as a director of gangster films such as Casino, The Departed, and the incomparable Goodfellas, Mean Streets was his first real cinematic foray into this world.  The film's depiction of the day-to-day struggles of low-level hoodlums was relatively novel at the time of its release, and stands in marked contrast to the more opulent Mafia lifestyle depicted in the previous year's The Godfather.

If you're unfamiliar with Scorsese's earlier films, you might also want to check out his feature film debut, Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967), which is also available on DVD from Reeves Memorial Library.

"The government shut down my homework."

That may not be an excuse that you'll want to use (or accept) as we move into the latter half of the fall semester, but the government shutdown is affecting information resources that we take for granted.

Most government-run websites have not been completely shut down, but almost none are being updated during the government standoff. While few of us at the undergraduate level need up-to-the-second updates, do be aware that most government-run sites like the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control, the Food & Drug Administration, and the National Library of Medicine were last updated on September 30th.


Websites that HAVE been shut down include:

• The U. S. Census Bureau (census.gov)
• The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA.gov)
• Portions of the Library of Congress, though not the legislative information sites (loc.gov)
• ERIC (eric.ed.gov/) --NOTE: The library's ERIC database in EBSCOhost is still searchable. Many hits will still have PDF or HTML full-text that you can download; only links that go out to the full text on the ERIC government website will be affected. Unfortunately, the "full text" checkbox limiter doesn't know how to differentiate between the two, so you will have to look for the PDF/HTML files in the list of results. 

"What can I do?"

• First of all, try the library's databases. While a small fraction of our content is pulled from government websites (most notably in ERIC and MEDLINE), most of our content will be unaffected. 
• Try to find information on websites hosted by reliable nonprofit or private-sector organizations, like the Pew Research Center for social sciences data or the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics or the Mayo Clinic for nutritional and medical information. The library's subject-specific research guides can point you to some of these for your subject area. 
• Most importantly, start your research extra-early. When some of your go-to information sources are unavailable, it may take you a little more time to get your hands on the information that you need. You might need to use interlibrary loan when before you were always able to find the resources you needed online. You may just need time to push beyond your comfort zone of familiar websites to find alternative ones that are still operational.
• And, of course, contact a librarian if you need help or ideas.

Research Projects: You’ve got this!

Many of your professors have begun to assign research projects. Along with the details of the actual assignment you may have heard words like information literacy and the research process. These words are often unfamiliar and can awaken the voice in your head. This voice is loud, laced with a touch of sarcasm and a smattering of doubt. It makes you feel like there is no way that you're ever going to get this. The voice is relentless and it fills your head with exclamatory questions like:

Research Project!?

Information what!?

Due when!?

10 pages!?

Serious!?

Surprise!! It isn’t just you…we all hear that voice but I am here to tell you that you’ve got this? How do I know? Am I psychic or something? I assure you I do not moonlight as a fortuneteller. I know because you already possess the basic information literacy skills you need to succeed. If you are still a little unsure, please…read on.

Everyday problem #1: Sell the heap and buy a Jeep!

You want to buy a Jeep. But first you need to determine the trade in value of your current vehicle?

You would… Google it and choose a site that looks useful from the results list or go directly to the Kelly Blue Book or Edmonds website, enter the information about your current car and presto! 
-I swear I do not own a crystal ball.-

Everyday problem #2: Rid yourself of the rash before your friends call the health department.

You have ignored it long enough and are now desperate to diagnose the weird rash on your arm?

You could take a picture of it and send it to your Mom (gotta love your Mom) but then you think, “Nah, maybe I should just Google it”. You might choose a medical website from the results list or go directly to WebMD. After reviewing WebMD you will need to make a decision on what actions to take, visit your doctor, explain to your roommate that it is not catchy and/or pick up some hydrocortisone crème at the drug store.

-Problem solved…fist pump!-

The scenarios above describe the process followed by information literate people in order to solve everyday problems. The definition of Information Literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to "recognize when information is needed and to have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."

Knowing where to start, how to find, evaluate and use the information is proof that you are information literate. The truth is in your life, you have used information literacy skills to solve countless everyday problems.

Formal research (like the research projects assigned by your professors) requires you to follow the same process and to use the best tools available. These tools include library catalogs, interlibrary loan services, credible websites, online databases, videos, podcasts, twitter and more.

Some of you may not be familiar with using these tools but never fear Reeve’s librarians are here. Feel free to call, email, stop by, chat with us online or schedule an appointment with us. We will be happy to help you with your research needs. Don’t forget to check out our Meet Reeves-Student Guide and the tutorials on our YouTube channel.  You’ve got this!

The Criterion Collection at Reeves

Over the past few years, the DVD collection at Reeves Memorial Library has grown by leaps and bounds.  Much of the growth has been due to a generous donation of over 1,000 new items. One area of the collection that deserves to be highlighted is the large number of titles released by the Criterion Collection.

For those unfamiliar with the Criterion Collection, it is "a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films ... dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements" (description taken from the Criterion website).  If standard DVD and Blu-ray releases are sirloins and New York strip steaks, Criterion releases are filet mignon.  Their catalog currently includes over 900 titles, spanning a wide range of genres and featuring both American and foreign films, from mainstream hits to indie films.  Many of their releases provide cinema buffs with their first chance to see a film that had previously been unavailable for many years.

One great feature of their releases is the superb cover art, which has inspired a slew of fan-created fake Criterion covers that have been posted in a popular tumblr.

Reeves Memorial Library currently has about 140 Criterion titles available.  Recent additions include Charlie Chaplin's classic The Gold Rush, the landmark Holocaust documentary Shoah, and the hallmark French New Wave film Pierrot le fou.

If you're a Criterion fan, you can visit their website and set up a My Criterion account, which allows you to create lists of your favorite films, and to keep track of the Criterion films that you've seen.  Many of these user-created lists are featured on the Criterion Collection website.  Reeves Memorial Library has a My Criterion account that we use to keep track of the titles that we own, as well as our wish list for future purchases.  We also have a list of recommended teachable films from the collection, "Criterion in the Classroom."

Check out the Criterion Collection at Reeves Memorial Library and discover some of the greatest films ever made.

Our Chat Reference Service is Out of This World!

Considering our recent post about the Buzz Lightyear that was left in the library (we're happy to report he has been reunited with his playmate), it's not surprising that someone signed into Reeves Library's online chat reference service this afternoon as Emperor Zurg.  For those of you unfamiliar with the film Toy Story, Zurg is the sworn enemy of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and Buzz believes he is poised at the edge of the galaxy with a weapon that can destroy an entire planet.

Here are a few choice excerpts from the beginning and end of today's reference transaction:

Emperor Zurg: "Hello."

Me: "Hello, Emperor Zurg. This is Adam Pellman of Star Command. How can I help you?

Zurg: "I greatly acquire assistance from your establishment of literary content. Where would you happen to find books on [confidential topic, although you can rest assured that it had nothing to do with space warfare] ...  My... er... cousin the Dark Lord of All requires such reading materials."

...

Zurg:"Emperor Zurg, sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance, greatly appreciates the assistance of human Adam Pellman of Star Command. I can now finish my homework! I will consider saving you as I take over the world."

Me: "Glad to help, and thanks for sparing me. Good luck with your ploy for galactic domination. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Zurg: "That is all for today. Thank you!"

 This exchange was really fun for me, so I'd like to thank Zurg (whoever you are) for brightening my day.  It also shows that even galactic villains can benefit from a college education, and I applaud the emperor for his commitment to lifelong learning.

First week's hours

Welcome back!

Our hours for the first week of classes are:

Monday-Thursday      8:00 a.m. - 8:50 p.m.
Friday                         8:00 a.m. - 4:50 p.m.
Saturday                     9:00 a.m. - 4:50 p.m.
Sunday & Monday     CLOSED

To infinity & beyond!

Buzz knows that books can take him places, but right now he just wants to go home! A young man accidentally left him at the library yesterday. If you know Buzz's playmate, please let him know that his buddy is waiting patiently for him at Reeves.

Kids these days

From the book The Burg of Greene in Pictures Seen

Setonian Day

The library has been hosting cyber cafes for parents of our new students when they visit campus on Setonian Days. Parents have a little downtime to drop by, grab a cup of coffee, and check their email on an iPad.

We're happy to have you with us! Enjoy your visit and come back soon (and often)!

Collection management

As we prepare for our move and transition next summer, we are busily "weeding out" old, tattered, and/or superseded books. As usual, we try to send as many of these as possible to Better World Books.

This is our latest shipment, ready for pickup-- 105 boxes worth!

More to come.

Like us!

Did you notice that the library is on Facebook?

Like us to stay up to date on today's hours, fun library tidbits, and to connect to all of our other good social media stuff (YouTube videos, Tweets, etc.).

https://www.facebook.com/ReevesMemorialLibrary

New Music Collection

We’re excited to announce that Reeves Memorial Library is now the home of the Robert Bloom collection, a set of oboe scores, CDs, and biographical materials about the American oboist and composer, Robert Bloom.  While these materials can be found in some other libraries or purchased individually, it’s pretty unique to have them all available in one location.  Come to the library and check out this wonderful addition to our music collection!

The above picture presents an incomplete view of the Bloom collection.  The Robert Bloom biography and two of the CDs were checked out by one of our enthusiastic patrons before the photo could be taken.

Many thanks to the Lambert family for their generous donation.

More information about Robert Bloom and this collection is available at: http://robertandsaralambertbloom.com

Summer at Reeves

While things do slow down on the Hill during the summer, we still stay busy!

We still have our ADP, graduate, and summer session students here and there to keep us company and enjoy our beautiful campus.

Inside the library, we are staying MORE than busy preparing for our upcoming remodel to a learning commons in a little less than a year! This means lots of weeding and rearranging.

The reference collection is being weeded and integrated into the regular collection, so you will be able to borrow many of the books that used to be limited to in-building use. This is also going to free up a lot more study space, which we all know is in high demand!

Library Hours Summer 2013

Regular Library Hours

May 13 -- August 25, 2013

Monday - Thursday            8:00 AM - 5:50 PM
Friday                                 8:00 AM - 4:50 PM
Saturday                             9:00 AM - 4:50 PM
Sunday                               CLOSED

Exception Dates

Saturday, May 18               CLOSED                       (Setonian Day)

Saturday, May 25               CLOSED
Monday, May 27                CLOSED                       (Memorial Day weekend)

Wednesday, July 4             CLOSED                       (Independence Day)

Friday, July 26                   8:00 AM - Noon            (SHU picnic)

Monday, August 19           CLOSED                        (Fall Workshop)

Hours for Finals Week

Hours for Finals Week, Spring 2013:

Fri., May 3: 8:00 AM - 4:50 PM
Sat., May 4: 9:00 AM - 4:50 PM
Sun., May 5: 1:00 PM - 10:50 PM
Mon., May 6: 8:00 AM - 12:50 AM
Tues., May 7: 8:00 AM - 12:50 AM
Wed., May 8: 8:00 AM - 10:50 PM
Thu., May 9: 8:00 AM - 8:50 PM
Fri., May 10: 8:00 AM -3:40 PM
Sat. & Sun, May 11 & 12: CLOSED

Join us on Monday and Tuesday nights for coffee, cookies, and stress-relievers! See you then and good luck on finals!

Easter Break Hours

Easter/Spring Break Library Hours


Sat. March 23                      9:00 a.m. - 4:50 p.m.

Sun. March 24                     CLOSED

Mon. March 25 -
Thurs. March 28                  8:00 a.m. - 4:50 p.m.

Fri. March 29 -
Sun. March 31                     CLOSED

Mon. April 1                        8:00 a.m. - 5:50 p.m.

Spring semester hours

Regular Hours:

Monday -- Thursday              8:00 a.m. - 10:50 p.m.
Friday                                     8:00 a.m. - 4:50 p.m.
Saturday                                 9:00 a.m. - 4:50 p.m.
Sunday                                   1:00 p.m. - 10:50 p.m.



Exception dates:

February 3rd                          1:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m.


Easter Break:

March 24                                CLOSED
March 25 - March 28              8:00 a.m. - 4:50 p.m.
March 29 - March 31              CLOSED
April 1                                    8:00 a.m. - 5:50 p.m.

Library Hours, Jan 22-27

First week of spring classes:

Tuesday, Jan. 22 --
Thursday, Jan. 24:    8:00 AM--8:50 PM

Friday, Jan. 25:         8:00 AM--4:50 PM

Saturday, Jan. 26:     9:00 AM--4:50 PM

Sunday, Jan. 27:       1:00PM--10:50 PM

January term hours

January 2 -- January 17, 2013

Monday -- Thursday          8:00 AM - 5:50 PM
Friday                                 8:00 AM - 4:50 PM
Saturday                             9:00 AM - 4:50 PM
Sunday                               CLOSED