Summer renovations ahead for Mennonite Historical Collections floor

The library is excited to announce that the Mennonite Historical Collections (MHC) floor will be receiving a facelift this summer! Collections will be moved off this floor to temporary storage to make room for a new, high-density compact shelving system, new floor and wall coverings, and a new look to the research area. The new shelving system will provide a home for all University Archives, Mennonite Historical Collections, and other special collections of the library.

In order to facilitate this transition carefully, certain areas of the library will be closed for portions of the summer months. Beginning after commencement, the first floor of the rear portion of the building will be closed to the public. In addition, the second floor of the rear portion of the building will serve as a temporary home for many of the displaced MHC materials. This floor will be closed to public access, but library staff will be happy to retrieve any needed materials for library visitors from this floor.

Please stay tuned to ARCH and the special collections websites for further updates on our renovation projects. If you have any questions about the availability of any special collections materials, please contact Carrie Phillips, Archives and Special Collections librarian, at 419-358-3275 or by email to phillipsc@bluffton.edu.

Festschrift celebration for J. Denny Weaver May 3

(Adapted from a story posted by the Bluffton University public relations office. See the news release here.)

Bluffton University will celebrate the release of a “festschrift,” in honor of professor emeritus Dr. J. Denny Weaver, at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 3, in the Musselman Library Reading Room. A festschrift is a book honoring a respected academic and presented during his lifetime. This festschrift, The Work of Jesus Christ in Anabaptist Perspective: Essays in Honor of J. Denny Weaver, is a collection of essays written by students, colleagues and friends of Weaver.

The celebration is an opportunity for family members, former students, colleagues and friends to commemorate Denny’s work and the legacy that is represented by the essays in the festschrift. Refreshments will begin at 3:45 p.m. An exhibit of Dr. Weaver’s writing will also be on display.

Musselman Library will host an open house the same day beginning at noon for all campus visitors.

Become a fan of Musselman Library!

Want to keep up with events and news from Musselman Library? Have a facebook profile? You can become a fan of Musselman Library — Bluffton University on our facebook Pages profile! Become a fan and receive updates on upcoming library events, view photos from past events, leave feedback and suggestions on our Wall, and much more!

Book Sale THANK YOU

Musselman Library says a big THANK YOU to everyone who helped make our 2008 book sale a record-setting success! Our sales surpassed both the 2006 and 2004 sales, and these proceeds will be put back into the library for enhancing our collections.

Tradition says our next sale will be in Spring 2010…so stay tuned!

Book sale continues through weekend

The 2008 Musselman Library Book Sale will continue through the weekend, April 5 and 6.  New items have been added since the first day, so if you haven’t yet visited the Reading Room, please do so soon, and take home some great literary bargains!  There are lots of books to see in children’s literature, fiction, nonfiction, religion, cooking, and more.  Several interesting sets are still available at special prices.  Historic maps, magazines, journals, surplus bookends, and audio-visual materials are also for sale.

Thank you to all of have already visited the sale this week — your purchases to date have helped to break all previous book sale records!

Author Reception for Dr. Ronald Rich, April 14

Musselman Library will host a program and reception to honor Dr. Ronald L. Rich on Monday, April 14th, 2008, in the Reading Room. Refreshments will be served at 3:45 p.m. with a program following at 4:00 p.m. The reception will honor Dr. Rich for his recently published book, “Inorganic Reactions in Water.”

For more information, please contact Mary Jean Johnson, Library Director (johnsonmj@bluffton.edu). The event is approved for Arts and Lecture credit.

Book sale!

Musselman Library will host a book sale April 1-4. Hours are the same as library hours, 8 a.m.-11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday. The sale will be located in the Reading Room on the main level, and proceeds will be used to purchase materials for library collections. For more information, contact Mary Jean Johnson, library director, at 419-358-3396 or e-mail johnsonmj@bluffton.edu

Books are priced at $1 for hardcover and $.50 for paperback, with some items priced as marked and new items to be added daily. The library is accepting donations for the sale and will take books, VHS tapes and DVDs. Items can be dropped off at the circulation desk or arrangement for pick-up or delivery of larger donations can be made by calling 419-358-3396.

RESCHEDULED: Visiting author Marie Bradby, in Reading Room March 25

Visiting author Marie Bradby will present How African American Literature has Influenced Me beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 25, 2008, in the Musselman Library Reading Room. The event is sponsored by the Bluffton University English Department and open to visitors. Arts and Lecture credit is available.

Bradby has held staff reporting positions with the Providence-Journal (Rhode Island), The Lexington-Herald (Kentucky) and The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Ky.) and was a staff writer for National Geographic Magazine. A native of Alexandria, Va., she holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Hampton University. Her first book, More Than Anything Else, was an ALA notable book in 1995.

Spring cleaning? Donate books for the book sale!

Is melting snow giving you the spring cleaning bug?  Musselman Library can help!   We are seeking donations to enrich our collections and to share with others during our 2008 Book Sale, April 1-4.  

Donations of small numbers of books or videos can be accepted anytime at the library’s Circulation Desk.  If your spring cleaning turns up a larger donation, please contact us at the Reference Desk, and we’ll arrange for someone to meet you at our delivery entrance to drop off your donation.

Our collections thrive on donations from our friends!  The following donations were recently added to our shelves for the benefit of all library users:

• Erich Mendelsohn, 1887-1953: the analytical visionary
• The art treasures from Moscow museums
• The Cambridge dictionary of philosophy
• Iraq in fragments [videorecording]

Donations that are not added to the collections are still valuable additions to our book sale merchandise, which ultimately add to library collections through sale proceeds.  Book donations are also environmentally responsible — this year’s book sale will help to supplement the activities as part of our Civic Engagement Day on April 2, 2008.

Celebration of Women’s Voices - March 11, 4 p.m.

Local women writers will gather in a Celebration of Women’s Voices on Tuesday, March 11, at 4 p.m. in the Musselman Library Reading Room.  The event will feature Dr. Elizabeth Morgan, professor of English and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Eastern University.  Dr. Morgan will present a radio piece she recorded with Azar Nafisi containing readings from Reading Lolita in Tehran, and then will entertain questions from the audience.  Other women writers from the campus and community will also share their work.  Dr. Morgan will sign copies of her work, Home is where you’re going : crossing borders and risking solidarity through women’s studies, which will be available for purchase.

A Celebration of Women’s Voices is sponsored by the Women’s Studies Committee and by Musselman Library.  Arts and lecture credit is available for the event, which is free and open to the public.  Refreshments will be available in the Reading Room beginning at 3:45 p.m.