McCain Library: Student Worker Profile

Watch the new YouTube video from McCain Library where several student workers share their favorite study spots in the library and what they like best about working here!

16 Films Released in October That You Can Check Out From McCain Library

Hey Scotties!

Don’t run; this isn’t another Halloween themed post! This, instead, is a list of 17 films (summaries included) you can borrow from McCain Library that were released in the U.S. during the month of October.

Did you know that McCain Library lends DVDs? And we don’t just mean boring educational items like “A History of Britain: the Complete Collection” (call number DA16 .H57 2008 if this, in fact, is your cup of tea). We have a variety of genres and releases, both recent and old, familiar and strange, that’ll entertain you while also encouraging you to “think deeply”.

Stop by the library to pick up one of these DVDs (and a projector or portable DVD player!). If you feel compelled, submit a review of the DVD here and we might feature it on our blog!

The List:

12 Years a Slave (10/18/2013) | Genre: Biography, Drama, History | Rating: R | Call Number: DVD 3255 | **TW: Depictions of racial violence, racial slurs, and sexual assault | Solomon Northup is a black New Yorker, a violinist, a husband, a father, and a free man in the pre-Civil War era. Until he is tricked, kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South. For 12 years he lives his life as a slave, awakened and infuriated by his mistreatment and the negligence of those who won’t believe him until he returns home again.

Amadeus (10/26/1984) | Genre: Biography, Drama, History | Rating: R | Call Number: DVD 529 / DVD 73 (Director’s Cut) | In this film, the musically brilliant Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a man of many hats and…and pleasures. If you asked about him, his listeners would call him transcendent, his friends would call him obscene, and his lovers would call him vulgar. If you asked Antonio Salieri, his sworn rival obsessed with his talent and consumed by jealousy, he’d call him a dead man.

Argo (10/02/2012) | Genre: Biography, Drama, Thriller | Rating: R | Call Number: DVD 3052 | When Iranian activists takeover the U.S. Embassy for giving the Shah refuge in the U.S. during the Iranian Revolution, all but 6 staff members are held hostage. CIA exfiltration specialist Tony Mendez is called to devise a plan to sneak the escapees out of Iran and comes up with an unusual solution: a science film titled “Argo”. Devising an elaborate cover up using a phony production company, actors, and other Hollywood facades, Mendez must extract the six members under the film’s pretense before their identities are discovered and everyone is caught. This film is based on a true historical event.

Bamboozled (10/06/2000) | Genre: Comedy-Drama, Satire, Music | Rating: R for language | Call Number: DVD 78 c.2 | **TW: Racism and Racial Slurs | Pierre Delacroix is young, Harvard-educated, and the only black writer for a network with poor ratings. Unfortunately, his racist boss denies every single idea he comes up with that positively depicts black communities. Frustrated, he proposes a black-face minstrel show in protest, but to his chagrin, the network picks it up, and it becomes a hit.

Cloud Atlas (10/26/2012) | Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery | Rating: R | Call Number: DVD 3109 | Book Call Number: PR6063.I 785 C58 2004 | This epic follows six people as their souls are reincarnated and reborn across the ages along with their actions and narratives. Ends become beginnings, death becomes a door, and new worlds are forged from the ending of others. The human experience is a circle.

Good Hair (10/09/2009) | Genre: Comedy, Documentary | Rating: PG-13 | Call Number: DVD 3002 | When black comedian Chris Rock’s (then) 3-yr old daughter asks him why she doesn’t have good hair, this sends Rock on a mission to learn more about the perception of black hair and the endorsement of white beauty standards in black culture. He interviews a few celebrities and comedian friends along the way.

Kill Bill: Volume 1 (10/10/2003) | Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller | Rating: R for graphic violence, language | Call Number: DVD 1189 | “The Bride,” a former assassin, awakens from a 4 year coma only to learn that on her wedding day, her entire wedding party was killed (fiancé included) and she is no longer pregnant. Recognizing this as the jealous work of her previous lover – and the leader of the Deadly Viper Assassin Squad – she exacts her revenge and comes for blood. A lot of it.

Martha Marcy May Marlene (10/21/2011) | Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller | Rating: R Call Number: DVD 2839 | **TW: Depictions of sexual assault | Martha is finally able to escape to her sister’s house for help after spending many years in an abusive cult, but her delusions and paranoia follow her. And perhaps others.

Pay it Forward (10/20/2000) | Genre: Drama, Romance | Rating: PG-13 | Call Number: DVD 1358 | A teacher gives his students an assignment to create an idea that will positively change the world and make it actionable. One of his students decides to “pay favors forward” and encourage the recipients to do the same rather than “repaying” them, creating a wave of kindness throughout the world no one foresaw.

Ray (10/29/2004) | Genre: Biography, Drama, Music | Rating: PG-13 | Call Number: DVD 3221 | This Oscar-winning biography notes the life of the highly-acclaimed rhythm, soul, and blues artist Ray Charles Robinson. On the strength and words of his mother, Ray plays and sings his way to southern and eventually worldwide stardom as he contends with going blind, racism, drug addiction, mistresses, and the haunting death of his young brother.

The Social Network (10/01/2010) | Genre: Biography, Drama | Rating: PG-13 | Call Number: DVD 2531 | Mark Zuckerberg is a Harvard graduate, computer genius, the creator of “Facebook”, one of the youngest billionaires…and being sued for the theft of intellectual property by former friends. In this biography, Zuckerberg’s path to wealth and power is ladened with jealousy, betrayal, and scandal. “You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies.”

Why Did I Get Married? (10/12/2007) | Genre: Comedy, Drama | Rating: PG-13 | Call Number: DVD 2147 | Four married couples (and one single woman…) make their way to the snow filled Colorado Mountains for their annual marriage retreat to answer this one question: “Why did I get married?” As shocking news come s forth from one couple’s marriage, the other three couples are (at times, hilariously) forced to face the truth about their own marriages and themselves. Right, Marcus?

The Wiz (10/24/1978) | Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy | Rating: G | Call Number: DVD 2497 | In this musical, African-American adaptation of the classic film “The Wizard of Oz”, “The Wiz” follows the very shy and lost Dorothy – a young school teacher too shy to leave Harlem — as her and her dog are swept through the land of Oz (New York City). She finds new friends, new enemies, and her quite possibly herself on her quest to get back home.

Where The Wild Things Are (10/16/2009) | Genre: Adventure, Drama, Family | Rating: PG | Call Number: DVD 2125 | Book Call Number: PS3569.E6.W44 1963 | Feeling lonely, neglected, and unhappy at home, Max pretends to be an animal to everyone’s dismay. When his mother chastises him, he sails to an island of wild things to be their king and the wild boy he feels he is. He soon learns, however, that even in the wilderness, there’s no place like home.

ASC Video Clips from the Archives

 

The McCain Library Archives & Special Collections is regularly adding historical information about the college to its website at http://libguides.agnesscott.edu/speccoll/home.  The most recent additions are some video clips from the late 1920s through mid 1930s, showing campus scenes, students at work and play, etc.

All the clips can be found in the “From the Archives” playlist at McCain Library’s YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/McCainLibrary), and many of the clip descriptions on YouTube are linked to a related page on the archives website where the video, along with additional pictures and information, can be found.

One of the next major additions to the archives site, coming later this semester, will be a tab on the history of athletics on campus, with a page for each sport & historical pictures of play and teams over the years from the 1890s forward.

Thanks to ITS Media Technician China Wilson ’14 for digitizing this old video, and Margaret Rose Hunt ’18, Archives Student Assistant, for putting the material online.  Please contact Marianne Bradley ’74, Archives Manager, for further information.

Finding Articles – Tips from a Master Searcher

Claire McBride ’13 is an amazing researcher who has the McCain Library article databases wrapped around her finger.  In this video she give you her tips on finding articles on a topic using the library databases.

Can’t Find a Book?

McCain Library has seven floors and with names like Stacks 3 and Floor 3 finding a book can be confusing even when you have the call number and location.
This video provides an overview of the book locations in the library.  Never be confused by terms like Browsing Books and Reserves again!

Library Computers Tips

Clare McBride ’13 spent a month with McCain Library this summer redesigning the library blog, assisting with inventory projects and creating some helpful videos to get students oriented to library resources.

To make sure you are taking full advantage of our library computer resources check out this video!

Library Study Spaces

Do you know all the great places to study in the library?  Over the summer, Jennifer Sutcliffe, a volunteer with the library, created a video that will help you find the best spots for group study and quiet study.

New York Times Access

Ever since the New York Times decided to limit their free access to 20 articles a month, some very sad faculty members have been showing up on our doorstep looking for full-text access.  Good news! Most of the current New York Times articles online through the databases Proquest Newspapers and Lexis Nexis Academic.  Unfortunately,  neither of these provides access to images and pictures in the articles.

We created a quick video to help you locate today’s copy of the New York Times.

[If you are using a device that is not connected to the campus network you will need the GALILEO password to access these resources.]

Contact Casey Long at clong@agnesscott.edu or 404-471-6343 if you have any problems or want to talk about additional access options.

Welcome! New Students’ Guide to McCain Library

McCain Library is like a second home to many Agnes Scott students.  We hope the incoming students will soon feel the same way!  Here are some tools to help orient you to the library:

• Getting to Know the Library Video Playlist : Find out where to study, what kind of computers are available, and how to find books and articles!

• 12 Things to Know about McCain Library : This is a great quick list of tips about the library.
• Guide to Library Research : Everything you could want to know about the research process from start to finish!

We will see you soon!

Fun Library Video Starring Kelsey Hensler ’11 and Amanda Jordan ’12

Kelsey Hensler ’12, volunteered with McCain Library over the summer.  In addition to being a tremendous help in so many areas of the library, Kelsey shared her creative side with us.  She created two fun videos that encourage you to ask a librarian for research help.  Her first video was released last month and stars history professor Robin Morris.  Here is her second video, which stars Kelsey and ASC Alumna Amanda Jordan ’11.