Mardi Gras in the Archives

Mardi Gras celebrations are taking place throughout the world today, including here on the UST campus. Tonight the university will host the 64th annual Mardi Gras Gala benefiting the St. Thomas Fund. The Gala is one of the longest running traditions at UST and is well documented in the  UST Archives. There, researchers can explore photos from past galas showcasing glamorous gowns and festive floats. The collection also includes Mardi Gras invitations, programs, and press releases. View samples from the collection online.  If you are interested to explore this collection in person at the archives, please make an arrangement for a visit by calling 713-525-3895.  The Archives are located at 305 Branard Street.

UST Mardi Gras, 1952

UST Mardi Gras, 1954

Friends of the Library Lecture: An Engineer with a Phi Beta Kappa Key in the Math Department

Tuesday, February 25, 2014 12:45 PM to 1:30 PM – Doherty Main Lobby

Why math? Dr. Mary Flagg wants to share how simple everyday objects and concepts can become beautiful and useful mathematics. No algebra skills required!

Why her? She will share her scholarly journey of discovery and challenge you to continue your own journey.

Why here? The University of St. Thomas is a special place in which faculty are able to help students along their journey of discovery and life-long learning. Come share the excitement and insights of a new member of the UST community.

Dr. Mary Flagg has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rice University and was invited to join Phi Beta Kappa in her junior year. She went on to receive an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology, and was nominated to Sigma Xi, the scientific research honor society. Dr. Flagg’s second journey in graduate school resulted in an M.S. and Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Houston, with a specialty in algebra. She worked as a lecturer at the University of Houston before accepting the position of Assistant Professor of Mathematics here at UST.

Herzstein Lecture with Rabbi Shai Held

Wednesday, February 12, 2014 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM – Cullen Hall
The Annual Herzstein Lecture presents Rabbi Shai Held, Co-Founder, Dean and Chair in Jewish Thought at Mechon Hadar. His lecture is titled ”The World is Built on Hesed: Towards a Jewish Theology of Lovingkindness.”

According to Jewish theology, “walking in God’s ways” is the highest level a human being can reach. For the Talmudic Sages, becoming like God consists of compassion, empathy, and presence with people in moments of suffering and vulnerability. In this lecture. Rabbi Held will construct a Jewish theology and spirituality of Hesed, lovingkindness, and explore their implications for religious life and the building of nurturing, dignity-affirming communities. He will also explore creation and covenant as the two paths to lovingkindness in Jewish thought.

There will be a reception after the lecture  in the Doherty Library where Rabbi Held will be signing copies of his book.

Houston Museums: Explore your City

This month’s lobby display features books and publications about museums in the Houston Museum District. With a location in the heart of the Museum District, the UST campus provides students with easy access to  19 museums within a 1.5 mile radius. Most offer a student discount for entry, so there’s no better time to take advantage of what the area has to offer than during your time as a member of the UST community.

Houston Museum of Natural Science - Since its founding in 1909, the goal of the Houston Museum of Natural Science has been to educate the public with knowledge in natural science and related subjects. Dinosaur skeletons, gemstones, and a garden full of butterflies are just a few of the exhibits visitors can explore.

Museum of Fine Arts Houston - Opened in 1924, the Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts was the first art museum in Texas. With over 300,000 square feet of display space and 18 acres of gardens, it remains one of the largest art museums in the United States and welcomes over 2.5 million visitors each year.

Bayou Bend Collection and GardensBayou Bend is the MFAH house museum for American decorative arts and paintings. Displayed in the former home of Houston civic leader and philanthropist Ima Hogg (1882–1975), the collection is one of the finest showcases of American furnishings, silver, ceramics, and paintings in the world.

Buffalo Soldiers National Museum Houston’s Buffalo Soldier Museum is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers, the last of which served during World War II.

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston  The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is a non-collecting institution dedicated to presenting the best and most exciting international, national and regional art of the last 40 years. Founded in 1948, the Museum prides itself on presenting new art and documenting its role in modern life through exhibitions, lectures, original publications and a variety of educational programs and events.

Asia Society TexasAsia Society is the leading global and pan-Asian organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of the United States and Asia. Visit the Center throughout the year for performances, art exhibits, craft activities, and lectures.

 The Menil Collection - The Menil Collection opened in 1987 to preserve and exhibit the art collection of John and Dominique de Menil. Considered one of the most important privately assembled collections of the twentieth century, the Menil hosts a diverse collection of both modern art and ancient artifacts, housed in a building designed by architect Renzo Piano.

The Rothko Chapel - The Rothko Chapel, founded by Houston philanthropists John and Dominique de Menil, was dedicated in 1971 as an intimate sanctuary available to people of every belief. A tranquil meditative environment inspired by the mural canvases of American painter Mark Rothko, the Chapel welcomes over 60,000 visitors each year, people of every faith and from all parts of the world.

For recommended museum-related books and resources from our collections, see our Pinterest board:

pinmuseums

Doherty Picks: Best Reads of 2013

What’s the best book you read in 2013?  Here are some picks from the Doherty staff:

Ferry coverI’ve been consistently amazed by David Ferry’s book of poetry, Bewilderment (winner of the 2012 National Book Award). Ferry, born in 1924, has been a leading poet and translator for decades. I love his translation of the Gilgamesh epic, for example, and his book of selected poems, Of No Country I Know. He has always made his formal mastery seem more like a practice of grace than a tool for cleverness or invention. But the stakes, of age and heartbreak, are higher in this book. It is late work in the most elevated sense.

-Joe Goetz, Information Literacy Librarian

Outliers coverOutliers: the Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell is very interesting.  To quote from Amazon: “Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of “outliers”–the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?”

Gladwell is the writer of Tipping Point among others in this vein.  We just acquired his latest for the library’s popular books collection: David & Goliath.

-Jim Piccininni, Dean of Libraries

Oliver coverMy pick is Mary Oliver’s A Thousand Mornings (2012) a recent book of poetry by a very popular and perhaps best-selling American poet. I’ve been reading it over and over again.  There’s a special quietness as she walks in solitude in nature on Cape Cod almost becoming one with the sand, the sea, the animals, the birds, the fish, even the snake, and yet she’s always transcending to some special place. I always feel very serene.  Poetry, she says, is prayer.

-Pat Gerson, Aquisitions

The Goldfinch coverI was blown away by Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch. NPR’s Barrie Hardymon sums up everything that is great about it: “The Goldfinch begins with a shocking and tragic event that leaves 13-year-old Theodore Decker without a parent and in possession of a stolen Dutch masterwork. Winding its way through Manhattan, Las Vegas, Amsterdam … Goldfinch is the rare novel that prompts you to read a beautiful sentence out loud even as you gobble it whole for the plot.”  I couldn’t put it down.

-Emily Couvillon, Public Services Librarian

For more 2013 picks, try NPR’s Guide to 2013′s Great Reads, Amazon’s Top 100 Picks of 2013, and the 2013 Goodreads Choice Awards.

New Popular Books now Available

New additions to the Doherty Library current popular fiction and non-fiction collection are now available for checkout. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library, the collection contains over 150 titles.

The books are on display in the main lobby and can be checked out at the circulation desk.

Fiction:

Billy Collins – Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems  

Elizabeth Gilbert - The Signature of All Things: A Novel

John Grisham – Sycamore Row  

Jhumpa Lahiri – The Lowland 

Terry McMillan – Who Asked You? 

Veronica Roth – Allegiant

Amy Tan – The Valley of Amazement 

Donna Tartt – The Goldfinch

Markus Zusak – The Book Thief   

Non-Fiction:

Allie Brosh – Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things that Happened 

Brene Brown – Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the way we Live, Love and Parent

Brenda Cooper – Fall in Love for Life: Inspiration from a 73 Year Marriage 

Malcolm Gladwell – David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the art of Battling Giants

Allen Guelzo – Gettysburg: the Last Invasio

Brian Jay Jones – Jim Henson: the Biography 

Koppel – The Astronaut Wives Club: a True Story

Malala Yousafzai – I am Malala: the Girl who Stood up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban

New Scanner and Charger Available at Doherty

vertical scanner

ScanSnap SV600 Scanner

New tech tools are now ready for use at Doherty.  A new vertical scanner is available in the lobby computer area. This free-standing scanner makes it easy to convert books, magazines, and any other materials that do not easily fit into a traditional document feeder into high quality PDFs.    The scanner is available to UST students and to the general public.  Ask a reference librarian if you need assistance.

For UST students, if you find yourself in need of a charger for your phone, ipod, or tablet device while on campus, we also have a universal charger available for two-hour checkout at the circulation desk. A quick charge will get you through your next class or marathon library study session without losing power.  The charger is available only to UST students and staff.

universal charger

ChargeAll Universal Charger
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