Change is Happening!

Good morning everyone!

We’ve just finished our second week of this new fall semester, and it sure has been a time of change. For you first year students…big changes from moving away from home and leaving friends and family, to new schedules and demands, new friends, and new opportunities. For returning students, faculty, and staff, we too have experienced great changes through the past weeks. Our own children have started college, maybe they’ve started at a new local school, our health has changed for the good…or the bad, we’ve experienced losses, had some great adventures, and certainly endured one dreary wet summer.

Change is not a bad thing, or else our current Presidential candidates wouldn’t be touting it as such a fantastic opportunity in Washington! Granted they each have their own views of what changes means, it also implies how they will each handle change when it’s out of their control.

But, I want to talk about the Library. The Library during the past few years has gone through lots of change. We’re reorganized our periodicals and discarded many print copies that were available in our online databases. We’ve moved our videos, DVD’s, and recorded books up to the main floor, and we’ve moved our popular reading area downstairs. Through the last academic year, this change was met with great approval! Yea us!

Two highlights for us here in the Library are the addition of “books we’re reading” and the rewriting of our mission statement.  First, visit the Library web site at www.lyndonstate.edu/library to find out what the Library staff is reading and what we think of the book. We’ve got some avid readers on this staff (several books a week) to one of us that gets through maybe one book a month!

Another highlight for us was that we rewrote our mission statement to the following–

The Samuel Read Hall Library’s mission is to provide a haven for inquiry and reflection. We support students and the broader community by providing resources, staff, and services that encourage research, engage curiosity, and cultivate lifelong learning.

We are so excited about this new statement, and the collaborative processes we went through to get this statement were just truly inspiring.

So, change happens, and it’s what we do with it that counts. On that note, I’m going to leave you with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs, Changes, by David Bowie.

Changes
David Bowie

I still don’t know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
Every time I thought I’d got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I’ve never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I’m much too fast to take that test

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don’t want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time

I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence and
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They’re quite aware of what they’re going through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don’t tell t hem to grow up and out of it
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Where’s your shame
You’ve left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me
But you can’t trace time

Strange fascination, fascinating me
Changes are taking the pace I’m going through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Oh, look out you rock ‘n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon you’re gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can’t trace time

Passed the Semester Hump!

Welcome back from spring break! Hope y’all had a grand time sunning, catching up on school work, visiting family and friends, or just hangin’. With spring break now behind us, we’re in the final stretch of the semester. There’s a hum in the air as the entire community–faculty, staff, students–hunker down and push onward to get through these final weeks.

However, here in the NEK, spring is turning up everywhere. The crocuses have bloomed, and the daffodils and tulips won’t be far behind. The robins have been here for a few weeks now, as have the male red-winged blackbirds. The deer are wandering far and wide for food. And, the skunks…the skunks…are out and about at all times of the day.

To me, this is quite surprising. I’ve never seen or smelled a skunk in broad daylight. However, in the past week, a skunk as sprayed twice in our neighborhood just around dinner time, and this morning, I saw one in the field walking toward me. What time was that? 7 a.m.! I had two dogs with me, thankfully the wild one was on the leash already, and I had to grab the other one by the collar and drag. And, despite having the two dogs, the ol’ skunk just kept walking towards me! I can do without that kind of excitment in the morning.

Another sign of spring? Wanderlust! I used to get spring fever  (April Fool’s–a bit late) so badly when I was in my late teens and early twenties. I’d just want to get in the car and drive south or west to warm sunshine, warm breezes, and water that you can swim in. Thankfully I haven’t experienced that in a very long time. It was just too darned uncomfortable. However, on nice days, I’d take a pay cut to be able to just be outside in the warm sun and air. I crave it.

So,  are you finding it hard to concentrate? Have you seen any moose? What signs of spring are you seeing or experiencing now?  LET’S HEAR FROM YOU!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and don’t forget to check out these library resources:

Birding in Vermont (‘Tis the season)
The outside story: local writers explore the nature of Vermont and New Hampshire
A year of the stars: a month-by-month journey of skywatching
The spring equinox: celebrating the greening of the earth
Baseball: a literary anthology containing that famous piece “Casey at the bat”
Wandering home: a long walk across America’s most hopeful landscape, Vermont’s Champlain Valley and New York’s Adirondacks
The hobbit, or, There and back again
Sally goes to the beach

We can get the call numbers for you if you need help. Finally, get out there and enjoy the coming warm weather, all creatures great and small, but get that work done!

Let’s Hear it for the Animals!

As usual, I was driving to work this morning, listening to VPR, when I heard a story that just made me want to blog about it. The story was about a horse sanctuary in Georgia. As an animal lover, I can rarely listen to heart wrenching stories about animals because I just get too involved. However, this story was most interesting.

As you probably know, the south is in the throes of a three-year drought. Many family farms have been sold, grain is going up in price as is fuel. This means that farmers, and even the folks who have a “just a few animals” on their land, can no longer afford to feed them. Further, since there’s no grass left for to graze on, many animals, including horses, are being abandoned.

If you were to Google “horse sanctuary” you find so many hits, that it quite overwhelming. For that matter, Google any animal, pig, cow, dog, wolf, llama, and add the word sanctuary, and there are just too many hits to count.

If you’re interested in sanctuaries, we’ve got one just over the ridge from the College called Mountain View Farm Animal Sanctuary. If you visit the web site, you’ll find that they’ve been in business since 2003 and why they got started. Then, there’s the Hooved Animal Sanctuary in Chelsea, VT.

If you want to travel a little bit further, a place that’s very close to my heart is Wolf Hollow in Ipswich, MA. This is an amazing gray wolf sanctuary where you can get darned close to the animals to see them and hear them. The educational experience is worth a visit for adults and children. The presenters equate wolf pack relationships to family relationships, illustrate communication patterns, and pack roles.

Some books in the Library that you just might want to check out are–Beyond Wolves: the politics of wolf recovery and management, and The Scalpel and the Butterfly: the war between animal research and animal protection. The call numbers for these books, as well as others, can be found the in the VSC Online Catalog. Or, stop by the information desk to ask for assistance.

Kewl ALERT!!!!!

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Library staff member, Pat Webster, can be heard on VPR this Friday, between 7:45 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., to discuss a treasure she found in the LSC Library archives! How kewl is that?!

Remember, I’d really like to hear from you, so feel free to post your comments! -v-

Today is DARWIN DAY!

Darwin Day - an international celebration of reason and humanity! Darwin Day is an official program of the Institute for Humanist Studies, a think tank, in Albany, New York.

Why Darwin Day? First, it’s his birthday. Today recognizes the 199th year since Darwin was born. Also, it’s the day to honor the discoveries and life of the man who described biological evolution through natural selection.

Whether you agree or disagree with this theory, it has certainly given us a lot to think about, learn about, and most passionately, discuss!

Want to know more about Charles Darwin, theory of evolution or the controversies surrounding his theory? Check out these resources:

AboutDarwin.com

All About Science, Charles Darwin

BBC Historic Figures, Charles Darwin

Creationists Seek Foothold in Europe

Exploring Constitutional Conflicts: the Evolution Controversy

The Idea Center

Intelligent Design?

However, if you decide you’d prefer to read a book or find some articles on the topic, come on in and ask the library staff for assistance. Let’s keep talking!

60+ of You Visited the Site Yesterday!

That is very exciting to see! So, what did you think? Did you appreciate the topic for the day? Does it make sense to match library and web resources to the topic? Do you have suggestions for future topics? If so, let me know by adding a comment to a post. I’d really like to hear from you?

Today, it’s all about snow! Who’s tired of winter? I am as of yesterday when the snowblower broke. The blower makes a horribly loud screeching noise and the auger doesn’t turn. So, I’m thinking it’s a bad belt.

Usually I love the snow. I go out snowshoeing a lot with the dog. However, if the snow gets much deeper, Topper won’t want to go. When it gets up to his belly, he just looks at me as if, “What do you expect me to do in this? Swim? I’m not goin’ through that, it’s too much work!”

So, today is a fun day. In honor of snow, and dogs, I’ve put some links below to some fun and interesting sites. Enjoy!

Bailey the Unknown Reindeer A little dated because of the Christmas thing, but very cute and funny!

Looking for something fun to do, and different, maybe with your sweetie for some Valentine’s Day fun? If so, check out Vermont dog sledding information.

Interesting perspective from the dog’s point-of-view.

And finally, a banana loving dog in the snow.