Wednesday, January 26, 2011

SafeHouse Book Drive

Are you looking for an easy way to make an impact in our community? University of Montevallo Falcon Scholar Brandy McGough is hosting a book drive to benefit SafeHouse, a shelter for battered women and children.

Donation boxes will be at various locations throughout the University of Montevallo campus including:
  • Carmichael Library
  • Jeter Hall
  • Ramsay Hall
  • Farmer Hall
  • The Office of Student Support Services, Main Hall
Books are needed for readers of all ages, from elementary level to adult. The shelter is particularly interested in receiving books for children and teens. Monetary donations will be accepted in Ramsay Hall and will be used to purchase more books. You may specify the age group for which you want purchased.

Please help this cause! Books will be accepted through March 7th.

For further information about Safehouse, visit safehouse.org.

For more information on the book drive you may contact Ms. McGough at bmcgough@forum.montevallo.edu.

Photo by Amanda Melcher

Friday, January 14, 2011

Student Book Art Exhibition and Reception, Jan. 20

Carmichael Library Presents
Journeys and Sequences: Photography books by Montevallo Art Students

Photo by Joel Bullock

Carmichael Library, in cooperation with the Department of Art, presents a display of photographic books made by University of Montevallo Art Students. The books were made by the students of Karen Graffeo who took part in Art Department Travel Abroad courses to Italy, Turkey and Greece. In addition, some of these works were produced by students enrolled in Photo I and Documentary Photography courses. The assigned projects required the student to take a journey, or to explore a cultural topic, as well as being required to do a visual sequence of photographs in response to the Carson McCullers story "A Tree, A Rock, A Cloud". The books were produced using the iPhoto software program.

The following students have books in this display: Heather Anderson, Maggie Blevins, Melissa Brobston, Leslie Carver, Rachel Crisson, Carolyn Fain, Lauren Franks, Rachel Grimes, Elizabeth Gross, Sky Johnson, Katherine Lincoln, Jameilia Little, Faza Malik, Elizabeth Minyard, Janessa Mobley, Stephanie Moceri, Oriana Padron, Michael Price, Hannah Ronan-Daniell, Alexander Schmidt, and Allison Vancleave

Please enjoy a reception on Thursday, January 20 at 1:00 p.m. in the library. Hot cider, treats, and books will warm your body and soul! Persons attending the reception will have a chance to look at these works and learn more about the processes used in their creation. The books will be on display in the library's Main Floor lobby through Friday, January 28.

Thanks to Karen Graffeo and her students for sharing their work with us! Also thanks to Gloria Beasley, Joel Bullock, and our library student assistants who helped with the set up of this exhibition.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Hours


The library will have shortened hours for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend.

Saturday, January 15Closed
Sunday, January 162:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Monday, Monday 17Closed – Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

Photo credit: U.S. Embassy New Delhi

Sunday, January 09, 2011

UM to Close Monday, Jan. 10


This news from the UM Office of Public Relations: The University of Montevallo will be closed Monday, January 10, 2011, due to predicted ice and snow conditions that will affect the central part of the state. Today’s weather forecasts indicate ice and snow conditions throughout central Alabama beginning Sunday night and continuing into the evening on Monday which could make travel dangerous. All classes and special events for Monday and Monday evening have been canceled.

A decision regarding Tuesday’s operations, including classes and special events, will be made by noon on Monday, provided there is sufficient information to make the decision at that time.

Photo by Joie Molden

Friday, January 07, 2011

Myrlie Evers-Williams to speak at UM Jan. 11

Carmichael Library commemorates the Montevallo visit of Myrlie Evers-Williams with a display of related materials. First, this announcement and biography of Mrs. Evers-Williams from the UM Office of Public Relations:

Nationally known civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams will be the featured speaker for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. program at UM Jan. 11, 2011, at 7 p.m. The location of the presentation will be announced at a later date. The topic of her talk will be "Forging the Dream: Leadership by Action and Not by Design."

Widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, she has never been content to rest on her late husband’s laurels. She garnered the national spotlight as the first woman elected board of directors chair of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She was elected chairperson to lead the nation’s oldest civil rights organization in 1995 at a time when it had been surrounded by scandal and controversy. Her positive reputation among civil rights activists, and blacks in general, made her election a cause for renewed optimism among NAACP supporters.

In early 1998, Evers-Williams decided not to run for another term as NAACP chairperson and instead chose to pursue other projects. In particular, she started the Medgar Evers Institute to promote education, training and economic development. Civil rights leader, Julian Bond, succeeded Evers-Williams as NAACP chairperson.

Evers-Williams was born in Vicksburg, Miss., and was raised by her grandmother and an aunt. In 1950 she enrolled at the then all-black Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Alcorn State University) in Lorman, Miss. Starting in 1954, Evers-Williams worked full-time as field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi. She served as her husband’s secretary in the Jackson office of the NAACP, and in that capacity played a significant role in advancing the civil rights cause. In June 1963, Medgar Evers was shot and killed as he entered his Jackson home. His murder brought national attention to the evils of racism in the South, particularly in Mississippi. Byron De La Beckwith was tried several times, but was not convicted of the murder until 1994. Although devastated personally by her loss, Evers-Williams became a symbol of courage as well as tragedy in the civil rights movement. She and co-author William Peters wrote a biography of her late husband, For Us, The Living.

Evers-Williams moved to California in 1964, where she received her B.A. from Pomona College in 1968, lectured for the NAACP and began a career in business. She remained active in civil rights work and politics, running unsuccessfully for Congress of the United States in 1970 and serving as commissioner of public works for Los Angeles in 1987. She also worked for two years for an advertising agency, and for 10 years she was the director of community affairs for a Los Angeles corporation.

Her life has been the inspiration for two movies, For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story and Ghosts of Mississippi. Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg portrayed her in Ghosts of Mississippi.

Carmichael Library commemorates the Montevallo visit of Myrlie Evers-Williams with a special display of books and DVDs related to the history and development of the NAACP. Please feel free to check out any of the materials now on display on the library's Main Floor.

On the Web:

Monday, January 03, 2011

Memorial Service for Mary Seagle


A memorial service for Mary Seagle, who served as a library assistant at Carmichael Library for about 10 years, will be held Wednesday, January 5th, at 4:00 p.m. at Carmichael Library. Mary passed away New Year's Day. Friends and colleagues will be invited to share their memories about Mary at the service. Her daughter said Mary's work at the library "was precious to her. Working with the students, library staff, faculty, UM staff and others was her life."

Memorial gifts may be made to Carmichael Library or to the American Cancer Society.

The library will open Wednesday at 8:00 a.m. and will close to the general public at 3:00 p.m. prior to the memorial service.