Banned Books Week 2020

 

It\’s Banned Books Week! 

Check out these commonly banned books. 

 In 2019, And Tango makes three was one of the most challenged books that year. Check it out in the Curriculum section of the Dick Smith Library, call number PZ10.1 .R414 TAN 2005
Title details for The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander - Available This book was banned by the Florida Department of Correction and North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Check out the e-book of OverDrive.
Title details for Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin - Available Commonly banned and contested for LGBTQIA+ content and for sexually explicit content. Available on OverDrive. 
Title details for The Handmaid\'s Tale by Margaret Atwood - Available Now a popular T.V. series, this book is often banned due to sexual references and profanity. Available to read on OverDrive. 
Book Jacket Even graphic novels get banned. Available in the Curriculum section of the Dick Smith Library, call number PZ7.7 .T355 THI 2014

National Hispanic Heritage Month

September 15th through October 15th is National Hispanic Heritage month. This is the time to recognize the contributions and experiences of Americans of Hispanic heritage. According to the National Hispanic Heritage Month website, hosted by the Library of Congress, \”September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of the independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their Independence days on September 16th and 18th respectively.\”

2010 US Census Hispanic Population by County
Percentage of Hispanic or Latino population by county in 2010 census.
By United States Census Bureau [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Hispanic Americans are a large and quickly growing segment of the US population. In 2003, Hispanics became the largest minority group in the United States. The 2010 census counted 50,477,594 Americans of Hispanic or Latino origin. That\’s 16.3% of the total US population and a 43% increase from the 2000 census count.

Timeline of Hispanic-American History
Click on the links below to find relevant library resources on each topic.

1493: Christopher Columbus began Spanish colonization of Puerto Rico.
1513: Juan Ponce de León led first expedition to Florida.
1528 – 1536: Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca survived an ill-fated expedition and explored portions of Texas. His book was the first written account of Texas Indians.
1539 – 1542: Hernando de Soto explored Southeast US including portions of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. The Hernando de Soto Expedition by Jerald T. Milanich. Francisco Vásquez de Coronado explored Southwest US including portions of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Documents of the Coronado Expedition, 1539 – 1542 by Richard and Shirley Cushing Flint.
1565: Pedro Menéndez de Avilés established a colony at Saint Augustine, Florida.
·         America’s Ancient City: Spanish St. Augustine, 1565 – 1763 by Kathleen A. Deagan
1598: Juan de Oñate led Spanish colonization of New Mexico.
1610: Santa Fe established as capital of New Mexico.
·         Santa Fe: History of an Ancient City by David Grant Noble
1718: Spanish colonists founded San Antonio, Texas.  
·         Spanish Texas, 1519 – 1821 by Donald E. Chipman
      1748 – 1755: José de Escandón led the Spanish colonization of Nuevo Santander (which today includes the Mexican state of Tamaulipas and portions of southern Texas). He established several settlements in the region including Laredo, TX. 
·            De León: a Tejano Family History by A. Carolina Castillo Crimm
    Notable Men and Women of Spanish Texas by Donald E. Chipman and Harriet Denise Joseph 
Presidio La Bahía near Goliad, TX. Originally built by the Spanish in 1721, and later rebuilt in 1771.
 Photo by Ernest Mettendorf – Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4208460
1769 – 1819: Spain established multiple settlements in California including San Diego (1769), San Francisco (1776), and Los Angeles (1781).
·         A History of California: the Spanish Period by Charles E. Chapman
1821: United States purchased Florida from Spain.
·         Diplomacy and the Borderlands: the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819 by Philip Coolidge Brooks  
 Mexico won independence from Spain.
·         The Hidalgo Revolt: Prelude to Mexican Independence by Hugh M. Hamill
1822: Joseph Marion Hernández became first Hispanic to serve in the US Congress. He was a delegate from the Florida Territory.
1836: Texas declared independence from Mexico.
1845: United States annexed Texas.
·         The Annexation of Texas by Justin Harvey Smith
1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War. Mexico ceded territory to US including: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and portions of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. 
   The Border Crossed Us: Rhetorics of Borders, Citizenship, and Latino/a Identity by Josue David Cisneros. 
·         Border Visions: Mexican Cultures of the Southwest United States by Carlos G. Vélez-Ibañez
·         The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: a Legacy of Conflict by Richard Griswold del Castillo
1859: Juan Cortina seized control of Brownsville, TX in retaliation for town marshal’s assault on one of his employees.
·         Cortina: Defending the Mexican Name in Texas by Jerry D. Thompson
·         Juan N. Cortina: Two Interpretations by Charles William Goldfinch
1875: Romualdo Pacheco became the first Hispanic governor of a US state (California). 
1877: A white mob killed approximately 40 Mexican-Americans in Nueces County, Texas.
          Forgotten Dead: Mob Violence against Mexicans in the United States, 1848-1928 by William D. Carrigan and Clive Webb.   
1889: The Herrera brothers (Pablo, Nicanor, and Juan Jose) formed a resistance movement known as Las Gorras Blancas to protect Hispanic land from Anglo squatters in New Mexico.
1898: Spain ceded control of Puerto Rico to the United States at the conclusion of Spanish-American War.
·         Spanish-American War by Michael Golay
1910 – 1920: Revolution in Mexico resulted in increased Mexican immigration to US.
·         Pancho Villa at Columbus by Haldeen Braddy
1917: Puerto Ricans granted US citizenship.
1928: Octaviano Larrazolo, from New Mexico, became first Hispanic to serve in the US Senate.
1929: League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), which advocates for Latino civil rights, founded in Corpus Christi, TX.
·         LULAC, Mexican Americans, and National Policy by Craig Allen Kaplowitz
1942:  Due to labor shortage caused by World War II, US entered into an agreement with Mexico (known as the Bracero Program) to import Mexican laborers into the US.
   Harvest of Loneliness: The Bracero Program – documentary film.
The first Braceros arriving by train in Los Angeles, CA in 1942.
By Dorothea Lange, working for the US Government. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. 
1943: Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles, CA.
·         Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riot in Wartime L.A. by Eduardo Obregón Pagán
1945: Marcario García became first Mexican immigrant to be awarded the US Congressional Medal of Honor.
1948: Dr. Hector P. García founded the American G.I. Forum in Corpus Christi, TX to advocate for the civil rights of Hispanic veterans. The group gained national attention advocating on behalf of the family of Felix Longoria after a funeral home in Three Rivers, TX refused to bury him. 
1954 – 1958: US government implemented “Operation Wetback” and deported millions of people of Mexican descent.
1959: Fidel Castro’s successful revolution in Cuba resulted in increased Cuban immigration to US.
·         The Cuban Revolution: Origins, Course, and Legacy by Marifeli Pérez-Stable
1962: César Chávez and Dolores Huerta founded the United Farm Workers to advocate for the rights of migrant farm workers.
·         The Moral Vision of César Chávez by Fredrick John Dalton
·         Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers by Sarah E. Warren and Robert Casilla
1964: Bracero Program ended.
1965 – 1970: United Farm Workers conducted a successful strike on behalf of grape pickers in California.
·         Delano, the Story of the California Grape Strike by John Gregory Dunne
1968: Thousands of Hispanic students walkout of schools in Los Angeles, CA to protest unequal educational opportunities. Walkouts spread to hundreds of schools in multiple states.
1988: Lauro Cavazos became the first Hispanic to serve in the United States Cabinet. He served as Secretary of Education.
2003: Hispanics became largest minority group in the United States.

2009: Sonia Sotomayor became the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. 

President Obama and Sonia Sotomayor meeting in the Oval Office in 2009.
By Official White House photo by Pete Souza from Washington, DC (Flickr) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Dick Smith Library has a large collection of books and other resources on topics relevant to the Hispanic American experience. Such as these titles: 

Language, Race, and Negotiation of Identity: a Study of Dominican Americans by Benjamin H. Bailey.
Life on the Hyphen: the Cuban-American Way by Gustavo Pérez Firmat
The Mexican Americans by Alma M. García
Puerto Ricans in the United States: a Contemporary Portrait by Edna Acosta-Belén.
The Spanish Americans of New Mexico: a Heritage of Pride by Nancie L. Solien Gonzalez. 

Let us know if you need assistance finding additional information by calling 254-968-9249 or emailing at reference@tarleton.edu. 

 

Tarleton Libraries YouTube Channel

Did you know that the library has a YouTube channel? Not only that, it\’s seven years old and it has over eighty videos!

A screenshot of the Tarleton Libraries YouTube channel.

Our librarians have been busy creating tutorial videos for you during the past few months.
Stop by our channel and find out:


 Our videos are closed captioned and most of them are under five minutes.

We don\’t only have tutorial videos, though.

You can find videos from our  2020 READ Poster Reveal , which featuring Tarleton Athletics and Dr. James Hurley!

So stop by and click on the Subscribe button. You\’ll be glad you did.

Trouble finding Journal Articles?

LibKey Nomad 

LibKey Nomad is a browser extension that will instantly connect you to the PDF or journal article you are looking for. LibKey Nomad works with Tarleton library resources to find the fastest route to content across thousands of publisher websites. 
 It takes less than a minute to get set up! 
2. Click on your preferred browser. You will be directed to that browser\’s download page. 
3. Click Add extension. 
4. Select Tarleton State University from the drop down list. 
5. Next time you are searching- Look for the green logo. 

Look for it on Wikipedia!

Look for it on PubMed!

Still can\’t find what your looking for? 

Try inter-library loan. The library may be able to request an article or book from another library for you. 

Tarleton and OpenStax Textbook Partnership

 Tarleton State University is excited to announce that they are one of 12 schools chosen to join the 2020-2021 OpenStax Institutional Partnership Network. See the full press release here. Tarleton prides itself on being affordable and this partnership will helpTarleton expand access to low and no- cost textbooks. \”One of Tarleton\’s ongoing goals is continuing to offer and affordable college education\” -Diane Taylor, Associate Provost and Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs.

About OpenStax 

OpenStax provides peer-reviewed textbooks that are freely available online to students. Instructors have access to Canvas course modules, test banks and other instructional materials. This partnership also grants Tarleton instructors and students access to OpenStax Tutor for a year. OpenStax Tutor provides additional guidance and tutoring for biology, physics and sociology.
OpenStax ALLY Blue

About Open Educational Resources 

Interested in using OERs in your classroom? The Scholarly Communication & OER Librarian can help find and evaluate resources for your courses. Email kpierce@tarleton.edu for more information. You can also find more information about open resources on Tarleton Libraries\’s OER webpage. 

Remembering Representative John Lewis

John Robert Lewis 

Born February 21, 1940- July 17, 2020

Lewis was born in rural Alabama where his family worked as sharecroppers. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., he attended Fisk University where he organized sit-in demonstrations, participated in the Freedom Rides, and became chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. 
By 1963, he was dubbed one of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis went on to participate in voter education and registration programs which encouraged minorities to vote and become more politically active. He served on the Atlanta City Council before becoming a U.S. Representative. 
Interesting Facts about John Lewis:
  • Lewis was a keynote speaker at the historic March on Washington in 1963
  • He was arrested, attacked and injured over 40 times 
  • He has been awarded over 50 honorary degrees from prestigious universities including Harvard University, Brown University and Princeton University 
  • He co-authored a graphic novel memoir, March, which was a New York Times Bestseller 
  •  He interviewed for numerous media agencies including The Colbert Report, Dallas Morning News, and recently CBS This Morning 
Image and biographical information from: 

5th Congressional District of Georgia. (2016, June 28). Biography: John Lewis. Retrieved July 31, 2020, from https://johnlewis.house.gov/john-lewis/biography

Works by John Lewis 

John Lewis will forever be remembered as an American icon, and civil rights leader. His final essay,  Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation, written a few days before his death is published through the New York Times. 

An excerpt from his memoir Walking with the Wind is available through Tarleton Libraries. 
For teachers and future educators, Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement, is available in the Curriculum Collection, call #E185.96 .B355 2006.
All three graphic novels of March, are available for check out on Overdrive. 

Chat with a Librarian for Help

Did you know that you could contact our librarians through chat Monday through Friday for help?


During these pandemic times, the Tarleton Libraries has continued to deliver services to its campus community. One of those nonstop services has been reference. The chat service is available from 8:00 am to 6:30 pm. 

For immediate assistance during weekday hours, start by visiting the library homepage. Along the side to the right, you will see the purple Ask a Librarianbox. Enter your information, and click Start Chat. 


Another way to access the chat service would be by going to the Get Help section located in the library homepage as well.

If you scroll down the page, it will be one of the last sections there. Click the Ask a Librarian option.











Once you are in the Ask a Librarian web-page you will see the Ask Us icon to the right hand side. Select it to begin chatting.


IMPORTANT – Please check the Tarleton Libraries calendar for any changes in hours.
Go to www.tarleton.edu/library.



Grandma Gatewood\’s Historic Appalachian Trail Walk

Would you like to explore another region of our country, 
but not have to actually travel there?  


Then I recommend you read the ebook, 
Grandma Gatewood\’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery, available through Tarleton\’s Overdrive database.

This ebook tells the story of the 1955 solo walk of 67-year-old Emma Gatewood over the entire 2,050 miles of the Appalachian Trail (AT). She was the first woman ever to make this AT walk solo, and she did it carrying only a homemade cloth bag with a few supplies, wearing canvas sneakers, and holding $200 in her pocket. In the process, she wore out 7 pairs of shoes, destroyed 2 pairs of glasses, and met a few rattlesnakes, but she also made life-long friends with people who lived along AT, as well as with park rangers and people of the media.  She gained unexpected fame and notoriety through her love of hiking. Grandma Gatewood\’s persistence, fortitude, and hopeful attitude as she traversed the wild and rugged, newly established Appalachian Trail with the bare minimum of supplies and with so little help is inspiring. 

This books is an historic, impressive story of one determined Grandma!

Juneteenth

Juneteenth, which takes place on June 19th every year, is the oldest celebration of the end of slavery in the United States, and it began in Texas.

Juneteenth Celebration held in Austin, TX in 1900. 

Stephenson, Mrs. Charles (Grace Murray). [Emancipation Day Celebration, June 19, 1900], photograph, June 19, 1900; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth124053/m1/1/: accessed June 18, 2020), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.

The Emancipation Proclamation, which came into effect on January 1st, 1863, declared that \”..all persons held as slaves within any state…the people whereof shall than be in rebellion against the United States; shall be…forever free… .\” This meant that slaves in states that were part of the Confederacy (which included Texas) were legally declared free. However, the US government did not have control of Texas at that time, as the Civil War was still ongoing, and therefore slavery continued there for the next two years.  

On June 19, 1865 Union forces landed in Galveston, TX, and Major General Gordon Granger read General Order No. 3 which stated: 

\”The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.\”

Ashton Villa, Galveston, TX. Location where Major General Granger read General Order No. 3.
Jim Evans [Ashton Villa], photograph, June 9, 2012. Licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
The first known celebration of Juneteenth happened the following year in 1866 and continues to the present day. The celebration started among the African American community of Texas, but spread around the country as African American Texans moved to other locations and brought the tradition with them. 

In 1980, Texas became the first state to recognize the holiday. Since then, 45 states and the District of Columbia have recognized the holiday. It is still not a federal holiday, but there is a movement to get it recognized as such. 

The library has several resources for learning more about Juneteenth: 

Juneteenth by Lynn Peppas
Juneteenth Texas: Essays in African American Folklore by Francis Edward Abernethy (editor)

How to Write a Letter to a Representative or Government Official

building during day
Photo by Joshua Sukoff on Unsplash

Now more than ever it is important that you make your voice heard.


1.       Find your representative.
a.       If you are focusing on a local issue, contact your city council.
b.       For issues effecting the state, contact you may want to contact your state representative. Texas allows you to search for your specific representative, but there are also house committees that focus on specific issues.
c.    You can also look up your congress representative through the U.S. House of Representatives. 
2.       Make sure you format your letter correctly. Some representatives accept emails, but it is important to keep the same information.
a.       American Library Association offers this example:

Date

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip code
Your E-mail
Your Phone Number
The Honorable_________________________
House of Representatives or United States Senate Office Address of Representative or Senator
Dear Representative/Senator ____________________,
3.       Keep the letter brief and to the point. Ideally, your letter should be no longer than one page.
4.       Introduce yourself first and the key reason about why you are contacting them. Try to focus on a single issue per letter.
5.       Do your research. You can reference resources to add credibility to your letter and offer evidence for your cause.  Depending on the topic you are addressing the subject guide for Criminal Justice, Sociology, Political Science or Legal Resources may have suggestions of where to start. Or, explore a detailed list of databases, all accessible on or off campus. 
6.       Narrow your letter down to three main points and argue for them.
7.       Personalize your stance. Offer an anecdote from your life or loved one that relates to the issue and supports your stance.
8.       State your desired outcome. What would you like to see this representative do to better represent you and your community?
These tips are based on sample letters and writing tips from the American Library Association and the American Civil Liberties Union.

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