Illustrated Timeline on Display in TDECU Stadium

The University of Houston Libraries recently collaborated with campus partners to present highlights in UH history.

[Tweet “Timeline of @UHouston people and events is now on display in TDECU Stadium.”]A pictorial timeline of storied UH people and events is now on display in the Coach Bill Yeoman Hall, located in the northeast corner of the new TDECU Stadium. The 2200 square-foot special event space serves as a game day club for the north loge boxes and Section 129 on the north side of the stadium.

The project came to fruition through the efforts of Katina Jackson and Jeff Conrad from Athletics, Oscar Gutierrez from the Office of the UH President, Debbie Harwell from the Wilson Center for Public History, Nancy Clark from the University of Houston Alumni Association, Eric Gerber from the Office of University Communication and Mary Manning and Matt Richardson from the University Archives in Special Collections, which contributed a majority of images that celebrate the story of UH.

“As part of his gift to the stadium, Corby Robertson requested there be an area that recognizes all the highlights and milestone events of the University of Houston, not just athletics,” said Katina Jackson. “The committee that helped make this vision a reality did an outstanding job. The finished product is not only informative but should give everyone a great sense of pride in all that has been accomplished at UH since 1927.”

View photos of the timeline.

UH Libraries + Games = Student Success

Last year, over 130 gaming enthusiasts gathered at the University of Houston Libraries for the first-ever Game On, Cougars!, a day of open gaming for the UH community. This year, the event levels up with a legendary alliance for an even more epic experience.

FoodMachine Houston, a non-profit organization comprising gamers whose mission is to make a positive impact on the community through charitable acts of gaming, will be volunteering alongside UH Libraries staff at this year’s event on Saturday, November 15 at the MD Anderson Library Rockwell Pavilion. The group will teach board games, run raffles, and manage Warmachine miniatures and video game tournaments for UH attendees, and accept donations for the Houston Food Bank as well.

“We are thrilled to be working collaboratively with FoodMachine Houston on the planning and running of Game On, Cougars!, and we expect that it will be at least twice as big as last year’s event,” said Rachel Vacek, head of Web Services and co-chair of the event.

Houston Pathfinder Society will also be attending to give participants a crash course on role-playing games. Game developers will also showcase prototypes in need of play-testers, and vendors will display merchandise. Attendees will have plenty of chances to win prizes, too.

Beyond a fun day of gaming at the UH Libraries, Game On, Cougars! is also designed to promote student success, which “is about helping students acquire the skills they need to become lifelong learners and be successful both in college and on the path they have chosen after graduation,” Vacek, an avid gamer herself, said. “I believe that playing games – whether board games, video games, or role-playing games – strengthens social bonds and builds trust between people. Games also encourage players to find innovative solutions, teach them how to persevere through challenges, and collaborate effectively to reach shared goals. Many games require critical thinking and problem solving skills. All these benefits of gaming translate into having better study skills and more effective interactions within the classroom and beyond.”

Game On, Cougars! is hosted in conjunction with hundreds of libraries around the globe in celebration of International Games Day @ Your Library, an initiative of the American Library Association. Sponsorship opportunities are available for Houston-based developers, publishers and sellers.

Who: You! All UH students, staff and faculty are invited to attend.
What: A FREE day of board games, card games, war games, miniatures, role-playing games, and video games; prizes, refreshments and more!
When: Saturday, November 15, 2014
Where: MD Anderson Library Rockwell Pavilion

Alley Theatre Exhibit Spotlights Nina Vance

A new exhibit at the University of Houston Libraries illuminates the life of visionary Alley Theatre founder Nina Vance, and provides a contextual history of the theatre’s rise to prominence.

In 1947, Vance mailed 214 penny postcards bearing the question, “Do you want a new theater for Houston?” Soon, the Alley Theatre was born.

From the exhibit:

From its modest beginnings in a dance studio on Main Street, to a converted fan factory on Berry Avenue, to a state-of-the-art building downtown, the road to becoming the nationally recognized theatre it is today was paved with talent, generosity, and hard work. The woman behind it all remained the same, Nina Vance. As the theatre’s founder and artistic director for more than thirty years, Vance was a guiding force for the theatre and worked tirelessly to see it become a Houston institution.

The exhibit features programs, photographs, articles, correspondence, and other memorabilia from the UH Special Collections Nina Vance Alley Theatre Papers.

Visitors are invited to view Nina Vance and the Alley Theatre: A Life’s Work at the MD Anderson Library starting October 25, 2014 through May 8, 2015. The exhibit opens concurrently with the 100^th anniversary of Vance’s birth.

For more information, contact Catherine Essinger 713-743-2337, and Stacey Lavender, 713-743-9605.

UH Libraries to Host Gaming Event

University of Houston Libraries announces the first-ever Game On, Cougars! event, to be held on Saturday, November 16 from noon to 6:00 p.m. at the M.D. Anderson Library in the Rockwell Pavilion.

Gaming enthusiasts from the UH community and across the Houston area will participate in an exciting afternoon of open gaming, including card and strategy games, board game demonstrations and Mario Kart (Wii) and Street Fighter (Xbox 360) tournaments.

Game developers will also showcase prototypes in need of play-testers, and vendors will display merchandise. Attendees will have plenty of chances to win prizes, too.

The UH Libraries is hosting Game On, Cougars! in conjunction with hundreds of libraries around the globe in celebration of International Games Day @ Your Library, an initiative of the American Library Association.

Game On, Cougars! is free to attend. Tasty snacks and beverages will be served. Register now!

Sponsorship is available for Houston-based developers, publishers and sellers.

 

Collective HER-story Exhibit Opens at UH Libraries

University of Houston Libraries welcomes visitors to the new exhibit Collective HER-story, A Mosaic Masterpiece: Exploring the Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archives.

The Carey C. Shuart Women’s Archives and Research Collection was named in honor of Shuart, a well-known Houston philanthropist who has not only provided generous support for the collection, but has initiated many positive endeavors benefitting art, education, and women’s causes throughout the region. Shuart currently serves on the advisory board of UH Friends of Women’s Studies.

The archives emerged to capture the lives of women and women’s organizations in the Houston area, and the collection continues to grow.  “It’s been very vibrant,” said Vince Lee, archivist in the UH Libraries Special Collections. “We have about 60 collections thus far and we have many more prospective donors in the pipeline.”

The collection illustrates the importance of women’s roles in the history and future of Houston and the state of Texas, making those stories available to scholars and the general public. It covers an important cross section of women in politics, philanthropy, social services, the arts, health and education, science and religion.

Some of the more illuminating materials include photos, organizational records and papers on trailblazers like Minnie Fisher Cunningham, a suffrage leader; former Houston mayor Kathy Whitmire; former Women’s Advocate and Executive Director of the Houston Area Women’s Center Nikki Van Hightower; and records from the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Other notable items include records, writings and photographs of the Houston Gorilla Girls, an anonymous women’s art collective, and memorabilia from the Houston Comets.

The physical exhibit, which opens on October 14 in the M.D. Anderson Library, includes a touchscreen component, as well as an online mosaic of various tiles that represent the breadth of the collection, and highlight how the women’s movement has evolved from the past and present to the future.

The multimedia component includes clickable images and video interviews of Houston Mayor Annise Parker, Carey C. Shuart, Dr. Elizabeth Gregory, director of the UH Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies program, and Cynthia Freeland, founding director of the program.

Viewers may also test their knowledge of Houston women’s history with an interactive quiz that provides a comprehensive overview of the collections, and, as such, will inform further research and teaching topics in women’s studies.

Lee noted that one of the more intriguing aspects of the collection is the realization that, through history, women were driven to forge their way in society to address their own needs and achieve their goals, and in so doing, had significant impact on the world. “Their collective voice became so loud that the rest of society had to take notice,” Lee said.

The UH Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies interdisciplinary program will host a panel discussion on women’s activism as part of The Barbara Karkabi Living Archives series in the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion in the M.D. Anderson Library on October 14. Following the discussion, curator Vince Lee will guide guests from that event to the exhibit for a tour and narrative overview.

The Spoken Word: Creative Writing Comes Alive at UH

The 2013-2014 season of Poetry & Prose: Creative Writers at the University of Houston kicks off on October 9.

The Evening with New Creative Writers will feature M.F.A. and Ph.D. students in the UH Creative Writing Program, including Martin Rock, Matthew Salesses, Adrienne Perry and Rhianna Brandt.

Martin Rock’s poems have appeared in Black Warrior Review, Bateau, Conduit, Salamander, Best New Poets 2012, and other journals. His recent chapbook from Brooklyn Arts Press, Dear Mark, is a response to the work of Mark Rothko and a previous chapbook, Fish, You Bird, was published by Pilot in 2010. He is editor in chief of the online journal of poetry, art, and translation, Loaded Bicycle, and is an assistant poetry editor for Gulf Coast. He holds degrees from Florida State University and NYU, and is the recipient of fellowships from the Starworks Foundation, InPrint, and the Port Townsend Writers Conference.

Matthew Salesses is the author of a novel, I’m Not Saying, I’m Just Saying, a novella, The Last Repatriate, and two chapbooks. He is the Fiction Editor and a Contributing Writer for The Good Men Project. He has also written for The New York Times, NPR, The Rumpus, Glimmer Train, American Short Fiction, and others. His latest project is a couple of ebooks forthcoming from Thought Catalog Books.

Adrienne Perry grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the daughter of a rolling stone from Southern California and a mother whose family homesteaded outside of Gillette. In past lives, Adrienne has worked as a reference librarian, a chambermaid, a college counselor, an admissions officer, and an au pair. A graduate of Hampshire College and the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers, Adrienne is also a Kimbilio Fellow.

Rhianna Brandt is from Hays, North Carolina and has studied creative writing at Salem College and the University of Houston.

Now in its 14^th year, Poetry & Prose showcases the talented writers of UH in the beautiful and centrally located Honors College Commons.  “We have an amazing, Tier One-quality creative writing program, and Poetry & Prose is a great way to give our creative minds yet another venue,” said Kerry Creelman, UH Libraries coordinator of undergraduate instruction and outreach. “Houston is a great city for reading opportunities, and this is just one more that is geared towards the UH community.”

The 2013-2014 series line-up includes:

• Wednesday, October 9 – new Creative Writing Program graduate students
• Wednesday, November 6 – the Shrimp Boat Projects, a creative research project that explores the regional culture of the Houston area
• Wednesday, February 12 – an evening with non-fiction writers
• Wednesday, April 16 – featuring undergraduate Creative Writing students with work appearing in Glass Mountain

All readings are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.

Grad Students Network at UH Libraries Event

Masters and Ph.D. candidates recently attended the second annual Grad Student Mixer hosted by the University of Houston Libraries, held at the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion. Over 100 students from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, including those in the humanities, social sciences, science and engineering, and law enjoyed a break from research to meet subject librarians and chat with colleagues.

Now in its second year, the mixer aims to highlight the many research services that the UH Libraries has to offer.

“The event served as a networking opportunity for graduate students, which is a crucial activity for success in many academic disciplines,” said Kirsten Feist, instruction librarian. “Not only do students have the opportunity to network with the librarians for their disciplines and learn about library services and research support available to them, but they also get to connect with peers within, and outside of, their field of study.”

Have a question about research? Subject librarians are here to help you.

Visit India with the UH Digital Library!

Click here to view the collection!

This digital collection features fascinating photographs of early 20th century India under British rule. The photographs come from a rare book called India illustrated: being a collection of pictures of the cities of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, together with a selection of the most interesting buildings and scenes throughout India.

What was Houston Like in 1911?

UH Libraries is proud to announce that the Gladys Ewing Debutante scrapbook is now available in the Digital Library!

Click here to see the entire collection.

This is a scrapbook kept by Houston debutante, Gladys Ewing, daughter of Judge Kittridge and Mrs. Kittridge Ewing. The ephemeral contents of the album include invitations, notes, dance cards, and much more — all in the beautifully graphic, formality and color of the Edwardian period. Miss Ewing starts saving these items during the very formal No-Tsu-Oh Houston Social Season in the fall of 1911 and continues through the winter Mardi Gras celebrations, Krewe parties and such. She was, it seems, the premier debutante of that season and served as Maid of Honor to the No-Tsu-Oh queen.

Sparky Awards Reception

The locally held version of the Sparky Awards has come to an end! There will be a small reception in the Learning Commons on November 19th at 2pm to celebrate the winning video and award prizes, including an iPod Touch!

There will also be light refreshments of juice and cookies.

Here is the winning video:

The Light of Knowledge from Faizan Majid on Vimeo.

Want to know more about the Sparky Awards? Check out the UH Libraries Sparky Awards website.

Please join in the celebration of the winning video, which will be submitted to the National Sparky Awards competition in December and give the creator a chance at winning fame, glory, an actual Sparky award, and $1000.

Hope you can come!  And watch for the competition to return next year!

Sparky Awards Committee
Rachel Vacek, Chair
Nate McKee
Alex Simons
Miranda Bennett
Nora Dethloff