Learning a new language is free for all UST students, faculty, and staff with the new Mango Languages database. Each lesson in the database combines real life situations and audio from native speakers with simple, clear instructions. The courses are presented with an appreciation for cultural nuance and real-world application that integrates components of vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and culture.
There are more than 40 foreign language courses available and 16 English as a Second Language (ESL) courses.
To learn more about Mango and get a preview of what the program has to offer, stop by the library and we will give you an introduction. Or, click here to log in to Mango and start learning!
Mango’s recording features help you match your voice to the correct pronunciation.
National Poetry Month: Resources for Poets and Writers
April 22, 2013
We’re in the final full week of National Poetry Month. This week we’re featuring resources at Doherty and around Houston for aspiring poets.
Houston supports an active creative writing scene. In addition to having our own Poet Laureate, Gwendolyn Zepeda, poetry events and literary readings are held throughout the city almost every week. Here are a few sites for finding an event near you:
Poetry Events at Houston Public Library
The Poetry Card – Readings Around Town
First Fridays Poetry Reading Series
We also have a wealth of resources at Doherty to help aspiring writers develop their poetic voices. If you’re looking for some inspiration, try reading new poetry in a literary magazine or journal. You can access full-text articles from some of the top journals in the field through the library website:
National Poetry Month: U.S. Poet Laureates
April 16, 2013
It’s National Poetry Month, and this week we are exploring U.S. Poets Laureate and their changing roles over the years.
The position of poet laureate of the United States is somewhat different from that of Britain, where the title was first established in the 17th century. Whereas the British office renders the laureate a salaried member of the British royal household, the United States poet laureate acts as the chair of poetry for the Library of Congress.*
In the U.S., the poet laureate is charged with raising “the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry.” The poet is chosen yearly by the Librarian of Congress. The position was instituted in 1937 as the consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress and was held by 30 poets before an act of Congress in 1985 changed the name to poet laureate.**
There have been 52 Poets Laureate. Here are a few notable poets to explore:
Robert Penn Warren (Laureate 1944-45 and 1986-1987) – Best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning work of fiction All the Kings Men, Warren was also regarded as one of the best poets of his generation. His works were often inspired by Southern history and Southern life.
Gwendolyn Brooks (Laureate 1985-1986) - Gwendolyn Brooks was a highly regarded poet with the distinction of being the first African-American author to win the Pulitzer Prize and the first black woman to hold the position of Poet Laureate. Many of Brooks’s works display a political consciousness, especially those from the 1960s and later, with several of her poems reflecting the civil rights activism of that period.
Billy Collins (Laureate 2001-2003) - Dubbed “the most popular poet in America” by Bruce Weber in the New York Times, Billy Collins is famous for conversational, witty poems that welcome readers with humor but often slip into quirky, tender or profound observation on the everyday, reading and writing, and poetry itself.
For additional poetry resources, see our National Poetry Month Pinterest board.
- *”Poets Laureate of the United States.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1789232/Poets-Laureate-of-the-United-States>.
- **poet laureate. (2013). In The Columbia Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/columency/poet_laureate
Celebrate National Library Week!
April 15, 2013
National Library Week is April 14-20, and we have plenty of chances to celebrate at Doherty. Here’s what we have planned for the week:
Games – Show off your vocabulary skills and stop by the Circulation Desk to play a word on our never-ending game of Scrabble. Don’t forget to pick up a Popular Books Collection word search while you’re there!
Online Scavenger Hunt - UST students, faculty, and staff who complete our Online Scavenger Hunt will be entered into a drawing for one of two $25 gift cards to the UST Bookstore. Entries will be accepted until 5 pm Friday.
Food – Cookies and iced tea will be available in the library lobby at noon on Wednesday April 17. Come grab a mid-day treat and say hi to the library staff.
Work at Doherty – Love libraries? Apply for a job as a student worker today!
New Popular Books Available
April 10, 2013
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 140 titles.
The books are on display in the main lobby and can be checked out at the circulation desk. The newest titles are listed below. For new academic titles, see our new books Pinterest board.
Fiction:
Manisha Jolie Amin – Dancing to the Flute
Maeve Binchy – A Week in Winter
Ben Fountain – Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
Sally Gardner – Maggot Moon
Jamaica Kincaid – See Now Then
Ian McEwan – Sweet Tooth
Ayana Mathis – The Twelve Tribes of Hattie
Ron Rash – Nothing Gold Can Stay
Jess Walter – Beautiful Ruins
Non-Fiction:
James Barilla – My Backyard Jungle
Ernest Freeberg – Age of Edison: Elecric Lights and the Invention of Modern America
Virginia Morrell – Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of our Fellow Creatures
Sandra Day O’Connor – Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court
Maurice Sendak – My Brother’s Book
National Poetry Month: Latin American Poets
April 8, 2013
It’s National Poetry Month, and this week we are exploring Latin American poets and their contributions to the poetic tradition.
Many debates and exchanges have shaped Latin American poetry over the years. A number of its most powerful movements are expressions of cultural and political conflicts surrounding the evolution of Latin American and national identities. Although there are examples of poetry from this region dating back to the pre-Columbian era, it was not until the 19th and 20th centuries that Latin American poetry took its place on the world stage.
Use the links below to discover some of Latin America’s most notable poetic voices:
Ruben Dario (Nicaragua) – Considered the father of the Latin American modernism movement, Dario fused traditional poetic style with new innovations in imagery and rhythm.
Gabriela Mistral (Chile) – Gabriela Mistral was the first Latin American author to receive the Nobel Prize in literature; as such, she will always be seen as a representative figure in the cultural history of the continent.
Pablo Neruda (Chile) – One of Latin America’s most prolific and well-known poets, Neruda led a life charged with poetic and political activity. He received many prestigious awards throughout his lifetime, including the International Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Octavio Paz (Mexico) – Often nominated for the Nobel Prize in his lifetime, Mexican author Octavio Paz enjoyed a worldwide reputation as a master poet and essayist.
For more Latin American poetry resources from Doherty, see our poetry month board on Pinterest.
National Poetry Month: Catholic Poets
April 1, 2013
April is National Poetry Month, a time when literary organizations, libraries, schools and poets around the country band together to celebrate poetry and its place in American culture. To celebrate, we’ll be posting reading lists and poetry resources every week. This week we are exploring Catholic writers and their impact on the poetic tradition. Find sample poems and more information by clicking on each poet’s name.
The Saints and the Spiritual Tradition
Although they are not often studied from a literary perspective, the spiritual writings of these saints provide early examples of Catholic devotional poetry.
St. Francis of Assisi - Several poems praising God and nature are attributed to St. Francis, founder of the Franciscan Order.
St. Hildegard of Bingen - This Benedictine visionary’s prolific writings include poetry, hymns, and theological treatises.
St. Teresa of Avila - A Spanish mystic and Camelite nun, St. Teresa documented her spiritual evolution through poetry and other theological works.
The Medieval and Renaissance Traditions
Francesco Petrarch - Petrarch, considered by many to be the father of Humanism, is also credited with the development and popularization of the Italian sonnet.
Geoffrey Chaucer - The undisputed father of English poetry, Chaucer is best known for his memorable portraits Canterbury pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales.
Dante Alighieri - Dante Alighieri’s epic poem La Divina Commedia presents an allegorical vision of the afterlife and is among the most significant works of Western literature.
The Modern Tradition
Gerard Manley Hopkins - Hopkins was a Jesuit priest and is generally considered one of the greatest poets of the Victorian era.
Hilaire Belloc - Belloc was a controversial figure known for both his radical political views and his mastery of light poetry in the style of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear.
Thomas Merton - A monk who lived in isolation for several years and one of the most well-known Catholic writers of the twentieth century, Thomas Merton was a prolific poet, religious writer, and essayist.
Database of the Month: Women’s Studies International
March 18, 2013
In honor of Women’s History Month, our March Database of the Month is Women’s Studies International. Women’s Studies International is useful for finding information relevant to women’s history and cross-disciplinary gender perspectives. From the core disciplines in Women’s Studies to the latest scholarship in feminist research, this database supports research in the areas of women’s studies, sociology, history, political science and economy, public policy, international relations, arts and humanities, business and education.
Women’s Studies International is a composite of nine contributing databases covering women’s studies scholarship from throughout the world. The nearly 800 essential sources in Women’s Studies International include journals, newspapers, newsletters, bulletins, books, book chapters, proceedings, reports, theses, dissertations, NGO studies, websites and web documents and grey literature. It is an excellent resource for finding articles from a feminist perspective.
Access Women’s Studies International on our Databases page. For more Women’s History Month resources, check out our Women’s History Month reads on Pinterest and our Women’s Studies Research Guide.
Irish Bog Oak Sculptures Now on Display
March 12, 2013
With St. Patrick’s Day just a few days away, we’ve got Irish culture on our minds at Doherty. We’re celebrating with a new exhibit put together by Katie McDonald featuring Irish bog oak sculptures from her personal collection.
Bog oak sculptures are crafted from fallen trees buried thousands of years ago in Ireland’s bogs and later extracted from the peat. The reaction of the oak with decaying vegetation gives the wood unique properties. For craftsmen working at the height of bog oak popularity in the 1850s, carving the oak could be tricky:
“When the timbers were first brought to the surface from the airless depths of the bog they exhibited a mid-brown to dark brown hue, but on contact with oxygen, semi-petrification soon set in, causing the wood to take on an ebony colour. It was therefore essential, if carving was to be undertaken, that the wet and pliable state be preserved, thus enabling easier fashioning. Then full petrification took place, rendering the finished item deep black and almost steel-hard. ” *
All of the pieces on display in the library were created in Ireland. The exhibit is available for viewing during regular library hours in the Doherty Lobby until April 15.
*Irons, Neville. “Irish Bog Oak Carving.” Irish Arts Review (1984-1987) 4, no. 2 (July 01, 1987): 54-63. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20491991. For UST students and faculty, go to: http://ezproxy.stthom.edu:2048/login?url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/20491991
Want to check a due date or search for a book on the go? Download the free BookMyne app! The app is compatible with Android and iOS devices, and is available for free through Google Play and the iTunes Store.
What you can do with BookMyne:
- Access Your Account: Check due dates, place a hold, renew a book – almost anything you can do online, you can do on your device. You can even get alerts when books are due or holds become available.
- Search the Catalog: Search the catalog by author, title, subject or keyword. You’ll see book summaries, cover images, number of copies and more.
- Scan Barcodes: If you see a book you like at a friend’s house or a bookstore, scan the barcode and see if the library has it.
- Check Bestseller Lists: See what’s on the bestseller lists, cross reference with our holdings, then place your hold.
- See What Your Friends Recommend: Search the catalog for friend-recommended titles. (Social recommendation engine powered by Goodreads.)
See the Boise Public Library video below for a demo of BookMyne in action:
Now Available: Research Faster with UST OneSearch
February 6, 2013
The Library’s new Discovery Tool, “UST Libraries OneSearch”, is now available on the Doherty Library website.
This service will be available at Beran Library later this month.
The tool is a one-stop solution for finding books, journal articles, and more. A single search will search our local catalog (the books we have here in the library) and every database, journal, and e-book that the Doherty and Beran libraries have available. UST Libraries OneSearch will provide a more “Google-like” search experience and will be especially beneficial to patrons unfamiliar with the full range of resources now available at the Doherty and Beran Libraries.
For assistance, or if you have any questions about using OneSearch, visit UST OneSearch help or contact one of the following:
Loan Nguyen 713-525-2189
Jesus Serrato, 713-525-2183
Reference Desk, 713-525-2188.
The librarians will conduct demonstrations of the UST Libraries OneSearch service on Monday, February 11 and Tuesday, February 12 in Doherty’s main lobby from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
We hope you find this new service useful. We welcome your comments and suggestions on our feedback page.
Database(s) of the Month: Grove Music Online and IPA Source
January 16, 2013
For our 100th post, we’re featuring two great music databases:
Grove Music Online has been the leading online resource for music research since its inception in 2001. It is a comprehensive compendium of music scholarship offering the full texts of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition (2001), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera(1992), and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd edition (2002), as well as numerous subsequent updates and emendations. Including more than 50,000 signed articles and 30,000 biographies contributed by over 6,000 scholars from around the world, Grove Music Online is the unsurpassed authority on all aspects of music.
IPA Source is a large collection of IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcriptions and literal translations of art songs and arias originally in Latin, French, Italian, German, and Spanish. IPA Source contains more than 5,700 texts, including about 1,000 aria texts. Special features include audio recordings of many standard pieces designed as pronunciation help for the singer and links to other online resources such as opera libretti, song texts, and online scores.
Holiday Reading
December 13, 2012
The holidays are the perfect time to catch up on some leisure reading. Here’s what the staff at Doherty Library will be reading over the Christmas Break.
Sylvia Coy
The book I choose to take on my road trip this holiday season is The Caged Virgin: an Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. A couple of years ago I came across her book Infidel and it gave me a glimpse into her life as Muslim women. In reading The Caged Virgin I hope to refresh my memory about the author’s personal history and get a better understanding of the issues faced by all middle eastern women.
Pat Gerson
The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien’s prelude to The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
With the movie coming out this holiday, I am sure I will want to re-read the book, the adventure of Biblo Baggins as he accompanies the wizard Gandalf and the dwarves, meets a dangerous dragon & the infamous Gollum, and finds that magic ring. It should be fun reading.
A Thousand Mornings, the newest book of poetry by the poet Mary Oliver noted for her sensitive and charming poems as she wanders through nature near her home in Cape Cod. Reading her poetry is always a peaceful, serene, yet exciting, experience for me. We have many of her books in our collection. I recommend them all.
A Year with Thomas Merton: Daily Meditations from His Journals -I’ve been reading this one on and off for awhile. I feel like reading it again. As a bonus it includes drawings and photos by Merton. It’s a lovely book.
Joe Goetz
Over the holidays I look forward to reading The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje. Ondaatje’s been one of my favorite writers for years (my favorites are The Collected Works of Billy the Kid and In the Skin of a Lion), and I gave this book to my dad and he really liked it. Then if I get some time before classes start again, I’ll try Denis Johnson’s Train Dreams, which I know has a great first chapter, or Gish Jen’s World and Town, bestowed with my wife’s sterling recommendation.
Fr. George Hosko
I plan to read the insightful articles found in First things: a monthly journal of religion and public life.
Nick Kowalski
The Futurological Congress by Stanislaw Lem – A book I have been meaning to read for a while, The Futurological Congress tells the story of Ijon Tichy and his experiences in a utopian future that may not be as wonderful as it first appears. This satirical work uses this old sci-fi trope to explore larger societal issues such as economics, language, and science. I am expecting Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World meets Woody Allen’s Sleeper.
The Hawk in the Rain by Ted Hughes – British Poet Laureate until his death, Hughes may be my favorite 20th century poet (just ahead of Philip Larkin). Rejecting much from the Modernism that dominated the first half of the 20th century, Hughes wrote poems in clear, precise language. In The hawk…, Hughes writes about animals, love, and war – often merging his beautiful poetry with a natural savageness.
I personally think this may be his best collection and can never re-read it enough.
How late it was, how late by James Kelman- Another reread for me, How late it was, how late won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1994, much to the chagrin of many in the literary establishment. Derided as “literary vandalism”, this decidedly Scottish novel tells the story of Sammy, a hard luck Glaswegian plagued by police, doctors, and bureaucrats as he blindly tries to survive in an ambivalent, dying city. As a stream of consciousness novel written in an underclass barroom patter, How late… is not for everyone, though if it is your type of thing, you’ll enjoy it immensely.
Jim Piccininni
I’m currently reading Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. This book provides a fascinating explanation of why some nations prosper while others are mired in poverty. The historical analysis summarizing the experiences of many nations and cultures will keep the reader engaged. Many thought provoking insights and viewpoints are developed in this outstanding book. This is a book that I will come back to again after the first read through.
Emily Couvillon
Over the holidays I plan to keep working on Anna Karenina. I am determined to finish it before seeing the new Joe Wright movie! I am also looking forward to catching up on the most recent National Book Award Winners (Louise Erdrich’s The Round House and Katherine Boo’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers).
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 130 titles.
The books are on display in the main lobby and can be checked out at the circulation desk. The newest titles are listed below.
For reviews, author information, and more, view our new additions Goodreads shelf:
Fiction
The Big New Yorker Book of Dogs
Julianne Donaldson – Edenbrooke: a Proper Romance
Louise Erdrich – The Round House
Karen Kingsbury – The Bridge: a Novel
Debbie Macomber – Angels at the Table
Alice Munro - Dear Life: Stories
Kevin Powers – Yellow Birds: a Novel
Anuradha Roy – The Folded Earth
J.R.R. Tolklien - The Hobbit
Nonfiction
Katherine Boo - Behind the Beautiful Forevers
Deb Perelman -The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Martin Sheen & Emilio Estevez - Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son
Nate Silver – The Signal & the Noise
Database of the Month: America’s News
December 5, 2012
With unmatched U.S. news content from local, regional, and national sources, America’s News is the largest database of its kind. Its diverse source types include printed and online newspapers, blogs, journals, newswires, broadcast transcripts and videos. Explore a specific issue or event through the detailed coverage provided by local reporting or compare a wide variety of viewpoints from across the country on topics such as politics, business, health, sports, cultural activities and people.
Recent additions to the database include the Arizona Daily Star, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Houston Chronicle, the Oklahoman, San Antonio Express-News, and Tulsa World . Access America’s News on the Doherty Databases page.
