High Hopes, Mixed Outcomes

Women Attorneys and the Changing Workplace: High Hopes, Mixed Outcomes by Phyllis Kitzerow; 331.4834 K62w

A lot can change in just a few years, and author Phyllis Kitzerow reveals what has happened with regard to women and the legal profession in the last 50 years.  She talks with women attorneys who started working in the 1960s and those who began working in the 2000s to learn about their workplace experiences.

For another perspective at how women have shaped the United States legal system, take a look at this blog post.

Say What?

Say What You Really Mean!: How Women Can Learn to Speak Up by Debra Johanyak;
155.3333 J65s

Looking back at the 2014 titles that we have featured thus far, a theme that emerges is empowerment. Today’s book is no exception to that theme. The author provides career advice to help women become more effective speakers. Even if you aced public speaking, take this opportunity to brush up on your communication skills.

If you want to borrow this title or any of the other books that we have listed for Women's History Month, come by the library. One of the librarians will be glad to help you. 

A History Maker in Space

The first woman in space played tennis, had a Ph.D. in Physics, and served as the CEO of a company she created, Sally Ride Science.

In this biography, which includes both official and family photographs, Lynn Sherr presents details about the private and public life of Dr. Sally Ride.

Check out this blog post for more about women who dreamed of going into space.

Still can't get enough about women and the space program? There are two more library books that may be of interest. Stop by the library to borrow one or both of them.

• The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel; 629.45 K83a
• Rocket Girl: The Story of Mary Sherman Morgan, America's First Female Rocket Scientist by George Morgan; 509.2 M848r

For more information about Dr. Ride, the Biography.com site has a summary of her life.

Crossover Celebrations

Today we highlight a new title Black Women in Politics: Identity, Power, and Justice in the New Millennium that can comfortably be included in both the Black History Month and the Women's History Month celebrations.

Black Women in Politics: Identity, Power, and Justice in the New Millennium 
Edited by Michael Mitchell and David Covin; call #: 320.082 B627

The authors and editors of this title present articles that discuss the roles and experiences of African American and African women in politics. Some of the women included are well-known, like Harriet Tubman and Shirley Chisholm, while others may be less familiar. In addition to articles, the authors have added book reviews of titles about black women in politics.

Stop by the library to find this book or any of the other books shown on the blog. One of the librarians will be happy to assist you if you need help locating this or other library materials.

Women's History-What's New?

When the word history is mentioned people don't typically think of the word new being used in the same sentence. The library has some new titles about women and the world though, and during these last few weeks of the quarter we will share some of these titles with you. We may also sneak in some study tips and stress reliever posts too, so stay tuned.

The first book we want to share with you is:

The New CEOs: Women, African American, Latino and Asian Leaders of Fortune 500 Companies
By Richard L. Zweigenhaft; Call #: 658.42 Z97n

Here are two great websites you can visit to learn more:

National Women's History Project

Women's History Month

Selected New Medical Books

Selected Event Management & Travel Titles

Selected New Culinary Books

We have a new format for new book notices: Smore.com  Here's this quarter's installment of selected new culinary books. You can also read the announcement directly on Smore: https://www.smore.com/5wnwx

Crank Up the Music and Get Ready to Boogie

The Grammy Awards ceremony, which honors musicians, songwriters, and singers in a variety of categories, was held last night on CBS.

Some of last night's African-American winners included:

• Pharrell Williams for Best Pop Solo Performance for the song, “Happy.”
• Pharrell Williams also won Best Urban Contemporary Album, for his album Girl.
• Beyoncé won  Best R andB Performance for the song, “Drunk in Love,” featuring Jay-Z.
• “Drunk in Love” also won Best R and B Song
• The R and B group Robert Glasper Experiment won for Best Traditional R and B Performance for the song “Jesus Children,” that also features artists Lalah Hathaway and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
• Lecrae won the Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance /Song for “Messengers,” which features the group for King and Country.

For a complete list of the nominees and winners go here:

Find out more about African American artists who have won several Grammys. 

(image credit: http://www.quincyjones.com/q-year-end-review-the-grammys-2/)

A history of the Grammy Awards and the Recording Academy can be found at one of the links that follow.

History of the GRAMMY Awards and the Recording Academy 

For a timeline of winners go here: 

Search for previous Grammy winners and nominees here. 

Did you know that there is also a Grammy Hall of Fame for recordings? The Hall of Fame includes full albums, “of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old.” 

Last but not least, check out this link to see an infographic on the Grammy nomination and voting process. 

   

Black History Month: The Springarn Medal

Have you heard of the Springarn Medal? Me neither. Well, let's correct this deficiency.

The Springarn Medal

The Springarn Medal was instituted in 1914 by Joel Elias Spingarn (1875-1939), who was the Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors at that time. Dr. Springarn funded the medal himself and awarded it annually until his death. He bequeathed funding for the medal in his will "in perpetuity". The Springarn Medal has been awarded annually ever since—except for 1938 when no award was given. The NAACP gives the Springarn Medal annually, “for the highest or most noble achievement by a black American” (Smith, J.C. p.475).

J. E. Springarn

The first Springarn Medal was awarded in 1915 to biologist Ernest Everett Just.  Dr. Just taught in the medical program at Howard University, and he earned a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago (Smith, J.C. p.475).

Some of the notable men and women who have won the award are in the following list, and the library has materials on them. Please ask one of the librarians if you want to borrow any library materials about these honorees.

Marian Anderson, 1939
Thurgood Marshall, 1946
Martin Luther King, Jr., 1957
Langston Hughes, 1960
Medgar Evers, 1963
Hank Aaron, 1976
Rosa Parks, 1979
Colin Powell, 1991
Maya Angelou, 1994
Oprah Winfrey, 2000

To see a complete list of winners go to this site: http://www.naacp.org/index.php/pages/spingarn-medal-winners, 

For more information on the award itself go here   http://www.naacp.org/pages/spingarn-medal

__________________________________________________________

Sources:

Smith, J.C. (2003). Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events. Detroit: Visible Ink Press.

http://www.naacp.org/pages/spingarn-medal

High Honors in the Children's Book World

The Newbery and Caldecott Medal winners were announced today by the American Library Association. The Newbery and Caldecott Awards are the highest honors children’s authors and illustrators can win in the United States, and this year’s winners are:

Newbery Medal:

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Newbery Honors:

• El Deafo by CeCe Bell  
• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson; 811.54 W898b

Caldecott Medal:

The Adventures of Beekle written and illustrated by Dan Santat

Caldecott Honors:

• Nana in the City written and illustrated by Lauren Castillo
• The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art illustrated by Mary Grandpré
• The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus illustrated by Melissa Sweet and written by Jen Bryant
• Sam and Dave Dig a Hole illustrated by Jon Klassen and written by Mac Barnett; JF B
• This One Summer illustrated by Jillian Tamaki and written by Mariko Tamaki

Because February is Black History Month, the library wants to share some Newbery and Caldecott trivia with you too.  

Leo Dillon was the first African American to receive the Caldecott Medal, and he received it for the illustrations he did with his wife for the book Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears. The couple won the medal again the next year for the book Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions (Fox, 2012).

The first African American to win the Newbery Medal was Virginia Hamilton for M.C. Higgins the Great in 1975. The book also won the National Book Award and the Boston Globe- Horn Book Award (Virginia Hamilton, 2015). 

The Coretta Scott King Award is given to African American authors and illustrators in honor of Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Coretta Scott King winners were also announced today, and the winners are:

Coretta Scott King author award winner

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson; 811.54 W898b

Coretta Scott King illustrator winner

Firebird illustrated by Christopher Myers and written by Misty Copeland

The library has several Newbery, Caldecott, and Coretta Scott King award winners. Please ask one of the librarians if you are interested in borrowing some of the highlighted titles below or any other books from the library. We will be glad to help you.

• Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis; JF C (Newbery winner and CSK winner)
• The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney; JF P (Caldecott winner)
• Roll of Thunder, HearMy Cry by Mildred Taylor; JF T (Newbery winner)
• Why Mosquitoes Buzz inPeople’s Ears by Verna Aardema and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon; JF A (Caldecott winner)

Sources:

• Coretta Scott King Book Awards. (2015). http://www.ala.org/emiert/cskbookawards/
• Fox, M. (2012, May 20). Leo Dillon, Celebrated Illustrator of Children’s Books, Is Dead at 79. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/books/leo-dillon-illustrator-of-childrens-books-dies-at-79.html?_r=0
• Virginia Hamilton: Biography. (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.virginiahamilton.com/biography/2/
• Virginia Hamilton: M.C. Higgins the Great. (2015). Retrieved from:  http://www.virginiahamilton.com/virginia-hamilton-books/m-c-higgins-the-great/

Do You Know Which Award is Known as the "Oscars of Food"*?

If your answer is the James Beard Foundation Award, you are absolutely right!  The James Beard Foundation (JBF) has issued awards covering all aspects of the American culinary industry since 1990. Awards are given each year in the Spring for chefs and restaurateurs, cookbooks, culinary journalism and broadcasts, and restaurant design. From 2007 to 2014, the annual awards ceremony was held at the Lincoln Center in New York City. However, this year's ceremony will take place on May 4th at the Lyric Opera in Chicago,

The James Beard Foundation Award medallion

The Foundation and its eponymous awards are named after James Beard, the "Dean of American cuisine."** Beard was born in 1903 in Portland, Oregon and died in 1985. A big baby (14 pounds at birth!) he grew to be a big man tipping the scales at over 300 pounds. He was a showman and a died-in-the-wool champion of American cuisine. He hosted America's first television cooking show, I Love to Eat, which first aired (live no less) in 1946. He was also a prolific author who wrote 20 cookbooks, many of which are still available.

James Beard

The Lexington campus Library and Learning Resource Center has several of Mr. Beard's books, and all of them may be borrowed from the library.

James Beard's American cookery by James Beard; with illustrations by Earl Thollander. 
641.5 B368ja

Beard on Bread by James Beard.  641.815 B368b

The Armchair James Beard by James Beard. 641.5 B368a

A Girl, a Legend, and a Plague

National Book Award

Established in 1950, the National Book Award is a literary award given to works of American literature. A panel of judges chooses the finalists and winners of the awards, which are given in four categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature. The National Book Award Foundation chooses the judges, and the judges can include writers, some of whom have won a National Book Award previously, critics, librarians, and booksellers. 

The library has  the following National Book Award winners and finalists, and all three of them may be borrowed or checked out from the library. 

• An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 written by Jim Murphy; (finalist); JF M

• Brown Girl Dreaming written by Jacqueline Woodson; (winner) 811.54 W898b

• The Legend of Buddy Bush written by Shelia Moses; (finalist) JF M  

Select one of the links below to learn more about the National Book Award and previous winners and finalists.

History

A list of winners and finalists  

The National Book Award website

Please don't hesitate to contact the librarians at 859-514-3359, liblex@sullivan.edu, or through our Facebook or Twitter accounts if you have any questions. 

What Do President Kennedy and Singer/Songwriter Bob Dylan Have in Common?

In the early part of the 20^th century, Joseph Pulitzer, the founder and namesake of the Pulitzer Prize, made arrangements in his will for an award honoring excellence in journalism and writing (http://www.pulitzer.org/historyofprizes).

Knowing that, “the times would be a changin”¹, Pulitzer made allowances so that those charged with giving the award could create new categories as they deemed appropriate (http://www.pulitzer.org/historyofprizes.) Now, over a century later, the Pulitzer Prizes are awarded to writers of both online and print materials (http://www.pulitzer.org/expanded_eligibility).  The award has been given to musicians such as Bob Dylan², President John F. Kennedy³, and Lexington’s own Herald-Leader cartoonist, Joel Pett. Now you know what Bob Dylan and President Kennedy have in common.

Here are some of the Pulitzer Prize winning materials that are available in the library. Please ask one of the librarians if you want to borrow any of these items. We will be glad to assist you.

Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference by David Garrow; 323.092 G243b

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller; DVD 812.52 M647d

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway; 813 H488o

If you want to know more about Mr. Pulitzer or the prize, keep one reading or select one of the featured links.   

Poet Gwendolyn Brooks was the first African-American to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her work titled, Annie Allen.

Biography of Mr. Pulitzer  

History of the Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal  

Pulitzer Prize history  

_____________________________________________________________

¹ Bob Dylan’s song The Times They Are a Changin’ was released in 1964 on the album of the same name. http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-times-they-are-a-changin-mw0000202344

² In 2008, the Pulitzer committee awarded Bob Dylan a Special Citation for his contribution to American music. http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2008-Special-Awards-and-Citations.

³President John F. Kennedy is the only president to have won a Pulitzer. http://www.pulitzer.org/faq#q19

All a Buzz

The 2015 Oscar nominations were released today. Here is a list featuring the major categories, but you can also go to the official site for all of the nominees.

Best Picture

American Sniper
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

Actor in a Leading Role

Steve Carrell
Bradley Cooper
Benedict Cumberbatch
Michael Keaton* See Mr. Keaton in Much Ado About Nothing; DVD 822.33 S527mu
Eddie Redmayne

Actress in a Leading Role

Marion Cotillard
Felicity Jones
Julianne Moore
Rosamund Pike
Reese Witherspoon

Actor in a Supporting Role

Robert Duvall *See this nominee in A Civil Action; DVD 346 C582
Ethan Hawke
Edward Norton
Mark Ruffalo
J.K. Simmons

Actress in a Supporting Role
Patricia Arquette
Laura Dern
Keira Knightley *Watch this nominee in Pride and Prejudice; DVD 823.7 A933pp
Emma StoneMeryl Streep *Check out Julie and Julia, Kramer vs. Kramer, or Silkwood to see this nominee.

Ask one of the librarians about borrowing any of the highlighted DVDs.