Spooky Suggestions – 2013

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Laura Streett

Halloween is just one week away. Are you prepared to get your creep on? Here’s our newly updated list of suggestions for spine-tingling books and hair-raising dvds!

TO READ

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Dracula by Bram Stoker, illustrated by Felix Hoffmann

Green Tea and Other Ghost Stories by J.S. Le Fanu

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Favorite Ghost Stories chosen by Aidan Chambers

The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

Amphigorey by Edward Gorey

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly (2012 annotated edition)

‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

The Monk by Matthew Lewis

Enduring Love by Ian McEwan

Tales by H. P. Lovecraft

TO WATCH

Let the Right One In, directed by Tomas Alfredson

The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick

Halloween, directed by John Carpenter

The Birds, directed by Alfred Hitchcock

The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin

Cure, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Antichrist, directed by Lars Von Trier

Nosferatu, directed by F.W. Murnau

Seven, directed by David Fincher

Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Sleepy Hollow, directed by Tim Burton

Aliens, directed by James Cameron

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon

The Sixth Sense, directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Poltergeist, directed by Tobe Hooper

The Others, directed by Alejondro Amenábar

2013 Banned Books Week at Vassar

Posted on September 23, 2013 by camarshall

It may seem hard to believe that many institutions ban certain books from circulation and forbid the reading of them. There are some obvious and famous examples of books being banned in school systems; such as Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn or Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. There are also some not-so obvious instances, like the children’s books The Witches or James and the Giant Peach both by Roald Dahl.

In the last week of September, the American Library Association promotes Banned Books Week, an awareness campaign for censorship of media in today’s culture. This year BBW will be from September 22nd to 28th and Vassar is proudly participating. Within Main Library there will be information posted about resources that are “banned” and “challenged.” Additionally, bookmarks will be available for students to take, detailing the disputes of specific cases. Be sure to check out the displays and a book!

BBW began in 1982 by Judith Krug as a response to First Amendment decisions which applied to libraries, bookstores, schools, and intellectual freedoms. Teaching “the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature,” and drawing “attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society.” In 2012, ALA celebrated the 30th anniversary of BBW with an interactive timeline of significant challenges for each year.

The timeline can be found here: 30th Anniversary Timeline.

More information about BBW can be found at ALA.org and around Main Library!

Check out a Kindle Paperwhite!

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Library

Vassar College Libraries now has five circulating Kindle Paperwhites available for check out to Vassar students, faculty, and staff at the Main Circulation Desk. In addition to the many books we have in the Browsing Collection, we wanted to experiment with providing some of the same titles, along with additional leisure-reading selections, using e-reader technology. If you don’t have an e-reader device, we thought you might be interested in discovering what it’s like to read a book using one. Below are some questions you might have about the Kindles and how you can get one.

What titles are available on the Kindles? Can I select titles?

You can see the titles currently available here

Can I request titles to be added to the Kindles?

If you have suggestions for titles, please email Deb Bucher.

How do I check out a kindle?

Check in the catalog by searching “Kindle Paperwhite” as title. There are 5 Kindles. If one is available, just go to the Main Library circulation desk, ask, and you shall receive! If none are available, you can place one on hold or re-call one.

How long can I keep the Kindle?

You can have it for 3 weeks! Isn’t that awesome? Yes, it is awesome. The Libraries are awesome, haven’t you heard??

I have an e-reader! Can these titles be downloaded to my kindle?

Unfortunately, they can’t due to the licensing restrictions.

Can I take the Kindle out of the Library?

Yes, indeedy! We will circulate the Kindle in a case with a cord and a charger so you can continue to read the Kindle for your entire 3 week period. However, you MUST return the Kindle with the cord and the charger or others won’t be able to use them.

Why the Kindle Paperwhite?

This pilot project is limited to Kindle Paperwhites. In the future, we may offer additional e-readers.

Kindle Paperwhite User Tips!!

1. There is only one button on the Kindle Paperwhite located at the bottom of the kindle. Press this button to turn the kindle on.

2. Tap the top left of the Kindle screen to bring up a “house” icon- this opens up the kindle and shows all the titles on the device. You can browse titles by titles or author from here.

For more help with the Kindle go to Kindle Users’ Guide

Please give us feedback at researchhelp@vassar.edu about your experience and about the selections!

THE GARGOYLE BULLETIN

News and Insights from the Vassar College Libraries

Category Archives: collection highlights

Spooky Suggestions – 2013

2013 Banned Books Week at Vassar

Check out a Kindle Paperwhite!