In This Newsletter

Leave a Legacy for Tufts Libraries

News from Tisch Library

News from Ginn Library

News from Vet Library

Upcoming Authors Talks

Calendar of Friends Events

Videos of Friends Authors Talks Available for Internet Viewing

Friends Home page

A message from the Chair…

I had the delightful pleasure of visiting Tisch Library this fall and attending Catherine Clinton's Authors Talk while at Tufts over Parents/Homecoming Weekend. If you haven't visited your favorite Tufts library, I recommend it highly! I observed professors bringing their classes into the library for instruction before beginning a term paper assignment; student groups gathered together with a wireless portable PC to collaborate on team projects in the café and group study rooms; and PCs loaded with Microsoft Office Suite available for students ready to write their research papers. Although students were searching the many electronic databases and e-journals that Tufts licenses, I am pleased to report that trips to the stacks for printed resources are still part of academic life. Graduate students particularly appreciate study spaces on Level G right in the midst of the bound journals.

No matter which Tufts library you visit, it's clear that the staff of all the Tufts libraries have close relationships with faculty and students and strive to deliver the services they need to achieve the best possible teaching and learning. The news section provides more information about each library and one thing is obvious-the continued support of the Friends of Tufts Libraries is providing critical assistance. I encourage you to keep in touch with the library of your choice and continue your involvement and support. My recent visit made me feel proud of the work that the Tufts libraries are doing and of being a Friend!

Two spring Authors Talks are scheduled for your enjoyment. On February 9, 2006, Tony Massarotti, A89, will set the scene for spring training by telling us about his book, A Tale of Two Cities: The 2004 Yankees and Red Sox Rivalry and the War for the Pennant. I'm sure he will update us on the latest changes to the Sox lineup and predict their chances for the new season. On April 5, 2006, the second John Holmes Memorial Poetry Reading will be given by Richard Wilbur, author of Collected Poems, 1943-2004. Richard has been awarded two Pulitzer Prizes in Poetry, was selected as the second U.S. Poet Laureate, and was a member of a small poetry writing group with John Holmes when they were beginning poets. More details on Friends events are in the calendar in this issue.

 

News From Tisch Library

---

 

Tisch Library staff have enjoyed hosting the national touring exhibition, Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln's Journey to Emancipation, and the community response to the related events has been overwhelmingly positive. Re-enactors and dramatists brought history alive, and musicians provided the era's tunes. The re-enactors were on site whenever a school class trip visited the exhibit. The re-enactors really made history come alive when they answered in the words of their historical characters. Students, professors and speakers from near and far came to lecture on their Civil War specialties. The Tufts campus celebrated along with the library at University-wide events such as Community Day and Parents Weekend, both of which had a Forever Free theme.

The strategic planning team, which recommended the creation of a Learning Commons in Tisch Library to address the learning and technology needs of students and faculty, has recently begun meeting with possible campus partners. Enthusiastic responses have been received from Academic Technology, the Writing Center and IT Services (ITS). They are drafting proposals on their role in the Learning Commons for further discussion.

 

Top of page

 

News from Ginn Library

---

 

The Fletcher School has completed almost all of its Master Plan renovations, including a complete makeover of its Edwin Ginn Library. Phase One of the renovations was completed during the summer of 2004 and led to the consolidation of three floors of collections into two floors and the remodeling of the remaining floor into office space for Admissions and Registrar offices.

During the summer of 2005, the library's public and staff spaces were completely renovated and refurnished. A main entrance to the school was constructed opposite the tennis courts and this entrance now leads directly into the library. The renovated spaces have new lighting, carpeting and furniture and have been designed to provide easy access to contemporary and emerging information technology.

During the summer of 2006, the final work in the library will consist of shifting existing stacks to meet the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Jeff Gardner announced his retirement, effective December 31 after six years as the Director of the Ginn Library. The Ginn Library Director Search Committee chaired by Senior Associate Dean Deborah Nutter began its work in the fall and hopes to complete its work in early spring.

Top of page

 

News from Vet Library

---

 

Did you know that among the Civil War animal mascots there was a bear, camel, bald eagle, owl, raccoon, and of course, many dogs and horses?

Webster Veterinary Library, with the help of Tisch Library staff, presented a veterinary version of the Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln's Journey to Emancipation exhibit through December 2, 2005.

Top of page

 

 

Upcoming Authors Talks

---

 

February 9, 2006-A Tale of Two Cities: The 2004 Yankees and Red Sox Rivalry and the War for the Pennant
3:30-5:30 p.m., Hirsh Reading Room, Tisch Library, Medford

Tony Massarotti, A89 is coauthor, with New York sports reporter John Harper, of A Tale of Two Cities: The 2004 Yankees and Red Sox Rivalry and the War for the Pennant. It focuses on the war between New York and Boston that began in 2003 when Red Sox President Larry Lucchino inadvertently referred to the Yankees as "the Evil Empire," and ended on October 20, 2004 when the Red Sox defeated the Yankees in the playoffs. The conflict made for fascinating back-room intrigue, above and beyond the thrills the teams produced on the baseball field.

Massarotti has been a reporter at the Boston Herald for 15 years, and has been covering the Red Sox for 11 of those years. He will trace the long-standing rivalry between Beantown and Big Apple fans, as well as offer an inside look on what it's like to cover these teams and deal with a temperamental superstar like Pedro Martinez or an outrageous owner like George Steinbrenner. A cum laude graduate of Tufts and Boston-area native, Massarotti was voted by his peers as the 2000 Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year and was again a finalist for the award in 2003.

The fifth Maxine Newberg Gordon, J70, Book Prize will be awarded before the Authors Talk to a mathematics major who has demonstrated a love of reading, literature and poetry.

"Solid, well written journalistic recounting of '04.... Nice sprinkling of both historic context and the little anecdotes that don't make the paper at the time they happen."
-New York Daily News

Book signing, sponsored by Tufts University Bookstore, will follow the talk. To order the author's books, call Tufts University Bookstore, General Book Dept., 617-627-2060. Suggestions for future Authors Talks are welcomed. Come with a Friend or bring a potential Friend. Hope to see you there!

 

April 5, 2006-John Holmes Memorial Poetry Reading
4:00-5:30 p.m., Coolidge Room, Ballou Hall, Medford

Richard Wilbur, poet and translator, one of the preeminent men of letters of our time, will give the second John Holmes Memorial Poetry Reading, sponsored by the English Department and Tisch Library. The poetry reading is named for John Holmes, the first Tufts Poet and professor of English from 1930-1962, who hosted frequent poetry readings by local poets in the Coolidge Room.

Over the course of his distinguished sixty-year career, Wilbur has written seventeen collections of poetry, five children's books and numerous works of prose and translation. His most recent volume, Collected Poems, 1943-2004, presents a comprehensive collection of his work, including many of his recent poems. Wilbur served as the second poet laureate of the United States and received many other honors, including two Pulitzer Prizes, a National Book Award and the Bollingen Translation Prize. He was a member of a small poetry writing workshop with his friend John Holmes when they were young poets.

"It is a consolation to read through sixty years of Richard Wilbur's poetry. He should be read in the company of ... Robert Frost and Wallace Stevens." -Harold Bloom

 

Book signing sponsored by Tufts University Bookstore and reception sponsored by the English Department will follow the talk. To order the author's books, call Tufts University Bookstore, General Book Dept., 617-627-2060. Exhibit in Tisch Library Lobby March 15-April 15, 2006. Suggestions for future Authors Talks are welcomed. Come with a Friend or bring a potential Friend. Hope to see you there!

 

Top of page

Calender of Events

---

Calendar Of Friends Events
January 13-August 24, 2006 Corridor to the Tower Café, Tisch Library Medford campus	The 2006 Reunion Classes Exhibit will highlight people, places and events selected by 2006 Reunion Classes Exhibit Team to share with others what was special about their time at Tufts.
Thursday, February 9. 2006 3:30-5:30 p.m. Hirsh Reading Room Tisch Library Medford campus	Friends Authors Talk by Tony Massarotti, A89, author of A Tale of Two Cities: The 2004 Yankees and Red Sox Rivalry and the War for the Pennant. Tony is currently a reporter for the Boston Herald. Book signing sponsored by Tufts University Bookstore and reception follow talk. Exhibit in Tisch Library lobby from January 16-February 15, 2006. The fifth Maxine Newberg Gordon, J70, Book Prize will be awarded before the Authors Talk to a mathematics major who has demonstrated a love of reading, literature and poetry.
Wednesday, April 5, 2006 4:00-5:30 p.m. Coolidge Room, Ballou Hall Medford Campus	Richard Wilbur, author of Collected Poems, 1943-2004, will give the 2nd John Holmes Memorial Poetry Reading sponsored by the English Department and Tisch Library. Richard Wilbur has been awarded two Pulitzer prizes in Poetry, was selected as the second U.S. Poet Laureate, and was a member of a small poetry writing workshop with his friend John Holmes when they were young poets. Book signing sponsored by Tufts University Bookstore and reception sponsored by the English Department follow talk. Exhibit on the author is on display in Tisch Library lobby March 15-April 15, 2006.
Saturday, May 20, 2006 10 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Tisch Library Medford campus	Tisch Library Open House for Friends and Alumni provides the opportunity for self-guided tours of Tisch Library all day. Come and see the 2006 Reunion Classes exhibit, The Tower café and Jumbomania posters!

Complete list of Friends events with the latest information at http://www.library.tufts.edu/friends/events.html

Top of page

Friends is published twice annually by the
Friends of Tufts Library
We welcome letters and suggestions. Correspondence should be sent to:
Jo-Ann Michalak, Editor
Director of Tisch Library
Professors Row, Medford, Ma 02155
617-627-3345;
jo-ann.michalak@tufts.edu
Graphic Design:
Lynda Gutowski (J61) Publications, Arlington, MA