Masland Library Blog

One of the first things you will notice as you step through the wooden doors of the library are the colorful paintings on the wall facing you. These paintings all carry a story, each of them unique. Art has a funny way of expressing stories. Each piece adds a part to an even bigger story that the curator tries to tell. And art, being a very subjective topic, will lead you to interpret the story differently from you brother standing next to you and your sister across the room.

And to think that just a few years ago, our library had very little to offer in the aesthetic realm. Our school has changed a lot. It's constantly ebbing and flowing, out with the old, in with the new. Soon, students will register for classes next semester, finish the semester strong, leave for the summer, and come back again in the fall. I know this next fall will be different. I know for sure that there will be new students who will contribute to a new PBU community culture. I know some of my favorite professors will be gone, and there will be new professors to fall in love with. Yet, loss is still a hard thing to deal with. Several of our students have been personally hit with this emotional tear, speechless, confused, angry, numb. Dr. Hirt, dean of the Bible department, has been struggling with cancer since last year. We've just been informed that Lisa Weidman, Director of Communications and Marketing and a key catalyst for the appearance of fine arts on campus, has a rare form of cancer. Unlike Dr. Hsu's death, theirs will be expected. We will have a little bit longer to celebrate our last times with them,
stories ebbing and flowing.

I wonder what stories Lisa intended to share with each piece of art she contributed to for our campus. I wonder what stories she will be sharing in heaven, stories that God has embedded on her heart, full of color and wonder and so much beauty, full of ebbs and flows.

~Hanah Bae

Lisa Weidman's Honorarium page

Dr. Hirt's Honorarium page

Dr. Hsu's Honorarium page

 The Library is such a cool place. Not only because of all the cool books but also for the art that is displayed throughout the library.  Recently new art has been displayed in the main lobby of the library. It is very easy to simply overlook it as you walk through on your way to printing your papers that are due in 10 min or while you are on your way to meet a study group.  I myself have walked past it without every really stopping to look.  One of my favorite things about art is that to fully appreciate it you have to stop, observe (for a long time), and contemplate.   

The same thing goes for the art in the library.  At first I kind of thought that the artwork was cool but I never gave it a second glance, but since I work at the front desk in the library I obviously spend a lot of time in the main lobby.  This has given me some time to just sit and look at the artwork and ponder what the meaning or message behind it might be.  It has been a really cool experience.  Instead of getting bored of looking at the same artwork over and over again my appreciation for it simply grows.  I would like to challenge each person that comes into the library to take some time to notice the artwork that the Library has to offer.  You might be surprised to realize that you do actually appreciate art!

~Emily Rush

Art: http://acgosser.com/archives/prepress_portfolio/alice 

For those of you stuck on campus over the weekends and looking for something to do, you might consider going to the library to check out a movie. It’s free, on campus, and you might be surprised by the selection.  We have a wide variety of movies varying from documentaries to musicals, from westerns to sci-fi /fantasy, and many more! There is no need to be bored on campus, the Masland Library can provide for your entertainment as well as for your studying needs. Just this past weekend, I had checked out the movie Stranger than Fiction, which is one that I had never had the opportunity of viewing before, and I really enjoyed it. The story follows Harold Crick, an IRS agent, who suddenly begins to hear his life being narrated by an unknown female voice.  Unfortunately she is predicting his death.

~Jacqlene Adams

Although the Worldview conference was a few months ago, it has been prevalent on my mind ever since.  Dr. Jeff Black, the head of the counseling department, spoke about anxiety.  At first he addressed General Anxiety Disorders and differentiated those from the common everyday anxiety. Dr. Black described that the truth of the matter is that all humans are worriers and have anxiety to some extent; therefore we all have something to take from what he had to say.  Dr. Black explained that people worry because they do believe to some extent that there is a positive element to it.  For example, they often truly believe that worry can find solutions, that it increases motivation to get things done, that it decreases the negative reaction if a dreaded event does take place, that it can prevent bad things from happening, or that it displays a responsible and caring person.  Although these are certainly common ideologies, they are also unhealthy ways for the anxious individual to wrongly defend their worry and anxieties. 

            

Something I found of interest from Dr. Black’s session was the way in which he compared worry and anxiety to an individual putting themselves back under the Old Testament law system.  Worry certainly does increase a sense of self-conceit and self-reliance.  When an anxious person tries harder and harder and yet they fail, this results in a disordered person.  Dr. Black suggested that grace from the law and grace from the thinking that an individual can manage it on their own, is the only way out of this trap of worry.

           

Ever since this session at the conference, I have found this topic to be of interest and even applicable to my own life.  I don’t know about you, but I know sometimes life can be really stressful.  Know that anxiety does not always have to be an officially diagnosed disorder. Our busy lives simply set us up for this.  Because of this, I have taken the time to find some additional resources on this topic, so I hope you will too!  Our library does not have these titles, but you can request them through Interlibrary Loan at no cost to you!

Suggestions:

Anxious for Nothing by John MacArthur

Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World  by Joanna Weaver

-Christa Joy Ciotta

ILL is a library service that we offer that allows you to borrow books from other libraries around the area. Hence, it’s called Inter Library Loan. And, it’s my favorite part about my afternoon shift.
            

What happens sometimes is that our library may not have a book that you’re looking for. In order to accommodate for when this does happen, we have a catalog searching system (maslandlibrary.worldcat.org) that will search for the book that you want at other cooperating libraries, and once it’s found it, we can ask for it to be sent to PBU so that you can utilize it for your research. This way when for some reason we can’t provide you with the book you’re looking for, you can still get it from somewhere else. It takes about 2 weeks for a book request to get processed and sent here, so you do need to think ahead on bigger assignments. But other than that, once you’ve placed your request and had it approved, you’ll be notified of the books arrival, I’ll unpackage it , and set it aside for you to pick up!
           

How do you make use of such a wonderful tool? Easy! Go to the library website (www.library.pbu.edu), and under the Services section, select the first option for Inter Library Loan. Read up on the instructions; create an account, and your ready to place a request. I hope you can make use of such a great tool!  

~Grace Sulaiman

(Picture: Shepherd University, WV)

As we all know February is black history month. This is the time where we celebrate the achievements by Black Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of African Americans in U.S. history. I would like to recognize one of most notable African American icons that opened the eyes of many little boys and girls (including many adults as well)  inviting them to stand up and fight for their rightful position in society.  

Muhammad Ali, many people may know him as “the greatest” or “the champion of the world,” was one of the toughest men to knock down in the boxing ring. Born Cassius Clay, Ali changed his name to in 1964 after joining the nation of Islam. Muhammad Ali was well known for his unorthodox fighting style which he described as "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee," and his pre-match speeches that had rhythm to hype his audience and fuel his opponents. During his prime Ali appeared in multiple notable historic fights. He was the first and only boxer to become the world heavy-weight champion of the world three times, including the famous “Rumble in the Jungle” match against Big George Foreman in Zaire Africa regaining his title for the third time.
 

Students and staff, although we may face tough fights and challenges in our life’s journey we must have the heart and dedication to become champions. Although Muhammad Ali was not a Christian, he valued something most Christians to have trouble pursuing. In my eyes Muhammad Ali pursed something far greater than just a championship title; he fought for a rightful place in society and his right to chase after his dream. Muhammad Ali stood strong in what he believed and was against going to fight another country, with a country who was at war with themselves. Fellow students and staff let us not fight one another but let us work together and remain focus on our dreams and desires so that they will be well pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. Just like Muhammad Ali’s style of fight in the ring was attractive to the people around the world, let us, as Christians be loving, kind, humble, compassionate, hard-working, truthful; well-educated, dedicated, peaceful, man and woman of God so that not only the people around will be attracted by our godliness way but our Father in heaven be happy with our works.     

In the library the front display is featuring various African Americans whose birthdays fall during this month.  Feel free to check any of them out. If you want a more complete look at influential African Americans during the 20th century The African-American century : how Black Americans have shaped our country by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Cornel West could be very educational. 

~Chris Smith