University of South Carolina Libraries

GAME DAY! 🤙

Now that classes are in full swing, our instruction sessions are too! We are so excited to welcome students from Women and Gender Studies, the School of Music, the English Department and into Rare Books this semester! Follow us for some highlights from these instruction sessions, some interesting exhibit updates, and more ✨rare✨ content throughout the semester.

University of South Carolina Libraries

We had a BLAST today at Pelicans on the Patio! Thanks to everyone who came out to learn about the library and enjoy a free snow cone! We're so happy to have you back home. 🥹🫶🤙

We are proud to announce that this semester's University of South Carolina Rare Books and Special Collections exhibit, “The Life and Times of Ignatius Sancho,” is now on display in the Hollings Special Collections Library!

Largely unknown today, Ignatius Sancho (1729-1780) accomplished many “firsts.” He was the first Black person to vote in a British election, to compose and publish music, and to become a published author. His life began, though, on a slave ship crossing the Atlantic. This exhibition tells the story of his extraordinary life and vibrant times. It features original and rare items—including a first edition of his posthumous Letters and early printed editions of his correspondence—that emphasize the roles he played in the literature, music, and politics of the late eighteenth century.

Come see for yourself! The Hollings Special Collections Library is located in the back of the Thomas Cooper Library.

Need to cool down after the first two days of classes? Join us outside Thomas Cooper on Thursday, August 22nd from 2-3pm for Pelicans on the Patio! Take a quick tour of TCoop and get a snow cone on us! Got a student who you know would love a free snow cone? Tag them in the comments!

Happy , Gamecocks! To kick off the fall semester, we have some updates to share about some new things happening at Thomas Cooper Library. Most notably, the front of Thomas Cooper has been renovated to include a large new front desk and turnstiles for entrance to the library which require a valid CarolinaCard. Therefore, please remember your CarolinaCard! Read more about what's new at the link below!

What's New at Thomas Cooper: Updated Entrance, Self-Checkout and More Several changes designed to enhance the library experience for the USC community have taken place over the summer at Thomas Cooper Library.

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Tomorrow is the first day of class! Drop some advice for students in the comments. 📚

University Libraries is excited to be one of 11 academic libraries nationwide taking part in the Association of Research Libraries’ Realities of Academic Data Sharing Initiative, a research project that seeks to help understand and address the complexities and costs of managing and sharing data from funded research. Our participation in the initiative also provides a complimentary institutional membership in the Data Curation Network for the life of the project. Read more below!

University Libraries joins Association of Research Libraries Data Sharing Initiative University of South Carolina Libraries has joined the Association of Research Libraries' Realities of Academic Data Sharing (RADS) Initiative, a research project aimed at understanding and addressing the complexities and costs associated with managing and sharing data from funded research.

Whatever your specialty is, you’re a champion in our eyes 😌

T-4 DAYS TILL MOVE IN!!! 🤙

“I feel like this type of experience will help me reflect on how far I’ve come in my skateboarding journey, and just will help me continue to grow.”

How have skateboarding and the skateboarding subculture shaped the lives of Columbia residents over the past few decades? That’s a question a group of South Carolina Honors College students explored recently with the help of USC University Libraries’ Oral History program. Read more below!

“It feels like you’re breaking the laws of physics": Honors Students Record Oral History of Skateboarding in Columbia - University Libraries | University of South Carolina How have skateboarding and the skateboarding subculture shaped the lives of Columbia residents over the past few decades? That's a question a group of USC Honors College students explored recently with the help of USC University Libraries' Oral History program.

In July, University Libraries Moving Image Research Collections took a trip to Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community to talk about the process of preserving the films found in our U.S. Marine Corps Film Repository.

The United States Marine Corps Film Repository provides access to the film library of the Corps’ History Division. The digitization of this library is ongoing with more films added every week. This video library shows the work of the Marine Corps from the early 20th century through to the 1980s. You can watch the films for yourself at the link below!

https://digital.library.sc.edu/marinecorps/watchthefilms/

“With their raw, immediate quality, the films we are going to preserve offer moving image documentation of one of the most innovative and ambitious studios of the time, as well as of its elusive founder.”

We are proud to announce that University Libraries’ Moving Image Research Collections (MIRC) has been awarded a 2024 Film Preservation Matching Grant by the National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF). The grant will allow MIRC to preserve a selection of newsreel outtakes from the 1920s documenting the personal and professional activities of William Fox, founder of the Fox Film Corporation. Read more at the link below!

MIRC Awarded NFPF Grant to Preserve Important Footage from its Fox Movietone News Collection University Libraries’ Moving Image Research Collections (MIRC) has been awarded a 2024 Film Preservation Matching Grant by the National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF).

Thomas Cooper Library will be operating on interim hours from now until August 17!

Visit our website for more information.

Just a cloudy Monday at Thomas Cooper as we patiently await the day our Gamecocks come home. T-minus 19 days until move in! 🤙🏠

It's that time again! Do you like South Carolina history and culture? Do you want to work in the nation's first freestanding academic library? If this sounds like you, you're in luck! South Caroliniana Library is hiring one student for a work study position. This position is open to undergraduate and graduate students! Apply on Handshake at the link below!

https://sc.joinhandshake.com/emp/jobs/9110445/details

Student Library Assistant at South Caroliniana Library
Undergraduate or graduate students who are eligible for work-study may apply.

The student Library Assistant will work primarily at the User Services desk in the South Caroliniana Library reading room on the Horseshoe.

South Caroliniana Library (SCL) is a special collections library of University Libraries. We host researchers from campus and from around the world who use our manuscript, visual materials, published materials, and University Archives collections in our reading room and remotely through scan-and-deliver services. We also welcome the public to view our exhibits and use our study spaces.

Under the supervision of the Library Manager for User Services, the student Library Assistant will answer questions, assist patrons in the circulation of library collection materials, and observe patrons to ensure their compliance with reading room policies. The Assistant may also scan materials to create digital images, communicate with patrons by email to deliver those scans, retrieve materials from the stacks, and reshelve materials.

The successful candidate will have the ability to communicate well with the public in person, on the phone, and by email. The candidate must be able to follow both written and unwritten procedures and practices.

The student Library Assistant will gain exposure to library and archival practices, and to South Carolina history and culture. Although in no way limited to persons with a particular major or interest, those with majors in library and information science, history, or other areas of the humanities may find the strongest connections with their studies.

This position will be between 10 and 16 hours per week depending upon the employee’s availability to meet SCL’s staffing needs. The employee will work a regular established weekly schedule, with morning shifts possible on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and an afternoon shift possible on Wednesday.

A résumé is required, along with a brief cover letter that includes a statement explaining why you are interested in a position at South Caroliniana Library. Please be sure to include your days and hours of availability in your cover letter.

University of South Carolina Libraries

Applications for the Richard T. Greener Diversity Fellowship are open! Priority will be given to applicants who apply BEFORE July 26!

The Richard T. Greener Diversity Fellowship will run from Fall 2024 – Spring 2025. Hear what one of our previous Fellowship winners, Shatarra Glover, has to say about her experience!

"Looking from the outside, you never realize how many different paths are laid out before you. Or you do and are completely overwhelmed by them and don’t know what to do. I was in both situations and this program helped moved me forward towards mine. I not only learned skills in various subjects such as copyright, metadata, cataloging, archiving, teaching, customer service, etc. but I was also able to work closely with and befriend many people… I am extremely grateful for the Greener Fellowship and all those who supported me in it, I can’t imagine where I would be right now without either."

The Selection Committee will award the fellowship to a student who is seeking a career in professional librarianship, a US citizen, and is enrolled in the Master’s Program in Library and Information Science at the School of Information Science, University of South Carolina. Apply at the link below!
https://sc.libwizard.com/f/greenerfellowship

The New York Times just released their list of the “Best Books of the 21st Century.” Of all the authors listed, only three had three books on the list. One of those authors is Jesmyn Ward, award winning author of novels such as “Let Us Descend,” “Sing, Unburied, Sing,” and “Where the Line Bleeds.” Called “the new Toni Morrison” by some, Ward is the first woman and the first person of color to win two National Book Awards for Fiction and is also a MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient.

We are delighted to announce that Jesmyn Ward will be joining us as one of three authors for our Fall Literary Festival in September. You can find the full list of authors at the link below and stay tuned for more information throughout the semester!

Check out the New York Times list below! Don’t have a subscription? All USC Columbia faculty, staff and students can get access to their FREE NYT and Wall Street Journal subscriptions through the libraries website! Claim yours today.
Happy reading!

https://tinyurl.com/falllitfestival2024
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/books/best-books-21st-century.html

University Libraries' Annex, located out near the State Archives, was initially built to address the overcrowding occurring in the various libraries on campus. Now not only is the Annex vital to the maintenance of the libraries' collections, but it is the perfect place to hold more unique items. Items like those of Audrey Jordan, whose World War II era suitcases are perfectly preserved, as is everything that was once in them. Read more about Audrey, her time capsule suitcases, and the facility that holds them at the link below.

Audrey's items are part of the Jordan Family Papers held by the South Caroliniana Library.

Unexpected Treasures in an Unexpected Place: Library Annex Preserves Rich and Diverse Materials The Jordan Family collection holds more than just letters and photographs. That's why it takes a special kind of storage to preserve the collection's interesting and unexpected materials.

Some University Librarians struck out on a rescue mission today at the Thomas Cooper fountain! If you've ever been near T-Coop in the summertime, you know that the frogs love the fountain! But once they are born there, they usually can't get out because the water level isn't high enough for them to crawl out on their own. USC has put out floating ladders for them every year, but this year they've been disappearing. One was found today in a trash can and returned to the pool.

Today, Taryn Cooksey, Michael Weisenburg, Rachel Hunnicutt, and Showanda Mosley helped Elizabeth West wrangle tiny baby frogs and relocate to the AC Moore Garden pond - a safer and more appropriate environment. Using pool skimmers and hands, they moved them into buckets to carry over to the garden. They also spotted a pair of adult frogs, ahem, making the situation worse, and later secured the female frog for relocation as well. So that's at least one that won't lay eggs in the TCL pool! Just goes to show how awesome and versatile librarians are!

and don't have to do it with a broken bank account. We got you covered with millions of print and ebooks, textbooks on reserve, 300+ scholarly databases, a tech lounge with access to Adobe Creative Cloud and more! Check out our website for more info!

And beginning this semester we will have a University Libraries newsletter! Stay up to date with updates on library services, events, and study tips! Sign up at the link below.

https://forms.office.com/r/vKXYMjHk2Y

Check out this great oral history collection featuring Cola locals and USC students! 🤙🛹

If you're not up for popping ollies and kickflips this National Go Skateboarding Day (June 21st), you can still celebrate by exploring the Skateboarding's Journey to the Olympics Oral History Collection, linked below. in this collection generations of South Carolinian skateboarders share their passion for the sport and love for the skating community. Get stoked! 🤙🛹

https://tinyurl.com/587mnpbh


University of South Carolina Libraries

The 2024 W. Ormiston Roy lecture was delivered by Dr. Robert Irvine on the topic of “patriot” rhetoric in Burns’ poems, as well as those of his contemporaries. Irvine’s talk was featured during the 13th International Walter Scott Conference, which was hosted by University Libraries in May. Read more about the lecture and fellowship at the link below!

https://tinyurl.com/3z73yp86

University of South Carolina Rare Books and Special Collections

Happy Pride, Gamecocks! Libraries are meant to be a safe space for everyone, and University Libraries are no different. You belong here, you matter, and we are so PROUD of you!

Various resources are available at the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, for those that need them.

University of South Carolina Libraries hosted the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) 2024 Annual Meeting and Spring Membership Meeting last week. Some 40 deans from around the Southeast came to the University of South Carolina to see our facilities, meet some of our staff, and discuss timely topics and challenges facing academic libraries across the country. Read more at the link below!

University Libraries Hosts 2024 ASERL Meeting University of South Carolina Libraries hosted the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) 2024 Annual Meeting and Spring Membership Meeting last week.

“For this study, I needed to conduct complex data analyses which I have not learned about in any of my classes. It was challenging to try to learn on my own until I saw a sign in the library for free statistical mentorship and tutoring in the Technology Lounge. My work with Tong Shan, one of the assistants, greatly improved my understanding of how to recode data, compute standardized terms, and conduct a variety of analyses needed for my project. From the help I gained through the library’s statistical mentorship, I truly believe I have greatly advanced my statistical analysis skills.” -- Fatima Jatoi

We’re excited that University Libraries’ Advanced Statistics Support program was so widely used in its first year that we’re able to double the hours it’s available next year! The program has been able to support both faculty and students, including undergrads like Fatima Jatoi, whose use of the service to help with data management for her Honors College thesis helped get her one of the Libraries’ 2024 Undergraduate Research Awards for outstanding use of library resources. Read more about the service at the link below!

https://tinyurl.com/4f9y4ebd

Applications for the Richard T. Greener Diversity Fellowship are open! The Richard T. Greener Diversity Fellowship will run from Fall 2024 – Spring 2025. Hear what one of our previous Fellowship winners, Anntwanette Sulton, as to say about her experience!

"As a two-time USC alumna, the Richard T. Greener Fellowship will always hold a special place in my heart. It was one of my first chances to fully immerse myself behind the scenes in the world of librarianship. Before participating in the fellowship, I wasn't sure what area within librarianship I wanted to specialize in. The fellowship offered me the unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in multiple Library departments while building long lasting professional relationships with my future colleagues."

The Selection Committee will award the fellowship to a student who is seeking a career in professional librarianship, a US citizen, and is enrolled in the Master’s Program in Library and Information Science at the School of Information Science, University of South Carolina. Apply at the link below!

https://sc.libwizard.com/f/greenerfellowship