If Walls Could Talk: The Historical Transformation of the Duke Libraries

The Friends Annual Dinner will be held on May 15, 2013, in the Doris Duke Center at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens.  The evening will begin with an outdoor reception on the terrace (weather permitting) followed by dinner and a program about the history of the Duke University Libraries.  Valerie Gillispie, University Archivist, and Tom Kearns, lead architect for Shepley Bulfinch, will speak about the origins of the Libraries and the transformations they have undergone over the years.

Seating is limited, so save the date and respond to Megan Lawson (919-660-5856) if you would like to attend.  Tickets to the dinner are $80 per person.  We are grateful to SunTrust for generously serving as our presenting sponsor.

Battle of the Books

The 2013 Andrew T. Nadell Book Collectors Contest has begun! Since 1947, the Friends have presented the contest in alternate years to promote reading for enjoyment and the development of students’ personal libraries.  The 2013 contest is named for Dr. Andrew T. Nadell M’74, an avid collector in the areas of Gothic Revival, Doctors of Medicine, and Learned Professions and Occupations.  The contest, open to all Duke undergraduate and graduate students, requires the submission of a written application and participation at a showing of the collections.  Winners of our contest have the opportunity to compete against students from peer institutions in the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest. 

We invite all local Friends to attend the judging event on Thursday, February 21, 1:30-3:00 pm in the main lobby of Perkins Library.

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Road Trip!

On Friday, April 26, the Friends will be hitting the road to Wilmington, North Carolina, to learn more about the race riot of 1898.  In honor of the 115th anniversary of this historic event, we will tour the 1898 exhibit at the Cape Fear Museum with LaRae Umfleet, historian and author of the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission report.  We will also visit the Bellamy Mansion and 1898 Memorial, followed by a tour of key sites and a discussion with Barbara Wright, author of the novel Crow, a fictional account of Wilmington in 1898.  The evening will be open for sightseeing and dinner in Wilmington before the return to Durham. 

For more information or to sign up for the trip, please contact Megan Lawson (919-660-5856).  The trip is open to everyone.  The cost of the trip is $75, which includes transportation, lunch, and admission to the sites. 

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New Card Comes with Extended Libraries Access

Thanks to the creation of a new borrowing card, Friends will now have card-swipe access to Perkins, Bostock, and Lilly Libraries during all hours that those libraries are open, even after 7 pm when the libraries close to the general public.  The new card can also be used to check out library materials.  Friends can still use their old borrowing cards to check out materials, but the old cards do not come with a card-swipe strip for entering the buildings.  If you are interested in receiving a new card, please visit the Circulation Desk in Perkins Library.  To see the hours of operation for the Libraries, please visit http://library.duke.edu/about/hours/. 

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MOOCs at Duke

This fall Duke joined a number of other universities partnering with Coursera to offer online courses to anyone—for free.  Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are gaining in popularity as more and more “students” take online courses from universities from across the globe on wide-ranging topics.  With support from the Libraries’ Center for Instructional Technology and several departments across campus, Duke faculty are developing 11 courses for this academic year.  Enrollment in these courses has already surpassed a half-million. 

Coursera courses don’t follow a standard format.  They may go for 14 weeks, the typical length of an academic semester, or not.  They can require readings or quizzes, but students don’t have to follow them.  There is no penalty for taking a course and dropping it, or not attending at all.  Then again, there is no credit earned for completing a course successfully.  Some participating institutions, including Duke, offer a statement of completion from the instructor in place of grades.  Each course includes access to a discussion forum so students can talk to each other, often answering one another’s questions in record times. 

For those who are interested, Duke will be offering seven courses for the spring.  These courses are:

• Bioelectricity: A Quantitative Approach, taught by Roger Coke Barr (second offering of the course, start date: February 4)

• Introduction to Human Physiology, taught by Mimi Jakoi and Jennifer Carbrey (start date: February 25)

• English Composition I: Achieving Expertise, taught by Denise Comer (start date: March 18)

• A Beginner’s Guide to Irrational Behavior, taught by Dan Ariely (start date: March 25)

• Medical Neuroscience, taught by Len White (start date: March 25)

• Healthcare Innovation and Entrepreneurship (start date: April 15)

• Sports and Society, taught by Orin Starn (start date: April 30)’

For more information about courses offered by Duke, please visit https://www.coursera.org/duke.

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DukeReads Launches New Website

DukeReads, the online book club for members of the Duke community, has launched a new website and blog.  Started in 2007, DukeReads presents books selected by Duke faculty and experts to give alumni and friends a forum for discussing books and sharing insights with favorite Duke personalities.  A new book is presented every two months.

The DukeReads blog will offer featured content, as well as a way to interact with other DukeReads members.  The blog will also include expanded content from the Libraries and our partners at the Alumni Association and the Gothic Bookshop.  To view the DukeReads website or to join DukeReads, please visit dukealumni.com/forever-learning/dukereads.

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Duke Libraries Move Forward

This fall Duke publicly announced a new $3.25 billion comprehensive campaign, Duke Forward.  The Libraries will be participating in the campaign, with a goal of raising $45 million over the next five years.  Over the past decade, the Libraries have undergone a physical and technological transformation, preserving the best of our tradition and history while introducing new spaces and resources for the Duke community.   In the process, we’ve become one of the most popular destinations on campus.  Support for the Libraries through the Duke Forward campaign will help us advance the university’s highest academic priorities.  Duke has built one of the top research library systems in the country.  As our prominence and reputation continue to grow, the whole university will benefit. 

The Libraries have named five areas as campaign priorities.  They are:

• Spaces for Study and Community

• Building Distinguished Collections

• Technology for Faster, Easier, Smarter Research

• Programs that Educate and Engage

• Supporting Experts and Innovators

For more information on how to support the Duke Libraries for the campaign, please visit our campaign website or contact Tom Hadzor (919-660-5940). 

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Duke Libraries in the News

As the place to be on Duke University’s campus, the Libraries often make the news.  Here’s the latest in what’s happening at the Libraries:

• Travel+Leisure magazine included Duke in their list of America’s Most Beautiful College Libraries

• Naomi Nelson, director of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscripts Library, wrote a piece about John Hope Franklin and the acquisition of his papers by Duke in Huffington Post

• The Victory Bell made its way to Perkins Library to be rung by students and visitors, including Coach David Cutcliffe and President Richard Brodhead, after Duke’s historic victory over UNC

• Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning work The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, spoke before a large audience for the 2012 Weaver Memorial Lecture

To stay updated on news and events at Duke Libraries, visit our News, Events, & Exhibits website. 

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