Festive Fall Book Sale!! Tuesday 2 October!!

Don't Miss the Library's annual Fall Book Sale. Hundreds of books at reasonable prices!!Support your Library! Most hardcovers are priced at $1.00, and most paperbacks at $0.50. You'll find college text books, best sellers, literature, historical books, art books, foreign language books, paperback fiction, and much much more!

The Book Sale kicks off at the "Y" (near the cafeteria on the ground floor of the Bisdorf Building) at 10am of Tuesday 2 October. At 2pm the Book Sale moves to the main lobby of the Bisdorf Building, just outside the Library doors.

Constitution Day -- The Votes Are In!

In celebration of Constitution Day (17 Sep) the Alexandria Campus Library sponsored an interactive Constitution-themed survey. We asked Alexandria Students how they would change the Constitution if they could -- specifically what amendment they would like to repeal and what amendment they would like to add. The Votes are In!

Guns & Gays fare badly:

Of 42 votes cast, 9 would repeal the Second Amendment (The Right to Bear Arms). 10 would ban gay marriage.

A surprsingly large number (10) voted to repeal the Twenty Second Amendment (Presidential Term Limits) prompting us to wonder which of our Presidents the students wanted to elect for a third term!

Additional suggestions were to pass an amendment legalizing gay marriage in every state and passing an amendment making it illegal to fire lawyers who disagreed with the government (are you listening Mr Gonzales?).

One voter suggested adding an amendment to abolish the electoral college and replace it with direct proportional voting by state (this might work better if it were direct national proportional voting!).

Another vote called for the repeal of the Fourteenth Amendment (Section One) that defines citizenship as conferred at birth. Would we all have to take citizenship tests at a certain age?!

One voter suggested repealing the Fifth Amendment, or at least the Double Jeapardy provision (maybe someone has been following the latest OJ Simpson news?).

Thanks to everyone who voted! What do YOU think? Leave us a comment here!

To find out more about the Consitution, check out one of these titles:

America's Constitution: A Biography KF4541 .A87

Origins of the Bill of Rights KF4749 .L488

A companion to the United States Constitution and its amendments KF4550 .V55

Book Club Resumes on the ROAD

The Alexandria Campus Book Club begins its fifth year on October 5th with a discussion of Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

All Alexandria faculty and staff are welcome to attend. Copies of the novel are on reserve and available for check-out at the Library circulation desk.

Visit the Book Club Blog to learn more.

Constitution Day

September 17th is Constitution Day. In celebration of the United States Constitution the Alexandria Campus Library is displaying books about the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and sponsoring a contest: How would you change the Constitution? Would you add new amendments or remove existing amendments? Vote in the Library all week, and visit this space for the results!

Baby it's HOT inside!

On Wednesday 12 September the chiller (the machine that controls the cool air for the air conditioning) was switched off for repairs in one section of the Bisdorf Building. Even though it was a comfortable 75 degrees outside, it quickly became very stuffy and oppressively warm inside, especially in the Library.

To beat the heat, the Library served ice water and lemonade all day on Wednesday and Thursday morning until the ac came back on.

The Library Lemonade Stand was the coolest place on campus!

Luciano Pavarotti dies

The Washington Post reports:

"Luciano Pavarotti, 71, who died last night of pancreatic cancer at his home in Modena, Italy, combined a lustrous lyric tenor voice with a radiant and expansive personal charm to win the largest and most diversified audience ever accorded an opera singer."

To read more obituaries and commentaries on Pavorotti, visit the Library's article database page and select ProQuest. Do a search on Pavorotti to read articles from around the country.

To hear Pavarotti sing, go to the Fine Arts database page and select Naxos. Do a search on "Pavarotti" to find sound recordings you can listen to online.

If you'd like to read more about opera, come into the Library and check out one of these books:

First nights at the opera. ML1720 .K45 2004

Opera : a critic’s guide to the 100 most important works and the best recordings. ML156.4.O46 T66 2004

Opera for everyone : a historic, social, artistic, literary, and musical study. ML1700 .G86 2004

The NPR curious listener’s guide to opera. ML1700 .B33 2002