In Fall 2021, the EBSCO room, the library's instructional hub, was fully renovated with new furnishings and technology. The room was reconfigured into five groups of tables each with student workstations and a display monitor. Due to supply chain issues at that time, the room was missing some of the presentation components like the smartboard and projector. However, we have put the room to good use in the fall and early spring, hosting many instructional sessions.

But we have an update! We are so excited to announce that our newly renovated instruction room is fully functional. The instructor pieces - the smartboard, the monitors, projector, and instructor controls - are now operational. We are thrilled to be able to offer students, faculty, and all members of the UM community the full experience of this modern teaching and meeting space. You can see the room in action below with Dr. Mwenja's English 101 class. Many thanks to IS&T and the Physical Plant for helping us make this dream a reality!

Carmichael Library has been selected as one of 200 libraries, and one of only 33 academic libraries, nationwide for the American Library Association’s American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grants for Libraries opportunity, an emergency relief program to assist libraries that have been adversely affected by the pandemic. Sheila Brandt (Systems & Digital Services Librarian) wrote the grant as part of a collaborative effort with Carey Heatherly (Archivist & Professor), Charlotte Ford (Library Director), and Greg Samuels (Associate Professor of Secondary Education and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer).

The library will use the $10,000 grant to fund several author presentations in April in support of the annual Pat Scales Lecture Series and a day of events acknowledging the legacy of King House. The featured authors share a local perspective, either living in Alabama and/or writing about an Alabama historical event. Their presentations will highlight the historical research behind their works. The authors and their works are featured below. More information about these presentations will be available soon on the library website and Vallo Voice.

American Rescue Plan: Humanities Grants for Libraries is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

After many months behind masks, it is wonderful to see faces again in the library this Spring. Some are the familiar faces of old friends, while others are those of people we’ve only ever seen from the bridge of the nose up – who may not look quite the way we imagined! We are glad to see them all, and we can feel the ground floor of the library – our “group study” floor – begin to gradually come back to life.

To keep our students, faculty and staff coming to the library, we have some special events planned in April. Librarian Sheila Brandt has received a $10,000 from the American Library Association to bring four authors to campus, as part of the Pat Scales Lecture Series and the King House Legacy event. Irene Latham, Karim Shamsi-Basha, Charles Waters, and Melanie Morrison will be here on April 14 and 19. We also have new books and DVDs rolling in, new displays (both physical and virtual), and some fantastic new gifts to the Pat Scales Special Collection – including original Barbie and Ken dolls, from 1959 and 1961, respectively!

We wish you a glorious Spring, and hope to see you soon in Carmichael Library.

1. The Dead are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les Payne and Tamara Payne

2. A Farewell to Gabo and Mercedes: A Son's Memoir of Gabriel García Márquez and Mercedes Barcha by Rodrigo Garcia

3. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

4. D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistence, Sabatoged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II by Sarah Rose

5. Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston by Damian Duff and John Jennings

6. Stan Lee: A Life in Comics by Liel Leibovitz

7. Where I Come From: Stories From the Deep South by Rick Bragg

8. Fallout: The Hiroshima Cover-Up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World by M.M. Blume

1. News of the World directed by Paul Greengrass

2. The Umbrella Academy created by Steve Blackman

3. JoJo Rabbit directed by Taiki Waititi

4. Fast Times at Ridgemont High directed by Amy Heckerling (The Criterion Collection)

5. Insignificance directed by Nicolas Roeg (The Criterion Collection)

6. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story directed by Martin Scorsese (The Criterion Collection)

7. Jellyfish Eyes directed by Takashi Murakami (The Criterion Collection)

8. The Human Condition directed by Masaki Kobayashi (The Criterion Collection)

Throughout the year, Carmichael Library displays materials in recognition of heritage and history months. For instance, in the Fall, we showcased materials for Hispanic American and Native American Heritage Months. This semester, in honor of Black History Month, the Library curated a display showcasing books, eBooks, DVDs, streaming videos, and more. The display, in two parts, could be viewed on the main floor and online throughout February.

In March, we will launch our Women's History Month display.

Alex Beringer, Associate Professor of English, and Michael Price, Digital Media Lab Coordinator, have teamed up again for The Origins of Comics virtual exhibit. The show is located in the center of the main floor. Posters advertising the show hang on both sides of the two iPads that allow a patron to explore The Origins of Comics. The project is the result of work completed in the Fall of 2021 with Dr. Alex Beringer and his ENG 439 class and is on display from February 15 to March 15 2022.

Please come by to see the exhibit (during library hours) or view it online.

Did you know that the library has lockers? Watch this video to learn more!

Email: library@montevallo.edu
Website: libguides.montevallo.edu
Location: 75 College Drive, Montevallo, AL, USA
Phone: 2056656100
Facebook: facebook.com/umlibrary
Twitter: @umlibrary