Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Presses

After 244 years, Encyclopaedia Britannica is going out of print.  The company will now focus primarily on its online encyclopedia.

The last print version is the 2010 edition, which is a 32-volume set, weighing in at 129 pounds.

In an interview with The New York Times, the president of Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., Jorge Cauz, said "Some people will feel sad about it and nostalgic about it.  But we have a better tool now.  The web site is continuously updated, it's much more expansive and it has multimedia."

Undeniable (CLP)



Shell rings on Daws Island, located in Port Royal Sound, Beaufort County, South Carolina  (photo courtesy of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources)



Undeniable: Humankind as a Force of Nature (CLP)

March 27, 2012     4:30-5:30

Pitts Room, 2nd floor Duke Library

Dr. Patrick McMillan, a professional naturalist as well as host and writer of the award-winning ETV nature program "Expeditions with Patrick McMillan," will present a lecture and slide show documenting humans as a constant, integral part of nature and change.  His presentation will provide historic, exotic, and local examples such as the Carolina Piedmont forests and the shell rings of the Carolina coast.  Dr. McMillan's lecture will be given in conjuction with the "Diversity Endangered" exhibition hosted by the Decorative and Fine Arts Collection and Special Collections and Archives.  The exhibition is a natural history exhibition created by the Smithsonian Institution with a grant from the National Science Foundation.

We hope to see you there!

Scholarship Offered

Ethel Carlisle Southern Librarian Scholarship 

What are you doing after graduation? Are you considering an career as a librarian or in an information related field?

Knowledge is empowering and as a librarian you will shape the way people access and interact with information. With a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science you may choose to work in college or university libraries, public or school libraries, or specialized libraries like music, law or corporate libraries. Your options in Library and Information Science are many and varied. This Masters Degree is also a common gateway to careers in information architecture, search engine design and other 21st century knowledge careers. The American Library Association gives a great overview of what is possible with this degree.

Announcing the Ethel Carlisle Southern Librarian Scholarship. This scholarship is available to a Furman rising or graduating senior who anticipates becoming a Librarian or a Furman graduate who has been accepted into an American Library Association accredited graduate program. The award is typically in the range of $2000-$3000, depending on number of successful applicants for the year. Renewable once, but preference is given to new recipients. Applications will be accepted until March 30, 2012. The scholarship winner will be notified by April 24th.   Complete your application and return to: Ethel Carlisle Southern Librarian Scholarship Committee James B. Duke Library Furman University Greenville, SC Questions? Call Laura Baker at 864-294-2277.

Listen to The Writer's Almanac for your health

There is about a moment at 11AM on weekdays during which the speed of time is clocked slow, a second equalling a minute, so that a single piano intro to a public radio spot called The Writer's Almanac can enter your morning via the crack between seconds. Garrison Keillor's voice has the effect of a soporific, teasing the duty-bound mind to follow its heart - so you'd better get some caffiene in you before hearing it.

If The Writer's Almanac is already what you do at eleven (at least in Greenville) each morning, you know exactly what I'm talking about. But I am speaking mainly to those who haven't yet heard an episode of the segment.

Beginning with birthdays of authors and other figures, and events that occured the same day in history, Keillor routes the listener into a reflective state conducive to consuming the main dish - the poem of the day. A theory exists in many forms of art, including poetry, that the meaning of a piece doesn't only belong to the author, it belongs also - or chiefly - to the reader or the performer. Garrison Keillor certainly takes the poem of the day and breathes into it the power of being spoken, and in one of the most iconic voices of Americana in our time.

In Greenville at 11AM, simply turn your radion to 90.1, which is the local NPR station, or ETV Radio. But The Writer's Almanac website makes up for geographical constraints, giving potential listeners options like online streaming, podcast download and daily emails.

With so many ways to listen and connect to The Writer's Almanac, you can have a way to cure the morning blahs and wake up your intellectual parts. And, it's not just for writers and English majors. After all, poetry is for humans - all humans.

Furman's Art Mystery (CLP)

A Gainsborough at White Oaks? Furman's Art Mystery

CLP Lecture by Hugh Belsey
In 1975, Charles and Homozel Daniel purchased Portrait of Lady Impey from an auction house in New York City. They were told it was painted by the renowned 18th-century English portraitist Thomas Gainsborough. The Daniels bequeathed the painting to Furman and it was appraised, along with the rest of the White Oaks Collection, by Sotheby’s in 1993. Without sending it to an expert in London, Sotheby’s could not determine whether the portrait was painted by Thomas Gainsborough or by the artist’s less revered nephew Gainsborough Dupont.

 Two years ago, the case was revisited when a descendant of Lady Impey contacted Furman. After researching the provenance of the painting, there is reason to believe that Furman’s painting truly is a Gainsborough. In order to solve this mystery, the University's Decorative and Fine Arts Committee is bringing an internationally known Gainsborough scholar from England to Furman. Hugh Belsey, former Curator of Gainsborough’s House and author of numerous books about Gainsborough, will examine the Portrait of Lady Impey and reveal his findings at the lecture. He will also discuss the works of Thomas Gainsborough, particularly in his later years, as Furman’s painting was created in 1786 near the end of Gainsborough’s life.

Please join us for this exciting event!

Event Date: March 13, 2012
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Patrick Lecture Hall, Townes Science Center

Things You Will Find in International Studies Compendium.

Sponsored by the International Studies Association and subscribed to by Furman University Libraries. With a title like this you might expect to find sections on  Diplomatic Studies and International Political Economy, both of which include 10 to 20 articles that cover specific sub areas. But you might not expect to find some of the other detailed sections such as Feminist Theory and Gender Studies, Environmental Studies, and Comparative Interdisciplinary  Studies. The latter includes an article titled "Art in International Relations."
Though many sections deal with political and economic questions the breadth of this resource is testimony to
the increasingly interdependent areas of our global existence.
Take a look. International Studies Compendium ranges across the curriculum.

Librarian Scholarship Offered

Ethel Carlisle Southern Librarian Scholarship 

Have you been energized by your studies and research at Furman? Do you want to work in a field rich with information and learning? Then a career in Library and Information Science may be what you’re looking for. 

Knowledge is empowering and as a Librarian you will shape the way people access and interact with information. With a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science you may choose to work in college or university libraries, public or school libraries, or specialized libraries like music, law or corporate libraries. Your options in Library and Information Science are many and varied. This Masters Degree is also a common gateway to careers in information architecture, search engine design and other 21st century knowledge careers. The American Library Association gives a great overview of what is possible with this degree.

Announcing the Ethel Carlisle Southern Librarian Scholarship. This scholarship is available to a Furman rising or graduating senior who anticipates becoming a Librarian or a Furman graduate who has been accepted into an American Library Association accredited graduate program. The award is typically in the range of $2000-$3000, depending on number of successful applicants for the year. Renewable once, but preference is given to new recipients. Applications will be accepted until March 30, 2012. The scholarship winner will be notified by April 24th.   Complete your application and return to: Ethel Carlisle Southern Librarian Scholarship Committee James B. Duke Library Furman University Greenville, SC Questions? Call Laura Baker at 864-294-2277.