The semester is nearly over, but we know you're still working hard. Ask a Librarian is available for you whenever you need it. 3 am? Ask a librarian. 9pm? Ask a librarian. Need more in-depth help with a research question or problem? Schedule a one-on-one consultation with a librarian. The link below will take you to our 24/7 chat service, as well as the form to schedule a one-on-one consultation.
We're here for you: https://library.hunter.cuny.edu/ask-a-librarian
As part of this year's virtual Library Day, we took a look at some of our faculty librarian research and found an impressive breadth of projects addressing many aspects of librarianship in association with a variety of subject areas. Check out the playlist to learn about projects related to our archives, special collections, classroom teaching, research services, departmental organization and more. This diverse selection of projects touches upon history, healthcare, art, social work, and other topics you may be surprised to learn about- we know we were!
Like many of us, Hunter College Libraries went through some changes last year. We experienced transitions in library leadership, an international pandemic, and the dramatic introduction of new ways of working. We stuck together through it all and developed new ways of organizing ourselves and our work. We drew on leadership across the libraries through expanded definitions of department membership and committee structures. We grew together as an organization in ways that we could not anticipate.
In a new article in Portal, two members of Hunter Libraries share the resilience and ingenuity in Hunter Libraries that they saw practiced during this challenging time. You can find Stephanie Margolin and Malin Abrahamsson's article "An “Anti-Handbook Handbook” for Unexpected Changes in a Library Organization" through Hunter Libraries' subscription databases. We hope you will give it a read and share your thoughts on the challenges and rewards of working toward a shared sense of purpose in challenging circumstances.
Today I’m teaching
And will be reaching
Graduate students—
smart and prudent.
With no room to gather in,
They’ll listen to my blather in
Their own private spaces.
A “Gallery” of faces.
It’s Zoom!
Class resume!
by Lisa Finder, Associate Professor, Electronic Resources Librarian, Liaison to the Department of Africana, Puerto Rican, and Latino Studies, and poet
Post by Lisa Finder, Associate Professor, Electronic Resources Librarian, and Liaison to the Department of Africana, Puerto Rican, and Latino Studies
It is said that April showers bring May flowers. This saying may have originated with the following short poem that the English poet Thomas Tusser wrote in 1557.
Sweet April showers
Do spring May flowers
The Academy of American poets designated April as National Poetry Month in 1996. This year we observe the 25th anniversary of this celebration. Notably, four United States presidents included poetry in their inauguration ceremonies: John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joseph Biden. The first poet to participate was 87 year-old Robert Frost who read “The Gift Outright” at JFK’s inauguration. This year, Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman recited her poem, “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration.
To find information about a particular poem, the database, Gale Literature, is an excellent resource. You can find it by starting at the library home page https://library.hunter.cuny.edu/ then selecting the databases tab. You will see an alphabetical list of our subscribed databases. For information about Langston Hughes’ poem, “I too,” enter that title into the search box. 
This is a recording of Langston Hughes commenting on and reading his poem. Below is the text:
I, Too
By Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—
I, too, am America.
The Hunter College Libraries honor notable alumnae, Audre Lorde, class of ‘59, a self-described Black lesbian feminist mother warrior poet. After a career as a librarian in public libraries, Lorde lectured throughout the United States, Europe, and Africa, and became a Distinguished Professor of English at Hunter College. In 1991 Audre Lorde was poet laureate of New York State. For more background information on Audre Lorde, see some of Hunter College Libraries online reference resources. For help finding these see our video on Reference Resources, or Ask a Librarian.
Access books online through Hunter College Libraries for the Audre Lorde Now: A Community Read-in for Our Survival event series sponsored by the Presidential Task Force on Racial Equity at Hunter College. Sister Outsider* was the Community Read for fall 2020 and selections of this text are the basis for discussion in the Audre Lorde Now Series.
In addition to accessing other books by Audre Lorde available through Hunter College Libraries, watch A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde** in the database Filmakers Library Online.
* Login with your NetID and password. Go to NetID Central if you don't know your NetID and/or password.
** Login with your NetID and password, Once you're in the database, search for Litany for Survival within All videos (from pulldown menu).
Instructions to access Sister Outsider on your own.
To download sections of the book:
Instructions to access A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde on your own.
Image of Audre Lorde available as CC By 2.5 on Wikimedia Commons
As we celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we can acknowledge Hunter College as the first public, tuition-free college for women in America. Founded in 1870 by Thomas Hunter as a Normal College, its mission was to train teachers. Hunter College was known for high entry requirements; it did not exclude applicants based on race, religion, or ethnicity. Take a look at some of the digitized archival material available on the website.
Publication: NewsHunter, Year: 1972, Author: Joan Dim
Click on the image above or the link to full article to read it.
Hunter College Libraries provides a wealth of resources on notable women and women’s history. A search for “Women’s History” in OneSearch, yields over 54,000 results. Add another search term and/or use the filters on the right side of the results to narrow down your search to locate sources and learn more. Or, go directly to one of the databases under the subject Women and Gender Studies.
The image of the class of June 1921 is from The Wistarion, 1921. This image and more can be found on flickr, Hunter College Archives.
Did you know that you can use Google Scholar to do a broad search for sources available through Hunter College Libraries and beyond?
Follow the instructions below to set Google Scholar to recognize sources available through Hunter College Libraries and be able to link to those from the search results.
Next, you will go to settings. The settings option will either appear as below or as an option in the menu.
From there, select library links from the menu and enter Hunter College in the text field. Save!
Now try a Google Scholar search and you'll see a >Full Text at Hunter link to the right of results available through Hunter College LIbraries. Click on the >Full Text at Hunter link to go the Hunter College Libraries site where you'll be able to select an access point to get to the source. You willl be prompted to login with your NetID and password.
We invite you to extend beyond a one-month celebration of Black History Month for 2021 and continue to learn more about Black and African American History. To that end, here are some online resources that are available via the Hunter College Libraries - you can access them by logging in with your Hunter College NetID and password when prompted.
Streaming Video
You can find a complete list of our video databases at this link: https://library.hunter.cuny.edu/databases/type/15
One resource is Kanopy Streaming. They are offering a curated list of films under the banner of Black Lives Matter, as well as a section on Race. Ethnicity, and Identity.
Titles include:
Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed
Race: The Power of an Illusion
Open Educational Resources—textbooks, courseware, and ancillary materials which can be freely used, reused, and remixed—can play an important role in pedagogy and student achievement. The Open Educational Resources (OER) LibGuide (https://libguides.library.hunter.cuny.edu/oer) provides faculty with a portal to OER resources found within Hunter, the Hunter Libraries, the CUNY system, and beyond.
Opening sections provide an overview of what OERs are and what they can do, as well as highlighting OER workshops and webinars first time OER users may find helpful. Our extensive resource section includes CUNY and SUNY OER platforms and repositories, multiple OER ‘finders,’ textbook collections, journals, media, courseware, and OER materials available through a number of public institutions. In addition, discipline-specific modules highlight OER materials—from courseware and textbooks, to syllabi and lab manuals—available for use in OER and ZTC (Zero Textbook Cost) courses. The guide similarly features OER efforts undertaken by Hunter faculty, with links to resources for developing and adopting OER materials. If you’re interested in getting started with OERs, evaluating resources, or need assistance from our knowledgeable staff please check out the LibGuide and email the library’s OER office at oer@hunter.cuny.edu.
