Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Wayback Wednesday: Snowed in at Parkland



The “snowmaggedon” that dropped on the East Coast this week harkens back to a time when the Midwest fell victim to a blizzard that has not since been matched.  Even though it was thirty-seven years ago, people still talk of it. It’s the great Blizzard of 1978

The storm was so bad that nine people were stranded at Parkland for almost 40 hours. From Prospectus, February 1, 1978:

Eight employees and one student were stranded in Parkland for almost forty hours during the blizzard that crippled the Champaign-Urbana area last week. 

Bruce Bunney, one of the custodians trapped during the storm, said that it was inconvenient but not all that uncomfortable. “We had the furnace checks to keep us busy and there was the pool room upstairs. We watched the weather reports on the T.V. and there were several specials on.” 

Bunney’s son, a Parkland student, was also one of those trapped at Parkland.
Donald Swank, Dean of Instruction, after seeing that all students had left the school, found himself trapped at Parkland, along with two computer center operators, three custodians, a security guard, and a radio station engineer. 

“Unless you have change for a dollar there is no way to buy any food at Parkland,” Bunney said. 

“It wasn’t all that bad but we were sure glad to get out.” The nine were rescued about 1:30 p.m. on Friday when snow removal trucks managed to break through the drifts caused by the 40-60 mile an hour winds. 

This photo from the Parkland Archives
shows a much, much lighter snowfall,
ca. 1977.
In Parkland Works, Sally Foster Wallace noted the January 28 issue of the Champaign-Urbana Morning Courier, in which Dean Swank recalled how the group “realized they were stranded about 11 p.m. Wednesday,” after Parkland had closed due to weather that evening at 8 p.m. Swank’s account downplayed the event, stating that one of the custodians was able to get out once with a four-wheeler and brought back bread, baloney and cheese. The group also regularly checked the teletype machines that had been installed for the new radio station, WPCD, which had been scheduled to air it's first broadcast, but was delayed a week due to the storm. 

The Parkland men’s and women’s basketball teams, coaches, cheerleaders, the Athletic Director and accompanying staff  were also stranded due to the unfortunate weather – in a Danville hotel. 

So, unless you’re a person who REALLY loves snow (and there’s nothing wrong with that), be thankful that we’ve been having such a mild winter, and remember, spring will be here… eventually.  

***

Wayback Wednesday Bonus: To read more about the impact the extreme 1978 weather had in Illinois, check out Record Winter Storms in Illinois, 1977-1978

Wayback Wednesday is a feature of the Parkland College Archives. If you have ideas you'd like to see in future posts, email us at archives@parkland.edu. The Archives is open to faculty, staff, students, and the public by appointment. 

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Calculators, Tablets, and More Available to Check Out

The Library has a number of electronic devices that students may check out for varying periods of time.  We have seen a rising demand for such items for the years, and we are proud to be able to supply these items.  The school environment is evolving into an increasingly more electronically depending culture.

Forgot your calculator for your math test?  We have several models available.  Calculators check out for 3 hours, but can be taken out of the Library.

Long gone are the days of hand-written essays.  We offer 57 open lab computers and another 24 computers in our computer classroom.  The classroom is an open lab, quiet study area when classes are not using it.

Prefer a more portable method?  We have laptops that can be taken anywhere IN THE LIBRARY, and check out for 2 hours.  If you're more tablet-savvy, we also have Acer tablets and iPads available to check out and take home.

Like reading, but hate having a bag full of books?  We also offer Kindles that are pre-loaded with hundreds of popular titles.


Friday, January 16, 2015

NASA Wrench

We had a real "future is here" moment in the Library this week when we printed the very same wrench that was printed in space last month!
Read the article here.  The file is available for anyone to download and print.  

The 3D printer is available for use in the Library.  For more information, you can read our 3D Printing Policy or ask a Librarian!

Monday, January 12, 2015

New in the Library!


Over the winter break, the Library purchased and installed a new TV near the entrance.  This TV will play Library focused slides, similar to Cobravision seen in other locations on the Parkland Campus.

Be sure to catch any important announcements, upcoming events, or maybe even trivia!

Friday, January 9, 2015

New Library website!

We've got a new look!  Everything is still here, but it might be in a little different location.  You can still use our parkland.edu/library address, the only thing that's changing is the look.

So come on in, have a look around, and let us know what you think!

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Textbook Trouble?

Some textbooks are available on reserve at the Library desk.  Reserve means the instructor for a class has loaned a copy of their textbook to the Library for the semester.  The Library then makes that textbook available to students.

Students may check out reserve textbooks for up to 2 hours.  These books must stay in the Library.

If 2 hours isn't long enough or you want to review the material at home, never fear!  We have options.  You can go old-school and use the photocopier to make paper copies, 10¢ for black and white and 50¢ for color.  We also have 2 scanning stations open to the public.  Scan the pages you need and then choose how you want them - printed, saved to a USB key, or emailed!  These are both great ways to extend your study time with our reserve textbooks.

Instructors - if you'd like to take advantage of this service, contact the Library today!
Students - if the textbook you need isn't available, ask your instructor (nicely!) to consider putting their text on reserve.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Closed Thursday 3-5pm

The Library will be closed from 3-5pm on Thursday, January 8th for the Learning Support Division meeting.