Memorial Day

The Library will be closed on Monday, May 26th in observance of Memorial Day.

In the Midwest, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer and the opening of pool season. Many people also take advantage of the three-day weekend to travel, visit family, or celebrate with a BBQ.


Officially, Memorial Day is a day to recognize men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Not to be confused with Veterans' Day, which recognizes the service of all U.S. military veterans.


From The Dictionary of American History:

The practice of decorating graves of war dead began before the close of the Civil War. However, an officially set day was established in 1868 when Gen. John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued an order naming May 30 as a day for “strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion.” The day became known as Decoration Day, but as it was extended to include the dead of all wars, it took the name Memorial Day.

Learn more about Memorial Day and Memorial Day Weekend at the USA.gov Memorial Day page.


Have a happy and safe holiday!

End of the Semester

Congratulations Graduates!  Best of luck to those of you who are moving on to universities, as well as those of you moving on to the workforce.  We will certainly miss seeing your faces on campus.

For those of you sticking around this summer, our hours will vary slightly during the summer months.  Check here, our Facebook page, the student portal or the library's website for any important changes.

May 19th through June 13th we will be...

OPEN 

Monday - Friday 

8:00am - 5:00pm

CLOSED

Saturday - Sunday

Summer Semester hours will begin on June 16th. 

Throwback Thursday: Congratulations Graduates!

There have been 46 commencement exercises before your turn in the green cap and gown, all beginning with the first one on June 17, 1968.

On this date, Parkland graduated 21 students who earned certificates for one year programs in Dental Assisting, Office Services, Electronics, and Data processing.

Take a look at this picture from the ceremony, in which President Staerkel is presenting a Parkland student with her certificate. Their smiles are big and genuine, and one can’t help but get the impression that both parties are extremely proud of their accomplishments. In addition to the efforts of the student herself, imagine the efforts behind the events that led up to this ceremony – the formation of the college itself!

The Parkland Archives wishes you great success in your future, and we hope that you are every bit as proud of your accomplishments as those that participated in the first commencement!

***

The Parkland Archives is always looking for ideas to feature in our Wayback Wednesday series. If you have a question about Parkland's history, send us an email!

 

Finals Week = FREE Coffee & Tea in the Library!

Come into the Parkland Library during Finals Week (May 9th and May 12th-15th) for a cup of FREE coffee or tea!

Have a cup? Bring it! Be green. (We have cups on hand too.)

Good luck with your finals from the faculty & staff at the Parkland College Library!

Closing out a successful National Library Week

We've closed the book on National Library Week for 2014.  It was a great week and we were thrilled to see so many friendly faces celebrate with us. 

Tuesday, April 15th there was a Poetry Celebration in the Reading Lounge.  Students, faculty and staff gathered together to share their favorite poems and read original work.  Pictured below are Will Reger, John Hayes, and Jessica Reed.

 Wednesday, April 16th a most noble contest was held in the College Center, the Cupcake-A-Book contest.  Resurrected this year, 13 participants turned literary tales into frosted masterpieces. Passersby donated spare change or dollar bills to the cupcake display they like the most. 

 A few fan favorites:

Overall the event was a huge success!  $370 was raised to be donated to the Wesley Food Pantry at Parkland College.  Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, created by Jan Thom, was the grand prize winner.  Jan won a Parkland drawstring bag, t-shirt, and water bottle - courtesy of the Parkland Bookstore.

Thursday, April 17th we unveiled the 10th READ Poster and announced the Parkland Reads book for the upcoming year.  Marva Nelson introduced the Parkland Reads book, which is The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers.

Afterwards the library director Anna Maria Watkin revealed our 10th READ Poster.  Linda Moore was present to say a few words about this year's poster candidate, John Eby.  John chose the book Stonewall by David Carter.  And for the first time, this year's candidate brought party favors for everyone in attendance...READ pencils.  John explained his fascination with collecting pencils and encouraged everyone to take one.

 

John and his mother

Anna Maria Watkin and John Eby

 

Thank you all for making this National Library Week one for the books! 

Wayback Wednesday: A Parkland Library Scrapbook

In honor of National Library Week, here's a digital scrapbook celebrating the history of the Parkland College Library created with records from the Parkland Archives.

Click the button on the lower right of the frame to enlarge.

 

10th Annual READ Poster Unveiling

Every year the Parkland Library carefully selects a faculty or staff member to represent Parkland College on the year's READ Poster.  These posters adorn the walls of the Library.  2014 marks the 10th year the Library has upheld this tradition.  We hold this event each year during National Library Week.  It is one of the many ways we celebrate the Library, literacy, and learning.

As always, we have guarded the identity of this year's READ poster with the utmost secrecy.  This year's candidate has served the student population for so long, it is difficult to release any clues without giving away too much.  You'll just have to join us on Thursday, April 17th at noon to find out who it is!

Please encourage friends, faculty, staff and students to attend and support the library during this time of celebration. 

Play with your food! Win a prize!

Cupcake-A-Book!

On Wednesday, April 16th from 10am - 2pm the Library will host a Cupcake-A-Book contest in the College Center.  Say that 5 times fast! 

The concept is simple.  Choose a book.  Acquire some cupcakes (make them, buy them, we don't care.)  Decorate cupcakes in a manner which somehow represents your book.  You can decorate based on theme, plot, title, character, etc.  As long as the design relates to the book.  To register, you can download an entry form here. 

On Wednesday, April 16th all the entries will be on display (no, you may not eat them) in the College Center.  Vote for your favorite by donation.  You may donate any amount.  The proceeds will benefit the Wesley Food Pantry at Parkland.

AND the entry with the most collected in donations will win a prize!  It's a good one, I promise.  For more information click here or for a flyer you can show off to all your students try this one.

If you need some ideas to get you started, here are some past years' examples...

Flyer
More information
Entry form

Join us for a Poetry Celebration!

If you like poetry, you can't miss this!  On Tuesday, April 15th at 1:00pm the library will host a poetry reading in the Reading Lounge.  Students, faculty and staff are invited to read an original or favorite poem.

We would like to especially encourage students to join us and share their original poems!  All students are welcome, all types of poetry are welcome.  Your poem can be in any format, even in another language if you wish.


We request that poems be appropriate for the setting.  Please refrain from using derogatory language or excessive swear words.  We want you to express yourself, but also to consider your audience.

Click here to get the flyer!  Contact Sarah Meilike at smeilike@parkland.edu for more information.

Spring Break Hours

The Parkland Library Spring Break hours start this weekend. No matter if we're open or closed, if you are a Parkland student or employee, you can still access our online resources. Click this link to finish up any research during your break.

Spring Break Hours

March 22 - 23
Saturday - Sunday
CLOSED

March 24 - 27
Monday - Thursday
OPEN 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

March 28 - 30
Friday, Saturday, Sunday
CLOSED

NEW Regular Hours
Starting Monday, March 31st, our library hours will change to the following:
Monday - Thursday 7:30am - 8:00pm

Friday 7:30am - 5:00pm

Saturday 10:00am - 2:00pm

Sunday closed