Did you know that you can request a book or article that the Kalamazoo College Library does not have in our collection? It’s easy!

Just go to the My Interlibrary Loan link on the Library Website. Log in with your Kalamazoo College username and password, enter the information about the item, and it will be delivered to the Library for you! You will receive an email when the item arrives, so be sure you select to receive notifications via email.

In some instances, a Michigan library may own a book. In that case, you can request it from MeLCat. MeLCat only delivers books, not articles or microfilm.

If you have questions, you can read all about Interlibrary Loan. You can also contact the Interlibrary Loan Department by email at ill@kzoo.edu or by phone at (269) 337-7148.

If you need research help, contact our Research Librarians, who are available for individual consultations in person or via Microsoft Teams. Make a Research Rescue Appointment, Ask a Librarian using this online form, or email us at reference@kzoo.edu!

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the Library has (virtually) gathered titles to help people who want to learn more about domestic violence survivorship. Check out our Virtual Book Display on Domestic Violence Survivors for some of our library’s resources and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence for more on Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Find out about domestic violence resources on campus through the Kalamazoo College Title IX website.

Need more information? Reference Librarians are here to help you! Email reference@kzoo.edu or make an appointment.

The photo “A Purple Ribbon for Domestic Violence Awareness Month” by UMaineStudentLife is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Librarians can help your with your research — both in person and online!

Research Librarians (also known as Reference Librarians) are available for individual consultations in person or via Microsoft Teams. Make a Research Rescue Appointment, Ask a Librarian using this online form, or email us at reference@kzoo.edu!

Find out more about our Research Help.

Welcome October! Check out the first floor lobby book display for witches, goblins, ghosts, and more.

Titles include:

• Aliens, Ghosts, and Cults: Legends We Live
• An introduction to Yōkai culture : monsters, ghosts, and outsiders in Japanese history
• Cultural haunting : ghosts and ethnicity in recent American literature
• Witchcraft and magic in Europe. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
• Victorian hauntings : spectrality, Gothic, the uncanny, and literature
• On witchcraft : an abridged translation of Johann Weyer’s De praestigiis daemonum praestigiis daemonum

You can check these books out at the library circulation desk. Happy haunting!

Do you know about MeLCat?

MeLCat is a system that allows you to request books from other Michigan libraries. When you request a book through MeLCat, it arrives for you at the Kalamazoo College Library, and you get an email that it’s here. Then just come to the Library circulation desk to pick it up. It’s that easy!

To use MeLCat, just search the MeLCat catalog for your book. When you find what you want, click “Get this from MeLCat,” choose Kalamazoo College Library from the drop down list, enter your name and barcode number (the 14 digit number on your ID that starts with 25017…), and that’s it! You will receive an email when it arrives.

You can check out a MeLCat book for three weeks, and renew through MeLCat for another three. The system includes academic and public libraries, so it’s great for fun reading as well!

Check out the New Books display on the library’s first floor in the lobby! Highlights include:

• Women in George Washington’s World by Charlene Boyer Lewis
• Dvorak’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music
• The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
• Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019
• Getting to the Heart of the Matter: My 36 Years in the Senate by Carl Levin
• The End of Bias: A Beginning; the Science and Practice of Overcoming Unconscious Bias
• Zero to IPO: Over $1 Trillion of Advice from the World’s Most Successful Entrepreneurs
• The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves

You can also keep up with our new books any time by checking out our new items collection through our catalog. If you need help finding a book or other materials, contact us at reference@kzoo.edu. We love to hear from you!

Celebrate the United States Constitution!

To mark this year’s Constitution Day (Friday, September 17th), the Library has compiled a guide of resources, including primary source documents, to provide the College community with information about one of America’s most important documents.

Established by Congress in 2004, Constitution Day recognizes the ratification of the U.S. constitution on September 17, 1787.  The law, introduced by Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, requires all educational institutions receiving federal funds provide information and instruction about the Constitution on September 17th each year.

From September 15 to October 15 each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the achievements, histories, traditions and cultural diversity of Hispanic/Latino/Latinx Americans whose heritage is rooted in 20 Latin American countries and territories: Spain, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. 

Hispanic refers to a person who is from, or a descendant of someone who is from, a Spanish-speaking country.

Latino/a or Latinx refers to a person who is from, or a descendant of someone who is from, a country in Latin America.

The theme for 2022 is “Unidos: Inclusivity for a Stronger Nation.”

Kalamazoo College Library has several resources for Hispanic American research, including the database Hispanic Life in America. This collection is sourced from more than 17,000 global media outlets, including over 700 Spanish-language or bilingual publications, dating from 1704 to today. Check our A to Z Database Guide for this database and more resources!

You can view even more resources at the National Museum of the American Latino and Hispanic and Latino heritage at the National Archives.

The Library Reading Room now has several small ecosystems of plants and friends! As part of her SIP, K senior Emma Sidor ’23 placed the terrariums in the Reading Room just before Orientation began this fall. Each has an explanatory card that details the plants inside and says that plants can reduce stress, help with concentration, and promote positive emotions.

The terrariums include creatures such as aliens, ducks with raincoats, ninjas, mushrooms, and dinosaurs. They certainly brighten up the Reading Room, and hopefully they will “bring you joy and help with your studies!”