Perhaps you have an animal buddy at home. Maybe you’ve pet dogs in the Chapel (most Tuesdays and Wednesdays!) or the Library (during 10th week). Or it’s possible you’ve befriended a squirrel here on campus. Whatever your relationship with them, May is the month to celebrate compassion towards animals!

The Library has materials on these topics and more:

• The human-animal bond
• Animal welfare
• Animal behavior
• Animals in art
• Animals in literature
• Religious aspects of animals

See what you can find at the Library!

The Internet Archive makes many titles available as eBooks for free through the Open Library!

All you need to do to access a digital copy is create an Internet Archive account with any email address and password. This will give you access to digital titles for two weeks.

You can borrow ten books at a time from Open Library. Loans are for one hour for browsing and/or 14 days if the book is fully borrowable. When loans expire the books will be disabled on your device. Any book that you can borrow from Open Library is also available in audio form. Click the “listen” button next to the “borrow” button. Learn moe at the Open Library FAQ.

The A.M. Todd Rare Book Room at the Kalamazoo College Library is hosting A Scroll Through Time: The Evolution of Chinese and Japanese Bookbinding, an exhibit curated by Indigo Corvidae ’24!

Date: April 1 – June 7, 2024

Day/Time: Mondays: 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. and Fridays: 3 p.m. – 5p.m.

Location: Upjohn Library Commons, room 326

Celebrate National Poetry Month!

Kalamazoo has a special relationship with poetry. There are live poetry events, workshops, and readings year round! We are also home to Diane Seuss ’78, winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in poetry for her work frank: sonnets.

Here are some poetry events and materials you can take advantage of in April (and all year!):

• Check out our virtual display featuring poetry books from our collection
• Attend an event by the Kalamazoo Poetry Festival
• Check out the Poetry Foundation, where you can search for poems or sign up for a poem of the day.
• Listen to poets read and discuss their works on the New Yorker Poetry Podcast
• Check out a book of poetry from our collection
• Read about 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month online or at home

Right to Read Day is a day for readers, advocates, and library lovers to take action to protect, defend, and celebrate the right to read against censorship and book banning.

Censors have recently accelerated their attempts to ban books in schools and public libraries. In 2023, the American Library Association documented efforts to censor 4,240 unique book titles in schools and public libraries.

The ACLU of Michigan recently launched an interactive map to track acts of censorship in Michigan. This map tracks incidents that resulted in a formal review process, so other acts of censorship that occur are not listed.

To celebrate Right to Read Day, take action and tell your elected officials to stand up to censorship. The Right to Read Day website has a form you can easily fill out to send a letter to your senators and representatives and ask them to defend your right to read!

Did you know that the Library has many textbooks available on Reserve? We may have the book you need for your class — check our catalog and find out!

Reserve materials circulate for two hours at a time – just enough for you to get your reading done and share with others. Questions? Let us know how we can help! Email us at library@kzoo.edu.

The Library is a great place to study, but you can also unwind here! Check out our De-Stress Nook on the first floor in the Learning Commons (behind the lobby display case). This is a great place to work on a puzzle, play a game, color, or just relax with friends.

What other activities or relaxing things to do would you like to see at the De-Stress Nook? Email us at library@kzoo.edu and let us know!

This week, we celebrate Open Education Week, a global movement promoting free and accessible educational resources.  

Celebrating Open Education at the Library 

The Library is a strong supporter of open education on campus. Here are some ways we’re celebrating Open Education Week: 

• Students! Please fill out our brief (3-5 min.) Student Textbook Survey so that we can continue improving our textbook affordability efforts.  
• Faculty! We want to hear from you too! The Faculty Textbook Survey can help us evaluate and improve our support to you. 

What is Open Education? 

Open educational resources (OERs) are teaching and learning materials freely available for everyone to use. This can include textbooks, articles, videos, and more. OERs can save students money on expensive course materials and ensure everyone has access to high-quality learning resources. 

We encourage everyone to explore the world of open education!