January's Middletown Book for Discussion: An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good (January 3)

The MUM Book Discussion group will next meet on Friday, January 3.  Our title is An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten. Here is a brief summary:

"Maud is an irascible 88-year-old Swedish woman with no family, no friends, and... no qualms about a little murder. Ever since her darling father's untimely death when she was only eighteen, Maud has lived in the family's spacious apartment in downtown Gothenburg rent-free, thanks to a minor clause in a hastily negotiated contract. It's a solitary existence, and she likes it that way. But when the local authorities are called to investigate a dead body found in Maud's apartment, will Maud finally become a suspect?"  (publisher)

Here is where you can find the book:

• There are several copies available in Miami, OhioLINK, and SearchOhio libraries.  
  
• Amazon has the hardcover, paperback, and Kindle available, and Bookshop.org has links to purchase the title from independent booksellers.

Our group is always finding interesting titles to share, and we look forward to the new things you'll bring to the table. In addition to discussing 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World, the group also shared these titles for consideration at their November 22 meeting:

Summoned: Frances Perkins and the General Welfare (documentary)
Morning in this Broken World, Katrina Kittle
Ragnar Jonasson (Icelandic crime writer)

Val McDermid (Scottish crime writer)
The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down, Haemin Sunim

One Summer, David Baldacci

How the Penguins Saved Veronica, Hazel Prior

There There, Tommy Orange

Yellowface, R. F. Kuang

Light Pirate, Lily Brooks-Dalton

A Man on the Inside (Netflix)
Texas, James Michener
First Ladies, Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Unrooted, Erin Zimmerman, 
The films Conclave, Wicked, and Red One

We will meet at 12 pm on the 3rd both in Room 123 in the Library and in Zoom at 

Join Zoom Meeting

Passcode:  271071

‬Add this event to your Google Calendar!  (which includes the Zoom information) 

Please come along to our discussion to share what you've been reading/watching/listening to/experiencing!

If you're looking for something interesting to read, check out our page of past and future reads at http://www.mid.miamioh.edu/library/bookdiscussion.htm

John

"Haga Gothenburg 2011" by Göran Höglund (Kartläsarn) is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Solve a new (or old) Miami Middletown Mystery, and enter a prize drawing

You may have solved the mystery of The Forgotten Pool in the past, but now we offer a new digital escape room - The Tiled Room. Read a brief introduction to each of the escape rooms below, and then click the links to begin your journey.

Everyone who solves one (or both) of the mysteries between now and November 15 will be entered in a drawing for one of five Gardner-Harvey Library prizes!  We hope you have fun with them, and let us know what you think!

The Tiled Room - a Miami Middletown Mystery

"You awake in a small, white, tiled room.  There is nothing in the room but a fluorescent light overhead, a vent in the ceiling, a heavy metal door, and a laptop on the floor."

This digital escape room is designed to teach you a little about how Wikipedia works and a little bit about evaluating information.  Can you solve the mystery and escape the room?  Enter The Tiled Room and find out! We hope you enjoy it!

The Forgotten Pool - a Miami Middletown Mystery

"It's another ordinary spring semester day.  You've just left class at Levey Hall, and headed over to the library to sit and study for a bit." So begins your chance to solve a mystery:  is there a pool on the Middletown Campus?  Where is it?

This digital escape room is designed to teach you a little about the history of the Miami University Middletown campus and a little bit about searching for information and using archival resources.  Can you solve the mystery?  Enter the search for The Forgotten Pool!  We hope you enjoy it!  

Join us for our November and December events at the Gardner-Harvey Library!

 Mark your calendar for these great events happening this November and December at the Gardner-Harvey Library!

TEC Lab: Design a Sublimated Tag for Your Pet
Wednesday, November 6th, 2-4pm
Do you have the best pup? Make your furry friend a fancy tag! Drop by the library between 2-4pm to choose a sublimated pet tag --- one tag per person. 

DEI Book Club: There There by Tommy Orange
Tuesday, November 12th, 12pm
Join representatives from Miami Regionals Libraries and the Center of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion this spring in an exploration of literature that embraces diversity in a variety of subject matters. The discussions will be simulcast to both Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion locations for attendees who would like to meet face-to-face, or there is an option to attend via Zoom. Starting at 12:00 pm

"Big Bend National Park, Texas" by Robbie's Photo Art is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

National Park Talk: A Visit to Big Bend National Park
Tuesday, November 19th, 4:30pm
Join us this fall as Tammie L. Gerke, teaching professor in Geology at Miami University, shares the geology and other interesting information about fossils and national parks. Get your questions answered and participate in a lively discussion on these national treasures. Held in the TEC Space or on Zoom at 4:30 pm


"

The Indoor Orchid" by morroelsie is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Underground Academy: Orchids: One of the Two Largest Families of Flowering Plants
Wednesday, November 20th, 4:00pm
Join us in the Gardner-Harvey Library’s spacious lower-level Makerspace and event area or on Zoom for Janelle Allen’s series on indoor plants. Starting at 4:00 pm.  

"Birthday gifts" by Droid Gingerbread is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

TEC Lab: Enjoy Our Open House and Make a Gift
Wednesday, December 4th, 2-4pm
Are you ready for the semester to be over? Take a break from studying, learn about our tools and materials, and make a gift or something beautiful to take home! From 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

--

November's Middletown Book for Discussion: 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World (November 22)

​

The MUM Book Discussion group will next meet on Friday, November 22.  Our title is 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak. Here is a brief summary:

"In the pulsating moments after she has been murdered and left in a dumpster outside Istanbul, Tequila Leila enters a state of heightened awareness. Her heart has stopped beating but her brain is still active - for 10 minutes 38 seconds. While the Turkish sun rises and her friends sleep soundly nearby, she remembers her life - and the lives of others, outcasts like her."  (publisher)

Here is where you can find the book:

• There are several copies available in Miami, OhioLINK, and SearchOhio libraries.  
  
• Amazon has the hardcover, paperback, and Kindle available, and Bookshop.org has links to purchase the title from independent booksellers.

Our group is always finding interesting titles to share, and we look forward to the new things you'll bring to the table. In addition to discussing Becoming Madam Secretary, the group also shared these titles for consideration at their October 25 meeting:

Summoned: Frances Perkins and the General Welfare (documentary)
My Dear Hamilton, Stephanie Dray
Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton and Grant
The Women, Kristin Hannah
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, Kim Michele Robinson and The Book Woman's Daughter, a sequel
First Ladies, Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Unrooted, Erin Zimmerman, 
Mrs Lincoln’s Dressmaker, Jennifer Chevarini
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, Lisa See
Sweet Bean Paste, Durian Sukegawa
Still Life with Bread Crumbs, Anna Quindlen
Rednecks, Taylor brown
The Stolen Child, Ann Hood
James, Percival Everett
Absent in the Spring, Mary Westmacott
How to Read a Book, a novel - Monica Wood

We will meet at 12 pm on the 22nd both in Room 123 in the Library and in Zoom at 

Join Zoom Meeting

Passcode:  551474

‬Add this event to your Google Calendar!  (which includes the Zoom information) 

Please come along to our discussion to share what you've been reading/watching/listening to/experiencing!

If you're looking for something interesting to read, check out our page of past and future reads at http://www.mid.miamioh.edu/library/bookdiscussion.htm

John

"Market streets, Istabul" by Trina Isakson is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Looking forward to the second half of the semester with the Gardner-Harvey Library Middmester Newsletter

 

The weather is finally feeling like fall, and that means it is time for Fall Break and a look into what the second half of the semester holds. Check out our library events, services, and more in the Middmester Newsletter!

Join Us for October Events at the Gardner-Harvey Library

Mark your calendar for these great events happening this month at the Gardner-Harvey Library!

TEC Lab: Make an Automata, a Self-Propelled Object

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2-4pm

Create an object or scene that moves at the turn of a crank or completely independently with a motor! We’ll work from a basic design that you can expand into a larger automaton as you wish. From 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

"Tête automate / Automata's head / Cabeça autômata" by Lucio Araujo is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

DEI Book Club: There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib
Tuesday, October 8th, 12pm

Join representatives from Miami Regionals Libraries and the Center of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion this spring in an exploration of literature that embraces diversity in a variety of subject matters. The discussions will be simulcast to both Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion locations for attendees who would like to meet face-to-face, or there is an option to attend via Zoom. Starting at 12:00 pm

National Park Talk: How to Plan a Trip to a National Park/Sharing Your Fossils

Tuesday, October 15th, 4:30pm

Join us this fall as Tammie L. Gerke, teaching professor in Geology at Miami University, shares the geology and other interesting information about fossils and national parks. Get your questions answered and participate in a lively discussion on these national treasures. Held in the TEC Space or on Zoom at 4:30 pm

"Big Bend National Park" by Soul_Smiling is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Underground Academy: Indoor Plant Composting to Support Plant Health

Wednesday, October 16th, 4pm

Join us in the Gardner-Harvey Library’s spacious lower-level Makerspace and event area or on Zoom for Janelle Allen’s following series of presentations. Starting at 4:00 pm.

"Indoor plant display" by Brande Jackson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

October's Middletown Book for Discussion: Becoming Madam Secretary (October 25)

The MUM Book Discussion group will next meet on Friday, October 25.  Our title is Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray. Here is a brief summary:

"Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference. When she's not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell's Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists . . .  But when Frances meets a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a tea dance, sparks fly in all the wrong directions. Neither knows it yet, but over the next twenty years, they will form a historic partnership that will carry them both to the White House."  (publisher)

Here is where you can find the book:

• There are several copies available in Miami and SearchOhio libraries.  
  
• Amazon has the hardcover, paperback, and Kindle available, and Bookshop.org has links to purchase the title from independent booksellers.

Our group is always finding interesting titles to share, and we look forward to the new things you'll bring to the table. In addition to discussing The Collected Regrets of Clover, the group also shared these titles for consideration at their September 27 meeting:

Six Feet Under (TV Series)

Shetland (TV Series)

Morning in This Broken World, Katrina Kittle

The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller

The Iliad, Homer (translated by Emily Wilson)

The Island of Sea Women, Lisa See

West with Giraffes, Lynda Rutledge

James, Percival Everett

We Live for the We: The Political Power of Black Motherhood, Dani McClain

There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, Hanif Abdurraqib

We will meet at 12 pm on the 25th both in Room 123 in the Library and in Zoom at 

Join Zoom Meeting

Passcode:  478978

‬Add this event to your Google Calendar!  (which includes the Zoom information) 

Please come along to our discussion to share what you've been reading/watching/listening to/experiencing!

If you're looking for something interesting to read, check out our page of past and future reads at http://www.mid.miamioh.edu/library/bookdiscussion.htm

John

"Frances Perkins, 1880-1965" by Penn State Special Collections Library is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Join us for our September events at the Gardner-Harvey Library

 Mark your calendar for two great events happening this month at the Gardner-Harvey Library!

"Xenocrinus baeri fossil crinoids in fossiliferous limestone (Whitewater Formation, Upper Ordovician; northeastern Warren County, southwestern Ohio, USA) 2" by James St. John is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

National Park Talk: Fossils of the Tri-State
Tuesday, September 17th, 4:30pm-6:00pm

Join us this fall as Tammie L. Gerke, teaching professor in Geology at Miami University, shares the geology and other interesting information about fossils and national parks. Get your questions answered and participate in a lively discussion on these national treasures. Held in the TEC SPACE or on Zoom at 4:30 pm. 

"Indoor plants Feb 2009 Post" by FarOutFlora is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Underground Academy: The Wonderful World of Indoor Plants

Wednesday, September 18th, starting at 4pm

Join us in the Gardner-Harvey Library’s spacious lower-level Makerspace and event area (TEC SPACE) or on Zoom for Janelle Allen’s series of presentations on the wonderful world of plants. 

--

Jessie Long, MLIS, MA Instructional Design & Technology [she, her, hers] Outreach & Instruction Librarian, Principal Librarian Gardner-Harvey Library Miami University | Regional Campuses Middletown | 513-727-3225 longjh@miamioh.edu MiamiOH.edu/Regionals

I recognize the Myaamia and Shawnee people who, along with other indigenous groups, were the first stewards of the land on which Miami University resides. Learn more about Miami Tribe Relations.

Fall Diversity Book Discussions (Oct. 5 and Nov. 12)

The Miami University Regionals Diversity Book Club is back this fall with two more excellent books to read, enjoy and discuss! Join us on October 8th and November 12th as we discuss There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib and There There by Tommy Orange. 

These discussions will be simulcast at 12:00 PM to both locations of the Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (100 Johnston Hall at Middletown and 114 Rentschler Hall at Hamilton) for attendees who would like to meet face-to-face. You will also be able to attend via Zoom.

You can use our Linktree to sign-up for each of these events, as well as locate copies of the books. If you have any questions about using the libraries and requesting books please reach out to Brea McQueen or John Burke for assistance.

Lastly, thank you to our wonderful sponsors. These excellent discussions wouldn't be possible without you.

John Burke, Director, Gardner-Harvey Library

Krista McDonald, Director, Rentschler Library

Bennyce Hamilton, Director, Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Brea McQueen (she/her/hers) Student Success Librarian; Assistant Librarian Miami University Regionals Rentschler Library T: 513.785.3180 | MiamiOH.edu

Upcoming Events, AI talk, and more in the Gardner-Harvey Library Fall Newsletter

 

Curious what students think about AI tools? Or want to see what is happening this Fall at the library? Check out our Fall 2024 Newsletter!

September's Middletown Book for Discussion: The Collected Regrets of Clover (September 27)

The MUM Book Discussion group ill next meet on Friday, September 27.  Our title is The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer. Here is a brief summary:

"A big-hearted and life-affirming debut about a death doula who, in caring for others at the end of their life, has forgotten how to live her own . . . Clover spends so much time with the dying that she has no life of her own, until the final wishes of a feisty old woman send Clover on a trip across the country to uncover a forgotten love story--and perhaps, her own happy ending."  (publisher)

Here is where you can find the book:

• There are several copies available in Miami, OhioLINK, and SearchOhio libraries.  
  
• Amazon has the hardcover, paperback, and Kindle available, and Bookshop.org has links to purchase the title from independent booksellers.

Special Notice:  We have also already chosen our book for October! We will meet on Friday, October 25 to discuss Stephanie Dray's Becoming Madam Secretary. If you would like to get a jump start on that book, or learn more about it, you can see its description and copies to request from SearchOhio. The Zoom link will be sent out following the September discussion.

Our group is always finding interesting titles to share, and we look forward to the new things you'll bring to the table. In addition to discussing Gilead, the group also shared these titles for consideration at their August 30 meeting:

Other works by Marilyn Robinson (the series that Gilead started): Home, Lila, and Jack

Achilles in Vietnam, Jonathan Shay

The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman, Nancy Marie Brown

Romantic Comedy, Curtis Sittenfeld

The Next Thing You Know, Jessica Strawser

The Titanic Survivors Book Club, Timothy Schaffert

The Last Green Valley, Mark Sullivan

Farewell Summer, Ray Bradbury

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett

Backyard Bird Chronicles, Amy Tan

10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in This Strange World, Elif Shafak

We will meet at 12 pm on the 27th both in Room 123 in the Library and in Zoom at 

Join Zoom Meeting

Passcode:  826237

‬Add this event to your Google Calendar!  (which includes the Zoom information) 

Please come along to our discussion to share what you've been reading/watching/listening to/experiencing!

If you're looking for something interesting to read, check out our page of past and future reads at http://www.mid.miamioh.edu/library/bookdiscussion.htm

John

"Bedside manners" by OldOnliner is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.