Day of the Dead Presentations, Friday the 30th

For the eighth consecutive year, Carmichael Library will commemorate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead.) Día de los Muertos is a holiday celebrated mainly in Mexico and by people of Mexican heritage living in the United States and Canada. The holiday is dedicated to the remembrance of friends and relatives who have died.

Following the customs of this tradition, the library's foyer is showcasing ceremonial altars built by students of Dr. Eric Vaccarella's Spanish 101 classes. This year's altars are dedicated to Elvis Presley, Patrick Swayze, Marilyn Monroe, and Paul William "Bear" Bryant. In addition, an altar has been constructed to commemorate the victims of cancer.

The public is invited to meet UM students when they present their work at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, October 30^th. The altars will be on display in the library through Friday, November 6^th.

Above is a photo from last Friday's altar setup day. The students in this photo are putting the finishing touches on their altar to Elvis Presley. For those who can't make it to the library to see these works of art in person, we'll have photos of the completed altars and other main floor decorations on our Facebook and Flickr accounts.

Spooks in the Stacks! This Friday, October 30th

We're now just four days away from Spooks in the Stacks! We've got a full program planned for this Friday, October 30^th, starting at 7:00 p.m.

Birmingham Paranormal will be at the library to present the spooky sounds and activity they've documented in King House and Main Hall. Walking tours of the campus will take visitors directly to the sites of some of the school’s most famous ghost stories. Finally, the library will conduct a costume contest with prizes provided by the Montevallo Chamber of Commerce.

For those planning to participate in the costume contest, please plan to be at the library at 8:00 p.m. Judging of costumes will take place at that time and contest participants must be present to win.

Thanks to the UM Office of Public Relations, the UM Office of Student Life, and Montevallo Chamber of Commerce for their help in publicizing this week's event.

National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week

October 18th through the 24th marks National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week. This awareness campaign was created by the BACCHUS Network in 2008 to educate college students and young adults about both alcohol abuse and alcohol-impaired driving. Carmichael Library is working with the UM Counseling and Career Center to present resources to raise awareness of these important issues on the Montevallo campus.

Research has shown a direct correlation between alcohol consumption and academic achievement. In spite of the many risks associated with binge drinking, the average college student spends twice as much money annually on alcoholic beverages than on textbooks. Check out our display in the library foyer to learn more facts and the risks associated with alcohol abuse.

Local Resources

If you, or someone you know, is struggling with an alcohol problem, the UM Counseling Center can help. They can reached at (205) 665-6262. Other area resources include Birmingham Alcoholic Anonymous and Birmingham Al-Anon.

Library Resources

Following are several books that cover the topic:

Carson-DeWitt, Rosalyn, ed. Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol & Addictive Behavior. New York: Macmillan Reference, 2001. Ref. HV5804 .E53 2001

Dodes, Lance M. The Heart of Addiction: A New Approach to Understanding and Managing Alcoholism and Other Addictive Behaviors. New York: Quill, 2003. RC565 .D597 2003

Kuhn, Cynthia. Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstacy. New York: Norton, 2003. RM316. K84 2003

Other Web Resources

Alcohol: Problems & Solutions - This site contains a wealth of content from drinking and driving to alcohol fun facts

College Drinking Prevention - From the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's Task Force on College Drinking this site serves college students and their parents, as well as school administrators

Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention - From the U.S. Department of Education, this site is geared more toward administrators but has a number of up-to-date facts and statistics on alcohol abuse

Special thanks to Kassie Doggett and the UM Counseling and Career Center for their assistance with this display.

Spooks in the Stacks! October 30th

For the second year, Carmichael Library will be open late for a special Halloween event that we call Spooks in the Stacks! The thrills and chills will take place Friday, October 30^th from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The library is located at the corner of Highland Street and Bloch Street on the University of Montevallo campus. Attendance is free.

We've got an exciting, educational, and largely new program lined up so even if you joined us last year, you won't want to miss this special night of Carmichael Hall hauntings. Birmingham Paranormal will be on hand to play recordings of the paranormal sounds and activity they've documented in King House and Main Hall. Walking tours of the campus will take visitors directly to the sites of some of UM’s most famous ghost stories. Finally, the library will host a costume contest with prizes provided by the Montevallo Chamber of Commerce.

Spooks in the Stacks! is sponsored by the Montevallo Chamber of Commerce and the UM Office of Student Life.

Stay tuned to this blog (or our Facebook Fan Page) for more information as the night before Halloween approaches. In the meantime, mark the date and plan to join us on October 30^th--if you dare!

Photo and graphics: King Family Cemetery by Joel Bullock

Happy 57th Birthday, Barcode!

If you're using Google today, you'll notice a special logo at the top of the page. The Washington Post reports that today is the 57^th anniversary of the barcode. TechCrunch.com contributor Michael Arrington writes that inventors Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver filed the patent for their idea on October 20, 1949. Nearly three years later, the barcode was patented on October 7, 1952.

It's hard to imagine life before the bar code. Not only do groceries and other companies use the ubiquitous line patterns in retail outlets, but they are also used on vehicles to aid identification. They are also now used on airline boarding passes. Finally, every one of the nearly 260,000 cataloged pieces at Carmichael Library has a bar code attached!

Remember when you're Googling today this invention that has changed the way we shop, travel, and conduct business. You go, bar code!

Photo credit: Creative Commons license