The Reason for the Season

Wishing you all the Merriest Christmas!

From chicfluff.com

Thank you for letting us be a part of your life. We look forward to great things in 2013. 

Memorial Bell Tolls For Sandy Hook Victims

On Friday, Dec. 21 at 8:30 a.m., the bells of Samford University’s Rushton Memorial Carillon will toll 26 times in memory of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newton, Conn.

Samford carillonneur Steve Knight will perform the service as part of a memorial observation that will enlist the bells of colleges and churches throughout the nation.

The Rushton Memorial Carillon, so familiar to Samford students from the late 1960s through the present, is among the finest in the nation. The 49 bells of the original set, together weighing more than five tons and covering four octaves, were cast in Asten, Holland, at the renowned Schulmerich-Eljsbouts Bell Foundry. The carrillon was first installed in the bell tower of the university's Reid Chapel in 1968. It was expanded and relocated to the library’s bell tower in 1979. For more information about the Carillon, please visit this page.

Reaching Out to Newtown

Samford community members may have seen this recent email from Dr. Jeanie Box:

"Dear Samford Community:

In the aftermath of the terrible tragedy in Connecticut, the Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education and Professional Studies would like to reach out to the Newtown children, teachers, and families who are grief stricken by this event. As one father commented on the news yesterday, one path toward healing is to do something positive and help others. To that end, we are sponsoring a book drive for the children from Sandy Hook Elementary School.

If you would like to contribute, we are asking that age-appropriate books be purchased for children in Kindergarten through Grade 4 (ages 5 to 10). The drop off location is the lobby of OBB School of Education and Professional Studies building.

Boxes will be available at both locations. Once we receive your book(s), the Print Shop will make a bookplate which we will place in the front of your book that simply reads,

(Samford logo)

From your friends at

Samford University

Birmingham, Alabama

2013

We would like to ship these books at the beginning of the Spring semester. These do not have to books about grief or loss, but can be a favorite book or one that will make the children happy readers.  

Thank you for your consideration.  

Wishing you and your families the best at this Christmas season,

Jeanie A. Box, Ph.D.

Dean

Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education

and Professional Studies

Ralph W. Beeson Professor

Samford University"

We are proud to participate with the Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education and Professional Studies in this project. A collection box will be just across from Circulation on the 1st Floor during the month of January. 

Holiday Reading We Love

Now that the semester has come to a close, students (and faculty!) are looking forward to a break from their classes, clubs and jobs. The next few weeks provide the perfect opportunity to catch up on all the books you’ve been meaning to read but could never find time for during the fall. Here at the library, we did a lot of reading throughout the year.

For the first time ever the library faculty and staff members have made a list of the top books we’ve read this year. The list contains classics and newer releases and plenty of titles for fans of science fiction and adventure. We also made sure to include titles for those who prefer nonfiction and memoirs. Several of these books or similar works by the authors are available at the library (those linked). For anyone looking for a great book during the holidays, we’ve made this list with you in mind:

• Revelations by Elaine Pagels
• The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
• The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson
• The Poet of Tolstoy Park by Sonny Brewer
• The Window and the Tree by Sonny Brewer
• My Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos
• Wool by Hugh Howey
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• Living In More Than One World: How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life by Bruce Rosenstein
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
• The Bones by Seth Greenland
• Poseidon’s Arrow by Clive Cussler
• Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
• Star Wars: Millennium Falcon by James Luceno
• The Millennium Falcon Owner’s Workshop Manual by Ryder Windham, Chris Reiff and Chris Trevas
• A Rare Titanic Family: The Caldwells’ Story of Survival by Julie Williams
• Night by Elie Wiesel
• I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith

For those who prefer to purchase your own copy, you can support the library while you shop online. Click here for links to participating companies include Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, AbeBooks, Alibris and Family Christian Stores. When you go through this page to make your online purchase, you can help earn a commission to support the library at no additional cost to you. For more information please visit the Shop Online page of the Samford Library website.

Marci Solomon, Circulation Assistant

Extended Hours During Finals

Open Late!

Students are knee-deep in final presentations, study groups, and paper-writing, and Samford Library will continue extended hours through next week. Don't forget to Ask Us any questions about research, citing sources, or technical problems you have accessing our materials!

Here's the full breakdown:

Wednesday, Dec 5:   7:30 am - 2:00 AM

Thursday, Dec 6:    7:30 am - 2:00 AM

Friday, Dec 7:   7:30 am - 5:00 pm

Saturday, Dec 8:   10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sunday, Dec 9:   1:00 pm - 2:00 AM

Monday, Dec 10:   7:30 am - 2:00 AM

Tuesday, Dec 11:   7:30 am - 2:00 AM

Wednesday, Dec 12:   7:30 am - 2:00 AM

Thursday, Dec 13:   7:30 am - 6:00 PM

Friday, Dec 14:   8:00 am - 4:30 pm

For a look at all of our holiday hours, including those during winter break, visit our Hours website or call the library information hotline at (205) 726-4015. 

Advent: Wake from your Sleep

"Do this because we live in an important time. It is now the time for you to wake from your sleep, 

because salvation is nearer now than when we first believed."

Romans 13:11

Today begins the Advent season, and growing up, that meant Sundays of lighting candles, a calendar with chocolate, and making Christmas ornaments in pre-school. But what does the Advent season really mean, and how can we take advantage of it to develop in our paths to salvation? Is it just a means to an end (Christmas), or is the journey as important as the final lesson, like so many things in life?

My minister, Dr. Conrad Sharps of Independent Presbyterian Church, recently wrote something in our church newsletter that really resonated on this topic:

"Advent is a reminder to us that we are children of God and that Christ will one day return. It is a reminder to us that salvation is from God and from God alone. It is sin that is an intruder into our lives and into our world. An intruder which is hostile torward every good thing which God intends for his children. 

"This season is a time when all people of faith are called to a time of repentance and preparation, for Christ is coming into the world! We don't know when, but it shouldn't matter. That God should be born to us in a manger, live for us, die for us, rise from the dead for us says to me, it doesn't matter when he's coming, but that he's coming that matters."

Advent is part of Christmas, not just something your church might recognize before the Big Day. It shouldn't be dismissed as part of the holiday any more than our experiences can be ignored as part of who we each are.

As you are working on your final papers, studying for exams, buying presents for your family and friends, take a moment to think about the journey that has brought you here. What did you learn about yourself and the way you learn this semester that can be carried forth into your future work and relationships?