Library Hours for Finals -- and Beyond!

Planning on burning the ol' "midnight oil" with final exams coming up?  Starting Monday, the Samford University Library will be open additional hours during the next two weeks to help accommodate your late-night study needs!

Monday, December 3rd:  7:30am - 2am

Tuesday, December 4th:  7:30am - 2am

Wednesday, December 5th:  7:30am - 2am

Thursday, December 6th:  7:30am - 2am

Friday, December 7th:  7:30am - 8pm 

Saturday, December 8th:  10am - 8pm

Sunday, December 9th:  1pm - 2am

Monday, December 10th:  7:30am - 2am 

Tuesday, December 11th:  7:30am - 2am

Wednesday, December 12th:  7:30am - 2am

Starting on Thursday, December 13th, we will begin operating on reduced hours in anticipation of our annual holiday break.

Thursday, December 13th:  7:30am - 6pm

Friday, December 14th:  7:30am - 5pm

Saturday, December 15th:  CLOSED

Sunday, December 16th:  CLOSED

Monday, December 17th:  7:30am - 5pm

Tuesday, December 18th:  7:30am - 5pm

Wednesday, December 19th:  7:30am - 5pm

Thursday, December 20th:  7:30am - 5pm

Friday, December 21st:  7:30am - 5pm

Beginning Saturday, December 22nd, the library will be CLOSED through January 1st for the Christmas and New Year holidays.  We will re-open Wednesday, January 2nd, at 7:30am.

You can always find more information about the library's hours of operation by visiting our website.

WW1 Armistice 100th Anniversary

Howard College cadets during WWI. Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

Sunday, November 11, 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the Armistice of the First World War.

WWI or “The Great War” was the largest and deadliest war to that point in history. From July 1914-November 1918 dozens of countries on multiple fronts fought around the clock. It was the advent of many different modern war technologies, such as planes and deadly gas, helping make it one of the most horrifying conflicts in history.

At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month “The War to End All Wars” was over. Over 65,000,000 were dead, with millions more wounded and displaced.

A supply caraven in Europe days after the Armistice.  Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

Graves of fallen soldiers as far as the eye can see.  Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

War destruction in Verdun, France.  Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

An arm of the American Red Cross was based out of Birmingham. Many local people who could not serve in the military, many women, worked to provide relief services for those serving in the war.

Canteen service report.  Images courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

Many of the applications for service in the Red Cross include a desire to serve their country as their reason for volunteering. The Samford University Library Special Collection has many of these applications, including one from Howard College Alum Frances Youngblood.

Images courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

New Online Resource -- Statista

The Samford University Library is excited to announce that we are now able to offer Statista to our students, staff and faculty!  Samford joins over eight hundred institutions of higher learning in offering this electronic resource -- a community that includes prestigious schools such as Harvard, Michigan State, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, M.I.T., Rutgers, Stanford, Vassar, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Alabama.

Statista is a statistical database that offers comprehensive and efficient access to over one million statistics and facts on eighty thousand topics in one hundred seventy multidisciplinary categories from more than twenty-two thousand sources. It has the ability to quickly and comprehensively access multifaceted statistical data in six hundred industries, making this resource applicable to a wide variety of programs and disciplines.

Where does the data in Statista come from?

Image source: Statista

Statista allows you to search by concept, location, industry, societal trends, etc., and to export the reference for the original source into a variety of formats.  Furthermore, it automatically formats the reference to be compatible with five different academic style guides.  These features make it easier than ever for students to use its data in term papers, presentations, or projects.

Samford students and employees can access Statista via our website’s database listings.  If you are visiting the campus, please visit the University Library’s circulation or ASK US desks to inquire about temporary access to online research resources.

Library Hours for Fall Break

Midterms are behind us, so students get to take a few days off for Fall Break.  The library will still be open, but we'll be taking it a bit easier as well with some reduced hours:

• Friday, October 5, 2018:  7:30am - 5:00pm
• Saturday, October 6, 2018:  10:00am - 2:00pm
• Sunday, October 7, 2018:  2:00pm - 6:00pm
• Monday, October 8, 2018:  7:30am - 8:00pm

The library will resume its regular operating hours on Tuesday, October 9, 2018.

For more information about the library's hours of operation, please click here.

Extended Library Hours for Midterms

It seems like classes just started, but here we are with Fall Break right around the corner.  But looming even closer are the ever-dreaded MIDTERMS!  For those of you night owls needing some late-night midterm study space, the library will once again be operating under extended hours to accommodate your needs.

• Monday, October 1st:  7:30am - 2:00am
• Tuesday, October 2nd:  7:30am - 2:00am
• Wednesday, October 3rd:  7:30am - 2:00am

For more information about the library's hours of operation, please visit our website.

Browser Security Warnings When Using Library Resources

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

We have been made aware that some browsers are having issues linking from library databases to full-text articles on publisher websites. You may encounter security warnings from your browser as a result of publishers adopting the secure "https" protocol, while our databases continue to use the "http" protocol. We are currently working with our vendors and publishers to resolve this issue.

In the meantime, if you or your students encounter a security warning from your browser while using library resources, please report the citation for the resource you are attempting to access and the browser you are using to Beth Ashmore, our Metadata Librarian for Serials & Electronic Resources.

You may also want to ensure that you are using the most up-to-date version of your browser. If you are still encountering security warnings, please consider using the most recent version of the Firefox browser for your library research as there have been fewer reported issues with the Firefox browser than with Chrome or Safari. For more information on these security warnings, please click here.

We apologize for any inconvenience these issues may cause while you are conducting your research. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you.

Fall Library Hours

All across campus, students will be settling into their new routines with the start of Fall Term on Monday -- and we here at the library are no exception!  Monday marks the start of our regular hours of operation:

Sunday -- 1:00pm to Midnight

Monday -- 7:30am to Midnight

Tuesday -- 7:30am to Midnight

Wednesday -- 7:30am to Midnight

Thursday -- 7:30am to Midnight

Friday -- 7:30am to 6:00pm

Saturday -- 10:00am to 7:00pm

The library will be CLOSED Monday, September 3rd in observance of Labor Day.

Inclement weather or other events beyond the control of the University that might cause risk or danger to students, faculty, and staff may occasionally result in changes to normal University operations, including library hours.

For more information about the library's hours of operation, please click HERE.

Throwback Thursday - WW2 Veterans in College

Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection

As we prepare to honor our men and women in the armed forces who have died in service to their country, this week's "Throwback Thursday" shows a group of veterans between classes on Howard College's East Lake campus.

The photo, captioned "Veterans in College, in 'Civies' -- and Liking It," was taken for some promotional materials aimed at young men getting out of the military after World War II.

Throwback Thursday - 1898 Student Body

Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection

This week's "Throwback Thursday" takes us all the way back to 1898, where we see the entire Howard College student body.  It was an all-boys school at the time and there weren't many students.  They also wore woolen cadet uniforms -- which sounds downright awful in the Alabama heat!

Thowback Thursday - 1973 Religious Activities Council

Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

No, this week's "Throwback Thursday" isn't a pyramid scheme in action -- it's the Samford Religious Activities Council back in 1973.  Since this photo was published in the Entre Nous yearbook we actually know who everyone in it is (which is pretty uncommon).

Row 1: Ricky Godwon, Allen Murphy, Jim Ailor

Row 2: Beth Williams, Paul Duke, Ricky Dill, Lynn Hazelgrove

Row 3: James Wade

Spring 2018 Finals Study Break Turnout

We had such a great turnout last night for our late-night study break.  The pizzas arrived right on time -- and it's a good thing, too, because nobody wants to see what happens when students are up late from studying and are denied their promised pizza!

Thanks to everyone who came out to make this such a fun event!  And a special "thank you" to Marcos, Jackson and Kelsey (who took the awesome shots below) for helping make it happen!

And for those of you who still have finals ahead of them, here's a bit of Viking-style motivation we found on one of our rolling whiteboards...

Good luck everyone!

Study Breaks During Finals

Spring classes may be over, but finals are dead ahead -- and we know what that means:  putting in long hours studying at the library!  But don't worry (well, we know you're already worried about finals anyway but bear with us), we'll have some study breaks for those of you burning the late-night oil getting ready for that big exam coming up...

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The Samford SGA Freshman & Senior Class Officers are sponsoring "Something Sweet for Finals Week" with Insomnia Cookies on May 7th and 8th in Room 235 of the library.  The event starts both nights at 8pm and lasts until the cookies run out.

As for the library itself, we'll once again be observing the time-honored tradition of late-night pizza breaks during finals.  We'll be offering free pizza starting at 11pm on May 8th -- and as with the cookies, the event lasts as long as the pizza lasts.

And as a reminder, the library will be open until 2:00am Sunday through Wednesday of next week -- and Einstein Bros. Bagels will be open until midnight Sunday through Wednesday of next week too!



Good luck with finals everyone!

Throwback Thursday and Extended Hours for Finals

Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

We thought this image of a young lady studying in the library stacks during the late 1950s would be an appropriate choice for this week's "Throwback Thursday" as final exams are right around the corner.  Speaking of, the library will once again be operating under extended hours to accommodate your late-night study needs:

Sunday, April 29th

1:00pm - 2:00am

Monday, April 30th - Thursday, May 3rd

7:30am - 2:00am

Friday, May 4th

7:30am - 8:00pm

Saturday, May 5th

10:00am - 8:00pm

Sunday, May 6th

1:00pm - 2:00am

Monday, May 7th - Wednesday, May 9th

7:30am - 2:00am

And in case you get a case of the munchies while burning the midnight oil, the Einstein Bros. Bagels location in the library will be operating under extended hours during finals as well:

Monday, April 30th - Thursday, May 3rd

7:30am - 1:00am

Friday, May 4th

7:30am - 2:00pm

Saturday, May 5th

CLOSED

Sunday, May 6th

4:00pm - 12:00am

Monday, May 7th - Wednesday, May 9th

7:30am - 12:00am

For more information about the library's hours of operation, click here.

Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

For this week's "Throwback Thursday" we bring you Ingalls Hall as it was being constructed in the mid-1950s.  Listed here as the "General Science" building, it became home to the McWhorter School of Pharmacy for many years.  Today, this building is once again under renovation to become something new.

Throwback Thursday - Strumming in the Sunshine

Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

On this "Throwback Thursday," we have some students posing outside the Ralph Waldo Beeson Student Center.  We can't be sure as the students aren't identified and there is no date on the picture, but we believe this picture is from the 1980s.

Support the Library's 2018 "Big Give" Project!

The Samford University "Big Give" is an annual fundraising event that encourages students, alumni, faculty and staff to support a variety of projects across campus.  This year the Big Give will be held April 10th and 11th (tomorrow and Wednesday), and we here at the library would greatly appreciate your support of our project: The Crimson Collection.

The University Library Special Collection and University Archives is the home of Samford’s history. Part of that history are the pictures, stories, and columns written by Samford students in The Crimson over the years. Many alumni and faculty that have built and left their mark on the university reside in these resources.  It is our goal to make them more readily accessible as well as preserve the content by digitizing all of The Crimson editions. The preservation of these original sources are enhanced due to their availability in digital format.

If you'd like to help us reach our $5,000.00 goal, you can give online here by clicking on "GIVE NOW" and selecting "Crimson Collection" in the pull-down menu under "Designation."  If you're going to be on campus during the Big Give and would be interested in making a cash gift, stop by Ben Brown Plaza as various incentives/rewards will be offered throughout the day.  Contributions of all sizes are helpful, welcome, and greatly appreciated!

The library embarked on a similar project in 2010 to digitize our archive of the Samford yearbook Entre Nous in celebration of its centennial anniversary.  The collection may be found online here.

Click here to learn more about all of our collections in the University Library Special Collection and University Archives.

Library Closed for Easter 2018

The Samford University Library will close at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 30th and will remain closed through Monday, April 2nd in observation of the Easter weekend.  We hope everyone has a lovely, blessed holiday with friends and loved ones.

The library will re-open at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 3rd for our regular operating hours.

For more information about the Library's hours of operation, please click here.

Library Hours for Midterms and Spring Break 2018

If we were to guess, we're pretty sure our students are looking forward to Spring Break being next week... but not quite so much to the midterms they've got to go through this week in order to get there.  Fortunately, the library will once again be open until 2am tonight through Wednesday night for Samford students needing to burn a little midnight oil.

The library will begin reduced hours for Spring Break by closing at 5pm Friday afternoon and will be open 8am-4:30pm next Monday through Thursday.  We will re-open at 6pm on Sunday, March 18th and resume our regular hours the following Monday up until the Easter weekend.

For those of you wanting a bagel and coffee, Einstein Bros. Bagels will be open regular hours this week and 8am-2pm Monday through Thursday of next week.

For more information about the library's hours of operation, please feel free to click here.

Throwback Thursday - Gwendolyn Brooks on Campus, 1995

Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection

Twenty-three years ago this month, famed American poet Gwendolyn Brooks visited the campus as part of the Samford Speakers Series.  She is pictured here with then-SGA President Eric Motley, who himself will be speaking March 1st as part of the 2018 Tom & Marla Corts Distinguished Author Series.

In 1950, Ms. Brooks became the first African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.  She would also receive the Robert Frost Medal and the National Medal of Arts, among many other awards.  She also became the first African American woman inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1976.

Mr. Motley served as a special assistant to President George W. Bush and is currently an executive vice president at the Aspen Institute.  His memoir, Madison Park: A Place of Hope, has been listed on Oprah Winrey's "10 Titles to Pick up Now."  Those interested in attending his upcoming event can find more information and ticket prices by clicking here.

Throwback Thursday - Audrey Gaston Howard Graduation

Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

The library doesn't have very many pictures of Audrey Gaston Howard, Samford's very first full-time African American student, but one of our favorites is this one of her receiving her law degree from President Leslie S. Wright in 1970.

Throwback Thursday - 1973 Circle K Club and 1972 Step Sing

Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

The first of today's "Throwback Thursday" images is a look at the 1973 Circle K Club.  This image is one of three that grace the current issue of "Inside Samford," but the club members aren't identified.

Standing from left to right are Mr. Allen Hayse, Doug Moore, Steve Aycock, Rose Godsey, Brenda Griffith, Suzanne Mc Milan, Judy O'Mary, Debbie Cumbie, Sylvia Guarisco, Ginger Belcher, Beth Powell and  Jim Beekman.  Kneeling from left to right are Tommy McLoed, Tim Wright, Larry Jones, Rick Dill, Gary Robbins, Ken Turney, Gerard Farris and John Harris.

Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

The second "Throwback Thursday" image is in celebration of Step Sing 2018 kicking off tonight. In 1972, Alpha Phi Omega's riverboat-themed performance earned them first place in the Organizational Division.  So who are YOU rooting for this year?

MLK Birmingham Jail Letter Display

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is considered to be one of the most important texts of the Civil Rights Movement.  In observance of Black History Month, and in celebration of Samford University's 50th anniversary of integration, the library is proud to display this letter in its entirety on the 1st floor of the library near the Circulation Desk now through February 25th.

This display incorporates enlarged reproductions of an original copy of the letter which is housed in the library's Special Collection.  This copy was given to the library as part of the papers of Dr. George Bagley.  It is not known how Dr. Bagley obtained the letter.  However, at the time of the Birmingham Campaign in 1963, Dr. Bagley was the Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Alabama Baptist State Convention so it is likely he received it while he was serving in this role.

Dr. King began writing the letter on the edges of a newspaper while in the Birmingham jail.  The notes were smuggled out to Wyatt Tee Walker, Executive Director for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and his secretary, Willie Pearl Mackey.  It was Mackey that took the scraps of notes and typed the first drafts of the letter.  The typed copy concludes with the initials of  MLK:WM noting the letter's author and the woman who typed it.

The library's copy of the letter will also be featured as part of an interview with Ms. Mackey in "Martin Luther King Jr.: One Man and His Dream," a new BBC documentary on Dr. King observing the 50th anniversary of his assassination.  This documentary is scheduled to air in the U.S. on the Reelz network on April 1st at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT.

Throwback Thursday - 1964 Step Sing Rehearsal

Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection

Students returned to campus for the 2018 Spring Term on Monday, and one of the first items on the agenda for many was to start practicing for Step Sing (it's a good thing too, as this year it will be held not too long from now -- February 8th-10th).  So with that in mind, this week's "Throwback Thursday" shows some of their predecessors rehearsing for the event in 1964.  For some reason the "Woody's Roundup" song from Toy Story 2 is playing through my head.

While Step Sing is a huge production nowadays, it has humble roots at Samford's East Lake campus (where it was known then as Howard College) where it started as a sing-along held on the steps of Renfroe Hall in 1951.

If you're interested in attending this year's Step Sing, tickets go on sale online tomorrow starting at 9:00 a.m. Central Time.

Throwback Thursday - Name Change From Howard to Samford

Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

Howard College achieved university status in January of 1965 and, in an effort to avoid confusion with Howard University in Washington, D.C., re-named itself Samford University in honor of insurance executive and longtime trustee Frank Park Samford, Sr.

This week's "Throwback Thursday" image shows students Buddy Huey, Bill Pendergrass, Doug Gardner and Murray Howard installing a new Samford decal on a car's rear window.

Throwback Thursday and Jan Term Hours

Image courtesy of the Samford University Library Special Collection.

As we welcome students back onto campus from what we hope was a restful (or at least fun) and joyous holiday break, we take a look back on this "Throwback Thursday" to the construction of the Homewood campus in November of 1956 -- with the library already a central fixture.  The campus would open a year after this photo was taken.

Speaking of coming back from the holidays, the library is currently running on reduced hours for Jan Term.  We are currently open 7:30am-7:00pm Monday through Thursday, 7:30am-5:00pm on Friday, 10:00am-5:00pm on Saturday, and 1:00pm-7:00pm on Sunday.  In addition, the library will be CLOSED on Monday, January 15th in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

We will resume our regular weekly operating hours with the start of the Spring Term on Monday, January 22nd.

For more information about the library's hours of operation, please click here.