"Ask Us" Library Poll - Favorite Christmas/Holiday Song?

 

The fall semester is over and the whole campus is winding down in anticipation of our holiday break. But we gathered our library family while we're still here and asked the question, "what's your favorite Christmas/holiday song?"  Here's what they said:

• O Holy Night
  
  
• The theme song from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
  
  
• Anything in a minor key!
  
  
• Baby It's Cold Outside (Dean Martin version from 1959)
  
  
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
  
  
• Silent Night
  
  
• Good King Wenceslas
  
  
• White Christmas
  
  
• The Little Drummer Boy
  
  
• It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
  
  
• Sleigh Ride
  
  
• We Need a Little Christmas
  
  
• My Favorite Things
  
  
• Christmas in Dixie
  
  
• Mary Did You Know?
  
  
• The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
  
  
• Do You Hear What I Hear?
  
  
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
  
  
• Carol of the Bells
  
  
• Grown Up Christmas List - Amy Grant
  
  
• Anything by the Romanian Madrigal Choir
  
  
• Brian Setzer's cover of Jingle Bells.

Meet Us Monday - Eric Allen

Of all the resources the Samford University Library makes available to its users, among our most important and valuable are our people! Our #MeetUsMonday series offers a weekly glimpse behind the scenes by spotlighting the various people who work tirelessly every day to proactively support the University's mission by providing scholarly resources, research and information services, a welcoming environment, and collaborative alliances to promote learning and teaching.

Eric Allen

Administrative Assistant

Building Coordinator

BFA Visual Communication, Auburn University

Joined Samford in 2007

• What do you like best about working here in the library? My co-workers! They're second to none and I couldn't ask for a better work family.
  
  
• What do you do on your commute to and from Samford? Listen to sports talk or 40s music on the radio, chat with my son (on the days he rides with me) and try to maintain a Christian attitude while in traffic around Malfunction Junction.
  
  
• If you didn't work here in the library, what and/or where would you like to be doing? I'd love to be a world-famous voice actor like Mel Blanc, June Foray, Frank Welker, Phil LaMarr, Rob Paulsen, Keith David, and Tara Strong.  Working at the zoo might be fun as well.  
  
  
• What are some of your interests outside of work? Games, Marvel, Disney, Star Wars, paleontology, woodworking/blacksmithing/fabricating, British narrowboats, and LEGO.  
  
  
• What is your favorite book? How to Be a Superhero: Save the Universe in 30 Days or Your Money Back by Mark Leigh and Mike Lepine.  I fully admit that it's a guilty pleasure.
  
  
• Who is your favorite author? I don't know that I have a favorite per se, but the authors I've read the most would be J.R.R. Tolkien, Fred Saberhagen, William Shakespeare, H.G. Wells, and Peter David.
  
  
• Do you have any favorite podcasts? I'm part of a Marvel podcast (rather unsurprisingly) called Mighty Marvel Geeks, which has been around for quite a while now and has won several awards.  I'm also rather fond of Wookiee Radio, The Diz Hiz Podcast, Dining at Disney, the Skull Rock Podcast, and DW:60's Press Row.
  
  
• Who is one of your heroes and why? This is a hard one for me to narrow down.  I'm honestly torn between my folks, the Apostle Paul, and Teddy Roosevelt.
  
  
• What app is your favorite discovery? The Marvel Unlimited app.  It's essentially Netflix for Marvel comic books and is great for doing deep dives into storylines that influence the movies/TV shows.
  
  
• What’s the one thing people likely don’t know about you, but should? I guess it's rather old news at this point but I'm a former "Jeopardy!" champion from 2006.

Meet Us Monday - Ed Cherry

 

Of all the resources the Samford University Library makes available to its users, among our most important and valuable are our people! Our #MeetUsMonday series offers a weekly glimpse behind the scenes by spotlighting the various people who work tirelessly every day to proactively support the University's mission by providing scholarly resources, research and information services, a welcoming environment, and collaborative alliances to promote learning and teaching.

Ed Cherry

Systems Librarian

Liaison Librarian for:
Howard College of Arts & Sciences

(Biblical & Religious Studies, Mathematics & Computer Science, Philosophy, Psychology)

Master's of Library Science, University of Alabama
BA Religion, Samford University
Joined Samford as a student in 1979

Joined Samford as an employee in 1986

• What do you like best about working here in the library? My coworkers!
  
  
• What do you do on your commute to and from Samford? Drive. (C'mon, that question was slow and right over the middle of the plate!)
  
  
• If you didn't work here in the library, what and/or where would you like to be doing? I've worked in the library for so long, I'm not sure I have any other marketable skills. Maybe work in a bookstore, or provide computer assistance. "Have you turned it off and on again?"  
  
  
• What are some of your interests outside of work? Reading, attending auto races. 
  
  
• What is your favorite book? Whatever book I'm reading at the moment.
  
  
• Who is your favorite author? How can I choose?  
  
  
• Do you have any favorite podcasts? Off Track with Hinch & Rossi (two IndyCar drivers).
  
  
• Who is one of your heroes and why? Dr. W. T. "Dub" Edwards: he taught me that it's possible to live a life of faith with uncertainty. God's will is most easily seen in retrospect, hard to discern in the moment.  
  
  
• What app is your favorite discovery? Waze: picks the most efficient route, helpful even for the most repetitive daily commute.
  
  
• What’s the one thing people likely don’t know about you, but should? I'm a "car guy," a race fan, more interested in sports cars and IndyCar, not so much NASCAR.

"Ask Us" Library Poll - Thanksgiving Favorites

 

As the Thanksgiving holiday creeps ever closer, many of us are already hard at work in the kitchen preparing the dishes for the holiday feast.  Some dishes may be year-round favorites, others may be dishes that are only made for holidays or other special occasions, and still others may be tried for the very first time ever -- in which case we wish those fixing them for the first time the best of luck getting the recipe 'just right!'

We asked our library family, "what's the one thing you're especially looking forward to enjoying at your Thanksgiving meal this year?"  Here's what they said:

“My mom's Sweet Potato Casserole.”

“Broccoli and cheese casserole.”

“Green bean casserole.”

“Deviled eggs.”

“Sweet potato casserole. The kind with the brown sugar topping and finely chopped pecans.”

“Mama's dressing.”

“Cornbread Dressing.”

“Rather than looking forward, I miss my mother's sauerkraut made with finely diced onions butter sautéed and sliced Hillshire Polska Kielbasa. It had to be Hillshire in her sauerkraut and it was only made for Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

“All the desserts count as one thing, right?”

“All of it!”

“Pumpkin Pie!!! My husband doesn't love it so we didn't have one for our quarantine Thanksgiving.”

“Butternut squash with brown sugar.”

“My mom's chicken casserole.”

What part of the Thanksgiving meal are you most looking forward to enjoying?  We'd love to hear about them!  Let us know via Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram!

"Ask Us" Library Poll - Thanksgiving Traditions

 

The Thanksgiving holidays are upon us, and while things are still not fully back to normal many of us are planning to enjoy the time off with friends and family once again.

We asked our library family, "what's a Thanksgiving tradition that you're really looking forward to this year -- especially if it's one you didn't get to enjoy last year?"  Here's what they said:

“I'm just looking forward to being with family. :)”

“Seeing extended family at the Cracker Barrel in Oxford, Alabama.”

“Playing cards with family.  We are very competitive!”

“Watching the Egg Bowl. Go Ole Miss!”

“Being with family.”

“I enjoy having a chill Thanksgiving, so honestly I'd like to keep celebrating it with just my immediate family.”

“Sitting down with the whole family for a big meal of favorites.”

“Being with My Whole Family.”

“Turkey.”

“Being with friends and family.”

“Cooking some of my Grandmother's recipes since she is no longer with us.”

“Going to my in-law's and watching The Muppet Christmas Carol.”

“Attending an arts event (like the symphony, art exhibit, etc) the day after Thanksgiving.”

“Getting together with the family and enjoying the company.”

Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions you're really looking to this year?  We'd love to hear about them as well!  Let us know via Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram -- and we hope you get to enjoy them all during the holiday weekend!

Meet Us Monday - Meredith Milstead

Of all the resources the Samford University Library makes available to its users, among our most important and valuable are our people! Our #MeetUsMonday series offers a weekly glimpse behind the scenes by spotlighting the various people who work tirelessly every day to proactively support the University's mission by providing scholarly resources, research and information services, a welcoming environment, and collaborative alliances to promote learning and teaching.

Meredith Milstead

Acquisitions Coordinator

BA Music, University of Montevallo

First joined Samford in 2005

• What do you like best about working here in the library? The people! I love my coworkers.  
  
  
• What do you do on your commute to and from Samford? Listen to podcasts.
  
  
• If you didn't work here in the library, what and/or where would you like to be doing? Spending more time with my nieces and nephew; volunteering with Grace Klein/helping others.  
  
  
• What are some of your interests outside of work? Visiting parks/lakes; traveling; playing flute; singing.  
  
  
• What is your favorite book? The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood; By the Light of the Moon by Dean Koontz
  
  
• Who is your favorite author? I don’t really have a favorite, I just read whatever sounds interesting!
  
  
• Do you have any favorite podcasts? Monsters Among Us, The Minimalists Podcast, Hidden Brain, National Park After Dark, Ten Percent Happier, Mighty Marvel Geeks, Stories with Sapphire, Body Stuff (I have a long commute – I listen to a lot of podcasts!)