Lunch & Learn for November

 

"People of Courage, People of Hope, Seekers of Justice:  The Underground Railroad Revisited"



The Underground Railroad by Charles T. Webber (1893)

 

The voices of those involved in this historic Underground Railroad movement in our state and nation’s history relate a story not of tunnels and quilts, but a story of a civil rights movement, of African American leadership, of civil disobedience, that is relevant for us today. Revisit this significant story with researchers Paul and Mary Liz Stewart, co-founders of Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc. 

 

Friday, November 8, 2013 ~ 12noon to 1pm ~ Fischbach Room

Free!

Everyone is welcome!

Bring your lunch or purchase one in the Library Café. 

Dessert will be provided.

 

 

Adrienne Birchler

Coordinator

Friends of the Folsom Library



 

Rensselaer Libraries Given Most Generous Gift

George Mahe '42
(circa 1942)

The Rensselaer Libraries was recently bequeathed an astounding gift of 19.5 million dollars by alumnus George Mahe, who passed away in 2010.  Mr. Mahe received a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Institute in 1942.  Before retiring in the mid-1970s, he was a project engineer with Sandoz Pharmaceuticals in East Hanover, NJ.

His niece, Elizabeth Wilson, and her husband, Kenneth, visited the library recently to tour it, visit the Archives, and have lunch with Rensselaer Libraries Director Bob Mayo, Vice President for Information Services and Technology and CIO (Chief Information Officer) John Kolb, and Advancement Officer Nina Moser. The Wilsons also dined with President Shirley Jackson at her home, where a plaque in Mr. Mahe’s honor was unveiled. It will eventually be placed in the Folsom Library. 

 

Presently there is a bronze plaque on the third floor of Folsom honoring Mr. Mahe's parents. It was mounted in recognition of the first monetary gift Mr. Mahe gave in their name. It is inscribed:

 

                                     TO FOSTER INQUIRY, LEARNING 

                                 AND EXCELLENCE AT RENSSELAER

 

Mr. Mahe's ultimate gift is a godsend and is making it possible for us to preserve our core collection.

 

Adrienne Birchler

Coordinator

Friends of the Folsom Library

 

 

Lunch & Learn for October

               "Going the Self-Publishing Route: 
                         One Woman's Journey"

                       Friday, October 11, 2013  ~  12noon to 1pm
                              Folsom Library's Fischbach Room

 

Janice Naylor, who works in Undergraduate Admissions, will be October's speaker.  She acknowledges that "even if you enjoy writing, finding the right words to express exactly what you want to say takes time and commitment.  It takes a brave heart to put your story out there for others to judge. It takes courage to assume all responsibility for the finished product. It takes money."

Naylor self-published her first novel, Sea Story, last March and admits "it was hard work.  It was also worth every bit of the time and energy I spent.  Why did I choose to self-publish?  What were the unexpected speed bumps in the self-publishing process? Was it difficult to bless the manuscript and pass it on to the printer?  Did I use an editor or a copy editor?  What costs are involved?  How did I promote Sea Story?  Has Sea Story been successful?"

For the answers to these questions and more, please join us Friday, October 11th at noon in Folsom Library for a "unique opportunity to journey through the self-publishing process from the first chapter to the … well, now that Sea Story is out in the world, there doesn’t appear to be an ending in sight."

Naylor was born and raised in Troy, NY.  Since she began writing professionally four years ago, her stories have been published in newspapers, on several websites and in an anthology of regional anecdotes.  She maintains a website and blog entitled, “Red Geraniums on a Summer Day” -- www.redgeranium.org .  Sea Story is her first novel, and it was published in March 2013 by Red Geranium Books, the author's publishing company.

 

 

Adrienne Birchler

Coordinator

Friends of the Folsom Library

Friends of the Folsom Library

    is pleased to host

“Exploring Space at RPI”

Friday, October 4, 2013

    9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

      Russell Sage Dining Hall Banquet Room
 

Celebrating Grand Marshall Week



Interior of the Clubhouse

Assistant Institute Archivist Jenifer Monger will be presenting on key spaces which have been utilized, advocated for, appropriated, and experienced throughout campus and its environs.  At Rensselaer, the academic, athletic, social, and common spaces used, and often created, by students and administration have come and gone, ebbing and flowing from one decade to the next.  Inspired by photographs and documents, Jenifer will explore the Old Gymnasium, the ’86 Field, the Clubhouse/Union, the Houston Fieldhouse, and Grand Marshal events from myriad vantage points.  Come see how the meanings of spaces have played major roles in campus life.



A continental breakfast will be served.  The event is free and everyone is welcome, but an RSVP to Adrienne Birchler (518-276-8329 or bircha@rpi.edu)  is required to reserve a seat. 

 

Adrienne Birchler

Coordinator

Friends of the Folsom Library 

 

Lunch & Learn for September

 

Come join us!

                             Friday, September 13, 2013
                                  12:00 noon to 1:00 pm

                       Folsom Library Fischbach Room

 

                                   Everyone is invited!

Bring your lunch or purchase one in the Library Café.

                              Dessert will be provided.

Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library

Lunch & Learn for May

"Visual Reasoning:

Visual Interfaces for Logical Reasoning” 

 

Presenter:  Bram van Heuveln

Lecturer, Department of Cognitive Science, RPI

Bram van Heuveln

Friday, May 10

12noon to 1pm

Fischbach Room

Systems of symbolic representations such as found in mathematics, science, and logic, allow us to solve problems we could not solve with our brain alone. Thus, language can be seen as a tool to make us smarter. However, some tools may be a better fit to our brain than others.

Bram van Heuveln will present two interfaces for learning logical reasoning that are more visual, and thus potentially more effective, than the standard linear algebraic expressions taught in a typical course on logic.

 

Bram is also the Assistant Director of Rensselaer Artificial Intelligence and Reasoning (RAIR) Lab and Director of Minds and Machines.

Adrienne Birchler Coordinator Friends of the Folsom Library

 

Award-Winning Author Marilynne Robinson to Give Reading and Present McKinney Writing Contest Awards

As Friends has done for many years now, we are once again helping fund the annual McKinney Writing Contest.  This year's awards will be presented to students at a ceremony held on Wednesday, April 17, at 8:00 pm in the Biotech Auditorium in the Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies Building.
 
Author Marilynne Robinson will present the awards in the categories of fiction, drama, poetry, essay, and electronic media.  She will also read from one of her works and answer questions. The event is free and open to the public.

Marilynne Robinson at the 2012 Festival of Faith and Writing at  Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Marilynne Robinson at the
2012 Festival of Faith and Writing
at  Calvin College in
Grand Rapids, Michigan 

Robinson has written three highly acclaimed novels: Housekeeping (1980),which was made into a movie starring Christine Lahti that I saw at the Spectrum Theatre years ago; Gilead (2004); and Home (2008).  Housekeeping was a finalist for the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for Best First Novel.  Gilead was awarded the 2005 Pulitzer Prize.  Home received the 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction in the United Kingdom.

Since learning Robinson would be coming to campus, I've been trying to get my hands on Housekeeping, but it's always checked out of our library.  I'll bet copies of it will be for sale after the awards are presented.  I should purchase one and ask her to autograph it for me! 
 

Robinson, who received her Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington in 1977, teaches at the Iowa Writers Workshop and lives in Iowa City.

For 72 years, the McKinney Competition has recognized writing talent in various genres among undergraduate and graduate students. The Mary A. Earl McKinney endowment was established by in 1941 by Dr. Samuel P. McKinney, a Rensselaer graduate (1884), in memory of his late wife. The McKinney Competition is administered and judged by the faculty of the Department of Communication and Media, which includes Barbara Lewis, a member of the Board of Directors of Friends of the Folsom Library.


Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library