An Eventful Semester

The fall semester has seen the Birnbaum Library Fishbowl put to good use as an event space. In November, Communication Studies Professor Julian Costa read from his book, David Campbell: Story of a Career, about the pioneering work of educator David Campbell. In December, the Fishbowl hosted a zine workshop and pop-up art fair organized by students and art department faculty; and most recently students affiliated with Aphros, the student-run literary magazine on the New York City campus, read selections of their writing. We look forward to more events in the spring.

Prof. Julian Costa photo by Dahveed Wilkins.

 

Art fair photo by Waleska Laureano

 

Aphros event photo by Kristina Bilello

 

A Visit from a Former Library Student Worker

On Wednesday, May 2, 2018, the staff of the Birnbaum Library was delighted to welcome Pace alumna Mary Carey (Class of 1970). Mary, who majored in English and worked as a student worker in the library, shared fond memories of her student experience. At the time, Henry Birnbaum, after whom the library is named, was Library Director; as she recalls in the audio clip below, Mary witnessed the notorious Hard Hat Riots, which occurred in and around Pace; and she often found herself on the same trains and buses as legendary basketball player and coach, Phil Jackson. This was no mere coincidence, as they lived on the same block in Bayside, Queens, and while Mary worked and studied at Pace, Jackson and the rest of the New York Knicks practiced in the gymnasium of the newly opened One Pace Plaza. Those were the days!

 

Test Print Pop Up Shop

On Thursday, April 19, the Birnbaum Library hosted Test Print Pop Up Shop, an event in the Collaborative Learning Room featuring Pace students displaying and selling original artwork. Among the 20 or so artists tabling was Birnbaum Library student worker Netzy Martinez. The more than 200 people who attended browsed and bought zines, books, photos and prints and enjoyed a nice spread of snacks.

We thank David Almodovar, Assistant Director of Library-based Technology, for his contributions, Professor Derek Stroup, and the Art Department for co-sponsoring the event. The Library welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with other departments and campus groups.

 

New in the Birnbaum Library

Over the summer, the Birnbaum Library underwent the following renovations:

The Collaboration Theatre moved to a new location at the top of the stairs on the second floor.

New Group Areas:

We created space on the east side of the second floor of the library to accommodate approximately 100 more seats. This was accomplished by weeding and consolidating the collection, removing stacks and relocating microfilm cabinets. The area was re-carpeted, and furniture from the student union was relocated.

Outlets:

All new outlets were installed on the second floor of the library in the new group study areas and along the outer walls by the windows. Altogether 544 outlets and USB charger were installed (272 electrical outlets and 272 USB ports).

March Events in the Birnbaum Library

To commemorate Women’s History Month, join us in the Birnbaum Library Fishbowl during common hour (3:25-4:25) on Thursday, March 23 as comics creator Elvis Bakitis discusses their work in the independent zine Homos in Herstory and offers an interactive zine-making workshop. On the following Thursday, March 30, join us for a common hour film screening of The Beauty Myth: The Culture of Beauty, Psychology and the Self with Naomi Wolf.

Corporate Reports Collection

Did you know that the Birnbaum Library has a large collection of corporate reports (Annual Reports, 10K, etc.) in both paper and microfiche? The collection, which includes filings by Bear Stearns and Enron among many other companies, should appeal to anyone doing historical company research. For more information, visit the reference desk or our online research guide.

http://libguides.pace.edu/CorporateReports

 

Fake News vs. Real News Workshop

Got questions about how to tell real news from fake? Come to a short workshop at the Birnbaum Library to learn about the fake news trend. We’ll go over tips to help you develop your news analysis skills. Don’t get duped! Wednesday, December 7, 12:30-1pm, E101 computer lab. Contact Sarah Cohn, scohn@pace.edu with questions.

fake-news-workshop

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Transgender Day of Remembrance is observed annually on November 20 as a way in which to commemorate people who have been murdered as a result of transphobia. To learn more about the transgender community, take a look at the displays on the second floor of the Birnbaum Library; check out some of our new books on trans issues; and remember that the LGBTQA & Social Justice Center has additional educational, health and community resources, including a lending library.

Gender Failure by [Coyote, Ivan, Spoon, Rae]A Murder Over a Girl: Justice, Gender, Junior High by [Corbett, Ken]

Homer S. Pace, Keeper of the Books

The Pace Study is located on the 16th floor of 41 Park Row, a landmark building built in 1854 and extensively renovated in 1888 that served as the original home of the New York Times and was purchased by Pace College in 1951. The Study served as the office of Robert S. Pace, Pace’s second president and son of co-founder Homer S. Pace. Today it is used for small meetings of special significance to the University. The Study’s many valuable books and objects reflect the varied interests of Homer Pace, an accountant by vocation and a collector by avocation.

Homer loved to travel, as is evident from his choice of books. The Study collection contains a number of geographies and books of travel and exploration. Among the geographies are a 1681 German-language geography of Asia, a 17th century Dutch-language geography, Mallet’s Histoire de l’Univers, dating from 1686-86, and a universal geography in Latin dating from 1697. The books of travel are an excellent contemporary history of the age of exploration, with many volumes dating from the Golden Age of the 17th century. Among these are Dampier’s Voyages, 1698-1705, Hawkesworth’s (Capt. Cook’s) Account of Voyages, published in 1773, and Alexander Hamilton’s New Account of the East Indies, 1732.  In tribute to these adventurous men, engravings of four famous explorers, Cordoba, Mendoza, Columbus and Magellan, hang in the Study.

Homer’s collection of rare books reflects his life-long fascination with words. Included are several historic examples of lexicography, among them: Huleots Dictionarie by John Higgins, the oldest volume in the collection, dating from 1572; John Harris’ Lexicon Technicum; Nathan Bailey’s An Universal Etymological English Dictionary, published in 1721; two early editions of A Dictionary of the English Language, by Samuel Johnson, considered the greatest English dictionary of the 18th century; a complete 21-volume set of A New English Dictionary of Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), “the emperor of dictionaries,” in the words of H.L. Mencken; and a ten-volume 1906 edition of The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, considered by many lexicographers to be America’s greatest contribution to the field of dictionaries.

Thanks to archivist Ellen Sowchek for providing the information and the photograph of Robert S. Pace in the Pace Study.

robertspace6