At 14, children with magic are transported from their homes into The Scholomance until they "graduate" at 17, but many will not make it out alive due to mal (magic creatures) attacks and other accidents (and a few murders). While some students display an affinity for languages or alchemy, El has an affinity for dark magic and mass destruction and is having enough trouble with the challenge of not going dark (no matter what her grandmother's prophecy says), but finding friends and a way out

In 2017, the state of North Carolina proclaimed the second Monday in October as Indigenous People's Day and in 2021, the president of the United States acknowledged Indigenous Peoples' Day for the first time with an official proclamation. What is Indigenous Peoples' Day? An alternative to Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples' Day is "a celebration ... to bring acknowledgment to the Native population" and remove the focus from Columbus, a man who caused great harm to Native populations. Instead, "It

The World Federation for Mental Health established October 10 as World Mental Health Day to raise awareness and support of mental health and reduce stigma. This year’s theme is “Mental Health in an Unequal World.” Mental health and well-being are central to the way we live, work, study, connect with others, and contribute to our communities. It’s especially important to address and uplift mental health during these unpredictable and overwhelming times that continually expose and enact the

On September 28, the MacArthur Foundation announced the recipients of the 2021 Fellowship Grant (sometimes referred to as the “Genius” grant) and a Durham Tech alum is among the 25 individuals "who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction." https://youtu.be/h0soupdEngo Awardees receive an unrestricted $625,000 to further their pursuits. Read on to learn more about the fascinating research from the Durham Tech alum

New season, new books for you to check out from the Orange County Campus Library! Fiction Put a hold on a book to pick up at the Main Campus or Northern Durham Center or stop by the Orange County Campus in Hillsborough to pick it up and see what else is on the shelves. (And say, "Hi." It's nice to see folks.) Want to put a hold on a book in the Orange County Campus collection to either pick up at OCC or at the Main Campus Library? If you already have a Durham Tech Library account and would like

Researching scientific and medical topics can sometimes be daunting. Sometimes you want to go to a big lots-of-topics-in-one database like ProQuest Central or search everything available in the Durham Tech digital and physical collection all at once using the Search Library option, but other times you want to go directly to a database that caters to the subject at hand. ScienceDirect is one of our specialty databases containing primarily ebooks and peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles about

Dune is a story about politics, psychology, religion, addiction, ecology, power, and giant worms in the desert. First published in 1965, Dune has become known as a science fiction classic. Two terrible movie adaptations have already been made and another hopefully not terrible film is coming out in October 2021. The main character is Paul Atreides, son of a Duke, who arrives to the desert planet of Arrakis and meets his destiny there. This book was read by Courtney Bippley, Main Campus Reference

Wait. Why would you celebrate banning books? It's actually the opposite. Banned Books Week draws attention to books that have been challenged for removal in library and school collections and draws attention to historical banning or removal of texts. Celebrating Banned Books Week reminds us of the power of words. Click through to read more about Banned Books Week, including the books that were most frequently challenged in 2020. Removing a book from the collection due to inaccuracies, age, or

Our latest podcast episode is out! Listen for library updates, a great interview with Gilbert Umberger (AKA G-Krispy), and book talk! You can listen to the podcast here or on your favorite podcatcher. A heartfelt goodbye to Jes Dormady, who is mentioned in this episode, and has left the college since the recording. She's gone on to new opportunities and we wish her the absolute best! Gilbert is reading Becoming a Student Ready College (available as a print book and an ebook from the Durham Tech

Need a little therapeutic crafting pick-me-up? Consider coming to one of the Durham Tech Crafternoons happening this week on the Main and Orange County Campuses and creating your own felt pennant! Join us on Wednesday, September 22 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM in the Orange County Campus Lobby or on Thursday, September 23 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM downstairs in the Main Campus Library for some socially distanced fun. Paint, felt pennant/banner, scissors, rulers, graph paper template (for those who