An exhibit on Cotton in Alabama is located in the three upright glass exhibit cases in the north side (facing Samford Hall) of the Special Collections and Archives Department which is located on the Ground Floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library.

The cases feature books, photographs, theses, and more on cotton in Alabama including historical information about the cotton gin and a chronology of the textile industry.  Those interested in the history of cotton in Alabama should make plans to attend the February 12 library lecture by Dr. Angela Lakwete on the History of the Cotton Gin.

An autographed copy of the famous photograph of marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima in 1945 was recently donated to the library by Viena L. Katainen.  The photograph, taken by Joe Rosenthal, is autographed by Rosenthal and inscribed to Katainen (Louise Spinello at the time).

The photograph plus explanatory material is located in a small glass exhibit case next to the door to the Alabama Collection, located in the Special Collections and Archives Department which is located on the Ground Floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library.  Viena L. Katainen is Associate Professor Emerita of Italian at Auburn University.

Located in the three large glass display cases on the left hand side as one enters the Special Collections and Archives Department, located on the Ground Floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library, is an exhibit on Martin Luther King, Jr. and civil rights.

The exhibit consists of numerous photographs, books, newspaper clippings, and captions concerning King and the civil rights era.

Seminars for faculty and graduate students are being offered by librarians during the Spring Semester.  Click on the Seminars link located in the middle of the Auburn University Libraries homepage for registration information, etc.  Seminars are free but registration is required.

Currently, the following seminars are being offered:

Wednesday, March 5:  EndNote (citation management software)

Tuesday, March 18:  EndNote (citation management software)

Friday, April 4:  EndNote (citation management software)

Nature Materials 

Electronic subscription to a major journal in the fields of Physics and Chemistry.  Journal Citation Reports ranks this title as the highest immediacy factor for Chemistry and third highest for Physics and the second highest impact factor for both Physics and Chemistry journals.

The subscription currents covers 2004 onward, however, permanent access will start only from 2008 onwards.  Each year through 2013 access to back files will be reduced.  Starting in 2013, permanent access will be available for the years 2008 onward.

Edited by Marc Gaborieau et al., this is the Third Edition and published by Brill.  It is being issued in four parts per year and will later be published in hard cover.  The first two paperback installments have arrived.  This set is located in the Reference Collection on the Second Floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library under call number DS 37 .E523 2007 pt. 1 – pt. 2.

Please join us for Discover Auburn:  A Lecture Series

Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.

Special Collections and Archives, located on the Ground Floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library

“Inventing the Cotton Gin:  Machine and Myth in Antebellum America″

Dr. Angela Lakwete, Professor of History, Auburn University

Sponsored by:  the A.U. Libraries, the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities in the College of Liberal Arts, and the A.U. Bookstore.  Refreshments will follow the program.  Books will be available for purchase and signing.  For more information, please call (334) 844-4946.

Construction of a new computer lab on the Second Floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library is nearing completion.  Located in the former Document Delivery Department Office (which has moved to the First Floor), the new lab will function as a library instruction lab during the day and a laptop computer lab for students at night.

The Oxford Reference Online database has recently been upgraded to include seven new titles plus four new editions of reference titles.  The database provides the text of more than 100 reference titles published by Oxford University Press as well as the Oxford Companions series in a single cross-searchable resource.

The upgrade includes the following new titles:

Oxford Dictionary of American Art and Artists 

Oxford Companion to Black British History

A Dictionary of Law Enforcement

A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation

Oxford Companion to Irish History

Oxford Companion to Scottish History

Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia.