USC Upstate Library News

On view on the library's 1st floor is “Roots of Hope Through Tinted Lenses,” a mixed media artistic work by USC Upstate students, created as part of Network8's “Treedom Project.” This initiative focuses on child advocacy and raising awareness about imprisoned children worldwide. The Treedom Project uses the symbolism of trees to represent children growing in adverse environments, while aiming to nurture hope, demand justice, and call for an end to youth imprisonment.

Stemming from Network8's “A Cup of Knowledge” painting session, the artwork employs coffee as a medium of expression.

To find out more about USC Upstate's Network8 activities and advocacy efforts, visit their Instagram page.

Fast Fact Número Uno: From the most recent data available, nearly 8% of Upstate students identify as Hispanic/Latino. 

Fast Fact Número Dos: According to the U.S. Postsecondary National Policy Institute, in Fall 2022, Latino students made up more than 20% of postsecondary enrollment. 

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Now on view on the library's 1st floor is a series of posters commemorating and celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15).

You'll find most of the posters near Perk Up!, the library's café. Others are displayed along the wall in the study room area. You'll find a few more near the parking lot entrance to the library.

Commemorated and celebrated are the cultural contributions from different Hispanic nations and heritages, from Argentina to the U.S., from Honduras to Peru, from Mexico to Puerto Rico, along with many others.

The posters will be on display through mid-October.

The USC Upstate Library is excited to announce the debut of its new “Popular Reads” collection.

When fully rolled out, the collection will feature nearly 400 current popular fiction and nonfiction titles, all available for 3-week checkouts. While the focus of the collection is on titles that we hope will appeal to students, there should be a book to interest everyone.

This is a "rotating reads" collection, meaning that the library can add the latest popular titles to the collection on an ongoing basis. We can also return books that don't circulate and replace them with different titles. And if the book proves super popular, we may add it to our permanent collection. In this way, the collection stays current and adaptable to reader interests.

As you have time, please stop by the library to browse the collection. You can also use our online discovery tool to search for titles.

All students, staff, and faculty with a valid ID can check out titles from the collection.

Don’t see a book that appeals to you? Let us know, and we’ll investigate adding it or a similar title to the collection.

Happy reading!

Image: Coordinator of Library Instructional Services John Siegel shows his “library joy” at the debut of the library's “Popular Reads” collection. 

Image credit: Kerrie Channel, 2025

Full image access to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is now available via the USC Upstate Library databases page. This means that not only can you read the text of WSJ articles, but you can also view photos, images, charts, tables, graphs, and more.

In addition, the library's subscription to The WSJ includes access to apps, subscriber-only podcasts, videos, instructional materials, and more.

The subscription is available to USC Upstate students, staff, and faculty. You'll need to create a user account to access The Wall Street Journal and its additional content. You must use your university email address to register for your free WSJ account.

Have questions about access? For help, contact USC Upstate Library Research Services via chat, text, phone, or in person at the Spartanburg campus.

Now that spring is here, a young person's fancy naturally turns to … exploring and enjoying the great outdoors!

On view now in the library cafe area are a series of posters celebrating some of the amazing national landmarks, monuments, and parks in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. These posters are designed in the style of paintings made famous by the Federal Art Project, an initiative of the U.S. Works Progress Administration (WPA), a federal agency that offered employment opportunities to visual artists during the Great Depression and World War II. 

Some of the images you will see in this exhibit include,

• The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument (Alabama)
• Congaree National Park (South Carolina)
• Cumberland Island National Seashore (Georgia)
• Everglades National Park (Florida)
• Fort McHenry National Monument (Maryland)
• Gettysburg National Military Park (Pennsylvania)
• Great Smoky Mountains (North Carolina-Tennessee)
• Hot Springs National Park (Arkansas)
• The Lincoln Memorial (Washington, D.C.)
• Mammoth Cave National Park (Kentucky)
• New River Gorge National Park (West Virginia)
• Shenandoah National Park (Virginia)
• The Statue of Liberty National Monument (New York-New Jersey)

How many have you visited? Which ones would you like to this year? Do you have a special memory of one of the landmarks, monuments, or parks?

We live in a physically beautiful country, noted for its majestic landscapes, impressive architecture, and poignant history. We hope you have time this spring and summer to experience some of the nation's landmarks, monuments, and parks.

On Easter Sunday, April 20, the USC Upstate Library will begin its overnight and extended hours schedule for the end of spring term and final exams. The library will be open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, to accommodate your study, research, and computing needs. The library will also have extended hours on select Friday evenings and will be open its regular hours on Saturdays as well.

Here’s the end-of-semester schedule:

• Sunday, April 20: Library opens at 2 pm and remains open continuously until Friday, April 25, at 12 midnight (24-hour schedule)
• Saturday, April 26: Library is open from 10 am to 5 pm
• Sunday, April 27: Library opens at 2 pm and remains open continuously until Friday, May 2, at 12 midnight (24-hour schedule)
• Saturday, May 3: Library is open from 10 am to 5 pm
• Sunday, May 4: Library opens at 2 pm and remains open continuously until Tuesday, May 6, at 12 midnight (24-hour schedule)

This schedule is based on available staffing and therefore is subject to change.

When the library is closed, students can get research help through the Ask a Librarian chat service. This service is staffed by real people (not bots!) and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For more information about library hours, including schedule changes, visit the Library Calendar; the library’s website; or check out the library’s social media presence on Facebook and Instagram.

Due to ongoing construction of the Annex adjacent to the USC Upstate Library building, part of the sidewalk on the left front corner of the building (facing the Quad) will be closed from Friday, April 4, until either late Tuesday, April 8, or early Wednesday, April 9.

During this time, the wheelchair ramp near the front entrance will be closed. 

Wheelchair access will remain available from the parking lot side entrance to the Library building. Nonetheless, the ramp closure may temporarily affect access to Library services, Student Success, Career Management, Scholars Academy, Tutoring, and classes held in the library building.

We regret the inconvenience to those needing wheelchair access to the Library building from the Quad. Because the bulk of the construction work will take place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we hope the impact on students, staff, faculty, and other library visitors will be minimal.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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Image credit: “A colored emoji from the Twemoji project." Source: Twemoji GitHub.  CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The University of South Carolina Upstate's #DayOfGiving is officially on! This year's Day of Giving starts at 12 noon on Tuesday, April 1 (no foolin') and continues until 12 noon on Wednesday, April 2.

We would appreciate your support of the University Libraries Excellence Fund, which we use to develop our collections, provide services, and offer programs and activities at the USC Upstate Library.

To encourage your contributions, we have two special offers for you.

• The Dean of the Library, John Barnett, challenges you to give to the University Libraries Excellence Fund. He will match your contributions up to a total of $250. Just make your contribution here. When the total contributions reach $250 or more, the Dean will contribute a matching amount.
   
• While a donation of $75 will get you a snazzy pair of USC Upstate socks, for a contribution of $50 or more to the library's Excellence Fund, we will send you a stylin' Goostavo tote bag! It's the perfect shade of green for a USC Upstate spring. And did you know the Goostavo logo was designed for the library by students in the Art Studio Graphic Design program at USC Upstate? 'Tis true!

We look forward to seeing you around campus with your snazz-tastic USC Upstate socks and style-licious Goostavo tote bag!

We invite you to participate in USC Upstate’s Day of Giving, which starts at noon on April 1^st and continues until noon on April 2^nd. 

On this Day of Giving, one way that we hope you will support Upstate students is by contributing to the University Library’s Excellence Fund.

We use this fund to build collections and sponsor programs and activities. This includes the library’s Wellness Collection, which supports student mental health and well-being. It also includes our growing textbook collection, which helps reduce the cost of education by providing in-demand course materials for check-out. And soon we will use this fund for our forthcoming leisure reading collection, which will offer students a break from their studies to explore their love of reading and learning.

The fund also supports library outreach activities. Over the past year, in conjunction with the local non-profit Walt’s Waltz, we’ve held painting workshops to foster student well-being. We’ve hosted an exhibit and event on climate sustainability and stream conversation, in collaboration with the university’s Watershed Ecology Center. We’ve built student awareness of volunteer and career opportunities through the Non-Profit Career Fair. And in our “library of things” we’ve provided puzzles, games, fidget toys, podcasting equipment, and more for student enjoyment and relaxation. 

We are excited about these collections and activities – we feel it makes the library a vibrant “third place” where students will want to study and learn and feel that they belong. 

As extra incentive to donate to the Excellence Fund, for those who contribute $50 or more, you’ll receive one of our new branded tote bags, featuring Goostavo, the library’s mascot. Goostavo has quite the fan following! So make a gift today and get a tote bag while supplies last.

On behalf of the USC Upstate Library and the students we serve – Thank you for your gift!