If you've visited the library this week, you may have noticed a funny smell--a mix of oil, turpentine, and asphalt maybe?
While it's nothing to sniff at, the odor is harmless. The smell--along with the noises you hear from above, especially on 2nd floor--means that progress is being made on the library's new roof.
Work will continue on the roof through the fall semester. We appreciate your patience and understanding while this needed renovation is underway.
Note: As of Friday, October 13, all films will now be shown in Tukey Theatre (USC Upstate Library).
Also note that the film, Connecting Traditions: Rendezvous with the Dead will now be shown on October 27 and Mi Puerto Rico will now be shown on November 3.
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In commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month 2023 (September 15-October 15), the USC Upstate Library and the South Carolina Centro Latino are excited to present our first Latino, Caribbean & Indigenous Film Series.
This series of documentary films will be shown in the Library on Fridays at 12 noon, beginning September 29 and continuing until November 3. The films will be shown in (new location) Tukey Theatre. These films are free to view, and students, staff, faculty, and community members are welcome to attend. Seating is first-come, first-served. Most of the films are an hour long with the exception of the November 3 film, Mi Puerto Rico, which runs for approximately 1-1/2 hours.
Did you know? As of July 1, 2022, Latinos constituted 19.1% of the U.S. population or 63.7 million people. (U.S. Census Bureau)
The following films are planned for the series. Films and dates are subject to change without notice.
Friday, September 29
Celebrating Semana Santa: Change, Conflict, and Continuity in Rural Honduras (Berkeley Media, 2012; 44 minutes)
This ethnographic documentary explores the vitality and controversies surrounding a syncretic religious ceremony held in neighboring remote villages in rural Honduras during the Easter Holy Week. During the week leading up to Semana Santa (Holy Week), the two villages are overrun by characters called "Judíos" (Spanish for Jews), masked individuals who cause mayhem, in part, by staging mock sword fights in the streets. Members of the local Catholic Church, including the parish priest, consider these indigenous celebrations to be sacrilegious and want them stopped. Tensions between the church members and celebrants arise, which the filmmaker tries to help defuse. In Spanish with English subtitles.
Friday, October 6
Black in Latin America (Episode 4) Mexico & Peru: The Black Grandma in the Closet (PBS, 2011; 53 minutes)
In the documentary series, Black in Latin America, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., travels to places in Latin America where Africa has touched the continent with lasting cultural results to explore what happens when African and Hispanic worlds meet. Episode 4 of this series focuses on Mexico and Peru. Professor Gates explores the little-known history of the significant numbers of Black people who were brought to Mexico and Peru as slaves (Mexico and Peru together received far more slaves than did the U.S.) and the worlds of culture that their descendants have created in Veracruz, Mexico, and Lima, Peru.
Friday, October 13
Sons of Benkos (ArtMattan Productions, 2003; 54 mins.)
This documentary explores the African culture of Colombia through music. The film presents the music of Sons of Benkos, named in honor of Benkos Biohó (late 16th century--1621), one of the most important Black leaders in the fight for freedom during the times of slavery in Colombia. The film also shows the evolution of Afro-Colombian music over time through the fusion of Cuban and contemporary African rhythms with traditional Afro-Colombian music.
Friday, October 20
Fall break - No film will be shown today
Friday, October 27 (new date)
Connecting Traditions: Rendezvous with the Dead (Mexico) (ZED, 2013; 52 minutes)
This documentary examines and celebrates the traditional Mexican holiday of the Day of the Dead (Día de los muertos), commemorated annually on November 1. In this first-person travelogue, the filmmaker, a photographer by training, recounts the simple tale of a community in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, and the importance of the transfer of knowledge between generations that plays a direct role in the survival of its culture.
Friday, November 3 (new date)
Mi Puerto Rico (Berkeley Media, 2005; 1 hour 27 minutes)
This documentary explores Puerto Rico's rich cultural traditions and history, revealing the stories of its revolutionaries and abolitionists, poets and patriots, all of whose struggles for national identity unfold within the complex relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. The film moves between Puerto Rico and New York's South Bronx barrio. By illuminating the past, examining the present, and bringing Puerto Rico's vibrant cultural heritage to audiences, the film illustrates why the political fate of this tiny Caribbean island concerns all Americans.
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Watch this space for updates about the film series or call the library at (864) 503-5620.
In celebration of National Blindness Awareness Month (October) and National Braille Week (October 9-15, 2023), members of the library's Accessibility Committee have prepared a display to show how important braille is for people with low vision and blindness. The display is located on the library's main floor near the staircase. It includes inspirational stories of how braille is used today; a few facts about the inventor, Louis Braille; pictures of braille writing and reading tools; and hands-on activities to help sighted people get a "feel" for braille. It also includes an explanation of the braille "cell." Check out the display and see if you can *read* a word or two on the board. Then try to *spell* a word or two using the braille practice cards.
The display also includes information about the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. Feel free to take a brochure to give to someone who might want to check into receiving this free library service.
Also included is a list of braille books owned by the USC Upstate Library. If you would like to see one of these books, feel free to ask at the Access Services desk.
This display will remain on view through Friday, October 27.
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Image: Close-up of interpoint braille page
Image credit and usage. (Via Wikimedia Commons; by Lrcg2012; CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported)
In 2022, the American Library Association (ALA) documented 1,269 attempts to censor library resources, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data on censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. Through these efforts, would-be censors targeted some 2,571 titles.
In 2023, this disturbing trend has continued. In the first 8 months of 2023, the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom documented 695 attempts to censor library materials and services impacting 1,915 unique titles, a 20% increase from the same reporting period in 2022.
In 2022, many of the 13 most-challenged books featured themes or content related to LGBTQIA+ and people of color. Many of the books were also considered "sexually explicit" by those who challenged their appropriateness for libraries.
The accompanying graphic lists the 13 most-challenged books for 2022.
You can find out more about Banned Books Week, efforts to censor library materials, and actions taken to prevent censorship via ALA's Banned and Challenged Books website.
During the week of October 1 through 7, 2023, the American library world commemorates Banned Books Week, a national effort to celebrate the freedom to read and the freedom to view while drawing attention to the hundreds of challenges that libraries and schools face each year to censor and remove books and other materials from their collections.
As the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom notes, "In a time of intense political polarization, library staff in every state are facing an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books." In 2022, the American Library Association (ALA) documented 1,269 requests to ban library books and resources, the highest number of attempts since ALA began keeping track more than 20 years ago.
An attempt to ban library materials often impacts numerous titles. In 2022, the 1,269 documented demands to remove materials from libraries targeted 2,571 titles. While no one person, group, or type of library material is immune from censorship, such efforts inordinately target works "by or about LGBTQIA+ persons and Black, Indigenous, and people of color."
In the effort to censor library materials, school and public libraries bear the brunt of the challenges while college and university libraries account for only 1% of all would-be censors' demands. A survey commissioned by ALA in 2022 "confirmed national, bipartisan support for the freedom to read" finding that 7 out of 10 American voters "oppose efforts to remove books from public libraries, including majorities of voters across party lines." Nevertheless, censorship has the potential to impact entire communities, age groups, and audiences. Some 82% of challenges in 2022 targeted books, graphic novels, and textbooks, but films, displays, exhibits, programs, and meeting rooms are also targeted.
There are ways you can get involved, to voice your concerns about censorship, celebrate free expression, and show the importance of intellectual freedom. The ALA Banned and Challenged Books website provides guidance on what you can do to resist censorship and "let freedom read." The Advocacy Committee of the South Carolina Library Association (SCLA) offers another way to stay informed, show support, and get involved, as does the South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL).
