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.
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 1st and continues until noon on April 2nd.
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!
The USC Upstate Library is pleased to present “Picturing Women Inventors,” a poster exhibit that explores the inventions of 19 highly accomplished American women. This poster exhibit will be on view through March and April in the library's cafe and study room area on the 1st floor.
“Picturing Women Inventors” is distributed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The exhibit is sponsored by Lyda Hill Philanthropies IF/THEN Initiative and Ericsson.
About the exhibit
Throughout American history, women with diverse backgrounds and interests created inventions that changed lives every day. But women haven’t always had equal opportunities to be inventors or received as much recognition.
“Picturing Women Inventors” showcases the breakthroughs, motivations, and challenges women encountered while pursuing their goals as inventors. The poster exhibit highlights stories of inventors like Marilyn Hamilton (see picture), who after a hang-gliding accident in 1978 left her paralyzed, invented a lightweight wheelchair that was easy to maneuver. Diversity of background and age are showcased including inventor Alexis Lewis, who at 12-years-old in 2011 was inspired to adapt a traditional Native American sled, called a travois, by adding wheels to create a simpler way to transport families and their belongings in Somalia.
Inventors featured include astronauts, computer pioneers, businesswomen, athletes, engineers, and students, among others.
Now on view on the USC Upstate Library terrace is Sounds of Religion, a Smithsonian poster exhibit that explores the diversity of American religious life through image and sound.
Choirs singing. Monks chanting. The reading of religious texts. These are religious sounds. But so are the creaking of church pews and the clanking of pots during the preparation of a communal meal. Sounds of Religion explores how rituals and gatherings of religious communities create a complex and varied soundtrack of religion in the United States.
Many of the posters in the exhibit features QR codes, which, through the use of a smart phone, allow exhibit viewers to listen to contemporary recordings representative of America's varied and distinct religious life. Americans practice many different systems of belief--Christianity; Judaism; Islam; Hinduism; Buddhism; Sikhism; Wicca; and Native American, African, African American, and New Age traditions. Every tradition creates its own unique blend of music, prayer, voices, and silence, which together help define the beliefs and practices shared by the members of churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and other places of spiritual devotion.
Sounds of Religion is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services (SITES) in cooperation with the American Religious Sounds Project of The Ohio State University and Michigan State University. The exhibit is made possible through the generous support of The Henry Luce Foundation.
The exhibit will remain on view at USC Upstate through Ramadan, Easter, and Passover 2025.
A Few Facts About Julius Caesar:
Want to enjoy the spring weather and longer hours? Here are some ideas:
With the Spring season approaching, the USC Upstate Display Committee wanted to do a display that focused on either science, nature, or animals. After some discussion and planning the committee decided for March that our display would focus on animals in nature and the solar system. Many people enjoy astronomy, astrology, or animals, so we thought this would be a perfect fit. Our students and patrons might not be aware that we have books on these different subjects, so we hope that by highlighting a selection from our collection they will be well informed. The committee worked diligently to find both decorative items and items for this display. We hope everyone who comes to the library will see our display and become more educated about animals and planets. Every book on display is available for checkout. In April we will transition our display to focus on the solar system and ocean life. Please be on the lookout for that display coming soon.
Most commonly asked question about the library? Hours for the library and coffee shop are the most frequent questions coming in a close second is “how to print”.
What are you reading right now? Currently, I’m reading the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell and a few how-to needle-felt books. I just finished Punished for Dreaming and the Bohemian Gospel trilogy
What is something you want students to know about the library? I want students to know that the librarians are here to help, and they shouldn’t be afraid or ashamed to ask questions. Answering questions is what we live for.