Toward Justice: Reflections on A Lesson Before Dying

In 2016, the citizens of Knoxville, Tennessee, joined in a community reading program called the Big Read. Knoxvillians read Ernest Gaines\u27s book A Lesson Before Dying, and community groups hosted a series of lectures, book discussions, film screenings, and dramatic performances that immersed the community in a five-week conversation on racism. This book of essays is the University of Tennessee Libraries\u27 contribution to Knoxville\u27s Big Read. The Libraries put out a community-wide call for written responses to A Lesson Before Dying and was richly rewarded with the thoughtful and heartfelt commentaries gathered here.https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_newfound-ebooks/1015/thumbnail.jp

The Embedded Repository: Introducing an Institutional Repository to a New Audience Via Location-Aware Social Networking

The authors report the outcome of a partnership between a university marketing and communications department and a university library.  The research aimed to determine whether providing links to institutional digital repository content on location-based social media is a viable marketing approach.  Foursquare Tips were added to locations on the Texas A&M University campus with links to repository content. The authors subsequently monitored repository traffic using Google analytics to determine how many users were being referred by the Foursquare service. Research indicates that users will click through links on Foursquare to visit the institutional repository, and that they will explore further once they are there.  This was an initial exploration.  More data will be needed to determine precisely the best way to market services through location-based or location-aware services.

From the Remains: Reflections on Station Eleven

In fall of 2017, Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel’s novel about the collapse of civilization in the aftermath of a global pandemic, was the focus of two community reading programs in Knoxville, Tennessee. With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the leadership of the Knox County Public Library, Knoxville hosted a Big Read of Station Eleven. Likewise, the University of Tennessee selected Station Eleven as the Life of the Mind reading for first-year students arriving on campus that fall. From the Remains: Reflections on “Station Eleven” gathers creative responses — both written and artistic — that emerged from local study and discussion of the novel.https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_newfound-ebooks/1016/thumbnail.jp