April Newsletter: Education Program

The Gottesman Libraries Education Program informs students, faculty and staff about the latest thinking in education, in ways that engage members of the community with one another and with a broad range of educational experts. The program also provides understanding of work being done throughout the College. Read more about offerings in April.

Orientation

Information Walkway, Friday, 4/5, 1:30-2:30pm

Admitted students are encouraged to drop by Everett Louge to learn of all Teachers College has to offer. In coordination with Office of Graduate Student Life and Development, the Gottesman Libraries will be present at a table to answer any questions you may have about our resources and services. Help yoursell to a Gottesman bookmark, or another library publications, to become more familliar the library.

Presenter: Ava Kaplan, Research and Instruction Librarian

Where: Everett Lounge, Zankel Hall

Workshops

Regularly scheduled instructional offerings include workshops, tours, orientations, and course-specific instruction in coordination with staff and faculty of the College.

Your Research Journey is a five-part library workshop series to help guide you in your research throughout the semester, by providing you with manageable tools and resources to use along your journey. Whether this is your first time conducting research, or you are a well-seasoned researcher and looking for a refresher, each workshop introduces fundamental information to lay a foundation of knowledge on which you can build your scholarly work. While the workshops in this series are designed to build upon each other, you are welcome to attend any workshop individually. All are held on Wednesdays, 3-4pm.

Elevate Your Research builds upon the foundational series, Your Research Journey, by presenting valuable new topics, resources, and methodologies to make you an even stronger and highly proficient researcher. Held on Thursdays, 3-4pm, this series also invites deeper, collaborative work to strengthen academic research initiatives.

Charting Your Path, Wednesday, 4/3, 3-4pm

Graduate school research may feel daunting, but this foundational workshop will address the key concepts, strategies, and tools to help develop your research skills.  Charting Your Path will start with a broad overview of what library research can look like, including the terms you may come across in your journey. We will also cover how to use Gottesman Libraries and the Columbia University Libraries to access physical and digital resources; discuss reference management tools; show how to create strong keyword searches; and end with a review of strategies for better search results. Attendees will leave this workshop with the information needed to be successful in Library research across all research disciplines.

Presenter:  Ava Kaplan, Research and Instruction Librarian

Where:  101 Russell /Online

 Managing Your Citations with Zotero, Wednesday, 4/10, 3-4pm

This workshop provides a quick start introduction including: downloading; tour of the interface;  nuts and bolts of how to ingest references through a web connector; and different ways of citing. This workshop will be followed by others in the Elevate Your Research series, offering more advanced features of Zotero and introductory sessions for Endnote and Mendeley -- all within ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) Frames.

Presenter:  Ava Kaplan, Research and Instruction Librarian

Where:  101 Russell / Online

Using PubMed for Research, Thursday, 4/11, 3-4pm

PubMed, created and maintained by the United States National Library of Medicine, is the premiere database of citations and abstracts on biomedical and life sciences literature. This workshop will highlight the important features of PubMed and  provide an overview of keyword searching; using filters; using the MeSH database; saving and exporting results along with other useful tips for getting the most out of PubMed. This workshop is suited for first-time users and experienced searchers looking for a refresher.

Presenter:  Ava Kaplan, Research and Instruction Librarian

Where:  101 Russell / Online

Searching Strategies, Wednesday, 4/17, 3-4pm

How do you know you are retrieving all the relevant information needed for your research topic? Do you find your catalog and database searches are not giving you the best results? This workshop will cover the strategies and concepts needed to give you confidence that you are finding the best results in your searches and take you beyond conducting simple searches by using tools to search in a variety of contexts. The workshop host will review how to use Educat+, the catalog of the Gottesman Libraries; CLIO, the Columbia University Libraries catalog; and database providers, like EBSCO and Proquest. We will then show how you can optimize your queries by using Boolean logic and punctuation to refine your search style and retrieve exactly the resources you seek.

Presenter:  Ava Kaplan, Research and Instruction Librarian

 Where:  101 Russell /Online

Breaking Barriers to Knowledge Sharing, Thursday, 4/18, 4:15-6pm

In academia, knowledge is often shared via a scholarly publishing system that privileges formal peer review and journal or publisher prestige. Though valued by scholars, this publishing system can inhibit accessibility and perpetuate harm.

In Part I of this workshop, folks from Columbia University Libraries Digital Scholarship will discuss scholarly publishing and the business decisions behind it and we’ll chat about zines as an alternative way to contribute and share ideas with communities.

In Part II, we will experiment with making a zine about the research process, a paper topic you are writing for a course, or whatever you want!

Come de-stress with us! We will provide art supplies and collage materials, but encourage participants to
bring their own, as well.

Presenter: Ava Kaplan, Research and Instruction Librarian, in collaboration with campus colleagues.

Register HERE.

Where: Zine Library, Milstein Center, Barnard

Article Screening for Literature Reviews, Wednesday, 4/24, 3-4pm

Writing a literature review? Getting a lot of results for articles related to your topic, but now need to make sure they meet your eligibility criteria? Screening is the process of identifying studies from the literature search for inclusion in the review. In this workshop, we will share useful tips and tools for the article screening process of the literature review, including how to apply inclusion and exclusion criteria to search results and how to use digital tools like Covidence and Rayaan to make article screening more manageable and less time consuming.

Presenter:  Ava Kaplan, Research and Instruction Librarian

Where:  101 Russell /Online

Using EndNote, Thursday, 4/25, 3-4pm

Managing bibliographic references is key to the research process, especially as you embark on a major, paper, thesis, or dissertation, or even as you organize readings for class. EndNote is reference management software that can help you import, organize, and create custom bibliographic references in your own personal database. You can search within popular databases like PubMed and Web of Science within Endnote and all of your citation information can be added to your research as you write.

This workshop introduces attendees to Endnote and where we will cover installation of the software; show you the ins-and-outs of the interface; demonstrate how to retrieve and annotate your reference; and, finally, add citations and reference cited pages to your research papers in Microsoft Word.
 

Presenter: Ava Kaplan, Research and Instruction Librarian

Where: 101 Russell / Online

The Literature Review, Wednesday, 5/1, 3-4pm

The Literature Review is an essential element of scholarly inquiry, allowing researchers to understand the context and conclusions around a specific topic. A literature review can be conducted as a section in a main project such as a thesis or dissertation, or it can be a standalone project for a course or publication. For whatever reason you are embarking on your literature review process, this workshop will introduce you to the concepts and guidelines behind the three primary types of literature reviews; the narrative review, scoping review, and systematic review. We will also cover strategies for locating the sources you need for your literature review. 

Presenter:  Ava Kaplan, Research and Instruction Librarian

Where:  101 Russell / Online

Talks

We host a variety of talks, from book to guest to art, to encourage thinking , conversation, and action on a broad range of interesting and relevant topics and needs.

Book Club

The Last Girl, by Nadia Murad, Tuesday, 4/16, 12-1pm

Our third memoir for Spring 2023 Book Club is The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State, by Nadia Murad (New York: Duggan Books, 2017). Please join us to discuss this New York Times bestselling memoir, a harrowing account of the genocide against the Yazidi ethno-religious minority in Iraq and Nadia’s imprisonment by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).

"In this intimate memoir of survival, a former captive of the Islamic State tells her harrowing and ultimately inspiring story. Nadia Murad was born and raised in Kocho, a small village of farmers and shepherds in northern Iraq. A member of the Yazidi community, she and her brothers and sisters lived a quiet life. Nadia had dreams of becoming a history teacher or opening her own beauty salon. On August 15th, 2014, when Nadia was just twenty-one years old, this life ended. Islamic State militants massacred the people of her village, executing men who refused to convert to Islam and women too old to become sex slaves. Six of Nadia's brothers were killed, and her mother soon after, their bodies swept into mass graves. Nadia was taken to Mosul and forced, along with thousands of other Yazidi girls, into the ISIS slave trade. Nadia would be held captive by several militants and repeatedly raped and beaten. Finally, she managed a narrow escape through the streets of Mosul, finding shelter in the home of a Sunni Muslim family whose eldest son risked his life to smuggle her to safety. Today, Nadia's story--as a witness to the Islamic State's brutality, a survivor of rape, a refugee, a Yazidi--has forced the world to pay attention to the ongoing genocide in Iraq. It is a call to action, a testament to the human will to survive, and a love letter to a lost country, a fragile community, and a family torn apart by war." -- publisher's description

Nadia Murad is a leading advocate for survivors of genocide and sexual violence and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. She is the recipient of the Vaclav Havel Huan Rights Prize and the Sakharov Prize, and is the UN's first Goodwill Ambassdor for the Dignity of Survivors in Human Trafficking. Together with Yazda, a Yazidi rights organization, she is curently working to bring the Islamic State before the International Criminal Current on charges of genocide and crmes against humanity. She is also the founder of Nadia's Initiative, a program dedicated to helping survivors of genocide and human trafficking to heal and rebuild their communiities.

Spring Book Club is co-sponsored by the Graduate Student Writing Center. The first 5 students to register will receive a free copy! Bring your lunch or enjoy a light snack with us!

Where: 305 Russell

Artivism

Artivism: The Power of Art for Social Transformation aims to generate community through multidisciplinary teamwork for a more dignified and meaningful coexistence. The overarching goal is to nurture confidence in taking continuous action from wherever we are by means of reciprocity. 

All talks are online via Zoom and culminate in an annual multi-venue art expo.

The Rise of Purposeful Marketing, with John Rea, Monday, 4/1, 4:30-5:30pm

Brands are now taking purposeful positions, from what they sell to what they stand for. This presentation will delve into the evolution of purpose-led advertising and discover how purpose-driven brands are leading the charge and making a difference beyond profits.

From shampoo to shoes, brands are selling more than just their products – they’re also marketing important causes and their commitment to them. Let’s delve into the evolution of purpose-led advertising and discover how purpose-driven brands are leading the charge and making a difference beyond profits.

Attendees will learn about the emerging marketing and advertising trends driving societal change and how brands are aiming to create a healthier and more compassionate planet. The discussion will also showcase how digital and social media channels can act as accelerators for social change, bringing ideas and causes to the forefront of society and expanding their reach.

Bio

John Rea's introduction to the business of communication arts combined his love for design and music: as an art director at Rolling Stone Magazine working with then staff photographer Annie Leibovitz. After several years as a designer, he began an advertising career working on some of the world’s best-known brands: Coca-Cola, Intel, Volvo, Coppertone and Claritin.

As Executive Creative Director of Digital Marketing, he has combined his talents in design and multi-channel thinking to help build the digital and integration division at Havas Tonic, one of the largest fully integrated consumer health and wellness agencies in North America. He is not simply a believer in creative integration; he teaches a course about it, as well as a course in Purposeful Marketing, at The School of Visual Arts in NYC. Currently on the faculty, he lectures there regularly, and he continues to be actively involved in connecting students with internship programs, fellowships and job positions.

John Rea’s Links and Resources: 

LinkedIn
Biography and News

John Rea’s Coney Island Story:

Adobe Link
The Giving Assistant Blog
FastCompany
Youtube
 

Register HERE.

Navigating Diaspora: Teaching with Diverse Populations, with Jaizi Abedania, Monday, 4/8, 4:30-5:30pm

In this presentation, Jaizi Abedania will share her experience teaching diverse and historically underrepresented youth in San Francisco, Seattle, East Palo Alto, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Harlem, & Long Island NY. She hopes to engage conversation about the ways in which we, as a community of educators, can adapt our skills to an ever-expanding range of learning modalities, across and between disparate groups of learners. She will also look at the work of a few revolutionary artist-educators, as inspiration for our own creativity and pedagogy.

Jaizi Abedania is a lens-based, mixed-media artist and professor of digital imaging exploring intersecting concepts of identity, history, and migration through personal narrative. She has exhibited, taught, and practiced in San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Long Island, & Harlem, in support of artists and programs promoting accessibility to art and education.

Register HERE.

The Power of Children’s and Young Adult Literature to Engage the Social Imagination, with Petros Panaou, Monday, 4/15, 4:30-5:30pm

Building on Kelly Wissman’s (2019) work, Petros Panaou calls for radiant readings of literature in ways that may take us outside of ourselves, our realities, and points of view “like rays emitting from the sun, to seek out alternative perspectives, new directions, and unique pathways” (p. 16).

The presentation is guided by Wissman’s understanding of the social imagination as the capacity of a reader to imagine “the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of others” as well as “to invent visions of what should be and what might be” (p. 15). Nurturing reading as an act of creativity and fostering dialogic inquiry around literature is shown to be quite effective in engaging the social imagination.

Petros Panaou is an author of children’s and young adult literature. His first young adult novel, titled Operation LOGOS – The Cellphone Mystery (Teleia Publications, 2022), won the Cyprus National Book Award for literature addressed to children and adolescents. It was also included in the international White Ravens list as one of the 200 best books in the world recommended for translation into other languages. The sequel, Operation ANTI-LOGOS – The Cellphone Mystery 2, came out in January 2024, and the LOGOS trilogy is expected to be completed in 2025. Petros’ first illustrated children’s book is expected to be published in 2024, concurrently in China, Greece, and Cyprus, under the title Dora Mouse, Curiosity, and the Cat. Petros is a professor of children’s literature at the University of Georgia, where he chairs an annual children’s literature conference. He has served as an elementary school teacher in Cyprus and has taught children’s literature at the University of Nicosia, Illinois State University, Central Michigan University, and Boise State University. Lately, his scholarly work has focused on international literature for children and young people, cultivating the social imagination through literature and reading promotion through creative reading and writing. He has coordinated European projects focusing on children’s literature. He is a board member of the Cyprus IBBY. He has served on various literary award committees, including the Newbery Awards, and as editor of the international peer-reviewed journal Bookbird.

Resources

researchgate.net/profile/Petros-Panaou-4/amp#research
petrospanaou.com/
facebook.com/petros.panaou/

Register HERE.

TrashBata: A One-Woman Dance Theater Performance, with Barbara Martinez, Monday, 4/22, 4:30-5:30pm

Barbara Martinez will present her one-woman dance theater performance that uses the language of flamenco music and movement to speak to the problems of plastic in our environment.

“TrashBata” is a dance theater performance that speaks to the environmental problem of plastic. The “bata de cola” is a long train skirt traditionally used by the female flamenco dancer in Spanish dance. In this piece, instead of the usual skirt made out of lively ruffles, bright colors or polka dots, a bata made out of trash follows the dancer with every movement.

Will we ever escape plastic bottles, plastic bags, six-pack rings, plastic utensils, and other permutations of this toxic material that we humans blindly over-manufacture and overuse.

Register HERE.

Artivism: The Power of Art for Social Transformation is jointly sponsored by Adelphi University, Sing for Hope, and the Gottesman Libraries. A movement with committed social artivists, Artivism: The Power of Art Social Transformation, grew out of Illuminations of Social Imagination: Learning From Maxine Greene, (Dio Press, 2019), edited by Teachers College alumni Courtney Weida and Carolina Cambronero-Varela, and Dolapo Adeniji-Neill, of Adelphi University. 

International Symposium 

Panel Talk: Tao Xingzhi & His Lasting Legacy: From Columbia to China & Beyond, Wednesday, 4/24, 9:30-11:45am

Please join us for a special international symposium entitled Tao Xingzhi & His Lasting Legacy: From Columbia to China & Beyond. A renowned Chinese educator and reformer in the Republic of China mainland era, Tao Xingzhi (1891-1946) studied at the University of Illinois and then at Teachers College, Columbia University before returning to China in 1917 where he brought liberal iand highly influential deas to education. In 1926 Tao founded Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, formally known as the Xiaozhuang School, or Rural Teacher School which several leading faculty of Teachers College, Columbia University visited -- among them, John Dewey, American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer; Paul Monroe, Founder of the Teachers College International Institute of Education and scholar of international and compatative education; and William Heard Kilpatrick, colleague and successor of John Dewey known for developing the "Project Method" in early childhood education.

Nanjing Xiaozhuang University (NJXZU) (the meaning of Xiaozhuang in Chinese is “morning village”), founded in 1927 by renowned Chinese educator and alumnus of Teachers College, Columbia University Tao Xingzhi, is a public university co-established by Jiangsu Province and Nanjing City, the provincial capital of Jiangsu and former national capital of China during the Republic era. Known as the birthplace of rural normal education in China, NJXZU has a strong focus on teacher education. The university comprises 15 schools, offering 47 undergraduate majors across 9 disciplines, including education, literature, history, economics, law, science, engineering, management, and art. With over 18,000 full-time undergraduate students, nearly 1,500 faculty members, and a history of cultivating more than 180,000 K12 teachers and specialists, NJXZU has been consistently ranked first among China's applied teacher-training colleges and universities for three consecutive years.

NJXZU places great emphasis on international collaboration, having established partnerships with more than 60 institutions worldwide. The university has trained nearly 5,000 international students from over 80 countries and regions, earning recognition as an outstanding institution for international student education in Jiangsu Province. NJXZU is a member of various alliances, including the Jiangsu-Hong Kong-Macao University Alliance, Jiangsu-Canada University Alliance, Jiangsu-ROK Universities Consortium, Jiangsu-ASEAN High-level Education Alliance, and the Jiangsu Confucian Institute (International Chinese Education) Work Alliance. The university has been designated as a Base for Chinese Language Education by the State Council's Overseas Chinese Affairs Office and the Jiangsu Province Overseas Chinese Affairs Office.

Speakers from Nanjing Xiaozhuang University (NJXZU) inlcude:

Dr. Cehua Zhang (Opening Remarks), is Chancellor of Nanjing Xiaozhuang University and Professor of Law; President of the Education Development Foundation of Nanjing Xiaozhuang University; Former vice president of Nanjing Arts Institute and Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Dr. Cehua Zhang's research interests include Educational Management, Teacher Education, and Legal Culture.

Dr. Jizhou Zhang is Dean of Teacher Education at Nanjing Xiaozhuang University; Awardee of "Famous Professor of Jiangsu Province" and "National Outstanding Tutor of Teacher Education of Master Degree". Dr. Jizhou Zhang's research interests include Rural Education, Curriculum and Pedagogy, Tao Xingzhi Educational Thought and he will be presenting on Tao Xingzhi and the Modernization of Education in China

Mr. Wenqiu He is the Director of Jiangsu Tao Xingzhi Memorial Hall; Director of China Tao Xingzhi Research Association; Lecturer of National College of Education Administration; Special Advisor of Nanjing University Xingzhi College. Mr, He will be presenting on The Mission of Tao Xingzhi Memorial Museum; Inheritance and Sharing.

Dr. Hong Zhou is the Director of the International Affairs Office, Dean of the School of International Education
Leader of Outstanding Innovation Team of Philosophy and Social Sciences of Jiangsu Province and Nanjing City
Visiting Scholar at the University of Delaware (2017-2018). Dr. Hong Zhou's research interests inlcude: Education Policy for Disadvantaged Children

Joining the panel are:

Dr. Changwei Chen, Professor of School of Communication and Journalism; Director of National Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Practice Alliance. Dr. Chen's research interests include: Pattern Recognition, Intelligent Information Processing.

Dr. Bihui Wang, Vice Dean of School of Foreign Language; Recipient of various research grants and teaching achievement awards. Dr. Wang's research interests include : Study of Chinese Literature in Foreign Translation.

Dr. Henan Cheng, Deputy Director of the Center on Chinese Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, will moderate the session, including the question and answer period.

This event is organized by the Center on Chinese Education at Teachers College, Columbia University and co-hosted by the Gottesman Libaries.

RSVP HERE.

Where: 306 Russell

Live Music

The Everett Cafe Music Program sponsors performances by TC student and affiliated musicians. Come enjoy a variety of genres and styles! Please contact us if you are interested in playing! We welcome solos, duets, and trios.

Nicholas DiMaria Trio, Monday, 4/1, 4-5pm

Nicholas DiMaria is a trumpeter, teacher, and composer based in New York City. He draws inspiration from multiple genres and art forms in his compositions and is continuously inspired by expressing visual art in a musical medium. His music is described by audiences as introspective, passionate, and eclectic; influenced by jazz, hip-hop, and classical music.

Nicholas has lead groups at Carnegie Hall, The Northeast Wine and Jazz Festival, The Syracuse Jazz Festival, The Central New York Pride Festival, and restaurants and clubs across New York State. He has also performed at The Great New York State Fair, The CNY January Jazz Festival, the Disneyland All-American College Band, and opened for Grammy-Winner Lalah Hathaway. Nicholas is well-adapted to playing with jazz ensembles, wedding bands, and funk groups. He currently holds a weekly performance residency at Oliva Tapas, NYC (Thursdays and Fridays from 6-8pm). Nicholas is also a faculty member at Larchmont Music Academy, where he teaches trumpet and a jazz ensemble. In 2020, he received his Bachelor's in Jazz Arts from Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Scott Wendholt, Ingrid Jensen, Jim McNeely, and Jon Faddis

Claremont Strings and Ensemble, Wednesday, 4/10, 4-5:30pm

Claremont Strings and Ensemble features music for classical strings, from the symphonies of Mozart and Haydn, to well known arias from the operas of Puccini and Bizet. You may hear a selection of continental Viennese waltzes and French cabaret. Musicians of The Claremont Strings Ensemble have performed collectively at Weill Hall, Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and throughout the Northeast, playing a diverse range of symphonic and chamber music, eclectic jazz, and gypsy swing. Wadsworth Strings, emanating from the Washington Heights area, is a division of Claremont Strings, founded by Vivian Penham, a graduate of the Juilliard School and Columbia University.

Jackson Potter and Melanie Giselle, Thursday, 4/11, 4-5pm

Jackson Potter is an up-and-coming guitarist and composer on the NYC jazz scene. Since moving to NYC in 2021, Potter has performed with highly esteemed musicians such as Troy Roberts, former members of the John Pizzarelli Quartet, Konrad Paszkudzki and Mike Karn, Erena Terakubo, 2023 Ella Fitzgerald Vocal Competition Winner, April Varner, Kenny Shanker, and others.  He has performed at iconic NYC venues such as Dizzy's, the Django, The Atrium Stage at Lincoln Center, and Nublu. Jackson released his debut album, Restless, in 2021, on Wise Cat Records where it received enthusiastic reviews from critics and was featured on RMR's Top Jazz Album Chart for the Year 2021. Recently, Jackson completed a Master of Music degree at the Manhattan School of Music.

Jackson will be accompanied by Melanie Giselle, a jazz singer who studied formally in New York after performing as a solo artist in her hometown of Buenos Aires, Argentina. She also has played bass and guitar in several bands of the New York scene.  Her venues include The Club Room, Colby Club, Canary Club, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, Hermana, and more.

Voci Vibranti, Wednesday, 4/17, 6-7pm

With finals fast approaching, why not take a small study break to enjoy the wonderful musical talents of the Teachers College community. This is a special year-end musical performance by Teachers College's Vocal Chamber Ensemble under the teaching and direction of Dr. Jeanne Goffi-Fynn, Director, Doctoral Cohort Program in Music and Music Education, and Lecturer in Music at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Book Displays

Book displays  are curated and designed by library staff to share the joy of books and reading, while encouraging greater awareness of available resources  and their significance to the Library and College.

Everett Cafe: Artificial Intelligence and Education

At Everett Cafe, you'll find a new book collection every few weeks that relates to current events, education, or learning environments.

Staff Picks:  Life's Journey: Becoming Who We Are

"Life’s Journey is a collection of works that span a spectrum of literary styles, all echoing the wisdom of the African proverb, 'Know the world in yourself. Never look for yourself in the world, for this would be to project your illusion'. It’s an invitation for readers to explore the multifaceted elements of personal growth and evolution, echoing the diversity of the human experience and celebrating the beautiful, and often challenging, process of becoming who we are. As you navigate this literary tapestry, you'll discover that the journey of 'becoming' is a universal theme that transcends genres."

-- Eric Garvanne, Library Associate

Where: Second Floor Reading Room

Staff Picks is curated and designed each month by the Gottesman Libraries' staff to highlight resources on educational topics and themes of special interest.

Rocket Display:  Award-Winning Children's Books

Every Spring we are proud to present our newest books acquisitions in the field of fictional and non fictional children's literature, award winning and notable works that represent the best of the best. Covering a wide range of topics and interests, there is something for everyone. Whether you prefer picture books, young adult novels, historical fiction, science fiction, biography, poetry, folklore, fantasy, fairy tale, or another genre, be sure to stop by.  They check out quickly but are soon replaced by additional award winning publications that come to the library on standing order.

Where: Second Floor Rocket Cases

Cabinet Display:  Printmaking at Teachers College

Mr. Dow was a constant inspiration to his students. He believed that art could be taught so that it could be shared by all. To him no one was hopeless. His faith in his students, his confidence in their latent ability, his sympathetic and kindly interest in their welfare, his willingness to let them express their individuality, his delightful sense of humour, his great simplicity–these unique qualities made him an inspired and inspiring teacher.

– Sallie B. Tannahill, The P's and Q's; A Book on the Art of Letter Arrangement, A Tribute

The history and development of printmaking at Teachers College dates back to the influence of Professor Arthur Wesley Dow, author of Composition: A Series of Exercises in Art Structure for the Use of Students and Teachers (1899). Dow commented, “Printing is very simple, and in my opinion of special educational value. After observation of the craft in India in 1904, I was determined to introduce it into art courses—both for adults and children.” 

Printmaking at Teachers College offers insight into the work of our students and faculty, among them Albert Heckman and Federico Castellon who became notable artist teachers, much like Arthur Wesley Dow and successive generations of TC faculty. This display draws from the archival, research, curriculum, and children’s literature collections at the Gottesman Libraries to highlight printmaking at the College, as well as special materials that reflect study, research, and practice in the field. The historical art collections of Federico Castellon and Albert Heckman are featured in the Offit Gallery this Spring, while past exhibits by contemporary student printmakers include, “I Was Made in Shapes”, by Lindsey Frances Jones, Fall 2022, and “As I Am”, by Kendal O’Leary, Fall 2023. 

After Dow’s death on December 13th, 1922, display cases inscribed to Dow were installed in Russell Hall to exhibit class work. With generous support from The Myers Foundations, this display case was refurbished to showcase historical treasures and enhance exhibits in the Offit Gallery. Select examples of archival and historical materials from the Gottesman Libraries aim to inform, inspire, and grow the artistic and educational process, as we carry on an important tradition.

Where: Third Floor Reading Room

News Displays

Need to keep current, look to the past, teach a topic? The Everett Cafe features daily postings of news from around the world, and also promotes awareness of historical events from an educational context. Be sure to check the Cafe News postings on the library blog.

April Fools Day, Monday, 4/1

Patent for the First Portable Typewriter, Friday, 4/12

First Boston Marathon, Friday, 4/19

Margaret H'Doubler Is Born, Friday, 4/26

Databases

Every month we draw attention to select databases that strengthen learning, teaching, and research in academic areas and their relevance to current offerings and programs.

National Library Week dates back to 1958 and is typically observed during the second full week in April. The annual celebration is sponsored by the American Library Association and hosted by libraries across the country in recognition of their value and role. In April we highlight research databases that inform the topic and encourage our patrons to partake in the many resources and services available. Read more on the library's news feed.

Exhibits

Educational exhibitions are mounted in partnership with the Teachers College community and others with an interest in displaying unique and innovative educational materials, while also regularly showcasing Teachers College's Historical Art Collections. 

The library has several spaces in Russell Hall to exhibit diverse materials, and also features digital and web-based exhibitions when possible. 

Learning from Arthur Wesley Dow: Selections from the Students of Arthur Wesley Dow Collection

The Students of Arthur Wesley Dow Collection contains 300 works created by Teachers College students studying under Professor Arthur Wesley Dow in the early 1900s. Mostly paintings and prints, the works in the collection clearly illustrate Dow's theories and approach to art. Shown in this exhibit are select works in different mediums that demonstrate composition, the “putting together” of lines, masses, and colors to build harmony, a fundamental process in the fine arts. Wood engraving; wood block prints; collage; ink, charcoal, pastel, pencil, poster color paint on paper and/or tissue are mediums through which Dow’s students, including Albert Heckman, Lucile Raston, and Lynd Ward, exercised studio learning in Macy Hall of Teachers College.

Arthur Wesley Dow (born April 6, 1857, Ipswich, Massachusetts, - died December 13, 1922, New York, New York) was an influential American painter, printmaker, photographer, and educator, recognized for his progressive teachings based on Japanese principles of art and his significant artistic and intellectual contributions to the Arts and Crafts movement. In 1900, Dow founded and served as the director of the Ipswich Summer School of Art in Ipswich, Massachusetts. From 1896-1003 he taught at Pratt Institute, from 1898-1898, at the New York Art Students League. From 1904-1922, Dow served as Professor of Fine Arts and Head of the Department of Fine Arts, at Teachers College, Columbia University where he was beloved by his students.

In his teachings, Dow emphasized the importance of carefully executing each and every step of the artistic process, from design to printing. Published in 1899, his seminal text, Composition: A Series of Exercises in Art Structure for the Use of Students and Teachers saw more than 20 printings over 40 years, a renowned textbook in use for decades. In it, he described the three main elements of art: line, notan (the Japanese concept of light and shade, or mass), and color. For principles of composition and ways of creating harmony, he illuminated opposition, transition, subordination, repetition, and symmetry. 

Dow encouraged his students, including Georgia O’Keeffe and her sister, Ida, to be inspired by nature, looking to landscape and flowers, for example, when seeking examples of good design. He taught generations of significant artist teachers, among them, Albert Heckman, Charles Martin, Arthur Young, and Sallie Tannahill. Even as the Department of Fine Arts grew “modern” under the teachings of other great artist-teachers, like Federico Castellon, Edwin Ziegfeld, and Victor D’Amico, the fundamental teachings of Dow in art and art education remained. 

Learning from Arthur Wesley Dow: Selections from the Students of Arthur Wesley Dow Collection is made possible through the generous support of The Myers Foundations. The exhibit is curated and designed by Soeun Bae, Library Associate for Art and Design, in collaboration with Jennifer Govan, Library Director and Senior Librarian.

Where: Offit Gallery

When: through May 10th