May Newsletter: Education Program
Gottesman Libraries
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 May.
Tours
Welcome summer students! Come take a stroll, see our beautiful spaces, and chat with our staff to learn about services, resources, best kept secrets, free events, and more. The Gottesman Libraries are here for you! To kickstart the Summer, we are offering 45 minute tours at the following times to help you become acquainted with all that we have to offer.
All tours meet at the first floor library services desk and are open to members and affiliated members of Teachers College.
Wednesday, 5/21 @ 12pm
Thursday, 5/22 @ 11am
Friday, 5/23 @ 10am
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.
Navigating for Accessibility, Thursday, 5/1, 3-4pm
How do major databases interact with accessibility tools? Is there a difference between EPUB and PDF? Which one should I be using? What is digital rights management and how can it impact assistive technology?
Researchers at Gottesman Libraries have access to a robust collection of online resources. Navigating the features as well as the gaps in accessibility of these resources can be a challenge. This workshop will explain how and why assistive technologies function differently between our many databases. We will become familiar with digital rights management, EPUB and PDF file formats, and available resources within the Gottesman Libraries and Teachers College.
Presenter: Abby McGuire, Library Specialist for Circulation and User Experience
Where: 101 Russell / Online
Article Screening for Literature Reviews, Wednesday, 5/7, 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 to make article screening more manageable and less time consuming.
Presenter: Ava Kaplan, Research and Instruction Librarian
Where: 101 Russell /Online
Resources for Alumni, Thursday, 5/8, 3-4pm
Congratulations on completing your project, thesis, or dissertation! You may wonder what's next in your research journey... and how you can continue to access a multitude of scholarly resources...
This workshop focuses on how to search the many databases available to alumni of Teachers College via the expanded program of offerings by Columbia University Libraries. We will help you get started on your quest for research; review tips and tricks in constructing a good search; and additional services, including reading and borrowing privileges; educational programming; and more.
Presenter: Ava Kaplan, Research and Instruction Librarian
Where: 101 Russell / Online
Charting Your Path, Wednesday, 5/28, 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
Highlighted 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.
Congratulations to our graduates and wishing you every continuing success! To support your research and professional development, we are pleased to highlight free and expanded access to databases via the Columbia University Libraries Alumni Services program. Read more on the news feed.
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.
Artivism: Can Art Change the World? Inside JR’s Foundation for Art and Social Impact, with Ashley Hamilton, Tiphanie Constantin, and Damariz Damken, Monday, 5/5, 4:30-5:30pm
This presentation explores French Artist JR’s Can Art Change the World Foundation, his work goes beyond art – it sparks dialogue, empowers individuals, and brings education and creativity to unexpected places, from the favelas of Brazil to maximum-security prisons in the United States.
What happens when art leaves the walls of museums and is taken over by communities in public spaces? French artist JR has spent the last 20 years transforming public spaces into massive, thought-provoking installations that amplify the voices of communities worldwide. Through the Can Art Change the World? Foundation, his work goes beyond art – it sparks dialogue, empowers individuals, and brings education and creativity to unexpected places, from the favelas of Brazil to maximum-security prisons in the United States.
Dr. Ashley Hamilton is the Executive Director of the Can Art Change the World? Foundation, founded by French artist JR. For over 15 years, Ashley has specialized in applied and community based arts, using storytelling in many forms to create transformation, community building and social change in individuals and systems. Ashley has taught at New York University, the University of Denver, City University of New York, and for multiple prison education programs. She was the Executive Director of the University of Denver Prison Arts Initiative (DU PAI) for seven years, securing a historic multi-million-dollar contract with the state of Colorado. She also co-founded The Beacon at Skyline: A Correctional Community, ReEmergent Theatre, a theater company for formerly incarcerated people and The Circle: A Center for Artistic Justice, an educational and training organization for previously incarcerated people and their employers.
Tiphanie Constantin is half French, half Brazilian, and comes from a family of artists as well. Holding a Master’s degree in International Relations and a Bachelor’s degree in Letters and Editorial Translation from Sorbonne University, she has worked with NGOs such as the Ford Foundation, UNESCO, Le Journal International, Casa do Menor, Autres Brésils, Filhos do Marajó, and AEDA – Enfants d’Amazonie. Having settled in Rio de Janeiro since 2015, she worked for France Télévisions as an interpreter, which is how she first connected with Casa Amarela by interviewing its co-founder, Maurício Hora.
Tiphanie has been involved with Casa Amarela since March 2016, leading teams and producing projects. After five years at Casa Amarela, she became co-director and founded the Independent Women of Providência Collective. In 2019, she co-produced the Festival Planeta Ginga in celebration of Casa Amarela’s 10th anniversary. In 2020, she represented Casa Amarela on the SOS PROVIDÊNCIA emergency committee, alongside other important socio-cultural projects in Providência and the Port Region. She led the project and construction of the Santo Skate track in Providência and co-founded the annual Novembro Negro Festival. In 2024, Tiphanie took over as the Director of Casa Amarela.
Damariz Damken is an artivist and community organizer born and raised on the US-Mexico Border of South Texas. Driven by her passion for art and social justice, she joined the Inside Out team in New York City in 2020, leading operations and assisting projects across the United States and abroad. As Inside Out Project Manager since 2023, Damariz oversees Inside Out’s global operations and Photobooth productions worldwide. Damariz received a double honors B.A in Latin American Studies and Global Liberal Studies with a concentration in Politics, Rights, and Development, and postgraduate studies in International Relations from New York University. She dreams of a world without borders.
Resources
Can Art Change the World? Foundation’s Website
Can Art Change the World? Foundation’s Instagram
JR’s Instagram
Register HERE.
Where: Online
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.
Guest Talk: The Dakota Way of Life, with Philip Deloria, Tuesday, 5/13, 5:30-7:30pm
The legacy of Teachers College Alumna & Dakota scholar Ella Cara Deloria can be found in many places in education. At Teachers College, she earned a bachelor of science degree and special teaching certification and later worked with Franz Boas, Margaret Mead, and Ruth Benedict to conduct the first of its kind research bridging Native cultural perspectives to the anthropology field -- paving the way for Indigenous scholarship at Teachers College, Columbia University, and academia nationwide.
Join us in celebrating her legacy and award winning book, The Dakota Way of Life, with Ella Cara Deloria's great nephew, Dr. Philip Deloria, Leverett Saltontsall Professor of History at Harvard University.
* Reception to follow the event. Registrations is required.*
Where: 328 Macy
Register HERE.
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 Duet, Thursday, 5/29, 3:30-4:30pm
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.
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: On Tariffs
A tariff is a tax imposed on foreign-made goods, paid by the importing business to its home country’s government. Countries use them to protect domestic industry, including manufacturing, agriculture, and renewable energy; reduce trade deficits; provide government revenue; and stand against unfair or immoral trade practices, like drug and other forms of trafficking.
American presidents have used the power of tariffs since 1789, when the Tariff Act was signed by George Washington who added 5% tax to imported goods, many of them British. After World War II, tariffs fell largely into disfavor by advanced economies -- the United States and the United Kingdom among them -- because they were proven to reduce trade; raise prices for consumers; and cause retaliation by foreign countries.
The heavily sweeping tariffs recently imposed by the United States on countries throughout the world, and the dizzying escalation of retaliatory tariffs -- most especially by China --, have prompted concern for greater awareness; informed decision making; and mindful action. In a tumultuous time, and from a variety of perspectives, we explore the meaning, history, and debate on tariffs, known to drive trade policy and practices; affect the economy; and ultimately impact the livelihood and well-being of citizens.
At Everett Cafe, you'll find a new book collection every few weeks that relates to current events, education, or learning environments.
Staff Picks: Telling Our Truths: Asian and Pacific Islander Memoirs
"Asian and Pacific Islander Memoirs is a powerful collection of memoirs and personal histories that highlight the diverse voices and lived experiences of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the month of May. Through firsthand accounts, these narratives explore themes of immigration, identity, family, resilience, and the complexities of navigating multiple cultures. From childhoods shaped by displacement or assimilation, to reckonings with grief, heritage, or activism, each story offers an intimate window into what it means to belong—and not belong. Whether recounting life in wartime Burma, surviving the Khmer Rouge, or growing up biracial in rural America, these voices challenge stereotypes and affirm the importance of telling one’s own story."
-- Kaili Eibert, Library Associate
Where: Second Floor Collaboration Space (with design by Kao Oh, Library Associate)
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 Cases: 2024-2025 Award Winning Children's Books
The latest award winning and notable children's books are in! Come and browse the newest additions to the Juvenile and Curriculum Collections to inspire reading, classroom teaching, and/or reflection on writing, illustration, and/or noteworthy topics, including nature, pandemics, space travel, immigration, diversity, gender, teaching, religion, culture, and much more. See listings of the awards, Part One and Part Two.
Where: Second Floor
The Rocket Cases feature award winning and notable children's pop up book displays, with seasonal, educational, or other themes drawn from the juvenile collections.
Curiosity Cabinets: Portraying Faculty: Eclectic Views
Fitting for the Curiosity Cabinets this Spring is a selection of publications by and about leading members of the Teachers College faculty who are featured in the Offit Gallery black and white photographic exhibition, Faculty Portraits: An Historic View. Due to the breadth of their individual and institutional impact, we can only offer a limited example of their scholarship. In so doing, we hope to shed light on our institutional history and spark curiosity into areas that demonstrate innovative research and thinking in their represented fields: history, philosophy, and religion; educational administration; international and comparative education; anthropology; economics and sociology; adult education; and psychology.
Portraying Faculty: Eclectic Views takes us as far back as Nicholas Murray Butler, President of Teachers College, 1889-1891, then President of Columbia University, 1902-1944, and as far ahead as the noted historian Lawrence Cremin, who earned his doctorate from Columbia University; began teaching at Teachers College shortly thereafter; served as President from 1974-1984; and taught until his death in 1990. Twenty-three faculty members, including the eminent philosopher of education John Dewey, are showcased, with insight and inspiration for continuing research and maintaining the record of scholarly achievement to help safeguard freedom of inquiry, in teaching, and of thought.
Interestingly, tenure, or the right to indefinitely hold a position of office, was introduced into American universities in the early 1900s – partly to limit the dismissal of faculty members who held unpopular views. Tenure is historically linked to defending the principle of academic freedom which benefits education and society over time, provided academics are free to hold and express a variety of views. Tenure typically mandates faculty to publish, and becoming published requires fresh ways of thinking through learning at high levels.
Portraying Faculty: Eclectic Views is made possible through the generous support of the Myers Foundations and the creative contributions of Soeun Bae, Library Associate for Art and Design in collaboration with Jennifer Govan, Library Director and Senior Librarian, Conrad Lochner, Special and Digital Collections Librarian, and Victoria Santamorena, Processing Archivist. It builds upon the Offit Gallery Exhibit, Faculty Portraits: An Historic View.
Where: Third Floor Reading Room
The Curiosity Cabinets showcase interesting and insightful material from the historical collections to inform and enhance concomitant art exhibitions and book displays.
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.
Citizen Kane Premiers, Thursday, 5/1
Louisa May Alcott Publishes Her First Short Story, Thursday, 5/8
Lewis and Clark Depart for the Northwest, Wednesday, 5/14
Grace Hoadley Dodge Is Born, Wednesday, 5/21
Mariner 9 Departs for Mars, Friday, 5/30
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.
Activation and Artmaking: Art Today - Conversations Across Cultures
Paper sculptures created and installed by Teachers College students in A&H 4860, Cross Cultural Conversations in the Arts, are currently on display in the Kasser Family Exhibition Space. The artwork was part of Conversations Across Cultures, a three-day convening of artists, educators, researchers, and the broader cultural community at Teachers College, organized by the Program in Art and Art Education.
The symposium, Art Today: Challenging Times explored the power of art to pose questions of today, catalyze cross-cultural dialogue, and shape community connection via two days of thoughtful participation. The final event of the conference was a community activation and artmaking lab in the atrium of the Gottesman Libraries.
Mounted on the columns, doors, and railings, the white paper sculptures, complete with origami elements, inspire appreciation for nature, growth, connection, and art. Look and see within -- an exquisite array of flowers, birds, snowflakes, sand dollars, webs, nests, bows, ribbons, even perhaps a wedding dress train.
Where: Kasser Family Exhibition Space (Library Atrium)
When: through Friday, 5/10
What Makes Us Smile: Selections from Children's Art of India
Children’s Art of India comprises 128 drawings and paintings by young artists, 5-12 years of age. Collected by Teachers College Alumna and Associate Adjunct Faculty Ami Kantawala in the early 2000s for her masters’ thesis entitled, “Colonial Connections, Postcolonial Disconnections: Towards a Reconciliation of Indian Art Education”, this collection lends insight into Indian children’s understanding of themselves, their environment and history. Both Eastern and Western influences are seen in their artwork, reflecting spiritual, cultural, and social dimensions of country, village, and city life.
Many of the students were asked by their art teachers, What Makes You Happy? Or, What Makes You Smile? – prompts for creative expression at a time when Indian art education, while present in the curriculum, was not considered strong in comparison with math or science. What Makes Us Smile: Selections from Children’s Art of India focuses on their representations of nationalism, festivals and celebrations, nature’s beauty, gatherings or socialization, and acts of generosity or kindness, to spread a joyful glimpse into life and culture in India, as they blended East and West into the classroom.
Supplementing the artworks are children’s books from the contemporary children’s literature and curriculum collections, drawing upon a rich history of collecting by the Gottesman Libraries in support of academic and research programs of the College.
Where: Offit Gallery
When: through Friday, 5/30
Ella Cara Deloria, Indigenous Scholarship, and Teachers College
The legacy of Teachers College Alumna and Dakota scholar, Ella Cara Deloria (b. January 31, 1889; d. February 12, 1971), can be found in many places in education. At a time when women were not typically in university spaces doing this kind of work, Ella’s story stands out.
Ella Cara Deloria, Indigenous Scholarship, and Teachers College is a first-time initiative that highlights the Indigenous education and scholarship that are part of Ella Cara Deloria’s legacy. Deloria was an innovative researcher who spent much of her time doing community-engaged scholarship with Native Americans to preserve languages, well before that idea was common in the university. Without her work, many of the innovations in language preservation that we take for granted today would not be possible. As we showcase Deloria’s legacy and honor Indigenous scholarship and ongoing contributions to academia, we hope to inspire thinking about ethnography as a research methodology; the relationship between anthropology and education; and the impact of governmental policies concerning Native language loss and restoration.
This exhibit is curated by the Kianna Pete and Rachel Talbert, 2024-2025 awardees of the Vice President's Grant for Diversity & Community Initiatives (DCI) in collaboration with Jennifer Govan, Library Director and Senior Librarian, and Soeun Bae, Library Associate / Art and Design. It complements the Everett Cafe book display, Indigenous Ways of Knowing, curated and designed by library staff through the continuing generosity of The Myers Foundations.
Where: First Floor
When: through Friday, 5/30
