If ever we've needed Spring, it's this year. As George Harrison of the Beatles observed in 1969, "it's been a long cold lonely winter." But I sense optimism in the air. If a true end to the pandemic isn't really in sight yet, signs that we are headed in the right direction are abundant. This semester's newsletter includes some ruminations from the library staff on "pandemic pastimes," hobbies or interests we've indulged in during COVID times. As we continue to work under less-than-ideal conditions, let's strive to cultivate a culture of forgiveness. I think we're all under a great deal of stress.
Watch for announcements soon regarding a new collection of test preparation materials from Mometrix.
Don't forget to stop by the library to check out our recently-added books and Women's History Month displays, and our new graphic novels collection on the first floor. Stay safe! POJ
Dr. Sarah Dangelantonio, Executive Dean for Assessment and Academic Affairs and Professor of English has contracted with Cambridge University Press to produce a volume for the Cambridge Edition of the Novels and Stories of Thomas Hardy. She is the volume editor for Hardy’s fourth novel, The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters, first published in serial form in the Cornhill Magazine beginning in June of 1875 and in a 2-volume edition in 1876. One of Hardy’s lesser-known novels, it has an urban setting and is a combination of social satire, comedy of manners and farce focusing on the “upstairs” characters as much as the “downstairs” much as you find in the contemporary series Downtown Abbey. As such, this novel doesn’t fit easily with Hardy’s usual style of pastoral novel set in Wessex. The novel’s main character, Ethelberta Petherwin in many ways is Thomas Hardy in female form, making the novel self-reflexive, autobiographical, and perhaps almost a proto-post-modernist work.
This edition of The Hand of Ethelberta will be the first comprehensive edition with an authoritative text; a full scholarly apparatus that allows the reader to trace Hardy's creative process; an introductory essay discussing the work's composition, publication, and critical reception; and in-depth explanatory notes, and is considered an “essential resource for all those studying Hardy's work at the graduate and scholarly level.”
If you would like your work to be featured please contact University Librarian, Paul Jenkins.
The Upswing by 
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The Tenniel Illustrations to the Alice Books, 2nd Edition by 
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The Love-Charm of Bombs by 