News about Library

The Gallery at Penn College has announced its 16th season of engaging art exhibits for the 2021-22 Academic Year at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Two displays of contemporary art begin the season: Michael Reedy’s “Into the Void,” exploring the timeless topic of the human body through mixed-media works, opens Aug. 13, and Jeanette May’s “Tech Vanitas,” featuring still life photographs highlighting the obsolescence of technology, begins Oct. 21.

Special exhibitions marking two 75th anniversaries are included in the lineup with “Golden Legacy: Original Art From 75 Years of Golden Books” and “A Diamond Anniversary: A Celebration of 75 Years of the Little League Baseball World Series.” Both will be displayed in the new year.

Exhibits showcasing the talents of faculty and students will also be featured in Spring 2022 with “Journey and Transformation: The Careers of David Stabley & Keith Vanderlin,” “Architecture & Sustainable Design: Senior Capstone Projects,” and “Graphic Design 2022: Senior Portfolio Exhibition.”

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Presidential Student Ambassador Lauryn A. Stauffer is your effusive and illuminating guide to Pennsylvania College of Technology in a newly launched video produced by Public Relations & Marketing. Loaded with fresh footage of renovated labs and popular campus hang spots, the comprehensive tour takes you through main campus, down the road to the Lumley Aviation Center and over the mountain to the Schneebeli Earth Science Center.

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An artists’ tour, featuring 18 of the exhibiting artists featured in “Textiles in Translation,” will close the exhibition at The Gallery at Penn College at 3 p.m. Thursday, July 22. The tour is free and open to the public.

“For the upcoming artists’ tour, half of the exhibiting artists will be in attendance and will speak about their work and answer questions,” said Penny Griffin Lutz, gallery director. “Our previous roundtable discussions gave audiences the opportunity to learn about techniques, processes, studio habits, personal symbolism, the importance of an artist community and more. Beyond being informative, this event will provide an enjoyable and inspirational end to the popular ‘Textiles in Translation’ exhibit.”

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Tic-tac-toe! A caterpillar! Waves! Those were some of the imaginative observations made by the “Summer Bunch” from the Dunham Children’s Learning Center on their Wednesday morning visit to The Gallery at Penn College.

The 4- and 5-year-olds from Pennsylvania College of Technology’s early childhood care facility immersed themselves in the gallery’s current exhibit, “Textiles in Translation,” and engaged in a hands-on project assisted by CLC and gallery staff.

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Inspirations, themes and daily habits were topics of discussion at the first of two artists’ roundtable talks held Wednesday afternoon in The Gallery at Penn College as part of its “Textiles in Translation” exhibition on display through July 22. The collection features fiber-based artwork by 35 Pennsylvania regional members of Studio Art Quilt Associates. Joining Gallery Director Penny Griffin Lutz in the conversation were: Meredith Eachus Armstrong, of Danville; Jean Downing and Meredith Re’ Grimsley, both of Bloomsburg; Sara Mika, of Catawissa; and Sharon Wall, of Altoona. “Both the artists and the attendees to the first public gallery event since January 2020 were engaged and happy to have the opportunity to discuss art, studio practices, techniques and process,” Lutz said. “We look forward to hosting another discussion on June 24.” That day’s 2 p.m. gathering will feature other SAQA artists. Those interested in attending can reserve a seat by email. The exhibition can be viewed online or in person at the gallery, located on the third floor of the Madigan Library at Pennsylvania College of Technology. Summer hours are: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. (The gallery is closed on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, and will be closed July 3-6.)

Twenty-one graphic design seniors and their faculty members celebrated “Graphic Design 2021” during a private reception held Friday in The Gallery at Penn College. The annual portfolio exhibition showcases the skills of soon-to-be graduates and can be viewed through Friday, May 7, during gallery hours: 2 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday. The gallery is on the third floor of Madigan Library and follows COVID-19 pandemic safety protocols, including requiring masks and adhering to capacity limits. The exhibit can also be viewed online.

The artistic talents of 21 graphic design seniors at Pennsylvania College of Technology will be showcased in “Graphic Design 2021,” the annual student portfolio exhibition in The Gallery at Penn College.

Running April 26 through May 7, the exhibit can be viewed in person at the gallery, which is open 2 to 8 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. (It is closed on the weekends.)

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Madigan Library is in the midst of fulfilling the required annual process to retain its PA Forward Gold Star status, the first academic library in the commonwealth to be so designated when it was conferred in 2018. A display near the reference desk explains the Pennsylvania Library Association’s PA Forward initiative and provides information about the importance of being skilled in five knowledge foundations: basic literacy, information literacy, civic and social literacy, health literacy, and financial literacy.

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The librarian for information technology initiatives at Pennsylvania College of Technology has written one of 13 accepted chapters in the American Library Association’s “Technical Services in the 21st Century,” spotlighting the substantial behind-the-scenes work that allows students to seamlessly access scholarly digital material.

Jessica Urick Oberlin wrote “Data of e-Resources: Moving Forward with Assessment” for the 42nd volume of Emerald Publishing’s “Advances in Library Administration and Organization” series.

“In college and university libraries, students sit down to finally start their research paper. After a failed Google search, they reach the library’s website hoping to see results that match their expectations,” her 20-page chapter begins. “Will this be a pleasant experience for them? Or will they turn elsewhere for the answers they seek?”

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The assistant director of library services for Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Madigan Library, the first academic library in the commonwealth to reach top-of-the-line Gold Star status in the PA Forward Star Library program, is among three recent recipients of a Certificate of Merit from the Pennsylvania Library Association.

Joann L. Eichenlaub, a director-at-large for the state association’s Board of Directors since 2017, spearheaded Penn College’s pilot involvement in the Star program, which spotlights the crucial role that libraries play in their communities.

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A pair of ol’ reliables – therapy dogs in Madigan Library and Midnight Breakfast in the Keystone Dining Room – reappeared on schedule this past week to help students navigate any end-of-semester turbulence.

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From the Fall 2019 Penn College Magazine: Is Great Aunt Harriet looking a little pale these days? Former Penn College archivist and librarian Patricia A. Scott, ’71, shares expert advice to help you keep your family’s treasured memories looking their best. Read “Expert Tips.”

Penn College is spotlighted in a fresh post to Infobase’s website, which features an interview with Madigan Library’s Jessica U. Oberlin. The library subscribes to the company’s Films on Demand database, offering instructional access to streaming videos from such acclaimed networks as PBS, National Geographic and the BBC. Oberlin, Madigan’s information technology initiatives librarian, obliged the request for answers in an enlightening give-and-take. How do campus librarians enhance learning every day? Visit Infobase and learn!

From the Fall 2019 Penn College Magazine: “There have been many attempts to place on the record the history of this unusual institution, but such records as exist are scattered and incomplete,” wrote George H. Parkes, the first director of Williamsport Technical Institute, a forerunner of Pennsylvania College of Technology. He would be heartened to know that his words are part of a treasure trove of objects, photos and papers that have been cataloged in the archives of that “unusual institution’s” successor to help to tell the story of the institution and those who have dwelled in its halls. For 20 years, those archives – on the third floor of the Madigan Library – were studied, cataloged and preserved by librarian Patricia A. Scott. Before retiring in June, Scott shared a few of her favorite archives finds. Read “Where Memory Serves.”

A fascination with abandoned buildings and landscapes inspired Enola resident Michael Hower to begin working in digital photography seven years ago. His current body of work, “Graffiti Scapes,” focusing on ghost towns of the Mid-Atlantic, is on display at The Gallery at Penn College now through Oct. 6.

A reception is set for 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, featuring a gallery talk at 5:30 p.m. The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.

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