The DNL Report

The following poster graphics are on display on the main floor of the Library to promote print book and eBook suggestions in honor of Native American Heritage Month. We hope you will check them out with your StagCard or use our library catalog to access our eBooks.

Due to COVID-19 library policies regarding handling and quarantining physical items after use, we will not be presenting our usual monthly physical book and resource displays. Instead, we will create graphics, like the ones below, to share our collections curated around various themes.

Other resources for Native American Heritage Month:

Native American Heritage Month description: https://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/

Library of Congress resources: https://www.loc.gov/rr/main/indians_rec_links/digital.html

List of Tribes in Connecticut from the CT State Library : https://libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/hg/nativeamericans/cttribes

Kanopy films (library streaming film database): https://fairfield.kanopy.com/category/11074

We created a timeline to share the evolution of the Library's work during COVID-19 with the Fairfield University community.

"Continuity & Creativity During COVID-19" is an ongoing project to document the DiMenna-Nyselius Library's responses and adaptations to the shifting needs of our community during the pandemic. This timeline will be updated monthly.

Check it out here: https://librarybestbets.fairfield.edu/covidtimeline

Fairfield University's 5th annual Human Library was possible this year (during a pandemic) not only thanks to our access to Zoom but to the nine wonderful volunteers from our campus who signed up as "human books" to share their real personal stories to challenge stereotypes and prejudices. These students, faculty, and staff told their stories to "readers" through a total of 35 one-on-one conversations where questions were encouraged. Each book had multiple conversations, and each were framed by a library staff member who moderated the Zoom sessions through brief introductory and closing remarks and placed books and readers into their private breakout Zoom rooms. Both books and readers took a reflection based on their overall conversations and experience and we present the assessment results below.

The Human Library

Ahead of Election Day, we posed some questions to our followers on Instagram to gauge how invested that are in the 2020 Election and what issues matter to them most. Here's what we found out:

Have you registered to vote?
Yes: 98%
No: 2%

Are you planning on voting in this year's election?
Yes: 91%
No: 9%

How are you planning to vote?
By Mail/Absentee: 56%
In Person: 44%

Do you have a positive view of corporate news media?
Yes: 22%
No: 78%

Do you feel represented by the political parties/your affiliated political party?
Yes: 53%
No: 47%

Where do you get your news/commentary related to the issues that factor into your vote?
Answers included: CNN, WSJ, NPR, NY Times, BBC, Fox News, and the local news.

What issues matter to you the most in this election?
Answers included (in no particular order): The environment/climate, public health/managing COVID, election fraud, immigration, the economy, gun rights/control, abortion, and equality.

The Library has a number of resources to help you stay informed, however you prefer to do so.

• Complimentary access to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal
• CQ Researcher: Reporting and analysis of domestic and international issues in the news. Reports include background and chronology; tables and maps; and a pro-con debate.
• Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society: Covers hot-button issues and contemporary topics in crime & justice, education, health & medicine, and more. Includes historical background and contemporary perspectives from a variety of primary and secondary sources, as well as images.
• Newspaper Databases: Access current and historical newspapers, local, national, and international.
• Subject Research Guides to help you find scholarly sources on the issues that matter to you.

Be sure to also check out all the great resources on the Stags Vote page.

Related Reading: Countdown to Election Tuesday, The DNL Report, November 5, 2016