#LibraryNews - Loras College Library at Loras College

Image of a blue dove holding an olive branch The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by a unanimous United Nations resolution as a day “devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples.” Initially on the third Tuesday in September, in 2001 the General Assembly again voted unanimously to change the date to September 21 and to designate it as a period of non-violence and global ceasefire. Countless events and activities take place each year worldwide, emphasizing the importance of dialogue and understanding in resolving conflicts, including peace marches, discussions, and educational programs.

Each year, the day is centered around a theme that reflects the global situation. This year’s is Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals, a call to action that recognizes individual and collective responsibility to foster peace. As United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said, “Peace is needed today more than ever. War and conflict are unleashing devastation, poverty, and hunger, and driving tens of millions of people from their homes. Climate chaos is all around. And even peaceful countries are gripped by gaping inequalities and political polarization.” Thus, the pursuit of peace is not merely the absence of war, but also the presence of justice, equality, and cooperation. The International Day of Peace encourages us to envision a world where differences are celebrated, conflicts are resolved through dialogue, and the well-being of all individuals and societies is a shared priority. Book Cover of The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization

Dubuque has chosen its own related theme for this year, Making Peace in Our Polarized Society. A series of events will take place throughout the month, which will include a keynote address by Dr. Peter T. Coleman entitled, "The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization," Thursday, 21 September at 7pm in the ACC. All these events invite us to explore constructive conflict resolution and sustainable peace. Also, be sure to check out our book display on the main floor of the library and these ebooks focused on peacemaking.

Recent Posts

Brain Health Awareness Week 2024

For this week’s blog on Brain Health Awareness Week, we welcome guest writer, Italee Castellon, Loras College Counselor. In addition to the great events discussed below, be sure to visit the book display on the Library’s main floor.In 1990, after urging by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Congress passed a joint resolution to make the first full week in October Mental Illness Awareness Week. This week also encompasses World Mental Health Day, on October 10. At Loras we celebrate this week as “Brain Health Awareness Week” since mental health is inherently brain health. Our brain is an incredibly powerful organ that is in control of so many important features of the body and self, including how we think, move, behave, experience sensations, and overall well-being. Everything that the brain is responsible for – mental and physical – is a part of brain health.Being able to maintain good brain health is essential to overall wellness. Brain health conditions and mental health diagnoses are common, manageable, and treatable. According to Mental Health America’s 2024 Outreach Toolkit, 1 in 5 people will experience a mental health condition in any given year and about half of Americans will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition sometime in their lives. Many times, the symptoms begin to appear after the age of fourteen and especially pop up in late adolescence or early adulthood. The focus of Brain Health Awareness Week at Loras is education on brain health, encouraging and enabling people with healthy coping strategies, and contributing to destigmatization in the community. The public’s knowledge and understanding of brain health has moved in a more positive direction over the last 20 years; it is our duty to continue the spread the kindness, hope, and understanding for all Duhawks. Here are just some of the events that you are invited to participate in during this week:Vision Board Night (October 8, 6-8 pm, MARC 3rd Floor Commons): Join the Art Club and Counseling Center for a night of creativity as you get the opportunity to bring your personal vision board to life! Brain Health Screening (October 9, 1-3pm, ACC Health Center Lobby): Drop in and meet individually with a Loras counselor for a free and confidential 10-minute brain health screening. Similar to a physical wellness check, this brief mental wellness check will help you assess and gain insight into your mental well-being.Party on the MARC Lawn: (October 11, 1:30-3:30pm): Join Counseling Services and organizations across campus for an afternoon of fun, food, and fall festivities to help us stay positive and mentally healthy!...

Latin American Heritage Month 2024

Latin American Heritage Month, celebrated annually from September 15 to October 15, is a time to celebrate the vibrant cultures, histories, and contributions of Latin American communities. The Pura Belpré Award for children’s and young adult literature aligns well with these goals. The award, established in 1996, honors authors and illustrators who portray and celebrate the richness the Latin American culture. The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Puerto Rican librarian in the New York City public library system. She was known for her dedication to storytelling, cultural preservation, and advocating for bilingual literature in libraries. She was also an author as well as a collector and translator of folk tales, including her first story, Pérez and Martina, a tragic love story between a cockroach and a mouse. Both her library and literary work laid the foundation for a growing appreciation of the importance of cultural representation in books for young readers. At its heart, Latin American Heritage Month is a celebration of unity in diversity. This is true also of the Belpré award. By uplifting works that reflect the multifaceted experiences of members of Latin American communities, the award ensures that children see themselves, their culture, and their heritage represented in the books they read, while also building empathy and understanding among readers of all backgrounds. For a sampling of Belpré award winners and honors, please check out the book display on the Library’s first floor....

Banned Books Week 2024

Banned Books Week began in 1982 in response to a surge in the number of book challenges – that is, attempts by a person or group to remove or restrict certain titles from a curriculum or library collection. For over forty years, this week has served as an annual celebration of the freedom to read. The week also helps raise awareness about banned and challenged books and supports those who have faced adversity for writing, sharing, or reading these works. Perhaps the simplest way to commemorate Banned Books Week is to read a challenged or banned book. The American Library Association (ALA) has lists of the top 100 most challenged books per decade and a sampling of these are on display on the Library’s fourth floor. This year also offers the unique opportunity of attending the dedication of Dubuque’s new banned books mural, The Forbidden Bookshelf. This event has been planned by one of Loras’ Honors Program groups. What began as a general interest in the impact of public art and then more specifically in the murals in Dubuque, eventually led the honors group to reach out Sam Mulgrew, president of Humanities Iowa and one of the five directors of Voices Productions. Since 2016, Voices Productions has helped create almost 50 murals in and around Dubuque. Mulgrew expressed interest in working with the honors group on a banned book mural and they jumped at the chance. The group agreed on the importance of highlighting this issue, especially given the great increase in book challenges around the country in the last few years. The honors group has worked to help secure other community partners, specifically the Multicultural Family Center, River Lights Bookstore, Carnegie-Stout Public Library, and Dubuque Jaycees – the Jaycees building at 890 Iowa St. will be the location of the mural. The group has also helped plan the dedication of the mural on Wednesday, September 25 from 6-8pm which will include a presentation at 7pm by Steven Drahozal, an Iowa State Public Defender and first amendment advocate, called Banned Books: Lessons from Law and Literature. Following the mural dedication the honors group will turn its attention to hosting banned book book clubs throughout Dubuque. Look for information on the first one to be held at the end of October at River Lights Bookstore. The importance of this mural project has been recognized by the National Academy of Design which has awarded Voices Studios, The Abby Mural Prize, for its role to serve as a catalyst for cultural conversations that propel society forward. This seems particularly fitting given that this project supports literary artists doing the same thing. As Judith Krug, inaugural director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, stated, “People don’t challenge materials that don’t say something to the reader. If you look over the materials that have been challenged and banned over the years, they are the materials that speak to the condition of the human being, that try to illuminate the issues and concerns that affect human beings. They’re books that say something, and they’re books that have meaning to the reader. Innocuous materials are never challenged.”...

Constitution Day 2024

The National Constitution Center’s annual Constitution Day celebration is the biggest Constitution Day celebration in the country—and a great way to kick off the academic year! On September 17, 1787, the framers signed the most influential document in American history, the U.S. Constitution. Every year, the National Constitution Center commemorates that historic occasion.The Loras College Library is celebrating by giving away free pocket constitutions. Stop by the library service desk to pick up your copy!Beginning with the words “We the People,” the U.S. Constitution is composed of the Preamble, seven articles, and 27 amendments. The first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights.Want to learn more?In the National Constitution Center's Interactive Constitution, learn about the text, history, and meaning of the U.S. Constitution from leading scholars of diverse legal and philosophical perspectives.Encyclopedia of the American ConstitutionCall Number: 342.73023 L57 2000Publication Date: 2000 ...

International Day of Peace

Leave a comment