In Their Own Words

As Americans, we tend to mythologize our founding fathers. In history classes, novels, and historical documentaries, we often focus on the Revolutionary War and the ideas that made men like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and John Hancock so special.

What we often forget is that their ideas came from the simple act of reading. When Benjamin Franklin was young, he loved reading so much, he gave up eating meat in part to have more cash for buying books.

In honoring this 4th of July, Hannon Library invites you to learn about the the founding fathers in their own words. We have autobiographical books by Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and John Adams. We also have numerous writings by Thomas Jefferson, and a great biography on John Hancock.

So have a mental chat with the signers of the Declaration of Independence through the literature available at Hannon Library, and we hope you had a happy Independence Day!

By Alex Mesadieu

To Fathers Everywhere…

There’s a famous quote by Mark Twain that goes, “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”

So often, we forget the things we put our parents through and how much wisdom and life experience they passed on to us. If you asked a dad, they’ll tell you being a father is a tough job.

Hannon Library is glad to honor the people who sacrifice so much, take on that tough job, and support their children. Below are some of the great dads of Hannon Library:

By Alex Mesadieu

Go Skate Day

If you hear the roar of wheels being shoved across pavement tomorrow, don’t be alarmed. June 21 is Go Skate Day, a holiday where the only rule is to go out and skateboard.

“read the latest issue of Thrasher and Skateboarder Magazine through our online access portal”

The holiday started 12 years ago as a global celebration of skateboarding. Here on the west coast, the observance means a lot to some folks. The west coast is widely known as the Capital of Skateboarding, and Oregon certainly plays a hand in that. The enthusiasm Oregonians have for Skateboarding can be seen in towns like Eugene, which has 5 different skate parks despite only having a population of 159,190 people. Here in Jackson County, we have skate parks in almost every city, even in tiny towns like Talent and Gold Hill. Although many cities ban skateboarding in downtown districts, Portland, Oregon’s largest city, not only permits skateboarding but even marks special “skate routes” throughout the city.

While skateboarding is popular here in Oregon, not everyone on the staff at Hannon Library has the ability to spend the day kickflipping the Hannon Library 10 stair or mctwisting the Ashland Skate Park bowl. Despite this, we offer a cool space that skateboarders can use to relax and take a break.

So if you’re out skating tomorrow, come chill out here with us in between skate spots. At Hannon Library you can read the latest issue of Thrasher and Skateboarder Magazine through our online access portal, check out some of our incredible books on skateboarding like Slam (editor’s choice), or Skateboarding, Space and the City, or just take drink out of our water fountains and surf the web. We here at Hannon Library want to wish you a happy Go Skate Day.

By Alex Mesadieu

She Stoops to Conquer

Don’t miss this newest display featuring a costume from the popular play, She Stoops to Conquer.

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Costume design by Clara Painter

She-Stoops-1280x1024This costume, designed by Clara Painter, was worn by Aleah Zimmer in the role of Miss Constance Neville in She Stoops to Conquer, a comedy written in the 1700s by Oliver Goldsmith. The play was performed by the SOU’s 2015-16 Theatre Program and directed by Dennis Smith.

Currently on display through the summer in the Bailey Area, second floor of the library.

 

 

2016 Graduates, We’ll Miss You

This Saturday, we at Hannon Library gave hugs and tearful goodbyes to our student employees who graduated this year.

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Alex Mesadieu, the man behind the blog

Hannon Library employs about 50 student workers who do everything from solving computer issues to hunting down mis-shelved books. With 14 different departments within the library, their work is essential to keeping the library functioning, and we’ll dearly miss the ones who are now off to bigger and better things.

We here at Hannon would like to say thanks and congratulations to our 31 employees who have graduated this year, including:

Amy Accongio, Amris Allemand, Reid Barbier, Sage Behan, Donica Burdette, Thomas Burns, Devyn McConnachie, Michal Dahl, Sam Edgerton, Dara Gomez, Mariah Gonzales, Tori Herstedt, Kyle Hultquist, Dylan Keenan, Kelsie Lawson, Amy Layton, Tamara Lee, Gabe Lenetsky, Brandon Lieske, Linnea Lopez, Alexander Mesadieu, McKenzie Oaks, Jacki Parsley, Morgan Pfeifer, Jacob Schultz, Jane Silva, Lora Stamper, Ali Tolomei, Hannah Theophil, and Dani Workman.

By Alex Mesadieu