Pepperdine Libraries Establishes “Death in Cambodia, Life in America” Collection
On January 7, 1979, Vietnamese forces and Cambodian rebel forces overthrew Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge,the communist guerilla movement that came to power in Cambodia between 1975-1979. During its brutal regime, the Khmer Rouge established labor camps where millions of Cambodians were expected to produce rice at an unrealistic scale to support its mission of national independence and societal restructuring. Robert Chau was only sixteen when he and his family were separated and forced into some of these labor camps. His incredible story of surviving and escaping from the Khmer Rouge, immigrating to California, and becoming a successful entrepreneur in the donut industry has been lovingly recorded by his daughter, Dorothy Chow, in her podcast “Death in Cambodia, Life in America.”
The Prince of Peace
Each year at Christmastime all across America and the world, the strains of Handel’s Messiah can be heard as we usher in the Christmas season. Performances of Messiah invite us to sing along in fellowship to the glorious music that proclaims Christ the Lord. In this post, dean of Libraries Mark Roosa takes a deep look into Handel’s epic work and its origins.
Christmas Pets
‘Tis the season to dress your pets in outlandish Christmas outfits or photograph them getting into trouble with the holiday decor. Enjoy some cute festive snapshots of the Pepperdine Libraries team’s four-legged friends.
Christmas Crafts Delight Students
During the first week of December, Pepperdine students enjoyed a well-deserved study break with a couple of crafty activities courtesy of the Libraries. In the Genesis Lab, we hosted ornament and Christmas card making. On the first floor by the circulation desk, we organized a make-your-own mini gingerbread house activity. Many took their houses home to decorate or gobble down for a much-needed snack, while others left theirs in the library to add to the Christmas decor at Payson.
Pepperdine Libraries Showcases Recently Acquired Rare Books
Pepperdine Libraries is pleased to host a new exhibition in the Boone Special Collections and Archives wing of Payson Library. Titled "Enriching Classroom Learning: Newly Acquired Rare Books," the exhibition showcases rare and unique books recently added to our collection. The new acquisitions span a range of subjects and authors, including a first-edition American stage play "Death of a Salesman," a two-volume set of Darwin’s "Descent of Man," a first-edition, first-printing of Charles Dickens’ final novel, a book on cerebral anatomy, essays on demoniacs in the New Testament, and much more.
Newly Published J.M. McCaleb Papers Highlights Missionaries’ Service to the Church in Japan
John Moody McCaleb, a young preacher from the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement, and his wife Della, sailed for Japan in 1892. Newly wed and newly inspired for the Christian mission that awaited them there, they could hardly have imagined the ways in which their lives would be shaped and formed by nearly 50 years of service to the church in Japan. Their story is documented in the newly published digital collection, J.M. McCaleb Papers at Pepperdine Libraries.
Pepperdine Libraries Acquires New System to Ensure Digital File Preservation
You may have walked past Pepperdine Libraries’ cold storage in Payson Library, specially designed to protect our delicate rare and archival materials. What is less visible, but equally vital, is Pepperdine Libraries’ new digital preservation storage environment, Preservica. Preservica is a system designed to address the unique preservation challenges of digital files.
Pepperdine Libraries Partners with Faculty to Preserve Rare Materials
Pepperdine Libraries has engaged in exciting conservation work to stabilize a selection of books from its Boone Special Collections. The Libraries engaged Pepperdine faculty from the Humanities and Teacher Education Division to sort through the collection in collaboration with Special Collections librarians and identify those books of enduring value that the faculty might like to use in the classroom or their research. Then the Libraries identified a professional book conservator to carefully mend the damage so that students, faculty, and staff can now safely interact with the centuries-old books.
Pepperdine Libraries Appoints Gabrielle Riter as Head of the West Los Angeles Graduate Campus Library
Pepperdine Libraries is pleased to announce the appointment of Gabrielle Riter as West Los Angeles campus librarian. Riter earned a master's in library and information studies from UCLA and a bachelor’s in art history from Loyola Marymount University. In her role, Riter will oversee the West Los Angeles Graduate Campus Library, which supports the research, learning, and teaching needs of the Graziadio Business School and the Graduate School of Education and Psychology—both headquartered in West Los Angeles.
Pepperdine Libraries Awards $20K to Faculty in Support of Open Access Publishing
Several years ago, as part of our commitment to supporting open scholarly inquiry, Pepperdine Libraries began awarding open access publishing stipends to faculty. To date, the program has been tremendously successful, awarding more than $20,000 to nearly a dozen faculty members. And, we just recently increased the amount available faculty can apply for. The stipends are used to pay publishers for their article processing charges to prepare articles for open access publication.
