Bathrooms in the Morgan Library
There are ten bathrooms in the Morgan Library. I explored each one to see the differences. Because I wasn’t able to enter the men’s bathrooms and couldn’t find a gentleman up to the challenge, I am going to make the assumption that the men’s bathrooms mirror the women’s bathrooms. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Lower Level:
Northeast corner: There is a brightly-lit one-stall bathroom that contained an unflushed toilet. It’s out of the way, so I imagine the janitors don’t get around to checking it very often. It’s pretty secluded. There aren’t very many people hanging out downstairs. There is one coat rack, one sink, and one mirror.
Southwest corner: This bathroom contains three stalls, a coat rack, and two sinks. This bathroom was clean and not busy.
Main Level:
Northeast corner: This bathroom is dimly lit and gives off a creepy vibe. There is one stall, one sink, and one mirror.
Southwest corner: This bathroom is busy, contains lots of stalls, three sinks, three mirrors, and a coat rack. The bathrooms are pretty dirty.
Northeast wall: This bathroom is for people who feel claustrophobic easily. This single bathroom is not stall-based. The bathroom is wheel-chair accessible, brightly lit, and contains both a coat rack and a bench.
Second Level:
Northeast corner: This bathroom is much like the northeast corner bathroom on the main level: same setup and dimly lit. It was a little cleaner, however.
Southwest corner: This bathroom is identical to the southwest corner bathroom on the main floor. It might be a little less frequented, however.
Northeast wall: Again, like the main floor bathroom, only dirtier and without the bench.
Third Floor:
Northeast wall (by the study area): Same as the second-level northeast wall bathroom, but the cleanest bathroom so far.
Northwest wall (by the government documents): This bathroom wins the least-frequented award. This tiny bathroom has one stall, a sink, a mirror, and just enough room to spin around in one spot. This hidden-away bathroom is dimly lit and very cramped.
Semi-related links:
CNN Health: Conquering the ‘ewww’ factor of the public pottyMr. Cranky-a blogging critic-writes about pet peeves and how to use public bathrooms.
Wikipedia’s history of the toilet
Update: banned books
No books have been banned by the Morgan Library, according to front-desk librarian Steve Hendriksen. He believes the reason is that the library’s college student base is more liberal than an average library’s base.
Search Morgan Library’s book collection here.
Banned books
October 4 was the last day of the 27th Annual Banned Books Week supported by the American Library Association. While CSU didn’t do much to celebrate this year, it is important to take note of.
“Banned Books Week celebrated the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion,” states the ALA website. “Even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met.”
Without intellectual freedom on a college campus, information could not flow through our classrooms well. Opinions themselves could not be expressed without fear. Different perspectives are important to problem solving and critical thinking.
According to the ALA website, books are challenged usually to protect children from viewing the content. Books are challenged for several reasons. The most popular reasons include sexually explicit content, promoting a controversial viewpoint, language, and violence. A challenge is the attempt to remove the selection from the library, while a ban is the removal of the material.
The ALA offers more answers to frequently-asked questions about challenged books.
Last year, the Morgan Library had a display of books that have been banned at other libraries. It is unclear whether the Morgan Library has ever banned any books in its own collection.
Morgan Library website features page dedicated to understanding financial crises
The growing financial crisis is grabbing media spotlight, sparking many conversations on campus related to the roles of government, finances, and local consequences. Students now have a resource to sort all the information streaming their way—a page featuring Morgan Library resources.
The page includes eight tabs of RSS-Really Simple Syndication-feeds on everything relevant. Tabs cover: current news through RSS feeds; links to the Treasury Department, the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban affairs, to the SEC, to the Federal Reserve, to the International Monetary Fund, to the CSU Department of Economics, and to the Marketplace for a list of other related articles.
Resources on the Home tab include titles of books that give background to the issue, more RSS feeds, and contact information to librarian Louise Feldmann, who is following the topic in-depth.
If a paper over the financial crisis in your future seems eminent, or you don’t understand what’s going on, this page is going to make you excited to be alive.
The Morgan Library's page on the financial crisis
Morgan Library Financial Crisis Page
Morgan Library Financial Crisis RSS Feeds to current news
Morgan Library adds LibraryThing to enhance catalog searches
Morgan Library has become a member of LibraryThing, a large online book group, in order to enhance the Library Catalog (SAGE) with similar books and tags by relevance.
LibraryThing.com is a network of over 470,000 users, 690 libraries, the Library of Congress, and Amazon.com working to create an online catalog and community revolving around over 30 million books.
Through LibraryThing.com, Library Catalog users will view relevant tag topics and similar books when they search books that have been reviewed by LibraryThing.com users.
It’s free to become a LibraryThing.com user and comes with many benefits.
Traditional book clubs can be revolutionized with the group forum. Group members can talk with each other, search group members’ libraries, search group members’ reviews, and find other groups for shared books or topics.
Individual users can find anything book related. Local bookstores, libraries, book festivals, authors, readings, signings, discussions, and more are available at the touch of one’s fingertips, and now available on cell phones.
Avid readers will be excited to learn that books are available free for reading by LibraryThing.com users before publishers’ release them in order to get reviews.
CSU Library News about LibraryThing.com
Morgan Library’s changing face
To fully appreciate the library, it is important to know its full history. While brief, the following provides an explanation to alumni who haven’t been on the campus in ten years, and students who haven’t known anything other than what the library is today.
According to Morgan Library’s history page, CSU’s first library opened in 1880 in the Old Main Building. One room was big enough to hold all of the library’s books. It expanded into what is now the Music Building.
The Old Main building housed the first CSU library.
William E. Morgan (more information on him in the blog below) decided it was time to give the library a new home. In 1965, the Morgan Library opened in the location it is today. Unfortunately, it, too, became too small for the student population’s growing demands for resources.
“A Promise Fulfilled” Campaign-a familiar slogan-was started by President Albert Yates in 1994. The $22.6 million project, according to a CSU press release, added on a total of 130,000 gross square feet to the old infrastructure.
Renovation of the CSU Library.
The expansion includes the main entrance of today. This main entrance features three levels, windows to let in natural light, and sandstone with engraved donor names.
The expansion was prolonged by the 1997 flood, which destroyed thousands of books. In 1998, the new addition was dedicated.
Today, the old entrance of Morgan Library can be viewed in the courtyard. The south wall still contains the old “Morgan Library” silver letters.
Who put the Morgan in Morgan Library?
Rub William E. Morgan's nose for good luck!
William E. Morgan, otherwise referred to as Bill Morgan, served as president from 1949-1969. During this time, he created a university from a narrowly-defined agricultural college.
Under Morgan’s leadership, Colorado A & M built five new residence halls, the new library, and several academic buildings that include Eddy Hall and the Engineering Center. The school also expanded its academic program, adding degrees such as civil engineering. Morgan’s three focuses were engineering, the humanities, and agriculture.
Morgan believed that such advanced degrees should come from universities, and so in 1957, the Colorado General Assembly voted to change Colorado A & M to Colorado State University.
Morgan was a long-term planner, creating a university for the future during his twenty years as president. Tradition has it that students entering Morgan Library can get a boost of good luck by rubbing the nose of Morgan’s bronze statue.
References:
CSU Library William E. Morgan Biography
Colorado State University History
The art of bookmaking and letterpress exhibit
Morgan Library is home to many art exhibits throughout the year. Currently, The Art of Bookmaking and Letterpress Printing Exhibit is located in room 202 of the Morgan Library until September 30th.
According to the Morgan Library website, the collection is, “in collaboration with Colorado State University’s creative writing faculty, Sasha Steensen, Dan Beachy-Quick and Matthew Cooperman.”
“Items on display include broadsides, chapbooks and limited edition books from fine presses such as, the Ugly Duckling, Black Sparrow, Center for Book Arts and our own Bonfire Press at CSU’s Center for Literary Publishing. “
These two display cases compose the art exhibit.
It should be noted that many of the articles have been created in the past few years. I didn’t see any antique items.
The exhibit is small and easy to view in about five minutes. The downfall is that none of the articles are interactive. They are, however, extremely interesting and very cool examples of contemporary art.
An inside look at the left exhibit case.
View the exhibit Monday-Friday from 8:30 to 4:30.
H is for Holmes: A Sherlockian Alphabet.
For more of an explanation on letterpress printing and the art of bookmaking, view the Annotated Bibliography of Typography, Letterpress Printing, and Other Arts of the Book.
Top-selling books of all time
In the library and not sure what to start reading?
According to the Internet Public Library, the top 10 selling books of all time, in order, are:
- The Bible
- Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung (Little Red Book)
- American Spelling Book by Noah Webster
- The Guinness Book of Records
- The McGuffey Readers
- A Message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard
- The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Dr. Benjamin Spock]
- The World Almanac
- The Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
- In His Steps: “What Would Jesus Do?” by Rev. Charles Monroe Sheldon
It seems that most of these titles were old world necessities or staples of religions…
The bestselling fiction list has titles probably more likely to be found in the Morgan Library if you are looking for a classic to read during a study break:
- Bach, Richard. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull
- Blatty, William. The Exorcist
- Benchley, Peter. Jaws
- Caldwell, Erskine. God’s Little Acre
- Heller, Joseph. Catch-22
- Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird
- McCullough, Colleen. The Thorn Birds
- Metalious, Grace. Peyton Place
- Mitchell, Margaret. Gone With the Wind
- Orwell, George. 1984, Animal Farm
- Puzo, Mario. The Godfather
- Robbins, Harold. The Carepetbaggers
- Salinger, J.D. Catcher in the Rye
More current best selling book lists can be found at:
New York Times Book Best Sellers
Barnes and Noble Book Best Sellers
And of course, Oprah’s Book Club List
Coffee cart opens in library
Yesterday, the Coffee Cart opened in the Morgan Library. Study in the cold upper levels with a warm drink, find something to munch on during a long crash session, or just pick up a yummy treat.
Featuring:
- Hot Gourmet Coffee Drinks
- Pepsi products
- Sobe beverages
- Vitamin and Life Water
- Candy
- Consuelo’s Breakfast Burritos
Don’t have a coffee drink preference or know where to start? Check out the difference between coffee drinks at these sites:
Before you go, print out coupons and save some cash!
A latte featured on the Think First Eat Later blog.
