belklibrary | The Latest Info About Belk


May 13 2016

T-Rex in the Library

Published by

Elon’s Belk Library owns reading day! This prehistoric visitor roamed the stacks and handed out snacks.

 

Nov 05 2018

Elon College and the First World War, part 1: On the eve of The Great War

Published by

By Randall Bowman, Archivist and Assistant Librarian

Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2018 is the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, the “War to End all Wars?” What was Elon like in the early years of the Twentieth Century, before the First World War?  When William Allen Harper became Elon College’s fourth president in 1911, the school was very different than the university it is today.  In the fall of 1911, total enrollment for the college was only 234, although that was the largest enrollment since the school opened its doors in 1890.  Dr. Harper, then thirty-one years old, was an 1899 alumnus of Elon College, and the first graduate to serve as president.  He set out on an ambitious program to expand the school’s physical size, allowing for an increase in enrollment.  He was also determined to standardize and expand the curriculum.  In addition, Harper aimed to get the college out of debt and increase the endowment.

The task of raising the necessary funds for a construction program was made easier by the fact that Harper’s predecessor, Emmett L. Moffitt, had left the college stable financially.  Dr. Harper immediately undertook fundraising to complete Dr. Moffitt’s “Special Fund of $50,000”; by January 1912, the funds had been raised, and the debt from the 1907-1908 building program had been retired.  With that accomplished, Elon College now had financial capital to work with, and a new building program was begun.

One of the biggest needs the campus faced was a new dorm for male students.  Most female students lived in West Dormitory and had access to its dining facilities.  But most male Elon students boarded with local families, or rented rooms in town, and the number of local rooms were limited.  These men also “clubbed” together for their meals, which was a widespread practice on college campuses at the time.  These “dining clubs” were organized by the students themselves; each club would hire a cook to prepare their meals, and then rented houses where the food was prepared and eaten.

Therefore, the very first new building completed in 1913 was North Dormitory, a three-story building with a gym and basketball court located on the first floor, along with new biology and chemistry laboratories.  Forty-four new dorm rooms for men occupied the upper two floors.  Funds raised by the Alumni Association helped pay the expenses of construction.  This was the first time the Association aided the College in such a way; as a result, North Dormitory was officially named the Alumni Building.  The dorm was located approximately where Powell Building is now; it stood until 1958.

In addition to the Alumni Building, two other building were constructed.  One was the Club House, a cottage located on the north side of Haggard Avenue, across from the Main Building.  It provided a venue for the men’s dining clubs to have their meals prepared and eaten.  A matron was employed by the college to oversees the preparation of meals; the clubs continued to operate as they had previously, but the new facility helped to make expenses for the clubs more economical.  The Club House also stood until 1958.

The other new building was the Ladies’ Hall.  Also known as the Young Ladies’ Cooperative Extension, this building opened on the site now occupied by Sloan Hall, near West Hall.  This two-story building was a cooperative dormitory and dining hall that allowed female students to assume responsibility for cleaning, washing, and cooking, all under the supervision of a matron.  Room and board rates for living in the cooperative were lower than in the traditional arrangement in West, making college more affordable for some female students.  This proved a popular arrangement with many girls and their families.  The Ladies’ Hall stood until 1960.

These new facilities allowed the college to increase enrollment, beginning in 1913.  The Main Administration Building was renovated, allowing for an expansion of the library and music programs.  A College Dairy was set up, a new water tank was built to supply fresh water to the campus, and new lighting was installed.  These additions helped ease the demands on the overburdened college facilities and make the school more attractive and livable.

Also beginning in 1913, the faculty made several curricular changes, including the addition of a Bachelor of Science degree.  Requirements for the degree were standardized along with the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Philosophy degrees.  Dr. Harper was successful in expanding the curriculum; students could pay additional tuition to take courses in special departments of music, fine arts, expression, and commerce.  Some students took courses in these departments in addition to their regular degree requirements; other students enrolled in one or more of these departments without doing coursework towards a regular four-year degree.  Elon College had also set up a Teacher’s Institute that helped students get state certification for teaching.

Being a church-affiliated college, the atmosphere at Elon around the time World War I began in 1914 was a strictly religious one; students were required to attend daily chapel services, as well as Sunday School and Sunday Worship.  Many students were members of the Christian Church that had founded Elon, and quite a few went on to become ministers, missionaries, or lay workers.  Since there was religious instruction at Elon, an effort was made to establish a Department of Theology, but this effort fell victim to the World War.  Once the United States entered the conflict, funds couldn’t be spared for a new department.

Overall, Elon College was thriving in these years prior to America’s entry into the war.  In 1913, the college yearbook was founded, dubbed The PhiPsiCli.  The name was derived from the three literary societies at Elon: Philologian, Psiphelian, and Clio.  Literary societies were a mainstay of college life at the time, and Elon’s were no exception.  However, once the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, everything changed.  The new yearbook would not be published in 1918 and 1919; the money and material required to produce a yearbook were needed for the war effort.  All plans for growing and expanding Elon College, including all new construction, would be put on hold for the duration of the war.

May 31 2016

Library Hours for June

Published by

Here are Belk Library’s hours for June:

Monday through Thursdays, 8:00 am to 11:00 pm each day.  The library will close to community guests at 9:00 pm each night.

Fridays, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Saturdays, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

On Sundays the library will be open in the evening from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm.  The library will close to community guests at 9:00 pm.

24 hour access for Phoenix Card holders will return in the fall.

 

Apr 26 2016

A study room reserved just for you

Published by

Elon students can win a reserved study room to prep for finals.

Enter a drawing to win a study room

Feb 18 2016

Belk Library hosts Game Night

Published by

The Interactive Software Association and Belk Library co-hosted Game Night on Friday night, February 26, 2016.

Nearly 100 students came to Belk Library February 26 to play Super Smash, Killer Instinct, Halo, Rock Band 3 and other interactive games, not to mention good old-fashioned board games.  Little Caesar’s pizza and cookies from Paul’s Pastry Shop were also enjoyed.  Thanks to the ISA for helping to put on this event.  A good time was had by all!

20160226_204848 20160226_204925 20160226_205010 20160226_205033 20160226_205048 20160226_212304 20160226_220228 20160226_220239 20160226_221659

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20160226_212336

 

Nov 02 2015

Campus Conversation about our strategic plan

Published by

If you missed the November 6th Campus Conversation, we still welcome your feedback and comments on the draft strategic plan for Belk Library (link to PDF document).

As the academic heart of the residential campus, Belk Library is committed to advancing the culture of engaged intellectual inquiry at Elon University. We welcome input from the entire campus community as we continue our work to build a model engaged academic library. Our strategic plan is also your strategic plan – we would love to hear what you think an engaged academic library looks like.

Aug 25 2015

Library Hours for Fall Semester 2015

Published by

Belk Library is open continuously for Phoenix card holders from 10 am Sunday until 9 pm Friday and from 9 am until 9 pm Saturday. Please use the card swipe after 9:00 pm weekdays and after 5:00 pm on Friday and Saturday.

Visitors are welcome to use Belk Library during the following times:

Sunday from 10:00 am until 9 pm

Monday to Thursday from 7:30 am until 9:00 pm

Friday from 7:30 am until 5:00 pm

Saturday from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm

Aug 14 2015

Dance in Video

Published by

ASPlogo

The Dance in Video database includes over five hundred hours of dance productions and documentaries of dance styles ranging from ballet, tap and jazz to contemporary, experimental and improvisational.

Featured performers include Agnes de Mille, Mark Morris, Lestor Horton, Anna Sokolow, Anthony Tudor, Jose Limon, Paul Draper, and Chuck Green. Featured dance companies include the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, DV8 Physical Theatre, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

This database includes rare and hard-to-find archival material, including footage from the George Balanchine Interpreters Archive and Archive of Lost Choreography, and historical footage from Creative Arts Television, featuring dance performances from 1950s and 1960s CBS television productions.

Other features of the database include the ability to search and browse by performer, dance company, technique, genre and choreographer. Users can also queue video for in-class or assigned watching, with an unlimited number of simultaneous viewers.

Jun 04 2015

Get started with your summer reading – and listening and watching – at Belk Library!

Published by

We’ve added 50 new titles to the Belk Library Kindles, bringing our total up to 176 books. That’s one of the great things about e-book readers – all those books, and it still only weighs about 10 ounces. Some highlights from this new collection include:

  • Twelve of the hardcover fiction and five of the hardcover nonfiction bestsellers from the New York Times bestsellers list.
  • A mix of genres: romances, mysteries, thrillers, humor, fantasy.
  • And some great beach books! Two new beach romances – Guest Cottage by Nancy Thayer and Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews. And for nonfiction, we have David McCullough’s new biography of the Wright brothers, who made history right on our very own NC beach!
  • Why not get ready for Fall Convocation by reading Dr. Martin Luther King’s Why We Can’t Wait. And we have several of the previous common readings too, if you missed them.

For a complete list of all titles, check out our guide at http://elon.libguides.com/kindle. For a list of titles by genre, select the “Kindle Titles” tab. And click the Belk Library Kindles link in the middle of the home screen to get in line for a Kindle today.

Check out our new audiobooks! Perfect for that summer road trip, or just commuting back and forth. We just added over 50 new titles, and we may have some older ones you missed. Click here to see a list and come browse our selection. The new ones are on the first floor in the new materials display (to the right as you come in) and the older ones are on the second floor by the DVDs.

Speaking of DVDs, we got in over 100 new ones last month! Check out this list  and come find them on the new materials display, to the right as you come in the door.Thanks, and happy reading! And listening! And watching!

The Belk Library Staff

P.S. – Please note – These titles are ONLY available on the Belk Library Kindles.
We do not have the capability to download books to personal Kindles.
However, this service is available at the Alamance, Greensboro, Chapel Hill,
and other area public libraries.

Mar 05 2015

Game Night @ Belk Library March 6

Published by

Belk Library hosted Game Night on Friday, March 6th.  Around seventy students turned out to play video and board games, and to feast on Little Caesar’s pizza and cookies from Paul’s Bakery.  Many of the participants took part in a Smash 4 tournament.  Congratulations to Ethan Gaskin, Takasuke Tsuji, and Conor McKoy, who won $10 Target gift cards in the door prize drawings.

IMG_0221

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_0232

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_0237

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_0240

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_0244

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_0238