Approximately 800 books are purchased for the Alkek Library each month, and now you can easily browse a selection of 50 to 100 of these new additions before they are permanently shelved. The offerings in the New Books Collection can be taken and checked out right from their bookcases in the library lobby, and new titles are added every day.
Most of the books in this collection are of general interest to the university community, including literature, art, social issues, sports, children’s books, biographies, history, and many other topics. A few examples are: A Passion for Asia: The Rockefeller Legacy, with essays by Rockefeller family members and a team of eminent scholars; Travelling Heroes: In the Epic Age of Homer by Oxford classicist Robin Lane Fox; The Flaw of Averages: Why We Underestimate Risk in the Face of Uncertainty, complex concepts creatively presented in plain English by Dr. Sam Savage; Mirage: Napoleon’s Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt, historical nonfiction by Nina Burleigh; Junk News: The Failure of the Media in the 21st Century by veteran journalist Tom Fenton; and Turner in His Time by Andrew Wilton, curator of London’s Tate Gallery.
The New Books Collection is located in two wood bookcases to the right as you enter the library. These books can be checked out according to normal circulation policies and renewed online through the “My Library” menu on the library homepage. When returned, each book is housed in its permanent location on the regular shelves. As books are taken, new ones are rotated in; those not checked out remain in the lobby cases for approximately one month. We hope everyone enjoys browsing what has become a very popular collection and reading the interesting titles our library purchases.
Courtesy of Acquisitions Librarian Jane Mills & Ref/Instruction Librarian Jan Tidwell
