Celebrating FSU Authors Day 2022

On March 23, 2023, FSU Libraries will partner with the Office of Faculty Development and Advancement to celebrate the recent book and CD publications of FSU faculty and staff with FSU Authors Day. This annual event, showcased publications from across the disciplines, including scholarly monographs, textbooks, handbooks, edited volumes, music CDs, poetry, and novels published between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022. Check out this year’s authors and their works below!

Black Sisterhoods: Paradigms and Praxis edited by Tamara Bertrand Jones

Foundations of Ecology II: Classic Papers with Commentaries edited by Thomas E. Miller & Joseph Travis

The Oxford Handbook of Digital Media Sociology edited by Deana A. Rohlinger

Shakespeare & the First Hamlet edited by Terri Bourus (Theresa A. Mategrano)

Antioch: A History by Andrea U. De Giorgi

Collaborative Futures in Qualitative Inquiry: Research in a Pandemic edited by Norman K. Denzin and Michael D. Giardina

Combat Social Work: Applying the Lessons of War to the Realities of Human Services edited by Charles R. Figley, Jeffrey S. Yarvis, and Bruce A. Thyer

Student Engagement in the Language Classroom edited by Phil Hiver, Ali H. Al-Hoorie, and Sarah Mercer

Global Revolutionary Aesthetics and Politics After Paris ’68 edited by Christian P. Weber, Barry J. Faulk, William J. Cloonan, and Martin Munro

Pindar in Sicily edited by Virginia M. Lewis

Geriatrics Review Syllabus, Eleventh Edition edited by Jonathan S. Appelbaum

Electrical Circuits, Fifth Edition by Linda S. DeBrunner and Victor DeBrunner

The Essential James Buchanan by Randall G. Holcombe

Economics of Asia by Onsurang Pipatchaipoom (Norrbin)

Homelessness and the Built Environment: Designing for Unhoused Persons by Jill Pable, Yelena McLane, and Lauren Trujillo

Scissors and Tears by Carrie Ann Baade

13 Books to Read This Women’s History Month

Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate the women of both past and present who make a difference in our lives. It’s a time to champion the progress we’ve made, and to challenge ourselves to go further in the fight for safety, visibility, and equality for every woman.

With so much to celebrate, what better way to learn about women’s history than to check out a book by a woman author? We’ve selected 13 different books from our catalog to get you started on your Women’s History Month reads.

This display highlights books from across time, place, and culture that each share diverse perspectives and experiences of womanhood. Below, you’ll find classic, must-read novels like Mrs. Dalloway and The Bluest Eye alongside popular modern works like the New York Times Bestseller, Mexican Gothic. For the more academically inclined, we’ve selected essential feminist writings by Audre Lorde and bell hooks; and for those seeking a gripping story, we’ve got Cristina García’s Dreaming in Cuban and Radclyffe Hall’s once-banned lesbian novel, The Well of Loneliness. You’ll find everything from laugh-out-loud comics like Alison Bechdel’s jaunty Dykes to Watch Out For, to compelling dramas like The Color Purple by Alice Walker.

There is something for everyone this Women’s History Month!

Each book featured here can be checked out at Strozier Library or retrieved online through the FSU Libraries website. To search for more women’s books, browse our online catalog.


Mrs. Dalloway

by Virginia Woolf

“Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” It’s one of the most famous opening lines in literature, that of Virginia Woolf’s beloved masterpiece of time, memory, and the city. In the wake of World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic, Clarissa Dalloway, elegant and vivacious, is preparing for a party and remembering those she once loved. In another part of London, Septimus Smith is suffering from shell-shock and on the brink of madness. Their days interweave and their lives converge as the party reaches its glittering climax. In a novel in which she perfects the interior monologue and recapitulates the life cycle in the hours of the day, from first light to the dark of night, Woolf achieves an uncanny simulacrum of consciousness, bringing past, present, and future together, and recording, impression by impression, minute by minute, the feel of life itself.

Image courtesy of Amazon.com. Description provided by Penguin Publishing Group.

Did you know?

Virginia Woolf co-owned and operated a publishing company, The Hogarth Press, which published both her works and those of her contemporaries- authors like T.S. Eliot, Sigmund Freud, and E.M. Forster. As such, the Woolfs’ house became something of a cultural hub for London artists of the time.

Feminism is for Everybody

by bell hooks

bell hooks establishes what feminism is truly about through Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics. The book analytically explores feminism from an intelligent perspective, shining light on the successes and shortcomings of the feminist movement. Removing the strong sexual appetite from the topic of love, the author explores ways to end oppression and sexism. Consider the book a simple guide to understanding feminism.

Image courtesy of Amazon.com. Description provided by bell hooks Books.

The Bluest Eye

by Toni Morrison

Pecola Breedlove, a young eleven-year-old black girl, prays every day for beauty. Mocked by other children for the dark skin, curly hair, and brown eyes that set her apart, she yearns for the blond hair and blue eyes that she believes will allow her to finally fit in. Yet as her dreams grow more fervent, her life slowly starts to disintegrate in the face of adversity and strife. A powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity.

Image and description courtesy of Penguin Books.

Did you know?

In the 1960s, Toni Morrison worked as one of the first Black fiction editors at Random House, where she gave voice to other Black authors such as Angela Davis and Gayl Jones by acquiring and editing their books. In 1993, she became the first Black recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Mexican Gothic

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region. Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Image and description courtesy of Penguin Books.

The Essential Dykes to Watch Our For

by Alison Bechdel

Settle in to this wittily illustrated soap opera (Bechdel calls it “half op-ed column and half endless serialized Victorian novel”) of the lives, loves, and politics of Mo, Lois, Sydney, Sparrow, Ginger, Stuart, Clarice, and the rest of the cast of cult-fav characters. Most of them are lesbians, living in a midsize American city that may or may not be Minneapolis. Bechdel’s brilliantly imagined countercultural band of friends—academics, social workers, bookstore clerks—fall in and out of love, negotiate friendships, raise children, switch careers, and cope with aging parents. Bechdel fuses high and low culture—from foreign policy to domestic routine, hot sex to postmodern theory—in a serial graphic narrative “suitable for humanists of all persuasions.”

Image courtesy of Amazon.com. Description provided by HarperCollins.

The Color Purple

by Alice Walker

A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance and silence. Through a series of letters spanning twenty years, first from Celie to God, then the sisters to each other despite the unknown, the novel draws readers into its rich and memorable portrayals of Celie, Nettie, Shug Avery and Sofia and their experience. The Color Purple broke the silence around domestic and sexual abuse, narrating the lives of women through their pain and struggle, companionship and growth, resilience and bravery. Deeply compassionate and beautifully imagined, Alice Walker’s epic carries readers on a spirit-affirming journey towards redemption and love.

Image and description courtesy of Penguin Books.

Did you know?

Alice Walker participated in the historic March on Washington at which Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In 1966, she moved to Mississippi to help local African Americans register to vote and much of her life was devoted to the fight for civil rights.

My Home as I Remember: A Collection of Essays

edited by Lee Maracle and Sandra Laronde

My Home As I Remember describes literary and artistic achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Metis women across Canada and the United States, including contributions from New Zealand and Mexico. Their voices and creative expression of identity and place are richly varied, reflecting the depth of the culturally diverse energy found on these continents. Over 60 writers and visual artists are represented from nearly 25 nations, including writers such as Lee Maracle, Chrystos and Louise Bernice Halfe, and visual artists Joane Cardinal-Schubert, Teresa Marshall, Kenojuak Ashevak, Doreen Jensen and Shelley Niro; and some who are published for the first time in this landmark volume. Lee Maracle is the author of numerous books, including Ravensong. Sandra Laronde, writer/actor, is Executive Director of Native Women in the Arts.

Image courtesy of Amazon.com. Description provided by Dundurn Press.

Dreaming in Cuban

by Cristina García

Cristina García’s acclaimed book is the haunting, bittersweet story of a family experiencing a country’s revolution and the revelations that follow. The lives of Celia del Pino and her husband, daughters, and grandchildren mirror the magical realism of Cuba itself, a landscape of beauty and poverty, idealism and corruption. Dreaming in Cuban is “a work that possesses both the intimacy of a Chekov story and the hallucinatory magic of a novel by Gabriel García Márquez” (The New York Times). In celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the novel’s original publication, this edition features a new introduction by the author.

Image and Description courtesy of Penguin Books.

The Well of Loneliness

by Radclyffe Hall

The Well of Loneliness tells the story of tomboyish Stephen, who hunts, wears trousers and cuts her hair short – and who gradually comes to realise that she is attracted to women. Charting her romantic and professional adventures during the First World War and beyond, the novel provoked a furore on first publication in 1928 for its lesbian heroine and led to a notorious legal trial for obscenity. Hall herself, however, saw the book as a pioneer work and today it is recognised as a landmark work of gay fiction.

Image courtesy of Amazon.com. Description provided by Penguin Books.

Did you know?

Because of the book’s queer themes, Radclyffe Halle was put on trial for obscenity. She lost her case; the book was banned; and all copies were ordered to be destroyed. Still, The Well of Loneliness survives as one of the most important lesbian texts of the 20th century.

Fairest: A Memoir

by Meredith Talusan

Fairest is a memoir about a precocious boy with albinism, a “sun child” from a rural Philippine village, who would grow up to become a woman in America. Coping with the strain of parental neglect and the elusive promise of U.S. citizenship, Talusan found comfort from her devoted grandmother, a grounding force as she was treated by others with special preference or public curiosity. As an immigrant to the United States, Talusan came to be perceived as white, and further access to elite circles of privilege but required Talusan to navigate through the complex spheres of race, class, sexuality, and queerness. Questioning the boundaries of gender, Talusan realized she did not want to be confined to a prescribed role as a man, and transitioned to become a woman, despite the risk of losing a man she deeply loved. Throughout her journey, Talusan shares poignant and powerful episodes of desirability and love that will remind readers of works such as Call Me By Your Name and Giovanni’s Room.

Image and description courtesy of Penguin Books.

Passing

by Nella Larsen

Clare Kendry is living on the edge. Light-skinned, elegant, and ambitious, she is married to a racist white man unaware of her African American heritage, and has severed all ties to her past after deciding to “pass” as a white woman. Clare’s childhood friend, Irene Redfield, just as light-skinned, has chosen to remain within the African American community, and is simultaneously allured and repelled by Clare’s risky decision to engage in racial masquerade for personal and societal gain. After frequenting African American-centric gatherings together in Harlem, Clare’s interest in Irene turns into a homoerotic longing for Irene’s black identity that she abandoned and can never embrace again, and she is forced to grapple with her decision to pass for white in a way that is both tragic and telling.

Image and description courtesy of Penguin Books.

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning

by Cathy Park Hong

Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong fearlessly and provocatively blends memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose fresh truths about racialized consciousness in America. Part memoir and part cultural criticism, this collection is vulnerable, humorous, and provocative—and its relentless and riveting pursuit of vital questions around family and friendship, art and politics, identity and individuality, will change the way you think about our world.

Image and description courtesy of Penguin Books.

Sister Outsider

by Audre Lorde

In this charged collection of fifteen essays and speeches, Lorde takes on sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class, and propounds social difference as a vehicle for action and change. Her prose is incisive, unflinching, and lyrical, reflecting struggle but ultimately offering messages of hope. This commemorative edition includes a new foreword by Lorde-scholar and poet Cheryl Clarke, who celebrates the ways in which Lorde’s philosophies resonate more than twenty years after they were first published. These landmark writings are, in Lorde’s own words, a call to “never close our eyes to the terror, to the chaos which is Black which is creative which is female which is dark which is rejected which is messy which is . . . ”

Image and description courtesy of Penguin Books.


This blog post was created by Lila Rush-Hickey, Student Engagement Assistant for FSU Libraries. She is a third-year Literature, Media and Culture major at FSU.

NEW Media Suite at Dirac: A Creation Space for All

Tired of recording videos for class with your grainy laptop camera? Wish you had a better setup for your podcast? Good news! A new space is coming to Florida State University (FSU) that will allow you to work on videos, podcasts, and more. This space, called The Media Suite at Dirac, will have everything you need to record and edit audio and video, including a green screen and an editing computer with two large 4k monitors. The suite is located on the third floor of Dirac and is currently available for booking

Why Create a Media Suite?

FSU Libraries is proud to introduce The Media Suite at Dirac because it satisfies a need that all members of the FSU community share: creating outstanding digital media.

The world is becoming more digital by the day, which we saw clearly at the start of the pandemic. Suddenly, everything from classes to court cases were online, and people had to quickly learn how to communicate effectively through digital media. This shift is not going away any time soon. More and more, job interviews, team meetings, conferences, and other important events are moving online. It’s even predicted that by 2025, 36.2 million Americans will be working remotely, which is a 417% increase from the 7 million remote workers there were pre-pandemic (Flynn, 2022). Given this trend, it’s vital that we all learn how to navigate the digital landscape effectively.

The Media Suite can help FSU students, staff, and faculty practice and perfect their digital communication skills by providing them with the space and tools necessary to create any digital media projects they can imagine.

What Can I Use It For?

The Media Suite can be used for a variety of personal and professional projects. Want to make a short film for your YouTube channel? The suite has lighting, microphones, and a green screen that will bring your vision to life. When you finish filming, you can edit on two 4k monitors powered by a Mac Studio computer. You can record voice-over and edit audio using the headphones, microphones, and mixing board in the suite, which is equipped with audio absorption panels to make your audio crisp and clear. 

Not interested in making your directorial debut? No worries. There is much more you can do in the suite. For instance, you might record yourself giving a presentation or invite friends to start a podcast. The suite is equipped with everything you need to make incredible media projects. But, if you find yourself lacking something, you can check out other materials from the library, including a DSLR camera. Use the equipment search page on the library website to check which materials are available.

How Can I Get In On This?

Eager to get started on your projects? Luckily, utilizing the suite is easy. Anyone at FSU is welcome to use it completely free of charge. All you have to do is reserve the space through the Library Room Reservation System. When it’s your time to use the suite, head to the front desk at Dirac Science Library and request the key from a staff member. 

For more information on The Media Suite at Dirac, visit the suite’s page on the GEOSET website. If you have any questions, reach out to a staff member at the circulation desk or contact GEOSET Studio

Reference

Flynn, J. (2022, October 16). 25 trending remote work statistics [2023]: Facts, trends, and projections. Zippia. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.zippia.com/advice/remote-work-statistics/

12 Books to Read This Black History Month

February is Black History Month, and it’s this time every year that we honor, celebrate, and highlight the achievements of African Americans that have helped shape our nation. 

Reading books written by Black authors or about Black history is a great way to amplify those underrepresented voices, learn from personal experiences, and help contextualize systemic issues for those who are not impacted by them firsthand. It can help to deepen our understanding of the ongoing struggle for racial equality and justice, and provide a greater appreciation for black culture. 

If you’re looking for a place to start your journey, we’ve picked out a short list of wonderful reads for Black History Month. These 12 books get to the heart of many of the racial issues from our country’s past, leading into the present, as well as how to make a better future. All of these books freely are available through FSU Libraries. Check out the catalog on our website to search for more titles!


The 1619 Project

by Nikole Hannah-Jones &The New York Times Magazine

The award-winning “1619 Project” issue reframed our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative. This new book substantially expands on that work, weaving together eighteen essays that explore the legacy of slavery in present-day America with thirty-six poems and works of fiction that illuminate key moments of oppression, struggle, and resistance. The essays show how the inheritance of 1619 reaches into every part of contemporary American society, from politics, music, diet, traffic, and citizenship to capitalism, religion, and our democracy itself.

Image courtesy of Amazon. Description provided by The 1619 Project.

Invisible Man

by Ralph Ellison

“Invisible Man” is a thought-provoking and witty story about race that is beautifully narrated by a young, nameless Black man in 1950s America in search of self-knowledge. Readers are taken on a journey from the Deep South to Harlem, where the protagonist experiences horrifying intolerance, cultural blindness and racial bigotry all in an effort to find the true meaning of self-identity.

Image courtesy of Amazon. Description provided by CNN, 2022.

Between the World and Me

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

In “Between the World and Me” Ta-Nehisi Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, “Between the World and Me” clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.

Image courtesy of Amazon. Description provided by Random House Group.

The Color Purple

by Alice Walker

Celie is a poor black woman whose letters tell the story of 20 years of her life, beginning at age 14 when she is being abused and raped by her father and attempting to protect her sister from the same fate, and continuing over the course of her marriage to “Mister,” a brutal man who terrorizes her. Celie eventually learns that her abusive husband has been keeping her sister’s letters from her and the rage she feels, combined with an example of love and independence provided by her close friend Shug, pushes her finally toward an awakening of her creative and loving self.

Image courtesy of Amazon. Description provided by Lit Lovers.

The Hate U Give

by Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Image and description courtesy of Goodreads.

How The Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America

by Clint Smith

Beginning in his hometown of New Orleans, Clint Smith leads the reader on an unforgettable tour of monuments and landmarks—those that are honest about the past and those that are not—that offer an intergenerational story of how slavery has been central in shaping our nation’s collective history, and ourselves. A deeply researched and transporting exploration of the legacy of slavery and its imprint on centuries of American history, “How the Word Is Passed” illustrates how some of our country’s most essential stories are hidden in plain view—whether in places we might drive by on our way to work, holidays such as Juneteenth, or entire neighborhoods like downtown Manhattan, where the brutal history of the trade in enslaved men, women, and children has been deeply imprinted.

Image and description courtesy of Goodreads.

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

by Michelle Alexander

“The New Jim Crow” is a stunning account of the rebirth of a caste-like system in the United States, one that has resulted in millions of African Americans locked behind bars and then relegated to a permanent second-class status—denied the very rights supposedly won in the Civil Rights Movement. The novel challenges the civil rights community—and all of us—to place mass incarceration at the forefront of a new movement for racial justice in America.

Image courtesy of Amazon. Description provided by New Jim Crow.

The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap

by Mehrsa Baradarian

When the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, the black community owned less than 1 percent of the total wealth in America. More than 150 years later, that number has barely budged. “The Color of Money” seeks to explain the stubborn persistence of this racial wealth gap by focusing on the generators of wealth in the black community: black banks.

Image and description provided by Amazon.

The Underground Railroad

by Colson Whitehead

Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood—where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned, and Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom.

Image and description provided by Penguin Random House.

Heavy

by Kiese Laymon

In “Heavy,” the author Kiese Laymon writes eloquently and honestly about growing up a hard-headed black son to a complicated and brilliant black mother in Jackson, Mississippi. From his early experiences of sexual violence, to his suspension from college, to his trek to New York as a young college professor, he charts his complex relationship with his mother, grandmother, anorexia, obesity, sex, writing, and ultimately gambling. By attempting to name secrets and lies he and his mother spent a lifetime avoiding, Laymon asks himself, his mother, his nation, and us to confront the terrifying possibility that few in this nation actually know how to responsibly love, and even fewer want to live under the weight of actually becoming free.

Image and description provided by Simon & Schuster.

The Vanishing Half

by Brit Bennett

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ storylines intersect?

Image and description provided by Goodreads.

Deacon King Kong

by James McBride

In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and, in front of everybody, shoots the project’s drug dealer at point-blank range. The author brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the residents who witnessed it, the local cops assigned to investigate, and the neighborhood’s Italian mobsters. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion.

Image and description provided by Goodreads.


This blog post was written by Kaylan Williams, Student Engagement Assistant at FSU Libraries.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with FSU Libraries!

FSU Libraries invite you to join us to celebrate Valentine’s Day, Love Data Week, and our love of learning! This year, come and spread the love with our engagement team, who are hosting a variety of events during the second and third weeks of February in both Strozier and Dirac. 

There will be two Valentine’s Day tabling events with free exclusive merch on February 8 and February 13 at Strozier. We will also host a special tabling in collaboration with our STEM librarians to share our love for all things data on February 16 and 17. 

Aside from tabling, expect a pop-up performance from FSU’s Fountain Five Quintet at Strozier and a virtual Data Analysis with Microsoft Excel Workshop from our Data at Your Desk workshop series on February 14. If you can’t make the performance, be sure to follow us on Instagram to tune into our live transmission and stay up to date with all the events and new swag that we have prepared for this month.

Lastly, make sure to check out our Blind Date with a Book display! It will be up all month on the first floor of Strozier.

Art in the Library: 10 Questions with Danielle Wirsansky and Gizem Solmaz

FSU Libraries’ Art in the Library Committee organizes visual and performing arts programming in its spaces to enrich the library as an aesthetic and academic environment. A major part of this program includes exhibiting artwork drawn from the FSU student body on a semester-long basis.

Gizem Solmaz (left) and Danielle Wirsansky (right)

Danielle Wirsansky is a PhD student in History, and her photography focuses on storytelling and themes of anemoia, a longing for a time or place which you’ve never known, may never know, and which is always changing. Gizem Solmaz is a PhD candidate in Curriculum and Instruction and her astrophotography represents the meaning of the deep feelings digested in space, allowing her to express her own feelings in the moment of artistic creation.

The Sum of Many Spaces: Landscape Photography and the Sense of Self, featuring the photography of both artists, is on view at Dirac Science Library during the Spring 2023 semester.

FSU Libraries (FSU): Tell us about this show- give our readers a brief introduction to the work you are exhibiting with us this semester.

Danielle Wirsansky (DW): My works in this show are from a series of nature and landscape photographs taken when I was in Israel. I was born there, and I moved to the US as a child – however, I have always felt a dichotomy of identity with both nations. There is a term, orachat la’regah or “a visitor that comes only for a moment.” This is a theme across my pieces – seeing Israel as someone like a visitor, even though I was born there and am a citizen.
Gizem Solmaz (GS): I have always loved photography. One of my youngest memories was when I was about 6 on a family trip and I somehow got control of the camera. My parents were shocked to find all sky photos, no family photos. While this disappointed my parents, I was so excited. This is the first time I was sharing what I saw through my eyes with other people. For the photos in this show at FSU Libraries, as a woman in Turkey I took these photos alone, in the dark, and in that experience I felt so strong and accomplished. I am thrilled to share these with everyone. This exhibition gives me a chance to do just that, so it’s so really emotional.

(FSU): What is your favorite work in this show? Tell us a little more about the story behind it.

(DW): I think it’s actually the piece called Prayer with the woman at the Western wall praying. I was photographing people who wanted really candid photos and I snapped this in the middle of the shoot. I found it really moving and powerful, a special moment in this place that’s important to so many people.
(GS): I think In Limbo, because when I was 8 years old in 1999 there was a massive, deadly earthquake in Turkey. I was the first person in my family to wake, and I remember looking at the clear sky, thinking how it felt so close to us because all the lights were out. The city around us was destroyed but I felt so connected with the sky and the stars. I felt safe and like it would all be ok. When I took In Limbo I remembered that night. I was alone with another female friend and we were so scared but we didn’t leave. When I got home I let myself look at the photos to see if I was able to capture the composition I had in my mind, and I was so glad to see it worked. All that fear was worth it and I was so proud of myself for working through it. I would also like to mention that this photograph won the People’s Choice Award at the FSU HSF Excellence in the Visual Arts Awards Exhibition.

(FSU): What does your artwork represent about you? What message do you want to send out into the world through your art?

(DW): Usually, I don’t do landscape photography – I make more portraits. In all my work I get to construct the story I want people to take away, but this series of landscape photography is really personal. It’s about me, as a citizen of Israel and as an American. More generally I like to explore these feelings of longing, like anemoia. That’s really evident through this exhibition because there are so many people who want to go to Israeli but may never get there. These photographs give viewers a glimpse of this place but also into me.
(GS): All my life, whenever I get excited about something or try something new, I feel like I’ve been discouraged often that I won’t succeed or I’m wasting my time. No one ever supported or encouraged me to try things. I would like to tell the whole world not to listen to the negativity of others – what matters is what you want to do and what makes you happy. If I had listened to those people I would not be here and exhibiting right now at FSU Libraries. I also think we should keep people close to us who do support our dreams. In fact, I didn’t know about this opportunity until a close colleague told me about it and encouraged me to apply. I wouldn’t have done it without him. Look for the people that show you the light.

(FSU): How does being a student impact your creative process?

(DW): I find that I’ve been really good about making opportunities for myself as a student to combine my research with art making opportunities, and also taking advantage of UROP which sparked so many chances for me to take so many paths that I didn’t think I would. My artwork would not be where it is, I wouldn’t be where I am if I had not been a student for so long. I’ve been at FSU since 2012 and my craft has really grown since this time started. 
(GS): For taking astrophotos you need expensive equipment to really capture the wide sky views, but because I was a student I was able to take advantage of a program Fuji Film has to freely borrow equipment and learn how to work with it. Similar to the opportunities provided through the Libraries and other student organizations, I was able to explore other opportunities to work through my photography and think through different ways of my creativity. 

(FSU): Is research part of your art-making process? If so, could you give us an idea of what that process is like? Where do you do research before you start making? Are there any specific kinds of information that are critical to your work?

(DW): Absolutely. I got involved with research early through UROP at FSU and I was actually part of the first cohort of arts researchers – it was still small and there were almost no arts research projects for me to work on. I ended up working as an assistant to a History professor and I enjoyed that research work so much that I decided to pursue a MA and eventually a PhD in History. My research is also heavily informed by dramaturgy practices as I was a Theatre undergraduate major. With this influence I am very detail-oriented and that shows in my photography. For example, this summer I did two concept shoots while I was in Israel. One was a reinterpretation of the medieval Ecclesia and Synagoga – I thought a lot about how they were depicted then, why, and how I wanted to depict them as equals to craft this new narrative. So in researching I wanted to find new and creative ways to tell the story and to share that with my viewers.
(GS): Yes, research is a BIG part of astrophotography. You need to know when stars or planets or the Milky Way will appear in the sky, what the weather will be like with temperature and humidity, and if specific sites will photograph well. This may not require advanced research skills but it really does require research. Sometimes research for astrophotography includes site visits before you shoot to see what it looks like in person as well. My research process also includes getting to know my photography equipment, practicing techniques, and learning about how other photographers use their equipment. Research in general is a really big part of my personal and professional life, but photography really pushed me to search more, experiment more, and even fail more in the process.

(FSU): Who are your biggest artistic influences?

(DW): Bella Kotak is a photographer I admire. She does fairy tale-type photography where she inserts herself into her photos within these fantasies. She is South East Asian and lately she’s been pulling in fairy tales from her culture as well. I also really admire Jamie Beck. She does a lot of photography on nature and her work looks like paintings. Her work is full of symbolism and is evocative of old paintings. I really like her style and I’m interested in trying something like it one day.

(FSU): Are there any trends in the art world (past or present) that influence you?

(GS): Not really, I was never really looking at trends through art. I was more involved with the techniques of astrophotography, but I might look more into trends to think through different perspectives moving forward. I do follow other astrophotographers – they travel and work to speak about climate change or poverty, and their stories have impacted me. I appreciate their work and the purpose behind it. 

(FSU): How does art-making fit into your day-to-day life?

(DW): Right now I am studying for my Ph.D. comps in January and for me, it’s been a great way to both procrastinate and do something I enjoy. In my daily life, I try to do photography everywhere I can. I work as a social media assistant for the History department and I’ve been really fortunate to be able to focus on more creative, cinematic projects in that role. I am also a co-founder and the managing director of White Mouse, a theatre company here at FSU. I sometimes still do marketing photography for them. I hope after comps I can also do more creative shoots just for me.

(FSU): Why do you make art?

(GS): I don’t know if it is because I am an extroverted person but I’ve always felt like I had something to tell and add to this world. But then I’ve learned in life that not everyone will want to hear about you or what you think. What I’ve learned is that only the people who are really ready to talk to me about my work and my story get in touch with me, even if others don’t. I think – I just want to add something, be something in this world. And say in this big world, I am valuable.

(FSU): Do you have any long term goals related to making your artwork?

Pictured from left to right: William Rowe (Fall 2022 exhibiting artist), Gizem Solmaz, and Danielle Wirsansky.

(DW): I set yearly goals for myself. Last year I was really focused on magazine publications, and this year I focused on gallery exhibitions. So far I’ve exhibited in 20 galleries! I haven’t really decided what I want to focus on next year but I do want to think about what I can learn about my craft and perfect or experiment with. I want to explore what types of stories I can tell and what I want to say. I want a larger body of work to be able to say more with my photography than just one or two things. I am really grateful for this opportunity at FSU Libraries to have my work in conversation with someone else’s work.
(GS): I’m unsure. Getting to exhibit my work was a long term dream and I didn’t expect this to happen now. I always imagined it happening at a much later time in life. I think my goal now is to be able to tell my story to my family and friends, show others how my life has gone and can go. I am a fan of poetry and if I can combine my poetry with my photography I hope to one day do that kind of work and to continue exhibiting and telling my stories.

(FSU): What is your dream project or collaboration?

(DW): There are 2 projects I’ve been thinking about lately. First, to make a series of historically inspired portraits of real queer figures in history where we don’t have photographs – to give these figures back a face, to raise awareness of their stories with concrete images. I think it would be great for queer people today to be able to embody these figures and to continue to tell their stories which are historical but still relevant. The second project leans more into landscape and nature photography. There’s a project called YOLOCAUST around selfies at Holocaust sites as Holocaust education. That’s a real passion of mine, in terms of the pieces of history that I study. I think a lot of the locations of Holocaust atrocities are being forgotten and I would like to go and do my own interpretation to show viewers what it was and what it is now. I want to explore how people grapple with historical preservation and historical memory.

(FSU): What inspired or influenced you to become an artist?

(GS): Two things specifically: 1) Even though they never really shared their art with other people, both my mom and dad were poets. I actually found their work locked away at home (not because they showed it to me), and that was when I realized I could be an artist without being rich or famous. My parents are really ordinary people but they could still be artists. I was probably about 7 when I found out. And then 2) my grandfather inspires me so much – was a really successful businessman for his whole career but now he is disabled. One day he decided he would be happier and more fulfilled volunteering and he closed his business to do that. Now he volunteers, and even though walking is hard for him, he’s never given up on his passion. By now he has supported about 15,000 students through his volunteering. He shows me that if there’s something I really want to do that I can do it.

(FSU): Where can our readers learn more about you and your work?

(DW): I have a small photography company called 3 Muses Photography which is more of my commercial work, but you can see some of my fantasy-type work there, too. I also have work available for purchase in Tallahassee’s Common Ground Books and at the Rust and Rose Boutique in Monticello. My Instagram is @3MusesPhotography and you can follow me there or on Facebook
(GS): Besides photography, I am a diver and I take SCUBA diving videos. I post them on YouTube @scubawithgizem. Readers can also connect with me on Instagram @gizemsolmz, on Twitter @Gizem_Slmz, and through email at gizemsolmaz91@gmail.com.

Are you an artist or a group of artists looking to exhibit your work? Interested in sharing your art with the FSU Community? Have a curated exhibit you’re ready to share? Submit an exhibition proposal for the summer semester by February 17, 2023. This semester the Art in Library Committee is accepting proposals to exhibit at the Dirac Science Library, on the main floor in the hallway surrounding the central stairwell and elevators. This space is viewed by hundreds of students, staff, and faculty a day and can accommodate 10-15 hanging works depending on the size. For more information and to submit your exhibition proposal, visit this link.

Meet GEOSET Studio

The GEOSET Initiative at Florida State University (FSU) is the original branch of a global initiative focused on the advancement of scholarly communications in science, engineering, and technology. Located in Dirac 207, GEOSET specializes in providing media services to the entire FSU community. 

How It Started

GEOSET—which stands for Global Educational Outreach in Science, Engineering, and Technology—was founded by Sir Harold Kroto in 2006 with the assistance of Dr. Colin Byfleet and Dr. Steve Acquah. The main goal of the initiative was to pave the way for researchers all over the globe to easily create and distribute informational, scientifically accurate content.

Sir Harold Kroto and his wife, Margaret.

Sir Kroto figured the best way to get videos from the scientific community out into the world was to develop a fast, cost-effective way to put science videos online in one place. Back in 2006 when GEOSET was founded, YouTube was only a year old. A student couldn’t easily find videos of scientific lectures or fun, at-home experiments as easily as we can today. But Sir Kroto knew that wouldn’t always be the case. He had a concept he called the “GooYouWiki-World,” the idea that the internet—especially websites like Google, YouTube, and Wikipedia—were going to revolutionize how the world shares information and education content.

Knowing that we were moving quickly into this GooYouWiki-World, Sir Kroto founded GEOSET. The original GEOSET website became a place where researchers could share their passion and knowledge by uploading recorded lectures and lessons through a system hosted locally at their own university. GEOSET was not only for established researchers, however. Eager undergraduate and graduate students began sharing their scientific research activities on the website, widening the range of content offered and sparking the creation of a small recording studio in the Dittmer building here at FSU.

Sir Kroto shared his passion for educational outreach worldwide, inspiring many universities and educational organizations to join the GEOSET initiative. At one point, universities and researchers all over the world were contributing content to the site, from universities in the United Kingdom to Toyo University in Japan.

Learn more about GEOSET’s history from Studio Manager Kyle Wilson in his episode of Nole Edge, the College of Arts and Sciences podcast.

How It’s Going 

GEOSET is still actively advancing scientific communications at Florida State University today. Activity is focused in the main GEOSET Studio, located in Dirac Science Library. The Studio was opened by Sir Kroto, Dr. Byfleet, and Dr. Acquah in 2012. While the library studio is not the first of its kind at FSU, the opening was an exciting moment as the new studio would be a more accessible place for people to make GEOSET-style content for free. It was such a big deal that Bill Nye came to celebrate the opening!

The Sept. 16, 2014 opening of GEOSET Studio. Pictured left to right: Assistant Director Christina Amrhein, founder Sir Harold Kroto , honored guest Bill Nye, and Director Steve Acquah.

Providing the opportunity for presenters from all levels of academia to share their expertise and enthusiasm to a global audience has always been a major part of the GEOSET initiative. The studio continues this mission by providing FSU faculty and staff with the space and tools necessary to produce educational content for a wide audience. 

GEOSET has recently expanded our team to further this purpose. With backgrounds in audio and video production, journalism, and universal design, we are fully equipped to assist in any project that helps advance academic communications, whether that be a video series, podcast, or other form of media. Our team here at FSU, along with partners throughout the world, are working to keep Sir Kroto’s vision alive.

How We Serve You

Ever wanted to start a podcast after realizing you could go on for hours about your research? Ever thought about a short video series explaining key concepts of your field? Or maybe outreach videos to include in your grant? GEOSET can help! All you need to do is visit our website and submit a project request. A team member will then reach out to schedule a consultation with you. During the consultation, we’ll get an idea of how we can help based on your time frame and preexisting skills. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or someone who’s never plugged in a microphone, we’ll help you come up with the best plan to complete your project. We can help revise your content, offer use of our professional studio and equipment, and assist with editing.

While the studio primarily serves faculty and graduate researchers, everyone at FSU is welcome and encouraged to reach out to us for help with their digital media projects. However, we also know that not everyone needs our resources to make fun educational videos or talk about their research. That’s why GEOSET is in the process of developing a space for everyone at FSU to use freely. Need a green screen for your short film or a quiet space to record your class presentation? This space is for you! The Media Suite at Dirac, coming this Spring, will allow anyone at FSU to create incredible audio and visual content with professional equipment. The best part is that you will be able to book the suite online like any other library space, giving you maximum flexibility to record and edit without having to go through the booking and consultation process required to use the main GEOSET Studio.

How You Can Keep In Touch

For updates on the upcoming Media Suite, follow FSU Libraries on this blog and other social media outlets. If you have any questions or are in need of project help, please visit FSU’s GEOSET Studio website. You may also feel free to visit us in Dirac 207, located just to the right of the circulation desk on the main floor. We’ll be glad to give you a tour or assist you any way we can!

This blog post was written by Sabine Joseph, GEOSET Studio Assistant at Dirac Science Library.

FSU’s Declassified Finals Week Survival Guide

In a university full of students, insane professors, and ‘gross’ dining halls, Amber (that’s me) will try to do the impossible: create a guide that will help you survive Finals Week.

Here are some top library resources to help you conquer those exams, projects, and what-feels-like-1000-page-long essays! Stay tuned for Finals Week Events at the end (and there’s FREE stuff!). Follow @fsulibraries on social media for the latest updates on services and events!

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Tip #1

Check out FSU library hours!

This will ensure you’ll be able to plan ahead for your study grind, and hopefully not end up having a Strozier “sleepover” (all-nighter) the night before your exam.

Library Hours: https://www.lib.fsu.edu/visit/hours

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Tip #2

Tutoring Services!

Strozier offers free tutoring for chemistry, math, and physics every Sunday – Wednesday, 8 pm to midnight in-person and via Zoom. This will def help you because there are WAY too many numbers and letters involved 😛

Tutoring Info: https://www.lib.fsu.edu/tutoring

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Tip #3

Have a study party!

Instead of heading to that (sketchy) house party down the street before finals you KNOW you have to study for, take advantage of study rooms and spaces! Invite your friends and hold each other accountable, too (despite how tempting that party may be lol). 2-hour group rooms can be booked on our website up to 3 days ahead of time. Check out a key for a 4-hour individual room at Strozier’s Scholar Support desk, or reserve one at Dirac online!

Study Rooms and Spaces Info: https://www.lib.fsu.edu/visit/rooms

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Tip #4

Check out books and technology!

Don’t be shy (I’m serious: most, if not all of us, have experienced library anxiety) to stop by the Scholar Support Desk at Dirac or Strozier to check out books, laptops, cameras, and more!

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Tip #5

Ask Us!

Need any help with finding information for a research project (that you may or may not have procrastinated on) or finding (annoying) peer-reviewed sources? The Ask Us! service provides research and reference support through live online chat. Feel free to take a look back at the Library Hours page in Tip #1 for updated chat hours!

Ask Us: https://www.lib.fsu.edu/help/ask

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CARTOON NETWORK TAKEOVER: FINALS WEEK EVENTS

FREE Study Supplies (because us college kids love free stuff)

Tuesday, 11/29, 3:00-4:30pm @ Dirac

Thursday, 12/1, 3:00-5:00pm @ Strozier

Build-Your-Own Study Snack Mix (FINALS WEEK!!!)

Monday, 12/5, 3:30-5:00pm @ Dirac

Tuesday, 12/6, 5:00-6:30pm @ Strozier

This post was written by Amber-Lynne Jensen, Distance Library Services Assistant.

Disclaimer: This blog post was prepared by an undergraduate student, the opinions expressed in this article are to make light and fun during a stressful time! Based on the popular TV show, Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, this post lightly makes fun of some of our beloved campus buildings and is in no way an expression of the Libraries’ opinions.