CSU Stanislaus Library
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Monday, June 1, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Winners of the 2009 Warrior Book Collection Contest
2009 Warrior Book Collection Contest Winners
The judges of the 2009 Warrior Book Collection Contest had the responsibility of choosing from the largest number of entries received in the competition’s five year history. They remarked how the entries transported them to different places, brought out varied emotions, and even led them to long for classic Betty Croker meals. These elements, in turn, proved to challenge them in their selection of our 2009 winners. In meeting that challenge the judges noted that it was not necessarily the most elegant prose that defined the winners, but their ability to convey why a particular set of books impacted their lives. In different ways the three winners told deeply compelling personal stories. One told of questioning faith, another of finding faith, and another of losing and rediscovering a connection with a parent.
First Place - Diego Dardon – Nibbana Collection
An English major from San Jose, CA, Diego’s collection is the foundation of a search for faith and meaning. A reading of Lord of the Flies led Diego to consider his nature and the human ability to perpetuate evil. Questioning the extent of the world’s suffering and the larger human role in it, Diego turned to his personal faith to understand the meaning of life, finding few answers. Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha initially provided the answers he was seeking and sparked a larger interest in Buddhism. Diego noted that he “became more aware of simple things and took delight in everything.” A subsequent reading of Bertrand Russell’s Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays unraveled the conclusions Buddhism helped him draw. Moving toward rationality, Diego read Stephen Hawking and would later turn to works by Michio Kaku, Beethoven, Carl Jung, and Kitaro Nishida. These and other works ultimately helped Diego to once again embrace Buddhism, to see beauty in all things living and non-living, but also to question the world around him and to think critically. Diego considers his collection a priceless resource in his “never ending quest for truth, for Nibbana.”
Second Place – Jessica Potts – Poetic Understanding Collection
A Business Administration major from Sonora, CA, Jessica’s entry proved to be heartbreaking and candid. She revealed how poems closed the rift between daughter and mother, eased their strained communications, and returned familial structure to a pained relationship.
She started giving me books, the first real insights she had given me. Wisdom from poets such as Langston Hughes, William Blake, Dylan Thomas, Emily Dickinson and Mason Williams filled the pages. What stood out most were the inscriptions and scribbles left by my mother. She used these marking to tell her story and introduce her “self” to me. She explained her guilt, hope and love while allowing me to discover the world and my place in it.
Third Place – Luis Madrigal – Finding the Faith Collection
A Philosophy major from Delhi, CA, Luis tells of a spiritual journey facilitated by books. Noting that if he was going to believe in anything then he wanted to be certain of it, Luis began collecting a number of books exploring the existence of God, argument, and religiosity. Additionally, his collection bears a youthful “coolness” as it includes graphic works and plays. Luis remarked that his books are of tremendous importance to his discovery of faith saying, “They are the reason I am Catholic.” Equally significant, they helped him realize a calling to service as a priest. He concluded, “And all of this achieved because of the knowledge and power the words on the pages of book can hold… books will always have a special place in my shelves and in my heart.”
The judges of the 2009 Warrior Book Collection Contest had the responsibility of choosing from the largest number of entries received in the competition’s five year history. They remarked how the entries transported them to different places, brought out varied emotions, and even led them to long for classic Betty Croker meals. These elements, in turn, proved to challenge them in their selection of our 2009 winners. In meeting that challenge the judges noted that it was not necessarily the most elegant prose that defined the winners, but their ability to convey why a particular set of books impacted their lives. In different ways the three winners told deeply compelling personal stories. One told of questioning faith, another of finding faith, and another of losing and rediscovering a connection with a parent.
First Place - Diego Dardon – Nibbana Collection
An English major from San Jose, CA, Diego’s collection is the foundation of a search for faith and meaning. A reading of Lord of the Flies led Diego to consider his nature and the human ability to perpetuate evil. Questioning the extent of the world’s suffering and the larger human role in it, Diego turned to his personal faith to understand the meaning of life, finding few answers. Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha initially provided the answers he was seeking and sparked a larger interest in Buddhism. Diego noted that he “became more aware of simple things and took delight in everything.” A subsequent reading of Bertrand Russell’s Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays unraveled the conclusions Buddhism helped him draw. Moving toward rationality, Diego read Stephen Hawking and would later turn to works by Michio Kaku, Beethoven, Carl Jung, and Kitaro Nishida. These and other works ultimately helped Diego to once again embrace Buddhism, to see beauty in all things living and non-living, but also to question the world around him and to think critically. Diego considers his collection a priceless resource in his “never ending quest for truth, for Nibbana.”
Second Place – Jessica Potts – Poetic Understanding Collection
A Business Administration major from Sonora, CA, Jessica’s entry proved to be heartbreaking and candid. She revealed how poems closed the rift between daughter and mother, eased their strained communications, and returned familial structure to a pained relationship.
She started giving me books, the first real insights she had given me. Wisdom from poets such as Langston Hughes, William Blake, Dylan Thomas, Emily Dickinson and Mason Williams filled the pages. What stood out most were the inscriptions and scribbles left by my mother. She used these marking to tell her story and introduce her “self” to me. She explained her guilt, hope and love while allowing me to discover the world and my place in it.
Third Place – Luis Madrigal – Finding the Faith Collection
A Philosophy major from Delhi, CA, Luis tells of a spiritual journey facilitated by books. Noting that if he was going to believe in anything then he wanted to be certain of it, Luis began collecting a number of books exploring the existence of God, argument, and religiosity. Additionally, his collection bears a youthful “coolness” as it includes graphic works and plays. Luis remarked that his books are of tremendous importance to his discovery of faith saying, “They are the reason I am Catholic.” Equally significant, they helped him realize a calling to service as a priest. He concluded, “And all of this achieved because of the knowledge and power the words on the pages of book can hold… books will always have a special place in my shelves and in my heart.”
Monday, March 2, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Printing from the Library...Pay Online
Print Payment Accounts Now Online
Funds can now transferred online to OIT Print Accounts from a Warrior Cash account. Simply follow the online directions to transfer funds from a Warrior Cash account to a Print Account.
Directions available online via: http://www.csustan.edu/oit/ClientServices/PrintPayment.htm
Starting January 2, 2009, money can no longer be added to Print Accounts at the Library Circulation Desk.
OIT Print Accounts are used to pay for any printing at an OIT Computer Laboratory workstation, including computer workstations in the Library. Printing from the computer workstations in the Library costs 10 cents for a standard-sized page in black and white. In order to print, funds must be available in the Office of Information Technology Print Account attached to your computer login.
Funds can now transferred online to OIT Print Accounts from a Warrior Cash account. Simply follow the online directions to transfer funds from a Warrior Cash account to a Print Account.
Directions available online via: http://www.csustan.edu/oit/ClientServices/PrintPayment.htm
Starting January 2, 2009, money can no longer be added to Print Accounts at the Library Circulation Desk.
OIT Print Accounts are used to pay for any printing at an OIT Computer Laboratory workstation, including computer workstations in the Library. Printing from the computer workstations in the Library costs 10 cents for a standard-sized page in black and white. In order to print, funds must be available in the Office of Information Technology Print Account attached to your computer login.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
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