Every year, the River Campus Libraries (RCL) employs around 100 students. The jobs that students hold are not just hollow resume-builders. They are RCL necessities.

It’s almost June. Does that feel right? The way time passes these days…

*Whoosh* There goes two weeks.

*Creak* Two days go by.

*Whoosh* There goes two months.

In the 1990s, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) brought on much discussion and debate in Congress regarding. It was an expansive discourse, and it sought to compose many provisions aimed at a more multifaceted approach toward protecting women, during what seemed to be an increasingly hostile time for women in American society.

We know we haven’t been providing you with your weekly dose of the congresswoman. We needed to take some time to rethink the blog, and we think you’re going to like what we came up with. Posts may not dive as deeply as those you’ve seen in the past, but we can assure they will deliver two things: 1) fun, engaging content. 2) Louise.

With that, let’s dive into this week’s post.

Edgar Allen Poe’s essay “The Philosophy of Composition” gives a Song Exploder-like explanation of how he created “The Raven.” It’s so detailed that he even recounts conversations he had with himself.

Edgar Allen Question: What is the most melancholy of melancholy topics?

Edgar Allen Answer: Death. Duh.

You are about to read Parts IV, V, and VI of the University of Rochester Libraries oral story on COVID-19. To get the full story, pause here, read Parts I, II, and III, and come back. Read them already? Perfect! Let’s get into Part IV.

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter’s concern for human rights and the safety and security of her constituents intersected with international work to bring freedom and peace to the people of Ukraine (and nearby Baltic states), who were living under the repressive Soviet Union. 

What day is it?

Time is a flat circle.

Time has no meaning.

These have been common refrains for just about everyone throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, earlier this month, our time bubbles were burst by…time. It has, impossibly and in fact, been a year.

We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

If you don’t recognize the verse, these are the last lines of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Ulysses.” It’s about an aging, idle king, tired of sitting at home and yearning to set sail and explore. Same, Ulysses. Same.

On March 3^rd the NERL Consortium issued a statement, “NERL Demands a Better Deal,” articulating the values NERL will adopt in negotiating agreements with publishers.