Atlantic Cape Libraries - Atlantic Cape Community College Libraries at Atlantic Cape Community College

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

WRITTEN ART Poetry comes in many different forms. I believe this feature makes it so uniquely beautiful. Poetry allows the creator to demonstrate written artistic abilities aimed at captivating their readers. It is more than words on a paper or screen. It is the written expression of emotions, humor, romance, life, death, relationships, and more.

FORMS OF POETRY If you are unaware of the different forms of poetry, continue reading because I am about to open your mind to a whole new world of writing. Please note, this does not include all forms of poetry, but it definitely touches on a great deal of them! 1. Haiku - If you are like me, this form of poetry is no stranger. Haikus are a form of ancient Japanese poetry consisting of three lines following this pattern: 5 syllables, 7 syllables, & 5 syllables. Here is an example... created by... Me. Life is a journey... It has twist, turns, ups, and downs. Hop on and enjoy! 2. Free Verse - This is a more modern form of poetry in which there are NO RULES. Sure, that sounds cool. I mean who doesn't want to be limited by lines and rhymes. However, the nature of this form of poetry actually makes it pretty difficult to master. That said, I do love and appreciate the creativity of the artists when writing in this form. I have seen writers create images in the blank space surrounding the words by spacing them out to help readers see the whole picture. I have read free verse novels like Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds or Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson and found myself lost in the words on each page. When free verse is mastered, you will know. It will captivate you unlike anything you have ever read before. Check out this example by Ropi Kaur: "Accent" "my voice is the offspring of two countries colliding what is there to be ashamed of if english and my mother tongue made love my voice is her father's words and mother's accent what does it matter if my mouth carries two worlds" 3. Sonnet - This is the poetry of love and was the poetry form of choice by William Shakespeare. Traditionally, sonnets are 14 lines in length, rhyme, and deal with love. To learn more and explore this form of poetry, stop in the library and take a look at some of the books on sonnets available in our collection. 4. Acrostic - This form of poetry is also commonly learned in school. This form of written art has one primary rule: it must spell out a name, word, or phrase. Traditionally, it is the first letter of each line in which the name, word, or phrase is spelled. Here is an example I created for demonstration using the word April: Afternoon showers, Plants blooming, Rainbows in the sky, Indescribable feelings, and Love all around! 5. Limerick - Primary Purpose: Humor. They have a set structure consisting of five lines. This form of poetry is commonly used in nursery rhymes... Hickory Dickory Dock is one of them! A famous Limerick by Edward Lear: There was an old man with a beard, Who said, 'It is just as I feared! Two Owls and a Hen, Four Larks and a Wren, Have all built their nests in my beard!' 6. Epic - This a long narrative used to tell the story of a hero. One very well-known example is The Iliad. *If you want to give The Iliad* a read, be sure to stop in the library! To view and/or place a hold on a specific copy, visit our catalog. 7. Ballad** - Ballads typically share an emotional story and consist of four lines with a set structure of rhyming. Enjoy this little piece by Edgar Allan Poe: "Annabel Lee" "It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee; And this maiden she lived with no other thought Than to love and be loved by me."

WAYS TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL POETRY MONTH Dip into your creative side and try writing a poem of your own! Read one poem each day. Find a novel written in free verse to enjoy. You may not be asking my opinion on novels in verse, BUT I find them mesmerizing. If I pick one up, I cannot put it down until I am finished. I mentioned my two favorites earlier, Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds and Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. Share a favorite poem with someone else!

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End of Semester Tutoring

The Atlantic Cape library will continue to offer all current tutoring services right on up until the very end of the semester. On-campus tutors will be here through Thursday May 15th and remote and online tutors will be available through Saturday, May 17th. Tutor support for summer courses begins as soon as summer session classes begin Monday, May 19th. We plan to have some tutoring staff on campus but most of the summer course support will be offered remotely, through scheduled Zoom sessions and by individual appointments. Tutors will also be available by email to review student writing work or just answer questions. tutoring@atlantic.eduOnline help with our external tutoring service provider Brainfuse remains open and available 24-7, free of charge, to all current students through their link in Blackboard.Current information, updates, details and schedules can always be found on the library & tutoring services webpages....

Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover- get to know your library

For most of us, when we hear the word “library,” we think “borrowing books.” And that makes sense, because it’s been true for well…centuries. According to Oxford Open Learning’s website, libraries started developing in the U.K. some 1500 years ago (you read that right) and the first one is thought to be dated some 5,000 years ago in Southwest Asia. It further notes that the world’s oldest known library is “believed to be The Library of Ashurbanipal, which was founded sometime in the 7th century B.C. for the ‘royal contemplation’ of the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal” with a collection of over 30,000 clay tablets—imagine!It’s safe to say that libraries have come a very long way since then—from tablets to…tablets. Or laptops, to be precise. Today, you can visit your Atlantic Cape library and check out not only books on countless topics, but laptops. Taking a math class? Check out a graphing calculator, and nursing students and faculty can borrow anatomy models. If you have a study group, pop into one of our study rooms—your table, chairs, and whiteboard await you. In addition to making learning more conducive, your Atlantic Cape library is the place to go if you want to dial it back a bit. Stop by and work on a jigsaw puzzle in peace and quiet. Meet a friend for a game of chess, or park yourself on one of our big comfy couches at the Cape May campus library, and flip through a magazine. Check out the billboard for upcoming events and services (sign up to The New York Times with your student ID!). Get some work done at one of our computer banks, or print off an article or paper for class. And take advantage of our tutoring program—see the tutoring page for more information.Whether your goal is to expand your knowledge or take a tiny break from it, think about giving your campus library a second look!by Kate Chadwick ...

Atlantic Cape in the Spotlight

An article about Atlantic Cape Community College, titled Fueling Local Futures, appeared in the Fall issue of Cape May Magazine, a Cape May-based coastal lifestyle publication with subscribers across the country. The article was written by Marjorie Preston, and focused specifically on the Cape May Court House campus, the smallest of Atlantic Cape’s three locations. It was also mentioned at length in the From the Editor letter in the issue, referencing her personal connection to Atlantic Cape during a difficult time in her life. “Although our subscribers are primarily people who look at Cape May as a vacation destination, I’ve always felt that it’s important to regularly include a story that speaks to and about the people who live and work here,” said Editor Kate Chadwick. “And to remind those valued visitors that every resort town everywhere has a backbone of people who make that place their home, and whose work and community spirit make that resort the destination that it is to tourists.” The article begins broadly with the question “Why community college?” and then hones in on exactly what Atlantic Cape provides not only for its students, but to the communities that surround its campuses. “I feel that it’s an underutilized resource for locals, and, with the CMC campus’s recent alliance with the zoo, for vacationers, too,” Ms. Chadwick said, referencing the successful Zoo Camp summer program and more generally, the Alex Ernst Memorial Education Center, home of the college’s Zoo Education Program. “Further, I wanted local people to be aware of the opportunities available to them at a local community college, particularly for the nontraditional student.” Atlantic Cape’s culinary program is a focus of the article, as restaurants are of course pivotal to any region with a tourism-based economy. The recent addition of the Cape May County bizHub to the CMC campus is also mentioned, with its broad range of resources available to current and potential small business owners in the community. The article was peppered with quotes from both college staff and students, and rounded out with a letter from an Atlantic Cape alumni who now works at Cape May Magazine, Cassidy Jones, who was also pivotal in getting the story published. “I thought it was an important story to tell because of obvious sentimental significance, being an Atlantic Cape graduate, but also because of my peers whose journeys were so positively impacted by the school,” Ms. Jones said. “I think looking back on the experience I have a lot more praise because I realize now how hard life can be, and how easy Atlantic Cape made it for people in tough situations to have access to a real education. Publishing the story in Cape May Magazine allows readers to peek behind the touristy curtain of Cape May and get a glimpse of who the people are that keep the operations running, the Cape May County workforce that is supported by local resources like Atlantic Cape." Content by Kate Chadwick ...

Libraries – Our Unsung Heroes

There’s a great Seinfeld episode based solely around a late library book that Jerry took out of the NewYork Public library in 1971 while still in high school, and the hilarious pursuit of its return by the library’s“enforcer,” the aptly-name Mr. Bookman. In the episode, Jerry refers to the library good naturedly aseveryone’s “pathetic friend, who is willing to do anything if you’ll be friends with them.” To paraphrase,he says “walk in there, take whatever you want, bring it back whenever.”It’s an excellent—if mildly derisive—assessment of the library’s place in our society: a stalwart friend,ready to lend and assist at all times, at no cost to the patrons. Kind an helpful staff, ready to assist you?Yes. Need a book? Done. Audio or e-books? Yes. Free use of a computer? Check. Tutorials andworkshops, open to the community? Indeed—and the list goes on. You could call libraries our society’sunsung heroes—and that’s exactly why the Unsung Libraries Initiative was creating, to highlight librarieswhose work matches this year’s NJLA themes of Simple Kindness and Breaking Barriers.The initiative recognizes libraries that provide great service to their communities, and 12 libraries will bevisited and recognized over the next year. Ultimately, one of those 12 libraries will receive the NJLAPresident’s Aware. And on July 24, President of the New Jersey Library Association (NJLA) Jeff Cupovisited the Spangler Library to recognize Janet Hauge’s application, to the delight of library staff.In President Cupo’s remarks, he indicated that he received a lot of impressive applications. “But thework you and your staff are doing, and how you are going so far above and beyond the traditionalacademic work most people probably assume you do, really stood out,” he said. “It's very clear that you all truly care about your students and all the different issues they are facing in their lives, and I love the hard work and kind and creative efforts you all are doing to meet those challenges.” He further remarked that he was thrilled to begin his 12-library tour with a visit to an academic library. President Cupo toured the library and then met with full-time staff members to talk about the creative,compassionate work being done to help students succeed at ACCC. The discussion included the variousways that all library staff continuously strive to improve services, touching on everything fromexpanding textbook reserve collections to providing snacks. It was noted the staff always find ways tosay yes. The libraries at Atlantic Cape Community are an excellent example of just how the Collegeworks hard to break whatever barriers may impede the success of our students and community....

Atlantic Cape Libraries and Tutoring

April - National Poetry Month

WRITTEN ART

FORMS OF POETRY

WAYS TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

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