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A Message from the Dean: Unearthing our Flourishing Network

eNews Edition: Spring 2016

Dean Mark Stover
Dean Mark Stover

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that "all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one destiny, affects all indirectly.”  

As Dr. King observed, there is a certain coherence to the world that seems to often stay hidden below the surface and then occasionally pops up like a spring daisy.  Similarly, the stories in our Spring 2016 issue of the Oviatt Library eNews have a number of connective elements. These elements are surprising, inspiring, and thought-provoking.

The lead story of the Oviatt Library eNews highlights our current exhibit, “Historicizin’ & Contemporizin’ the Black Aesthetic: Keeping the Legacy Alive.” This exhibition was conceived and produced through a partnership with Africana Studies in recognition of Black History Month. As it happens, our We Would Like You to Meet article introduces you to a journalist, Darryl Hood, who recently had the opportunity to cover the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday March in Selma, Alabama, where President Obama walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge along with a number of civil rights leaders and activists. Hood, of course, is not just any reporter; he happens to be a CSUN graduate and former Oviatt Library student assistant.  Our Oviatt Spotlight article profiles another one of our former Library student assistants, the Oviatt’s newly appointed Associate Dean, Kathy Dabbour. Dabbour shares some professional and personal reflections about her history with CSUN, her youth as a Valley Girl, and her love of rock n’ roll. Speaking of rock music, the What’s Up article has information about our upcoming Friends of the Oviatt Library event featuring photographer Robert Landau. Landau will be joining us for a luncheon and book signing where he will discuss insights and images from his book, Rock ‘N’ Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip. Finally, events like the Landau luncheon would not be possible without the generous support of so many. In our Thanks & Recognition story, you will hear about how and why many of our Library staff and faculty go above and beyond to help promote the Oviatt’s vital mission to support the diverse information needs of our academic community.

Wordle with most used words in articleI hope that you enjoy reading the articles in this edition of the Oviatt Library eNews.  The connections among the different pieces are interesting, but even more than that, the individuals who are highlighted in these articles collectively demonstrate the impact that the Oviatt Library continues to have on and off the campus of California State University, Northridge.