Hutchins Library News Blog

Welcome again to another edition of “From Our Shelves,” where I read  a book from our collections and provide a short review. Today's selection is  Logged in and stressed out: how social media is affecting your mental health and what you can do about it (link to library catalog record). 

This book not only shows that social media can affect your mental health. It also gives you the tools and advice to do something helpful and constructive about it. If you are feeling stressed or distressed in some way about your engagement with social media, this may be a book for you.Naturally, if things are really bad, you should seek a trained professional. Still, the book does provide some practices and tools to help folks minimize their stress over their online activity. 

Overall, this can be a good book for college students in courses like wellness, health, psychology, and some general studies classes. 

The Tashi Kyil Tibetan Buddhist monks visiting Berea College have arrived at Hutchins Library. They will be here all week as part of their campus visit creating a sand mandala. In this photo of the opening rituals they are being introduced by Dr. Jeff Richey, Chair of Asian Studies. 

Please check the college website for details of their visit, including their convocation on Thursday evening. 

Hutchins Library is pleased to announce the exhibit “Roommates” by Bob Wilson and Patrick Lynch. Their work brings together their work. The exhibit runs from September 8 to October 6, 2026, and it is located in the library's main exhibit wall. 

The artists provided the following statement: 

In the school year 1982-1983, Bob Wilson ‘86 and Patrick Lynch ‘85 were both studio art majors and roommates in Danforth dormitory. They both had an interest in the human figure and portraiture coming from very different places. Wilson’s approach was rooted in 20th Century German Expressionism while Lynch’s was inspired by the English Pre-Raphaelite painters. The work in this exhibit reflects how those initial inspirations evolved over the last 40 years.

Bob Wilson's biography: 

Bob Wilson was born in La Follette, TN in 1954. He graduated from La Follette High School in 1972. In 1982, he entered Berea College as an older student and received his art degree in 1986. He became a member of Chroma Artists Group in the very late eighties/early nineties and was briefly a member of A-1 Arts Lab, both of which were located in Knoxville, TN.  He was connected to two Knoxville based groups of poets and at one time was thought to be a poet instead of being a visual artist. 

Patrick Lynch's biography: 

Patrick Lynch was born in Covington, KY in 1962, Estill County (KY) High School in 1980, and is a 1985 graduate of Berea College as a studio art major. He admits to being just old enough to run home from the school bus to watch the 1960’s soap opera Dark Shadows. Lynch is a past president of the Lexington Art League and a member of the Kentucky Antique Phonograph Society. Since artists often have day jobs, Lynch’s day job for nearly 34 years was in libraries, retiring from the Lexington Public Library after 28 years.

This exhibit is free and open to the public. You can view it during library regular hours.