Hutchins Library News Blog

Welcome to a new edition of “From Our Shelves,” where I read a book from our collection and write a short review. Today's featured book is White Poverty: how exposing myths about race and class can reconstruct American Democracy (link to library record).

Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II looks at the issue of poverty in the United States, focusing on white poverty. The U.S. as a whole tends to ignore or refuse to see white poverty. Heck, white poor people often refuse to see themselves as poor, and the politicians of both parties take full advantage of that attitude to push their agendas. Barber, a Black minister, writes on white poverty because in the end poverty is poverty, and poverty does not care about the color of your skin nor any other demographic traits. 

Barber has a lyrical and moving writing style that is also down to earth. You can't help but keep reading as he draws you in with warmth and kindness.

On campus, this book may be of interest locally for classes in General Studies, regional studies, ethnic studies, political science, and sociology. 

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. 

Welcome to “From Our Shelves” where I read a book from our library collections and write a short review about it. This week I am featuring Verified: how to think straight, get duped less, and make better decisions about what to believe online (link to library catalog) by Mike Caulfield and Samuel S. Wineburg. 

This book is an essential guide everyone using the internet needs to have handy. This book teaches how to be skeptical of what you see online and how to evaluate it. In a time when the internet and social media are full of scams, click bait, rage bait, and other deceptions, this book gives you the tools to separate the crap from the few good things that remain. 

Caulfield, one of the two coauthors, created the SIFT method (Stop, Investigate, Find other coverage, Trace the claim). This is one of the research methods we teach here in library instruction to empower our students to evaluate what they find online and act accordingly. Their lessons are relatively easy and teach you how to assess quickly, so you can find the information you need and navigate the web efficiently. 

Locally, this book may be of interest in writing classes that require research. It may also be of interest for some journalism classes. 

If you read this book, or any other book in our collections or just any interesting book, feel free to leave a comment and let us know. 

Our library director is pleased to announce the return of “FREE TEXTBOOKS” for fall 2025. She writes: 

FREE TEXTBOOKS AVAILABLE!

Welcome back to campus!

At the end of last semester, students left behind a large number of textbooks in the residence halls. We've gathered them, sorted them by subject, and placed them on top of the reference shelves on the main floor of Hutchins Library.

Take what you need—no cost, no catch!

Reuse books and save money!

Need our hours? Find them here:

Https://berea.libcal.com/hours  

Did you pick up any books?

Let us know how much you saved!

Take our quick survey:

https://berea.libwizard.com/f/Free_Textbook_Savings_2025 

Welcome to another edition of “From Our Shelves” where I read a book from our collections and write a short review. 

This week I read War Made Invisible: how America hides the hidden toll of its military machine (link to library catalog) by Norman Solomon. In this book the author discusses in detail how the United States stays in a continuous state of war, but its citizens have no idea it is happening. The US Government uses all kinds of propaganda and subterfuges to cover up the constant warfare, and the American media is complicit in the process. This is something that both political parties maintain when they are in power. 

The book mainly stays within the late 20th Century and into the 21st Century. The role of 9/11 in ramping up the American war machine is prominent, but the United States was already deep in constant warfare well enough before 9/11.The narrative in the book is not fully linear; the author often jumps back and forth in time. Overall, the military industrial complex is very much alive, well, and wealthy in the United States. The book is not an easy read at times, but it is worth reading. It is well written and accessible. Locally, classes in political science may be interested in adding it to their reading lists. 

Welcome to another edition of “From our shelves” where I read a book from our collection and write a short review about it. This week I am reviewing Antifa: the antifascist handbook by Mark Bray.

The term “fascism” seems to be in the news constantly. We also often hear the terms “anti-fascist” or “antifa.” If you want to learn more about what antifa is and its history, this book is a pretty good primer that goes over the history of anti-fascism, Antifa, to today. The history starts around the 1920s with the rise of Hitler and Mussolini then the author takes us through to the 20th century and into the 21st century. 

The book has six chapters including history of the movement, interviews with anti-fascists from around the world, though the focus is a bit Eurocentric, tactics and philosophy of the movement. The book offers an accessible text, and unlike other texts on the topic this one does not get bogged down in theory and jargon. It also includes a list of resources for further reading. 

You can find the print edition of the book Antifa: the anti-fascist handbook in the library's General Collection Stacks (second floor) under call number: 320.533 B827a 2017 (link to catalog record).