The last film, The Grocer’s Son, starts at 9:30 p.m. instead of 9 p.m.

Cole Library invites all members of the Cornell community to attend its annual Independent Film Festival on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009, starting at 6:00pm on the second floor of Cole Library.

Cole Library’s annual Independent Film Festival showcases three films from the library’s Film Movement DVD collection, a subscription service that delivers a new, award-winning independent film each month.  At this year’s festival, we’ll be showing three films that represent some of the best of our collection, Men at Work, showing at 6:00 pm, Under the Bombs, showing at 7:45 pm, and The Grocer’s Son, showing at 9:30 pm.  Detailed synopses for all films are located below.

In a very short time, the Independent Film Festival has become one of the most anticipated and enjoyable events put on by Cole Library.  While this speaks to the quality of the films that have been shown, a key factor in the success of the Independent Film Festival has been the gusto with which the Cornell community has embraced the festival atmosphere.  Last year, we had around 80 enthusiastic audience members, many staying for all three films.  While seating is provided, many audience members bring their own blankets, pillows, bean bags, or whatever else they’d like to make themselves feel at home.  Think of it as movie night for you and 80 of your closest friends.

Admission is free.  As is all the popcorn, soda, chai, and shortbread you can eat.  Door prizes will be given away in between each of the films.

Questions about any of the films can be addressed to Shawn Doyle, sdoyle@cornellcollege.edu.

Film synopses and showtimes:

Men at Work, showing at 6:00 pm, tells the hilarious story of four old friends who, driving back from a failed skiing trip, encounter a strange and enormous rock. The men’s frivolous attempt to dislodge the rock gradually disintegrates into a tale of betrayal, defeat and renewed hope. The heroes of the film are doctors, engineers and businessmen in the throes of mid-life crises. Their middleclass problems and the absurd phallic rock venture gives rise to great humor.

Under the Bombs, showing at 7:45 pm, is set during a cease-fire in the Lebanon-Israel conflict of 2006.  A Christian taxi driver brings an untraditional Shiite woman from Beirut to the heart of the conflict in the country’s south.  While they scour the rubble of local towns for her son, who was sent to live with her traditional family while she was staying with her husband in Dubai, they discover that despite their very different backgrounds they have much in common.  And during their trip through the desolate countryside, the two travelers develop a deep bond as a response to the death striking all around them.

The film was shot entirely on location during the summer of 2006, in the middle of the ruins of war-torn Lebanon. Aractingi, the filmmaker, only hired two professional actors, the rest are real refugees, journalists, soldiers, etc…, playing themselves.

The Grocer’s Son, showing at 9:00 pm, tells the story of thirty-year-old Antoine, who is forced to leave the city to return to his family in Provence.  His father is sick, so he must assume the lifestyle he thought he had shed—driving the family grocery cart from hamlet to hamlet, delivering supplies to the few remaining inhabitants.  Accompanied by Claire, a friend from Paris whom he has a secret crush on, Antoine gradually warms up to his experience in the country and his encounters with the villagers, who initially seem stubborn and gruff, but ultimately prove to be funny and endearing.  Ultimately, this surprise French box-office hit is about the coming-of-age of a man re-discovering life and love in the countryside.

Starting Thursday, Nov. 12, Cole Library will extend its hours on an experimental basis for certain days of the block:
Sunday: Noon–2 a.m. (weeks 2–4)
Monday: 8 a.m.–2 a.m. (week 4)
Tuesday: 8 a.m.–2 a.m. (week 4)
Thursday: 8 a.m.–2 a.m. (weeks 1–3)
For complete library hours please visit the Cole Library Web site . Questions? Contact Laurel Whisler.

Students, faculty, staff, and other interested parties are invited to the science and destruction of the Menger Sponge currently on display in Cole Library. The Menger Sponge—a three-dimensional fractal formed by successively removing the middles of cubes—is constructed out of pieces of paper the size of business cards, with over 65,000 individual pieces of paper. Built in May 2006 by members of the Math Club, the Menger Sponge is now showing signs of old age. As the sponge is too large to fit through the doors of Cole Library, and repair would involve essentially rebuilding it from the ground up, the sponge has graciously willed its body to science and charity. The department of physics will demonstrate how to measure the moment of inertia of the Menger Sponge on Friday, Nov. 6, at 3:30 p.m. in Cole Library. At the completion of the science, anyone interested in taking a wack at the spinning sponge may do so by making a contribution to Cole Library. Contact Jim Freeman with questions.

Facilitator will be Megan Knight, lecturer, University of Iowa, rhetoric department. Participants are encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch.  Friday, Oct. 30,  11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Cole Library, room 108. Questions? Contact Jen Rouse, x4466.

To renew online, go to the library Web site at cornellcollege.edu/library/.

* Click on “My Library Account” on the right side of the screen.
* Enter your library barcode number and last name.
* Scroll down to see “Items checked out. Renew them here, but only one renewal per item is allowed.”
* Check the box in front of items you want to renew.
* Click on “Renew checked items.”
* Click on “Check boxes by titles then click here to renew; confirm new due dates”
* VERY IMPORTANT:  Scroll back to the titles to see the new status and ensure that the renewal went through.  The system will not allow a renewal if the item has already been renewed or if another patron is waiting for that item.
* For assistance call 895-4271 or 895-4122.

Cole Library observes Banned Books Week with a display of banned or challenged books on the third floor of the library. Celebrate your freedom to “Read what you choose and choose what you read.”  The American Library Association has more information at http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm.

Amnesty International is also involved in Banned Books Week, advocating for those who have been persecuted throughout the world for writing, reading, and distributing materials. For more information on their efforts, go to http://www.amnestyusa.org/events/banned-books-week/page.do?id=1101492.

Diane Ackerman, author of The Zookeeper’s Wife, is scheduled to be on the Cornell campus Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, for the following events which are free and open to the public.

• Convocation Lecture, King Chapel, 11:00 AM
• Evening Reading, Hedges Conference Room, The Commons, 7:30 PM
• Reception and Book Signing, Shaw Lounge, The Commons 8:30 PM

Click here for more information.

The staff of Cole Library and the Center for Teaching and Learning welcome you to a new academic year.  If you are new to campus, stop in to see what we have to offer or click here to browse our Web site.

Cole Library hours change when Cornell College classes begin on Monday, Aug. 31.

Regular hours
Sunday -  noon to midnight
Monday through Thursday – 8 a.m.  to midnight
Friday – 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday  – 10 a.m.  to 4:30 p.m.

Block break hours
Wednesday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday -10 a.m.  to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday  – noon to 4:30 p.m.

For more information on the Cornell schedule and to locate block breaks, click here for the master calendar.

Cole Library hours are also posted at the first- and third-floor building entrances.