Beginning at sundown this Thursday, (June 14) is one of the most joyous holidays in the Islamic calendar, Eid al-Fitr! Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Islamic holy month of fasting, Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated around the world with family and friends, sumptuous feasts and fireworks. The Hirsh Health Sciences Library sends out best wishes for a wonderful Eid al-Fitr! Eid Mubarak!
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Want to learn more about Eid Al-Fitr? Looking for some dishes to contribute to your feast? Check out the fabulous links below:
Here’s How Muslims Worldwide Are Celebrating Ramadan’s End (NPR.org)
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/25/534302603/photos-heres-how-muslims-worldwide-are-celebrating-ramadans-end
Eid 2018: the Best Food Inspiration from Instagram (Independent UK)
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/eid-al-fitr-2018-ramadan-food-inspiration-instagram-muslims-islam-celebration-a8389186.html
“Celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the End of Ramadan, with Sweet, Traditional Treats” – The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/15/dining/eid-al-fitr-recipes.html
June 17, 2018 is the 243rd anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, an event we mark in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as Bunker Hill Day. It falls on Father’s Day this year, so instead of watching war reenactments on the History Channel, why not take Dad out to bone up on some local history?
- Celebrate the belated birthday of Bunker Hill Hero Joseph Warren today or any day (his birthday is June 11) with a trip to his namesake landmark the Warren Tavern, a fine establishment dating back to 1780 and frequented back in the day by Warren’s good friend, Paul Revere.
- Kick off the weekend early and celebrate Flag Day by visiting Memorial Hall and joining the Abraham Lincoln Post 11, Grand Army of the Republic for a Flag Retirement Ceremony, Thursday June 14 at 6:00 pm.
- Visit Charlestown on Saturday June 16 for Bunker Hill Family Fun Day. There will be music, art projects for kids, talks led by the excellent National Park Service Rangers, musket-firing demonstrations, and much more. And it’s free! All Dads love free things!
- Visit the Bunker Hill Monument for the “Decisive Day” guided tour offered by the Boston National Historic Park, which departs daily every half hour.
- Head out to Quincy to the Adams National Historical Park on Sunday June 17 for the special event “Bunker Hill to Penn’s Hill,” where you can learn about Abigail Adams and young John Quincy Adams, who watched the battle rage from ten miles away atop Penn’s Hill.
If you don’t have time to get out this weekend, here are the Top Ten Things You Should Know About Charlestown and the Battle of Bunker Hill according to our Head of Research & Instruction and Charlestown denizen, Becky Morin
1) The Battle of Bunker Hill was mostly fought on Breed’s Hill. That’s where the Monument is. Bunker Hill is actually taller and steeper, and is home to the lovely Saint Francis de Sales, a beautiful Roman Catholic church dedicated in 1862. If you don’t know which hill is which, we know you’re a tourist.
By Siddharth Mallya. CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
3) Charlestown is where Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride really kicked off. He was ferried in a rowboat from Boston, landing near the Charlestown Battery, where he picked up a horse from his friend Deacon John Larkin, a lifelong Charlestown resident.
4) There is debate as to why the Colonial forces fortified Breed’s Hill instead of Bunker Hill, although many think it is because Breed’s Hill is closer to Boston. The British had planned the siege to capture Bunker Hill, as they wanted to dig in fortifications on the area’s highest points.
5) It took the British three attempts to capture Breed’s Hill, even though their numbers were far greater than the Colonial forces.
6) Charlestown burned after the Battle, the first of two major fires to strike the community.
7) Proud Charlestown residents still fly the Bunker Hill Battle Flag.
By DevinCook at English Wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons
9) The Bunker Hill Monument (which you now know is on Breed’s Hill) is 221 feet tall and was completed in 1842.
10) Beloved French hero of the American Revolution, the Marquis de Lafayette, is said to be buried beneath a sprinkling of soil from Bunker Hill, procured by his son.
Want More?
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-true-story-of-the-battle-of-bunker-hill-36721984/
http://charlestownhistoricalsociety.org/history/historic-timeline/
https://www.masshist.org/revolution/bunkerhill.php
https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun17.html
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The semester may be over, but there are still plenty of opportunities to learn. If you’re on campus this summer and would like to enhance your research skills, we’re here to help! We offer Workshops on Demand for groups of two or more. Let us know what skill or resource you are interested in learning more about and we will work with you to create a workshop to meet your group’s specific learning needs. Visit our Workshops on Demand page to learn more about the areas in which we can offer workshops or to request a workshop.
Want to do something on your own time? Tufts offers a number of resources of self-directed learning.
Here is a selection of our favorites:
“Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video service for educational institutions that works directly with filmmakers and film distribution companies and provides access to more than 26, 000 films and documentaries across diverse subjects and disciplines. Major subjects covered include: the arts, business and training, health sciences, media and communication, natural sciences, social sciences, and teacher education.’
Lynda offers online video courses and tutorials in a wide variety of subjects, from Excel to excelling at public speaking. You can watch one video to learn how to do a specific task or follow a multi-course learning path to gain skills in a broader topic.
Mango Languages
“Mango Languages is designed to give users comprehensive conversational language and grammar skills. The basic course (10 lessons) focuses on polite greetings and small talk and is perfect for patrons who are planning a short trip to a foreign country, or for those who want to get a taste of a foreign language and culture.” You can complete lessons on the website or download a free app for your mobile device.
Safari
“Safari Books Online is the premier on-demand digital library providing over 43347 technology, digital media, and business books and videos online to academic and library users. ”
Happy learning!
Time for more FREE BOOKS! All this week, stop by the circulation desk on the 4th floor and take home as many books as you’d like!
Here at Hirsh, we’re fans of unusual national holidays–particularly when there’s a sweet treat involved! May 31ist is National Macaroon Day, apparently, and since our Associate Director Debbie makes a mean macaroon, we wanted to share the recipe she uses. She got it from a friend, who uses this recipe from Food & Wine Magazine. With only 5 ingredients, it’s easy to put together and even easier to eat!
Coconut Macaroons
One 14-ounce bag sweetened shredded coconut
One 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted (baker’s note: I use Callebaut)
- Preheat the oven to 350° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut with the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. In another bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the salt until firm peaks form. Fold the beaten whites into the coconut mixture.
- Scoop tablespoon-size mounds of the mixture onto the baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake in the upper and middle thirds of the oven for about 25 minutes, until golden; shift the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking. Transfer the baking sheets to racks and let the cookies cool completely
- Dip the bottoms of the macaroons into the melted chocolate, letting any excess drip back into the bowl. Return the cookies to the lined baking sheets. Drizzle any remaining chocolate on top and refrigerate for about 5 minutes, until set or leave some plain.
Before you bake, read up on the history of macaroons over on the UC Davis Integrative Medicine website.
Bon appetit!
If you haven’t had a chance to stop by the new books display on the 4th floor, here are a few titles you’ve been missing out on. While these books may not make your light-summer-reading list, they are most engrossing and perfect for the days when you’re hiding in from the heat.
THE FOOD EXPLORER : The True Adventures of the Globe-Trotting Botanist Who Transformed What America Eats by Daniel Stone.
DOING HARM : The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick by Maya Dusenbery.
HOW TO CHANGE YOUR MIND : What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan.
SUGAR : The World Corrupted: From Slavery to Obesity by James Walvin.
THE SMILE STEALERS : The Fine + Foul Art of Dentistry by Richard Barnett.
NATURAL CAUSES : An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer by Barbara Ehrenreich.
As always, if there’s a book we don’t have that you think we should own, please do let us know by recommending a purchase.
We are sad to share the news that tomorrow, Friday 5/25, will be Paige’s last day at Hirsh!
Paige completed her MS in Library and Information Sciences at Simmons this past winter and we are excited to announce that she has accepted a full time research & instruction librarian position at the Dartmouth College Biomedical Libraries!
Since joining the staff at Hirsh in March 2017, she has been not only a friendly face at the Library Service Desk but has served as a valued member of the PR committee and has been an essential contributor to the development and revision of curriculum in several programs. She has also led workshops and helped to improve policies and procedures on the Service Desk.
We wish her all the best as she takes this big step forward in her career! We will miss having her on our staff but look forward to working with her as a member of the greater New England health sciences library community.
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In honor of Memorial day, the Hirsh Health Sciences Library will be closed on Monday May 28th, 2017. We will be open regular hours Friday May 25th, Saturday May 26th and Sunday May 27th. We hope that you have a restful day off and we look forward to helping you with your information needs on Tuesday May 29th.
Graduates Applauding at Commencement, 1990. Tufts University. Digital Collections and Archives. Medford, MA. http://hdl.handle.net/10427/35160
Congratulations Class of 2018! All of us at the Hirsh Health Sciences Library applaud your hard-earned accomplishments and we wish you the best in your future endeavors! We look forward hearing about all the great work you will do.
Please note that the Library Service Desk will be closed this Saturday, May 19, as there will be a reception for the graduates taking place.
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It’s that time of year again! As you finish up your last exams, polish up your final papers and turn in your final assignments, please stop by the 4th floor library service desk to return any outstanding materials before you leave for the summer. Just a friendly reminder to those graduating this May, we need your items back before Friday May 18th so that we can sign off on your accounts.
Sticking around for the summer? We’ll be here for all your information and borrowing needs.
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