Category Archives: Events

Invest in Our Planet!: Earth Week 2023

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Earth Day everyday poster with image of planet Earth as plant-- a tree sprouts from the top
Earth Day Poster by Travis Morgan

Celebrate locally! Durham’s Earth Day Festival is on Sunday, April 23 from 12:00 to 5:00 PM at Durham Central Park. Raleigh’s community Earth Day event will be on Friday, April 21 from 5:00 to 10:00 PM at Dix Park. Orange County has several events planned, including Earth Day Celebration Carrboro, taking place on Saturday, April 22 from 3:30 to 6:00 PM in the Carrboro Town Commons.

Climate change is a huge issue and can make a lot of folks feel helpless.

So–What can you do?

While there’s no quick fix, you can always educate, advocate, and adapt (in addition to the traditional reduce, reuse, recycle).

Keep reading to find out more!

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Are book clubs cool? Want to join one?

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I think the real question is– do we care if book clubs are cool?

No. No, we do not care because we’re beyond doing what other people think is “cool” and are more interested in doing things that bring us joy and help us explore ideas with openness and curiosity.

Plus sometimes there be dragons.

an AI-generated dragon wearing glasses, reading a book, and drinking a mug with steam coming from the top, sitting in a large cozy library
A book club dragon. Credit goes to Kyle Minton and the Midjourney AI image generator.

The Durham Tech Library is gathering data for faculty and staff reading groups. Take our survey and let us know what types of books and reading groups you’d be interested in joining and if you’d be interested in facilitating a session. Keep an eye out for more information about upcoming reading circles, too.

We’re interested in student feedback, too, though we won’t start any student reading groups until Fall 2023, depending on interest and staffing (so plan ahead!). Are you part of a student group that would like to do a book club or reading circle? Let us know!

Crafternoon: Creating Community and Cool Things Together

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Have you heard about Crafternoons?

All materials will be provided and all current students, faculty, and staff are invited to come hang out, create, and chat with each other (or not, if quiet crafting is your thing). You’ll need to sign in, so make sure you have your Durham Tech ID or know your Durham Tech ID number.

Spring 2023 Crafternoons. Main Campus events are Wednesday from 1-3 pm. Orange County Campus (OCC) events are Tuesdays 11am-1pm.

Crafternoons are hands-on workshops sponsored by the Durham Tech Library and the Student Enrichment Department.

Keep reading for a little more information about each event and don’t forget to put them on your calendar!

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Food Facts for Library Fest!

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Join us on Thursday, April 21 from 12:30-2:00 PM in the Wynn Building Multipurpose Room for Taste & See, where you will get to taste delicious food made by Durham Tech’s own Culinary Program, learn fun food history facts, and even check out a cookbook to take home from the Durham Tech Library’s cookbook collection!

Taste & See-- Library Fest: The Food Edition. Food tasting and food history program. April 21, 2022 from noon to 2pm in the Wynn Multipurpose Room (Building 10)

Food while supplies last. This event is a collaboration between Durham County Library’s Library Fest, Durham Tech’s Culinary Program, Durham Tech Library, and the Viva the Arts Committee.

We hope to see you there!

Durham County Public Library’s Library Fest has exciting events planned for adults, teens, and children the week of April 18, about food, agriculture, and culinary history of the South.

Registration is required, but free tickets are available for the keynote events with Vivian Howard, award-winning cookbook author, tv personality, chef and restaurateur, and Michael W. Twitty, culinary historian, and food writer.

Virtual and in-person events throughout the week include programs on local mushroom foraging, community gardens, history of Durham restaurants, science of coffee, soil health, backyard chickens, and much more!

Visit https://durhamcountylibrary.org/libraryfest/ for full schedule and ticket information.  

Check out our New Main Campus Books post from April 13 for info about our Culinary Arts program (including a link to our resource guide) and for some of our newest cookbooks!

Your Voice, Your Vote 2022: Have You Registered?

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As you may have noticed if you listen to the radio or watch local news, election season is upon us once again.

While national elections make a lot of noise, local election outcomes have the ability to impact folks’ day-to-day lives, so if one of your 2022 goals is to be more civically engaged, participating in local elections can be a good place to start.

vote nc

This Friday, April 22 is the deadline to get or update your voter registration in order to participate in primary elections.

Wait! Does this mean that you won’t be able to vote in future elections if you don’t register now? Nope. You can register and vote in future election, but it’s always good to get in your paperwork early.

Curious about how to register to vote in North Carolina and information about voter’s rights, your ballot, and more?

Keep reading!

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Zero Textbook Cost Pathways for Career and Technical Education: Meeting Today, 5 PM

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To celebrate Open Education Week 2022, San Mateo County (Calif.) Community College District and the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) are hosting a Zoom-based conversation about Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) opportunities for Career and Technical Education.

"ZTC Pathways, What's Your Plan?" Coffee Talk with ISKME. 3/9/22, 5 - 6 PM EST. Zoom meeting link provided below.

You can join the Zoom meeting here: https://smccd.zoom.us/j/84255431012.

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Last Crafternoon of the Fall: Granular Wax Candle Making!

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It’s getting dark early and a candle sure does make the evenings more cozy, so why not make your own candle at our final Crafternoon of the Fall 2021 semester?

Wax candle from previous Crafternoon event.

Choose your favorite colors and layer your own personalize candle using granulated wax.

Join us in the Orange County Campus lobby on Wednesday, November 17 from 11:00 to 1:00 or in the Main Campus Library large group study area (downstairs) on Thursday, November 18 from 1:00 to 3:00.

All supplies are provided. Students, faculty, and staff are all welcome to participate.

Keep an eye out for our Crafternoons next semester– we’ll be felting, making string art, and painting totes.

For questions about the Main Campus Crafternoon, reach out to library @ durhamtech.edu. For questions about the Orange County Campus Crafternoon, reach out to Meredith Lewis (lewisma @ durhamtech.edu).

It’s Election Day!

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Happy Election Day, y’all!

It may not be a presidential election year, but municipal elections matter, too! 

vote nc

In order to vote today, you’ll need to go to your assigned polling place and can vote until 7:30 p.m.– if you’re in line at 7:30 p.m., no matter how long the line may be, you can cast your ballot.

Learn more from the NC State Board of Elections about what to expect when voting on Election Day, including links to download a sample ballot.

As a voter, you have rights! Here’s a concise list from Democracy NC about your Voter’s Bill of Rights. (Also available in Spanish.) Remember that voter intimidation is against both state and federal law. Report any instances of voter intimidation to the election official at your polling place 

For a bit of background history on why elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, see this article from NPR’s Morning Edition.

Charlie Voting Do Not Selfie

Charlie Lewis would like to remind you that, even though this is not a presidential election year, voting is still important (but no completed ballot selfies). 

Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day by Learning More

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In 2017, the state of North Carolina proclaimed the second Monday in October as Indigenous People’s Day and in 2021, the president of the United States acknowledged Indigenous Peoples’ Day for the first time with an official proclamation. 

What is Indigenous Peoples’ Day? 

An alternative to Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples’ Day is “a celebration … to bring acknowledgment to the Native population”  and remove the focus from Columbus, a man who caused great harm to Native populations. 

Instead, “It can be a day of reflection of our history in the United States, the role Native people have played in it, the impacts that history has had on native people and communities, and also a day to gain some understanding of the diversity of Indigenous peoples,” according to Mandy Van Heuvelen, the cultural interpreter coordinator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.

Want to learn more about Indigenous peoples’ history, culture, and diverse experiences?

Check out a some of the books available through the Durham Tech Library collections.

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