Category Archives: Lilly Library at Bishop’s House

East Campus Libraries, Events, Feature Articles, Library Hacks, Lilly Library at Bishop's House, Music Library, Tips and Tricks

Your End-of-Semester Library Toolkit, Fall 2025

December 1, 2025 Ira King Leave a comment

You’re almost there! Here are some resources to power you through the end of the semester and beyond.

End-of-Semester Events

Productive Procrastination: Planning, Pastries & Paper Crafts – Thursday, December 4th from 1 to 3 PM. Not sure how to approach studying for finals? Just need to take some time to de-stress and relax? Drop by the Edge Lounge in Bostock Library to take a breather, reset, and enjoy donuts and origami. Staff from the ARC will be present to share study tips and ways you can make a study plan for tackling finals.

Study Break with Miniature Therapy Horses at Bishop’s House – Sunday, December 7th from 12 to 2 PM. Take a break from studying and drop by Bishop’s House (behind Bassett Residence Hall) to de-stress with the miniature therapy horses from Stampede of Love and relax with some cookies and hot cider! The ARC will be hosting a study hall next door at the Academic Advising Center with Learning Consultants and Peer Success Leaders.

Study Break at Perkins – Monday, December 8th from 7 to 8:30 PM. Need to re-fuel while studying? Drop by the Perkins e-print area for sweet, savory, and healthy snacks! Available while supplies last.

Self-Service Origami Table (near the East Asian Studies Collection on the 2nd floor of Bostock Library) – Unwind during the finals crunch with some origami sheets and designs! We encourage you to take them back wherever you’re studying in the Libraries, take a moment to relax, and fold away. If you have questions or need additional sheets or designs, please visit Global Studies (Bostock 227, at the end of the hall).

To Help You Study

Find Library Spaces for Studying
Extended Library study hours at Perkins/Bostock & Rubenstein Saturday, December 6th through Monday, December 15th
Research Assistance
- Residence Hall Librarians for first-year students
- Live chat with a librarian
Check out our Research Guides for useful sources and databases by topic
Need help citing sources? Check out our guides to using APA, MLA, Chicago, and CSE

Take a Break

Reflection and Relaxation Spaces in Perkins Library
- Oasis Perkins
- Prayer and Meditation Room
Duke Libraries Spotify Playlists (songs contributed by DUL staff)
Rubenstein Coloring Sheets

Take Care of Yourself

The Library @ Home

The library is always here for you! Maybe you already know that you can access many of our online resources from home or that you can check out books to take home with you. We also have movies and music that you can stream and some e-books that you can download to your devices. Here are some of the resources we have to do this!

Streaming Video includes:

Kanopy: Watch thousands of award-winning documentaries and feature films including titles from the Criterion Collection.

SWANK Digital Campus: Feature films from major Hollywood studios.

See the full list: bit.ly/dukevideos.

Overdrive Books:

Go to duke.overdrive.com to access downloadable eBooks and audiobooks that can be enjoyed on all major computers and devices, including iPhones®, iPads®, Nooks®, Android™ phones and tablets, and Kindles®.

Streaming Music includes:

Contemporary World Music: Listen to music from around the world, including reggae, Bollywood, fado, American folk music, and more.

Jazz Music Library: Access a wide range of recordings from jazz classics to contemporary jazz.

Medici.tv: Browse an online collection of classical music, operas and ballets.

Metropolitan Opera on Demand: For opera fans, a large selection of opera videos from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera.

Naxos Music Library: Huge selection of classical music recordings—over 1,925,000 tracks!

Smithsonian Global Sound: Find and listen to streaming folk and related music

See the full list: library.duke.edu/music/resources/listening-online

Collection Spotlight, Film, Just for Fun, Lilly Library, Lilly Library at Bishop's House, Music Library, Uncategorized

Hooked on Horror: A Reel Scary Halloween Guide

October 20, 2025 Carol Terry 3 Comments

There are many awful and varied means to perish in a horror film, but have you ever considered how many ways there are to go by hook and hooks? Just this one implement alone, when considered, reveals a breadth of varied and creative death-modes. Join us now in yon Spooky Season as we explore a few titles that dangle deadly in the stacks, aichmophobia be damned.

DVD cover — Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, 2019

One of the most interesting takes on the curved-pointy is the urban legend known as The Hook. The story usually goes something like this: a young couple is hooking up in a car out in the woods and they start to hear sounds outside. In some versions the couple is also listening to a radio broadcast talking about a man escaping from a nearby insane asylum. The guy gets out to inspect the commotion and doesn’t return. But there is a hook hanging off the door handle. Don’t believe us? Check out The Hook in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark .

Are you hooked yet? The urban legend pops up at the beginning of an early slasher from 1980 (with a very young Tom Hanks). He Knows You’re Alone starts as a movie-within-a-movie, featuring – you guessed it – a couple, a car and a hook. But wait, there is more! Another example of the trope (sans hook) can be found at the beginning of Final Exam, which was primarily filmed in western North Carolina in 1981 and features lots of local flavor. So many other horror movies include this basic scenario and it is always fascinating to observe the myriad ways it can play out though the outcome is rarely pleasant. Probably drive away and fast, okay?

By Hook or ?

Handheld fisherman hooks also figure prominently in a wide array of horror flicks, from earlier works to later tales. One of the most terrifying is the John Carpenter classic The Fog from 1980. A stellar cast, including Jamie Lee Curtis, must contend with a fearful fog that contains some unhappy sailors, some of whom utilize hooks from the beyond. Several years later in 1984, and set at the NC coast, The Mutilator aka Fall Break features some college kids getting the very bad end of things while cavorting at Atlantic Beach. There’s also the 1997 hit I Know What You Did Last Summer which has more teens, more hook, and more heinous offings.

There’s also demise by actual fishing hooks. The Slayer , from 1982 and filmed at Tybee Island, GA is light on the actual slayings but big on mood. It is actually a great relief when the most annoying character is hooked away to a briny fate as bloody chum. Then leave it to Troma Studios to take the concept to the very end of the line in 1987 with a horror/comedy parody called, yes, Blood Hook. At a fishing contest in Wisconsin a madman angles for victims using his own giant hook as tackle. “Once you’re hooked, you’re dead”.

Hooks Come in … Handy?

In some versions of The Hook the killer has a hook for a hand and perhaps the most popular cinematic version of this is Candyman. In the classic 1992 original from Bernard Rose and the 2021 Candyman remake by Nia DaCosta, both based on a story by Clive Barker, gruesome fates are to be had at the hand of a hook. And please, whatever you do, DO NOT say that name three times, even in jest.

And let’s not forget death by meat hook, in the still-terrifying genre-defining classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre . This nasty piece of work by Tobe Hooper remains one of the most intense and brilliant horror movies of all time, losing none of its menace and ick after 50+ years. And a big part of that staying power is owed to the character Leatherface and his adeptness with dangling meat hooks.

film poster — Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1974

Finally, the soundtrack for writing this piece was provided by the group Throbbing Gristle, which seem appropriate for the topic. Several of their releases can be found here at Duke Libraries.

ghost pirate with hook — NOT a photo of our guest curator

Be the captain of your own horror hook adventures this Halloween by casting about in Libraries catalog for any of these deadly winners, and let us know if you discover other hooked fates in your seasonal watching. Boo!

Stephen Conrad, Guest Curator

Bone-chilling postscript: the Libraries offer hundreds of streaming movies to watch (with Duke netid/password authentication) from platforms like Swank Digital Campus (“Horror” category), Projectr (“Haunted Arthouse” category), Films on Demand World Cinema (check out Roger Corman’s Bucket of Blood) and Kanopy (Horror & Thriller category) plus DVDs to borrow along with external DVD drives to play them.
Very scary!

Collection Spotlight, East Campus Libraries, Lilly Library at Bishop's House

The Exciting World of Urban Fantasy: Books

July 2, 2025 Greta Boers 6 Comments

Guest Post by Matt Boone, East Campus Libraries

Picture of Author Matt Boone — Matt Boone

Have you ever wondered about how the urban fantasy subgenre functions in its own unique way? Urban fantasy can take a typical fantasy story and give it a twist by setting it in a more modern setting. It can also have the fantasy elements interact with each other in different ways. This subgenre allows for interesting takes on fantasy archetypes and creatures. Examples would include a wizard detective, a vampire accountant, and ancient gods or other legendary figures interacting with and adapting to the modern world. Stories can have characters who operate within the more ‘realistic’ side of the setting react to the ‘fantastical’ side of the setting in different ways.

What goes into Urban Fantasy?

If the supernatural elements are supposed to be a secret, how and why do they stay hidden? Alternatively, if they are known, how has the supernatural elements affected society and its development? This can include how the creatures have been integrated into society. It can also be shown in how magic has been integrated into the day-to-day life of the characters. Examples would include characters utilizing cleaning spells to clean their homes, law enforcement utilizing actual oracles or seers to help solve crimes, doctors and nurses utilizing healing magic, or the entertainment industry hiring actual magic users to save on special effects.

Urban fantasy may be a good way to open new avenues of entertainment and encourage people to read more by finding books that they could enjoy and consume. The urban settings may also be more appealing for people who might not like the world-building in the regular fantasy genre. In an urban fantasy story, like The Dresden Files, supernatural elements are adapted to our modern society and technology. A classic fantasy story, like The Lord of the Rings, has kings, queens, knights, and wizards in a medieval setting.

The popularity of urban fantasy grew in the 1980s. This was encouraged by the success of Stephen King and Anne Rice. Their success likely helped to encourage both writers and publishers to see the potential of the subgenre.

Fairy Tales of London: British Urban Fantasy, 1840 to the present

This book is a survey of urban fantasy/fantasy writings/literature set in London between the Victorian era to the 21st Century. It discusses different works of multiple notable historical authors, such as Dickens, Wells, Orwell, and Peake. It also discusses how the authors’ different methods influenced what they wrote. For example, Wells had an imagination that was based more on science and preferred to state things in a more matter of fact way. Read more about Elber-Aviram’s book

Science Fiction (2nd Edition)

This book gives readers an introduction into the genre of science fiction. It goes into detail explaining what science fiction is, its history, the representation of race and gender in the genre, and how the technology appearing in science fiction works correlates with our real-world technology. For example, cyberspace is typically portrayed as being more ‘exciting and dynamic’ in fiction than reality’s more limited digital environment. Read more about Roberts’ book

Fantasy: How it Works

This book was written to explain how the fantasy genre can be relevant and meaningful to our world and lives if it is not a realistic representation of said world. Another question the book sets out to answer is what sort of changes the genre can have in the world. The book goes on to how fantasy can represent truth in a metaphorical manner. Read more about Attebury’s book

The Golem and the Jinni

This novel takes place in late 19th Century America where a newly awakened golem whose master died en route and a newly released jinni must try to fit into different subcultures of New York City and not to draw attention to themselves. The novel delves into how each of them have trouble fitting in due to their different, supernatural natures. They do eventually encounter each other and learn how to interact with the other and eventually form a small group of people who they trust. Read more about Wecker’s book

Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination

This book was written with the intention to help its readers to better appreciate the possibilities that that the fantasy literary genre can unleash for creativity. It goes over how the genre has evolved over time and includes the names of authors and their works that have impacted the genre in major ways. This includes J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings, and Ursula K. Le Guin and the Earthsea Cycle. The book goes on to describe how the different works and authors that it describes have had an impact on the fantasy genre in their own ways. Read more about Mathews’ book

The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature

This book discusses various aspects of the fantasy genre, including its history, the different ways of reading the literature of the genre (thematic, political, psychoanalysis, etc.), and the various clusters of the genre (urban fantasy, historical fantasy, magical realism, etc.). It covers urban fantasy in chapter 17 with four main sections of the chapter. Read more about Chapter 17

Genres of Doubt: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and the Victorian Crisis of Faith

This book describes how the fantasy and science fiction genres got a start in 19th Century Britain. Also discussed in this book is how speculative fiction that was published at the time, such as Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dracula by Bram Stoker, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, had started to challenge what society at the time was used to reading and the norms of the time. This was likely influenced by the relatively recent geological findings and the writings of Charles Darwin. Another factor would be that Britain was also being exposed to more and different cultures from around the world. Read more about Sanders’ book

Look for another blog post on The Exciting World of Urban Fantasy: Films. It’s coming soon!

The cityscape in the feature image is a section of “Clouds- Hong Kong” by carloyuen. See the full image on Pixabay.

East Campus Libraries, Library Staff, Lilly Library, Lilly Library at Bishop's House, Uncategorized

From Lilly to Bishop’s House – A Student Spotlight

May 13, 2025 Carol Terry

From Lilly Library to the Bishop’s House

Lilly – and Bishop’s House – Student Yaa

A Part of Lilly’s Past, Present, and Future!

For many years, Lilly Library served as the heart of East Campus and our student assistants have been an essential element in maintaining a high level of service and engagement with our community. When Lilly closed in May 2024 for a major renovation and expansion, staff and services relocated to Bishop’s House for the duration of the project. Closing for the renovation deeply involved our student workers as books had to be inventoried, circulating books required constant re-shelving, all while maintaining normal operations. A new schedule and range of services in Bishop’s House may require fewer student assistants, but we are fortunate that one “Lilly veteran” Yaa decided to join us back on East Campus. Yaa began working with us during her first year and has the distinction of working in the “old” Lilly as well as in Bishop’s House! Her support of Duke Libraries includes serving on student advisory boards since she arrived on campus.

Getting to Know Yaa

Student in library stacks — In her favorite spot in Lilly – by the window on the third level stacks

Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida
Family/siblings/pets: Mom, Dad, an older brother and a younger brother
Academic major: Spanish with a Journalism minor
Favorite on-campus activity (besides working in the library 😉): Walking through Duke Gardens
Favorite off-campus activity:
Trying out restaurants with friends!
Favorite campus eatery: Ginger + Soy
Favorite off-campus eatery: Naan Stop

Remembering your Lilly experience:

Q: What was your favorite place in Lilly Library – and why?
A: The third-floor window because the sunset was always a beautiful sight. The photo shows me there, looking into the afternoon sun.
Note: this was also our senior Karen‘s favorite spot.

Q: What’s the strangest/most interesting book or movie or music you’ve come across in the library?
A: I found this sci-fi graphic novel that was about a Messiah. It was basically a Jesus story but without the religion. It was veryyy interesting, so I took a photo.

Q: What is one memory from your time in the library that you will never forget?
A: How fun it always was to deliver books to faculty offices all over East Campus.

Q: What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done in the library?
A: Maybe seeing if I could fit in the dumbwaiter or running from the 4th floor down to the 1st.

Q: What is your favorite part about working at the library? Least favorite?
A: My favorite part would be all of the enriching and fun conversations I’ve had over the years with the librarians and staff. My least favorite thing would be the creepy pipe noises in Bishop’s House.

Q: How will your time working in the library help you in your future pursuits?
A: My time at the library helped me with organizational skills and people skills and these are two things that transfer over to any aspect of life.

Celebrating at the Lilly Renovation Kickoff

The end of classes in May means all of us at Lilly Library say “cuídate mucho, hasta luego” to Yaa, who will be studying in South America in the fall semester. However, she promises to return in the spring of 2026 as a treasured member of our East Campus Libraries “family”.

Stay tuned!

East Campus Libraries, Library Staff, Life in the library, Lilly Library, Lilly Library at Bishop's House, Uncategorized

Class of 2025: What is a Vital Lilly Library Resource?

May 8, 2025 Carol Terry 1 Comment

What is a Vital Lilly Library Resource?
Our Student Assistants!

Young woman holding camera — Away from Lilly Library – Chronicle News Photo Editor Karen on Chapel Drive

Lilly Class of 2025

For many years, Lilly Library served as the heart of East Campus and our student assistants have been an essential element in maintaining a high level of service and engagement with our community. When Lilly closed in May 2024 for a major renovation and expansion, staff and services relocated to Bishop’s House for the duration of the project. Closing for the renovation deeply involved our student workers as books had to be inventoried, circulating books required constant reshelving, all while maintaining normal operations. A new schedule and range of services in Bishop’s House may require fewer student assistants, but we are fortunate that our “Lilly veteran” Karen decided to return (sometimes on her trademark pink scooter!) and work with us on East Campus. Karen began working with us during her first year and we celebrate her now as our own Lilly Class of 2025, our “honors graduate”!

Meet Duke – and Lilly! – Senior Karen

Sculpture with student — Getting ready for renovation – Karen says bye to the Ben Duke bust [Instagram LillyLibDuke]

Hometown: Chantilly, VA
Family/siblings/pets: A younger brother named Jason.
Academic major: Public Policy
Activities on campus: Favorite on-campus activity (besides working in the library 😉)
Duke Marching and Pep Band, The Chronicle
Favorite off-campus activity: Trying new restaurants or hiking.
Favorite campus eatery: Marketplace
Favorite off-campus eatery: M Sushi

From Lilly Library to Bishop’s House –
what a long, strange road it’s been!

Q: What was your favorite place in Lilly Library – and why?
A: Third floor stacks, by the big window overlooking the tennis courts because it was peaceful, and I love sitting in the sun.

Q: What’s the strangest/most interesting book or movie or music you’ve come across in the library?
A: N7359.M67 A4 2003
And, yes, we had to look this up – it is a book with the title Wave UFO, featuring the art of Mariko Mori.

Q: What is one memory from your time in the library that you will never forget?
A: When my coworker Katherine and I got hungry during one of our closing shifts together, so we ordered GoBringIt to the library!

Q: What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done in the library?
A: Cried Oh no, this makes us sad!

Q: What is your favorite part about working at the library? Least favorite?
A: Walking around East Campus on a beautiful day doing faculty deliveries; running to catch the last C1 during closing shifts

Q: How will your time working in the library help you in your future pursuits?
A: Working at a library sharpens your people skills and makes you more detail-oriented

duke student band — Karen bringing the “pep” in the Pep Band

Finally…
Q: What will you miss most about the library when you graduate?
A: All the full-time staff who have become like a family to me. Shout out to Nate, Kelley, Danette, Lee, Carson, David, Lauren, Carol, Greta and Ira ☹
Thank you and we will miss Karen, too! We look forward to her visiting the renovated Lilly Library at her class reunion!

Q: What are your plans for after graduation?
A: Still figuring it out

Graduation in May means Lilly Library will say farewell to Karen, a treasured member of our East Campus Libraries “family”. We appreciate Karen’s stellar work and dedication to Lilly and wish her all the best!

East Campus Libraries, Events, Library Hacks, Lilly Library at Bishop's House, Tips and Tricks

Your End-of-Semester Library Toolkit, Spring 2025

April 15, 2025 Ira King 1 Comment

You’re almost there! Here are some resources to power you through the end of the semester and beyond.

End-of-Semester Events

Lilly Library Study Break – Sunday, April 27th from noon to 2:30 PM. Lilly is closed for renovation, but the Libraries are still here to support you! Take a break from studying and drop by the front of Lilly Library to grab some snacks to keep you going during Finals week.

Therapy Dog Visit at Perkins – Wednesday, April 30th from 6:30 to 8 PM. Stop by the Perkins service desk and de-stress with a therapy dog during Finals week.