Goldstein Library Updates

Blog written by Tim DeForest, Library Circulation Manager. 

Will Eisner Week is annually the week of March 6th, and celebrates the “father of the Graphic Novel”. Visit willeisner.com for more information on Will Eisner and his legacy, and check out our materials on Will Eisner here at the Goldstein Library.

In 1940, the Register and Tribune Syndicate of Des Moines began to distribute a 16-page comic book that newspapers would include in their Sunday edition (along with the regular comics section). Though their subscriber base was never large and their page count eventually dropped to 8 pages, this newspaper/comic book hybrid ran for 12 years.

The main feature for the comic was The Spirit, created by Will Eisner. Except for a few years spent in the army during the war, Eisner drew the strip and did most of the writing. He often re-wrote scripts when he didn't originate them, so The Spirit was pretty much his baby from start to finish.

Superheroes were all the rage in 1940, but Eisner resisted the pressure to turn his hero--criminologist Denny Colt--into a costumed hero. Instead, he slapped a mask and a pair of gloves on the character, which made everyone happy and left him free to tell the sort of stories he wanted to tell. Any one Spirit story might be a comedy, a hard-boiled crime story, a fantasy or a combination of genres. Often the Spirit was only a peripheral character in a particular story, because that story was centered on an inevitably fascinating one-shot character.

I got to meet Mr. Eisner once when he spoke here at Ringling way back in 2004. It was just before my first book came out and the teacher (David Steiling) giving him the campus tour mentioned this. Mr. Eisner was kind enough to ask me about the book. When I mentioned that it was in part about pulp magazines such as Black Mask, he said he learned to write short stories from reading Black Mask. This was a magazine published before World War II and was responsible for popularizing the hard-boiled school of detective fiction. These were stories about tough private eyes and violent criminals, told in a terse style that doesn’t waste any words in getting to the point.

And he was indeed a master of the short story format. The post-war Spirit stories, which usually ran only 7 pages, were models of concise storytelling and often packed an extraordinary emotional punch.

For instance, the November 10, 1949 issue is about Freddie, a young man who is apparently well-liked in his neighborhood, but who sick of his life and wants to move on. Moving on costs money and the most convenient way to get money is to rob the local candy store.

Well, we've been told right up front that this story is about the last ten minutes of Freddie's life, so it's not surprising when things go wrong. Freddie ends up killing the candy store owner and, after spending several tense moments serving malteds to customers while a corpse is hidden behind the counter, he's forced to make a run for it. The Spirit nearly catches him in a subway station--Freddie makes a break for it, but his hands get stuck in a subway car, pulling him to his death against a steel support.

Several things make the story work. First, Eisner quickly but effectively sketches out Freddie's character for us. He looks young and his character design wouldn't be out-of-place in an Archie comic, but we soon see that he's a bitter man who's about to make several horribly bad decisions. We are made to sympathize with Freddie to a degree, but without in anyway being told to excuse his actions.

Also, Eisner casually inserts a number of elements that remind us the entire story takes place in only ten minutes. For instance, on the first page there's a little girl bouncing a ball while reciting an alphabet rhyme. She's on "A my Name is Alice" when Freddie walks by on his way to the candy shop. She's still at the game, up to R when Freddie is fleeing for his life a few minutes later. It's such a simple thing, but it works perfectly, reminding us just how quickly events are unfolding.

. 

I can really believe that Eisner learned to write short stories from Black Mask. Were this a prose story, it's exactly the sort of tale you'd have expected to find in that magazine.

It you have an interest in writing and/or illustrating graphic literature, then this story has a lot to teach you about using both script and art together to tell a story well; how to lay out a plot without wasting time; and how to give your stories a real sense of movement and the passage of time. You can read this story in A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics, located on the library’s second floor in the Graphic Novel section (call # PN6726 .S58 1981).

 Tim DeForest has worked at Ringling for over 35 years, and has a wealth of comic knowledge! This blog was originally published on Tim's blog in February 2014 - over ten years ago, and ten years after he met Will Eisner! Visit him behind the library circulation desk, and be sure to check out the rest of his blog (Comics, old time radio, and other cool stuff), the other books he's written (which we have available for check out in Goldstein Library), and his YouTube Videos on comics.

There is a Sarasota Herald-Tribune article about Eisner's visit to Sarasota in 2004, when he was 86 years old: HUISKING, CHARLIE. 2004. “Will Eisner’s Art Goes Far beyond ‘Funny Books.’” Sarasota Herald-Tribune. March 12, 2004. https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2004/03/12/will-eisners-art-goes-far-beyond-funny-books/28793548007/. 

The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at OSU contains correspondence between Will Eisner and Ringling School of Art and Design in their Special Collections. Librarian Kelly Lindberg has reached out to OSU to ask if they can share this correspondence for our own archives, check back soon for updates!

‌

Blog post written by Kelly Lindberg, Instructional Design Librarian

Conspiracies, Capitalism, and Collage: 

How Artists’ Books and Comics Confront the Chaos

In an era where conspiracy theories shape political realities and deepfakes blur the line between truth and fiction, it often feels like we’re living inside a comic book. The Department of Truth takes this unsettling idea to its extreme: what if reality itself was determined by mass belief?

Almost a month into Trump’s second term and almost five years after the pandemic started, I’d like to recommend this comic that I’ve paired with several artists’ books that resonate with the current state of the country. We’ve been in this world overwhelmed with misinformation, disinformation, and deepfakes for quite some time now, and it often feels like everything is changing too fast for any of us to keep up. To cope with current events, I’ve recently read every single issue of the comic The Department of Truth, which I first discovered by attending my local comic shop Bat City Comic Professional’s Fresh Start Book Club, all of which I cannot recommend enough.

Much like The Department of Truth, artists' books have long been a medium for questioning dominant narratives, exposing political manipulation, and challenging how we perceive reality. By pairing these works, we can explore how visual storytelling—whether in comics or book art—helps us navigate this post-truth world.

The Department of Truth and the War on Reality

Writer James Tynion IV, artist Martin Simmonds, letterer Aditya Bidikar, and designer Dylan Todd form the brilliant team behind The Department of Truth, which was first released on September 30, 2020. The series presents an alternate America in which Lee Harvey Oswald is alive and leading the government’s “Department of Truth,” an organization designed to push the nation’s agenda by propelling mass belief in constructed realities. In this world, every conspiracy theory that gains enough traction becomes real.

Tynion has noted that his inspiration for The Department of Truth came from the 2016 presidential election. The comic explores how misinformation spreads and how belief shapes power structures, reflecting the challenges we face in today’s media landscape.

Fig. 1: pg 79 of The Department of Truth: The Complete Conspiracy Volume One, Martin Simmonds, Image Comics

Fig. 2: pg. 199 of The Department of Truth: The Complete Conspiracy Volume One, Martin Simmonds, Image Comics

I firmly believe that Ringling staff and students will particularly appreciate how much depth and care was put into the creation of this series. In a fantastically enlightening interview with the comics’ creators, The Nation points out, “A reader experiencing The Department of Truth for the first time will likely make connections to the collage-heavy art movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, like surrealism or pop art. The most direct influence seems to be Brought to Light, a “graphic docudrama” anthology by Alan Moore, Bill Sinkiewicz, Joyce Brabner, Tom Yeates, and Paul Mavrides from 1988, whose style was partially influenced by the propaganda comics the CIA once issued in countries like Nicaragua to disrupt leftist movements.” Simmonds tells the interviewer: “My relationship with collage goes back to my love of comic artists Bill Sienkiewicz, Dave McKean, and Jon J Muth, mixed-media artist Robert Rauschenberg, and graphic designer David Carson, among others”. 

Martin Simmonds' visuals using mixed-media techniques reinforce the idea that truth itself is fragmented and contested. You can see an example of this in Figure 3 (shown below) which uses inverted, cut-up pieces of the pledge of allegiance as the gutters of the comic.

Fig. 3: excerpt from pg. 195 of The Department of Truth: The Complete Conspiracy Volume One, Martin Simmonds, Image Comics

Fig. 4: pg. 309 of The Department of Truth: The Complete Conspiracy Volume One, Martin Simmonds, Image Comics

While I’m amazed by Simmonds’ artistry throughout the whole series, as demonstrated in the snapshots above, I’d like to highlight issue #7 of the comic, a flashback story illustrated by guest artist Tyler Boss, who tells the story of a young “Doc” Hynes who publishes and circulates his manifesto “Resist the Men in Black!”.  Inspired by early science fiction fanzines, this issue connects the comic’s themes to real-world conspiracy subcultures, making it an especially relevant discussion point. Hynes eventually wears tin foil as a makeshift hat to shield his brain from telepathic brain waves, inspired by an article he read in an issue of Amazing Stories. The Ringling Library collection has a copy of a similar publication called Astounding Science from 1938, and you can view it by appointment.

Fig. 5: pg. 172, Fig. 6: pg 174, The Department of Truth: The Complete Conspiracy Volume One, 

Tyler Boss, Image Comics

Artists’ Books as Counter-Narratives

Photograph of materials in the Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center at Ringling College of Art + Design

Just as The Department of Truth unpacks the mechanisms of misinformation, many artists’ books challenge the political and social structures that enable it. Similarly, artists’ books use mixed-media and experimental design to disrupt conventional narratives. As Jane Anne Carlin notes in Artists' Books as Catalysts for Social Change, “Approaching conversations about difficult issues using the artists’ book as a jumping-off point causes us to slow down, reflect, and think deeply.” This deep thinking also allows for the capability of differentiating fact from fiction—a skill we all need to harness.

Listed below are some powerful works that, much like the comic, force us to question the narratives we’re told:

Louise Odes Neaderland’s Trump Circus and Trump Wallpaper Borders reflect the manipulation of political spectacle—much like the Department’s work in the comic. 

Fig. 7: photograph of the opened box of Trump Wallpaper Borders, 

Another favorite of mine that we have in the Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center by Neaderland is the Nuclear Fan.

Fig. 8: photograph of the Nuclear Fan, Louise Odes Neaderland

Fred Hagstrom’s The Blue and The Red examines the January 6th attack on the Capitol, using congressional testimony and archival photographs printed in relief and silkscreen to document the real-world consequences of misinformation.

Fig. 9, 10: photographs of pages from The Blue and The Red, Fred Hagstom

David Stairs’ Living in Denial, U.S.A. juxtaposes economic statistics with maps of Oregon, questioning the realities we accept about data (I also highly recommend viewing Mona Chalabi’s TEDTalk on bad statistics for more on this topic).

Fig. 12, 13: photographs of pages from Living in Denial, U.S.A. by David Stairs

Dale Edwin Wittig’s Capitalism’s Collapse ruminates on a near-apocalyptic vision of crumbling global capitalism with his hand scrawled captions and graphic illustrations, mirroring themes of instability explored in The Department of Truth.

Fig. 14: photograph of pages from Capitalism’s Collapse by Dale Edwin Wittig

Tatana Kellner and Ann Kalmbach’s Whereas... we declare compiles text from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (proposed to the United Nations by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1948) alongside statistics on immigration, challenging governmental narratives about rights and citizenship.

Fig. 15: photograph of pages from Whereas... we declare by Tatana Kellner and Ann Kalmbach

All of the artists’ books mentioned can be viewed in Ringling’s Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center by appointment. You can read the first issue of The Department of Truth for free online through Image Comics, or check out the omnibus from the Alfred R. Goldstein Library. 

**For combatting misinformation, I’d also recommend reading How to Win the War On Truth : an illustrated guide to how mistruths are sold, why they stick, and how to reclaim reality by Samuel C. Spitale, illustrated by Allan Whincup, or you can book a session with me and I’ll nerd out over Mike Caulfield.

P.S. - Jordie Bellaire is a Ringling alum who was a colorist for The Department of Truth!

About the Author

Kelly Lindberg is an Instructional Design Librarian at Ringling College of Art + Design’s Alfred R. Goldstein Library, with a longstanding interest in zines and comics. She actively incorporates these passions into her teaching of information literacy to students. A shorter version of this blog was published on bookarttheory.org for the College Book Arts' Association.

Feel free to connect with her at klindber@ringling.edu, or on Instagram: @comic.kelly

Works Cited

Carlin, Jane Anne. "Artists' Books as Catalysts for Social Change." Art Libraries Journal 44, no. 1 (01, 2019): 2-8, 

Hagstrom, Fred, and publisher Strong Silent Type Press. The Blue and the Red / Fred Hagstrom. Saint Paul, Minnesota: Strong Silent Type Press, 2024.

Keljera, ML. “A Comic That Captures the Antic Energy of a Post-Truth World.” The Nation. March 2023. 

Kellner, Tana, Ann E Kalmbach, and publisher Women’s Studio Workshop. Whereas... We Declare / KaKeArt: Tatana Kellner & Ann Kalmbach. Rosendale, NY: Women’s Studio Workshop, 2018.

Neaderland, Louise Odes. The Nuclear Fan. 3rd ed. Brooklyn, NY: Bone Hollow Arts, 1999.

Neaderland, Louise Odes. Trump Circus. Brooklyn, NY: Louise Neaderland, 2017.

Neaderland, Louise Odes. Trump Wallpaper Borders. Brooklyn, New York: [Louise Odes Neaderland], 2017.

Stairs, David. Living in Denial USA. Mt. Pleasant, Mich., D. Stairs, 2005.

Tynion, James, Martin Simmonds, Aditya Bidikar. The Department of Truth. Portland, OR: Image Comics, 2020-ongoing.

Wittig, Dale. Capitalisms Collapse / Dale Edwin Wittig. San Francisco, California: Red Hammer Press, 2017.

Blog post written by Olga Nerciu, Motion Design '27, Special Collections Assistant

Walking down the aisles, enclosed with shelves of meticulously placed books, each enveloped and assigned a long code of letters and numbers. I would scan through them, looking for the right one, the numbers would hint at where to look. “Bingo!” Take it, scan it, register in the system, display on the shelves, scan it again, put it back. This is how my shifts started as a Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center student worker. It did not take long to learn how wrong I was reducing our collection’s items to their mere numbers.

I am Olga, motion design sophomore at Ringling College of Art and Design from Moldova. In fall 2024, I started working as a Special Collection student assistant, picking a wide range of skills and responsibilities, from organizing and registering books, to creating merchandise and even writing a blog! By my side, I always have Muling Tzai, another student worker from Taiwan, and Cheri Marks, Special Collections Librarian and Archivist(my boss). Our Special Collections Center specializes in rare artists’ books, publication projects, art prints, zines and many more. We are driven to introduce the general public to both niche and recognized artistic creations via hands-on object based experience. I myself was amazed by the variety of items in our collection:  broadsides, campus materials, democratic multiples, documentation of time-based and performance projects, engravings, exhibition publications, experimental writing, fine press books, flip books, handmade editions, historic facsimiles, parlor toys, photographs, pop-up books, prints, rare books, zines, and more.

My favorite part about Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center is the unique tactile experience we give access to. Anyone coming to our center can literally touch art and connect with the artist on the other side of the page. I believe that utilizing primary sources is a game changer in any scholarly research. Engaging with physical original materials rewards with more insights into a particular subject, compared to internet/digital research. Touching or closely observing an artifact allows researchers to feel a deeper connection to the material. For example, examining an ancient manuscript provides a sense of its age, authenticity, and craftsmanship.

Images by Olga Nerciu, spreads from “Giving Fear a Proper Name, Detroit” by Susan Kae Grant, 2025

My favorite artwork to physically interact with is “Giving Fear a Proper Name, Detroit” by Susan Kae Grant. It follows the artist’s journey as she moved to Detroit, supported by images from her dreams, nightmares and daily experiences, interpreted in symbolic manner. I was stunned to find strands of artist’s hair, human teeth, accompanied by pictures of body parts, nails and increments of dirt and sand. The overwhelming experience from the book could have never been felt through digital research. Seeing the book and touching it, even smelling it, submerged me into the artist's world, where I was guided by mysterious pieces of her writing to undergo the same experiences and storylines.

Hence, experiences are made to be shared. Artworks such as “Giving Fear a Proper Name, Detroit” inspire us to hold exhibitions, led by conceptual themes that unite various art pieces and artists, bringing a holistic experience of an era or movement to our audience. Our visitors are welcome to interact with the items and witness the line between a book and a work of art blur. Our Special Collections Center is open to collaborations and exhibition ideas proposed by faculty and students! I am most curious to observe my colleague, Muling, creating branding identity for our exhibitions, setting the mood for it. Thanks to her, our visitors always leave with a cute sticker, postcard or brochure to remember the event.

I find myself again, walking down the aisles on my weekly shift, looking straight through envelopes, through long codes of letters and numbers, as each book is rather a story, a person, an entire universe for me to dive into. This is how my shifts are, as a Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center student worker.

This blog post can also be viewed on the College Book Art Association blog, Book Art Theory.

Blog post written by Emily Kang, Illustration '25, Library Research Consultant

Hello again, everyone! It's about that time where the school year is starting to buckle down almost to an uncomfortable degree. You'll have to stay up longer working on those assignments, and the people around you are gripping their tablet pens harder in a rush to get things done. When it comes down to that, remember take the time to curl up with a fictional story with art that flies off the pages and a message that contemplates the fleetingness of human life…

Today we're going to be discussing my favorite visual medium of all time, the thing that rocketed me into my art career and filled my childhood with wonder: manga. In fact, it was the local library near my house that started me on my hunt for these elusive comics. 

If you've ever been a fan of a show that broadcasted outside of your country, and could never get any merchandise or support for, you were probably aware of one thing: this media was not made for you in mind. It's been a furious battle to want to support your favorite comics and stories while not being able to read them in their original language. Fortunately, localization for our favorite Japanese manga has become commonplace: and we have the privilege of being able to read them at our local Goldstein library.

I'll make this list in the most appealing way I know how. Art students love visuals. So do I. So I'll talk about some of the most stylistic manga we've got on the shelves.

Land of the Lustrous

Land of the Lustrous is hypnotically beautiful. It's a love letter to line, shape and rhythm wrapped up in Buddhist iconography. The open landscapes seem endless, and the buildings host large arcs that open up to the sky with some of the thinnest lines I've seen used in manga.  Author Haruko Ichikawa is a master at capturing the intricate, wiry forms of The Lustrous as they travel through the golden wheat lands and along the crust of the shimmering seas. Enter main character Phos, who is the weakest among their kind and prone to shattering into pieces; they wish to find their own purpose as their companions battle the Lunarians. This manga is an experience, hands-down. It's also an open question to humanity from something that is not quite human: what is one supposed to do without a purpose in life? And how can you find one if you don't have any skills?

Tekkon Kinkreet

Matsumoto, Taiyo Matsumoto, TaiyoTaiyō Matsumoto's chaotic style is irresistibly appealing and instantly recognizable in motif: just look for the roughed-up boy in goggles sitting on the edge of a broken city. Tekkon Kinkreet (or Black and White) tells the story of two orphans known as stray cats who terrorize the gangs and citizens of Treasure Town. These yin-yang brothers hop along the fences of stylistically leaned buildings and leap through the sky littered with Tibetan style clouds. The style is downright crude, to put it kindly, and leans towards the styles of an independent Western comic rather than a Japanese one. It's a fascinating, beautiful read. Among Matsumoto's works also is multiple volumes of the series Sunny.

Witch Hat Atelier

The gorgeous delicacy of Kamome Shirahama's Witch Hat Atelier has given it a lot of attention on social media, with an animated series being set to release sometime in 2015. The author not only puts bucketloads of details into the clothes and hair of the characters, she also makes a point to focus on the landscapes. The characters travel through old, traditional towns carefully lined buildings and stretches of mountain ranges all littered patiently placed dots and hatchmark rendering. Reading it gives me the same sort of wistfulness and comfort as I would opening a European fairy tale book with gold leaf engraved on the sides. It's a beautiful story about the potential of magic and kindness and growing up, set through the eyes of 10 year old Coco, who is taken on as an apprentice of the mysterious witch Qifrey.

Double

I will proudly admit to being the one who requested Double by Ayako Noda for our library. This is a niche pick but has quickly grown to become one of my favorites series. It's a work about the curious relationship between two actors and their love for the stage. The transition of theater onto comic pages is something that works beautifully with the author's style –  the facial expressions are bold and endlessly dramatic, even bordering on eerie; the characters' movements are always animated and bright. The wispy lines and usage of dramatic blacks suggest an off-ness to the work that is present in the heavily codependent relationship of the main characters. Follow Takara Takarada (yes, that's his real name), who struggles even to read, dress and feed himself without his friend's help but is a secret genius under the lights of the stage.

There are so many more of my favorites, some of which have yet to be added in the collection. This world is huge, and manga is just a small piece of the larger industry of art and comics in the world. But it touches the hearts of many. (As always, if you have a recommendation for the library, submit a request so that you and your friends can enjoy it!) 

Blog post written by Mili Walton, Illustration '27, Library Research Consultant 

I like to wander. There’s something so simple about it, going around from here to there with no end goal in mind or solid reason to walk about in the first place. It’s nice- It’s grounding. One of my favorite places to wander is the third floor of the library. It’s quiet, on occasion it’s empty, and it’s full of extensive collections of fascinating books. Once you get started, it’s easy to lose your time between the even-set rows of shelves. 
 

Tonight I wandered. I took maybe 15 minutes to just see what I could find, and find I did! I discovered the cookbook section of the library, which I was unaware we had, and paged through a book all about coffee. My favorite find from that section was definitely The Great American Cereal Book; How Breakfast Got Its Crunch, A book all about the history of cereal! It’s one of those topics that you wouldn’t think to be curious about, but now I find myself wondering how cereal got so popular in the US. Why is it marketed mostly to children? When did it get so sugary? How has the cereal market affected the country as a whole? Guess I’ll have to read to find out. 

Two similarly interesting books I found a bit further down the shelves were The Art of Bollywood and The Art of Pulp Fiction. Both of these books touch on the history of art and how it depicts content, whether that be a book or a movie. The similarities in style between the two were fascinating, and it was fun to peek into two worlds that I’m a fan of, but not as knowledgeable as I would like to be. Both would be excellent resources for an illustration project. 

My favorite book I found was Alternative Movie Posters; Film Art From the Underground, a book cataloging many incredible alternative posters for all our favorite films. The author mentions in the forward that he wanted to show off these rare, underappreciated gems of film history. Many of the posters shown in the book were, in my opinion, better than what was put on as the final product. I am a person who will 99% of the time pick an interesting, dynamic, colorful poster over a “every famous actor in the movie plastered onto the composition and they’re all looking somewhere off-screen”. This book was a breath of fresh air, something to remind me that brilliant artists are, indeed, working hard to give entertaining, stunning different pieces of art for film. I want every poster featured in this book on my wall. 

All of these books I found randomly, quickly, just by walking down the aisles and scanning the shelves. If you have a spare minute, I recommend using it to aimlessly wander the library. You never know what you’ll find, but it will be just what you never knew you were looking for. 

We are thrilled to announce an exciting new addition to our library's resources: all students, faculty, and staff at Ringling now have access to a free full subscription to The New York Times! Whether you’re interested in arts, culture, politics, or global news, this comprehensive resource can enrich your academic journey, fuel your creativity, and keep you informed on the latest trends and developments in your fields of interest.

Stay Informed with the Latest News

The New York Times is renowned for its award-winning journalism and in-depth reporting. You’ll have real-time access to breaking news from around the world, providing a deeper understanding of current events, policies, and cultural movements. This is a valuable tool, whether you're studying art history, media studies, or international relations.

Access In-Depth Features and Analysis

Go beyond the headlines! The NYT excels at feature stories, investigative journalism, and critical analysis. Its long-form articles cover everything from art world controversies and fashion critiques to politics and technology, offering insights that can inform your research projects, essays, and classroom discussions.

Explore the Arts Section

As students and faculty in an arts-focused institution, you’ll particularly appreciate the extensive Arts section. From reviews of the latest art exhibitions to interviews with artists, designers, and cultural figures, the NYT is a treasure trove of information for anyone studying or working in creative fields. It covers everything from visual art to music, theater, film, and dance, keeping you in the loop with the global arts scene.

Unlimited Digital Access & Archives

The subscription includes unlimited access to the NYT website and app, so you can read it anytime, anywhere. But it doesn’t stop there: you also gain access to the full NYT archives, dating back to 1851! This is an incredible research tool, offering primary sources and historical context that can enhance your coursework and deepen your understanding of any subject matter.

NYT Learning Network & TimesMachine

The NYT Learning Network provides teaching resources, lesson plans, and ideas for using The New York Times in the classroom. For educators, this is an invaluable resource for integrating current events into lesson plans. The TimesMachine is a virtual microfilm reader that allows you to explore old issues of the paper as they originally appeared, complete with photographs, ads, and more—a fascinating resource for history and media studies projects.

NYT Cooking and Games

Need a break from your studies? The subscription also includes access to NYT Cooking, with thousands of recipes to inspire your next culinary adventure, and NYT Games, featuring crossword puzzles, the mini, and more—perfect for sharpening your mind or taking a creative break.

Explore Stunning Data Visualizations

The New York Times is known for transforming complex data sets into eye-catching graphics, making topics ranging from climate change and economic trends to demographic shifts much easier to understand. These visualizations are more than just charts and graphs; they are interactive tools that allow you to manipulate variables, explore different data sets, and gain a deeper understanding of trends and patterns.

Interactive Maps that Make the World Come Alive

Whether you’re studying urban development, migration patterns, or even the spread of art movements, the NYT’s interactive maps offer a rich, geographical perspective. From detailed election maps that update in real-time to explorations of urban design trends across cities worldwide, these tools make the world’s complexities easier to grasp.

Personalize Your Experience with Interactive Surveys

One of the most engaging features of the NYT’s interactive data journalism is the way it involves readers in the storytelling process. For example, the Times frequently uses interactive quizzes and surveys to help you understand your place in larger social trends. Want to see how your income compares to others in the U.S., or what your lifestyle choices say about broader cultural shifts? These interactive surveys turn abstract statistics into a personalized experience, making data relatable and thought-provoking.

Visual and Auditory Storytelling for Art Lovers

As a member of an arts-focused institution, you’ll appreciate how the NYT uses multimedia elements—from photo slideshows and video documentaries to animated graphics and audio clips—to create immersive storytelling experiences. The “Modern Love” column, for example, is often paired with beautiful illustrations and podcast-style audio to bring stories to life, while arts coverage includes interactive photo essays, virtual gallery tours, and 3D renderings of sculptures and installations.

Stay Updated with Live Data Tools

The NYT’s live data tools provide up-to-the-minute updates on topics like elections, stock markets, weather events, and even ongoing crises like pandemics or natural disasters. These tools offer a front-row seat to history in the making, presenting raw data that evolves in real-time. The level of detail and interactivity gives you a chance to analyze the information as it unfolds—an invaluable resource for students interested in politics, media studies, or any field where staying current is key.

A Gateway to Research & Creative Inspiration

For students and faculty working in creative disciplines, these interactive features are not just informative but can also serve as inspiration for your own projects. Exploring how the NYT presents data through infographics, animations, and maps can spark new ideas for multimedia projects, data-driven art, and even classroom presentations.

How to Access Your Free Subscription

Visit the New York Times for academia. Follow the instructions to set up your free account using your college email, and you’ll be all set!

Blog post written by Instructional Design Librarian Kelly Lindberg

Hey y'all! I'm Kelly, Instructional Design Librarian here at the Goldstein Library. I've been working at Ringling for just over a year now and have been proud of all of the hard work me and my team have been putting in to promote the library and our services across campus. Some of which include…

- Starting this blog!

- Doing outreach during Wonderful Wednesdays, Paws and Relax, and other various events around campus

- Bringing the Pop-Up Library from Sarasota County Libraries to campus so our students could get public library cards

- Updating our Libguides

- Visiting LOTS of classes

- Onboarding our entire new Research Consultant Team

- and so much more!

I thought it would be fun to share something exciting I recently participated in. Last week, after all of the Hurricane Milton madness, I escaped Florida for a few days to travel to New York for New York Comic Con. Shannon Live, CEO of Bat City Comic Professionals, asked me to moderate a panel this past Thursday at the con called “Libraries and Comic Shops: Connecting Educators and Communities” in collaboration with some New York Public Library librarians. I'll be working with Shannon more in the future, so keep an eye out for our future collaborations!

We had a blast and were invited to a party at Scholastic Headquarters to celebrate 20 years of their Graphix imprint, and we got to get an ARC of The Cartoonists Club, an upcoming publication by the renowned combined forces of legendary authors Scott McCloud (who wrote Understanding Comics - a MUST READ for all comics lovers) and Raina Telgemeier (who wrote Smile, Ghosts, Drama, and much more)! 

It was themed like a kid's birthday party, with mac and cheese, mini burgers and hot dogs, and a ton of candy! They even were making Dog Man and Unico shaped cotton candy! I chose Dog Man, as Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants was one of my childhood favorites. Jeff Smith, who wrote Bone, made a surprise guest appearance, and I was able to thank him and hug him as his book was one of the first graphic novels I had ever checked out from my local public library, and it helped shape the reader and comics-loving librarian I am today. While my primary role is helping students with research, I'm more than happy to chat about comics and graphic novels any time! Feel free to stop by my office anytime if you're looking for recommendations, and share your work with me if you're working on your own comic! Thanks for reading! 

Blog post written by Mili Walton, Illustration '27, Library Research Consultant 

Do you have bad eyesight? Do you want to lift weights without having to go to the gym? Have you been reading a book and thought to yourself, “Meh, this is nice and all but this book here is far too small.” Well, I’m glad to share that the Goldstein Library has a section that can fix all those problems at once! 

On the third floor, on the far wall opposite to the stairs, stands the Ringling oversize collection! These behemoths of literature span the entire wall, heavily sat upon their shelves waiting to be read. 

Our collection varies dramatically from beautifully printed posters by Alfonse Mucha, a hefty tome on the history of Marvel comics, stunning books of photography, and collections of maps, histories, and galleries. Let’s not forget the massive book of Peanuts comics! One particular book that I found myself enjoying was Dinomania: The Lost Art of Winsor McCay. I’ve always been a big fan of dinosaurs, so I couldn’t help but take a peek at a big book about big dinosaurs. 

The book covered the sort of “cultural mania” that happened with dinosaurs and the artistic renaissance that it produced. There were many fascinating diagrams and photos showing how artists depicted dinosaurs with the limited scientific knowledge surrounding them and how dinos came into pop culture, film, comics, and even political cartoons. 

I was surprised by the amount of propaganda posters and editorial comics that were featured in the book. The wonderful thing about the oversize collection is that there is literally something there for everyone. I highly encourage you to stop by next time you find yourself on the library third floor. You won’t be disappointed!

Blog post written by Gabriela Soriano Sevilla, Computer Animation '26, Library Research Consultant

As a computer animation major at Ringling College of Art and Design, I've read a lot of animation books, but The Toy Story Films: An Animated Journey (found on the second floor of the library in the new “Art of…” section) has influenced my education the most. This book has been a key resource in helping me understand both the technical and storytelling aspects of animation as it dives into one of the most important animated franchises of the animation industry.

One of the most interesting parts of the book is its discussion of the new techniques used in the original Toy Story. Toy Story is actually the first ever computer animated 3D feature length film to ever come out, this means that there was a lot of innovation involved in the process of creating it. As you read about the development of computer-generated imagery (CGI), a brand new appreciation for the team that worked on this film is created. They were breaking new ground, and their work in rendering, shading, and character rigging set the stage for many of the industry standards we follow today.

Reading about how the animators tackled challenges like creating realistic textures and believable character movement gave me an in-depth look at the basics of computer animation and helped me understand the root of all that I am learning at Ringling. The book provided context for many of the techniques we learn in our classes at Ringling, from modeling to rigging, and helped me see how these early innovations still influence the tools and methods we use now.

The Toy Story Films: An Animated Journey also highlights the role of storytelling in animation. Pixar has always been amazing at telling well-rounded and emotionally charged stories in an easily digestible way. It’s easy to get caught up in the technical side of animation, but this book is a good reminder that at the heart of every great animated film is a strong story. The breakdowns of character development, plot structure, and emotional arcs were really helpful as I worked on my own projects.

The book showed me how every aspect of animation, from the color palette to the camera angles, supports the story. Technical skills work to serve a narrative arc, something that is extremely applicable to our work at Ringling. Keeping in mind the storytelling principles that made Toy Story such a successful film helps in all of our assignments.

The Toy Story Films: An Animated Journey serves as a guide for animators. Teaching me to balance technical skill with storytelling. As I continue my studies at Ringling, this book remains a source of inspiration, reminding me of the incredible possibilities in the world of computer animation.