AU Bookstore sponsoring author signing today

Deerskins and Duffels: Creek Indian Trade with Anglo-America, 1685-1715

Kathryn Braund (Professor, Department of History, Auburn University)Thursday, April 2 at 3 p.m.

Location: The Special Collections and Archives Department, Ground Floor, Ralph Brown Draughon Library

Sponsored by: The Auburn University Libraries; the Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities; and the Auburn University Bookstore

Professor Kathyrn Braund, of the AU History Department will talk about and sign the new edition of her book, Deerskins and Duffles, a prominent study of the southeastern Indians during the colonial period.

Indians of the Southeast Series
Deerskins and Duffels documents the trading relationship in the eighteenth century between the Creek Indians and the Anglo-American peoples who settled in what is now the southeastern United States. The Creeks were the largest Indian nation in the Southeast, and through their trade alliance with the British colonies, they became the dominant Native power in the area.
The deerskin trade became the economic lifeblood of the Creeks after European contact. This book is the first to examine extensively the Creek side of this trade, especially the impact of commercial hunting on all aspects of Indian society. British trade is examined as well: the major traders and trading companies, how goods were taken to the Indians, how the traders lived, and how trade was used as a diplomatic tool. The author also discusses the Creek-Anglo cooperation in the trade of Indian slaves that resulted in the virtual destruction of the Native peoples of Florida. This second edition features a new introduction by the author.
Kathryn E. Holland Braund is a professor of history at Auburn University. She is the coauthor of William Bartram on the Southeastern Indians, available in a Bison Books edition.
“Will stand as a prominent landmark in the study of southeastern Indians during the colonial era. This book captures the importance and complexity of Creek trade with Anglo-America, shedding new light on the operation of the deerskin market and on its impact upon Indian society.”—William and Mary Quarterly
“An important contribution to our understanding of the influence of the deerskin trade on Creek and Anglo-American relations in the eighteenth-century Southeast.”—Journal of Southern History
“This well-written book is essential for understanding the mechanics and impact of European trade on the Creek and all Southeastern Indians.”—Ethnohistory
“Enlightening and insightful. . . . [Braund’s work] raises questions and addresses issues of fundamental importance in our quest to understand the development of the American nation in the eighteenth century.”—Southern Historian
“A solid contribution to the history of the southern frontier. It will be the standard by which future scholarship on the topic is measured.”—Georgia Historical Quarterly

AU to change graduate hood colors

"In keeping with the trademark colors for the university, Auburn University has negotiated a change in the colors of graduate hoods, both master’s and doctorate. The previous colors were powder blue and salmon; no record was found indicating why or when these colors were chosen. The new colors will be navy and orange which are readily associated with Auburn.
“A long-time interest in incorporating our true school colors into the hoods combined with a timely opportunity through the vendor has allowed us to finally do it,” said Dale Coleman, associate professor in the Department of Animal Sciences and co-chair of the Graduation Committee. “No university funds are being expended to make the change,” said Pamela Ulrich, professor in the Department of Consumer Affairs and co-chair of the Graduation Committee.
The new hoods will first be used during the spring 2009 commencement ceremonies. Although the previous rental hoods will be retired then, Auburn graduates who have previously purchased their hoods may still use them. These colors will continue to be recognized and honored. Alumni may prefer to keep wearing the hoods they first received, or may purchase hoods with the new official Auburn colors. To purchase new hoods, contact the Auburn University Bookstore in Haley Center at 844-4241. For more information regarding the new hood colors, please visit www.auburn.edu/graduation. "
-from wireeagle

How and why we buy

So, tomorrow's a big day around here. Textbook adoption deadline. What does that mean exactly? Tomorrow is the deadline for all book information for summer and fall book orders to come in to the store. We start working on that information as quickly as we can...for several reasons.

The first reason is so we can beat other college bookstores to used books that are in stock at different wholesale companies across the country. These are first-come, first-serve. If we can get them now, we can even have them held until we need them for fall, and that means we'll have more used books for students to buy instead of them having to buy new.

Just as important as the first reason is our desire to buy back every single book from students that we can. Plain and simple, if we don't have an order for that book, we can't buy it back for the store. It may get bought back by the national wholesaler that buys with us, but those prices don't compare with the prices we pay for books that are going to be resold at the store.

Third, we start building our buyback list. From this point forward, we add books daily to buy from students. Many students begin checking early on our website (aubookstore.com) to see what they can get for their books. As we get that information processed, that list grows to the nearly 1,000 titles that will be lsited by finals.

We are lucky at Auburn. Most of our faculty are conscientious about getting us their textbook information. Those that don't usually can't....they haven't been assigned their classes yet. That being said, we still have work to do on getting the forgetful faculty member or the uninformed faculty member on board. But we're working hard through several different channels to improve those situations.

Coming soon are the standards of the Higher Education Opportunity Act passed last August. Book information is intended to accompany choices students make when registering for their next semester's classes. We already post information to our website as soon as it is turned in to us. This law will make it all the more important that faculty are timely in getting their orders to us and that we process it quickly.

Eggs In The Nude

Hmm. A naked egg...apparently it is completely possible to de-shell a raw egg and have it maintain its egg shape. All it takes is 48 hours, a bowl, a refrigerator, a coffee cup, some corn syrup and some vinegar. It’s also possible to start a fire with a block of ice, make moth balls (the closet kind not the moth kind) dance and construct a giant air cannon from some flour and a cardboard box. And this has what to do with your college bookstore?

Oh yeah - we’re having a children’s book sale. These are all experiments from, The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science, which is now 40% off. Not that you’d see this book on the sale table – it made its way into the hands of our dangerously interested staff several days ago and has yet to make its return to the children’s section. We carry tons of science books, but this one contains information that’s valuable and relevant to our lives – like how to grow a Frankenstein hand, turn milk to stone and make a potato gun. It also has the scientific explanation after every experiment - so we are actually learning stuff in addition to standing around giggling and saying “Nice!”.

You can find The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science , as well as lots of other age inappropriate books to enjoy, at 40% off from now until Friday April 3, 2009, at the AU Bookstore. Heck, you could even buy some books for an actual child, if you know one. You might have to ask for the science book though, or just follow the snickering to the basement where you’ll find us dropping Mentos into 2 liters of Coke.