The 2026 Edible Book Festival went off spectacularly, and we couldn't be more happy with the turnout! Check out this year's amazing submissions! A huge thank you to everyone who submitted an edible delight or showed up to support our contestants. Thank you to our amazing bakers who wowed everyone with their creativity, and to the 107 attendees at the event who voted for their favorites.
Voted Best Overall
Most on Theme
Other incredible entries!
In this edition:
❔Information Literacy & Instruction Survey
🎂 Edible Book Festival Results
🖍️ Zines 101
📚 Family STEM Storybook Night
🌙 Late Night at the Library
📘 Native American and Indigenous Peoples Month
🐶 Therapy Dogs
⏲️ Fall Hours
Information Literacy & Instruction Communications Survey
Thanks so much to everyone who has already responded to our request for feedback regarding communications from the Information Literacy & Instruction (ILI) team. If you haven't yet, would you please take a moment to fill out this brief form?
Your responses will help your ILI Team evaluate and improve how we communicate to the campus at large. All faculty and staff are welcome to participate.
Edible Book Festival Results
The Edible Book Festival was a smashing success! Thank you to our amazing bakers who wowed everyone with their creativity, and the 107 attendees at the event who voted for their favorites. You can see all the amazing entries and winners on the Edible Book Festival Guide.
Zines 101
November 4th, 3:30pm, library mobile classroom
Zines are small, self-published books, and they are inexpensive to create.
Join us for a discussion on the history of zines and zine making basics. Attendees will have a chance to make their own mini zine during the workshop.
Family STEM Storybook Night! 📚🔬
Calling all Chattanooga State students, faculty, and staff with children!
Bring your children for a FREE evening of stories, hands-on STEM activities, and family fun!
📅 November 10, 2026
🕔 5:00–7:00 PM
📍 Chattanooga State Community College
Come enjoy an evening of learning, exploring, and making memories with your children through fun, STEM-based storybook activities!
AND come check out our curated display of children's books through November 13!
My journey to this library was rather simple actually. I moved to Chattanooga three or so years ago, holding an entry-level IT job at the time. I was wildly unhappy with that job for a variety of reasons, and one day I sat down and talked about potential future plans with my spouse, Vix. I had never been to college before, and truly didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, and Vix said to me, “What if you were a teacher?” To explain, Vix is an art teacher and when we met, they were working towards their education degree.
The idea of doing this, seeing the difficulties that they experienced and continue to experience daily, was intimidating. It was the only option, however, where I felt that sort of spark. That inspiration. “Yeah, I could give that a try!” I got excited. I applied to Chatt State and put in my two week notice at my old job once I was accepted.
That first semester of college was scary but thrilling. I was doing way better than I ever thought I would. Unfortunately, things on the financial front were getting dire. I needed a job, pretty badly. I applied for a student worker position at this library, but unfortunately there were no open positions, so I had to expand my search. I did substitute teaching for awhile, held a job at Belk for maybe 3 days before I decided that it was too much for me, and eventually landed at a position at a Circle K in Collegedale.
Working at the Circle K was pretty miserable, but I was paying the bills, if only barely. Eventually, a position for work study opened up here at the library, and I applied once more. This time I got an interview, and soon after a job offer! Sadly, I could only work 20 hours a week at the maximum, so I still had to stay on at Circle K to make ends meet.
That is until one day, Andrea told me that there was a permanent part time position opening up that would pay more than work study and allow me to work more hours. I immediately applied and bit my nails waiting through the process of interviewing and waiting to hear if I was going to get the job or not. Good news, you’re reading this blog post so you were kinda spoiled from the beginning on how that ended up!
I am still plugging away at classes here in Chatt State for now, but this work combined with my work study experience has cemented my decision to eventually work towards my MLIS so that I can try and be proper librarian in an academic library just like this one! Possibly even this one itself!
Dear Chattanooga State Family,
It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that our former colleague, Susan Jennings, passed away last night.
Susan served as the Dean of Library Services from 2012-2025. Prior to Chattanooga State, Susan held positions at Appalachian State University, the International Mission Board, and Virginia Commonwealth University.
In her time at the College, she was a champion for the Augusta P. Kolwyck Library and Information Commons, which she led with passion and pride.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Ashford
Library blog admin postscript
Please read about Susan’s
work that was highlighted in the post titled Happy Retirement, Susan Jennings!
In the retirement post, the incredible leadership that Susan exerted was
recognized. A champion of the Kolwyck library, a champion of all libraries.
Incredible events such as Edible Book Festival and Late Night. Elected positions
in the American Library Association and in the Tennessee Library Association. Hiring
staff. Staff interview series. An inclusive leadership style. Incredible
listening skills and people skills. And complete renovation of the Kolwyck
Library space. A major rebranding to the now accepted reference of the library –
KLIC. Kolwyck Library and Information Commons.
Thank you, Susan. We will always love you.
