The first floor of Sterne Library is home to the Café Collection, STEM Café Collection and New Releases collection — each curated by Jaycee Chapman, collection development librarian, to provide patrons easy access to in-demand, noteworthy and new items available through UAB Libraries.
“These collections are always being updated, so there’s always something new for library visitors to find,” said Jaycee Chapman, collection development librarian for UAB Libraries. “Academic libraries often are most known for the reference books used for research projects and class papers, so it’s fun to have these unique collections in a high-traffic area that feature popular topics and authors.”
Not affiliated with UAB professionally or academically? No problem! With an Alabama driver’s license or other proof of residency, anyone can now receive a courtesy card to check out printed materials from UAB Libraries. Learn more.
Get a glimpse into each collection below.
Café Collection
The Café Collection showcases popular literature from well-known authors such as Stephen King, Singrid Nunez and John Grisham, among others. Wait times to check out novels included in the Café Collection can span months at public libraries, Chapman explains — so she recommends always checking the Café Collection to see their current lineup. Don’t have time to make it to Sterne? You can check the collection online.
Current highlights:
- “The Fraud” by Zadie Smith
- “Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror,” edited by Jordan Peele
Café Collection books rotate every six weeks and have a loan period of 28 days with the option for one renewal; they are not a part of UAB Libraries’ permanent collection.
STEM Café Collection
Whether library patrons are searching for books about coding, data analysis, women in science, or ecology and plant intelligence, the STEM Café Collection features nonfiction books across a broad range of academic and scientific topics, each intended for a more general audience.
Current highlights:
- “More than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech” by Meredith Broussard
- “Broken Code: Inside Facebook and the Fight to Expose its Harmful Secrets” by Jeff Horwitz
STEM Café Collection books rotate every six weeks and are not a part of UAB Libraries’ permanent collection. They also have a loan period of 28 days with the option for one renewal.
New Releases
This collection showcases new acquisitions to UAB Libraries’ permanent collections; unlike the Café or STEM Café collections, if you miss it during its inclusion in the New Releases section, you can find it later in the stacks.
Current highlights:
- “Gray Areas: How the Way We Work Perpetuates Racism and What We Can Do to Fix It” by Adia Harvey Wingfield
- “Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontës” by Devoney Looser
New Releases books rotate periodically depending on new acquisitions to UAB Libraries Collections; loan periods and renewals are determined by patrons’ affiliation with the university.