• Jess Anthony, Senior Lecturer in English. Book selection: RUMORED ISLANDS, by Bates Senior Lecturer Emeritus Robert Farnsworth
• Lauren Ashwell, Professor of Philosophy. Book selection: A Critical Approach to Ficationalism, by Frederick Kroon, Jonathan McKeown-Green, and Stuart Brock
• Laura Balladur, Senior Lecturer in French and Francophone Studies. Book selection: Birthing Bodies in Early Modern France: Stories of Gender and Reproduction, by Kirk Read.
  • Laura’s book plate statement: “Kirk has been such an amazing mentor for me throughout these years.”
• Carrie Diaz-Eaton, Professor of Digitial & Computational Studies. Book selection: Toward What Justice? Describing Diverse Dreams of Justice in Education, edited by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang
• Ian-Khara Ellasante, Associate Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies. Book selection: Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology, 40th anniversary edition, edited by Barbara Smith
• Myronn Hardy, Associate Professor of English. Book selection: The Collected Poems of Robert Hayden
  • Myronn’s book plate statement: “​Dr. Robert Chrisman, a professor I had as an undergraduate, gave me his tattered copy of Robert Hayden’s, The Collected Poems of Robert Hayden. I found myself in this work. I found a poetics of which I was searching. Hayden’s poems made me understand the everydayness and vastness that poetry can inhabit. His linguistic precision, his capacious poetic imagination made me see, provided guidance, and the possibility to risk.”
• Mara Tiekan, Professor of Education. Book selection: Belonging: A Culture of Place, by bell hooks.
  • Mara’s book plate statement: “This was the first book I encountered that reckoned with race, class, gender, and place. Through her essays, hooks exposes the racism, classism, sexism, and, importantly, placism that structure opportunity in rural America–and, therefore, urban America, too–but she also captures the beauty, freedom, and belonging that come with “knowing one’s place.” I return to this book often for both inspiration and explanation–and, also, to be challenged to write with complexity and authenticity.”
• Larissa Williams, Professor of Biology. Book selection: Casarett & Doull’s Toxiology: The Basic Science of Poisons, 9th Edition, by Curtis Klaassen.
  • Larissa’s book plate statement: ” This book, which is the gold standard of toxicology education and practice, was one of the first texts I received as an undergraduate starting my journey in toxicology. Since that time, I have used it as a constant reference in my own learning, teaching, and scholarship.”

Book dedications to come, look for an announcement about celebration in the fall

• Newly promoted and tenured faculty will receive an email following the approval of their tenure by the Board of Trustees regarding the book selection process.
• Retirees will receive an email in early Autumn of their sabbatical year with details regarding the book selection process.
• Newly promoted or tenured faculty and retirees can select a book of personal or professional significance. It can be their publication, a book that inspired them, a work in their field, or any other publication of note.
• Books should cost no more than $200.
• If the selected book is already available within the library as either physical or electronic, a book plate will be added.
• If the selected book is not already available within the library, either a physical or electronic copy will be acquired.
• The same book can be selected by more than one faculty member. Not all book selections must be academic; faculty are encouraged to find books with meaning to them.
• Previous book selections will be found on this site. Fall 2025 is the inaugural group of book selectors.
• Participation in this program is completely voluntary.
• Ladd Library regularly undertakes deaccessioning projects to ensure the collection remains relevant to the research and curricular needs of the institution. Selection of a book will not ensure it will remain in the Bates catalog.