Library Ebooks Ready To Read

“Most Americans don’t even know that libraries offer e-books, according to national surveys.”

Are you one of the “most Americans” cited in this New York Times op-ed by New York Public Library president, Anthony W. Marx?

Your SCC Library offers thousands of ebooks.  Discover them in OneSearch, the database that includes all SCC library books, ebooks, media, and articles.

(Many, but not all ebooks are found in the Library Catalog, LOIS.)

Here’s how to find ebooks:  Type a keyword search in OneSearch and hit Search.

Then scroll down the left side of the results page, limit the results to ebooks and hit Update.

You can download many of these ebooks – watch for more information in an upcoming article!

Books and Movies Beg to Join You on Break

Take a book, for example. 

Or take a movie.  Then take a few more.

Find them in the Library Catalog.

Tell your students.  Continuing students can borrow 2 books or DVDs over the break.

Borrowing over the Break begins on Monday, May 13.  Books and DVDs are due back on Wednesday June 12, 2013.

Curious about the Future of Libraries?

There’s nearly always something about libraries in the news.  This article stood out because librarians are often asked what we think about the future of books, reading, and libraries.

A New York Times opinion piece asks “Do School Libraries Need Books?“  The article offers a variety of viewpoints - not at all limited to school libraries – from a school headmaster, an associate professor of English at the University of Maryland, a former high school English Teacher, and a couple of authors concerned with life in the digital age.

Here are a couple of excerpts that may provoke reflection about college students and reading:

“…knowledge is proximate. In the digital world, that proximity is less about geographical locale than about licensing, digital rights management, and affordability; but all the more reason for students (and teachers) to know that not everything is always within reach of a mouse.”

“The digital natives in our schools need to have the experience of getting lost in a physical book, not only for the pure pleasure but also as a way to develop their attention spans, ability to concentrate, and the skill of engaging with a complex issue or idea for an uninterrupted period of time.”

“…the fact that books are not connected to the electronic grid is becoming their greatest asset. They’re a space apart, a private place away from the inbox where we can go to quiet our minds and reflect.”

Read the article and add your comments here.

New Books and New Media in the LRC for You!

Find them fast:

On the New Library Materials page, click either New Books or New Media;

On the New Books page, click the call number for your subject area, or search for an author or title.

You can limit your search to Reference, Reserve, or Circulating books.

Find all books and media in the Library Catalog as well as through OneSearch (ebooks and articles).

Contact Your Librarian to suggest new titles.

“But I like REAL books, not ebooks.”

We hear you – we like them, too.  But we have to add that ebooks ARE real books, they’re just delivered differently.

Why should you celebrate that difference?

• You won’t lose them, pay overdue fines, or damage them with coffee spills (even if you tip a cup on your computer).
• You can print out sections of ebooks, coffee-stain-ready.
• They’re available when you are, 24 hours a day.
• The SCC Library has access to over 120,000 ebooks!  There’s bound to be something you want to read.

How about these titles?

• Gilbert, Ian.  Why do I need a teacher when I’ve got Google? : the essential guide to the big issues for every 21st century teacher.
• Social networking. Roman Espejo, book editor.
• Folklore : an encyclopedia of beliefs, customs, tales, music, and art.

       

Oddest Book Titles of 2012

Conceived 35 years ago at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Diagram Prize recognizes the oddest book titles each year. This year’s finalists are:

• Was Hitler Ill? by Henrik Eberle and Hans-Joachim Neumann (Polity)
• Lofts of North America: Pigeon Lofts, by Jerry Gagne (Foy’s Pet Supplies)
• How to Sharpen Pencils, by David Rees (Melville House)
• God’s Doodle: The Life and Times of the Penis, by Tom Hickman (Square Peg)
• Goblinproofing One’s Chicken Coop, by Reginald Bakeley (Conari)
• How Tea Cosies Changed the World, by Loani Prior (Murdoch)

Vote here for your favorite!  Winners announced March 22.

While the library can’t quite complete in terms of sheer oddity, you will find several books on “related” topics in LOIS, the library catalog:

• Pigeon feathers, and other stories, by John Updike, PS3571.P45P5
• Creating textures in colored pencil, by Gary Greene, NC892.G74 1996 
• A mind of its own : a cultural history of the penis, by David M. Friedman, GT498.P45F75 2003
• Goblin secrets, by William Alexander, PZ7.A3787 Gob 2012 
• The whites of their eyes : the Tea Party’s revolution and the battle over American history, by Jill Lepore, E175.9.L46 2010

To Your Health!

You can’t get a flu shot in the library, but you can find books and media to help you stay healthy.  Find these on the 3rd floor.  Send your students to hunt down more in LOIS, the library catalog.  Or Ask A Librarian.

Complete guide to fitness & health / Barbara Bushman, editor.
RA781 .C575 2011

Women’s health for life : written by women for women : symptoms, treatment, prevention.
RC48.6 .W643 2009

Dawson, William  J.  Fit as a fiddle : the musician’s guide to playing healthy.
ML3820 .D38 2008

Klapow, Joshua C.  Living SMART : five essential skills to change your health habits forever.
RA776.95 .K43 2008

Whiting, K. Steven.  Healthy living made easy : the only things you need to know about  diet, exercise and supplements.
RA776.95 .W45 2007

Farlow, Christine Hoza. Food additives : a shopper’s guide to what’s safe & what’s not.
TX553.A3 F35 2007

Libal, Autumn.  Fats, sugars, and empty calories : the fast food habit.
RJ140 .L533 2006

Ettinger, Walter H.  Fitness after 50.
RA777.5 .E878 2006

Nestle, Marion.  What to eat.
RA784 .N46 2006

What’s Missing From Those Student Essays and Exams?

This is the last Reader post of the semester.  Many of you are busy reading student essays and marking exams.  As you do, please note topic areas where your students haven’t used great resources.  Maybe – just maybe – the library doesn’t have the book or video they needed for their research.  Librarians rely on you, the instructional faculty, to help us fill these gaps in the collection.  Contact your librarian or leave a comment on this post.  Just let us know.  We want to have the best library collection your students need.

For magazine, journal and newspaper articles, the library databases can’t be beat.  Millions of quality articles at your command.  (Student access is terminated at semester-end, but staff and faculty access continues.)

And then, have a Happy Holiday!

Borrow Library Books and DVDs over the Winter Break

Enjoy library books and media while the Learning Resource Center is closed.

Borrowing Over the Break begins Monday, December 10.

Faculty, staff, and continuing students may borrow books & videos (2 items for students), due Wednesday, January 23, 2013.

Find your book or movie in LOIS, the library catalog.  Browse the New Book shelves on the second floor.  Visit the library display.  There’s something for every interest.

No two books are alike, you know.

Library Staff Picks ~ Books and Movies

“Eh, you work in a library?  You  must read a lot.”

Well, probably not any more than you do.  But it sure is nice to be surrounded by stacks of books and media all day!

Here’s what some of us have borrowed lately:

Books

 

Merchants of doubt : how a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming. Oreskes, Naomi.  Bloomsbury Press, 2010.  (at ARC and on order at SCC)

Ready player one : a novel.  Ernest Cline.  Crown Publishers, 2011.  (at the Sacramento Public Library)

The Songlines. Chatwin, Bruce.  Viking, 1987.  (ARC, CRC, and SCC have it.)

Oryx And Crake : A Novel. Atwood, Margaret.  Nan A. Talese, 2003.  (ARC, CRC, and SCC have it.)

Caleb’s Crossing. Brooks, Geraldine.  Viking, 2011.  (at SCC)

Remarkable Creatures : Epic Adventures In The Search For The Origins Of Species. Carroll, Sean B.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.  (ARC and SCC)

Movies

Marvel’s The Avengers [videorecording].  (at the Sacramento Public Library; there are holds.)

Miss representation [videorecording].  (at the Sacramento Public Library; more holds.)

Dancing with the stars. Cardio dance for weight loss [videorecording].  (at the Sacramento Public Library; more holds..)

Leave a comment:  What will you read or watch over winter break?