CURRENT TIMES at UCC

Attention UCC students: there's a new display in the UCC Library!

At the start of May, the UCC Library will have a new display featuring neglected and abandoned books worth reading at the start of each new month.  May's topic is CURRENT TIMES: What's going on today in America?

Here's where you come in.  We want to involve students in this...If there's a topic you think people need to know more about or you have an awesome book in mind you think people NEED TO READ, email the shelver or leave a comment below.  If we don't have the books you're looking for, you can always leave a recommendation for David Hutchison, Library Director and we'll do our best to revamp our collection to better suit the needs of students today.

Comment below or email the Shelver: uccshelves@gmail.com with your thoughts.
Thanks,
UCC Library :)

Wifi Troubles No More

If you are having problems connecting to the Wifi here in the library, you might want to try the ethernet cables by the computer lab. 



Over on the back corner beyond the computers, you'll find a desk along the windows with ethernet cables much like this one:

Plug it into your laptop and you're internet ready to go!  There are only a few tables, so the cords may be scarce.  If you have any other issues feel free to ask any one of our lovely staff or Lab Aides for help. :)



Break with Music

Learn about some new music before your vacation roadtrip, or just jump into a new genre outside the Top 10 lists with books from the UCC Library--

The ten featured titles below are set to start your musical odyssey in style!

How Music Works by David Byrne ( 781.1 B )
Learn about why music moves us and how it has changed throughout history. Did you ever wish you could take a class from a rock star? This book is written by David Byrne, one of the founders of the Talking Heads.

The Life and Death of Classical Music by Norman Lebrecht ( 781.68 L )
The subtitle of this books says "Featuring the 100 best and 20 worst recordings ever made," which really, how can you go wrong with that? (Besides the obvious ways...)

The Basics: World Music by Richard O. Nidel ( 781.63 N )
A quick general guide to the major music types and trends across the world, broken up by region and country. If you'd like to dig into more eclectic world music, check out the Library's latest issue of Songlines on the new magazine rack, too!

The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to American Folk by Kip Lornell ( 781.64 L )
61 key folk CDs and a general listing of regional variations, plus the history of Folk Music across America.

Will the Circle be Unbroken: Country Music in America edited by Paul Kingsbury and Alanna Nash ( 781.642 W )
A collection put together by the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN, this volume takes you through country's colorful beginnings to its recent history and greats.

In Search of the Blues by Marybeth Hamilton ( 781.643 H )
Sometimes, understanding something is all about getting back to the roots. In this historical study, Hamilton traces back the commonly understood origins of the Delta Blues to see if the music really started where the stories claim.

Jazz: the Rough Guide by Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather, and Brian Priestley ( 781.650922 C )
Over 16,000 short artist biographies and brief album reviews.

The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop & Why It Matters by Tricia Rose ( 781.649 R )
Does hip hop cause violence, or is it just "keepin' it real"? What about the growing commercialization of the hip hop and rap genre? Are there ways that rap lyrics actually represent poetry for a new age? These and other questions are examined in this companion to hip hop and rap music.

Punk Rock: an Oral History by John Robb ( 781.66 R )
Punk culture includes music, fashion, media, and a definite 1980s feel. This overview covers it all, stretching "from the Clash, Crass, Henry Rollins, and John Lydon to the Sex Pistols, the Stranglers, and the Buzzcocks, with more than 150 interviews that encapsulate the most thrilling wave of rock and roll pop culture ever seen."

FutureHit.DNA: how the digital revolution is changing top 10 songs by Jay Frank ( 781.66 F )
With the recent news that Billboard will start counting YouTube views in its Top charts, it might be time to start taking digital memes and music seriously.

It's Open Education & Sunshine Week!

March 11-15th, 2013 is a busy time for information-- it is both Open Education Week and Sunshine Week! What's going on?

(It's not actually about the weather.)

Open Education Week is dedicated to spreading the word about free and low-cost digital solutions to sometimes expensive educational content (like textbooks and tutorial videos). There are many open source and web-based videos, texts, and classroom resources available on the web. Check out some classics of English literature, or let scientists teach you about the possibilities of a Star Trek warp engine on YouTube-- for free!




You can learn more about the week itself by visiting openeducationweek.org. For more free student & faculty resources, including free tutorials, classroom resources, textbooks, and professional development books at the Library for faculty, check out our Open Education Resource List put together by your UCC librarians and the friendly eLearning specialists at UCCOnline.

Sunshine Week is dedicated to raising awareness among Americans about the options available to them for viewing and requesting information from our governments, whether they are local, statewide, or national. As the tagline puts it: "Open Government is Good Government." This awareness week is sponsored by several professional news & reporter associations, including the American Society of News Editors and Bloomberg.

We have a display of related books and materials up at the UCC Library, and you can learn more about your options for accessing government information online by visiting our Government Information & Public Records research LibGuide.

It's Flu Season!

It's flu season and this year is going to be a bad one.  Luckily for us, it's takes some time for the bug to travel westward from the areas it's hitting most, like New York and Pennsylvania, where flu shots have sold out in many areas.  CNN says we are actually on our way to a "flu epidemic" this year, with the virus showing up even earlier and with more severe symptoms than the past few years.

You can find many ebooks online about the flu and how to treat your kids right from your computer at home.  Go to ucclibrary.com and click on the link labeled "Academic search + eBooks", it'll take you to the website.  Just type in any key words and it will bring up a variety for you to choose from, from the history of flu to trends and things you should know.

Flu shots are available at a multitude of places like Walgreens, but there are some other ways to keep you from getting sick!  Getting the flu is bad, getting over the flu is much worse.

Prevent, Prevent, Prevent ! 

Some things you can begin doing now to build up your best defense, your immune system, is to make sure it's getting the right nutrients.  Supplements are great but it's way more beneficial to get Vitamin C and other vitamins from your food.  Most medical professionals say that eating only 2 1/2 cups of fruit and vegetables a day is plenty!

It's important to keep your body in balance during this time so it has all the strength it needs to ward off unwanted visitors. 

Some fruits that have high amounts of Vitamin C include:

• Cantaloupe
• Kiwi fruit
• Mango
• Papaya
• Pineapple
• Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries
• Watermelon

Vegetables that have the highest amounts of vitamin C include:

• Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower
• Green and red peppers
• Spinach and other leafy greens
• Sweet and white potatoes
• Tomatoes and tomato juice
• Winter squash

 Make sure you're getting full sleep and drinking lots of water to keep your body hydrated.  Try to keep warm and dry and most importantly-- relax :)  Stress really brings down your body's ability to fight any sort of sickness.

 

Missing school or work is not much of an option for many of us, and it's even worse to spread it around.  You can stay contagious for up to 5 days after experiencing your first symptoms, so wash your hands and try to stay away from this: !

It's Flash Fiction February!

   

 If you're feeling creative this month, we've got an outlet for you!  For this month's Flash Fiction February Contest, there will be 10 prizes awarded to the top fiction authors at UCC.  1st, 2nd, and 3rd place entries will be published in The Mainstream school newspaper.

~The Details~

• Short fiction (no poetry or personal essays) between 250 and 1000 words
• Your fiction should reflect the theme: RESPECT
• Do not include your name or contact details on any of the story pages as essays are graded anonymously!
• Multiple submissions are welcome, but a new form is required for each submission

Entries must be submitted to the Student Life Office no later than 5:00 PM, February 28.

You can find forms on top of the "New Books" shelf in the library alongside works of short stories and other helpful books available for check-out and inspiration.  Good luck writers! :)

How to find what you're looking for- Notes from the Shelver

I've noticed people aren't very familiar with the system libraries use to store books, and it's no wonder...it can be confusing.  Where do you even begin?

Here's where.  If you're looking for a book with a particular subject, title, author, or have a keyword in mind it's probably best to make use of the 4 computers next to the main desk where you'll find the librarie's catalogue.  Click on the icon for Internet Explorer, and it will direct you straight to the catalogue.  Just type in what you know and it will pop out all the results matching your criteria!

 Once you find the one or few you're looking for, write down the numbers associated with the book along with the letters that come after it and the title in case you have some trouble weeding through numbers. 
 Then...make your way to the back of the library where you'll find many, many shelves with numbers taped along the ends.



No need to worry, you have a map in your hands.  In this picture, the shelf to the right will have all books between 000 and 153 (above right).  The shelf to the left will have all books from 305 to 330.  And what about all the numbers in between 153 and 305 ?  They're down there, but on the next set of shelves further in the back.  Go down the aisles until you find the area where your book should be.  If there are numbers after a decimal point, this will tell you more specifically where your book is.

For example, if you wrote down a book with the number 005.4476 T Ubuntu Linux, you'll go to the side that has this number (000-153).  You'll then go down the aisle until you see 005's.  Then the decimal numbers start and you keep going, 005.133...005.276...005.369...and they continue in increasing order like that until you find 005. 4476. 

Next, you look at the letter associated with the number.  From here, the letters go in alphabetical order of the same number.  Once you get into a new number, the alphabet starts all over again.

So continuing with our example, you're trying to find 005.4476 T Ubuntu Linux.  Travel down the rows of books (I like to use a finger so my eyes don't go funny looking at all itty bitty numbers), and you'll see 005.4476 B...005.4476 L...005.4476 S...and finally arrive at 005.4476 T! 

Sometimes, there will be multiple books with the exact same number and letter.  This is why I suggest writing down the title of your selection just in case.

As always of course, if you have any questions or need some help finding something, we will be more than happy to help you. :)