International Education Week: Countries and Cultures Resources

In honor of International Education Week, here are some resources on countries and cultures available from the NVC Library.

CultureGrams is an online database that provides a concise cultural and statistical snapshots of every country recognized by the United Nations through a user friendly map interface.











Global Issues In Context provides international viewpoints on the most debated and studied global issues, topics, and current events. It includes academic articles, statistics, primary sources, and streaming video.

Films on Demand:  Humanities & Social Sciences is a wonderful collection of streaming video -- areas of interest include World Regional Geography, World Music, World Languages.

For even more sources, check out our Research Guide on Countries and Cultures.

Resource Spotlight: Facts on File -- World News Digest

World News Digest is one of three collections from Facts on File available at the NVC Library.  The digest includes news coverage from the 1940s to today. 

Features:

• Browse by country, decade, or issue
• Research Topic ideas
• Special Features:  Timelines, Maps, Historic Documents, Country Profiles
• In-Depth coverage of today's hot topics, e.g., 2010 Election Guide, Afghanistan War Guide, Economic Down-turn Guide
• Built-in encyclopedia and almanac

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month

 

Mad Cowboy:  plain truth from the cattle rancher who won't eat meat



vegetarian /vej′əter′ē·ən/ [L, vegetare], a person who eats only foods of plant origin, including fruits, grains, and nuts 

("vegetarian." Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, & Health Professions. Philadelphia: Elsevier Health Sciences, 2009.   Credo Reference. Web. 04 October 2010.)

 

We have a wide array of books and videos on display to help you explore the wide world of vegetarianism.  Here are just a couple to whet your appetite:  



Vegan with a Vengeance:  Over 150 Delicious, Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock TX837 .M75 2005  

Food for thought : the debate over eating meat TX392 .F63 2004  

More Banned Books

We hope you had the chance to visit our Banned Book display this week.  Here are a few more banned/challenged books for you to explore.

Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
1984 by George Orwell
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

New Section of Research 101 Class

ATTN:  We've opened a new section for the online Research 101 class.  If you registered on or before 9/24 you can continue to use the existing course for the rest of the semester.  New students please register in ACES for CRN# 63328.  Stop by the library or call us at 210.486.4513 if you need help.

Celebrate the freedom to read! Sept 25 – Oct 2

What do Carrie, Dracula, The Kite Runner, and Harry Potter have in common?  All of these books have been banned or challenged at one time or other.  

Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted banning of books across the United States.

Want to learn more?  Visit the NVC Library and check out the banned book display starting Monday 9/27. 

Resource Spotlight: ScienceDirect

Resource Spotlight:  ScienceDirect

ScienceDirect is one of the premier databases for peer-reviewed journal articles in the sciences. 

ScienceDirect is more than just science though.  It also includes excellent coverage of many of the social sciences and some humanities as well. 

Please note that while ScienceDirect includes over 2,000 full text journals (about 9 million full-text articles!) it also has an additional 7,000+ journals that are available with abstracts only. 

 Full-text and abstract only articles are distinguished by the an icon (click picture at left to see a larger image) -- green for full text and gray for abstract only. 

If you would like help obtaining an article that is available as an abstract only contact the Reference Desk (210.486.4513 or nvc-library@alamo.edu).

Off-Campus Access to Library Resources

ALERT:  Off-campus access to the NVC Library resources has changed

Your new user name is your ACES ID
Example:  jsmith173

Your new password is the first 2 letters of your last name CAPITALIZED + the last 6 digits of your Banner ID #
Example:  SM142579

If you have problems logging in from off-campus please contact the Reference Desk (210.486.4513 or nvc-library@alamo.edu).

Go Print

Starting Sept 7th the Go Print system will be fully implemented for all printing in the Library and student labs across campus.

After September 7th you will have to create a new account (even if you already have one).

You can add funds to your account with a debit/credit card or with cash (use the kiosk in the Cypress Campus Center). Printing is 10 cents per page (of document).

Help will be available in the Open Lab and the Library.

GoPrint is a pay per print system that will allow us to sustain and maintain printing services for our students.

Information Literacy Modules Are Now Research 101

The Information Literacy Modules have a new name -- Research 101.  Better yet, all 4 modules are now available online. 

Register for Research 101 through ACES.  The fastest way to register is to search for the CRN#:  62456.  This is a free, non-credit class.  A limited number of face-to-face sessions of the modules will also be offered each month.

For more information visit the Research 101 page on the library's website. 

Top Tips: Finding Electronic Journals

Know the title you want?  Do a Title search in the Library Catalog. 

You will see the names of the databases that contain that journal and the years available.

Or

Use the Electronic Journal Locator to search for journals in the Online databases by Title or by Discipline.

You can also use a discipline search to get an idea of which databases are most useful for your area of research.

Celebrate National Library Week!

Let's Spice It Up for National Library Week!

Tuesday April 6th
Orquesta Vista Performance
1PM
Cybercafe Terrace

Wednesday April 7th
Ballet Folklorico Performance
11:45AM & 7:45PM
Breezeway in front of Library

AND

Chips and Salsa Tasting
11AM - 1PM
Inside the Library

Thursday April 8th
Ballet Folklorico Performance
11:45AM-12:00PM
Breezeway in front of Library

Friday April 9th
Faculty Development:  Technical Workshop
Help Your Students Find the Really Good Stuff!
Learn about online research guides, online reference books,
and how to find particular journals in our online databases.
11:00AM - 12:15PM
Library, Room 116

Library Celebrates Women's History Month

Throughout March, the Library will be celebrating Women's History Month with displays of books and other materials by and about history-making women.  Come check it out!  Yes, you can check out display items.  Each week we will be honoring different groups of women:

Week 1 – Historical Women Authors
Week 2 – International Women Authors
Week 3 – Women Breaking Barriers 
Week 4 – Recent Best-selling Authors

NVC Library Wins Prestigious Award

NVC Library Wins Prestigious Award

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) recently announced that the Northwest Vista College Library was chosen to receive the 2010 Community and Junior College Libraries Section (CJCLS) EBSCO Community College Learning Resources Program Achievement Award.

"What Northwest Vista College Library has achieved with their information literacy instruction and distance programming is a credit to all that were involved,” said José Aguiñaga, award committee chair and librarian at Glendale Community College North. “The outstanding results from these initiatives have transformed the one-shot instruction approach to a multi-faceted learning environment for students and faculty."

Resource Spotlight: Jazz Music Library

Resource Spotlight: Jazz Music Library


Jazz Music Library aims to become the largest, most comprehensive online collection of jazz.  Currently, the collection consists of 4,935 albums with almost 60,000 tracks licensed from Audiophile, Concord Jazz, Contemporary Records, Fantasy, Jazzology, Milestone, Nessa Records, Original Jazz Classics, Pablo, and Prestige. New material is being added from other labels such as Circle Records, GHB Records, Good Time Jazz, GRP Records, Impulse, Peak, Riverside, Solo Art Records, Stretch Records, and Verve.

Resource Spotlight: American History in Video

Resource Spotlight:  American History in Video

Looking for videos from the History Channel or PBS?  Need Ken Burn's documentary on the Civil War?  American History in Video is your source for streaming video resources for history.  The collection also includes newsreels and other archival footage of events.