Looking for Holiday Gifts for kids? Try a book!

Children Reading by Flickr user Lubuto Library Project

Whether it’s for a birthday or a holiday gift, if you’ve got a young person on your shopping list, there’s not much better than a book! However, if you’re not sure what sort of book to give, the University of Illinois’ Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books is here to help. They’ve put together a free, annotated guide of over 300 books, divided by age range.

Download the PDF guide from the website here.

Talking Turkey (and Pumpkin Pie) for Thanksgiving

Listen to the full story of this most American of holidays on “BackStory with the American History Guys“! You can browse more fascinating U.S. History topics using one of the library’s research LibGuides.

Be sure to explore them all- browse the complete group of LibGuides on a variety of topics.

New Guides

We’ve been busy making some new guides, and we’d love your input!

Go Green at JSRCC -

http://libguides.reynolds.edu/green

Tips for “Going Green” in and outside of the library, as well as a brief overview of the related library materials.

Swine Flu/H1N1 -

http://libguides.reynolds.edu/h1n1

Links to local and national information about the flu, as well as places to do further research.

Feel free to make comments here or in the guides themselves, and check out all of our other guides!

The Rape of Europa… an Astounding True Story

 “It begins with the story of Gustav Klimt’s famed painting “Gold Portrait,” stolen by the Nazis from Viennese Jews in 1938. In a journey through seven countries, The Rape of Europa takes the reader into the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe…. [and] tells the epic story of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Third Reich and World War II.”

 Michael Guillen in his blog post on “The Evening Class”, May 15, 2007

Listen to a discussion of this fascinating story at the next Around the World Through Books program, led by professors Karen Steele and Wayne Knight as they provide perspectives on the art, culture, and politics of this art plunder during World War II.

Where?   Lipman Auditorium, Massey Library Technology Center

When?    Wednesday, November 18, from 7:00-8:30 pm (Note: Change due to weather)

Copies of the book are available to check out at each campus library.  Online resource about the film made from the book:   http://therapeofeuropa.com  .

Literary Celebration in Virginia- 2009

 

 

 

 

On Saturday, October 17, the 12th annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards were hosted by Virginia author, Adriana Trigiani, at the Library of Virginia.  Here are the names of the authors and titles celebrated that evening! 

Nonfiction: The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, by Annette Gordon-Reed.

Fiction: Train to Trieste, by Domnica Radulescu.

Poetry: Satin Cash, by Lisa Russ Spaar.

People’s Choice Award for Nonfiction: The Place to Be: Washington, CBS, and the Glory Days of Television News, by Roger Mudd.

People’s Choice Award for Fiction: The Legal Limit, by Martin Clark.

Lifetime Achievement Award: John Grisham.

Other literary awards were presented- you can read about them in the online announcement  from the Library of Virginia. Be sure to check your J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College library catalog, as well as other Richmond area library catalogs to learn where you can find these prize-winning works!

October is National Information Literacy Awareness Month!

President Obama has declared October to be National Information Literacy Awareness month, according to this recent White House press release. 

Increase your own Information Literacy by attending one of the library’s free open session workshops- offered this fall at Downtown and Parham campus libraries! Spend some time learning about: Research the Smart Way; Cite it Right-MLA Style; Cite It Right-APA Style; Ms Word & Power Point Basics; and Is This Web Site Credible?

Be sure to sign up online for a free class!

National Health Care Debate – Web Resources

Looking to read up on the issues and policies fueling the national health care debate?  Then check out Shikha Sharma’s Internet Resources guide in the September 2009 issue of ACRL’s College & Research Libraries News.

“This guide highlights free Web sites with data and information on issues relevant to the national health care debate, including health care cost, coverage, expenditure, access, delivery, utilization, disparities in quality, and outcomes.”

Oversized, but underviewed?

                                                  

Be sure not to miss these oversized wonders in your JSR campus libraries!

Some of the most recent additions to our Oversize Book Collection are:

Antarctica: Secrets of the Southern Continent

Art and Science of William Bartram

Art: Over 2,500 Works from Cave to Contemporary

Hubble: Imaging Space and Time

In the Company of Flowers

Muscle: America’s Legendary Performance Cars

Here is where you can find them:

Downtown Campus Library: Near the reference desk, at the beginning of the reference book collection.

Western Campus Library: At the end of the regular circulating book collection, last aisle, near the emergency exit.

Parham Campus Library: Downstairs, at the beginning of the circulating book collection, first aisle, across from the group study rooms.

 

National Book Festival

 

2008 National Book Festival banner

What are you doing next Saturday, September 26th? 

If you don’t have plans, you might consider taking a trip to Washington D.C. for the Library of Congress National Book Festival. Authors, illustrators and poets in different genres will be making presentations throughout the day, and there will be plenty to see and do.

Some of the authors that will be there include:

• Julia Alvarez
• Judy Blume
• Ken Burns
• Paula Deen
• John Grisham
• Gwen Ifill
• John Irving
• Lois Lowry
• Walter Mosley
• James Patterson
• Jodi Picoult
• Nicholas Sparks

For more information and a complete list of authors, see the National Book Festival website.

What if? Titles

It seems the recent trend with many book titles is the longer, the better. One blogger noticed this trend and imagined if some classic books had been written now, what might their titles be? A few the blogger came up with are below, and more can be found in the comments of the blog.

BOOK TITLES, IF THEY WERE WRITTEN TODAY
Then: The Wealth of Nations
Now:  Invisible Hands: The Mysterious Market Forces That Control Our Lives and How to Profit from Them

Then: The Theory of the Leisure Class
Now:  Buying Out Loud: The Unbelievable Truth About What We Consume and What It Says About Us

Then: The Gospel of Matthew
Now:  40 Days and a Mule: How One Man Quit His Job and Became the Boss

  

See the blog post for more, and add your own in the comments!