New Standards Set for Passing Information & Communication Technologies Literacy Test

A standard-setting study to determine the recommended minimum scores to pass both a basic and advanced information & communication technologies literacy exam, called iSkills and administered by the Educational Testing Service, was released this week. According to a Chronicle of Higher Education article, these “standards are intended to help college officials assess the abilities of their students to sift through and analze electronic data.”

Currently, about 85 colleges give one or both of the tests to their students.  According to the new standards, about 24 percent of first-year community college students and 39 percent of freshmen at four-year colleges passed the basic assessment.

To review the complete report on this study, click here.

African American Biography Resources-What’s New in Richmond, Virginia

Virginia has long been a premier state for events and people in American history. With the just-released African American National Biography, Virginia can now lay claim to being among the states with the most historical entries on African Americans. According to a recent article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, this 8-volume print resource has been purchased by the Library of Virginia. Another comprehensive resource on African-American biography is the online database Biography Resource Center for African Americans, freely available to any Virginia resident with a public library card through the Find It Virginia database program: www.finditva.com.

The selected content on African-Americans found here is included in the Biography Resource Center database available to the JSRCC community. Here you can find both long and short biographical articles from books and magazines, plus images and links to web pages. From the library’s main web page, under Find Information, go to the Research Databases Popular List and look in the alphabetical list.

And the Oscar goes to . . .

Now that the Writers’ Strike is over, the annual Academy Awards ceremony will carry on as usual this Sunday, February 24th. For film buffs, check out Encyclopaedia Britannica’s All about Oscar spotlight. It includes a history and photo gallery of past winners as well as links to film web sites.

More views on students’ use of Wikipedia

A recent Chronicle of Higher Education article notes one professor’s use of Wikipedia in the classroom and includes readers’ comments.  To read University of Texas professor, David Parry’s article on Wikipedia and the New Curriculum, click here.  Post your comments to let us know what you think about Wikipedia use in the classroom.

African American Heritage of Virginia

Would you like to learn more about African American historical sites in your city or county? Visit the African American Heritage of Virginia (AAHV) database website from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Click on the Interactive Map to search over 400 heritage sites in the Commonwealth. You can search by historical theme or era as well.

Do you know of an interesting historical site which should be included? You can request a nomination brochure at aahv@virginia.edu .

Be an Informed Voter!

Be informed when voting in the Virginia Presidential Primary next Tuesday as well as the national election in November.  Check out the web sites listed below to find out: how to register & where to vote; where each candidate stands on various issues; track the polls; upcoming campaign events; and how each campaign is being financed:

• Virginia State Board of Elections
• Project Vote Smart
• Local Elections 2008 – Virginia Primary Elections from the Washington Post
• Election Center 2008 - Primaries and Caucuses from CNN.com
• CQ Politics – Election Guide

Recommended Readings & New Titles for February

Check out the library’s Recommended Readings for January as well as our current list of New Titles in the Library.  If you would like to suggest a purchase for the library, please click here to make your suggestions.

You buy the popcorn, we’ll supply the movie!

Before you head over to your local Blockbuster store to rent some movies for the weekend, save yourself some money to buy popcorn and check out the library’s popular DVD collection.   You can check out up to 2 DVDs at any one time and bring them back within the week.  Click here to see a sampling of our latest DVD titles.

A Plethora of Resources for Black History Month

Browse through our  library catalog to find print & online books as well as popular DVDs on a wide variety of African-American history topics and events.