Tech-Savvy Community Colleges

“The fourth annual Digital Community Colleges Survey identifies and spotlights colleges that provide a high level of service to their students and faculty through information technology. Schools were placed in three categories based on size of enrollment, with college officials providing information from the 2007 school year.”  Several Virginia community colleges were selected this year.  For the complete list of winners, check out the Center for Digital Education web site.

Halloween Stuff on the Web

Just in time for Halloween – the October issue of Searcher magazine lists some fun web sites – everything from cool costume tips to how to make your house look haunted.  Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Wikipedia – Truth vs. Verifiability

Check out Garfinkel’s article, Wikipedia and the Meaning of Truth from the latest issue of Technology Review.

Announcing New Titles RSS feed

Not only have we added several new books and videos to our collection in the past couple months, we’ve also added a way for you to subscribe via RSS and be notified when we have a new title list available.  We’ve added a widget to our blog displaying this feed, so you could also get the new title updates here.

Celebrating literature in Virginia!

 The 11th Annual library of Virginia Literary Awards ceremony took place on Saturday, October 18th. These awards honor both Virginia authors and non-fiction books on a Virginia topic. Awards categories include fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and literary lifetime achievement.

Also awarded are the People’s Choice Awards, cosponsored by the Library of Virginia and the James River Writers Association, a nonprofit Richmond writers’ organization. Two previously-announced awards were  the Whitney and Scott Cardozo Award for Children’s Literature, and the Library of Virginia Lifetime Achievement Award.

Discover the 2008 winners in Virginia as announced in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and check our online library catalog for titles owned at your three JSRCC campus libraries!

Good Reads for Election 2008

Browse through our library catalog to find print and online books on U.S. presidential campaigns, presidential candidates, political parties & the electoral process. For more information on our book collections or assistance in finding books on a particular topic, contact the Reference Desk.

An entertaining site explains our U.S. political system

“A new Web site – www.USDemocrazy.net — designed by Economist magazine cartoonist Kevin “Kal” Kallaugher, artist-in-residence at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, aims to demystify and explore America’s crazy 50-state democracy in a fun and engaging way.

Designed and hand-drawn by Kal for UMBC’s Imaging Research Center, USDemocrazy.net was built and researched by an interdisciplinary team of UMBC students, including visual arts, web design and social sciences majors.

The site features in-depth portraits of all 50 states through exclusive Kal animations, offbeat trivia and factoids and local color from experts in each state. An animated “Uncle Sam” explains idiosyncrasies of America’s democratic system, such as the Electoral College. On the USDemocrazy.net blog, Kal, along with students and faculty from UMBC, will follow America’s electoral process through the presidential race and into the next administration.

The interactive site is compiling first-hand portraits of each state from local experts in history, politics, journalism and humor through its “Crazy Talk” state survey. Click here to take the survey.”

(Author: Kavan Peterson – UMBC News & Events Blog)

Time to Declare a Winner!

Soon it will be time to head for the polls and vote in the Presidential Election of 2008. Here are a few great places to look for information on this important upcoming election:

Virginia State Board of Elections

Project Vote Smart: American Government, Elections, Candidates…

Elections 2008 CNN

Vote411.org: Election Information You Need 

For a complete guide to public policy issues of Election 2008, click here for a Resource Guide.

Local Library Celebrates Banned Books Week

The Twin Hickory Public Library in Glen Allen has a unique display in honor of Banned Books Week. They have people volunteer to silently read banned and challenged books in the display window.  As one librarian noted, “So far it’s gotten a lot of attention – we hear a lot of ‘Mom, what are those people doing in there?’ The best part has been hearing parents explain to their kids what the display is all about which is exactly what we wanted to happen!”

Though the display only runs through tomorrow, the 11th (edited 10/3) if you are 14 years of age or older, and would like to volunteer, please contact Twin Hickory library at 364-1400 x5.

The internet… 10 years ago

Google's Logo 2001

Google turns 10 this year, and in honor of their birthday, they’ve put an old index of the internet from 2001 on their site. This allows you to search Google and get the results you would have gotten in 2001.

From the Google blog: “…we found a vintage search index in mint condition. We dusted it off and took it for a spin, gobsmacked to see how different the web was in early 2001. ‘iPod‘ did not refer to a music player, ‘youtube‘ was nonsense, and if you were looking for ‘Michael Phelps,’ chances are you meant the scientist, not the swimmer. ‘Wikipedia‘ was brand new. Remember ‘hanging chads‘? (And speaking of that election-specific reference — if you’re a U.S. citizen, it’s not too late: please register to vote.)”

Strange how fast information changes! If you need a refresher on how to find good information using the library, check out our Research the Smart Way Workshops.