Take the LRC Survey!

The Learning Resources Center is conducting a college-wide survey that we hope will help us improve our library's services. It's a quick, 5-10 minute questionnaire that asks questions about how you feel about the LRC's services, resources and physical space. The more people that respond, the better idea we'll get about what we're doing well and what we need to do to improve, so we're encouraging all faculty, staff and students to take it.

You can find paper surveys at any of the LRC info desks, or take it online.

Thank you for your help!

[Note: The survey was closed on Dec. 8, 2010]

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast Cancer strikes over 1.3 million women around the globe each year and is the leading cause of cancer death in women, according to the American Cancer Society.

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, ebrary has collaborated with librarians from other organizations to create an open access database of breast cancer publications:

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/breastcancer

ebrary's Breast Cancer Searchable Information Center features a range of authoritative fact sheets, posters, and other materials from government agencies such as the National Cancer Institute, National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U. S. Preventive Services Task Force, United States Food and Drug Administration, Office of Women's Health, and other authoritative sources.

OED(Oxford English Dictionary) May Be Going Strictly Digital

The 20-volume, 750 pound, 126-year old dictionary may no longer be made available in print format. The digital edition now gets about 2 million hits a month from subscribers that pay $295 a year for service in the U.S. The print dictionary, on the other hand, runs $1,165. The new third edition will probably not be ready for another 10 years, considering the enormous task of revising and updating the work. The decision to release a print version will be made at that time.
The OED is the authoritative guide to the history of English speech........it traces the usage of words from their first recorded occurrence to the modern period and includes 2.5 million example quotations of word usage.
Associated Press

The TCC LRCs do own the print edition of the OED and the subscription on-line edition of the OED is also available to TCC students and faculty.

Banned Books Week

September 25th  to October 2nd is the American Library Association’s annual celebration of banned and challenged books, Banned Books Week; since 1990, there have been 10,676 recorded challenges, which were focused mostly in school and public libraries and brought mostly by parents. To celebrate, check out one of the challenged books from your library, or attend one of the LRC's Lunchtime Learning Programs.

A complete list of the 100 most challenged books of 2000-2009 is available on the ALA website, but a list of some that we have at the LRC follows:

1.   Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
3.   The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
5.   Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
6.   I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
14. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
15. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
17. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker

18. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
19. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
21. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
24. In the Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak
26. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
28. Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
33. Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson

36. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
46. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
49. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
50. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
66. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred Taylor
69. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
74. The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold

88. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
89. Friday Night Lights, by H.G. Bissenger
90. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle
91. Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Graighead George
96. Grendel, by John Gardner
97. The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende
99. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume

Remember, if there's a book you would like but it is only available at another campus, you can get it delivered to your home campus!

Banned Books Week Lunchtime Learning Programs will be held at Northeast and Metro Campus, from noon to 1 pm:

• Monday, September 27th, in the Northeast Campus Small Auditorium (NE 1603)
• Wednesday, September 29th, in the Metro Campus Film Lecture Room 

There will be pizza served and drawings for Stephen King novels and films. If you have questions, you can email Demetrius Bereolos, or call him at 595-8093.

Request books from another TCC campus Online with your TCC LRC account.

When you’re searching the LRC catalog and you find a book you want, but it’s at another TCC campus, what do you do? You can request it online with a few clicks of the mouse. Simply click on "·NEW!!! REQUEST BOOKS!!! -" link in the blue box under actions. This will take you to the log in page for your account. Log in using your CWID beginning with a T and then enter your last name in the second box. This directs you to the Patron Request page. There you’ll find two options: requesting an available book or placing a hold on a book that’s currently checked out by another patron. Make your selection. When requesting an available book you can select the location you wish to have it delivered to. You also need to enter your CWID again on this page. You’ll receive an email at your MyTcc address telling you when the book is in transit and when to expect it at the pickup location.

Using Wikipedia for research

You’ve probably heard your professors tell you over and over not to use Wikipedia for research. But, it’s so convenient and has articles on so many topics, right? Just like any source, there are good ways to use Wikipedia and bad ways to use it.

When you’re first starting your research, Wikipedia is a great place to go to get a general idea about your topic. Many of the articles have loads of information about different aspects of their subject. Plus, the articles are supposed to cite their sources, and you can check the bibliography at the end to see if any of those sources would help you out.

When you’re in the middle of some class reading or research and you come across a term, a person, an event or something else that’s unfamiliar to you, Wikipedia is, like print encyclopedias, a good place to find straight-forward background information.

When is it a bad idea to use Wikipedia, then?

In nearly all circumstances, Wikipedia should not be used as part of your research for class. After you’ve gotten a handle on your topic, turn to books, scholarly peer-reviewed journals and other material that is written by experts and reviewed by other experts before publication. Those are the sources on which you should base your research.

In the case of controversial issues or very recent events, Wikipedia may also be less reliable. Wikipedia’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness; anyone with internet access can edit articles, and while that provides us with a vast amount of correct, factual information, it also means that opinions, biases, incorrect information and even lies can be easily inserted into an article.* Wikipedia tries to keep tabs on errors and vandalism, and will turn off editing if it happens frequently to one article, but their editors are volunteers and can only do so much.

*It’s true, too, that books and scholarly articles can have the same problem but the editorial and review process helps keep it to a minimum. A good dose of skepticism can help you identify the errors and biases in what you read and watch, and will help you produce higher quality research!

Music CD's Are Now Available for Checkout at the Southeast Campus LRC

The Southeast Campus LRC has a wide variety of music cd's that are now available for checkout. You may also use them in the LRC while you are studying or using one of our computers. If you need help, just ask someone at the desk for assistance. The collection contains everything from classical to country music. Here is a partial list of artists:
Beethoven
Gershwin
Mozart
Elvis Presley
Schubert
Hank Williams