Bonding With a Book

Professor Eleanor Vassel's classes recently enjoyed a visit to the library where a book fair atmosphere was created complete with refreshments. Mrs. Vassel is again requiring her students to write a book review of a book that was recently acquired at the library including a summary of three chapters, an evaluation of the author's credentials, and an analysis of the suitability of the book for college research.

The mission for the students was to "Bond with a book," to find a connection to a new book out of the over 200 books placed on display for the 3 classes.

Mr. Jorge Perez explained to the students his connection with the book, Cesar's Way :the natural, everyday guide to understanding and correcting common dog problems authored by Cesar Millan, "The Dog Whisperer." Jorge's dog, Max, has had some hyperactive behavior problems (video of Max's behavior was provided) on which Jorge wanted advisement. Mr Perez's "book talk" was well received with other students wanting to find a copy of the book to help them with their dogs' behavior issues.

Other book talk titles discussed were The Color of Water, the SPC Reads book, A World Undone: the Story of World War I, Kingfish: the Reign of Huey P. Long, and Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the plan for a coup in Cuba, and the murder of JFK .

Students who would like to access the approved book list for the book reviews, may click on this link Book List. The student with a high quality book review judged to be the best from the three classes will win a prize of a $15 Follett's bookstore gift certificate. The second prize winner's award is $10 gift certificate. Both winning book reviews will be published on the SPC Library Blog!

Worldcat.org adds sorting and citations!

WorldCat.org opens millions of library records and services to users from all over the World Wide Web. WorldCat.org recently added a sorting feature where users can sort by author (alphabetical by last name), title (alphabetical), and date (newest-to-oldest and oldest-to-newest). Also, every item has a "Cite this item" link that creates bibliographic citations in five common styles: APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA and Turabian. Of course, the citations are not always 100% accurate, so confirming the citations via a style guide is important. For information regarding citation and sorting, contact your local St. Petersburg College Library.


-- Chad Mairn --

'Introducing the Book' Training Video ...

Watch 'Introducing the Book' -- a great complement to the 'Web 2.0: The Machine is Us/ing Us' video. :)

-- Chad Mairn

'Web 2.0. The Machine is Us/ing Us' Video

Watch Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us and see how we are helping to "teach" the World Wide Web while consequently becoming better connected with one another.


-- Chad Mairn

Best Free Reference Web Sites: Eighth Annual List

Wow, it is hard to believe that it has been 8 years already, but the Reference and User Services Association's (RUSA) ad hoc committee published their annual list of "free [web] sites that meet the definition of ready reference and that would be of value in all types of libraries."

Check out the list and the committee's evaluative criteria at: http://www.rusq.org/index.php/2006/10/03/best-free-reference-web-sites-eighth-annual-list

-- Chad Mairn

InfoTrac OneFile Updates

- Patrons can now read the full-text of the New York Times, every issue from 1995 to present day -- giving them the best in news and editorial coverage.

- Patrons can now also listen to any National Public Radio program, as well as read transcripts, for shows produced by NPR from 1990 to present. In addition to providing a different type of news coverage, NPR content is great to use in the classroom.

- Very soon, InfoTrac OneFile will be loading every Fodor's travel guide published in 2006 and 2007, as well as hundreds of other travel guides from publishers such as Hunter's.

- A large set of more than 20 reference sources, from multiple publishers, is now available under the reference tab. This gives patrons authoritative overviews of topics in addition to the current periodicals coverage.

- Readers can access more than 3,000 full-text periodicals highly recommended by Bowker's Magazines for Libraries -- more full-text than any other database. Therefore, you can trust that users are accessing the best information.

- Discover Magazine is now being loaded full-text with no embargo -- a great publication for students and patrons interested in science content.

- Content can now be translated into 7 different languages, making InfoTrac a useful resource even if your community demographics are changing.

- InfoTrac OneFile has now reached the impressive 11,000 title mark -- with the majority of the content full-text and with no embargo. This means that patrons can read the current issue right away.

To access InfoTrac OneFile visit Library Online at http://www.spcollege.edu/central/libonline/ and click on the "Articles and Databases" link. Contact your library for this sessions password[s].

-- Chad Mairn

Readings with Similar Themes

If you enjoyed or are enjoying this years SPC READS choice, The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to his White Mother. Check out these other titles with similar themes.

Ace of Spades: A Memoir
by David Matthews

Born to a black father and a white mother, David Matthews spent his first twenty years straddling his actual life as a black boy in the ghetto of 1980s Baltimore and a largely imagined life of white privilege. The disappearance of his Jewish mother, coupled with the brutal necessity of choosing a racial identity in the segregated inner-city, would define and complicate the world he so vividly brings to life in this remarkable coming-of-age story. ACE OF SPADES begins precisely where the American dream ends. In the Baltimore of the ‘70s and ‘80s, Matthews lives in the mostly black world of his grandmother and father. Shrewdly deducing that he might use his phantom mother’s skin color as a way to escape some, if not all, of the indignities heaped on mixed race, motherless sons, Matthews recounts his internecine battles with evil stepmother-types, public education and mating with equal parts piss and vinegar, love and hope. David Matthews is a writer living in New York. He has discussed race on The Tavis Smiley Show, the CBS Sunday Morning Show, and in the pages of People Magazine.

Honky
by Dalton Conley

As recalled in Honky, Dalton Conley’s childhood has all of the classic elements of growing up in America. But the fact that he was one of the few white boys in a mostly black and Puerto Rican neighborhood on Manhattan’s Lower East Side makes Dalton’s childhood unique.