Discover a new book to read

Harry Potter and philosophy ~ The physics of basketball ~ How to form a nonprofit ~ Improve your reading ~ Forensic aspects of poisons ~ Punk rock dad

Read about these and many other interesting topics in the latest batch of new books, available for 4-week check out in the library.

New Book at Southwestern College Library

Why Aren't More Women in Science? Top Researchers Debate the Evidence — Stephen J. Ceci and Wendy M. Williams, Eds.

Though many opportunities have opened for women, a glaring disparity remains between the number of women and men in science and math-based careers. In a society increasingly dependent upon science and technology, women's continued under-representation in these areas has alarmed educators and policy makers for decades. In this book, editors Ceci and Williams, both psychologists, pull together essays that provide cultural, historic, and scientific perspectives on women in science.

This book is available in the library' s main stacks collection at Q 130 W49 2007. Drop by and check it out.

This Week in CQ Researcher

Fighting Superbugs by Marcia Clemmitt, August 24, 2007
Are disease-resistant bacteria becoming unstoppable?

Antibiotics – the wonder drugs of the 20th century – are gradually losing their clout. Bacteria naturally develop resistance to antimicrobial drugs.

In recent years, overuse of antibiotics has caused a growing number of staphylococcus bacteria to evolve into disease-causing “superbugs” resistant to drugs like methicillin. While most superbugs once thrived only in hospitals, new strains outside health facilities are killing healthy people.

• Should government agencies do more to combat superbugs?
  
• Should the government make it easier for drug companies to bring new antibiotics to market?
  
• Should Congress limit the use of antibiotics in farming?

To read this article and others visit our Articles and Databases webpage http://www.swccd.edu/~library/articles.htm and click on CQ Researcher. Select the Access Off Campus link for information on how to access this resource from off campus locations.

Top Shelf

Welcome to Top Shelf, a weekly column where your SWC librarians share some of their favorite resources.

Come back and take a look each week -- whether it's for a class assignment or for your own curiosity -- we'll be sharing some of the best, unique, most interesting (and occasionally odd!) books, e-books, and websites out there.

This week's selections come from librarians Diane Gustafson and Tanya Carr.

Book Selection:
My selection this week is an e-book from our netlibrary.com collection -- The Encyclopedia of Cancer by Carol Turkington and William LiPera (RC262 .T86 2005eb). I found it very easy to use. I looked up squamous skin cancer, and the article was well-written, concise, and very informative. It dealt with the differences among the three kinds of skin cancer, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care. I’m sure I will refer to this e-book again and again. For more information on accessing e-books, visit our Remote Access page.
-Diane

Website Selection:
http://www.nutrition.gov/ – Nutrition.gov
Okay gang, I stumbled across this website looking up nutrients in different foods. It's not only a great resource for individuals trying to lose weight or change diet habits, but a wonderful resource for students taking health/P.E./nutrition classes. The website offers neat features like a nutrient list that can be sorted alphabetically or by nutrient content, a Body Mass Index calculator (I haven't tried this feature yet...don't want to know the results!), and an amazing Interactive Menu Planner. It also includes links to educational resources, food storage & preservation, food labels, cooking methods, and ethnic cooking. Check it out!
-Tanya

Online Music

New to our Articles and Databases website are the Classical Music Library a comprehensive database of distinguished classical recordings, Smithsonian Global Sound a virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions and African American Song which includes jazz, blues, gospel and other forms of African American musical expression.

These three online music resources include more than 160,000 tracks of music. The Classical Music Library, Smithsonian Global Sound, African American Song and other online resources are available on our Articles and Databases website www.swccd.edu/~library/articles.htm

Top 100 Classic Websites

PC Magazine recently announced its picks for the Top 100 Classic Websites of 2007. Oh, to be sure, Google made the list. But you might be surprised to find some gems that you've never heard of before. Here are a few that caught our eye:

• Fact Check (http://www.factcheck.org/) - Ever think to yourself that a statement in a recent political debate or in a campaign ad seemed fishy? The Annenberg Political Fact Check does not accept any contributions from political parties, lobbying organizations, businesses, or unions. Use their unbiased site to get the facts.
  
  
• Science Daily (http://www.sciencedaily.com/) - Talk about current! News, videos, and research is updated every 15 minutes on this site dedicated to all things scientific -- including health, computers, and regular ol' geophysics.
  
  
• Digg (http://www.digg.com/) - Digg is the latest incarnation of Internet democracy (or, some might say, popularity). Users submit anything from the web and others vote on what they think is the best, pushing that item to the top, i.e. the front page of the site. Anyone can submit an item and anyone can vote.

Welcome to Fall Semester!

Fall semester has officially begun and the Library is here to help you succeed. We invite you to stop by and get to know all of the resources the Library has to offer and the people who are here to help.

• Reference and research assistance
• Over 150 computers
• Some textbooks for in-Library use (Reserve Materials)
• New Books and Periodicals Reading Area
• DVDs and videos with viewing stations
• Group study rooms
• Online Library tutorials
• Free wireless access
• Leisure Reading (books for fun!)
• Quiet study areas
• Open 6 days a week!

New book at Southwestern College Library

College Rules! How to Study, Survive, and Succeed in College explores the differences between high school and college learning. In addition to examining these differences, the authors offered guidelines for making a successful transition to college and challenged readers to take responsibility for their own academic success. College Rules! is unique in that it focuses strictly on academic success.

The authors discussed strategies for studying specific disciplines including sciences, social sciences, and humanities. They also devoted a section each to studying foreign languages and mathematics. For each discipline, the authors discussed the main focus of the discipline, what professors expect students already know, what to expect on tests and assignments, and how to approach studying for that discipline. By highlighting the ways in which learning environments can differ between disciplines, the authors shed light on how students can customize their study strategies to specific learning environments.

The authors also recommend a healthy balance between academics, social life, and campus involvement, but focused the text on ways to master collegiate learning.

The book is available in the library' s main stacks collection at LB 2343.32 N57 2007. Drop by and check it out.

New Books Available!

Iggy Pop -- Videoblogging -- Championship Swimming -- DNA Evidence -- African American Folk Healing -- Mesopotamia -- Public Speaking

Read about these topics and many others in the current batch of New Books available in the Library!

New Book at Southwestern College Library

Animal Architects: Building and the Evolution of Intelligence
by James R. Gould and Carol Grant Gould


Engineering is not strictly a human pursuit. Animals of all types, from birds to nonhuman primates, routinely build structures and dwellings to meet the challenges of their particular habitats. The Goulds, who are animal-behavior specialists, present the diverse array of animal engineering.

They find that animals build to shield themselves from the elements, protect themselves from predators, and attract mates. The authors describe caterpillars and spiders that build with silk and tell about bees, ants, and wasps that build colony structures complete with air conditioning. Finally, the authors profile beavers. The book ends with a comparative look at animal and human uses of tools, physical principles, and logic.

Library hours for the week of August 13

Monday, August 13 - closed
Tuesday, August 14 - closed
Wednesday, August 15, through Friday, August 17, open 1 to 4 p.m. only
Saturday, August 18, and Sunday, August 19 - closed
Regular hours resume on Monday, August 20. Monday through Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

New Book at Southwestern College Library

Dirt: The Erosion of Civilzations by David Montgomery

Dirt supports more than the objects that sit atop it. It supports civilizations, as author David Montgomery points out. People obviously rely on dirt for agriculture and therefore sustenance. But history is full of examples of civilizations displaced or destroyed because they depleted their soil. Montgomery, a professor of earth and space sciences, provides a history of people's reliance on soil and warns that current methods of cultivation are exposing fertile dirt to the eroding effects of wind and rain.

The author provides an overview of soil formation before and after life on Earth began. Since that turning point, soil formation has been a complex interplay of water, climate, minerals, vegetation, and soil-dwelling organisms. Today, most of the world's nations are losing soil faster that nature can make it. The answer to reversing that trend lies not in fertilizers and the cheap oil needed to produce them, the author asserts, but in no-till farming and other soil-conservation methods, such as reincorporating organic debris into existing soil.

August e-book of the Month

Our August e-book of the month is Beyond the Bubble: How to Keep the Real Estate Market in Perspective—and Profit No Matter What Happens
by Michael C. Thomsett and Joshua Kahr

We’ve all heard the reports—the great housing boom that has fueled premium prices and sellers’ dreams is slowing down. Beyond the Bubble takes a balanced look at what drives changes in real estate markets and how these changes affect property owners and investors.

If you have already established a NetLibrary account through Southwestern College Library, visit http://www.netlibrary.com/ and log in to read Beyond the Bubble or any of our 15,000 e-book titles.

If you do not have a NetLibrary account, you can create your own account from any computer on the Southwestern College campuses. Visit http://www.swccd.edu/~library/Lvl3/index.asp?L3=9 for more information.

This week in CQ Researcher

“Corporate Social Responsibility,” by Tom Price, August 3, 2007
Is good citizenship good for the bottom line?

Corporations across the country are embracing efforts to improve society. Firms such as Whole Foods and Nike strive to make good citizenship a recognized part of their brand. General Electric, Coca-Cola and other more traditional corporations also support corporate social responsibility (CSR).

• Do businesses have a responsibility to society beyond turning profits?
• Is social responsibility good for the bottom line?
• Does corporate social responsibility really improve society?

To read this article and others visit our Articles and Databases webpage http://www.swccd.edu/~library/articles.htm and click on CQ Researcher. Select the Access Off Campus link for information on how to access this resource from off campus locations.

New Books Available!

How to succeed in college ... submarine espionage ... Walt Disney ... boomburbs ... the Rosetta Stone

Read books on these topics and many others in the latest batch of new books in the library.