New Book of the Week

The Humble Little Condom: a History
by Aine Collier.
Prometheus Books, 2007

Everything you ever wanted to know about the condom, and many things you never thought of. You probably never knew that condoms have been found among the artifacts in ancient Egyptian tombs, that London suffered through condom wars, or when condom vending machines reached the United States.

Here is one review that sums it up well:

“This book has it all—sex, money, infidelity, war, poetry, the famous and the infamous, politics, hypocrisy. What a read!...Although there are plenty of laughs, this is a serious history and one that was hard to put down. I had no idea the condom had such a long and complex story.”

--Frederick Gottlieb, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor in International Public Health, University of Utah

You can check out The Humble Little Condom: a History (Call Number RC888 C65 2007) and our other new book titles on the New Book Shelf in the library.

Top Shelf

by Ron Vess and Patty Gianulis, SWC Librarians

Top Shelf is a weekly column of some of our favorite (and sometimes unusual) resources.

Book Selection
San Diego County Bird Atlas, by Philip Unitt
Call Number: Ref QL684.C2 U57 2004

“The San Diego County Bird Atlas addresses all the county's birds--wintering birds, migrants, and exotics as well as breeding birds. Each species account covers breeding distribution, nesting habits and schedule, migration, winter distribution, conservation outlook, and taxonomy, if relevant. The accounts include a chart showing the seasonal distribution of the nesting activity of each nesting species; they have at least one map for every regular breeding and wintering species.” –Amazon … I selected this one because I was viewing an episode of Planet Earth about birds from the jungles migrating into the Andes on the Discovery Channel this past weekend. Thought it was a grand program and then this book popped-up on the cataloging cart. So…enjoy.
-Ron

Website Selection
Science is fun in the lab of Dr. Shakhashiri
http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/scifun.html

The master of chemical demonstrations, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry Professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, shares the fun of science through home science activities, demonstration shows, videos, and books Science is Fun is one part of a larger “Initiative for Science Literacy” that has two goals: to promote literacy in science, mathematics, and technology among the general public and to attract future generations to careers as the researchers, entrepreneurs, and teachers on whom the nation's continuing economic health and national security will depend. Check out the interesting articles on the “Chemistry of Autumn Colors” or the “Colors of Gemstones” in the section on Chemical of the Week. The site also includes a Periodic Table of the Elements (with an article on each element), recommended websites, and experiments you can do at home.
-Patty

Got a Question? Need an Answer?

Try our Online Reference Service

24 hours a day 7 days a week

Real People - Real Help - Real Fast

http://www.swccd.edu/~library/ask.htm

Facts.com Issues and Controversies

The FACTS.com online database provides a balanced look at the newsworthy topic, Children's Health Insurance .

This week also includes an updated article on Wildfire Prevention and the Southern California wildfire evacuations that occurred in October.

Online access is provide through the Southwestern College Library's website. Select the Access Off-Campus link for information on how to use this resource from off campus locations.

This week in CQ Researcher

U.S. Policy on Iran by Peter Katel, November 16, 2007

Would a nuclear-armed Iran endanger the United States?

In October President Bush said Iran’s nuclear program raised the specter of World War III. Then Vice President Cheney warned of “serious consequences” if Iran stayed on course as a “terror-supporting state.” The heated rhetoric is widely seen as calculated to raise the specter of military action against Iran.

Other Iran-watchers say military action could further endanger U.S. forces fighting next door in Iraq. They urge the administration to aid dissidents rather than counter Iran by military force.

* Would a nuclear-armed Iran endanger the United States?
* Does U.S. support help pro-democracy dissidents influence Iran’s policies?
* Is Iran fomenting instability in Iraq?

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 Book of the Week

Sick Girl by Amy Silverstein
Grove/Atlantic Press, 2007

Call Number 3072

Review by Katie Dunn, SWC Librarian

This is a true account written by Amy Silverstein, the longest-surviving heart transplant patient ever. At 23, she was a bright young woman with a bright future: in law school, with a boyfriend and a jam-packed schedule. She really didn’t have time to be sick so she ignored her violently pounding heart, occasional blackouts and even temporary blindness. How could she guess her heart was about to give out? Only a few months later she received a heart transplant.

Nineteen years have passed since then. What has Amy’s life been like? While we might expect Amy to be filled daily with meek gratitude for her life-saving transplant, the reality of her life has been much more mixed. She gives a very outspoken insight into the pain and depression that accompany her struggle to stay alive. Her book is not without love and humor, though. This is one courageous and gritty woman.

You can check out Sick Girl and our other new book titles on the New Book Shelf in the library.

Working Late - So Are We

Southwestern College Library
Online Reference Service
24 hours a day 7 days a week.

http://www.swccd.edu/~library/ask.htm

We now provide reference help over the Internet, in addition to our more traditional modes of phone, email, and in-person reference requests.

ARTstor Digital Library Addition

ARTstor has added over 300 images from the Mark Rothko Family Collection into the ARTstor Digital Library. This release includes 43 paintings scanned from eight-by-ten color transparencies that are not in public collections.

The collection is currently in production, and the images to be released in ARTstor will span Rothko’s entire career. An initial release of Rothko’s paintings on canvas is already available in ARTstor, including examples of his early figurative style, as well as mature works from the late 1940s through the 1960s.

These images can be found from the Welcome Page by clicking on The Image Gallery (under “Browse”) and selecting Mark Rothko from the list.

For information on how you can access the Mark Rothko collection view other ARTstor images and register for an ARTstor account visit our ARTstor information website at http://www.swccd.edu/~library/Docs/artstor0507.pdf

Top Shelf

by Karen Smith and Ron Vess, SWC Librarians

Top Shelf is a weekly column where SWC Librarians share some of the top resources they've discovered.

Book Selection
Encyclopedia of folk medicine : old world and new world traditions.
by Gabrielle Hatfield.
Available via NetLibrary (R733 .H376 2004eb)

This electronic book, available to all of the SWC community 24/7 in our Netlibrary collection, is a well-researched look into healing treatments used throughout history. Each article is extensively footnoted and has a list of references.
-Karen.

Website Selection
Urban Dictionary
http://www.urbandictionary.com/

The Urban Dictionary is a slang dictionary with definitions written by its visitors -- it's a living catalog of popular culture that's growing every day. You may say a way for “old Fogies” to stay Hip… or at least to catch-up. But be forewarned, like all sites that can be edited by the user, some of this is inappropriate for many folks, probably me included. Definitions run from “G” to “R++” or better/worse.
-Ron.

New Book - Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang

New in the Southwestern College library collection is Endless Universe, call number QB991.C92 S83 2007. This new addition to our library collection was written by Paul J. Steinhardt and Neil Turok, both authors are distinguished theoretical physicists.

The two authors “contend that what we think of as the moment of creation was simply part of an infinite cycle of titanic collisions between our universe and a parallel world” (Discover). They recount the remarkable developments in astronomy, particle physics, and superstring theory that form the basis for their groundbreaking “Cyclic Universe” theory.


Check out Endless Universe and our other new book titles on the New Book Shelf in the library.

This week in CQ Researcher

Prosecutors and the Law by Kenneth Jost, November 9, 2007

Is prosecutorial misconduct a serious problem?

Three former Duke University lacrosse players are putting their lives back together after being wrongfully accused of rape in a sensational case that dominated headlines nationwide for more than a year. The case collapsed after Durham, N.C., District Attorney Michael B. Nifong was shown to have withheld evidence that law and ethical rules require be turned over to defense lawyers. Nifong’s actions resulted in his resignation and disbarment and helped generate widespread debate about prosecutorial misconduct.

Prosecutors say misconduct occurs only infrequently. But many critics say infractions are more common than prosecutors acknowledge and rarely are punished.

Should courts make it easier to reverse convictions resulting from prosecutors’ legal mistakes?

Should state bars increase penalties and sanctions for mistakes by prosecutors?

Should prosecutors be subject to civil lawsuits for misconduct?

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.

MLA & APA citations as EBSCOhost output

Our EBSCOhost periodicals databases allow you an option of having citations printed, e-mailed, or saved as MLA or APA format. Here’s an MLA example of one of these computer-generated citations:

Patrick O'Driscoll, and Elizabeth Weise. "Green living takes root // But habits die hard." USA Today (n.d.). Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 9 November 2007. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=J0E333784091307&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live.

You will need to change the red part (it arrived in black from EBSCOhost; red is for demonstration only) to say Southwestern College Library, Chula Vista, CA.

Also, the URL should be shortened to http://search.ebscohost.com/ to match the form most frequently used at SWC.

Even with needing to make these changes, you will find that EBSCOhost has saved you quite a bit of work in formatting your citations.

New Book - Sport in Ancient Times

One of the many new book titles available on the New Book Shelf is Sport in Ancient Times by Nigel Crowther. Call Number GV571 .C76 2007 .

This new title provides a historical overview of sport as a cultural practice around the world from about 3000 BCE to the Middle Ages. The book looks at the role of sport as practiced in several important civilizations in the ancient world.

It explores how athletics had an importance that extended beyond physical prowess to include military associations, religious ritual, status, politics, and other concerns. It also examines the Romans' love of spectator sports such as gladiatorial contests and chariot racing, looks at the status and significance of ancient athletes, the presence (or absence) of women in sports, and team sports and ball games.

You can check out Sport in Ancient Times call number GV571 .C76 2007 and our other new book titles on the New Book Shelf in the library.

Yahoo! - Time Saving Search Tips

Papers are due and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. These easy Yahoo! searches can help you with both.

Search Tips for Papers and Projects

• What does that word mean?
  Type "definition" after the word you want to define:
  'quixotic definition'
  
• What's another way to say...?
  Type "synonym" after the word:
  'quixotic synonym'
  
• I wish I could get rid of...
  Type a minus sign in front of the word you don't want.
  For example, 'Simpsons -movie' will retrieve results about The Simpsons t.v. show and other merchandise, but no results about The Simpsons movie.

Holiday Travel Shortcuts

• Traffic
  Type 'traffic' in front of a city name to go to a map of traffic alerts:
  'traffic San Diego'
  
• Flight Tracker
  Type the airline and flight number for a shortcut to the flight's status:
  'American 83' or 'Lufthansa 421'
  
• Map
  Type 'map' in front of a city name to go directly to the map:
  'map San Diego'
  You can also search a zip code to get a map of that area:
  '91910'

A Visual Internet Search Engine

Tired of sifting through text to get what you want from search engines? Well PageBull is offering visual searches. This means when you search for something the results are displayed with images.

The sites they find will appear in thumbnails across the screen.

You simply click on the image that looks best.

So, if you hate looking at results in list format, maybe you should give PageBull www.pagebull.com a try. It is an innovative approach to improving the search engine user experience on the Web

Top Shelf

by Patty Torres and Karen Smith, SWC Librarians

Book Selection
Encyclopedia of Death and Dying
Edited by Glennys Howarth and Oliver Leaman
Call# Reference HQ 1073 E543 2002

In keeping with the spirit of Halloween and “All Saints’ Day” I picked this title. This is a single volume encyclopedia with entries on all aspects of death and dying. It is arranged alphabetically by subject with both short and lengthy entries. There are some biographical entries as well. Tables and figures accompany some entries.

One can read up on such topics as the “black plague”, “bodysnatchers”, and of course on “Halloween” and “All Saints’ Day”. It also provides some peculiar entries, like “Death by Chocolate”. What is that? It’s “the name of a dessert…generally very high in cholesterol and contains generous amounts of chocolate”.

Entries provide sources for further reading and cross-referencing.
-Patty


Website Selection
U.S. Green Building Council
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19

Everyone is claiming to be going green these days. Developers of new construction talk about green building, green roofs, LEED certification. What does green building really mean? Take a look at the U.S. Green Building Council’s site and find out the standards of green-ness for homes, for schools, for retail establishments, and so on.
-Karen

This Week in CQ Researcher

Mortgage Crisis by Marcia Clemmitt, November 2, 2007.

Should the government bail out borrowers in trouble?

More than 2 million borrowers will lose their homes to foreclosure because of subprime mortgage lending in recent years. With the housing market booming, lenders enticed many lower-income people into buying homes they couldn't afford by offering adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) with temptingly low initial teaser interest rates. Many loans didn't require down payments or documented proof of income.

Congress and the Bush administration are debating how to help borrowers keep their homes and whether tough, new lending standards are warranted.

• Should certain kinds of risky home loans be banned?
  
• Should the government “bail out” borrowers caught in the mortgage meltdown?
  
• Will the mortgage crisis trigger a larger financial crisis in the United States and elsewhere?

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 24/7 Online Reference Service

Have a question? Ask your librarian online.

Students can now receive assistance from reference librarians at Southwestern College library even if they cannot visit the library in person. And the librarians are available anytime of the day or night.

Anyone who needs help finding information may submit questions through the library’s web site . Questions are answered by librarians at Southwestern College library or by another academic librarian from another college or university participating in our worldwide network.

We now provide reference over the Web in addition to the more traditional modes of phone, email, or in-person requests for information. Our reference service spans all hours of the day or night, whether or not the physical library is open. In fact, our library is never closed to people who need information – they just enter through a different door.