Friends of the Library Essay Contest winners

Congratulations to the two winners of the Friends of the Library essay contest. They are Eric Rodriguez and Rachel Hall. Eric and Rachel will receive their checks for $250 at the Student Awards Ceremony on May 12.

Extended Hours for Finals

Beginning Monday, May 11, the Library will be open extended hours for finals.


Spring Finals - Extended Hours:
May 11-May 20, 2009
Monday May 11 - Thursday May 14: 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Friday May 15: 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Saturday May 16: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Sunday May 17: Closed

Monday May 18 - Wednesday May 20: 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Thursday May 21: 7:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Friday May 22: 7:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

SWC Library receives ASO Textbook Grant

The Southwestern College Library is pleased to announce it was awarded a generous textbook grant from the Associated Student Organization this past week. The grant in the amount of $2000.50 will allow the Library to add additional textbooks to college Library Reserves. The Library wishes to take this opportunity to thank Leticia Diaz, ASO President and the entire ASO leadership team for their support of the college Library and also for supporting student learning and success at Southwestern College.

In addition to the textbook grant, the ASO also provided the funding to keep the Library open additional hours during the days preceding and during the final examination week, May 11 – 20, 2009.

Once again we wish to thank the ASO, our partner in Student Success at Southwestern College.

Want info about swine flu? Go to a reliable source!

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html

Swine Flu and You: San Diego County http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/Portal/News/swine_flu_cdc_sd.html

Pandemic Flu: Individuals and Family Planning
http://www.sdpandemicfacts.org/individuals.htm
No matter what happens with the swine flu, it may be useful to learn about how you can prepare for a pandemic.

What are the signs and symptoms of swine flu in people?

The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. In the past, severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection in people. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.

How does swine flu spread?

Spread of this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is thought to be happening in the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

How can someone with the flu infect someone else?

Infected people may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 7 or more days after becoming sick. That means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick.

What should I do to keep from getting the flu?

First and most important: wash your hands. Try to stay in good general health. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food. Try not touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Are there medicines to treat swine flu?

Yes. CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with these swine influenza viruses. Antiviral drugs are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaler) that fight against the flu by keeping flu viruses from reproducing in your body. If you get sick, antiviral drugs can make your illness milder and make you feel better faster. They may also prevent serious flu complications. For treatment, antiviral drugs work best if started soon after getting sick (within 2 days of symptoms).

How long can an infected person spread swine flu to others?

People with swine influenza virus infection should be considered potentially contagious as long as they are symptomatic and possible for up to 7 days following illness onset. Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.

What surfaces are most likely to be sources of contamination?

Germs can be spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth. Droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air. Germs can be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets from another person on a surface like a desk and then touches their own eyes, mouth or nose before washing their hands.

--

From "Swine Influenza and You: Questions and Answers" by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), updated 4/26/09, 6 pm EDT. Read the entire document at: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/swineflu_you.htm

Got a Question? Need an Answer?

Try our Online Reference Chat Service
Real People - Real Help - Real Fast
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
http://www.swccd.edu/~library/ask.htm

April is Jazz Appreciation Month

Check out our Jazz Display on the 3rd floor of the Library.

Celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month by taking a book or two home with you for 4 weeks. Just bring your SWC photo ID with you to check out a book.

Extended Hours for Finals

Beginning Monday, May 11, the Library will be open extended hours for finals.

Spring Finals - Extended Hours:

May 11-May 20, 2009

Monday May 11 - Thursday May 14: 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Friday May 15: 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Saturday May 16: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Sunday May 17: Closed

Monday May 18 - Wednesday May 20: 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Thursday May 21: 7:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Friday May 22: 7:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

This Week in CQ Researcher

Wrongful Convictions by Steve Weinberg,
April 17, 2009

Is overhaul of the criminal justice system needed?

Until March 2009, few Americans had heard of Ronald Cotton, who was convicted in North Carolina of raping a college student and served 11 years in prison before being exonerated by DNA testing. As recently as 10 years ago, the proposition that innocent men and women regularly end up in prison failed to find traction. Today, thanks to the power of DNA evidence, media coverage and the establishment of innocence projects, there is general acceptance that wrongful convictions indeed occur.

Dozens of states have passed laws to prevent wrongful convictions and compensate those wrongly imprisoned. Defense attorneys and many academics say wrongful convictions are a recurrent problem requiring substantial changes in the criminal justice system, but prosecutors, police and other academics say mistaken convictions are such a small percentage of all cases that the system should mostly be left alone.

• Are wrongful convictions a serious problem?
  
• Do errors by forensic laboratories contribute to wrongful convictions?
  
• Would systemic reform reduce the number of wrongful convictions?
  

To read this article and others visit our Articles and Databases webpage and click on CQ Researcher. Select the Remote Access link for information on how to access this resource from off campus locations.

Daily Life Online: History and World Cultures

Daily Life Online provides a fascinating and fun way to explore how others lived their lives, and how their lives have shaped ours. The material is organized by time period, region, and topic . Daily Life Online's digital content is enhanced with books, articles, images, maps, and primary documents to show the interconnections of everyday life throughout history.

To access Daily Life Online visit our Articles and Databases website http://www.swccd.edu/~library/articles.htm

Currently enrolled students can request off campus access to this electronic resources at http://www.swccd.edu/~library/PasswordRequest/

Guest Writers Series: Olga García Echeverría

Thursday, April 16, 11 a.m. -12 p.m., Room L238 in the Library/Learning Resource Center.

SWC Guest Writers Series Presents:
Olga García Echeverría

Olga García Echeverría was born and raised in East Los Angeles, California. She has a BA in Ethnic Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso.

For the past twelve years, she has worked with a wide variety of students, teaching Composition, Literature, Creative Writing, History, and Civics. Currently, she works for the Upward Bound Program at Los Angeles City College, where she teaches English and Composition to high school students living in the South Los Angeles region.

Her first book, Falling Angels: Cuentos y Poemas, was published by Calaca Press and Chibcha Press in September of 2008. A copy of her book is currently on order for the Library.

This event is sponsored and supported by SWC’s Foundation and the School of Language and Literature. The Guest Writers Series invites authors whose work involves universal themes and multicultural contexts. Live literature enriches audiences by offering new ways to view everyday experiences. Faculty, staff, and students will gain an opportunity to think critically about the world around them through the myriad perspectives offered by the guest writers and their work.

Research the Library from home!

The Online Library is always open

Visit the SWC Online Library

> Full-text articles from journals, magazines, and newspapers

> Over 20,000 full-text e-books

> 24/7 reference assistance from librarians

> MLA & APA citation guides

> Useful websites for research

All resources are free to SWC students. Some resources may require a password. For more information read our Remote Access information page. Have a question? Ask a librarian!

Spring Break

The library will be closing at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday April 4 for Spring Break. We will reopen on Monday April 13 at 7:30 a.m.

Have a happy and safe Spring Break.

Got a Question? Need an Answer?

Try our Online Reference Chat Service

Real People - Real Help - Real Fast

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

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

Artstor: Peabody Museum Mayan Excavations

The ARTstor digital library and the Peabody Museum are digitizing and distributing approximately 55,000 archival photographs of Mayan excavations from the Carnegie Institution of Washington archive, which is housed at the museum. To date, approximately 37,000 photographs documenting archaeological excavations throughout Central America have already been released in the ARTstor Digital Library.

To view the Carnegie Institution of Washington Collection of Maya Archaeological Photographs : go to the ARTstor Digital Library, browse by collection, and select "Carnegie Institution of Washington Collection of Maya Archaeological Photographs " or enter the keyword search: "carnegie peabody ".


To view ARTstor from off campus locations you need to create an ARTstor account at http://www.artstor.org/ from any on campus computer.

April eBook of the Month

After the War: Nation-Building from FDR to George W. Bush By: James Dobbins, Michele A. Poole, Austin Long, Benjamin Runkle. The RAND Corporation, 2008

In recent decades, the United States' overwhelming military superiority has allowed it to "overawe" or overrun adversaries with comparative ease. However, consolidating victory and preventing a renewal of conflict has usually taken more time, energy, and resources than originally foreseen. Few recent efforts of this sort can be regarded as unqualified successes, and one or two must be accounted as clear failures.

After the War: Nation-Building from FDR to George W. Bush addresses the manner in which U.S. policy toward postconflict reconstruction has been created and implemented and the effect that these processes have had on mission outcomes. Through the lens of presidential decision making style and administrative structure, from the post-World War II era through the Cold War, post-Cold War era, and current war on terrorism, it is both possible and necessary to reassess how these elements can work in favor of, as well as against, the nation-building goals of the U.S. government and military and those of its coalition partners and allies.

After the War will be provided with free, unlimited access April 1-30.

If you have already established a NetLibrary account through Southwestern College Library, visit http://www.netlibrary.com/ and log in to read "After the War" or any of our other 19,000 electronic book titles from your home, work or any other off campus location.

If you do not have a NetLibrary account, you can create your own account from any computer on the Southwestern College campuses. Visit our NetLibrary information page .