Happy Spring Break

The Online Library is open!

Need help over the break? Ask a librarian!

SWC Libraries are closed for Spring Break and Cesar Chavez Day. Libraries resume regular hours on Tuesday, April 2.

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24/7 Reference chat service

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Burgers for Books - Tuesday!

Have a burger and support the library! The SWC Book Club presents Burgers for Books.

When: Tuesday, March 19, 11 am - 12 pm
Where: Amphitheatre
What: Burgers and chicken sandwiches from McDonalds, chips, and drinks

All funds raised will help purchase books for the SWC Library and the Chula Vista Public Library.

See you there!

Burger/Chicken Sandwich: $1.75
Combo (water/juice, Sun Chips, burger/chicken sandwich): $3.00
Sun Chips (original, French onion, harvest cheddar, or garden salsa): .75
Capri Sun (pacific cooler, wild cherry, fruit punch, and strawberry kiwi): .75 Water: .75

Library Closed March 23 - April 1

All SWC Libraries are closed March 23 - April 1 for Spring Break and for Cesar Chavez Day. The libraries resume regular hours on Tuesday, April 2.

Need help when the library is closed? Try our chat reference service. Chat reference is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even holidays.

The SWC Online Library gives you access to e-books and full text periodical articles. Access from off campus is available with the current passwords.

Have a wonderful spring break!

Free Orientation for Online Students

When: Saturday, March 16, 10 AM
Where: Room L-244 (Library)
What: One hour orientation for online students

Stop by for an introduction to online learning at Southwestern College. Learn how to navigate your course management system (Blackboard), including how to complete assignments and check your grades! Hands-on time is available at the end of class. No need to sign up, just be on time!

Check It Out

Faith : a novel

by Jennifer Haigh

New York : Harper, 2011

New Book Area: PS3608.A544 F35 2011

"It is the spring of 2002 and a perfect storm has hit Boston. Across the city’s archdiocese, trusted priests have been accused of the worst possible betrayal of the souls in their care. Estranged for years from her difficult and demanding family, Sheila McGann has remained close to her older brother, Art, the popular, dynamic pastor of a large suburban parish. When Art finds himself at the center of the maelstrom, Sheila returns to Boston, ready to fight for him and his reputation. But what she discovers is more complicated than she imagined as the scandal forces long-buried secrets to surface.

Elegantly crafted and sharply observed, Jennifer Haigh’s Faith is a haunting meditation on loyalty and family that demonstrates how the truth can shatter our deepest beliefs—and restore them."
Book description from back cover

 “Both riveting and profound. . . . An incredibly suspenseful novel.” (Washington Post )

Check out this book for four weeks with your SWC photo ID card.

Have a question?

Ask a Librarian!

24/7 Chat Reference

Real People, Real Help

Essay Contest Deadline: March 13 at 4 PM

The Friends of the Library are sponsoring an essay contest based on the 2013 College Book, Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. Only currently enrolled SWC students may enter.

This is the prompt: 

Lily seems willing to sacrifice everything to defend her principles and the rights of others. On more than one occasion, she is fired from a teaching position for refusing to back down from what she believes in. Do you applaud Lily’s moral conviction in these instances? Or did you hope that Lily would learn to compromise? Have you ever had to struggle with moral conviction? Did you stand firm or compromise? 

• Essay must be no more than 3 pages, double-spaced, using 12-point type.
• Only original submissions that are the student's own work will be considered. Do not research or use any sources other than Half Broke Horses. Failure to follow these guidelines will result in disqualification.
• Attach an additional page giving name, student ID #, email address, and phone number. No identifiers (name, ID#, etc.) can appear in the essay itself.
• Deadline is Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at 4 p.m. Late entries will not be accepted.
• Send essay and additional page as attachments to essaycontest@swccd.edu
• Questions? Contact Diane Gustafson dgustafson@swccd.edu or (619) 482-6433.

The winner of the essay contest will receive an iPad mini (white, 32 GB, Wi-Fi).

Database of the Month

Salem History: The Sixties in America

Access this database from off campus with the current passwords.

"The Sixties in America, an e-book encyclopedia, surveys the events and people of the 1960's, a turbulent decade that had a profound and lasting effect on the life and culture of the United States. It not only provides in-depth coverage of all aspects of the three major events of the 1960's that give the decade its distinctive character—the Civil Rights movement, the social revolution, and the Vietnam War—but also surveys important developments in the arts, science and technology, business and the economy, government and politics, and gender issues.

In addition, to impart a sense of what people were doing and thinking during the decade, the e-book looks at the most important people and events in the arts, media, music, and sports and covers the headline-grabbing news items of the period. Written with the needs of students and general readers in mind, the encyclopedia articles present clear discussions of the topics, explaining any terms and references that may be unfamiliar."

Review from Publisher  

This database and other library databases are accessible from off campus with the current passwords.

Our Site Has Moved

Southwestern College unveiled its new website today and SWC Library has a new address - http://www2.swccd.edu/~library

Please update your bookmark or shortcut!

 

Check It Out

Run, Swim, Throw, Cheat: The Science Behind Drugs in Sports by Chris Cooper. Oxford University Press, 2012.

New Books Area: RC1230.C59 2012

Check out this book or any other new book for four weeks with your SWC photo ID card.

"Written by top biochemist Chris Cooper, Run, Swim, Throw, CHEAT explains how people have cheated in the past, how they cheat now, and how they will cheat in the future.

From anabolic steroids to human growth hormone and the blood booster EPO, Cooper separates the truth from the hype, revealing what works and what doesn't work. More disturbing, the book argues that science has barely touched the surface of performance enhancement; there are many, many drugs yet to be discovered. Future developments are limited only by our imagination, research funding, and, of course, ethics. Moreover, recent findings of genetic enhancements on animals show it is possible to create super animals that far outperform their peers, suggesting that the top human athletes of the future may get there via gene manipulation. Cooper also argues that drug testing is of necessity imperfect and the rules arbitrary. And it cannot succeed, as it will always fight a losing battle between doper and tester. But the alternative--free access to all chemical tools--is not necessarily desirable. Just because a war cannot be won, does not mean that surrendering will lead to better sport.

Cooper concludes that the problem of drugs in sports mirrors the problem of drugs in society--we may not like them, we may rage against them, but they are here to stay. No one should think there will ever be a time when athletes can be completely prevented from using chemistry to enhance their sports performance."

Description from publisher

Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month

Sojourner Truth (image courtesy Library of Congress)

Library of Congress - Women's History Month 2013
Background information, images, videos, and other interesting links highlight the role of women in United States history.

Find articles, e-books, images, statistics, interviews, and more about women's history in the library's databases. Accessible from off campus with the current passwords.

Additional topics related to women's history:

Suffrage
SWC Library - Books and E-books about Suffrage

Pintrest -  "A National Policy of Nagging"

"Suffragists faced a difficult road in their march towards equality. Even women opposed giving women the right to vote. One letter calls it 'an endorsement of nagging as a national policy.' March 3 marks 100 years since suffragists marched on Washington. In honor of this event, the 19th Amendment will be on display from March 1 to March 9, 2013."

Pioneers
SWC Library - Books and E-books about Women Pioneers

Library of Congress - Women Pioneers in American Memory
Journals and letters from women pioneers (1849-1900) and songs and narratives of migrant workers (1930s).

Scientists
SWC Library - Books and E-books about Women Scientists

University of Alabama Astronomy Department - 4000 Years of Women in Science

Primary Sources - Today at 12:30!