Taking an Online Class?

Join us for a one-hour orientation! The full schedule is posted on the Blackboard site.

We will go over the basics of the Blackboard course management system and being an online student.

No need to sign up, just be on time.

The Library is closed, but we're still here!

Ask us now!

Chat with a librarian

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Available for all SWC students

Closed for Winter Break

SWC Libraries are closed for Winter Break:

December 20, 2014 - January 19, 2015

The main campus SWC Library is open on Tuesday, January 20, 8 am - 5 pm.

Spring semester hours for all four locations begin on Wednesday, January 21.

Take a one-credit Library class!

Love the Library? Join us for a one-credit class this spring semester!

We have two classes to choose from:

1. Research Using the Internet 

LIB-151-501 (Reg Code: 93007) 

Units: 1.0

Instructor: McGee, Anthony 

Class meets from 01/21/15 to 03/14/15 

Taught ONLINE

2. Simplified Research:Print/Electronic 

LIB-110-601 (Reg Code: 93006) 

Units: 1.0 

Instructor: McGee, Anthony

Class meets from 01/21/15 to 05/29/15 

Taught ONLINE and CLASSROOM 

Location: Chula Vista Campus 

F 09:00AM to 09:50AM 

Room: L244 

LEC F 10:00AM to 10:50AM 

Room: L244 LAB 

Register for a spring Library class via Webadvisor.

Done with Finals? Looking for Fun?

It's time to give your brain a rest! Check out our Leisure Reading Collection on the 3rd floor. It's full of fun books to read over the winter break.

Books are available for 4-week check out with your SWC photo ID card. You may check out up to 25 books at a time!

Closed Dec 20 for Winter Break

SWC Libraries will be closed for Winter Break:

December 20, 2014 - January 19, 2015

The SWC Library at the main campus is open on Tuesday, January 20 from 8 am - 5 pm.

Spring semester hours for all four locations begin on Wednesday, January 21.

Database of the Week

E-books from EBSCOhost

• 30,936 full text books
• Free for SWC Students and Staff
• No special reading device required - just your internet browser!
• Not otherwise available on the internet

How do I access these books?

Go to the library's databases page and select: "Electronic Book Collection (EBSCOHost)" If you are off campus, follow the on-screen instructions for inputting your username and password.

Are they really free?

Yes, all 30,936 books are free for currently-enrolled SWC students, faculty, and staff.

Are they just like websites -- self-published books?

No, these are books published by high-quality publishers -- academic presses and others. They were originally published in print and have been converted to online versions.

What if I'm having problems finding what I need?

Ask a librarian! We are happy to help.

Study Late at the Library!

We are open late!

Extended Library hours continue this week, through December 17, 2014.

We are open 8 am - 9 pm.

Extended Hours Today!

We are open late!

Extended Library Hours 

December 8 – December 17, 2014

Monday -Thursday: 8 am - 9 pm

Friday: 8 am - 4 pm

Saturday: 10 am - 4 pm

Check It Out

Learn a Foreign Language Month is here!

Did you know in the library’s New Books collection there's a great title honoring this theme to check out? 

It's called, Como Aprendí Inglés : 55 latinos realizados relatan las lecciones de idioma y vida. It's edited by Tom Miller and published in 2007.

It is located in the library’s New Books shelves on the main floor with the call number: PE1066 .C66 2007. It is available for 4-week check out.

It can be found through the SWC Library’s Search the Library Catalog webpage. Just type in the title in the search box and you can find it in the results list.

This book is an interesting resource that focuses on the challenges and intricacies of learning English encountered by leading Latino artists, entertainers, politicians, authors, and athletes. Como Aprendí Inglés offers new insight into the how others learn a foreign language.

Come to the library to see more Learn a Foreign Language-related titles on display this month.

Cheers!

Review by Arnold Josafat, SWC Librarian

Study until 9 pm

We are open late!

Extended Library Hours 

December 8 – December 17, 2014

Monday -Thursday: 8 am - 9 pm

Friday: 8 am - 4 pm

Saturday: 10 am - 4 pm

Need help?

Ask us now!

Chat with a librarian

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Available for all SWC students

We are open until 9 pm today!

Extended Hours at the Library
December 8 - 17, 2014

Monday-Thursday: 8 am - 9 pm
Friday: 8 am - 4 pm
Saturday: 10 am - 4 pm

Saturday Hours

We are open Saturdays, 10 am - 2 pm

See you at the library!

Website of the Week

Educational Resources for New Arrivals and DACA Students http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/focus/immigration-resources.html

This site provided by the U.S. Department of Education is a wonderful resource for finding all the education related regulations and opportunities available to those who have immigrated into the United States. Whether you are looking for: K-12, higher education, or services for specific populations, this is the site to go to.

Information on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Students is very complete and up to date. There is information on student loans, how to apply for financial aid, loan forgiveness plans, resources for adult education, No Child Left Behind, and even a link to the newly proposed immigration reform. This is an excellent place to become informed, in a central place, about what is currently in effect.

Have a question?

We can help!

Ask us now!

Chat with a librarian

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Available for all SWC students

Learn a Foreign Language Month

December is Learn a Foreign Language Month! 

Stop by the Library's 3rd floor to view our display. Books may be checked out for four weeks with your SWC photo ID card. Ask staff at the Circulation Desk if you would like to check out any books on display.

Beginning next week... longer hours!

Extended Hours for Finals

Extended Library Hours 
December 8 – December 17, 2014

Monday -Thursday: 8 am - 9 pm
Friday: 8 am - 4 pm
Saturday: 10 am - 4 pm

Closed for Thanksgiving

SWC Libraries at Main Campus, San Ysidro, and Otay Mesa will close early, at 4 pm, on Wednesday, November 26. There will be no evening hours at the National City campus library.

SWC Libraries will be closed Thursday, November 27 - Sunday, November 30 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Regular hours resume on Monday, December 1, 2014.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Photo courtesy Lawrence OP, Flickr

Library closed? We're still here!

Ask us now!

Chat with a librarian

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Available for all SWC students

Libraries close at 4 pm this Wednesday

SWC Libraries at Main Campus, San Ysidro, and Otay Mesa will close early, at 4 pm, on Wednesday, November 26. There will be no evening hours at the National City campus library.

SWC Libraries will be closed Thursday, November 27 - Sunday, November 30 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Regular hours resume on Monday, December 1, 2014.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Photo courtesy Lawrence OP, Flickr

We are open Saturday!

Time to catch up on your work before the holidays? Stop by the library this Saturday, 10 am - 2 pm. We have quiet study spaces and free wireless!

Have a question? Ask a librarian!

Thanksgiving Holiday

SWC Libraries at Main Campus, San Ysidro, and Otay Mesa will close early, at 4 pm, on Wednesday, November 26. There will be no evening hours at the National City campus library.

SWC Libraries will be closed Thursday, November 27 - Sunday, November 30 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Regular hours resume on Monday, December 1, 2014.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday!

Photo courtesy Lawrence OP, Flickr

Website of the Week

Find the Best

http://www.findthebest.com/

• Trying to decide what SmartPhone to buy?
• Want to find the best hospital near you?
• Need to feed your new puppy?
• Choosing fantasy football players?
• Going on a trip and need travel tips?
• Comparing wars and death casualties?
• Looking for scholarships?
• Conducting genealogy research? 

This site has something for everybody! The best part is that you are able to compare each item against the rest. This site offers a Smart Rating system (which tells you what is the best, when appropriate), and it’s easy to find out how that Smart Rating system actually determined what is the best.

You can search, or you can browse. And, you are certain to discover something interesting.

FindTheBest is particularly useful when comparing a product or service that isn’t typically available on the same site – take a cell phone plan, for instance. You’ll want to know total cost (including activiation fees, how much data you get, different varieties of plans (e.g. individual, family), and contract types. This site can break it all down for you as if you exhaustively went to each service provider’s site. It allows you to find the service that fits your needs quickly and easily.

http://cell-plans.findthebest.com/

While FindTheBest claims you’ll know everything, you won’t find it all here. There are obvious limits. For instance, I wanted to look at the incomes of individual state employees, but they are limited to certain states. The data is compiled by groups of people, which is why it would be impossible to find it all.

But, when you can find something, you can also create interesting graphs, compare specific products or services of interest side-by-side, and get photos of the items you’re researching. Overall, it’s a research tool that helps visualize the data in a more simplistic and holistic manner.

Review by Lauren McFall, SWC Librarian

Have a question?

Ask us now!

Chat with a librarian

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Available for all SWC students

Native American Heritage Month

Visit the Library's display on the third floor highlighting Native American Heritage Month -- November 2014.

Notable Books Include: 

• Voice of the Turtle: American Indian Literature

• Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison

• Earth Song, Sky Spirit: Short Stories of the Contemporary Native American Experience

• Song of the Turtle: American Indian Literature, 1974-1994

• Reservation Blues

• Native Americans

• American Indians and the Fight for Equal Voting Rights

• American Indian Removal and the Trail to Wounded Knee

• American Indian Nations from Termination to Restoration, 1953-2006

• The Last Indian War: the Nez Perce Story

Check It Out

Native American Heritage Month is here!

Did you know in the library’s collection there's a great title honoring this theme to check out?

It's called, American Indian removal and the trail to Wounded Knee. It's written by Kevin Hillstrom and published in 2010. It is located in the library’s upper floor glass case display with the call number: E98.R4 H55 2010.

It is available for check out. Stop by the Circulation Desk to ask for assistance checking out books on display.

Books like this one can be found by searching the SWC Library Catalog. Just type in the title in the search box and you can find it in the results list.

This book is an interesting resource that focuses on the early development of the U.S. government policies towards removing Native American tribes, the events at Wounded Knee, and U.S. Calvary’s massacre of American Indians in 1890. American Indian removal and the trail to Wounded Knee offers new insight into the Native American experience.

Come to the library to see more Native American Heritage-related titles on display this month.

Cheers!

Review by Arnold Josafat, SWC Librarian

Coming in December... Longer Hours

Extended Hours for Finals

 

Extended Library Hours 
December 8 – December 17, 2014

Monday -Thursday: 8 am - 9 pm
Friday: 8 am - 4 pm
Saturday: 10 am - 4 pm

Website of the Week

Congress.gov is the official source for federal legislative information that recently became available to the general public. 

A collaboration among the Library of Congress, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Government Printing Office, Congress.gov is a free resource that provides searchable access to information related to Congress. The site takes the place of the legacy site THOMAS which has been around since 1995. Congress.gov is designed to allow access for internet users on mobile devices and support future needs.

Resources include:

• Bill status, summary, text
• Member profiles
• The Congressional Record 
• Committee reports
• Direct links from bills to cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office 
• Legislative process videos
• Committee profile pages and historic access reaching back to the 103rd Congress

Review by John Stanton, SWC Librarian

Reference Book of the Week

A Global History of Architecture

Francis D.K. Ching, Mark Jarzombek, and Vikramaditya Prakash

2010, 2nd ed.

Reference Section NA 200 C493 2011

I fell in love with this history of architecture.  It analyses structures from a different perspective than most books on this subject, including our other major source on world architecture (International Dictionary of Architects and Architecture).  It’s also set up differently, includes structures as well as buildings (e.g., the Great Wall), and covers all areas of the world rather than primarily the United States and Europe.

This text is organized chronologically by dividing the time between 3,500 BC and 1989 AD into 18 “time-cuts” (segments).  This allows the reader to compare what’s going on in various regions at roughly the same time.   Each “time-cut” begins with a one page description of the forces operating during that period which influenced its architecture.  These forces might be  historical, economic, religious, political, cultural, etc.  Next, there is a world map showing the locations of the structures to be discussed in that chapter, and then a timeline showing when and where the buildings were constructed.  In addition, it gives the major historical events or rulers in that time segment and in the geographical areas covered.  The discussions of the structures are arranged in each time-cut by the subcontinental area in which they are located.  Most are one to two pages in length and usually include from four to seven photos and drawings of floor plans, cross sections, etc.  (There are over 1,500 drawings and 1,000 photographs and maps in the book.)

The authors state that they are not as interested in pointing out the characteristics of architecture of a particular location or time period but in the “broad forces and exigencies of that time and location” which produced a particular building’s architectural style.  This is what fascinates me.

For instance, looking up the Boston Public Library in our traditional architectural source we find pictures of the old library and the annex.  Most of the discussion focuses on the history of building the library (e.g., how the funds were raised, the contributions of notable artists to the interior, and some criticisms of the building).  One paragraph contrasts this library with Labrouste’s Bibliotheque which the architect saw in Paris.  In addition, there is a physical description of the library and the sense it evokes (a classical, “sheltered elegance”, etc.)  and a list of sources.

When the library is looked up in the Global History of Architecture there is a picture of the library, one of Pennsylvania Station, and a sketch of an aerial view of Copley Square which the library abuts on one side.  The discussion of the library is labeled “City Beautiful Movement” rather than “Boston Public Library”.  It briefly discusses how once the US economy started to improve after the 1890s depression the architectural mood changed from dark, “Romanesque inspired motifs” to “the lighter and more ambitious motifs of the French Beaux-Arts”, and how the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 energized this change.  “… its integrated plan of buildings, parks, and walks” (including space for growth) became  a model of a successfully planned city with monumental architecture and inspired mayors across the country to draw up plans for their cities incorporating some of its principles and using the Beaux Arts style.  This became the “City Beautiful Movement. The article briefly describes the architecture of the Pennsylvannia Station and the Boston Public Library as examples of “City Beautiful Buildings”.  It mentions that the primary artist, McKim, was one of the leading champions of the Beaux-Arts style and drew ideas from Henri Labrouste’s Biblioteque in Paris.             

The next page contains a photograph of an architect’s office and is titled, “Rise of Professionalism” [in the architectural field].  It discusses exactly that, stating that the success of the Beaux-Arts movement caused increased attention to architects’ education, as did the World’s Columbian Exposition. The latter, “designed on a monumental scale and integrated into a master plan, served to demonstrate what professional architects could accomplish. “  (McKim, the primary architect of the Boston Public Library, was one of the architects who showed off their skill at the exposition.)

SWC Libraries Closed Monday

SWC Libraries are closed Monday, November 10, in observance of Veterans' Day.

Regular hours resume Tuesday, November 11, 2014.

Ask Us Now

Ask us now!

Chat with a librarian

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Available for all SWC students

Website of the Week

College Reviews: Student Reviews 
http://www.studentsreview.com

As many students begin to research transfer opportunities, this is a fun and helpful resource that offers a different perspective of daily life on college and university campuses.

 In addition to providing ratings and rankings, this site gives candid student perspectives of the social aspects of more than 3,000 colleges and universities in the United States. Entries include classes, administration, drug and alcohol use, campus news article clips, top earning majors, and tips for succeeding. Students rate their schools so that potential transfer students get a more in-depth perspective of the true climate of the campuses.

Review by Tanya Carr, SWC Librarian

Check It Out

Japanese-American internment during World War II
by Peggy Daniels Becker
Detroit, MI : Omnigraphics, c2014.

New Books Shelf: D769.8.A6 B43 2014

New Books may be checked out for four weeks with your SWC photo ID card.

Less than 48 hours after the Pearl Harbor bombing, the federal government began rounding up Japanese immigrants for questioning. The attack on Pearl Harbor signaled the beginning of a four-year period of turmoil, disruption, chaos, and fear for people of Japanese descent living in America. Within a few months of the Pearl Harbor attack, the U.S. government imposed a mandatory evacuation from the Pacific Coast of all people with Japanese ancestry. All Japanese immigrants and their children—including those who held U.S. citizenship—were relocated from their homes and forced into remote, jail-like facilities called internment camps scattered across the country. As they entered these bleak camps, many wondered if they would ever be accepted as Americans—or if they would ever see freedom again.

Defining Moments: Japanese-American Internment during World War II provides a detailed and authoritative overview of internment, one of the most controversial aspects of America’s otherwise triumphant intervention in World War II. The volume explains how the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led to the evacuation and internment of Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans; summarizes evacuation and internment procedures; details living conditions in the camps; discusses the economic, emotional, and physical toll of internment on Japanese-American families and communities; and ponders the legacy of internment on American society.

The volume is organized into three distinct sections—Narrative Overview, Biographies, and Primary Sources—which offer a one-stop resource for student research.

Summary from publisher website

Newspapers, TV, Radio -- All in One Place

Database of the Week: Newspaper Source Plus,
a library database from EBSCOhost.

This database is free for currently-enrolled SWC students.

Newspaper Source Plus provides more than 1,000 full-text newspapers, providing more than 38 million full-text articles from the U.S. and around the world. It features nearly 913,000 television and radio news transcripts, including: ABC News, CBS News, CNBC, CNN, CNN International, FOX News, MSNBC, National Public Radio, PBS, and more. This database is updated daily.

Get ahead this weekend!

We're open on Saturday.

10 am - 2 pm.

See you at the library!

Website of the Week

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum Interactive Exhibits

The home page of this website is overflowing with information. Frankly, a bit overwhelming. Meanwhile, I stumbled upon this Interactive Exhibits page and decided it was worth a mention. It's interesting, educational, and fun to use. In addition, it includes a bunch of primary sources.

The page is split up into 10 interactive web exhibits, so even this one page gives you a lot of different directions you can go. Keep it simple and try one or two. For example, take a look at what was going on in the world with the JFK interactive timeline or check out "World on the Brink" for a look and listen to documents and audio from 13 days in October 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

For a look inside the Oval Office check out "The President's Desk." From behind the desk you will see a number of clickable glowing items of interest. These include family photographs, presidential correspondence, various sound recordings, the White House diary, knick knacks, JFK campaign films and other campaign materials, and much more. I'd suggest using sound if possible. If you like history or remember these events prepare to lose some time exploring!

Review by Nate Martin, SWC Librarian

Have a question?

Ask us now!

Chat with a librarian

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Available for all SWC students

Check It Out

The Public School Advantage : Why Public Schools Outperform Private Schools
by Christopher A. Lubienski and Sarah Thuele Lubienski.
The University of Chicago Press, 2014.
New Book Shelf: LB1556.5 .L93 2014
Available for 4 week check out with your SWC photo ID card.

Nearly the whole of America’s partisan politics centers on a single question: Can markets solve our social problems? And for years this question has played out ferociously in the debates about how we should educate our children. From the growth of vouchers and charter schools to the implementation of No Child Left Behind, policy makers have increasingly turned to market-based models to help improve our schools, believing that private institutions—because they are competitively driven—are better than public ones. With The Public School Advantage, Christopher A. and Sarah Theule Lubienski offer powerful evidence to undercut this belief, showing that public schools in fact outperform private ones.

For decades research showing that students at private schools perform better than students at public ones has been used to promote the benefits of the private sector in education, including vouchers and charter schools—but much of these data are now nearly half a century old. Drawing on two recent, large-scale, and nationally representative databases, the Lubienskis show that any benefit seen in private school performance now is more than explained by demographics. Private schools have higher scores not because they are better institutions but because their students largely come from more privileged backgrounds that offer greater educational support. After correcting for demographics, the Lubienskis go on to show that gains in student achievement at public schools are at least as great and often greater than those at private ones. Even more surprising, they show that the very mechanism that market-based reformers champion—autonomy—may be the crucial factor that prevents private schools from performing better. Alternatively, those practices that these reformers castigate, such as teacher certification and professional reforms of curriculum and instruction, turn out to have a significant effect on school improvement.

Despite our politics, we all agree on the fundamental fact: education deserves our utmost care. The Public School Advantage offers exactly that. By examining schools within the diversity of populations in which they actually operate, it provides not ideologies but facts. And the facts say it clearly: education is better off when provided for the public by the public.

Summary from publisher's website. http://www.press.uchicago.edu

4 SWC Locations -- 4 SWC Libraries

Library/Learning Resource Center

Main Campus

900 Otay Lakes Road
Chula Vista , CA 91910
Phone Number: 619-482-6397
Fax: 619-482-6417
TTY: 619-482-6490
Email: library@swccd.edu

August 18 through December 19, 2014
Monday - Thursday: 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Sunday: Closed

Holidays -- Libraries are Closed
Labor Day - September 1
Veteran's Day - November 10
Thanksgiving - November 27-30
Winter Break - December 20 - January 19

Higher Education Center at National City - Library
880 National City Boulevard
National City, CA 91950
Phone Number: 619-216-6665 x4868
Email: libraryhec@swccd.edu

Higher Education Center at National City - Librarian Available
August 18 through December 19, 2014
Monday: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday: 3:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. & 3:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Thursday: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Higher Education Center at Otay Mesa - Library
8100 Gigantic Street
San Diego, CA 92154
Phone Number: 619-216-6750 x4424
Email: libraryom@swccd.edu

Higher Education Center at Otay Mesa - Librarian Available
August 18 through December 19, 2014
Monday: 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Thursday: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

 

Higher Education Center at San Ysidro - Library
480 West San Ysidro Boulevard
San Ysidro, CA 92173
Phone Number: 619-216-6790 x4907
Email: librarysy@swccd.edu

Higher Education Center at San Ysidro - Librarian Available
August 18 through December 19, 2014
Monday: 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Tuesday:11:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday: 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Thursday: 9:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.