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?

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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.

Database of the Week

E-books - read them from home!

The EBSCOhost E-book database has thousands of e-books on a wide range of subjects. These full-text books are freely available to all SWC students, faculty, and staff.

Do your research from home!

Have a question? Ask a librarian!

Website of the Week

Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States 
The Digital Scholarship Lab (DSL) of the University of Richmond
http://dsl.richmond.edu/historicalatlas/

This digital atlas presents the cartographic history of the United States but also features the latest interactive technology. The website offers many different entry points for visitors to explore the collection of digitized maps, with the time-lapse feature being a favorite of mine.

The Digital Scholarship Lab (DSL) of the University of Richmond created this digital version of the Charles O. Paullin and John K. Wright's 1932 Atlas of Historical Geography of the United States.

Reproducing nearly 700 maps, this digitization project has enhanced the original collection and added the dramatic functionality of 21st century technology. The Atlas will trace for you the expedition of Lewis and Clark and many other explorers. I suggest that you start with the Table of Contents to see the many ways this resource can be integrated into classroom curriculum or used for your own exploration in our American past.

Review by Tony McGee, SWC Librarian

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24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Available for all SWC students

Orientations for Online Students

This week! Join us for a free orientation.

One hour, drop in orientations for online students begin next week.

Primary Sources - Today @ 11 am

 Primary Sources Workshop

When: 
Tuesday, October 14, 11 am - 12 pm
-- OR --
Wednesday, October 15, 2 pm - 3 pm

Where: 
L-244, Library

What:
Free, one-hour workshop on primary sources.

What are primary sources, and how can you find them? Ask your instructor if they offer extra credit for attending library workshops.

No need to sign up, just be on time!

This Week! Primary Sources

 Primary Sources Workshop

When: 
Tuesday, October 14, 11 am - 12 pm
-- OR --
Wednesday, October 15, 2 pm - 3 pm

Where: 
L-244, Library

What:
Free, one-hour workshop on primary sources.

What are primary sources, and how can you find them? Ask your instructor if they offer extra credit for attending library workshops.

No need to sign up, just be on time!

Falling behind?

We are open on Saturday!

10 am - 2 pm

The library is a cool, quiet place to study.

See you there!

Online Student?

Join us for a free orientation!

One hour, drop in orientations for online students begin next week.

Website of the Week

PetMD.com 

Many of us have used the site WebMD.com to learn about our own illnesses and health-related concerns. Often I have used the interactive ‘symptom checker’ to try to self-diagnose medical conditions, or at least get a better idea of what might be ‘wrong’ with me, before talking to my doctor.

So I was delighted to learn that there is a similar website, PetMD.com, for our pets, complete with the interactive symptom-checker! Owned by Pet360, Inc., it is has several veterinarians on staff, whose credentials and expertise are summarized on the site. Complete with a library of 10,000 articles and resources on pet related topics, you can also ‘ask the vet’ a question. If you sign up for the free mypetmd.com, you can get alerts for pet food recalls, and other information tailored to your interests.

One of the fun sections I discovered recently is place reached via the tab Breeds, where breeds of cats are listed, with descriptions of personality traits, and photos submitted by site users. I looked up the Russian Blue cat breed and was astonished to see that their personality description fit my Theo to a T!

So whether you are looking for general pet care information, specifics about a particular pet illness or pet breed, or want to cruise the site for current news and tidbits about pets, I heartily suggest you visit http://PetMD.com!

Review by Ann Willard, SWC Librarian

Today and Tomorrow! Primary Sources

 Primary Sources Workshop

When: 
October 8, 11 am - 12 pm
October 9, 2 pm - 3 pm

Where: 
L-244, Library

What:
Free, one-hour workshop on primary sources.
What are primary sources, and how can you find them? Ask your instructor if they offer extra credit for attending library workshops.

No need to sign up, just be on time!

Governing Board Listening Tour

The Library was pleased to host Governing Board members Tim Nader and Humberto Peraza on Tuesday, October 7, for a Listening Tour of Library services and resources.

The tour also included a viewing of the Library's special exhibit of photographs of the college's history from the Library Archives.

As part of Disability Awareness Month, Superintendent/President Melinda Nish experienced campus life, including the Listening Tour, in a wheelchair on Tuesday.

SWC Librarian Receives ACCESS Award

Tony McGee, SWC Librarian, was awarded the Diane Branman Faculty/Staff ACCESS Award at the 2nd annual Access Awards Breakfast today.

In his role as a campus librarian, Tony championed for the inclusion of accessible computer stations in the library. He also advocated for licensing updates in order to keep this accessible technology current and relevant. As an ADA/UDE Committee member, Tony has been part of the team that promoted the need for restroom accessibility, an accessible campus van, and has been instrumental in putting together captioning guidelines and resources for faculty.

Tony has greatly contributed to making SWC a user-friendly accessible campus for students with disabilities.

Today! Governing Board Listening Tour

The Southwestern College Library is pleased to welcome Governing Board members Tim Nader and Humberto Peraza to the Library today as part of a series of Governing Board Listening Tours.

The tour begins at 11 am in L-244 and continues to the Academic Success Center (Building 420) at 11:30 am.

Database of the Week

Issues and Controversies in American History

This searchable, in-depth database provides the background, outcomes, and contemporary points of view for major topics in American history.

Information is supplemented by primary source documents, biographies, images, and statistical charts.

Access this database and others from off campus. All of these resources are available for free to SWC students, faculty, and staff.

Stuck? We can help!

Ask us now!

Chat with a librarian

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Available for all SWC students

The Hieroglyphs on the Library Building

The "Old God" is a universal image in Maya art, and represents wisdom, experience, and respect accorded the elders of all American native people. Among the Maya pantheon, the most important is Itzamnaaj (pronounce "Eat-Sahm-Nah), the patron of learning and writing. He usually wears an obsidian-mirror diadem on his forehead and sometimes appears as his alter-ego, the Celestial Bird Itsam-ye.

The image on the LRC building's elevator shaft was designed by painting instructor Roberto Salas, and was adapted from an illustration in the Dresden Codex, the most beautiful and rare of Maya books (only four Maya manuscripts survive today; all the rest were burned by Spanish friars in 1560), which was a kind of almanac, listing eclipses, phases of Venus, the auspicious days for various tasks.

The hieroglyph repeated 14 times across the front of the building is adapted from Quirigua, Guatemala, a beautiful cast of which stands in San Diego's Museum of Man in Balboa Park. It consists of the head of a chop-fallen (nearly toothless) Old God wearing the obsidian-mirror diadem, which identifies him as Itzamnaaj. A Maya convention indicated the god's wisdom by giving them enourmous all-seeing eyes. His head is preceded by sideways T-shaped glyph elements that reads Nah, meaning "house" or "temple." Thus the glyph can be interpreted as "House of Itzamnaaj" or "Temple of Learning."

The glyph was designed in calligraphic style of ancient Maya books by Mark Van Stone, a professor of Art History at Southwestern College.