Happy Holidays - Library Hours

Happy holidays and best wishes for the new year. We look forward to seeing you in 2010.

Southwestern College Library will reopen for the spring semester on Wednesday January 13, 2010 at 8:00 a.m..

Library hours during Winter break and 2010 Spring semester

This week in CQ Researcher

Housing the Homeless
by Peter Katel,
December 18, 2009

Is the solution more shelters or affordable housing?

The face of homelessness is changing in the United States. In the past, the homeless typically were single men and women who lived on the street or in shelters; many were mentally ill or drug addicts, or both. But today’s homeless may well be a suburban couple with children who lost their home to foreclosure and are staying with relatives or living at a shelter.

As the recession continues to ravage the middle class and the working poor, job losses and medical emergencies add to the number of homeless Americans. Advocates for the homeless also cite a shortage of affordable housing. A 2008 federal government survey showed a one-year 9 percent increase in families relying on homeless shelters. In recent months, local governments and school districts have been reporting homelessness cases more than doubling this year. But funding shortages may force agencies that help the homeless to curtail services.

• Can government end homelessness?
• Should the definition of homeless include people in unstable housing situations?
• Are housing subsidies the best way to help families facing homelessness?

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

Extended Library Hours During Finals

Are you looking for a quiet place to study for your final exams?

This week the library will be open longer for you.

Extended Library Hours - Main Campus

Monday December 14: 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday December 15: 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Wednesday December 16: 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Thursday December 17: 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Friday December 18: 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Got a Question? Need an Answer

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

Check It Out

The Wall Street Journal. Guide to Starting Your Financial Life
by Karen Blumenthal
Call Number: New Book ShelfHG179 .B56634 2009

The Wall Street Journal Guide to Starting Your Financial Life gets you off on the right financial foot, from tackling everyday choices like cell-phone plans and pet ownership to big decisions such as smart investment strategies and buying a car or a house. You’ll learn:

• How to open your first checking and savings accounts, get your first credit card, and establish good credit
• The ins and outs of starting a job, including information about taxes, choosing health insurance options, and saving for retirement
• How to budget for big purchases and expenses, such as paying off student loans, buying a car, and affording your housing
• Strategies for buying the little things you want and need without going broke
• The basics of investing, how to manage an inheritance, and the documents you need to protect your assets

This valuable resource puts you in the driver’s seat, so you will be in control of your money and on your way to achieving lifelong financial independence across any economic terrain.

Check out The Wall Street Journal Guide to Starting Your Financial Life, available on the library's New Book Shelf.

This Week in CQ Researcher

Prisoner Reentry by Peter Katel,
December 4, 2009

Can aid to ex-inmates significantly reduce recidivism?

Nearly three-quarters of a million prisoners will be released from state and federal prisons this year – an unprecedented number – and about half of them will be returned to prison over the next three years after committing new crimes or violating parole. As the recession makes it harder for ex-prisoners to find jobs and limits states’ ability to house rising numbers of inmates, worries about revolving-door incarceration are escalating.

Many experts see an answer to the problem in so-called reentry programs, which are designed to lower recidivism by helping soon-to-be-released or newly released prisoners land on their feet, sometimes assisting them in getting jobs before leaving prison. But even after enactment of former President George W. Bush’s Second Chance Act, which supports reentry programs, they remain relatively scarce. In fact, in many states, funding for prison needs has overtaken proposals to pay for reentry.

• Are state governments doing enough to help prisoners reenter society?
  
• Should government or private organizations provide subsidized jobs for ex-prisoners?
  
• Do reentry programs significantly reduce recidivism?

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

ARTstor: African art and field photography

ARTstor has collaborated with Christopher D. Roy to share approximately 3,500 images of African art and culture, now available in the Digital Library. The collection features images of West African art and culture, including ceremonial objects as well as documentation of their social context, use, and manufacture, such as performances employing masks, or techniques used in producing pottery, iron, leather, and weaving.

Roy is Professor of Art History and Elizabeth M. Stanley Faculty Fellow of African Art History at the University of Iowa. Since 1970, he has been photographing the rural villages and towns of the Bobo, Bwa, Fulani, Lobi, Mossi, and Nuna peoples in West Africa—primarily in Burkina Faso, but also in Ghana, Nigeria, and Niger.

To view the Christopher Roy: African Art and Field Photography collection: go to the ARTstor Digital Library, select the orange Go button in the upper right hand corner, then browse by collection, and click "Christopher Roy: African Art and Field Photography." Or search by the keyword: "christopher roy".

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