Top Shelf

by Patty Torres and Karen Smith, SWC Librarians

Book Selection
Encyclopedia of Death and Dying
Edited by Glennys Howarth and Oliver Leaman
Call# Reference HQ 1073 E543 2002

In keeping with the spirit of Halloween and “All Saints’ Day” I picked this title. This is a single volume encyclopedia with entries on all aspects of death and dying. It is arranged alphabetically by subject with both short and lengthy entries. There are some biographical entries as well. Tables and figures accompany some entries.

One can read up on such topics as the “black plague”, “bodysnatchers”, and of course on “Halloween” and “All Saints’ Day”. It also provides some peculiar entries, like “Death by Chocolate”. What is that? It’s “the name of a dessert…generally very high in cholesterol and contains generous amounts of chocolate”.

Entries provide sources for further reading and cross-referencing.
-Patty


Website Selection
U.S. Green Building Council
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19

Everyone is claiming to be going green these days. Developers of new construction talk about green building, green roofs, LEED certification. What does green building really mean? Take a look at the U.S. Green Building Council’s site and find out the standards of green-ness for homes, for schools, for retail establishments, and so on.
-Karen