Website of the Week

What's better than Wikipedia to find out facts about a country? The CIA World Factbook!

With overviews of over 250 countries, the World Factbook is a great first stop for information about a country or region's geography, politics, economy, culture, and more! Well-organized and easy to navigate, this free online database makes finding basic facts and statistics about a country painless. It is updated weekly, which ensures the most timely information on a world entity.

Their beautiful, high resolution maps and flags make it a great resource to use for PowerPoint presentations and poster projects, as well. And, because it is published by the Central Intelligence Agency, it is appropriate to use in academic research.

The World Factbook 2013-14. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2013. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

July is Park and Recreation Month

Visit our display on the 3rd floor of the Library!

Books on display are available for four week check out with your SWC photo ID card. Stop by the Circulation Desk for assistance.

Check It Out

Did you know there’s a great e-book related to National Park and Recreation Month available to access online?

It's called, Touring the National Parks of California. It's written by Larry H. Ludmer. Hunter Publishing published it in 2009. 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.

Since it is an e-book, it is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with any computer or mobile device with Internet access. If you are on-campus using a school computer, you can click on the e-book weblink to access it immediately. If you are off-campus, you will need to enter your WebAdviser user ID information and the password you use for it before accessing the e-book. More information about off-campus access to library e-books or article databases is available through the Off-Campus Access weblink found on the library’s homepage under Quick Links.

This book is a great resource for anyone interested the national parks located in California. Touring the National Parks of California provides information on how to get these parks, what’s there to see or do, and tips on when to go to avoid the crowds. 

Come to the library to see more national park and recreation-related titles on display this month.

Cheers!

Book review by Arnold Josafat, SWC Librarian

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Available for all SWC students

Database of the Week

Country Watch is available to all currently-enrolled SWC students, staff, and faculty. This database includes publications about every country -- including demographic, political, economic, business, cultural and environmental information.

Data can be viewed a variety of ways, including via thematic, physical, and political maps. You may also access CountryWire, which provides daily news coverage for every country in the world.

Source: Country Watch

Read more about how to access library databases from off campus.

Have a question? Ask a librarian!

Check It Out

The secret language of color : science, nature, history, culture, beauty of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet
by Joann Eckstut and Arielle Eckstut
New Book Area, call number: QC 495.3 E25 2013.

If color is a secret language of Nature, as one of the reviewer of this book stated, than what we see is the many translations of this language by Science, History, Culture, Sociology and other scientific fields.

This wonderful book explains the physics and chemistry of colors first, and then assigns a chapter to the primary and secondary colors, along with the Universe, and the objects that form it, at least in our neighborhood, the Earth, plants animals and humans. The chapters wave an interesting story explaining the history, art, culture, geology, chemistry, etc. of our world.

We can learn why saffron is the most expensive spice on Earth and how it is harvested, or where the term “blue blood’ comes from. We learn about the importance of chlorophyll, why and how can a butterfly see more colors than a human (and why a bat is living in a world of shades of grays and black), skin tone names from Brazil, colorblindness, palettes through times and countries and many many more interesting tidbits. The book is rich in color illustrations and photos.

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

Review by Erika Prange, SWC Librarian

Taking Classes at San Ysidro?

Stop by the Library!

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 
June 16 through July 31, 2014
Monday: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thursday: 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.