Can you spot the librarians?

Come to the Lee library and study with Fred, our skeleton model. We have a lot of other anatomy models to choose from as well.  Ask us at the Circulation desk.

We are listening and want you to tell us what you think about Edison State College Libraries.  Click here to take our annual Spring survey. It's short and fun to click on the buttons.   

Edison Library Survey

Every Spring semester since 1996, Edison State College has hosted the Dr. Talbot Spivak Holocaust Memorial Week to educate students and the community about the Holocaust, to honor its victims and survivors, to cultivate tolerance, and to promote awareness of modern-day genocide in support of the world's promise of "Never Again."  This year's events will be held from Monday March 18th through Friday March 22nd.   

Click here for a complete schedule, including talks from Holocaust survivors, film viewings, special presentations, and round table discussions. 

The Hendry/Glades library has free copies of I Have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Bitton-Jackson for Hendry/Glades students to pick up,  and there will be an informal discussion about the book on April 3rd at 4pm in the library (A-109). There will also be refreshments. 

Here is a synopsis of the book:

In a graphic present-tense narrative this Holocaust memoir describes what happens to a Jewish girl who is 13 when the Nazis invade Hungary in 1944. She tells of a year of roundups, transports, selections, camps, torture, forced labor, and shootings, then of liberation and the return of a few. For those who have read Leitner's stark The Big Lie (1992), this is a much more detailed account, with the same authority of a personal witness. Horrifying as her experience is, she doesn't dwell on the atrocities. There is hope here. Unlike many adult survivor stories, this does not show the victims losing their humanity. The teenager and her mother help each other survive; they save each other from the gas chambers. Even in the slaughter of the cattle trucks strafed by machine-gun fire, "words of comfort emerge from every corner." The occasional overwriting about "drowning in a morass of pain and helplessness" is unfortunate. The facts need no rhetoric. On every page they express her intimate experience. After the war, the teenager finds her brother, hears how her father died. She wonders whether she dare enjoy the luxury of being a girl, of "having hair." A final brief chronology of the Holocaust adds to the value of this title for curriculum use with older readers. Hazel Rochman

 

Heart of a Warrior by Jim Langlas  - The inspiration for this book comes from the ancient Korean history of the Hwarang— young student-warriors who worked to strengthen their spirits as well as their fighting skills. Author Jim Langlas, an educator and Taekwondo master, presents seven principles that are rooted in the long tradition of Taekwondo and are also tied to modern character education: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, indomitable spirit, community service, and love. Breaking each of the principles into four fundamentals, Langlas explores them through a mix of storytelling from the Hwarang and writing from his own former students, describing ways in which they’ve applied these principles to their own lives and inspiring readers to do the same. Rounding out the narrative are questions to spur reflection, discussion, and action. A background or interest in Taekwondo or other martial arts is by no means necessary for readers to understand and benefit from this engaging book. Its storytelling aspect—and especially the enduring appeal of traditional master/student tales—will resonate with teens of varying interests and backgrounds.

Freeloaders by Merle Metcalfe - When Karen Sinclair retires early from Microsoft, she heads to Florida to make her dream come true-sunshine, walks on the beach, and time for herself. But living in paradise means everybody visits you-and stays-and stays. Karen can't say NO to the freeloaders who take advantage of her hospitality. She has become an innkeeper and tour guide.But to her horror (and sometimes her guilty relief), the pesky guests start to die-always by accident, nothing Karen could have prevented. The coroner is beginning to wonder about the string of accidents. In the meantime, she meets a man with a surprising past, a man who knows what Karen needs to do to free herself. 

Crucible of Innocence by Roger Forsythe - May Angels walk among us? May reincarnation be possible? May the loss of Innocence be prevented? Composed in the style of New Beat Romanticism, Roger W. Forsythe's debut "Poetic Novel" answers "Yes!" to all three. Through the Myth of Being, a Theory of Aural Compassion, Positive Capability and "P=bs2" (Poetry=body/soul2), the fiction of Conrad's world may offer clues into the reality of our own.

Dealing With Stress by Lisa Wroble - Do you feel stressed out? Everyone does sometimes. School, extracurricular activites, and family obligations can take their toll on teens. But you can learn how to keep your life from overwhelming you. In DEALING WITH STRESS: A HOW-TO GUIDE, you can find out what causes stress, how your body handles it, what happens when you have too much stress or don't deal with it correctly, and suprisingly, when stress can be a good thing.

Stand Up Summer by Leslie Sutter - Ever dreamed of making it as a stand-up comic? This English professor "hit the road" on his summer off to chase the dream. A fictional account deeply rooted in the realities of today. A humor-filled and informative romp through the world of stand-up comedy. Rated: PG-13

Our very own faculty librarian William Shuluk is a 2012-2013 NISOD (National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development) award winner!  Here are a couple of quotes from the many nominations he received: 

“William Shuluk is one of the most helpful faculty members on campus. Whether you are a student, staff or faculty member, he would skip meals and lose sleep if it meant helping you. He is a dedicated, selfless representative of the best aspects of this college.” 

“Bill is one of the most popular librarians at Edison. Students frequently approach the library staff asking for Bill, commenting on how the former cop-librarian was so helpful, knowledgeable, and downright cool. Professors also often request Bill. 
Both students and professors are drawn to Bill because he is fair, knowledgeable, personable, and enthusiastic.”

Congratulations Bill!

Credo Reference is a new type of database. It searches its own collection of encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and other types of reference materials as well as the Edison Libraries’ other databases and eBooks. This gives you easy access to multiple search tools and a wide variety of resources. In Credo, you can put an issue in context, find out the facts, and link to entire books and relevant articles in the Libraries’ databases. You also can easily create a citation for each source in APA or MLA format.

Note that reference materials are sources which provide definitions, background information, overviews, facts, and opinions on just about any topic.

Ask any Edison librarian to give you a tour of Credo Reference, which is accessible from the Libraries’ homepage by clicking Articles in Databases, logging in, and clicking the “General” subject category. You also can access Credo from the databases’ alphabetical list.  

With that in mind, here's a good book that you might find interesting. Contact your local campus to obtain a copy. 

I am the Messenger - Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.
 
That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.
 
That's when Ed becomes the messenger.
 
Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?
A 2005 Michael L. Printz Honor Book and recipient of five starred reviews, I Am the Messenger is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love. - Amazon.com

Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche: "The most devastating consequence of the spread of American culture across the globe has not been our golden arches or our bomb craters, but our bulldozing of the human psyche itself. American-style depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anorexia have begun to spread around the world like contagions, and the virus is us. Traveling from Hong Kong to Sri Lanka to Zanzibar to Japan, acclaimed journalist Ethan Watters witnesses firsthand how Western healers often steamroll indigenous expressions of mental health and madness and replace them with our own. In teaching the rest of the world to think like us, we have been homogenizing the way the world goes mad." - Amazon.com

Beyond Boundaries: The New Neuroscience of Connecting Brains with Machines---and How It Will Change Our Lives: "Imagine living in a world where people use their computers, drive their cars, and communicate with one another simply by thinking. In this stunning and inspiring work, Duke University neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis shares his revolutionary insights into how the brain creates thought and the human sense of self—and how this might be augmented by machines, so that the entire universe will be within our reach." - Amazon.com

Christ to Coke: How Image Becomes Icon: "How does an image become iconic? In Christ to Coke, eminent art historian Martin Kemp offers a highly original look at the main types of visual icons. Lavishly illustrated with 165 color images, this marvelous work illuminates eleven universally recognized images, both historical and contemporary, to see how they arose and how they continue to function in our culture." - Amazon.com

Communists and Perverts Under the Palms: "Clearly and closely analyzes the actions and motivations of one of the segregationist South’s most formidable institutions. Based on archival source materials, this is an original and important addition to our expanding knowledge of the mechanics of southern resistance to desegregation and the development of modern conservatism."--George Lewis, University of Leicester 

Education and the Crisis of Public Values:  Challenging the Assault on Teachers, Students, & Public Education: Education and the Crisis of Public Values examines the shift in American society away from democratic public values, the ensuing move toward a market-driven mode of education, and the growing social disinvestment in youth in the last decade. -  Amazon.com

Here is one of our new E-books.  Access this book from home or anywhere with an internet connection. Just log in with your student ID number and library PIN number. 

Creative People Must Be Stopped: "Everybody wants innovation—or do they? Creative People Must Be Stopped shows how individuals and organizations sabotage their own best intentions to encourage "outside the box" thinking. It shows that the antidote to this self-defeating behavior is to identify which of the six major types of constraints are hindering innovation: individual, group, organizational, industry-wide, societal, or technological. Once innovators and other leaders understand exactly which constraints are working against them and how to overcome them, they can create conditions that foster innovation instead of stopping it in its tracks." - Amazon.com

The library also has an extensive collection of DVDs to choose from. This one was just featured in The Rush Library Film Series:

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity For Women Worldwide: "Take an unforgettable journey with six actress/advocates and New York Times journalist Kristof to meet some of the most courageous individuals of our time, who are doing extraordinary work to empower women and girls everywhere. These are stories of heartbreaking challenge, dramatic transformation and enduring hope. You will be shocked, outraged, brought to tears. Most important, you will be inspired by the resilience of the human spirit and the capabilities of women and girls to realize their staggering potential." - Amazon.com

With Films on Demand, you can watch quality educational videos from home or anywhere. Just log in to the Edison databases here with your student ID library PIN number.  Films on Demand is listed under the "Streaming Video" heading. 

Find your Zen in the library on the weekends.  Click here for a complete list of opening hours for all campus libraries.