February 2003

To mark African American History Month, the library has created a Timeline of African American History, now on display in the library’s windows. Come see this 35-foot long exhibit containing over 160 captioned pictures illustrating events from the landing of the first slaves at Jamestown in 1619 to Halle Berry’s Best Actress Oscar last year. Some have been kind enough to offer positive comments. “It’s wonderful,” says Patrick Seyon, adjunct professor of Social Sciences, stressing how important it is that the College help students understand their own heritage. Hopefully, the Timeline will stimulate a few research papers this semester.

Other ideas for African American History Month:

• Look at the display in the library of book jackets, art reproductions and illustrated biographical sketches, all on African American topics, loaned by Peggy Brown, adjunct professor in the English Department.

• Read or reread W.E.B. Du Bois’ landmark book The Souls of Black Folk. This is the 100^th anniversary of the book’s publication. Assessing the book’s continued relevance is the reason that the theme of this year’s African American History Month is "The Souls of Black Folk: Centennial Reflections.”
• “Herein lie buried many things which if read with patience may show the strange meaning of being black here at the dawning of the Twentieth Century. This meaning is not without interest to you, Gentle Reader; for the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line.” W.E.B Du B.
• The library has 2 copies of the book (E185 .D8 1961) as well as an online eBook version. (To get to the online version, choose Electronic Resources on the library’s website http://www.rcc.mass.edu/lib and select E-Books).
• Read one of the biographies of Du Bois and then explore the library’s Du Bois microfilm collection starting with the printed index.
• Explore the hundreds of books in the library’s African American collection, most in the E185 sections.
• Explore one of these good websites devoted to African American history:
• Gateway to African American History http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/blackhis/
• African American World Timeline http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/timeline.html
• Encyclopedia Britannica Guide to Black History http://search.eb.com/blackhistory/
• Internet Public Library site http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/soc40.05.00/
• Black Heritage Trail, site of the Museum of Afro American History, Boston http://www.afroammuseum.org/trail.htm

VALENTINE’S TWO-DAY BOOK SALE & FLEA MARKET

Looking for a bargain? Come to the library’s Valentine’s Two-Day Book Sale & Flea Market, Thursday and Friday, February 13-14, 8:30 to 5:00. We have books and other interesting items. The prices are right. Most books are $1.50 for hardcover, 75 cents for paperbacks. We’re practically giving ‘em away!

Choose from these book categories:

· Nursing, Travel, History, Computers, Math, Social Science, Science, Reference, Fiction and Beginning Reading Books.

Also available, an interesting assortment of flea market items.

The library needs to raise money to replace broken audio-visual equipment to lend out for classroom use. Professors have been turned away recently because of lack of equipment. Come help the library raise money for this good cause and go home with an excellent deal yourself.

CATALOGING PROJECT

Over the past year, behind the scenes, without too much fuss, the library staff has been modifying the catalog records of nearly 25,000 library items. When the library switched to an automated circulation system last January, the system was not completely functional. It was first necessary to attach electronic bar codes to each book and the college hired an outside crew for this task. The next step involved modifying every catalog record so that they included matching bar code numbers. It was also necessary to expand the inventory records to account for every copy of every book title and every volume of multi-volume sets, something not necessary before. The library staff has now completed this second part of the project. There is now much better bibliographic control over the library collection. Many cataloging irregularities have been uncovered and corrected. The result is a state-of-the-art circulation and inventory system replacing a truly antiquated one, which was time-consuming and intrusive for library users. To borrow a book, it used to be necessary for a user to write their name, address and social security number on the circulation card of each book needed. Many students complained about having their private information available to others. The new system has eliminated this security issue. Borrowing a book is a quick and relatively hassle-free operation performed with barcode reading technology. This technology also makes it possible, for the first time, to have regular inventories of the whole library collection using a portable barcode scanner. Like any retail operation, a library has a certain amount of “shrinkage,” items which disappear for one reason or another. Effective inventory control means being able to respond to this issue by tightening security and making more timely replacements of missing items.

YOU WILL HAVE TO LEAVE FOR THE DAY IF YOU BRING FOOD OR DRINK IN THE LIBRARY

Over the past year the library has had some success in lessening the amount of food and drink that people bring in. More signs and reminders have meant that people don’t consider the library anymore when thinking of where to eat a pizza. Nevertheless, there are still too many edibles brought in, too many sticky spills that Facilities personnel have to clean up, and too many leftover potato chip crumbs that are feeding an increasing mice population. Luckily no computers have been damaged. Yet. But it is only a matter of time. Allowing that to happen would be irresponsible especially in a time of fiscal frugality. All libraries have to deal with people who want to bring in food or drinks. Some college libraries hand out stiff fines. The RCC library, starting with the spring semester, is requiring those who bring food or drink to the library to leave for the day. Hopefully this will be an effective tactic to better protect our state-owned books, equipment and resources.

UPDATE ON DATABASES FROM HOME

The RCC Library is glad to announce that all of its databases, but one, are now available from your home computer in addition to those on campus. Access is by RCC library bar code number which you can get when you sign up to be a library user. The exception is Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, which is still only accessible on campus. Another database, CollegeSource, is available from home but you must first pick up a special user ID and password, for this database only, at the library circulation desk. This improvement is really a terrific advance in library service to the college community. It will also enhance the development of distance learning programs since those who take a completely online course will be eligible to use the databases during the time of the course even if they never set foot on the campus. Sam Boadu, who is assisting in setting up the RCC Distance Learning Project, says, “Students will benefit greatly in having the option of completing their research work away from the library.”

You may now search over 50 million articles from journals, newspapers and magazines. 50 MILLION?? Well, actually, we have no idea how many there are, it’s impossible to know for sure. But consider this, the biggest database has 17 million articles and the library has 30 databases. There is a certain amount of overlap between databases and 50 million articles is a very conservative estimate. There may be twice that number, maybe more. It’s a wealth of information put together especially for college research needs and we strongly recommend that all students and faculty learn how to use these resources. Here are some options:

o Sign up your class for a presentation, especially designed for them, on how to use library research resources. Contact Mark Lawrence, x5109, mlawrence@rcc.mass.edu.

o Take the new tutorial on How to Search Electronic Resources, which shows how to search the largest of the library’s databases, Academic Search Premier. To do this, go to the library’s web page http://www.rcc.mass.edu/lib, select Guides & Instruction>Finding Information.

o Read the Featured Database section in issues of this newsletter. Each newsletter issue describes a particular database and how to search it. Reading this column over time is a relatively painless and time efficient way of becoming an expert on the RCC library databases.

: NEWSPAPER DATABASES

Sometimes finding the right newspaper article is the best way to get the information you need. Searching a topical story in several newspapers is also a good way of seeing how stories are differently treated. For example, compare a story in a national paper (Boston Globe, Washington Post), a local paper (Idaho Falls Post Register, Charleston SC Post & Courier), or an international paper (The Times of London, Moscow Times, The East African, Jakarta Post).

Use the RCC library databases below for access to thousands of newspapers and newsletters from around the U.S. and the world with many millions of full-text articles. To get to the databases, choose Electronic Resources at the library’s web page http://www.rcc.mass.edu/lib. The 3 databases, which have the best access to newspaper articles, are the following:

• NEWSBANK (found in the General Interest section of Electronic Resources).

Contains:

o Full text of Boston Globe, (1980 - ) and 3 other Massachusetts papers.

• NEWSPAPER SOURCE (also found in the General Interest section of Electronic Resources).

Contains:

• Full text of USA Today, Christian Science Monitor and The Times (London) and 19 other international newspapers;
• Selected full text from more than 170 regional U.S. newspapers from 37 states;
• Full text transcripts from news sources like Face the Nation, CBS Evening News, 60 Minutes, CNN, CNBC, National Public Radio.
• For complete list click on http://www.epnet.com/TitleLists/html/nf_h1.htm.
• LEXIS-NEXIS ACADEMIC UNIVERSE (found in the Law section of Electronic Resources. Select News then Guided News Search).

Contains:

• Full text of New York Times, (1980- );
• Abstracts from New York Times, (1969-1980). This can be used in conjunction with New York Times microfilm, (1968-1992) in RCC library;
• Full text articles from 250 regional U.S. newspapers from 45 states; click here for complete list http://www.lexisnexis.com/academic/1univ/acad/GeneralUSNewspapers.pdf. (There is considerable difference between the regional papers covered by Newspaper Source and Lexis-Nexis. Together these 2 sources cover 360 U.S. regional newspapers from 49 states).
• Full text of many international newspapers;
• Specialized newspapers and newsletters:
• Non-English language (many news sources in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish);
• Business news;
• Legal news (about 250 sources);
• Medical and health news (about 50 sources).
• University news (Chronicle of Higher Education plus hundreds of student newspapers);
• [NOTE: For anyone who would like to restart an RCC student newspaper, click on http://www.uwire.com/ for a description of a FREE service which provides feature stories, photographs and a lot of other help in the production of 600 student newspapers nationwide.]

One obvious omission from the databases is no online access to the Wall Street Journal. One way to access back issues of the Journal is to search the online National Newspaper Index (1979- ) and read the articles on microfilm (1982- ) in the RCC library. Here’s how:

o Go to the Boston Public Library web site http://www.bpl.org;

o Select the BPL’s Electronic Resources;

o Scroll way down to National Newspaper Index and click on it;

o Key in your RCC library bar code number

o Perform search, limiting it to Wall Street Journal;

o Read desired articles on RCC library microfilm.

NEW BOOKS—POPULAR AND BEST SELLERS

The library has moved popular and best selling books from their rather hidden location to a prominent position on the 2^nd floor next to the front windows. Those passing the library in the hallway can now see them. It’s a plot, really. We want to lure you in here, to take advantage of what we have. Here are the new popular and best selling books this month:

FICTION

NON-FICTION

By the Light of the Moon

Dean Koontz

Journals

Kurt Cobain

Prey
Michael Crichton

Leadership

Rudolph W. Giuliani with Ken Kurson

Four Blind Mice
James Patterson

My Losing Season

Pat Conroy

The Lovely Bones

Alice Sebold

The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941-1945

Michael Beschloss

Skipping Christmas

John Grisham

Bush at War
Bob Woodward

Hornet Flight
Ken Follett

Live From New York: An Oral History of Saturday Night Live

Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller

Light in Shadow
Jayne Ann Krentz

Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper -- Case Closed

Patricia Cornwell

The Last Jihad
Joel C. Rosenberg

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Visual Companion
J. R. R. Tolkien, Jude Fisher

Forever
Pete Hamill

Bible Code II: The Countdown
Michael Drosnin

I Don't Know how She Does It: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother
Allison K. Pearson, Allison Pearson

Stupid White Men: And Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation!

Michael Moore

NEW BOOKS—TO SUPPORT THE CURRICULUM

With the help of the college administration, the library has been able to buy books again in the last few months to support the curriculum. Here is a list of those that have been cataloged in the last month, organized by call number category:

Maloof, Trevor. This story shall the good man teach his son : a documentation of Massachusetts war veterans / D811.A2 M35 2002

Encyclopedia of food and culture / Solomon H. Katz, GT2850 .E53

Fort, Rodney D. Sports economics / GV716 .F68 2003

Phelps, Richard. Basketball for dummies / GV885 .P47 2000

Crisfield, Deborah. Winning volleyball for girls / GV1015.4 .W66 C75

Logan, John R. Evolution not revolution : aligning technology with corporate strategy to increase market value /HD30.28 .L635 2002

Marsh, P. D. V. Contract negotiation handbook / HD58.6 .M37 2001

Longenecker, Justin Gooderl. Small business management : an entrepreneurial emphasis / HD62.7 .L66 2003

Tyson, Eric. Small business for dummies / HD62.7 .T97 2003

Gower handbook of purchasing management. / HF5437 .G78 2002

Fields, Martha R. A. Indispensable employees : how to hire them, how to keep them / HF5549.5 .R58 F54 2001

Wiley GAAP 2003 : interpretation and application of generally accepted accounting principles / HF5616.U5 G34 2003

Siegel, Joel G. Dictionary of accounting terms / HF5621 .S54 2000

Stickney, Clyde P. Financial accounting : an introduction to concepts, methods, and uses / HF5635 .D228 2003

Horngren, Charles T. Accounting / HF5635 .H8

Bergeron, Pierre G. Finance : essentials for the successful professional / HG4027.3 .B47 2002

Fordney, Marilyn Takahashi. Insurance handbook for the medical office / HG9396 .F67

Sciarra, Dorothy June. Developing & administering an early childhood center / HQ778.63 .S35 2003

Lombardi, Joan. Time to care : redesigning child care to promote education, support families, and build communities / HQ778.63 .L66 2003

Moomaw, Sally. Nobody else like me : activities to celebrate diversity / LB1139.35 .A37 M66

Schiller, Pamela Byrne. The complete daily curriculum for early childhood : over 1,200 easy activities to support multiple intelligences and learning styles / LB1139.35 .A37 S35 2002

Wright, Susan. The arts, young children, and learning / LB1139.5 .A78 W75 2003

The Oxford companion to music. ML100 .S37 2002

The world's music : general perspectives and reference tools / Ruth M. Stone, editor. ML100 .W68 2002

Passman, Donald S. All you need to know about the music business ML3790 .P35 2000

Stiernberg, John. Succeeding in music : a business handbook for performers, songwriters, agents, managers, & promoters. ML3790 .S74 2001

Dubal, David. The essential canon of classical music / MT90 .D83 2001

The Oxford companion to Western art / N33 .O923 2001

Uniform Arte come riconoscere. English. Understanding art : a reference guide to painting, sculpture, and architecture in the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. N5940 .A7813 2000

Communication technology update / P96.T42 C66 2002

Alburger, James R. The art of voice acting : the craft and business of performing for voice-over / PN1992.8 .A6 A42 2002

Jackson, Sheila. Costumes for the stage : a complete handbook for every kind of play / PN2067 .J28 2001

Moss, Sylvia. Costumes & chemistry : a comprehensive guide to materials and applications / PN2067 .M67 2001

Stell, W. Joseph. Scenery : design and fabrication / PN2091 .S8 S73 2001

Boylan, Michael. Genetic engineering : science and ethics on the new frontier / QH442 .B69 2001

The human embryonic stem cell debate : science, ethics, and public policy / QM608 .H86 2001

Mehler, Robert E. How the circulatory system works / QP101 .M456 2001

Neal, J. Matthew. How the endocrine system works /QP187 .N35 2001

Sompayrac, Lauren. How the immune system works / QR181 .S65 2003

May, Thomas. Bioethics in a liberal society : the political framework of bioethics decision making / R724 .M278 2002

Cody, Mildred McInnis. Food safety for professionals / RA601 .C58 2002

Applegate, Elizabeth Ann. Encyclopedia of sports & fitness nutrition : everything you need to know about the supplements, products, and foods for your active life /RA784 .A659 2002

Rossoff, Irving S. Encyclopedia of clinical toxicology : a comprehensive guide and reference to the toxicology of prescription and OTC drugs, chemicals, herbals, plants, fungi, marine life, reptiles and insect venoms, food ingredients, clothing, and environmental toxins / RA1193 .R67 2002

Di Lorenzo, Marjorie Schaub. Blood collection in healthcare / RB45.15 .D525 2002

Ernst, Dennis J. Phlebotomy for nurses and nursing personnel : what every nurse and nursing assistant must know about blood specimen collection / RB45.15 .E76 2001

The Gale encyclopedia of nursing & allied health / Kristine Krapp, editor. /RT21 .G353 2002

Waugh, Anne. Ross and Wilson anatomy and physiology in health and illness. /RT69 .W48 2001

Raingruber, Bonnie. Using your head to land on your feet : a beginning nurse's guide to critical thinking / RT86 .R35 2001

Goulekas, Karen E. Visual effects in a digital world / TA1637.G68 2001

Riley, Dohn. Turning the corner : energy solutions for the 21^st century / TJ808 .R55 2001

Topic, Michael. Streaming media demystified / TK5105.386 .T67 2002

Millerson, Gerald. Video production handbook / TK6655 .V5 M55 2001

Murray, T. H. Encyclopedia of ethical, legal, and policy issues in biotechnology / TP248.16 .M87 2000

King, Julie Adair. Digital photography for dummies / TR267 .K56 2000

Long, Ben. Complete digital photography / TR267 .L66 2001

The computer videomaker handbook : a comprehensive guide to making video / from the editors of Computer videomaker magazine. TR840 .C66 2001

Doucette, Martin. Digital video for dummies TR896 .D68 2001

Flash MX video / Kristian Besley ... [et al.] TR897.7 .F74 2002

Kauffmann, Sam. Avid editing : a guide for beginning and intermediate users / TR899 .K38 2000

Wohl, Michael. Editing techniques with Final cut pro / TR899 .W64 2002

Rainsford, Peter. The restaurant start-up guide : a 12 month plan for successfully starting a restaurant / TX911.3 .M27 R36 2000

Kirkham, Mike. The waiting game : the essential guide for wait staff / TX925 .K5697 2002

Gillespie, John Thomas. Best books for children : preschool through grade 6 / Z1037 .G48 2002 2002

To build a better college library and provide superior customer service, we need your comments. Send both praises and gripes to mlawrence@rcc.mass.edu.

If you missed earlier issues of Welcome to the Library, you can find them in the “What’s New” section of the library website http://www.rcc.mass.edu/lib.

Welcome to the Library, published by Roxbury Community College Library, Roxbury Crossing, MA

Designed and written by Mark Lawrence

Roblyn Walker Honeysucker, Library Director