ProQuest & SIRS Databases will be unavailable
Saturday, July 26, 7:00 P.M. - Sunday, July 27, 7:00 A.M.

No ProQuest or SIRs databases will be available during this period, due to software upgrades on the ProQuest computers. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Reference Linking Enhancement: ProQuest will now include cited references and cited by references functionality. Reference linking allows users to view documents which have been cited by other researchers. These additional sources help users explore their research topics further, and enable discovery of additional relevant documents.

No Textbooks?

Can't buy your textbooks yet? Bookstore out of your textbook? Here are a couple of options:

Library "Course Reserves"

The Library has SOME class textbooks. You can check the library catalog to see if we have yours.(Look under "Course Reserves.") If your textbook is here, it is probably "on reserve" for your class, which means you will probably have to use the book inside the library for a few hours at a time so that everyone in your class gets a chance to use it.

Bookstore Out of Your Textbook?

If the SRJC bookstore has run out of your textbook, you might be able to purchase a copy online:

Online book stores

Many online bookstores sell textbooks, some new, some used and many at discount prices. Here are just a few online textbooks sellers:

• Amazon.com New & Used Textbooks - Buy & sell your textbooks; special 2 day shipping on some orders
• Bigwords.com - Compares prices at many online textbook stores.
• Half.com (from EBay)
• For others, check Google for online textbook sellers.

Doyle Library Media Services - Summer Hours

Monday, Tuesday - 9:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M.
Wednesday, Thursday - 9:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.

For library hours, see schedule of summer hours.

Doyle Library Hours - Final Exams Weekend

Due to final exams, Doyle Library will be open extended hours this weekend. Doyle Library hours will be:

Saturday, May 17- 9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Sunday, May 18- 12:00 Noon - 8:00 P.M. (Media Services will be closed.)

Mahoney Library will observe regular weekend hours.

Day Under the Oaks

Doyle Library will be open 12:00 Noon - 4:00 P.M.

In honor of the annual SRJC Day Under the Oaks community open house, the Frank P. Doyle Library will be open from 12:00 Noon - 4:00 P.M. on Sunday, May 4. Tours of the library will be available.

5/2/08

Alebrijes: Wood Carvings of Oaxaca

Exhibit - Doyle Library, 2nd floor display cases
May 1 - 19, 2008

Alebrijes are imaginative and brilliantly colorful pieces of folk art from small pueblitos such as San Antonio Arrazola and San Martin Tilcajete, in the state of Oaxaca in Southern Mexico.

Each figure is handmade from copal wood collected by machete from the hills surrounding the Valles Centrales de Oaxaca. Using only knives and other hand tools, artesano families, usually spanning several generations, carve out the basic shape of figures in a few days. They then hand sand and meticulously hand paint each piece in great detail. The artesanos and artesanas use fantasy and imagination in their carving and painting to make the figures or animals appear more alive.

• Read more about the Art of Oaxacan Wood Carvings
• See over 1,000 photos of alebrijes on flickr (Click on thumbnail images to see larger image and captions. Click on "slideshow" to view all images without captions.)

No ProQuest & SIRS Databases
Saturday, April 26, 7:00 P.M. - Sunday, April 27, 7:00 A.M.

No ProQuest or SIRs databases will be available during this period, due to software upgrades on the ProQuest computers. We apologize for the inconvenience.

4/22/08

National Library Week

A Day in the Life of the SRJC Libraries

Online, Thursday, April 17, 2008

http://twitter.com/srjclibstaff

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes in a library? Wonder what knowledge and skills are needed to work in one? Are you curious about just what it takes to make our libraries run?

On Thursday, April 17, in honor of National Library Week, the SRJC Library department will present "A Day in the Life of the SRJC Libraries." Throughout the day, library staff members will post one or two-sentence messages online about what they’re doing at particular moments. Staff from all levels of the libraries--student assistants, library technicians and faculty librarians--will be participating.

On Thursday, join us at http://twitter.com/srjclibstaff or click the “Day in the Life” link on the Library’s website to learn more about what we do. (Site will not be public until Thursday.)

See you online!

Follow us on twitter.

We're experimenting with a Web service called twitter to bring you very brief library news announcements (schedule changes, deadlines, updates on the Mahoney Library expansion etc.). as well as various research tips and tidbits about our library services. Check our twitter page each day for the latest announcements at http://twitter.com/srjclibrary .

More detailed information about library exhibits, new databases and other important topics will continue to be posted here on the Library News page, even if they're mentioned briefly on our twitter page.

If you happen to have your own twitter account, you can "follow" the srjclibrary announcements with all the other "tweets" on your own twitter page. To do so, log into your own account, go to http://twitter.com/srjclibrary and click the "Follow" button under the srjclibrary image. Our announcement "tweets" should now begin to show up on your own page.

Lydia Van Gelder: A Retrospective

An Exhibit of Textile Art
Doyle Library, Second & Third Floor Exhibit Cases
On display through April 30, 2008

Reception, Wednesday, April 9, 2008, 4:00 P.M.

Lydia Van Gelder is a nationally recognized textile artist who taught at SRJC for over 25 years.

Van Gelder’s commitment to the art and craft of textiles began in the 1930’s when she discovered weaving while attending the California School of Fine Arts (the San Francisco Art Institute). In a few short years her wall hanging, Houses On the Street was accepted for the Pan Pacific Exhibition, the exhibition for which Treasure Island was built. The piece is now part of the permanent collection at Cooper Hewitt Textile Museum in New York. In a career spanning more than 50 years Van Gelder has exhibited in international and national shows including exhibits in Kyoto, Japan; Lausanne, Switzerland; the De Young Museum and other venues in San Francisco; in Washington, D.C., in Pittsburgh, PA. and elsewhere.

In time, Lydia’s primary focus became exploration of the history, tradition and development of contemporary interpretations of the ancient art of woven shibori, with an emphasis on Ikat. (Ikat is an indigo resist dye process that uses wrappings to resist the dye in order to create patterns. Tie-dye is a simple version of this technique.) In 1980 her book Ikat: Techniques for Designing and Weaving Warp, Weft, Double and Compound Ikat was published.

In 1968 Lydia began teaching spinning and dyeing as part of the regular curriculum at Santa Rosa Junior College. In the more than 25 years she taught in the Art Department, the class was always well attended. She never hesitated to share her expertise and to give encouragement to countless students, many of whom still practice the textile arts.

In addition to Ikat, Lydia has explored many other traditional textile techniques often expanding and reinterpreting them for the expression of abstract art, as in bobbin lace, tatting, shifu (spinning and weaving with paper) and knitting. She has contributed articles to many fiber magazines and has taught seminars and workshops all over the U.S.

In 1994 Lydia was recognized as a Sonoma County Living Treasure in the field of Visual Arts.

Women's History Month Exhibits - Doyle Library

In conjunction with SRJC's many Women's History Month events, the Frank P. Doyle Library offers the following exhibits:

New SRJC Online Writing Lab

Are you overwhelmed by all the writing assignments you have in your college classes?

If you're having a hard time with the actual writing part of your class paper, take advantage of the English Department's Writing Centers on both the Santa Rosa and Petaluma campuses. Here English Department faculty and instructional assistants offer SRJC students free tutorial help with all the elements of composition, from finding topics and developing a thesis to using correct grammar, punctuation and writing style.

In addition, the new Online Writing Lab (OWL) offers self-paced lessons, videos, quizzes and other useful writing tips and tools, even when the campus writing centers are closed. Students may use the online lab independently or use it and then bring their quiz results to one of the SRJC Writing Centers to work with an instructor. In addition, students can complete learning modules online for a half unit of credit by enrolling in English 365, English Writing Skills. (This website requires that you have a current version of Flash Player installed on your computer.)

(These resources are now listed in the Library's Internet Reference Collection on the Writing & Publishing page .)

No ProQuest & SIRS Databases
Saturday, February 16, 7:00 P.M. - Sunday, February 17, 7:00 A.M.

 

No ProQuest or SIRs databases will be available during this period, due to infrastructure upgrades on the ProQuest computers. We apologize for the inconvenience and the short notice from the vendor.

"Liar, Liar..." Fact Checking Websites

Did John McCain really consort with the enemy during the Vietnam War? Did Barack Obama really refuse to say the “Pledge of Allegiance?” Did the border fence in San Diego really “reduce the smuggling of people and drugs ... by 90%?”

If you're confused by the claims made in political attack ads, scary e-mails and campaign speeches, these two non partisan fact checking websites can help you sort fact from fiction:

FactCheck.org

"A nonpartisan, nonprofit, 'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics." From the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, this project monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.

PolitiFact

Each day, journalists and researchers from the St. PetersburgTimes and CQ (Congressional Quarterly publishers) fact-check the accuracy of speeches, TV ads, interviews and other campaign communications, then posts their findings to the PolitiFact website. The site offers a "Truthometer, "a scorecard separating fact from fiction," for analyzing political claims. You can browse the "Truthometer" by candidate or attacker, by subject, by political party. Claims are rated "true, mostly true, half true, barely true, false or 'pants on fire'." (j.b.)

You can find additional websites for researching candidates and issues on the Library's Elections webpage.

The Hand Bookbinders of California
35th Annual Exhibition

Doyle Library, Second Floor
On display through February 27, 2008

Reception, Wednesday, January 30, 2008, 4:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M.

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to an active group of bookbinders who practice their craft within a large community of book artists and calligraphers. This library exhibit features the work of professional bookbinders, as well as amateurs and students of the art and craft of hand bookbinding. Examples range from finely gold-tooled leather bindings to avant-garde artist’s innovative designs. Don't miss the opportunity to view examples of this beautiful art form close to home.

February 5, 2008 Presidential Primary Election

The Internet has become the essential tool for all political candidates to announce their campaigns, release new campaign ads, answer questions posted by voters, post videos and photos, raise awareness (as well as lots and lots of money) and engage younger voters.

To prepare for the upcoming election, learn about candidates, issues and California ballot propositions using links on the Elections page in the Library's Internet Reference Collection.

Mahoney Library Moves for Spring 2008 Semester

Due to construction on the Petaluma campus, SRJC's Mahoney Library will temporarily move into the future Mike Smith Hall on the new part of the Petaluma campus for Spring semester 2008. (Map takes a few seconds to load and shows the newer part of the campus. For complete map of all buildings on the Petaluma campus, see last page of the printed SRJC schedule of classes.)