Got the Spring Break Blues?

Are you worried about how to spend Spring Break?  Overwhelmed by your homework load? Or perhaps you need a (semi) quiet place to relax and get away from it all!  The answer to all these problems can be found at the SCC Central Campus Library!

 We will be open during Spring Break. So come and find a place to study, a place to research, and (thanks to our very comfortable chairs!) a place to take a break during the Break!

 Spring Break Hours are Monday, March 31st, –Thursday, April 3rd: 7:30- 4:30 and Friday, April 4th: 7:30-1:30

Come check out our Fiction and Video Collections!  Library Staff will be on hand to assist you!

Top 12 Reasons Books are the Perfect Holiday Gift: A List Compiled by the SCC Library Staff

12. They don’t go out of style (unless, of course, you get a book on style).

11. If you are going away for the holidays, they pack and travel well (they pack and travel well even if you don’t go away for the holidays).

10. They imply that you think the recipient can read.

 9. They are aesthetically pleasing: they have that “new book” smell and make that nice cracking sound when opened.

8. If you are careful, you can read them before you give them, and the recipient will never know (hint: avoid eating or drinking while doing this).

7. They are easy to wrap. 

6. They are Earth-Friendly: they don’t need batteries, and they’re biodegradable .

5. They go well with coffee and they look nice on the coffee table.

4. They work for any occasion: Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Groundhog’s Day, etc.

3. They can fit everyone’s budget (especially if you get a book on budgeting!).

2.  They are a gift that can be personalized no matter who the recipient is: young, old, male, female. 

And the #1 Reason why Books Are the Perfect Gift:

1. They’re just plain fun!  

Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. Barbara Tuchman

December’s eBook of the Month: Younger You- Unlock the Hidden Power of Your Brain to Look and Feel 15 Years Younger

December’s eBook of the Month, Younger You: Unlock the Hidden Power of Your Brain to Look and Feel 15 Years Younger, is perfect for those of you who like to get a head-start on your new year’s resolution (the sooner you make it, the sooner you can break it)! This book discusses lifestyle changes you can make to look and feel your best.

To access eBooks, click on the Electronic Books link located on the Library’s homepage http://library.sccsc.edu; then click on the eBooks link. If you are not on campus, you will need to enter the library’s off-campus username and password. To read the book, click on the “eBook of the Month” picture. Then click on “View Now.”

Check this out: eAudiobooks at the SCC Library!

The SCC library now has eAudiobooks available for downloading.

Are you taking Spanish?  Listen to the All-Audio Spanish language instructional recording.  There are seven other languages to choose from too, including Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, and Thai.

Would you like to listen to a novel of suspense and intrigue to help you pass those hours of commuting back and forth to school? Take a look at the eAudio fiction titles, including titles by Dean Koontz, Lisa Gardner and Tami Hoag.

Maybe you would like a good biography or non-fiction title to ease the tedium of cleaning up the kitchen?  Learn about Audrey Heburn’s life.  Learn the secrets of DNA from James Watson!

These books and more are available from the library’s homepage under the Ebooks link (top right hand side of webpage).

Unfortunately due to the ongoing standoff between Microsoft and Apple, these books can’t be downloaded to most students’ favorite technology, the iPod.  :(

But the good news is that we have compatible players for checkout.  Also, if you don’t have an iPod, most other MP3 players such as Sandisk, Creative Zen, Sony, etc. will play .WMA files (Windows Media Audio). 

If you are new to downloading audio files and synching them to your player, a library staff member can assist you. 

You can also contact ‘Ask-a-Librarian’ if you would like more detailed instructions on downloading eAudio books.  To use this service go to: http://library.sccsc.edu/askalib.htm

November’s eBook of the Month: Tree of Souls-The Mythology of Judaism

Every  culture has its own mythology, whether it is ancient Greece with its tales of Orpheus and Eurydice or Rome with stories of Romulus and Remus. In Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism, Howard Schwarz delves into the largely untapped world of Jewish mythology. Looking at ancient Jewish texts, he has created a collection of almost 700 Jewish myths, which he has put into ten categories, including the Myths of God, Myths of Heaven, Myths of Hell, and Myths of the Holy Time.

To access eBooks, click on the Electronic Books link located on the Library’s homepage http://library.sccsc.edu; then click on the eBooks link. If you are not on campus, you will need to enter the library’s off-campus username and password. To read the book, click on the “eBook of the Month” picture. Then click on “View Now.”

Please share your comments about this book with us!

Quick Start Guide to Microsoft Word 2007

Perplexed by the new Microsoft Word 2007?  It looks pretty, but where are the selections we’ve come to know and love from Word 2003?  Here are a few hints to guide you through the new Word 2007.

 The new Word has a very streamlined look.  This is very nice for those of us who don’t like “clutter” on the screen, but this can mean it is a little harder to find functions you want.  The features are shown on seven different “ribbons” or tabs.  Explore each of these to see what it contains.  The most commonly used features are on the Home, Insert, and Page Layout tabs.

Tips to Get Started:

The Button
First, look at the pretty multicolored button at the top left hand corner of the screen (see picture above).  It is much more than just a decoration.  Using this button,  you can access some of the most basic functions of Word.  Point your cursor on the button and left-click your mouse to find options to open a new document,  make a new folder, save your file (including “save as”), and print (including “print preview”).    If you right-click on this button, you get options to customize the quick access tool bar.  This means you can make a personalized short-cut to the features you use most.  There are options you can choose to show on the ribbon for easy access, or you can minimize the ribbon if you want a more streamlined look to your screen.

 Spacing between Lines
The paragraph defaults have changed in Word 2007. The line spacing is set to “Multiple,” with spacing before a paragraph set at 0 pts. and the spacing after a paragraph set to 10 pts.  If you want a more traditional look, click on the Home tab, then the paragraph tab and set the line spacing to single or double (using the drop down arrow box) and change the setting for spacing after a paragraph to 0 pts.  If you want to keep these more traditional settings, click the Default button and Word will set up all your new documents using this format.  Many of the computers in the library have been set to this default, but you will want to check this before you begin your document. 

Reference Tab
Word 2007 also has a Reference tab to set up citations.  Unfortunately, these are not correct!  So please continue to refer to our MLA and APA citation handouts or if you need help,  ask one of the library staff.

 Saving Your Document
Another tip to keep in mind is that you have an option to save your document  as a Word 97-2003 document.  To do this, click on “save as.”  At the bottom of the screen there is a box with “save as type.”  Click the drop down box arrow, and select Word 97-2003.  This means your document can be accessed either with Word 2003 or Word 2007. 

 Word 2003
There are still computers in the library that have Word 2003 as well as 2007 if you are not quite ready to make the switch.  Please ask the library staff to show you which computers have 2003.

Planning Meeting

What does a library staff do when they are away from the library?  Why, plan ways to make the library better, of course!   

 Last Friday we did exactly that and spend the day away from our usual library routine. Coffee and cake awaited us that morning and we met with Dr. Hagan of the Psychology Department.  Dr. Hagan conducted the Keirsey temperament test, which measures personality traits such as communication, attitudes, actions, and values.* These are then sorted into four basic temperaments: the Artisan, the Guardian, the Rational, and the Idealist.  These four temperaments are further subdivided into subcategories. For example Guardians are divided into Inspectors, Protectors, Providers and Supervisors. The idea is that once you understand your temperament and those around you, you are better able to interact and work together.  The results were astonishing. The staff was evenly divided into introverts and extroverts. Most of us fell into the Guardian/ Protector category; a group characterized by hard work and dedication. Good to know, isn’t it?    

Later Melissa Earley, our new library director, led the planning meeting. We had submitted our views on trends and future challenges earlier via e-mail. We had a very productive and candid discussion on these topics followed by a light lunch washed down by ice tea. The day was concluded with a brisk walk on the cotton wood trail along Lawson’s Fork. 

*For more information about this, please visit http://www.advisorteam.org/the_four-temperaments/ 

Welcome Back Bash @ the Library’s Table!

The annual welcome bash “fiesta” took place on August 30.  It was sunny morning as we rolled out our cart piled high with books, DVD’s, information flyers & questionnaires. We set up shop under a shady tree and handed out the library questionairre to students.  We later drew a winner from the completed forms for a gift certificate to the SCC Cuppa Cabeana coffee shop.

All visitors to the table were treated to bonbons and Hershey’s kisses and bookmarks. After one and half hours of “fun in the sun,” we were able to reach a substantial number of our student population and assure them of friendly, informative and user friendly library service awaiting them across the parking lot. Over all it was a two-way learning process!

 Submitted by Rimi Pati-Reference Assistant

September’s eBook of the Month: Pocket World in Figures 2008 Ed.

Remember the chorus from the song Ain’t No Mountain High Enough?

Ain’t no mountain high enough, 
Ain’t no valley low enough,
 Ain’t no river wide enough
 To keep me from you

Have these words sparked your curiosity, causing you to ask, “what is the highest mountain, the lowest valley and the widest river, anyway?”  To find out the answer to these and other questions, take a look at September’s eBook of the Month: Pocket World in Figures 2008 ed.  It gives country information on topics such as population, finance, demographics, society, the environment, culture and crime. It also gives individual profiles of over 65 different countries.

To access eBooks, click on the Electronic Books link located on the library’s homepage, http://library.sccsc.edu; then click on the eBooks link. Off-campus users will need to enter the username and password. To read the book, click on the “eBook of the Month” picture. Then click on “View Now.”

If you have any problems accessing the book, please call the library at 864-592-4764.  Feel free to post your comments about this eBook selection here.

Looking for InfoTrac? Ask the General

First of all, what is (or what was) InfoTrac? It is/was probably one of the Library’s most popular online resources for finding full-text magazine, journal and newspaper articles. 

So what has happened to it? InfoTrac has changed its name to General OneFile.   Why?  I don’t really know!  Personally, I think it sounds silly, like we are referring to an army officer (”Yes, Sir! General OneFile Sir!”) but nobody asked me!

What else is going on? Gale, the company that puts out several of the library’s databases such as the Database-Formally-Known-as-InfoTrac, Health and Wellness Resource Center and Academic OneFile (as well as about 16 others), has also made several cosmetic changes to the look of these resouces, so many of them will look slightly different, but still search the same. For example, you can now limit to full text articles after you do your search.  The citation helper is also improved–but still not 100%.  If you are using this to put the article information in either MLA or APA format, you will probabably want to check it against the library’s citation handouts (APA coming soon!).

So where can you find it on the Library’s page? The link used to be called “InfoTrac Articles,” but unfortunately “General Articles” didn’t sound right.  The link is now called “Gale Articles” because it will take you to a menu of about 19 Gale databases, many of which you can search at once.   If you have questions about how to do this, please contact askalibrarian@sccsc.edu or go our homepage and take a look at the tutorials.

And remember, they say change is a good thing!