Category: Uncategorized

What if? Titles

It seems the recent trend with many book titles is the longer, the better. One blogger noticed this trend and imagined if some classic books had been written now, what might their titles be? A few the blogger came up with are below, and more can be found in the comments of the blog.

BOOK TITLES, IF THEY WERE WRITTEN TODAY
Then: The Wealth of Nations
Now:  Invisible Hands: The Mysterious Market Forces That Control Our Lives and How to Profit from Them

Then: The Theory of the Leisure Class
Now:  Buying Out Loud: The Unbelievable Truth About What We Consume and What It Says About Us

Then: The Gospel of Matthew
Now:  40 Days and a Mule: How One Man Quit His Job and Became the Boss

  

See the blog post for more, and add your own in the comments!

New PRC Library Suffers Flooding

Library soaking May 7, 2009
Library soaking May 7, 2009

What an uproar in the library this morning when security officers opening the building discovered flooding in the library near the reference area. Both levels of the building took on damage. Computers, books, and furniture had to be cleared from the area and the surfaces dried and treated.

We are having finals and would normally strive for quiet study spaces, but it is a very noisy morning. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Flooding downstairs, May 7, 2009
Flooding downstairs, May 7, 2009

Citation Tool Now in Catalog

Example Catalog Page
Example Catalog Page

 The people at the Virginia Community College System Libraries have been hard at work making our catalog a little better. 

VCCS has now added the WorldCat citation tool to each page in the catalog. 

At the bottom of each item’s page, underneath the Google Books search, you’ll find a WorldCat box.

WorldCat Box Close Up
WorldCat Box Close Up

 The box allows you to search for that book in other libraries (say, for example, if it is already checked out) as well as gives you a citation in the major formats.

Different citation formats
Different citation formats
Of course you’ll still need to make sure the citation is correct according to the format you are using. For help, see our Citing Sources section on our website, or ask a librarian for help.

Books on Shelves

Interestingly, the UK newspaper, The Guardian, has an article out discussing a poll that says the book someone is reading (and the books on their shelves) impress potential significant others. While the poll is not scientific by any means, the results are interesting.  Not only are bookshelves great places to find similarities and differences between people trying to learn more about each other, but also great places to start conversations. 

With the release of Amazon’s Kindle 2 and its Kindle app for the iPhone, the media has recently been praising electronic books, but as the guys from the popular (but not always work-appropriate) web-comic Penny Arcade point out, we shouldn’t necessarily forget ‘old technology’. 

Click on the image below to enlarge cartoon:

Penny Arcade - Progress
Penny Arcade - Progress
Though I highly doubt electronic books will wholly replace the tactile experience of a real book any time soon, as technology advances, will the print book survive? And if it does not, how will that impact the way we communicate and find common ground (especially on first dates)?

In celebration of American Indian Heritage Month

The first American Indian Day in a state was declared on the second Saturday in May 1916 by the governor of N.Y.  Presently, several states have designated Columbus Day as Native American Day, but it continues to be a day we observe without any recognition as a national legal holiday. In 1990 President George Bush approved a joint resolution designating November 1990 “National American Indian Heritage Month.”   For more information regarding the history and culture of the American Indian visit this website: http://www.martinsfoods.com/shareddev/sharedcontent/SP/AIHM08/index.cfm

Behind every movie is a great story

It is amazing how many popular movies start out as books.  The display at the downtown campus highlights the books and their cinematic versions that are owned by J. Sargeant Reynolds downtown library.  A list of movies based on books is the background for the display.  Please stop by any of the JSRCC libraries to rent either the book or the movie or maybe even both!  See if you can spot the differences between the original story and the movie.

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