Month: April 2009

Hope in Unlikely Places

The perception of the Middle East does not always include a hopeful outlook towards peace. Even less likely, one could assume, is the widow of an assassinated leader in the Middle East to believe that peace is near and attainable.  Yet, My Hope for Peace, written by Jehan Sadat, widow of former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, does just that.  In it, she discusses what she believes is necessary to reach that goal, tries to diminish stereotypes about the roles women can play, and comes out of a terrible tragedy incredibly optimistic. Whether or not lofty, nor whether or not her plans are ever carried out, this memoir contains several points of inspiration, if not for just simply existing.

Let’s Talk Health

If you talk to a number of librarians, they’ll tell you some of the most dreaded questions for many of us involve things such as “Does this look infected?”, “I have a cold/flu/Strep/stomach virus/black lung, is it contagious?”, or similar medical-themed inquiries.  I beg of you: ask a doctor, not a librarian. Or at least ask it over the phone.

But! for when need be, a handy-dandy reference guide such as Answering Consumer Health Questions : The Medical Library Association Guide for Reference Librarians is a relief.  But you know, it isn’t just a librarian’s perusal tool.  Much like questions related to law, librarians aren’t always in the proper position to dish out medical advice, so library users may benefit from a flip-through or two of a guide like this.  Michele Spatz guides her audience through resources, procedures, and limitations of what can be done by librarians.  Remember: just because librarian’s have all the answers doesn’t mean they won’t use common sense in dolling out the wisdom.

When Financial News is Confusing, Our Library Responds

So, with all of the talk about Bernie Madoff, financial bailouts, and other scary things that got our economy into a nasty mess, a lot of people have been left saying “…wait, now what?” For example, you probably know that something that led us to this point was the use of hedge funds.  Or the creation of hedge funds.  You may not know what they did, but you know they exist.

Well, we’ve finally had a lot of books roll in recently to help straighten this business out.  150 Best Recession Proof Jobs helps examine options and careers worth pursuing during this time of layoffs, and books like Hedgefunds: an Analytic Perspective,  Hedge Hunters, and Demon of our Own Design : Markets, Hedge Funds, and the Perils of Financial Innovation take a look at the ins and outs associated with this risky business and our failing market.

Congratulations, Cindy Clark!

cindy_employee_of_the_mellinneumDoes she look surprised?  Yes she does.  But she shouldn’t be, because Cindy Clark has earned the EXCEL Award for JCCC Employee of the Year. That’s right: of every staff member on campus classified as Maintenance/Service or Office/Technical, full or part time, the library’s very own Cindy Clark has been named supreme champion.  So congratulations!

The For Dummies Series May Have An Issue…

There’ve been some funny “For Dummies” titles to have come out.  Washington DC for Dummies. Dungeons & Dragons for Dummies (I love D&D, by the way…).  The most cringe worthy book like this was actually a different series: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Enhancing Self-Esteem.  Ouch.

But we just got in Veterans Benefits for Dummies.  I can hear people saying “OH NO THEY DIDN’T!” from here.  Of course, it is just a matter of the series’s naming convention, and the series is pretty beneficial in general.  Part of my job is programming and I’m proud to have PHP & MySQL for Dummies on my personal bookshelf.  Handy stuff!  And frankly, what could be more confusing than government paper work?  If anything, I think having a guide like this is quite the beneficial resource for our veterans (students and staff) to make sure they’re getting every last benefit available to them for serving this country.

Book of the Day Looks at American Arguments

Let’s talk about Howard Fineman.  Fineman’s a political correspondent frequently on MSNBC, writer for Newsweek and is probably best defined by an increasingly bad dye job:

hpost_fineman

Yeah, I know!  But the truth is, he’s a smart guy.  His book, Thirteen American Arguments: Enduring Debates that Define and Inspire Our Country is really neat.

Instead of taking on specific incidents in America’s past, he looks at general topics that keep coming up over the course of this nation’s life.  So instead of taking on slavery, abortion, and other issues separately, one argument he presents is “Who is a person?”  If this book has any shortcomings, it is certainly its focus on current events, which some argue will date the book.  The theory behind it, however, is that future generations could look back at it, and say, “Yes, those questions applying to old issues are relevant to current issues now.”  So, regardless of how it will hold up through time, it is worth reading now.