Author: bbaile14

Assistant Professor / Digital Projects Librarian for Johnson County Community College

I promise this has nothing to do with Charlie Sheen

What’s got our society so focused on winning? Or maybe, why is there a cultural stigma so greatly attached to losing, and how many victories over losses must one have to be, forgive me, Winning?

Francesco Duina’s book, Winning: Reflections on an American Obsession, tries to investigate the American fascination with being a winner, and tries to figure out what culturally counts as success and the journey to get there.

This book is recommended for anyone interested in current events, sociology, or pyschology.

Get familiar with Information Literacy

Information Literacy (and you’ll find a million variations of definitions) is  one’s ability to find information, verify its quality, and understand how and when to use it properly. Sound confusing? Kind of a “know about knowing” riddle?

A book about to hit our shelves, Using Technology to Teach Information Literacy, is a compilation of real-world examples of how people are being taught info literacy in classrooms. That makes this a great resource for faculty members, BUT! by understanding how other students learn, it could be a really powerful tool for students.

Information Literacy is valuable for all disciplines in understanding how you can research, stay current, and be well-versed and accurate in your own discipline.

A look at our plastic usage

A few years ago, it seems a strong shift was made from plastic water bottles to aluminum. The big scare, whether or not justified, was that there may be cancer-causing agents in some plastics. It’s not hard to think of other interactions people have in daily life with plastic items, and not all bad. Author Susan Freinkel wrote Plastic: A Toxic Love Story after evaluating her own dependencies on plastics, and researched the history, production, risks, and benefits. Freinkel’s discoveries are eye-opening. Even if one disagrees with some of her findings, the history behind the rapid growth in synthetic material use is enough to make anyone look at the world a little differently.

Find out who got your windshield

Birds are starting to show up again. Granted some didn’t go away, but as the cold leaves Johnson County, more and more of our feathered friends come out of hiding. Some are beautiful, others boring, all willing to ruin a perfectly washed car.

So whether you’re looking to find out what beautiful creature you saw atop a fence post, or what menacing demon you caught fleeing the scene of the crime, The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds, by (you guessed it!) Richard Crossley, is ready to help you! Over 500 pages of bird-identifying illustrations and information can make you the Bird Expert you may not have known you wanted to be.

Learn how to take advantage of RSS feeds

 

Do you follow blogs or news sites for class? Maybe you use journal databases for assignments or research? All of these sources and more can be sent to you instantly upon updating if you take advantage of their RSS feeds.

In today’s book RSS for Educators: Blogs, Newsfeeds, Podcasts, & Wikis in the Classroom, the author John G. Hendron shows how utilizing a reader can assist teachers in keeping their classes fresh and how to simplify research.

But you don’t have to be a teacher just to get use out of this: students would be wise to see all the ways they can keep up with course-related information. This book should be of interest for teachers and students, particularly distance learning, interactive media, classes that have heavy research or discussion of current events, or anyone looking to incorporate technology into the classroom.

Let’s go into the world of high fashion

Amongst those considered to be the most elite in the world of clothing design, the idea of couture in fashion involves the best of the best pushing their craft to it’s most (extreme, and sometimes extremely odd) realized form. In Couture in the 21st Century, compiled by writer Deborah Bee and photographer Rankin (of course he only has one name), you’ll see some of the most famous fashion designers’ most extreme work. Tucked in with the pictures, you’ll also find essays from famous fashion personalities like Oscar de la Renta, discussing where the clothing world is heading.  This is a great resource for fashion students, art students, and fans of design in general

Shocking true crime in today’s featured book

Adam Walsh (now of Code Adam fame) was a 6 year old boy when he was kidnapped from a  Sears and eventually decapitated. Maybe one of the most famous child abduction cases, it led his father to create and host America’s Most Wanted, created new department store safety protocols for children, and was finally solved 25 years after the fact.

Bringing Adam Home is a true account of that painful 25 year process, of dedication to pursuing justice even when all positive outcomes have been eliminated. Author Les Standiford collaborates with Detective Joe Matthews, who worked the Adam Walsh case for years, to bring a comprehensive telling of the long journey of finding justice.  For readers with an intrest in true crime, child advocacy, forensics, law, and general non-fiction.

The newest issue of the JCCC Honors Journal is out

See some of our finest students’ works in the newest issue of the JCCC Honors Journal. Each semester, students participating in the Honors Program have the opportunity to submit their semester-long Honors project for inclusion into the journal. Topics range from religious themes in historic art, to how congenital heart disease affects the care people receive when patients move into adulthood.  Check out the articles and support the great work of our students.

Some very short introductions: the series!

Sometimes, you just need a jumping point.  Enter a new series acquired, A Very Short Introduction.  If you’re ever in need of a good place to start, these small books probably have you covered. From 18th Century Britain, to Ghandi, to WWI, to Ronald Reagan.

Currently, if you’d like to check out the entire series, it’s on the Second Floor on the New Item display case, across from the checkout desk. In a few weeks, they’ll all be shelved according to appropriate subject, in call number order, with the general collection.

All of the new items are also coming across our New Item RSS feed, updated every day there’s new material added. Or, search our catalog for “A Very Short Introduction” in quotes.