Introducing our Two New Librarians...

Ellen and Marianne, our newest Librarians!

The DC Library would like to introduce you to our two new librarians: Marianne Harris and Ellen Blumberg. If the names sound familiar, it is because they were adjuncts for us last spring.

Let me have them introduce themselves to you...

Marianne:

My name is Marianne Harris, and I’m a native Tucsonan.  Prior to joining the Pima Community College Library, I was employed as a high school English teacher for nine years.  As an undergrad, I played volleyball for PCC and plan a return to the courts this fall--I find I can’t help myself after having watched the world’s best athletes compete in the London Olympics!  In addition to watching and playing volleyball, I enjoy writing and reading poetry (Horoscopes for the Dead by Billy Collins is a new favorite), traveling with my family and gazing at cloud formations.

Ellen:

I’m excited and happy to be joining the Pima Community College Downtown Campus Library staff.  My husband and I moved from Austin to Tucson in 2011 so that he could join the University of  Arizona Department of Pediatrics. Many people look at us quizzically and ask: “why would you move here?” Our answer is that we finally got our 3^rd child out of the nest (woo hoo) and were ready for an adventure. We wanted to live in a university town where education is valued, find a warm climate, and were enchanted with the mountains that surround Tucson.  My career in education has included working as a classroom special education teacher, school psychologist, education specialist at the state level, and librarian. Working as a high school and college librarian has been unquestionably the best part of my career. In my free time, I (of course) love to read. Currently I’m in a phase of reading Asian-American historical and mystery fiction. My husband and I also enjoy travel, the theatre, and walking in Sabino Canyon. We’re searching out all the cool restaurants, food trucks, gastropubs and pubs in Tucson. Any recommendations?

DC Library Welcomes Everyone Back!!

The DC Library would like to welcome everyone back! We hope everyone had a great summer - maybe time to travel and relax!

We have a lot going on at the library. To note just a few...

- - Library Sessions. Be sure to schedule your library sessions. The Fall semester is typically our busiest time. We will make every effort to get you your preferred day and time. Come by the library or call us at 206-7267.

- - Revised Library Site! Our Library site was just released on Wednesday afternoon, so check it out. Also, due to popular demand our web space in MyPima (look for the Library tab) and our public web space are nearly identical. Check them out and let us know what you think!

- - New Items! As always, new materials came in throughout the summer, so come and check them out!  On a similar note, if you have an item that you would like to have the library add to its collection, that would supplement your course(s), please send us the name, author and year published and we will make every attempt to order it. It takes about 4 weeks for new items to appear on our shelves, so let us know early!

As always, the library is here for your students and you. If there is anything we can do for you, just let us know!

The DC Library Team
206-7267

Want to Join an Online Book Club?

Hope you are having a great summer!I just came across this and thought I would share in case you are looking for some reading material. (With the clouds cooling things off, it is finally nice enough to sit outside in the evening!)

The FAIFE (Freedom to Access and Information Freedom Exchange) committee of the American Library Association (ALA) has a book club. They have selected Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. (Copies available at PCC Libraries, Pima County public library (hard copy, audio, large print) and of course, Amazon.

For more information, check out FAIFE's book club site. (You will see a link to the book in the gray bar on the left side, under the header image.)

Theresa

DC Library Director

tcstanley@pima.edu

206-7267

The Library's Spring Round-Up

The Downtown Campus would like to thank all faculty, staff and administration for the support of the Downtown Library. Many of you have brought in your class(es) for library instruction or asked us to come to your class. We have seen an increase in students at our reference desk with specific assignments where the library resources play a large part. In our LibGuides, we have seen an increase in their usage. We are so glad we can support your classes in so many ways.

If you are looking ahead to the Summer, or even the Fall semesters, please remember to contact the Library early to reserve your spot on our calendar. Also, if you think you would like a LibGuide for your class (or course), or update an existing LibGuide to reflect revisions in your syllabus, let us know. The summer is a great time for us to work on those projects.

This is also a great time for us to remind you of a way for a librarian have a greater presence in your face-to-face and online learning environments. As an embedded librarian, we can be there to answer your students questions regarding research, citations and the like. This is especially helpful in hybrid and online courses, where a library instruction session may not be feasible. As a TA, we can be there to answer questions or to even lead a research discussion. In a face-to-face class, we can come in periodically to help students before and/or after class, as well to spend a few minutes to answer questions or to refresh them on finding resources. This would be especially helpful in courses that are identified as writing intensive. The NW campus has done this with great results. Others institutions have used Embedded Librarians and found the research papers are of a higher quality.

And for those that will be (or are already) using D2L, it appears the Library will have a presence in that platform. (yea!) We will have more information on that, once things are finalized, but it looks like it will be easier to link to our tutorials and other resources.

Finally, it is with great sadness that we must report one of our librarians, Nancy Schuler, is leaving us. Her husband has accepted a position with a college in Florida, so they will be moving over the summer. While we will miss her, we wish her and her family the best as they begin a new chapter in their lives.

Library Displays - Reserve Your Space Now!

Do you have class projects (2-D or 3-D) that you would like to showcase in the library?

Display space is available starting March 26 through the end of the semester. Reserve your space now by contacting Nancy at nlschuler@pima.edu.

We have two display cases in the main entrance (one large, one table like), and a large display case in the AH entrance. All are enclosed with glass and locked. Feel free to come by and take a look to see if they will fit your needs.

Thanks!

DC Library Team

Don't forget about the Library's Newspaper Databases...

This week our featured resource is: Newspapers

This is the time of year when many students are working on one or more research papers. When they come to the library for assistance we assist them in finding items in our physical collection (here and at other campuses), our reference resources, our article databases and of course finding and evaluating web resources. Many times when we bring using a newspaper as a resource they are unsure if they can.

Our newspaper resources include:

• Arizona Daily Star: Current week's articles
• Ethnic News Watch: Articles from the ethnic, minority and native presses.
• Historical Newspapers: The New York Times from 1851-2005
• Historical New York Times with Index
• Newspaper Source: Articles from various newspapers, including the Arizona Daily Star (09/29/2001 to present), as well as TV and radio transcripts
• ProQuest Newspapers: Articles from various newspapers, including  the New York Times (2002-current)

As you can see, there is a wide variety - both local and national. Newspaper resources are great for exploration of topics, current events, exploring regional tendencies, and interviews (especially the historical NY Times).

If you want to read the Arizona Daily Star online you have two options:

• You can click on the link above or go directly to their website. For those with  with smartphones and/or tablets, you can download their app for their mobile version. (click here to find the app for your device.) 

• The DC Library has purchased a digital version of the paper if you want to read the paper online but in newspaper format (great if you want to reference something by page numbers). Use this link and log in with this information:     Username: AM2001458    Password:  AM2001458

 As always, if you have any questions, or want some more information on using the newspaper resources in your classes, just stop by or call the library!
 The DC Library Team
206-7267

New Series, Send Your Book Requests and more...

DC Library would like to highlight one of our newer resources - Oxford's Very Short Introductions.

These compact books hold a wealth of information, giving students an introduction to a subject with an introduction, its history, how it has influenced society, and other key points. We have almost 300 of them in subjects ranging form religions, technology, sociology, history and more.

These concise books are conveniently located on a spindle near the reference desk. Stop by and check them out. Feel free to pass this information on to your students as they begin their research.

Speaking of research, just a reminder that we have ChromeBooks for the students to check out. If you need computers in your class for a day or the semester, we can assist you with that. Students can use them anywhere on campus and if they need one at home*, their instructor just needs to shoot me an email or come in and we can arrange that!

Also, if you have any items you would like the library to purchase to supplement your courses, just come by with the titles and if possible, the ISBNs. (You can also email them to me.) These could be items for later this spring or for a later semester. We will email you when the item has arrived.

If there is anything else we can help you with...just ask!

Theresa
Library Director
tcstanley@pima.edu

*the ChromeBooks can access any (open) wifi connection. If students do not have Internet at home, they can access Verizon for free, but will need to input credit card information. I have tried this and the credit card is never charged. For more information, contact Theresa.