Library Open House!

Hey everybody, this year’s Library Open House will be held on August 23^rd from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm so make sure you swing by!  There will be a festive air this year as this year’s theme is “Library Carnival!” There will be games and prizes in the upstairs area.  So come in and check out all the library has to offer, then have some fun, win some prizes and enjoy some refreshments!

Hope to see you there!

First Day of School Help

Whether you’ve been away from school for a few months or a few years, the first day back to classes can be full of anxiety.  Don’t worry—the CAC library is here to help you out!  Whether you need a computer to look up your schedule or a friendly staff member to point you in the right direction, the CAC libraries at Signal Peak, Aravaipa, and Superstition Mountain are here to assist you.  From your first day all the way to graduation, we want to support you in getting your education at CAC.  Welcome!

If you’d like a head-start in being prepared for the first day (or first week) of classes, check out this guide from Sparknotes.com:  http://www.sparknotes.com/college/life/page8.html  This great article has a first-day checklist, as well as sections on finding your classes, keeping track of time, college class structures and getting the most out of your course syllabus.  The page is a quick read full of great advice!

For the students and staff who have been at CAC before, what was the best advice you received about attending college?  Or what was the advice you wish someone had shared with you?

Two Current Events You May Have Missed

On the face of the Earth and in orbit around it, big changes are happening.  It’s easy to miss them with classes in session and other stories getting more coverage in the news, but these two events are worth noting.   Ask at the library if you’d like to learn more about either one!

There is a new nation being born in Africa, when an existing peace treaty between two factions expires at midnight.  After decades of brutal civil war, the sub-Saharan nation of Sudan is dividing into two independent countries.  The northern area will still be known as Sudan, but the southern part is now its own nation of South Sudan.  It is hoped that this will end animosity between the two groups, although tensions are still high.  You may know about this region from George Clooney’s charity work to end the genocides of Darfur or from books and films about the Lost Boys, the Sudanese child refugees who came to the US to escape hunger, poverty and being forced to serve as soldiers.

The second piece of news is literally out of this world: the very last Space Shuttle flight launched this morning at 11:29.  After 30 years, the NASA program is being shut down and the Space Shuttles retired permanently.  This has left many people asking if the United States will continue to fund space flights in the future.   The crew of four astronauts is scheduled to return on July 20.  Read more from NASA here: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/launch/index.html

Dictionary.com

Have you ever been stumped by a word you just don’t recognize?  Whether it’s a term you’ve heard on television or a word you’ve read in a book or magazine, there is a resource that may be able to help. Dictionary.com is a free website that will give you definitions for thousands of words.  In many cases, you can also hear it pronounced —which is especially useful for those terms you’ve seen in print but aren’t sure how to say.  Just click on the speaker icon to hear the audio version.  Here’s an example of a popular word in the news right now:  haboob.

If you aren’t sure how to spell a word, type in your best guess and dictionary.com will provide a “did you mean?” list to help you locate the right spelling.  Medical and legal dictionaries like Stedman’s Medical dictionary and Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law also provide definitions for this site so you can search for more specialized terms.  From the top of any page on the site, you can also connect to thesaurus.com to find synonyms for a word or phrase.   If you feel you’ve used the word “argue” too many times in a persuasion paper, thesaurus.com will suggest alternatives like assert, justify, show and suggest to try instead.

SPC Student Parking News

It’s been tough to find a parking space with the construction going on at the SPC campus this summer.  The library has good news to share:  there *is* overflow student parking if you can’t find a space in the regular lot!  You are allowed to park in the staff lots if there are spaces available.  There is also a second area behind the Wakefield building; just follow the road that is east of the gym back to the parking lot.  Just remember to park your car in marked spaces (no illegal parking, please) to avoid being ticketed!

Snopes!

Have you ever checked your email account and gotten a forwarded “true” story or picture that seemed too strange to be real?  Maybe you’ve gotten a fiery letter about how this politician or that special interest group is ruining our country, or you are getting forwards with helpful advice that you’ve never heard of before.  How do you know if those stories are true?  There is a wonderful website where you can check up on these—it’s www.snopes.com .  Just head to this website and enter a few keywords to describe your email.

As an example, have you heard this story?  “If you see a car without its headlights on at night, don’t flash your lights to warn the other driver.  It’s a gang initiation and the driver in the other car will start shooting!”  Go to the Snopes search box and put in the words “car headlights” to check if this is true.   Click on the story you want to read about, and look for the red circle—this means the story is false, like the headlights example above.  If a story or picture is real, you will see a green circle; if it’s an old legend, you’ll see a yellow circle.   If you want to know the origin of a story, read the explanation and find out its history; sometimes the background is more interesting than the story itself!

Here are some links to favorites if you want to see some others:

The Story of the Vanishing Hitchhiker

Don’t Accept Facebook Friend Requests from …

Are Tornado Victims Being Charged to Cancel Their Cable and Satellite Service?

Got an interesting story?  Check it out on Snopes and let us know if it’s the real deal!

News on the Google Books Settlement

Last week, a U.S. District Court judge denied an agreement proposed by Google that would allow the company to bypass copyright law as it applies to Google Books content.

Not familiar with the Google Books case?  The case began in 2005 when the Author’s Guild and the Association of American Publishers filed class action lawsuits against Google for scanning content and providing searchable excerpts from what were supposed to be copyright protected books.  The case has been ongoing ever since, and arrived at a significant milestone with last Tuesday’s ruling.

Google’s failed proposal involved a cash payout to the opposition along with funding for regulatory programs to govern Google Books content.  Based on what the opposition considered to be soft guidelines, it is possible that Google’s 125 million dollar settlement would have more than paid for itself over time considering the multiple markets potentially vulnerable to such an imposing initiative.  For instance, if Google Books Project progressed sans legal intervention, the company would have been able to offer unobstructed web access to copyrighted books, leaving publishers, authors, libraries, and book sellers out of the loop.

Though the judge in this case acknowledged that such a universal digital library would greatly increase information access worldwide, he deemed that the law still applies.  Similarly, many of those opposed to the Google Books agenda including libraries, authors, and even some publishers, also in favor of open access to information… though with respect to copyright.

Considering the lengthy litigation surrounding this case and our generous judicial appeals system, it is possible that we have not heard the last the Google Books legal battle!

“And the Oscar goes to…”

For Oscar week, we thought it would be fun to provide you with some fun facts surrounding the biggest night in film.  The Central Arizona Library will also be hosting an Oscar prediction raffle.  Participate by selecting your Oscar picks for this year (details below).  Good luck keeping track of the 10 films in the best picture category!  We hope you enjoy the trivia. 

Literary Inspiration. Throughout Oscar history, countless nominated and winning films have been based on books.  2011 adaptations include 127 Hours, True Grit, Winter’s Bone, How to Train your Dragon, and The Social Network.  Other recent films to jump off of the pages are Slumdog Millionaire, Precious, The Blind Side, and Up in the Air.  And we can’t forget iconic films such as The Godfather, To Kill a Mockingbird, Silence of the Lambs, and The Shawshank Redemption.  Those people who insist on reading the book before seeing the movie are keeping busy!

Host/Nominee Curse? Of the six nominees who have also taken on double duty as host of the big night, only the first two have won (Frank Capra in 1938 and David Niven in 1958).  This 52-year stalemate has lead many superstitious observers to believe that taking on the hosting role is a one-way ticket to defeat.  It remains to be seen whether or not this trend (or curse) will hold true on Oscar night for this year’s Co-host and Best Actor Nominee, James Franco (127 Hours).

Golden Oldies. Since the adorable child nominees and winners usually get all of the attention, I thought it would be nice to take a moment to recognize the decorated elders to grace the podium in Oscars past.  The oldest winners include George Burns at 80 years old (The Sunshine Boys), Jessica Tandy at 81 (Driving Miss Daisy), Henry Fonda at 76 (On Golden Pond), and the ageless Clint Eastwood who directed Million Dollar Baby at 74.  Years later at 80, good old Clint is showing no signs of stopping!

Silent Performances(!) Yes it is possible to win an Oscar without making a peep.  Jane Wyman (Johnny Belinda, 1948), Sir John Mills (Ryan’s Daughter, 1970), and Holly Hunter (The Piano, 1993) all won Oscars for playing mute characters.  Some of us were just blessed with expressive faces.  Did I say us?  I mean them.

Is Oscar hugging himself or holding something? Our little friend Oscar is holding a knight’s sword and standing on a reel of film with five spokes.  What do the five spokes represent you ask???   The five spokes each represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers and Technicians.  Disappointed?  Maybe he’s holding the sword and hugging himself.  I would hug myself if I was wearing that much bling! 

Winning(less) Catch Phrase. “And the winner is…” was replaced by “And the Oscar goes to…” in 1989.  This way, all of the Oscar nominees will feel like winners.  What a warm and fuzzy note to end on.

Tell us what you think:  Will James Franco fall victim to the Oscar host curse?  If so, will he be able to maintain that winning smile?  What’s your favorite book/Oscar movie combo?  Is Clint Eastwood the new 30?

Finally, a challenge to our CAC Students and Staff:

Do you think you can predict the Oscar winners?  Leave us a comment here at Word of Mouth – before the Oscars start on Sunday evening – with your predictions for the Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role, Actress in a Leading Role, Animated Feature Film, and Directing and we’ll enter you in a raffle drawing for a Barnes & Noble gift card!

(Be sure to include your CAC email address in the email box – not the actual comment box.)

Censorship vs. Readership?

Heather Moulton, Professor of English extraordinaire, told us about an article in The Northern Iowan, the student newspaper for University. The article, “Censorship is n** the Answer,” reports on the publishing of a new version of Huck Finn – sans racial slurs. The reason for doing so came from an English professor who felt that removing the slurs would be the best way to expand readership of the novel.  By doing so, however, what happens to the original intent of the novel?

From the article:

“But we feel that changing the words in this American classic changes the mood and lessons behind the entire book. Isn’t the point of reading the book in the first place to teach students about life along the Mississippi River in the 19th century? Changing the words used in the book would give readers a false sense of what life was really like back when slavery was enforced. Young students need to know the truth. They need to know that slavery and the unfair treatment of blacks was part of American culture. If they don’t see the mistakes we made in the past, including our mistake of using hateful words, they won’t know how to change the future.”

What do you think about this?

 

Celebrate Your Privacy: Happy National Data Privacy Day!

Don’t know what Data Privacy Day is???  That’s okay because this holiday is pretty brand spankin’ new.  Just two years ago in 2009, the United States Senate and the House of Representatives voted to make January 28th a national holiday celebrating Data Privacy Day.  This initiative, which is also recognized internationally, was established to help educate up and coming generations about the importance of protecting online privacy rights, particularly when it comes to social media activities such as Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace.  An additional goal in raising awareness of the unique challenges surrounding the Web environment is to initiate the development of better solutions to online privacy control.  The implementation of Data Privacy Day has resulted in a world wide consortium of law makers, educators, corporations, and special interest groups, involving big names such as Google, Visa, and IBM, working collectively to keep privacy protection on the map in an often fast paced and ever changing technological culture.

Care about your online privacy? Tell us about it.