Hyperlinks are accurate as of Fall 1996

"[A] Mind Stretched To A New Idea Never Goes Back To Its Original Dimension" - ...Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

LRC Web Page: A Work In Progress

Many of you have already discovered that the LRC has a Web page. If you haven't visited our site yet, you can do so at http://www.pcc.edu/lrc or click on "Libraries" on the college homepage. From the site you can access the on-line catalog of LRC materials. You can also search/read electronic magazines and use the databases and catalogs from PORTALS. ( Note: Staff can reach the same material from the college's HP menu). We're also working on including forms for purchase requests and interlibrary loans, so watch for our announcement.

As with all technology, there is a trick reading the full range of library materials on the Web. Your Internet browser needs to be configured with a Telnet application. If you need to learn how to locate and install the telnet application, look for directions in the section, "Access our on-line catalog" on the LRC Web page.

We are also trying to link to good sources of information on the Internet and we want your help. Notice especially the section "LRC and Internet Resources by Subject". For each subject the college teaches we want to list important references works in the field, periodicals, and helpful Internet links, including links to faculty pages. Please give us the URL for any pages useful to your students.

Students are flocking to the Web. We would appreciate your comments and suggestions.

Reference Staffers Attend LOEX Conference

Flora Lippert and Pam Kessinger attended the LOEX of the West Conference at the University of Washington June 20-22, 1996. With its theme, "Collaborative and Instructional Design In A Virtual Environment," the conference presented innovative uses of technology and teaching techniques for information literacy. Presenters included librarians and faculty from around the country.

Session topics were wide-ranging and emphasized that teaching in a collaborative setting is a dynamic process. Students become active, energetic learners and instructors are energized, too.

"We were inspired to take leadership roles in developing collaborative assignments and presentations. It was a very interesting conference to attend. And, we got lots of handouts," Pam Kessinger confides.

Call or drop by and visit your campus librarian to discuss how you can work together to develop practical and useful research lessons.

A Machine That Talks To You

As part of our effort to make materials accessible to everyone, each LRC has installed a "reading machine," manufactured by the Arkenstone Company. It features a system that can scan text and read it to you. Voice speed and tone are adjustable, from a slow drawl to a hyperkenetic pace, from low tones to high.. Combined with ZoomText, a screen magnification program, users who have low vision or are blind can now perform many tasks independently that formerly required assistance.

Hint: Students who are auditory learners and those new to English will appreciate this system as well. If you have people in your classes who could benefit from this technology , please help us spread the word.

Interlibrary Loan -- We Borrow It For You

Eileen Pecka in the LRC is the PCC staffer who spends hours at a computer arranging the flight of materials between libraries. During the last year, she loaned almost four times as many films/books as she borrowed for PCC staff and students. Outsiders have discovered our collection and appreciate the access that cooperative agreements offer.

We've mentioned this before, but thought it worth repeating...you can order materials from other libraries from your Oracle E-mail account. Once you are into your E-mail, press CTRL T to bring up a template. Select the interlibrary loan option, fill in the form, and send it. Your request will be processed with mercurial speed and stunning precision. Superior service is our goal!

Carefully Crafted Videos and CDs Generate Discussion

Famous American Speeches. A collection of over 300 history-making examples of oratory. In addition to the full text, the CD Rom disk includes historical context for each speech, photographs, holographic images of original speeches, and more than 45 minutes of video and audio clips from National Archives tapes. CD ROM 815.5.082 F36 1996 @S

Sexism in Language. Shows how sexism and antisexism may be contained in language...in song lyrics, conversation, newspaper reports, written conventions, and satire. Though gender bias often may be subtle, it does influence the thoughts and perceptions of speakers and listeners alike. Video 401.9 S49 1993 @ Film Booking

Evelyn Fox Keller: Science and Gender. Trained as a theoretical physicist in the 1950s, Keller has grappled with the meaning and consequences of stereotypes. Along with Bill Moyers, she discusses how gender plays a significant role in the language that scientists use to describe their work. Video 508.8042 E83 1994 @ Film Booking

The Wannsee Conference. This chilling German film reconstructs an 85-minute meeting where Nazi officials met in 1942 to discuss the "final solution of the Jewish problem." Taken verbatim from the secretary's notes and shot in the same room where Adolf Eichman and Reinhard Heydrich planned the murder of millions. In German with English subtitles. Video 940.5315 W 36 1987@ Film Booking

Across The River: Saving America's Inner Cities. Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Hedrick Smith offers a series of powerful and encouraging portraits of urban heroes who are reviving once-dying neighborhoods. Video 307.3 A37 1995 @ Film Booking

Magazines in Cyberspace

Remember that a number of computer magazines can be found on the World Wide Web and some offer full-text articles as well as a Table of Contents postings. Popular titles published by the Ziff-Davis Publishing Company include PC Computing, PC Magazine, PC Week and Yahoo Internet Life.
Locate these at http://www.zdnet.com/pccomp/

Another popular computer magazine title is PC World. Look for it at www.pcworld.com

All paper format magazines except current display issues checkout for one week. They are not renewable. However, each LRC has copiers available for photocopying.

Emerging Instructional Technologies

Steve Garrison, the new instructional computing guru is busy meeting people and talking with folks about problems and prospects. He has also presented a series of demonstrations about "executables." These are files which run on the Internet without any software on the local computer except an operating system and Internet browser. The advantages of these JAVA Applets/executables are (1) they reduce the need for software on each microcomputer and (2) they simplify local support.

If you want to view these small miracles of efficiency, see the Instructional Computing section of the LRC homepage and click on "examples".

Technical Hurdles A Snap

MicroVideo Learning Systems, producers of Microsoft Windows 95 Executive Summary, offers you an effective way to learn popular business software programs. Users with any degree of computer experience find it easy to learn new skills in its interactive environment. The program can be used by students individually or as a supplement to the teaching plans you already have in place.

The Executive Summary is a four-part program that provides a look at Microsoft's newest operating system, explains new features, compares Windows 95 with Windows 3.1, and gives a brief installation summary. Here's where you will find descriptions of folders, filenames, find utility, icons, dialog boxes, keyboard shortcuts and ever so much more!

Order from Film Booking. Ask for Microsoft Windows 95 Executive Summary. 005.369 Windows M53 1995 3264vh.

Shedding Some Light

By Berniece Owen

Purchasing New Books And Videos

The LRC spends a lot of money each year on new books, new media (videos, CD-ROMs, audio programs, multimedia packages) and new serials (magazines, annual directories, revisions of reference books). The acquisitions process goes on all year round, but we try to have funds encumbered for the current fiscal year by the end of March to allow ample time for vendors and publishers or producers to ship their wares before the end of the fiscal year.

That is why NOW is the time for faculty to let LRC staff know what materials you will need for the year ahead.

How Is The Money Allocated?

The LRC does not allocate the budget by subject, but we do track spending by subject. This allows us maximum flexibility to meet your needs and to distribute spending for new materials equitably among campuses and subject areas. Subscriptions are a special problem because they represent an on-going commitment of money. Subscription costs go up every year, but the budget does not. Entering a new order may mean dropping an old one.

What Are The Buying Guidelines?

The LRC makes buying decisions based on the principles in its Collection Development Policy, on available funds, and on requests or demand from faculty and students. The Policy is driven primarily by curriculum needs across all programs. PCC faculty members provide significant input into the process of identifying LRC materials for instructional support. Staff also review new book reviews and announcements to make sure that we have basic resources.

When we receive requests we must also review the spending we have already done in any given discipline and try to balance the new demand against the collection as a whole. In today's economy, the money doesn't go as far as we would like.

How Can I Place An Order?

Submit requests via e-mail to Berniece Owen or by intercampus mail to Berniece at Sylvania LRC, Room 117. If you would like to consult with a subject specialist in the library or audiovisual services about specific curriculum needs, we will be happy to accommodate you. Berniece or any LRC staff member can refer you to the right person. Sarah Patterson is the person to contact for information about prices and availability as well as the status of previous orders. Her e-mail is: spatters; phone x 4632; mail SY LRC 116.

The Bottom Line Is: Yes, the LRC has money to spend on new books, new videos, and on new media, but we can't buy everything. Yes, we will try to get new journals, but maybe we'll have to sacrifice some old ones.

Please talk to us if you need library and audiovisual materials. We want to hear from you! Contact Berniece Owen(x 4631) or Sarah Patterson (x 4632) for answers to all your questions.

. Recommended Brands for Audiotape Duplication

Help! We're discovering that budget brand tapes are reducing the life of our duplicators by 50%. Below is a listing of suggested brands to purchase. Please refer your students to this checklist and help our machines live longer, more fulfilling lives.

Sony
TDK
Memorex
Maxell
BASF
Fugi
Ampex

Wordprocessing Stations Now Offer More Options

Students may now access Netscape from the wordprocessing computers in the LRC. They are available for 2-hour checkout periods at all campus locations.

They are used on a first-come, first-serve basis, with a 20- minute time limit if others are waiting. A preliminary count at Sylvania showed Netscape was as popular as the word processing programs.

'Tis A Far, Far Better Place We Have Than We Have Ever Had Before

The Rock Creek LRC..."looking rather cool!" We've remodeled and expanded our resources to serve you even better. Over the past several years we've added carpeting for sound proofing and warmth, reupholstered very comfortable "snooze " chairs that are everyone's favorite, created an electronic presentation classroom that provides an inviting and effective environment for teaching and viewing, established a staff production lab with unique equipment to help faculty use the latest technology to develop innovative teaching programs, and enlarged the number of electronic research stations to meet increasing student demand for technology's tools.

To celebrate our upgrade, we're hosting an open house on Tuesday, December 3, from 12:30 pm to 4:00 pm. Please join us. Meet the staff if you haven't already done so, poke around, explore, view the demos in the classroom and staff production lab, talk with Steve Garrison about developing programs using technology, and most importantly, have a piece of cake. Hope to see you...bring a friend.

Our Gang

Firmly believing that change stirs the blood and keeps life interesting, we've switched staff around and added a few new faces, too.

Look for long-time Rock Creek librarian Schola Njoku's smile at the Sylvania Reference Desk She's dispensing cheerful answers to any question you have.

Sharon Smith, former Sylvania Reference staffer and recent defender of a doctoral thesis, is enthusiastically helping students and staff at the Cascade LRC discover how to research efficiently and effectively.

Dorena Whitman has accepted a position as the Rock Creek Academic Computer Specialist.. She has been with the Rock Creek LRC for the past three years as a circulation assistant and has shared her considerable computer expertise with students and staff. We will miss her immensely!

Emmeline Loanzon travels between Sylvania and Cascade LRCs , working her magic to get recalcitrant computers "up and running." Emy, as she prefers to be called, was selected to fill a brand new position as LRC technical assistant.

Filling the part-time reference slot at Rock Creek is Donna Cohen. She has a Master's degree in Education and a Master's in Library and Information Studies. Donna has extensive teaching experience , including a career in technology education teaching woodworking, metals and engines. A stint as a Peace Corps teacher trainer took her to the African nation of Botswana. In her life outside PCC, she operates an information consulting business .

Steve Garrison, the instructional computing facilitator for the College, is not an official "our gang" member, but since he nests in the Sylvania LRC, we've extended him associate member privileges.

Contact Steve to discuss how to utilize technology to enhance the teaching/learning process.

The LRC newsletter is published three times a year under the direction of Barbara Swanson, Library Director.
Editor: Maris Bishoprick.
Contributors: Laura Chandiwalla, Pam Kessinger, Rich Kirk, Berniece Owen, Sarah Patterson, Sharon Smith.