Literature Criticism Online (Trial)

Are you taking an English course and need to get biographical info about your author? Provide a literary criticism about the author's work? If you answered yes, then check out Literature Criticism Online.  This resource will be available only on-campus computers until February 20, 2008.

The 10 individual, award-winning Gale series that comprise Literature Criticism Online represent a range of modern and historical views on authors and their works across regions, eras and genres. Imagine centuries of analysis — the scholarly and popular commentary from broadsheets, pamphlets, encyclopedias, books and periodicals — delivered in an easy format that matches the exact look and feel of the print originals. Gale literary references reach back 20 to 30 years and taken together as print, they could easily fill 230 feet of shelf space! Now, hundreds of volumes are digitized and ready to read 24/7 online. The net result is tens of thousands of hard-to-find essays at your fingertips. Resources include:

• Contemporary Literary Criticism®
• Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism®
• Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism®
• Shakespearean Criticism
• Literature Criticism from 1400–1800
• Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism
• Poetry Criticism
• Short Story Criticism
• Drama Criticism
• Children's Literature Review

Library Launches New Homepage

The Library Media Center homepage has been updated in order to improve access to the LMC's many resources and services. 

Enhancements include:

• An updated look and feel that matches the current GCC campus website.
• Access to resources by categories such as 'research', 'about us', 'services', 'help', and more.
• Direct access to the most often searched databases.
• A direct link to a list of magazine, newspaper, and journal titles available through the LMC.
• A 'News and Features' area that will highlight library services, collections, and activities.  During the semester this area will be updated weekly.
• Access to resources based on your user type (i.e. students, faculty, staff, or visitors).

There are more improvements on their way, including:

• An A-Z homepage site index.
• Enhanced access to the Library's subscription databases.
• Enhanced 'News and Features' area.

Please be sure to offer feedback and suggestions as the LMC goes through this web renovation. User opinion is important.  There is a feedback link in the right column of the new homepage.

Full Text Resources at Your Fingertips

360-Linkmeans easier access to full-text resources when users are searching library databases.

The LMC is providing a new service that allows students, faculty & staff to more simply access full-text articles when they would have previously received a citation/abstract without a full-text link. 

For example, if a search in Academic Search Premier returns an article citation (without full-text access) a user would have had to use Serials Solution to find out if the library had access to that journal in electronic or in print format.

360-Link allows users to link to a screen that describes full-text options (i.e. if the article is available in one of the library's many databases or in the print collections). 

Try out this new feature when you are searching databases provided by the following vendors: Ebscohost, Wilson Omnifile and General OneFile (InfoTrac).

Streaming Videos at the Library

The Library now includes more than 100 streamed documentary videos in the collection.  These videos are available online anytime during the day or night.

Streamed videos are discoverable through the online catalog or via the Streaming Video Collections webpage, where you can find more information about the collection and how to search it.

Most streamed videos require an eGCC account for access.

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month in November by learning more about Native American history and culture.  The LMC at GCC provides an array of resources -- including videos, books, databases, magazines and journals -- devoted to the Native American tradition.  Check out a list related resources available at the LMC by clicking on the link below and stop by the book display (located near the reference desk) in November.

Native American Heritage Month Resources at the Library (pdf)

New READ Poster at the Library - Dr. Velvie Green

Date Posted: October 29, 2007
Category: Other

Check out what Dr. Green is reading in the LMC READ poster gallery or stop by the library and see the poster in person.

If you are interested in posing or would like to suggest someone to be featured on a poster, please contact Russ Sears.

Student Employees - Circulation Services

Date Posted: October 22, 2007
Category: Personnel - Student Employees

The LMC depends upon student employees to help out with a variety of operational tasks in the media and circulation departments. 

Student employees assist with circulation services by checking-out books to patrons, reshelving materials, providing friendly service, and keeping the collection in order and the shelves neat.  

This year's student employees in the circulation department are:

Jennifer Bertagni
Jennifer has attended GCC for two years and has enjoyed working in the library for 8 months. She is a history major and plans to transfer to ASU after completing her Associates degree. Not only has working in the library put money in her pocket but it has also allowed her to meet interesting people and expose her to new fields of study. She has learned many of the resources the library provides that have supported her classwork and research papers. 

Tony Hardy
Tony’s real name is Antione, but he prefers to be called Tony. He really enjoys working at the GCC Library.

Brandie Idso
Brandie has worked here for 1 year. Her major is Biology.

Erin Maden
Erin is a history major, hoping to one day earn her Master’s degree. Originally from Indiana, she spent most of her childhood growing up in the suburbs of Chicago.

Brittany Martin
Brittany has been working in the library for about a year and a half and feels she honestly could not ask for a better place to work. The best part of her job happens when she is able to help point someone in the right direction. She will more than likely go on to ASU for a degree in Criminal Justice.

Jordan Mikus
Jordan is the newest student employee to join the circulation services staff; she has been working at the library for about 2 months. Her major is English Literature. Being surrounded by books all day is defiantly the best part of the job.

Crystal Robinson
This is Crystal’s last semester at GCC. She is majoring in communications. She hopes to become a famous author one day.

Website Changes

Date Posted: October 12, 2007
Category: Website

Users may have noticed minor changes to the LMC website during the the Fall Semester.  These changes are part of the Library's ongoing efforts to improve website usability, enhance functionality, and update the look and feel.

Recent changes include the addition of a search box on the home page and a switch of the homepage color scheme to GCC red.  Soon the red will be seen throughout the website.  Additionally, we are in the process of adding a standard right hand column.  Depending on the page, the column will include a page index ('On This Page'), 'Related Links', and 'Information'.

Other upcoming changes may include:

• the addition of an A-Z bar so that users can go directly to resources from the homepage;
• the creation of user defined pages to improve access to materials lists;
• enhanced database descriptions;
• enhanced access to periodical publications;
• improved access to materials via the homepage.

If you have any comments, be sure to send them to the LMC Web Group.

New Books and DVDs at GCC

Date Posted: October 8, 2007
Category: Collections

The GCC Library Media Center added more than 250 titles to the collection in September including books, DVDs, and electronic resources.  Take a look at the New Titles in September 2007 listing.  The list is arranged by subject area for easy browsing.

Banned Books Awareness Week

Date Posted: October 1, 2007
Category: Programs

Celebrate Banned Books Awareness Week at the library through October 6 and on the mall on October 4. 

Banned and challenged books will be on display all week at the west end of the LMC. 

Event: On October 4, there will be a banned book reading sponsored by the Amnesty International and Egoist student organizations.  The event will be held on the lawn in front of the Student Union from 10:45 - noon.  

• List of Banned and Challenged books available at the LMC (pdf)
• Banned & Challenged Books Online (Full Text) from U. Penn
• Banned Books Week webpage from the American Library Association

Culture & Ethnicity Oriented Databases

Date Posted: September 26, 2007
Category: Databases

Do you need information regarding Cultural/Multicultural items? Do you need information from leading ethnic and culture-oriented magazines, newspapers, and publishers?

Try these resources from our new database category: Cultural Issues.

• The African American Experience:
  Provides you with access to African American history. Numerous primary resources are available from this database.
  
  
• CultureGrams: Gives you an appreciation of other countries and cultures. Information is presented in various formats: articles and images.
  
  
• Daily Life: Explores the past and present cultures and discovers how they are connected. Full-text resources add to this finding of cultural information.
  
  
• Ethnic Newswatch: Provides access to full text articles from newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic and minority press. This resource provides additional viewpoints.
  
  
• The Latino American Experience: Illustrates the history and culture of Latinos living in the United States from primary sources and includes images.
  
  
• World Folklore and Folklife: Discovers the fairy tales, proverbs, folk tales, holidays, festivals of other countries.

Connect to the list of Cultural Issues Databases.

Celebrate Constitution Day at the Library

Date Posted: September 17, 2007
Category: Programs

In honor of Constitution Day, the LMC will display historical books related to the US Constitution and provide free Constitution booksmarks and a Constitution facts booklet.

Books and movies about the United States Constitution available at the LMC.

New Employees at the LMC

Date Posted: September 13, 2007
Category: Personnel

This fall, library assistant Michelle Smith and librarians Sheila Afnan-Manns and Karen Grondin have joined the LMC team in serving GCC students and faculty. 

Michelle Smith joins Access Services from Dysart Unified School District where she served for two years as Library/Media Technician for students and staff in a K-12 academic environment. She is really excited about working with the LMC family and strives to give faculty, staff and students quality customer service.

Sheila Afnan-Manns comes to GCC from Portland Community College (PCC) in Oregon where she served as a  liaison to the nursing and allied health programs, participated on the PCC faculty distance learning committee to promote greater use of library resources, obtained a Library Services in Technology Act (LSTA) grant to develop an online clearinghouse for library continuing education, and facilitated partnership on an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant to increase the number of ethnic minorities entering the library profession.

Karen Grondin has joined the LMC team as an adjunct faculty member, working Friday mornings during the Fall semester.  Currently, Karen is employed full time at ASU's Fletcher Library on the West campus.  She is expert in library circulation services and has considerable experience helping students at the reference desk.  Karen was recently awarded her master of arts degree in information resources and library science from the University of Arizona.

Celebrate Hispanic American Heritage Month

Celebrate Hispanic American Heritage Month by learning more about Hispanic American history.  The LMC at GCC provides an array of resources -- including videos, books, databases, magazines and journals -- devoted to the Hispanic American tradition.  Check out a list related resources available at the library.

Hispanic Heritage Month Resources at the Library (pdf)

New READ Posters at the Library

Date Posted: September 3, 2007
Category: Other

Check out our familiar GCC faces in the READ poster gallery! If you are interested in posing or would like to suggest someone to be featured on a poster, please contact Russ Sears.

New Databases available through the LMC

Date Posted: August 27, 2007
Category: Databases

The LMC now has access to five new online databases for this academic year.

• Communication & Mass Media Complete provides quality research in areas related to communication and mass media.
• The African American Experience provides voice to the black experience from its African origins to the present day.
• The Latino American Experience focuses on the history and culture of Latinos living in the United States.
• Daily Life provide a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary resource that supports history, social studies, English, and language students.
• World Folklore & Folklife offers the opportunity for students to research topics as varied as literature, gender roles, and cultural studies.

All of these resources are remotely available. 

Visit our Trial Databases any time during the year to see what databases are being reviewed for possible selection.

If you would like more information about any of our online databases, please feel free to inquire with José Aguiñaga at the LMC.

New Employees at the LMC

Audio-video technician Victor "Chuck" Fortino joined the LMC in late Spring 2007.

Two new hires have joined the LMC. Carol Mayfield in Access Services and Library Faculty Ed McKennon. Ed joins the LMC from Arizona State University at the West Campus. While at ASUW, Ed was the library's web council chair. Please welcome Carol and Ed to GCC.

GCC Librarian Authors Two Books

Congratulations to Shelley Mosley! Two recent books by Shelley are in the LMC collection.

Mosley, Shelley, and John Charles.
The Suffragists in Literature for Youth: The Fight for the Vote. Literature for Youth No. 10. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2006.
(Z 7963 .V66 M67 2006)

Charles, John, and Shelley Mosley, eds.
Romance Today: An A-To-Z Guide to Contemporary American Romance Writers. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2006.
(Ref PS 374 .L6 R66 2007)

Shelley is one of the LMC's adjunct faculty librarians, and a novelist, book reviewer, and she served as the director of Glendale's Velma Teague Library for many years.

LMC Faculty Member Wins Award

Library faculty Christine Moore, was recently selected as GCC's 2007 NISOD (National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development)
Excellence Award recipient. Christine will be representing GCC at this annual conference in May 2007.

Library Launches new Online 'Chat' Reference Service

Ask-a-Librarian chat is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can discuss your research needs with a librarian.

Audio Walking Tour for GCC Art Collection

There is now an audio walking tour to add to your enjoyment of the art collection.  To hear the tour, check out a listening wand at the circulation desk.  The tour is self-paced, which allows you to select from the featured pieces of art as you move about the library.  We also have brochures available. 

Most of the art was either purchased by the student government association or given to GCC as a gift.  The art curator is Darlene Goto, a faculty member in the art department.  For further information, please contact her at 623-845-3755.

UPDATE: Coming soon! the Spanish version of the art audio walking tour.