Go Around the World

and never leave your Library.

Explore world cultures and histories with some of these new titles on world history:

Morrocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges. DT305 H69 2005

Morrocco: From Empire to Independence. DT314 P46x 2003

Kenya: A Struggle for Democracy. JQ2947 A91 K457x 2007

Kenya: The Quest For Prosperity. DT433.58 M55 1994

A History of Nepal. DS494.5 W43 2005

Africa Since Independence. DT30.5 N84 2004

The History of Ethiopia. DT381 A45 2007

A Short History of Cambodia: From Empire to Survival. DS554.5 T85 2005

Put some art in your life

Get down with your arty self and check out some of these new art, photography and theatre titles:

Art and Performance Live. NX600 P47 L58x 2004 (why does performance art always seem to involve public nudity)

Costume and Fashion a Concise History. REF GT511 L39 2002

History of the American Theatre from its Origins to 1832. PN2237 D86 2005

Photography Reborn: Image Making in the Digital Era. TR267 L57 2005

National Gallery of Art Washington: A World of Art. N856 R434 1998

Manga: Masters of Art. PN6790 J32 L44x 2005

Study Early -- Study Late

Once again the Alexandria Campus Library will observe the last week of classes and exam week with special extended hours. The Library will open half an hour early and close an hour late:

Dec. 3- Dec. 17, 2007

Monday - Thursday
8:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Friday
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Saturday
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Keep up your strength with the Library's popular Late Night Study break. Each evening at 9.30pm come to the Library and enjoy a cup of coffee or cocoa, have a cookie or a chocolate.

Good luck to everyone studying for exams!

Traffic Jam

Stuck in traffic? Need a good read? Check out one of our new titles on traffic & transport:

Taking the High Road: A Metropolitan Agenda for Transportation Reform. HE308 T35 2005

Still Stuck in Traffic: Coping With Peak-Hour Traffic Congestion. HE355.3 C64 D69 2004

Urban Mass Transit: The Life Story of a Technology. TA1205 P67 2007

The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro. HE4491 W44 W376 2006

I Love Libraries (.org!)

LRS Associate Director Sylvia Rortvedt's article on the Altered Book exhibit that appeared in the August issue of Virginia Libraries (see below) was picked up by the American Library Association's webisite I Love Libraries. The article features pictures and the story of the Altered Books Project that was on display in the Alexandria Campus Library for the Spring and Summer '07 semesters.

NOVA Librarians present at VLA

Librarians from the Annandale and Alexandria campuses presented sessions at the Virginia Library Association Annual conference on Thursday 1 Nov 2007.

From the Alexandria Campus, Sylvia Rortvedt and Matt Todd presented on "Radical Trust" (see below). From Annandale Ellen Wertman presented on protecting yourself in cyberspace (it's a scary cyber world out there!) and Irene Osterman brought out the laughs with humor in the workplace.

Virginia Library Association Annual Conference

Sylvia Rortvedt (LRS Associate Director) and Matt Todd (Collection Development Librarian) head to the Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia for the Virginia Library Association Annual Conference. Catch Sylvia and Matt present on Radical Trust on Thursday 1 Nov!

View the presentation!

And check back to see the results of the Radical Trust competition to Name Our Presentation!

And the winner is...

Radical Trust: Power Through the People

Thanks to everyone who took time to fill in evaluations and to vote on a title for our presentation!

Runner up suggestions:

Radical Trust: Trust, engage and use your customers or lose them

Radical Trust: The user is not broken

Honorable Mention:

Radical Trust: It’s not just for theology anymore (we love it!)

Here's a list of all the suggestions -- which one(s) do you like?

Power through the people!
It’s not just for theology anymore
Community building for engaged library services
Taking a leap of faith in the user
Community conversations
Asimov, first law of robots: First do no harm
At the root of service

Engaging our patrons
The user is not broken
Sharing authority with users
Multiple truths provide collective wisdom
Beyond the box: your way
Go with the flow—be willing to change
Trust, engage and use your customers or lose them
Transforming your library by empowering your users
Transforming librarianship
Creating communities
Question rules

And finally -- the best of the comments:

Someone suggested: "My only suggestion is to ask open-ended questions to engage your audience rather than polling close-ended questions. (Trust us.)" Great suggestion! Thanks.

Happy Hat-o-ween

Alexandria Library Staff celebrated Hallowe'en on 31 October with Hat-o-ween. Check out the hats!

Hats represented include pork-pie, beret, princess, halo, horns, cowboy, Redskins, pirate, Nationals, tri-corn and Uncle Sam. Find them all!

Testing staff came trick-or-treating (did they get a trick or a treat?):

Happy Hallowe'en to all!

Thanks to Library, Faculty Save Money!!

"Thanks to you I am saving money. I cancelled my Wall Street Journal subscription (which I barely I had time to read anyway) because I can get it for free through NOVA’s library. Thanks."

-- from a Humanities & Social Sciences Faculty Member.

Visit the "Articles Page": http://www.nvcc.edu/Library/databases.htm to access the WSJ online. Just click on "ProQuest" or "Factiva".

Ride the Shuttle to Arlington!

Need to get from the Alexandria Campus to the Arlington Center? Take advantage of the free shuttle:

Alexandria/Arlington Center Shuttle Bus Schedule
(Fall 2007)

·1 The shuttle leaves the Alexandria Campus (from DASH bus stop) at :
o 8:00 a.m.
o 11:30 a.m.
·2 The shuttle leaves the Arlington Center (from Hotel Parking Lot) at:
o 2:30 p.m.
o 5:00 p.m.

And don't forget to visit the Arlington Center Library Blog.

Why is the flag at half-staff?

Do you ever wonder why the Virginia State Flag flying in front of the Bisdorf Building is at half staff (as it is today, October 9th)?

You can check the status of the flag on the Governor's website.

LRS In-Service Day!

The Library will be closed the morning of Tuesday October 9th for a Learning Resource Services professional development activity.

The Library will be open from Noon until 7.30 on Tuesday 9 October.

After a productive morning we engaged with Web 2.0 applications, including wikis, blogs, Google Calendar, e-audio books, widgets, tag clouds, Virtual Machine, flickr, snapfish, YouTube, and Microsoft Windows Media. It's a brave new world of Web 2.0.

Festive Fall Book Sale Breaks Records!!

The Library's Annual Fall Book Sale was the best ever -- thanks to all NOVA students, faculty, staff and community members who support the Alexandria Campus Library.



Festive balloons led the way to the biggest Library Used Book Sale ever. Trade was brisk from the very beginning -- the Sale raised over $200 in the very first 30 minutes. In what has become a popular annual campus event, the Book Sale continued at the "Y" (the space just outside the cafeteria on the lower level of the Bisdorf Building) on Tuesday 2 Octobver from 10am until 6pm. A Grand Total of over $720 was raised, breaking the previous record set in the spring of '07.

What does the Library do with this money? Book Sale profits support a variety of Library collections, services and programs. In addition to supporting materials purchases, Book Sale profits allow popular Library events like the Late Night Study Break provided each evening the Library holds extended hours during the last week of classes and finals. Competition prizes, Library Lemonade, and give-aways are also funded through the Book Sale, in addition to special purchases such as some of the student art currently displayed in the Library.

Thanks to all for your support!

Where do the books come from that the Library sells? Books, videos and cassettes in the Sale are all donations. The Library accepts donations of books and other materials in good condition. Appropriate donations may be added to the Library collection, all other titles are sold in the on-going Book Sale just inside the Library front doors or in the annual Fall and Spring Used Book sales. (note that state law prohibits the sale of books purchased explicitly for the Library Collection -- no state money was used to acquire the books in the Sale. The Library depends entirely on donations to hold Book Sales).

Alexandria Campus Library services and collections benefit from the continued generosity of the campus community. Thanks!

Alexandria Campus Library featured in "Virginia Libraries"

The Altered Books exhibit, sponsored by the art department and on display in the Library through the Spring and Summer terms, was featured in the August edition of Virginia Libraries, the quarterly publication of the Virginia Library Association.

The Library also acquired (through the generosity of an anonymous alumni donor) one of the altered books that will now form part of the Library's permanent collection:

Stop by the Library and check out the latest edition of Virginia Libraries or to see Old Webster's Dictionary (above).

Festive Fall Book Sale!! Tuesday 2 October!!

Don't Miss the Library's annual Fall Book Sale. Hundreds of books at reasonable prices!!Support your Library! Most hardcovers are priced at $1.00, and most paperbacks at $0.50. You'll find college text books, best sellers, literature, historical books, art books, foreign language books, paperback fiction, and much much more!

The Book Sale kicks off at the "Y" (near the cafeteria on the ground floor of the Bisdorf Building) at 10am of Tuesday 2 October. At 2pm the Book Sale moves to the main lobby of the Bisdorf Building, just outside the Library doors.

Constitution Day -- The Votes Are In!

In celebration of Constitution Day (17 Sep) the Alexandria Campus Library sponsored an interactive Constitution-themed survey. We asked Alexandria Students how they would change the Constitution if they could -- specifically what amendment they would like to repeal and what amendment they would like to add. The Votes are In!

Guns & Gays fare badly:

Of 42 votes cast, 9 would repeal the Second Amendment (The Right to Bear Arms). 10 would ban gay marriage.

A surprsingly large number (10) voted to repeal the Twenty Second Amendment (Presidential Term Limits) prompting us to wonder which of our Presidents the students wanted to elect for a third term!

Additional suggestions were to pass an amendment legalizing gay marriage in every state and passing an amendment making it illegal to fire lawyers who disagreed with the government (are you listening Mr Gonzales?).

One voter suggested adding an amendment to abolish the electoral college and replace it with direct proportional voting by state (this might work better if it were direct national proportional voting!).

Another vote called for the repeal of the Fourteenth Amendment (Section One) that defines citizenship as conferred at birth. Would we all have to take citizenship tests at a certain age?!

One voter suggested repealing the Fifth Amendment, or at least the Double Jeapardy provision (maybe someone has been following the latest OJ Simpson news?).

Thanks to everyone who voted! What do YOU think? Leave us a comment here!

To find out more about the Consitution, check out one of these titles:

America's Constitution: A Biography KF4541 .A87

Origins of the Bill of Rights KF4749 .L488

A companion to the United States Constitution and its amendments KF4550 .V55

Book Club Resumes on the ROAD

The Alexandria Campus Book Club begins its fifth year on October 5th with a discussion of Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

All Alexandria faculty and staff are welcome to attend. Copies of the novel are on reserve and available for check-out at the Library circulation desk.

Visit the Book Club Blog to learn more.

Constitution Day

September 17th is Constitution Day. In celebration of the United States Constitution the Alexandria Campus Library is displaying books about the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and sponsoring a contest: How would you change the Constitution? Would you add new amendments or remove existing amendments? Vote in the Library all week, and visit this space for the results!

Baby it's HOT inside!

On Wednesday 12 September the chiller (the machine that controls the cool air for the air conditioning) was switched off for repairs in one section of the Bisdorf Building. Even though it was a comfortable 75 degrees outside, it quickly became very stuffy and oppressively warm inside, especially in the Library.

To beat the heat, the Library served ice water and lemonade all day on Wednesday and Thursday morning until the ac came back on.

The Library Lemonade Stand was the coolest place on campus!

Luciano Pavarotti dies

The Washington Post reports:

"Luciano Pavarotti, 71, who died last night of pancreatic cancer at his home in Modena, Italy, combined a lustrous lyric tenor voice with a radiant and expansive personal charm to win the largest and most diversified audience ever accorded an opera singer."

To read more obituaries and commentaries on Pavorotti, visit the Library's article database page and select ProQuest. Do a search on Pavorotti to read articles from around the country.

To hear Pavarotti sing, go to the Fine Arts database page and select Naxos. Do a search on "Pavarotti" to find sound recordings you can listen to online.

If you'd like to read more about opera, come into the Library and check out one of these books:

First nights at the opera. ML1720 .K45 2004

Opera : a critic’s guide to the 100 most important works and the best recordings. ML156.4.O46 T66 2004

Opera for everyone : a historic, social, artistic, literary, and musical study. ML1700 .G86 2004

The NPR curious listener’s guide to opera. ML1700 .B33 2002