Top Google Searches for DC

Google has released it's year-end list of top searches by city.

DC's top ten make for interesting reading:

Washington, D.C.

1. fcps blackboard
2. national harbor
3. e street cinema
4. nova community college
5. wtop news
6. wmata
7. nationals baseball
8. dc restaurant week
9. washington sports club
10. leesburg outlets

(as NOVA students know, fcps blackboard refers to the online learning module BlackBoard).

Hint for #4: it's http://www.nvcc.edu/!

Flanders Fields

Nov 11th is Veterans Day (Remembrance Day in the rest of the English Speaking World) commemorating the Armistice which ended the hostilities of World War I on November 11th, 1918 ("on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month the guns in France fell silent").





The events and horrible human toll of WWI were commemorated in a poem by John McCrae:

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Take a moment to remember the fallen. Express appreciation for the work and sacrifices of veterans. Events will be held at Arlington National Cemetery on Nov 11. The Alexandria Campus will sponsor several events on Nov 12th.

Or read up on WWI with one of these books:

The First World War: A Very Short Introduction. D521 H645 2008

Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918, World War I and its Violent Conclusion. D523 P44 2004

(and if you're wondering what the deal with the "red flower" is, check out the Poppy Appeal).

Matt Todd elected VLA President!

Matt Todd (Collection Development Librarian at the Alexandria Campus Library) was elected Vice-President/ President Elect of the Virginia Library Association.

Results of the state-wide elections were announced at the General Session of the 2009 Virginia Library Association Conference in Williamsburg.

Matt is the first community college librarian to serve as President and is the youngest person ever elected. Matt's presidential term will begin in 2010.

Matt has been active in VLA for 10 years, having served on the Region V committee since 2001 and serving on the Executive Board as Treasurer in 2008-9.

Puzzled?

Alexandria students are taking a break from the rush of mid-terms and research papers to work on a puzzle:

Come by and help them out! We'll display the completed puzzle.

Got Research?

Need help completing your research for a term paper, research product, speech or presentation?

Confused about where to start?

The Library can help!

Visit the Library Homepage to access online books, magazine, newspaper & scholarly journal articles.

Stop by Bisdorf Room 232 and ask a librarian for research assistance.

Off-campus? Get in touch by phone, email or e-messaging.

You've got research. We've got help.

Student Newspaper Goes Online

Read the Student Voice online:

http://novafortnightly.com/

Fall Break

There will be no classes on Monday October 12 (Columbus Day) and Tuesday October 13.


The Library will be open on those days, with a slightly different schedule: the Library will open at 8.30am and close at 7.30pm.


Library resources are always available at www.nvcc.edu/library.

BOOK SALE -- TODAY!!

Support YOUR Library & get a great bargain at our Huge Fall Used Book Sale.

All day, at the "Y" near the cafeteria.

Hardcover $1.00

Paperback $0.50

Sit easy

The Library has added some new chairs for the computers in the Reference area.

Previous seating in this heavily-used area was old and considerably worn out -- not to mention not veryt comfortable!

The new chairs match the seating already in place in CyberSpace.

Future of Libraries?

Are these the 'new' librarians?



According to CNN, the Future of Libraries is going to a brave new world, a world distinguished by 'loud rooms', social networking, librarians with tattoos and piercings (and dressed like they came from the streets of Brooklyn!) and possibly no books!

If books are so endangered, why does the Alexandria Campus Library's circulation of printed books keep going up?

Hmmm...

Need a Textbook?

Students looking for the assigned textbook for their Alexandria Campus classes may find reserve copies available in the Library.

Textbook reserve provides students with limited access to course texts. Students may read or study from the textbooks here in the Library or make photocopies for their personal use.

A NOVACard Student ID is necessary to borrow textbooks. Most textbooks may be used in the Library only (they may not be taken out of the Library) and most have a 2-hour limit so as many people as possible can have a chance to access reserve material.

Please be aware that course reserves are very popular and in high demand -- hundreds of students make use of course reserves every day. Please be considerate of other students: do not write in, remove pages from, or otherwise damage reserved textbooks. In many cases the Library only has one copy of each book. Please also return reserve textbooks on time. Someone else is waiting!

Reserves carry a $2 per hour fine for late returns.

Students needing a personal copy of a textbook, or who need to take a textbook home, or who wish to use a textbook for more than 2 hours at a time should purchase textbooks from the campus Bookstore. Some scholarship money is availble to assist students who cannot afford to purchase textbooks. Contact the Dean of Students for more information.

Dead Kennedys

No, not these Dead Kennedys:

Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy died yesterday. To read more about the Kennedys, try

The Kennedys at War 1937 - 1945. E747 R46 2002

The Kennedys. AV E843 K4919x 1992

Road to Dallas: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy. E842.9 K25 2008

Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years. E841 T29 2007

Edward Moore Kennedy. February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009

Or, if you really are interested in the Dead Kennedys, try

Encyclopedia of Punk Music and Culture. ML102.R6 C64 2006

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk. ML3534 .P624 2006

Punk: The Whole Story. ML3534 .P893 2006

Welcome Back!

Welcome to Fall Term 2009! The Library resumes term-time hours (8.30am - 10pm Mon - Thurs, 8.30 - 5 Fri and 9 - 4 Sat) and anticipates a lively beginning of the academic year.



Stop in to read today's newspapers, browse for a new book, find your text book, prepare for the Placement Tests, or say hello to your campus librarians.


Need a computer? Find the Open Computer Center in room 155. Need help registering for classes? Visit Student Services in room 194.


Welcome Back! We're here to help you succeed.

Where Is My Favorite Library Source?

In response to significant cuts to the library materials budget (over 40% reduction from 2007-8), it has been unfortunately necessary to cut some library resources.

Librarians from each campus collaborate to make collection decisions, analyzing use statistics and cost to make responsible choices about database subscriptions.

Each campus library also assesses print subscriptions and monograph acquisition priorities.

If you notice one of your favorite resources is no longer available, please contact your campus librarian to find out about alternatives.

The news isn’t all bad! The college still subscribes to over 150 online databases. Alexandria campus will continue to receive many print periodicals. And of course we are still buying books (expanding print book collections is a recurring request in library user surveys). As always, please feel free to make suggestions and give feedback about library collections.

Gearing up for Fall

Fall 2009 is almost upon us (classes begin Aug 24) and your Library is getting ready. This summer we shifted all 50,000 volumes of our circulating collection to make room for even more books! Which is a good thing, as new additions to the collection are being added every week.

The air-conditioning system was completely replaced -- after 3 months of no A-C in the Library, it's now nice and cool.

The old computers in the Reference Area were removed and replaced with 28 brand news ones.

Headphones are available in the specially marked bins (please return them when you're done!).

New study carrells have been added on the upper level, increasing the Library's available seating to over 250 seats.

New network drops have been added, increasing the internet availability to laptop users.

Library staff have been busy cleaning, sorting, organizing and preparing for the new semester. We hope to see YOU in the Library soon.

Where Did The Computers Go?

You may have noticed the computers in the middle of the Library are missing in action. What happened to the Library computers?!?

No, they haven't been kidnapped (computer-napped?).

The good news is the Library is getting NEW computers. Updated models should arrive soon -- with faster, more powerful computing all ready for the beginning of the new academic year.

To make room for the new computers, the old ones had to be moved out.

Computers are still available in CyberSpace (the partially enclosed spaced behind the magazine shelves) and the Open Computer Center is available in Room 155. The Open Computer Center (OCC) is the main computer lab on campus, complete with a very helpful staff of IT experts who are eager to help you with your technology needs. Also, the OCC has many more computers than the Library -- so be sure to pay them a visit!

Julie & Julia

Julie & Julia will soon make its debut in the DC metro area, based upon the book Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen TX649 P66 A3 2005:

If it inspires you to do some French cooking, you too can cook your way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking TX719 C454 2001

The film claims to be based on "2 true stories". If you're interested in Julia Child's true story, check out

Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child. TX649 C47 F57 1997

Julia Child. TX649 C47 S58 2007

Julia's Kitchen Wisdom: Essential Techniques and Recipes from a Lifetime of Cooking. TX651 C523 2000

Chess Books

The Alexandria Campus Chess Club has donated a collection of books on chess to the Library. Have a read through these to turn your check into check-mate:

Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions into Chess Mastery. GV1449.5 S52 1999

Art of Attack in Chess. GV1445 V843 1998

Chess Exam and Training Guide. GV1451 K46 2004

Complete Chess Workout. GV1451 P34x 2007

How Good is your Chess? GV1451 K58 2005

How to Choose a Chess Move. GV1449.5 S65x 2005

Logical Chess Move by Move. GV1445 C473 1998

School of Chess Excellence. GV1445 D83x 2001

Secrets of the Russian Chess Masters. GV1449.5 A43 2003

Dead Celebrities

Do you miss Michael Jackson, or some other dead celebrity?

Bring them back to life with a book!

On Michael Jackson ML420.J175 J44 2006















James Dean PN2287.D33 P47

Elvis Presley ML420.P96 M34 2003

Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend ML420.M62 D38 2004

Heavier than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain ML420.C59 C76 2001


Imagine: John Lennon ML420.L38 S58 1988

Cool at last?

Is cool returning to the campus? Alexandria facilities staff suggest that the air conditioning (switched off for repairs since Spring Break) may be restored this week.

After over three months of high interior temps, loud fans to combat the heat, schedule confusion as classes move to new locations -- the end may be in sight!

Please be advised that even when the ac comes back online there will be a period of adjustment while the system is tested and recalibrated.

Meanwhile, beat the heat with a cool read:

Cool comfort : America’s romance with air-conditioning TH7687 .A25 2002