Library Social Media

Truly, the library values your  perspective. We love talking and listening to you. And as much as we love seeing your bright and shiny faces at the reference desk or in library training classes, we know you can't always come to us. So we've decided to come to you! We're excited to announce our new and improved social media footprint. From Facebook to instagram, from Twitter to Pinterest, we're all over the intewebz now and looking to meet up. We'd like for you to join us. Whether you want to keep up on interesting popular book news, ask a reference question, learn about the library's extensive resources or just tune in for college news and announcements, we've got you covered. Come follow, like, or pin us and let's get this conversation started!

Lacey Torge
Outreach and Social Media Librarian

TCTC Professional Development Day

On Tuesday, March 3, TCTC students had no school.  Was it because of wintry weather?!  No, this time it was for Professional Development Day.

Every semester, the students get a day off so that the faculty and staff can have a day for planning and development.  This year, we spent the morning learning about various topics such as leadership, teaching, accreditation, and project management.

My favorite part of the day was the afternoon spent with the entire division of Student Support and Engagement.  I work in the library at our Easley campus and don’t see many of my coworkers on a daily basis, so I love the times when we all get together!  On this occasion, we had several fun team-building exercises to work on in small groups.  How tall do you think you could build a tower using nothing but spaghetti and marshmallows?  My team had a tall tower going until it began collapsing under its own weight.  Do you think you could keep a dropped egg from breaking with nothing but a paper plate, masking tape, and a few straws, toothpicks, and marshmallows?  It’s harder than it sounds, but my team managed it!

Sure, these exercises sound silly (particularly for a bunch of adults), but they get the point across in a fun way.  Our teams were learning how to work together to solve problems so that we may better help the students – our true goal!

Allison Read

Easley Library Coordinator

Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery

One of the services a library provides its patrons is interlibrary loan and document delivery. The American Library Association gives a definition of Interlibrary Loan as “a process by which a library requests material from, or supplies material to, another library. The purpose of Interlibrary Loan is to obtain, upon request of a library user, material not available in the user’s local community.”

The process of requesting books or journal articles from other libraries is pretty straightforward. Every library has an interlibrary loan form for patrons to fill out for this purpose. However, it is not always a foolproof method of obtaining exactly what a patron wants. The problem usually stems from the fact that sometimes a patron does not provide complete information on an item.

Requesting a book is simple. All you need to do is giving the title of the book, the name of the author and the date it was published. However, requesting a journal article is a different story completely. Just the name of the author or authors, the name of the journal the article published in and the date published does not help locating it right away. An author can have several articles published in one journal. At the same time, since these days, most journals have their online version, the dates published in print and online are not necessarily one and the same. To request an article, its title is always needed. Better yet if volume and issue numbers are also available, it would make it even easier for a busy Interlibrary Loan librarian to find that article in a timely manner. Without them, there would be a lot of fumbling and stumbling all the way to an unhappy patron who did not receive exactly what he was looking for.

Kultida Dunagin

Electronic Resources and Interlibrary Loan

Community Campus Libraries at Anderson and Easley

Oh the looks and the comments we get when a student walks into the Community Campus Library at either the Anderson or the Easley campus. The Anderson Campus library is only 16’x24’! The Easley Campus not quite double that size. Both Community Campus Libraries could fit in the Pendleton Campus Library with plenty of room to spare. Typical comments are “This is the library?” “I’ve never seen a library this small.” “I guess I will have to go to Pendleton for my research.” “I will never find what I need here.”

My typical response as the Anderson Campus Library Coordinator is we may be small but we are powerful! While we may not be physically impressive we have access to all the materials that TCTC has in their libraries. Books can be borrowed from any campus and shipped to the campus that is convenient for you. Generally that will take a day or two.  TCTC actually has access to more e-books than physical volumes! The Library contains over 96,000 books and audio-visual material (38,000 print and AV; 58,000 e-books), 160 print journals, 20 newspapers, and many databases supplied by TCTC, PASCAL and the State of South Carolina's DISCUS program. We also have access to books through PASCAL. PASCAL books will take a little longer to arrive. PASCAL provides us with books from any academic library in South Carolina and 235,000 e-Books.

The Anderson Campus Library is located off of the main lobby on the first floor (room 120). The Easley library is located down a side hall off of the lobby (room 116) Both libraries are just steps away from the open computer labs. The library staff is always willing to go to the lab to help you with a research problem.

Size doesn’t matter when it comes to the Community Campus Libraries. Please remember the library is just a click away!  library.tctc.edu

Debby Thrasher

Anderson Community Campus Library
dthrash1@tctc.edu

Spring vs. Fall Semester

It’s the second week of spring semester, and things at colleges are a little different in the spring compared to the fall.  For starters, there are fewer students.  While some students graduated or transferred at the end of fall semester, there are far more who don’t attend classes in the spring semester for other reasons.  Usually this is a result of a GPA disaster in fall, but sometimes students do fine academically but have family situations that prevent or delay their return. 

Students who do return usually start studying earlier in the semester.  We are certainly seeing more students using the library for this during breaks between their classes than we did in the fall.  Spring classes are usually more advanced than those in the fall, so there’s an increased workload.  Successful students now realize they need to review class notes every day instead of just before tests.  They also see the benefit of doing the assigned reading in the textbook before class, so they understand more of the lecture the first time they hear it.

In the spring semester, the vast majority of people on campus are familiar with the campus environment.  This means that in general, everyone knows the names of the buildings, where to park, who’s in what department, and how to get whatever it is accomplished.  In the fall, library staff seems to spend the first three weeks of the semester giving directions to various buildings and showing students (and sometimes new staff members!) how to navigate eTC.

Because most students have been here for at least one semester by now, faculty tend to think that the students remember EVERYTHING from last semester.  Librarians are often approached by students who need help and sheepishly admit, “I knew how to find books last semester, but I forgot”.  It’s important to remember that “student semesters” are different from “instructor semesters”, like “dog years” are much longer than “people years”.  Instructors know that students learned something in a pre-req course last semester and they expect them to apply it flawlessly now, five months later.

If you knew how to use TCTC’s library last semester but seem to have forgotten what to do this semester, please ask a member of the library staff for help!  Alternatively, you can watch a quick video for a refresher on whatever skill needs polishing on the library’s Instruction Video” page: 

http://library.tctc.edu/instructionvideos

Sue Andrus

Information Literacy Librarian

Clemson Football

When the Clemson Tiger football players board the buses to make their grand entrance into Death Valley, the fans go wild as we watch them on Paw Vision travel around the stadium to the East end zone.  The announcer says, “This is the most exciting 25 seconds in College football!”  Coach Howard's tradition is splashed across the screen, "If you can’t give 110%, then keep your filthy hands off my Rock.”   The players and coaches all gather at the ROCK to touch it as the cannon goes off which signals the players to run down the Hill into a sea of screaming fans, Tiger Band and Cheerleaders.  Eighty thousand  plus fans start the cheer, C-L-E-M-S-O-N T-I-G-E-R-S, FIGHT TIGERS, FIGHT TIGERS, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT.  The best part of not just winning the game is the excitement and craziness of all the fans that go down on the field to congratulate the players and coaches hoping to get an autograph or two. Clemson Football season is the best time of the year but the hard part is having to wait seven months before it starts all over again. ..Are you ready for some Football?  ALWAYS!!!

But you don’t have to wait seven months. You can find out more about college football and other kinds of sports in the Library just by doing a subject search in the Catalog.

Claudia Poore
Circulation Manager

Welcome Back!

The Library is happy to see all your smiling, happy faces as your return this spring.  Some reminders as you come to the library to research, check out books, or hang out.

If you are checking out books:

• We need your TCTC ID
• You can check out 6 books on a topic - well actually you can only check out 6 books.
• Book checkout (not including reserves) is 2 weeks with the ability to renew once if  no one has the book on hold.

Two large group study rooms are available for check out to 3 or more people at one time.  There are computer hook-ups to a large screen in that study room (you can hook up 5 computers).

Yes, you can bring food and drinks in BUT please clean up any mess you make.  We also appreciate it if you have a lid on your drink.

The Library Cafe will be opening beginning January 20.  Normal hours are Monday to Thursday 9AM to 4PM.

We have lots of print magazines (example: People, Sports Illustrated) and local newspapers available to read here in the library.

All our computers EXCEPT the two by the circulation desk require you to sign in.  Please remember to sign out so that your private information is secure.

Information Literacy workshops are conducted through out the semester for classes.  However if you miss the one for your class, we are happy to work to get you into another class.  Alternatively you could view the videos at  http://library.tctc.edu/informationliteracy

Remember our motto for the year: "The Library is the heart of your research".

The Freshman Fifteen

First time college students, especially those living away from home for the first time in their lives, often encounter the dreaded “Freshman Fifteen” by this point in the semester.  Everyone is excited to eat a delicious Thanksgiving  or Christmas dinner, but not everyone’s pants still fit.

Several factors play into weight gain in college.  Students who played a sport in high school don’t play in college, students living on their own are faced with cooking for themselves or eating a fast food diet, and all students, whether still living at home or not, lead more sedentary lives because of the increased time spent studying.

College is a time of adjustment.  Students are faced with increased academic expectations in their classes and must also adjust to a different physical and social environment by attending a different school with different classmates.  For some, the addition of fifteen or so pounds seems like the end of the world because their weight had never been an issue before.  Others choose to ignore it in hopes that it will go away on its own.  But some students start paying attention to how much they eat and drink and balance that out with exercise.

The TCTC Library has a selection of books that can help with “The Freshmen Fifteen”:

Sue Andrus
Instruction Librarian

Destruction of School Property

Fall 2014 has been a wonderful, successful semester for many students, faculty and staff members who are dedicated to higher education of themselves or others. Since many of us are in the midst of finalizing assignments, study sessions, presentations, and grading, etc.; the TCTC Library would like your help! We have noticed an increase in the destruction of our library books. Over the past few weeks, as tensions and stress levels have increased; we have noticed that many of our books have been returned with pencil, pen and highlighter marks, as well as liquid stains, dog-earring pages, leaving tabs or post-it notes, bite marks (perhaps from a pet or small child) and exposure to the weather. When TCTC Library items are returned in such condition, we charge a $50 book fee and a $5 processing fee. If the item is not owned by TCTC Library but was borrowed via ILL or PASCAL on behalf of TCTC (students, staff or faculty), the replacement fee is $100. Please keep this in mind when checking out and returning library materials. We strive to make the library an inviting, safe and patron-friendly academic environment for ALL. Please remember to treat all borrowed materials with care as we strive to keep book fines and replacement charges as low as possible.

Alydia C. Sims, M.Ed

Books and Movies

Every year, hundreds of movies are made and released to the big screen. Did you know that a large portion of those movies are actually adapted from books? This means many readers and movie-goers will face an important question: Should I read the book first?  This is where the libraries at TCTC can help!

The following is a list of books-turned-movies coming to theaters in the next few months. The TCTC libraries conveniently have them waiting for you to check out:

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (book|movie)

This is the third and final book in Collins’ extraordinarily popular The Hunger Games trilogy. The movie, however, is only covering part of the book.  The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 will be released to theatres November 20, 2015.

Release Date: November 21, 2014

Director: Francis Lawrence

Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth

Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7260188-mockingjay?from_search=true

Movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1951265/?ref_=nv_sr_5

2. Wild by Cheryl Strayed (book|movie)

The full title of this book is Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.  It was also an Oprah’s Book Club pick in 2013.

Release Date: December 5, 2014

Director: Jean-Marc Vallee

Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Gaby Hoffmann, Laura Dern

Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12262741-wild?from_search=true

Movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2305051/?ref_=nv_sr_3

3. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (book|movie)

This is the prequel to Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Even though The Hobbit is less than 400 pages long, it was split into a movie trilogy.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug premiered in 2012 and 2013, respectively. The third and final installment is entitled The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Release Date: December 17, 2014

Director: Peter Jackson

Stars: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage

Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5907.The_Hobbit?ac=1

Movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2310332/?ref_=nv_sr_1

4. American Sniper by Chris Kyle (book|movie)

The full title of this book is American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History. It is also co-written by Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice.

Release Date: January 16, 2015

Director: Clint Eastwood

Stars: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner

Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11887020-american-sniper?from_search=true

Movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2179136/?ref_=nv_sr_1

5. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James (book|movie)

This is the first book in the erotic romance Fifty Shades trilogy. It has topped numerous best-seller lists around the world, despite its poor critical reception. In fact, Fifty Shades of Grey has the record for the fastest-selling paperback of all time.

Release Date: February 13, 2015

Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson

Stars: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10818853-fifty-shades-of-grey?ac=1

Movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2322441/?ref_=nv_sr_1

6. Serena by Ron Rash (book|movie)

Ron Rash is a popular local author. He currently holds the title of Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University. He was born in Chester, SC and grew up in Boiling Springs, NC.  He holds degrees from both Gardner-Webb University and Clemson University. Serena is his fourth novel.

Release Date: February 26, 2015

Director: Susanne Bier

Stars: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Toby Jones

Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2815590-serena?ac=1

Movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1247690/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

7. Insurgent by Veronica Roth (book|movie)

Insurgent is the second book in the Divergent trilogy. The third book, Allegiant, will be split into two movies

Release Date: March 20, 2015

Director: Robert Schwentke

Stars: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ansel Elgort

Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11735983-insurgent?from_search=true

Movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2908446/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

8. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (book|movie)

The second classic novel on the list (the other being The Hobbit) and the only book from the 19^th century!

Release Date: May 1, 2015

Director: Thomas Vinterberg

Stars: Juno Temple, Carey Mulligan, Michael Sheen

Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31463.Far_from_the_Madding_Crowd?from_search=true

Movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2935476/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Allison C. Read

Tri-County Technical College

Easley Campus Library Coordinator

aread@tctc.edu

EBL Ebooks Library - available now

Through PASCAL (Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries), the Library now has access to EBL Ebook Library, which is a product of ProQuest Business.

 EBL offers content across all academic and professional subject areas. It features nearly 350,000 titles from hundreds of academic publishers. It provides a user-friendly interface with a system that surpasses the traditional model that limits access to one person at a time. EBL system of non-linear lending limits the total number of lending days per year per book but enables multiple-concurrent access. Patron can browse books and can perform full-text search within the browser. Books can be read either online or by downloading ebooks in PDF onto a PC, laptop or PDA for off line use.

 

 

EBL is currently on the Library home page as a Featured Resource.  Please see http://library.tctc.edu for the link.

 

 

Kultida Dunagin, Electronic Resources Librarian

Breast Cancer Awareness

  

Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, the library wants to bring your attention to the disease and its characteristics. Breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast. When breast cancer is detected early, at a localized stage, the survival rate is 98%. Early detection includes doing monthly breast self-exams, and scheduling regular clinical breast exams and mammograms. Currently doctors have determine that women should schedule their first mammogram by the end of their 40’s or early 50’s. Breast cancer can be diagnosed through multiple tests, including a mammogram, ultrasound, MRI and biopsy, yet the first option should be the mammogram unless a doctor has suggested otherwise.

  

Once a person is determined to have a malignant tumor or the diagnosis of breast cancer, the healthcare team will determine breast cancer staging to communicate how far the disease has progressed. Types of breast cancer include ductal carcinoma in situ, invasive ductal carcinoma, inflammatory breast cancer, and metastatic breast cancer. There is a lot of misinformation out there. Make sure you know the facts about breast cancer. To learn more ask your doctor or check out the National Breast Cancer Foundation website at: http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/.

By: Alydia Sims

Acquisitions and Cataloging