Saturday, May 31, 2014

Public Library Histories

The LA Public Library's bookmobile program for the sick.(1928)

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Maya Angelou - April 4, 1928 - May 28, 2014

Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou, author and poet, dead at 86
*12:23 p.m. CDT, May 28, 2014

American author and poet Maya Angelou, an eloquent commentator on race and gender best known for her groundbreaking autobiography "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," has died at age 86 in North Carolina.

The prolific African-American writer died quietly at her home in Winston-Salem, Angelou's family said in a statement on Wednesday.

"She was a warrior for equality, tolerance and peace. The family is extremely appreciative of the time we had with her and we know that she is looking down upon us with love," her family said.

Angelou penned more than 30 books, won numerous awards, and was honored last year by the National Book Awards for her service to the literary community. Her latest work "Mom & Me & Mom," about her mother and grandmother and what they taught her, was released last year.

In her last tweet on May 23, Angelou said, "Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God."

Literary and entertainment figures, politicians and fans mourned her passing on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama called her "a brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman."

"With a kind word and a strong embrace, she had the ability to remind us that we are all God’s children; that we all have something to offer," Obama said in a statement from the White House.

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres said in a tweet, "Today the world lost one of its greatest gifts." Singer Dionne Warwick said in a statement she had been "enriched" by Angelou and her knowledge of living life to its fullest.

"She will be greatly missed, but with gratitude, her legacy of wisdom will be with me throughout my lifetime,” Warwick said.

In addition to her many books, Angelou also directed, wrote and acted in movies, plays and television programs and was a singer, songwriter, educator and popular lecturer. She was a Grammy winner for three spoken-word albums.

Active in the U.S. civil rights movement in the 1960s, Angelou worked with both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. For years she did not celebrate her birthday because it coincided with the anniversary of King's assassination.

"We share the gratitude of so many for Dr. Angelou's contributions to literature, human rights, and social justice. Her legacy is one that all writers and readers across the world can admire and aspire to," said Harold Augenbraum, the executive director of the National Book Foundation.

Wake Forest University, where Angelou was a professor of American studies since 1982, said its thoughts and prayers were with her family and friends and that a campus memorial service would be announced at a later date.

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," a coming-of-age story in a hostile society in the American South in the 1930s and '40s that deals with racism and rape, is considered an American classic.

Angelou, who was 6 feet tall and possessed a regal speaking voice, was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. She spent part of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas with her grandmother after her parents divorced.

At age 7, Angelou was raped by her mother's boyfriend, who was later beaten to death in an assault that some believed was carried out by Angelou's uncles. The trauma of the rape and her assailant's death left Angelou mute for six years.

Her devoted readers found plenty of inspiration in the works of Angelou, who once summed up her approach to life by saying: "Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told, 'I'm with you, kid. Let's go.'"

Reuters

*http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/chi-maya-angelou-dead-20140528,0,5740825.story

TBT - The Yocum Library - 10th Anniversary 2006

Kim Stahler _ Reference Librarian

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Scheduled Classes for Computers

6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Reserved—Mr. Schearer
Where: Yocum Instruction Area
Description: Mr. Jerry Schearer ORI102 (15) Intro to Library PowerPoint

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Patron's Point of View

Bill Harding

"I like coming into the library for the quiet it allows for research and the staff is always helpful and friendly."

William D. Harding
Current student
Major: IT

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Memorial Day Weekend Hours













The Yocum Library will be closed for Memorial Day Weekend:
Saturday, May 24,
Sunday, May 25,
Monday, May 26.

Word of the Day

wamble \WOM-buhl, -uhl, WAM-\,
verb:
1. to move unsteadily.
2. to feel nausea.
3. (of the stomach) to rumble; growl.
noun:
1. an unsteady or rolling movement.
2. a feeling of nausea.

You meet frequently for dinner, after work, split whole liters of the house red, then wamble the two blocks east, twenty blocks south to your apartment and lie sprawled on the living room floor with your expensive beige raincoats still on.
-- Lorrie Moore,"Self-Help," 1985

I'll have to take you there. It's a cheery sensation, you know, to find a man who has some imagination, but who has been unspoiled by Interesting People, and take him to hear them wamble.
-- Sinclair Lewis, "Our Mr. Wrenn: The Romantic Adventures of a Gentle Man," 1914

Wamble may be related to the Norwegian word vamla which means "to stagger." It entered English in the 1300s.

Dictionary.com

Friday, May 23, 2014

Word of the Day

leviathan
 \ li-VAHY-uh-thuhn \  , noun;  
1.anything of immense size and power, as a huge, oceangoing ship.
2.( often initial capital letter ) Bible . a sea monster.
3.any huge marine animal, as the whale.
4.( initial capital letter, italics ) a philosophical work (1651) by Thomas Hobbes dealing with the political organization of society.

Quotes:
But curiously, for all the series’s influence in shaping and reflecting the leviathan  of "theory" on American campuses, Benjamin is a conspicuous absence among the wealth of titles.
-- Eric Banks, "Walter Benjamin's Afterlife," The Chronicle of Higher Education , 2014

This 2000-strong bureaucratic leviathan  allocates its budgets through the various ministries.
-- Misha Glenny, "Science waxes and wanes in Gorbachov's age of reform," New Scientist , 1988

Origin:
Leviathan  entered English in the late 1300s as a word for a giant sea monster. It finds its roots in the Hebrew liwyāthān .

Dictionary.com

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Spring

One more month left of Spring, before Summer starts - Enjoy a little "Spring" music written by Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, and teacher(1678-1741). I shot this in Paris, France Feb. 2011, enjoy! Kathy Nye, The Yocum Library assistant.
Click to play this Smilebox facebook cover
Create your own facebook cover - Powered by Smilebox
This facebook cover personalized with Smilebox
http://www.smilebox.com/playBlog/4e4441314e7a49334f544d3d0d0a&blogview=true

Word of the Day

abecedarian
 \ ey-bee-see-DAIR-ee-uhn \  , noun;  
1.a person who is learning the letters of the alphabet.
2.a beginner in any field of learning.
adjective:
1.of or pertaining to the alphabet.
2.arranged in alphabetical order.
3.rudimentary; elementary; primary.

Quotes:
Instead, Hirsch breathes new life into the abecedarian  by pointing out its relationship to prayer and how poets as varied as Gertrude Stein and Harryette Mullen have stretched — and been stretched by — the form.
-- Elizabeth Lund, "'A Poet's Glossary,' by Edward Hirsch," The Washington Post , 2014

Henry Barnard, commenting on the work of the abecedarian , in the early nineteenth century, says: "If a child be bright, the time which passes during this lesson is the only part of the day when he does not think. Not a single faculty of the mind is occupied except that of imitating sounds; and even the number of these imitations amounts to only twenty-six."
-- Edited by Paul Monroe, "A Cyclopedia of Education" , 1911

Origin:
Abecedarian  entered English in the early 1600s. It can be traced to the Latin abecedarium  meaning "alphabet" or "primer."

Dictionary.com

The Yocum Library is #13 on Campus Map





Reading Area Community College is comprised of seven buildings on a 10.5 acre campus. Parking is located on campus, within easy walking distance of all facilities.



Locations
1. Penn Street Bridge             11. Competition Tire
2. Second Street                     12. Schuylkill Hall
3. Franklin Street                     13. Yocum Library
4. Front Street                             14. Penn Hall
5. Faculty & Staff Parking             15. Gust Zogas Student Union Building
6. Student Lot B                     16. Schmidt Training & Technology Center
7. 2nd St. entrance to Lot B     17. Miller Center for the Arts
8. Student Lot E                     18. Gateway Center
9. Parking Garage
10. Berks Hall

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Word of the Day

nettle
 \ NET-l \  , verb;  
1.to irritate, annoy, or provoke.
2.to sting as a nettle does.
noun:
1.any plant of the genus Urtica, covered with stinging hairs. Compare nettle family.
2.any of various allied or similar plants.

Quotes:
The high and lofty airs of these patricians always nettled  him.
-- Hopkinson Smith, "The Fortunes of Oliver Horn," Scribner's Magazine , 1902

Kennedy was so nettled  by Halberstam's dispatches… that the president was still seeking, just a week before the November 1963 coup, to have Halberstam transferred away from Saigon.
-- Francis X. Winters, "The Year of the Hare: America in Vietnam" , 1999

Origin:
Nettle  may share a base with the word net , a connection that can be traced to the use of the fiber of the nettle plant for weaving.

Dictionary.com

New DVDs to the Yocum Library Collection

Alexander Calder
Civil War: The Untold Story
Is the man who is tall happy?
Museum of Modern Art
Story of the Jews
Time Team: Unearthing the Roman Invasion
Viva Cuba (Spanish)
Approved for Adoption (French)
Monuments Men
Actors: Rare films of Louise Brooks v.1
Rizzoli & Isles s.3 c.2
Closed Circuit
Fifth Estate
Lone Ranger
Veronica Mars
Her
Ride Along
Labor Day
Precious
Selena
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Student Prince
Source Code
Riddick
Walking Dead s.1
Chappelle's Lost Episodes
Limitless
Town
The Next Three Days
Law Abiding Citizen
Unknown
Bourne Legacy
The Wire s.1,2
Bletchley Circle s.2
Una Noche
Midsomer Murders s.23
Gloria (Spanish)
Big C Final Season
Orange Is The New Black s.1
At Middleton
Boys Town
Nebraska
Bob's Burgers
Bomb Girls
Broadchurch
Doc Martin
Hannibal
Trinity
Nurse Jackie s.4
Cher: The Film Collection
Rush
Dolmen (French)
47 Ronin
Hours
Out of the Furnace
Prisoners
Anchorman 2
Delivery Man
Grudge Match
Reasonable Doubt
Blue is the Warmest Color
Above Suspicion s.3
Paranormal Activity
Hobbit: The desolation of Smaug
Philomena
Vera s.3
Game of Thrones s.3
American Hustle
August: Osage County
The Rape of Europa
Girl Rising
The Real National Treasure
Lottery of Birth
Free as a dog
Downton Abbey s.4
Jack Irish s.1
Inside Llewyn Davis
Zaytoun (Arabic & English)
Coming soon
Hannah Arendt (German)
Carol's Journey (Spanish)
Streets of Fire
Mister & Pete
12 Years a Slave
Austenland
Best Man Holiday
The Family
Homefront
Burn Notice s. 7
The Following s.1
Nurse Jackie s.5
Sherlock s.3
Justified s.4
Treme s.4
Veep s.2
Mandela
Wolf of Wall Street
Ready & Waiting
Richard II
Henry IV
Henry V
Bless Me Ultima (Spanish)
Thor
Machete Kills
Big Miracle
The Americans s.1
Spartacus: War of the Damned s.3
Workaholics s.3

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Word of the Day

verbicide
 \ VUR-buh-sahyd \  ,
noun;  
1.the willful distortion or depreciation of the original meaning of a word.
2.a person who willfully distorts the meaning of a word.

Quotes:
Life and language are alike sacred. Homicide and verbicide --that is, violent treatment of a word with fatal results to its legitimate meaning, which is its life--are alike forbidden.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, "The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table," The Atlantic Monthly , 1857

Men often commit verbicide  because they want to snatch a word as a party banner, to appropriate its 'selling quality'.
-- C.S. Lewis, "Studies in Words" , 1960

Origin:
Verbicide  joins a variant of the Latin verbum , meaning "word," with -cide , a suffix used in the formation of compound words that means "killer" or "act of killing."

Dictionary.com

Why America Still Needs Libraries

1.6 Billion Reasons Why America Still Needs Libraries
Even in the digital age, Americans haven't stopped using the old fashioned publish library.

There were 1.59 billion public library visits in 2009, a six percent increase from the year before.

Libraries have been named as an important tool for millions of job seekers and idle youth. Where else can you use the internet for free -- with free access to hundreds of thousands of books and movies

Click here to see more fascinating facts about libraries >

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/public-libraries-statistics-2011-11##ixzz1g8ouYuSt


 In 2010, Americans borrowed 2.1 million DVDs per day from their local libraries. That number nearly beat Netflix, which boasted 2.2 million DVDs rented during the same time period .Wikimedia Commons.


 DVDs at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Source: Online Computer Library Center

http://www.businessinsider.com/public-libraries-statistics-2011-11?op=1

Monday, May 19, 2014

Word of the Day

adret
 \ a-DREY \  ,
noun;  
1.a side of a mountain receiving direct sunlight.
Definition of adret| See synonyms| Comment on today's word| Suggest tomorrow's word

Quotes:
The shady side, or ubac , is usually rocky, steep and densely forested, whereas the sunny slope, or adret , is gentler and much more fertile.
-- Pier Paolo Viazzo," Upland Communities: Environment, Population and Social Structure in the Alps Since the Sixteenth Century" , 1989

The adret  receives the maximum incoming radiation and sunshine, whereas the ubac may be permanently in the shade.
-- David Waugh, "Geography: An Integrated Approach" , 2000

Origin:
Adret  can be traced to the Old Provençal adreg  meaning "good; suitable." It entered English by way of French in the early 1900s.

Dictionary.com

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Word of the Day

soothsay
 \ SOOTH-sey \  ,
verb;  
1.to foretell events; predict.

Quotes:
Yes, the blind often have an inward seeing eye and they can see things we cannot and their blindness is even a power to them to that other people fear them for it. This maid might be taught to soothsay  or some such thing.
-- Pearl S. Buck, "The Mother" , 1933

Sad that her sons did seek a foreign grave/ (For, Fate's, or Fortune's drifts none can soothsay , /Honour and misery have one face and way)
-- John Donne, "The Storm," 1597

Origin:
Soothsay  is a back formation of the word soothsayer , which means “a person who can foretell future events.” The term sooth  meaning “truth” has been in English since before 900.

Dictionary.com

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Word of the Day

tarantism
 \ TAR-uhn-tiz-uhm \  , noun;  
1.a mania characterized by an uncontrollable impulse to dance, especially as prevalent in southern Italy from the 15th to the 17th century, popularly attributed to the bite of the tarantula. Also, tarentism .

Quotes:
…I am afraid I shall have nothing more to say, than that the surprising cure of the bite of the Tarantula, by music, has not the least truth in it; and that it is only an invention of the people, who want to get a little money, by dancing when they say the tarantism  begins.
-- Dominico Cirillo, "A Letter to Dr. William Watson, F. R. S. Giving Some Account of the Manna Tree, and of the Tarantula,” Philosophical Transactions, Vol. 60 , 1770

The form of music and dance which is commonly perceived to be connected to the ritual of tarantism  is the tarantella.
-- Jerri Daboo, "Ritual, Rapture and Remorse" , 2010

Origin:
Tarantism  comes from Taranto , the name of a seaport city in Italy where the spiders once thought to cause tarantism were frequently found. The tarantula  spider is also named for this town.

Dictionary.com

Library Humor


Thursday, May 15, 2014

Word of the Day

grabble
 \ GRAB-uhl \  , verb;  
1.to feel or search with the hands; grope.
2.to sprawl; scramble.

Quotes:
He grabbled  deep in his pocket until he found a piece of about the size, looked if it was gold, and handed it over to Little Sarah.
-- Samuel Rutherford Crockett, "Sweethearts at Home" , 1911

She grabbled  with her hands and he dug with the spade/ Where the leaves let down the dark and shade…
-- Robert Penn Warren, "The Ballad of Billie Potts," 1943

Origin:
Grabble  is related to the Dutch word grabben  meaning "grab." It entered English approximately a decade before the shorter grab , around 1580.

Dictionary.com

Finals Almost Over - Yocumites are Happy


Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

The Yocum Library Closes Early Friday, May 16th

Attention library patrons:
Friday, May 16 (Graduation): The Library closes at 12:00 noon

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

The Ronald F. Borkert Prize for Library Research 2014 Winner - Janelle M. Zimmerman



Kim Stahler, Janelle M. Zimmerman, Mary Ellen Heckman
The Ronald F. Borkert Prize for Library Research, sponsored by The Yocum Library of Reading Area Community College, celebrates excellence in library-based research. The prize is named in honor of the late RACC Professor Emeritus Ronald F. Borkert who cared deeply about books and libraries.

The annual Borkert Prize is designed to honor students who demonstrate sophisticated research skills by incorporating information found through The Yocum Library’s resources into original scholarship. A prize of $100 will be awarded for the most outstanding library-based research project/paper.

The 2014 Ronald F. Borkert Prize for Library Research is
Janelle M. Zimmerman:

For Excellence in Library-Based Research
Project: A Compassionate Science—The Intersection of Epicurean Philosophy and Nursing Practice

The prize focuses on the research process and application of information literacy: the demonstration of library research skills, adept use of library resources, and the reflection upon the strategies utilized to investigate a research problem.

Word of the Day

ad hominem
 \ ad HOM-uh-nuhm -nem, ahd‐ \  , adjective;  
1.appealing to one's prejudices, emotions, or special interests rather than to one's intellect or reason.
2.attacking an opponent's character rather than answering his argument.
Definition of ad hominem| See synonyms| Comment on today's word| Suggest tomorrow's word

Quotes:
Contemporary music criticism is a minefield rife with nasty, ad hominem  attacks, and the most popular target, in recent years, has been those professing inadequate fealty to pop.
-- Saul Austerlitz, "The Pernicious Rise of Poptimism," The New York Times , 2014

…a third way is to press a man with consequences drawn from his own principles or concessions. This is already known under the name argumentum ad hominem .
-- John Locke, "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding" , 1690

Origin:
Ad hominem  translates literally from Latin as "to the man." It entered English in the late 1500s.

Dictionary.com

Library Humor


Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Scheduled Classes for Computers

6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Reserved--Dr. Singleton
Where: Yocum Instruction Area
Description: Dr.. Donna Singleton COM041 (9) Reserve the 12 instruction computers
without library staff instruction.

Berks County Public Libraries Schedule

Berks County Public Libraries
May 14, 2014  8:30 AM Yoga Village Library of Morgantown
May 14, 2014  9:30 AM Storyriders at SVCL Schuylkill Valley
May 14, 2014 10:00 AM Little Ears Storytime Spring Township Library
May 14, 2014 10:00 AM Preschool Storytime Village Library of Morgantown
May 14, 2014 10:30 AM Preschool Storytime with Miss Charlotte Brandywine

Word of the Day

matrifocal
 \ ma-truh-FOH-kuhl, mey- \  , adjective;  
1.focused or centered on the mother.
2.of, pertaining to, or designating a family unit or structure headed by the mother and lacking a father permanently or for extended periods.

Quotes:
The matrifocal  family occupies a curious position in anthropological writings, sometimes seen as a definite family structure based on a cultural valuing and centrality of the mother, and sometimes as a temporary or ad hoc  response to poverty and exclusion.
-- Edited by Alan Barnard and Jonathan Spencer, "The Routledge Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology" , 1996

Therefore, we are not talking about matriarchal families in which mothers head the household, but rather matrifocal  societies than emphasize the mother-child bond.
-- Venetria K. Patton, "The Grasp That Reaches Beyond the Grave: The Ancestral Call in Black Women's Text" , 2013

Origin:
Matrifocal  is a blend of the combining form of māter , Latin for "mother," and focal , "of or pertaining to a focus." It entered English in the mid-1900s in the context of cultural anthropology.

Dictionary.com

Monday, May 12, 2014

Final Exam Schedule











Complete listing of final exam schedules for the current semester.
http://www.racc.edu/StudentLife/finalExamSched.aspx

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Word of the Day

ephyr
 \ ZEF-er \  , noun;  
1.
a gentle, mild breeze.
2.
( initial capital letter ) Literary . the west wind.
3.
any of various things of fine, light quality, as fabric, yarn, etc.

Quotes:
Every time a customer opened a department store's big doors, a perfumed zephyr  blew over the shoots of crocuses, narcissus, hyacinths, and tulips in garden boxes near the entrance, which seemed to be the only breath of spring sustaining them.
-- Charles J. Shields, "Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee" , 2006

The air was heavy with the scent of flowers, and as I paused, a faint warm zephyr  gently stirred the whispering trees…
-- "A Dead Man's Vengeance," Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine , 1888

Origin:
Zephyr  can be traced to the Greek zéphyros  meaning "the west wind."

Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Finals Week

The Yocum Library Online Databases


Today a library can be open 24/7 for its patrons by accessing library resources online through the Internet. These online sources are available to patrons of libraries that subscribe to them.

To access these online resources, patrons must have their library's passwords. Members of the RACC community can find the current database passwords in ANGEL under the "Resources" tab.

The CUFTS tool created by Simon Fraser University helps you locate the database that includes a specific journal.

http://www.racc.edu/Yocum/onlineDatabases/default.aspx

Friday, May 9, 2014

Word of the Day

caprine
 \ KAP-rahyn, -rin \  , adjective;  
1.of or pertaining to goats.

Quotes:
The Ghost looks like a creature begotten by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on a Tibetan mountain goat: it comes in crawling on its belly surrounded by dry ice, then rises and lunges into caprine  capers.
-- John Simon, "Spamlet," New York , 1969

Goats are more curious than horses and ponies, so until they're fully seasoned, allow them to carefully examine equipment each time you expect them to wear it. Take caprine  nature into consideration when training a goat to drive.
-- Maggie Sayer, "Storey's Guide to Raising Meat Goats" , 2007

Origin:
Caprine  is derived from the Latin word for "goat," caper . It entered English in the early 1600s.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

MLA & APA Guides

The OWL at Purdue University MLA Formatting and Style Guide
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/

The OWL at Purdue University MLA 2009 Update
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/15/

The OWL at Purdue University APA Formatting and Style Guide
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Getting Ready for Finals Week


New Location of Academic Testing Center

The Academic Testing Center is located in Berks Hall Room 153 Mondays through Fridays on a walk-in basis. Students must register for these tests at least one hour prior to the closing of the Testing Center.

In addition, testing is available in The Yocum Library by appointment on Saturdays and Sundays. For weekend testing call Nina Mollica at 610-372-4721 x 4227 or email library@racc.edu.

The deadline for weekend appointments is the Thursday prior to the test. Students must present a picture ID when using the Academic Testing Center.

http://www.racc.edu/Yocum/testing.aspx

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

May - Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month

About Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month

May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian-Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

Like most commemorative months, Asian-Pacific Heritage Month originated in a congressional bill. In June 1977, Reps. Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a House resolution that called upon the president to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. The following month, senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Both were passed. On October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a Joint Resolution designating the annual celebration.

Twelve years later, President George H.W. Bush signed an extension making the week-long celebration into a month-long celebration. In 1992, the official designation of May as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month was signed into law.
The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

For more information about Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month go to:
http://asianpacificheritage.gov/about.html

Word of the Day

coterie
 \ KOH-tuh-ree \  , noun;  
1.a group of people who associate closely.
2.an exclusive group; clique.
3.a group of prairie dogs occupying a communal burrow.

Quotes:
The coterie  world of Bloomsbury or the Strand is vicarious, but all reading provides vicarious participation in a social group.
-- Robert DeMaria Jr., "Samuel Johnson and the Life of Reading" , 1997

Sturges also had a brilliant eye for finding unconventional talent, and often cast from the same coterie  of quirky actors to makes his films feel textured, like a world of their own.
-- Hampton Stevens, “‘It’s like a Hollywood Ending’: When Judd Apatow Met Graham Parker,” The Atlantic , 2012

Origin:
Coterie  is French in origin, originally used to refer to an association of tenant farmers. It entered English in the mid-1700s.

Dictionary.com

May - Jewish American Heritage Month

About Jewish American Heritage Month

On April 20, 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed that May would be Jewish American Heritage Month. The announcement was the crowning achievement in an effort by the Jewish Museum of Florida and South Florida Jewish community leaders that resulted in resolutions introduced by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania urging the president to proclaim a month that would recognize the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture. The resolutions passed unanimously, first in the House of Representatives in December 2005 and later in the Senate in February 2006.

The month of May was chosen due to the highly successful celebration of the 350th Anniversary of American Jewish History in May 2004, which was organized by the Commission for Commemorating 350 Years of American Jewish History. This coalition was composed of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, the American Jewish Historical Society, the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration.

Leading the way in implementation of the annual celebration is the Jewish American Heritage Month Coalition, formed in March 2007 and convened by United Jewish Communities, the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives and the American Jewish Historical Society.

For more Information about Jewish American Heritage Month
http://www.jewishheritagemonth.gov/about.html

Monday, May 5, 2014

¡ Happy Cinco de Mayo ¡


Cinco de Mayo—or the fifth of May—commemorates the Mexican army's 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867). A relatively minor holiday in Mexico, in the United States Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations. Cinco de Mayo traditions include parades, mariachi music performances and street festivals in cities and towns across Mexico and the United States.

Cinco de Mayo in Mexico
Within Mexico, Cinco de Mayo is primarily observed in the state of Puebla, where Zaragoza’s unlikely triumph occurred, although other parts of the country also take part in the celebration. Traditions include military parades, recreations of the Battle of Puebla and other festive events. For many Mexicans, however, May 5 is a day like any other: It is not a federal holiday, so offices, banks and stores remain open.

Cinco de Mayo in the United States
In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is widely interpreted as a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with substantial Mexican-American populations. Chicano activists raised awareness of the holiday in the 1960s, in part because they identified with the victory of indigenous Mexicans over European invaders during the Battle of Puebla. Today, revelers mark the occasion with parades, parties, mariachi music, Mexican folk dancing and traditional foods such as tacos and mole poblano. Some of the largest festivals are held in Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston.

Confusion with Mexican Independence Day
Many people outside Mexico mistakenly believe that Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican independence, which was declared more than 50 years before the Battle of Puebla. That event is commemorated on September 16, the anniversary of the revolutionary priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla’s famous “Grito de Dolores” (“Cry of Dolores”), a call to arms that amounted to a declaration of war against the Spanish colonial government in 1810.

http://www.history.com/topics/cinco-de-mayo

Word of the Day

withershins
 \ WITH-er-shinz \  , adverb;  
1.Chiefly Scot . in a direction contrary to the natural one, especially contrary to the apparent course of the sun or counterclockwise: considered as unlucky or causing disaster. Also, widdershins .

Quotes:
There, as the moon rises, walk three times withershins  round the riven trunk, and cast the broth on the ground before her.
-- Walter Douglas Campbell, "Beyond the Border" , 1898

To move against the sun was improper and productive of evil consequences, and the name given to this direction of movement was withershins .
-- James Napier, "Folk lore: or, Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland Within This Century" , 1879

Origin:
Withershins  comes from the Middle High German wider  meaning "against; opposite" and sin  "way; course." It entered English in the early 1500s.

Dictionary.com

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Word of the Day

sally
 \ SAL-ee \  , noun;  
1.an excursion or trip, usually off the main course.
2.a sortie of troops from a besieged place upon an enemy.
3.a sudden rushing forth or activity.
4.an outburst or flight of passion, fancy, etc.: a sally of anger .
5.a clever, witty, or fanciful remark.
6.Carpentry . a projection, as of the end of a rafter beyond the notch by which the rafter is fitted over the wall plate.
verb:
1.to make a sally, as a body of troops from a besieged place.
2.to set out on a side trip or excursion.
3.to set out briskly or energetically.
4.(of things) to issue forth.

Quotes:
Don Quixote happened to take the same road he'd followed on his first sally , across the plain on Montiel, with less discomfort than before, because it was early morning and the sun, being low, didn't bother them.
-- Miguel de Cervantes, translated by John Rutherford, "Don Quixote" , 1605

He himself never wears jewels and as a matter of fact does not even carry money, borrowing a dollar from his doorman when he makes a sally  from his office.
-- Herbert Brean, "Golconda on E. 51st," Life , 1952

Origin:
Sally  comes from the Latin salīre  meaning "to leap" by way of the Middle French saillie , which means "attack." It entered English in the mid-1500s.

Dictionary.com

Zinio Collection - New Magazines Added












The following magazines have been added to our Zinio collection:

Astronomy

Cosmopolitan

Country Living

Family Handyman

Field & Stream

Food Network Magazine

Good Housekeeping

Marie Claire

Martha Stewart Living

Natural Health

O, The Oprah Magazine

Popular Science

Prevention

Reader's Digest

Seventeen

Smithsonian Magazine

Taste of Home

Us Weekly

Women's Health

Friday, May 2, 2014

Scheduled Classes for Computers

10 a.m. - 11 a.m. Reserved—Ms. Mollica
Where: Yocum Instruction Area
Description: Ms. Nina Mollica COM041 (20) NO INSTRUCTION, reserve 12 computers.

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Reserved—Ms. Mollica
Where: Yocum Instruction Area
Description: Ms. Nina Mollica COM041 (10) NO INSTRUCTION, reserve 12 computers.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Happy May Day


Word of the Day

plash   \ plash \  ,
noun;  
1.a gentle splash.
2.a pool or puddle.
verb:
1.to splash gently.

Quotes:
They live, Mr. Mannering, by the shore-side, at Annan, and a mair decent, orderly couple, with six as fine bairns as ye would wish to see plash  in a saltwater dub…
-- Sir Walter Scott, "Guy Mannering or The Astrologer" , 1815

The plash  of the fountain fell on his ears and charmed them.
-- Brander Matthews, "Studies in Local Color" , 1898

Origin:
Plash  has been around in English since before 1000. Though the origins are unknown, it might be linked to the Middle Dutch plas  meaning "pool."

Dictionary.com