Thursday, January 29, 2009

Strengths of the Virtual Library

It is very important that faculty and staff familiarize with the current up-to-date resources and services that are provided by the Virtual Library. This communication will integrate the ACICS standard (ACICS-3-4-404) that encourages faculty to "inspire, motivate, and direct student usage of library resources." Faculty and staff are in the position of influence. Their advocacy and promotion of the library resources are effecting the academic success of students.

Congratulation to the faculty members who literary are "bombarding" our students with assignments from the Virtual Library! This quarter, I would like to single out Mr. C. Albury for making sure that every student followed the Virtual Library assignment and Mr. F. Martinez for the best practice of usage the digital library resources. Your efforts are above satisfaction!

Our computers installed. Thanks to Manual Hernandez, they are running well! Good job, Manny!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Four Seasons of Trees

At the summertime,
In the instant era of sublime,
Every green tree
Is entertaining me.

The urban trees voyage
Of fall architectural foliage
Brings intense colors and engaging in both
In sculptural, and in anatomical forms.

Winter air with transparency breeze
Makes my evergreen trees to freeze.
Leafless standing beauty of form and mind
Stretches my imagination to remind

That rains and winds will pass by, in behind.
Early spring sun will shine very kind
Letting my trees to grow,
Letting the baby leaves glow.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to attend
The Four Seasons of Trees,
The successful play off annual show-end.
Ms. Universe Tree’s judges,

For a moment, stock between lifetime claim
Of duel finalists of two trees,
Palm or Pine tree beauty’s fame.
The excitement increases.

The jury delivers scientific news:
Officially, Palm tree is a shrub.
So, please, walk a side to the Palm Tree Club.”

Finally, the crown goes to the Pine tree.

Hugs and kisses,
In addition, best wishes
To the evergreen graceful Pine tree.
There are no any objections from me.

2008-2009 © IT

Monday, January 26, 2009

Celebrate Lincoln's Legacy

Everybody knows Abraham Lincoln.
In 2009, on February 12th the world will celebrate Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday.
It is a call to civic engagement. It is a teachable moment.
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Report to the Obama-Biden Transition Team

The American Library Association Washington Office prepared a report on the library community’s key issues and concerns, Opening the “Window to a Larger World”: Libraries’ Role in Changing America (PDF file), and submitted it to the Obama-Biden transition team on December 17. The Washington Office hopes to continue this open dialogue with the administration over the next four years....

- libraries are "helping Americans get back to work"
- libraries are a sole source of "no-fee access to the Internet for 73 percent of Americans"
- libraries still shine on as traditional " sanctuaries of learning" - a safe place for children
- "Americans are using libraries now more than ever"
- Librarians take very seriously their responsibility to "serve as guardians for the public in assuring access to the most trusted, unbiased information."
...from Report to President Obama-Vice-President Biden Transition Team, December 17, 2008, American Library Association

Monday, January 19, 2009

The Dream

More than forty years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. electrified the nation when he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. King’s prophetic utterances started the long overdue process of changing America’s idea of itself. His words would enter the American lexicon, galvanizing the civil rights movement, and becoming a touchstone for all that the country might someday achieve. Tomorrow, America will be one-step closer to King’s visionary goal of redeemed America.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Public Space

The Library's public space is an important part of overall vision to enrich human spirit and to provide opportunities for solitude and reflection.

The LRC at ITT Technical Institute in Miami is in making due to college remodeling. The Learning Research Center is more then shelves of books and sets of digital databases online. The LRC is not only about computer workstations. Students and faculty come to use the library's multimedia in LRC. And there is more, the expectation to use the LRC not only as an information center but also as a public space. The LRC is an important part of the college community center where the students and faculty meet and communicate.

The remodeled LRC's public space will contribute to college community by providing the opportunities to study individually and in groups. The active use of the LRC as a public space places the library at the center of public life and supports life-long learning.

The Library staff welcome and encourage students and faculty to make the best of the public space for various educational and research needs -
  • to utilize the library resources,
  • to take advantage of the library services,
  • to explore the reference services on campus and online (Ask-A-Librarian services by chat or by e-mail),
  • to participate in LRC activities and outreach programs,
  • to fulfill curriculum projects and course assignments, and
  • to join the cultural celebrations in the LRC.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Reference Service

I would like remind our student-faculty population to use the "live" connection with e-librarians via e-mail (and get answers in a very short time from two hours to two business days) and in a chat form (twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week) by using the Virtual Library at http://library.itt-tech.edu.

For example, the Ask-A-Librarian reference service is here to assist you with using library resources and constructing search strategies.

In 2007-2008 fiscal year, 7221 people used this popular service. This number breaks up
as following:

  • E-mails: 1220
  • Chats: 6001

What are you waiting for? Submit your question today!

Do your project with a librarian that is standing by you and save time!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Investigate Tales of Edgar Allan Poe

Great American writer, Edgar Allan Poe, was born on January 19, 1809. He lived a short life and died at age 40. His influence is "long-lived and far-flung." The 200th anniversary of Poe's birth, this coming year, is scheduled to celebrate in every library across United States - in schools, colleges, and public libraries. The big celebration is planned to involve Richmond, Va. (where Poe grew up) and Baltimore (site of Poe's grave and home to the Ravens football team) - all the way to Russia and Japan.
Edgar Allan Poe was orphaned by the age of 3, and as a young adult he was adapted by a foster father. One by one, everybody he loved (including his foster mother, his older brother, and his young wife, Virginia) died before him. The unsolved story of his death adds another layer to Poe's mysticism. As his biography goes, in September 1849, Poe left Richmond for New York - but instead went to Baltimore, where he was found six days later, very ill and delirious, at a local tavern. He passed away within days. Since that time, nobody resolved the unknown chain of events that took him to Baltimore, nor the actual disease that caused his death.
There is more to this fascinated story. Poe's scholar, Edward Petit, has issued a thread to dig up the author's grave and move the body to Philadelphia where Poe lived for several years.
The information and facts were reported by Diane Cole's in U.S. News, Vol.145, Number 14, p.53-54.

Monday, January 5, 2009

LRC Guide to January 2009 Events and Programs

January 4, 2009 200th Anniversary of Louis Braille

On January 4, 2009, the American Foundation for Blind will join organizations across the globe in celebrating the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birth. He was the Frenchman who invented the raised dot code that bears his name.

January 19, 2009 Celebrate the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This year Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be celebrated on 19 January - the day before the historic presidential inauguration of Barack Obama. Martin L. King date of birth is January 15, 1929 and is observed on the third Monday in January each year.

November 29, 2008 - January 29, 2009
Drawing in Space: The Peninsula Project, Sculpture by John Henry/Peninsula Project Illustrated and Educational

Drawing in Space: The Peninsula Project, Sculpture by John Henry features the sculpture of world-renowned artist, John Henry, and will take place in seven major cities around the Florida peninsula from October 2008 through May 2009. Peninsula Project Illustrated – Educational at the Miami Beach Regional Library will be an educational exhibit with photographs, drawings, and models demonstrating the making of the monumental sculptures sited around the state and illustrating the project’s overall cultural impact on Florida and especially on the city of Miami. For further details on the project visit:http://www.peninsulaproject.com/

January, 2009 Recycling 101: The Basic, The Benefits

With the involvement and enthusiasm of students and faculty, recycling is back! It doesn't just make sense. It makes a huge difference to our environment and our quality of life.

2009 Year Chinese New Year: Year of the Ox

Oxen are born in 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009. They are leaders, inspiring confidence in everyone they come into contact with. However, they can be too demanding. Methodical and good with their hands, they make fine surgeons and hairdressers.