Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Top 10 DVD Checkouts

The library has several DVD's to chose from, but have you ever wondered what the most popular movie checkouts are? Since we last checked in August, there have been a few upsets!

The Godfather DVD Collection continues to be the champion in the #1 spot, while two Dr. Who sets and William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet make their debut on the Top 10. Gone from the Top 10 are Alles Gute!: A German Course for Television, Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts, and The Scarlet Letter: A Romance. 

0 = Current Spot          0 = Previous Spot          NEW = New Top 10 Entry

1  The Godfather DVD Collection
2 6  Dr. Who: The Complete Third Series
3 4   A History of Britain
4 7  Mythbusters: Season 1
NEW  Dr. Who: The Complete First Series
NEW  Dr. Who: The Complete Second Series
710  Beckett on Film
8 3 TIES  Taxi Driver and Super Size Me and Dr. Who: The Complete Fourth Series
9    Shakespeare in Love
10 NEW  William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet


Curious what newly released DVDs the library has been buying lately? Bookmark this link, or do an advanced search in our library catalog with an asterisks (*) as your search term and limit the format to DVD. Sort by date and you'll see our most recent purchases. 

Monday, January 28, 2013

Have You Googled Yourself Today?


Did you know January 28th is Data Privacy Day? If you didn't know, Data Privacy Day is about empowering people to have more control over what information is available about them on the web.

Take a minute and Google yourself. If you have a fairly common name, add another search term like "Coastal Carolina," your high school, or hometown. What did you find? Now add another term like "Facebook" or "Twitter." If you are finding there is more information out there than you would want any random person on the internet to find, it might be time to consider data privacy.

We encourage you to take some time today to review your privacy settings on your various social networks. Here are some links to some common privacy settings pages:
With Google, you can also set up Google Alerts to receive an e-mail when new pages appear with your name.

For more information on privacy, check out the Privacy Revolution website.


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Winter Reading Recommendations

It's getting cold outside and around the library that means staying inside and curling up with a good book. Here's what we've been reading:

Snow Country
by Yasunari Kawabata

Set in early-modern Japan, Snow Country is the story of rural geisha, Komako, and her relationship with the wealthy, married Shinamura. Often described as an unusual read for Westerners not used to Japanese style, it is nevertheless a rewarding and beautiful read.

-Recommended by Amanda Kraft, Access Services Specialist

Red Harvest
by Dashiell Hammett

Mostly known for his book the Maltese Falcon, Hammett's first book Red Harvest almost single-handedly invented the hard-boiled detective novel.  A stubborn overweight anti-hero decides to clean-up corruption in a small town with mixed results.  Red Harvest is arguably Hammett's best novel.

-Recommended by Adam Bowman, Access Services Specialist

The Maze Runner
by James Dashner

Much like The Hunger Games or Divergent, The Maze Runner is pure dystopia. The novel begins with teenaged Thomas waking up in a maze with all of his memories wiped. Finding dozens of other boys with the same story, Thomas begins his quest to figure out why they were sent there.

-Recommended by Amanda Foster, Information Literacy Librarian


The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayl and The Real Count of Monte Cristo
by Tom Reiss

Whether you read the book or just watched the movie, chances are you liked The Count of Monte Cristo. This book explores the life of one of Alexandre Dumas' greatest inspirations for the count, his father, General Alexandre Dumas.

-Recommended by Christina Heady, Information Literacy Librarian




We hope this post gave you some inspiration for your winter reading choices. If you'd like to read one of the aforementioned books, here's a tip: most of these books must be requested through PASCAL Delivers. PASCAL Delivers lets Kimbel Library borrow the book for you from another academic library in the state (for free). We've linked you to the PASCAL website, just click "request this item" and have your CCU ID ready -- it's that easy. The book will be delivered to Kimbel Library, you'll get an e-mail when it's ready, and you can pick it up at the library.


Now that we've told you what we're reading this winter, do you have any suggestions for us?


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Muslim Journeys Collection Awarded to Kimbel Library



Kimbel Library is one of 843 libraries and state humanities councils across the country selected to receive the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association (ALA). 

The program aims to familiarize public audiences in the United States with the people, places, history, faith and cultures of Muslims in the United States and around the world. 

The library will receive 25 books and 3 films centered around five themes:


In addition, the Library will get access to Oxford Islamic Studies Online for one year.

Watch for programming announcements in the year ahead that will feature the books and films. Kimbel Library is pleased to be able to make this collection available to the CCU community!








Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Library Launches Discover! Search


If you've checked out the Kimbel Library homepage this semester, you may have noticed the main search box on Kimbel Library's homepage has switched to Discover!

Discover! is a single-search, Google-like interface to a majority of the content Kimbel Library has access to, both online and in print. Rather than having to search in several different places (e.g. catalog, databases) Discover! searches most of our resources at the same time. If you aren't sure where to start, the library has provided short tutorials on finding articles and books using Discover!

If you have questions about using Discover! stop by the library reference desk on the first floor of Kimbel Library or call, chat, or e-mail us using the Ask a Librarian web page.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Kimbel Library and Bryan Information Commons Now Open 24/7!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/57340921@N03
Good news, night owls! Starting this semester, both Kimbel Library and Bryan Information Commons will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That means no more having to pack up your items and switch buildings at 2am.

The only exception this semester will be during Spring Break; we will post those hours on the library website when the time approaches.

We look forward to seeing you -- now at any hour!