Hopefully the next few weeks will offer students and faculty some time to enjoy reading for FUN!

As you discover great new books, let us know your suggestions for our library by sending us the titles.

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If you have a little time for reading before finals, we have a ton of new books in the library this month, ranging from topics of the sciences to those of the arts. Here is the full list. We have so many new titles this month that we have created a second list. You can view it here.

Do you have a suggestion for a new title? The Luria Library faculty welcome all suggestions for materials or resources; give us your ideas in our virtual suggestion box.

The post New Books in the Library – May appeared first on Luria Library.

Did you know…

The Luria Library catalog has a HUGE and diverse collection of COOKBOOKS.

We have books on foods from different cultures, pairing wine with food, instructional guides, antique books, as well as all the ones you’d expect loaded with recipes for anything you’re in the mood for, whether it’s a meal with southwestern flair or something sweet.

Just a few titles to whet your appetite for reading…

The Food Matters Cookbook: 500 Revolutionary Recipes For Better Living offers excellent recipes with a conscience, by Mark Bittman


Roundup Recipes, a little sweetie from 1951, by Elizabeth Webster Peplow and Ed Peplow and the Arizona Cowbelles.


There’s always room for pie! Cafe Indiana Cookbook, by Joanne Raetz Stuttgen and Jolene Phelps Ketzenberger


Santa Barbara Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes From The American Riviera includes some of the best in SB (but maybe not Super Rica? which is pretty extraordinary) by James O. Fraiolo


More pie?! Why not! Fine cooking Pies & Crisps: Over 100 Sweet and Savory No-Fail Recipes

And…as we approach finals..

Remember that healthy, energy-boosting snacks and wholesome meals will be best to help you maintain concentration and keep alert.

Don’t go hungry! Check out The Healthy College Cookbook: Quick, Cheap, Easy by Alexandra Nimetz today!

Happy cooking!

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It’s that time of year again: National Poetry Month. Poetry is one of the most ancient and practiced forms of expression in the world. If you read Moonwalking with Einstein, our featured book of SBCC Reads 2013, you’ll recall that in the times of antiquity, the most honored and gifted scholars refined their memory skills through memorization and recitation of poetry to groups, when books were not widely available.

The library often hosts poetry readings, like the recent one jointly sponsored by the SBCC Poetry Club and the MeCHa Club.

This year, the SBCC Writing Center has a great display on poetry and writing, including ways you can contribute your own instant poetry.

The library provides access to databases that contain scholarly articles in the humanities, including articles related to poetry.

• Literature Resource Center (Gale) provides information about authors and their works. Covers more than 130,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalist, and other writers, in all genres and disciplines, from all time periods and all parts of the world. Provides full text biographical information, work overviews, literary criticism, and reviews.
• Project Muse provides complete, full-text versions of scholarly journals in subject areas such as: ethnic studies; art and architecture; literature; education; film; theatre and performing arts; history; language; medicine and health; philosophy; religion; science, technology, and math; social sciences; and gender and sexuality. Contains over 525 journals, 335 of which are full text. An good source of scholarly articles for advanced literary criticism.
• JSTOR contains articles from hundreds of scholarly journals covering a wide range of subjects in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Full text articles are available, from the first issue (sometimes going back over 100 years) until five years ago. Note: The Luria Library subscription includes three of JSTOR’s collections: Arts & Sciences II; Arts & Sciences III; and Life Sciences; and the following individual journals: Asian Survey; Film Quarterly; Mathematics Magazine; Nineteenth-Century Literature; and The Western Historical Quarterly.

The library catalog has several books related to poetry– not just books of poetry written by poets themselves, but also other books addressing poetry as an art. These are just a few of the examples of poetry-related books:

American Poetry, The Nineteenth Century, by John Hollander

The Penguin Anthology of 20th Century American Poetry, by Rita Dove

The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, by Alex Preminger and T. F. V. Brogan

How To Read a Poem: And Fall in Love with Poetry, by Edward Hirsch and Duke University, Center for Documentary Studies

This month, and EVERY month, we recommend taking a moment out of your day to read a poem or write one of your own. The pace of life is so rushed, it’s easy to forget to stop and realize how much beauty there is all around us: in the chirping of a bird, the crash of the waves at the beach, the way the sunlight hits the green leaves of a tree as they softly sway with the breeze. This beauty is one of the things that have inspired poets through the centuries to express themselves in verse. Happy National Poetry Month!

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The Luria Library has acquired some new books this month! From topics of elementary education or science and history, to some popular fiction titles, these new books provide a wide variety for you to enjoy. Here is the full list.

Do you have a suggestion for a new title? The Luria Library faculty welcome all suggestions for materials or resources; give us your ideas in our virtual suggestion box.

The March book list of new titles is also available for you to browse.

The post New Books in the Library – April appeared first on Luria Library.

Students examining books in the Library of Congress.

Have you ever been intimidated by the thought of asking a librarian a question? If so, you’re not alone. Thousands of people around the world have Library Anxiety, avoiding libraries for a variety of reasons: time constraints, uncertainty about a librarian’s ability to meet their information need, fear of looking unintelligent for not being able to find information themselves, and more. Some people may simply be overwhelmed by the vast amount of information libraries provide through electronic databases and the library’s collection itself, not knowing where to start in the information search.

National Library Week is the perfect time to leap over the hurdle of Library Anxiety and learn more about what your library can do for you. Here at Luria Library, we want you to know that we are committed to doing everything possible to assist in meeting your information needs and helping to provide you with an enriching experience at SBCC. Our library program is so dedicated to student success that we were named the top community college library in the nation in 2011.

We are here to help! From helping you in your search for information, to offering computers, wi-fi, and study rooms, even hosting campus events, we are here to support you. This is your library! If you haven’t met all of the people who work in your library at SBCC, now is a perfect time to get to know them.

Here are some of the members of your library team:

Other members of our great team (camera shy!) are Brent Field, Adjunct Librarian; Victoria Kline, Adjunct Librarian; Michelle Bone, Adjunct Librarian; Jane Haas, Adjunct Librarian; Kazue Morrison, Circulation; Valerie Campos, Circulation; Kip Evert-Burks, Acquisitions; Jennifer Corob, Virtual Intern.

Ask Us!

If you ever can’t make it to the library but would still like a librarian’s help with a reference question, remember that we offer Live Chat reference during all library hours, right on the library home page. You can find this chat box on the right side of the screen, under where the library hours are listed.

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Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, American pioneer in the education of the Deaf, and his first Deaf pupil. Source: Library of Congress.

The library is honoring National Deaf History Month with displays and events. Deaf History Month celebrates Deaf culture and strives to build greater understanding of Deaf culture, history, civil rights, contributions, and achievements.

It’s interesting to consider that education for Deaf Americans was hard to find for many years, and hard fought for, as well.

On April 15, 1817, the first permanent school for Deaf students, now known as the American School for the Deaf, was founded.

On April 8, 1864, a charter was signed by President Abraham Lincoln authorizing the Board of Directors of the Columbia Institution (later named Gallaudet University) to grant college degrees to students who were deaf.

On March 13, 1988, the first Deaf president of Gallaudet University, a school for people who are Deaf, was selected. This was considered to be a victory for the students and Deaf community because in its 124 year history, the institution had never selected a Deaf president until Dr. Irving King Jordan was named that year.

See the American Deaf Culture Historical Timeline to learn more important dates in Deaf history.

ASL at SBCC

Our ASL Club on campus has put some fascinating devices on display with captions to show some of the technology that Deaf people have used or use in their everyday lives.


Deaf people use alarm clocks that vibrate or flash lights in order to wake up in time.



The Deaf community had “pagers” for texting and email messages amongst themselves long before these modes of communication became more widely popular.



This specially designed smoke alarm flashes strobe lights so that Deaf people will be alerted to smoke from a fire.

ASL at SBCC

The School of Modern Languages at SBCC offers an American Sign Language program with a wide variety of courses that students at all levels can take. With library resources close at hand, it’s easy to learn more about Deaf culture and American Sign Language, whether in a class or at your computer.

CJ Jones will be our special guest performer/lecturer during the 2013 Summer Immersion Weekend.

Watch this video of 2012 Summer Immersion Weekend to see what’s in store for 2013!

Check out some interesting links related to sign language and Deaf culture

The American Sign Language Browser provides links to words in every letter of the alphabet, and explains how they are signed with both words and pictures.

The Deaf Resources Library is an online collection of reference material and links intended to educate and inform people about Deaf cultures in Japan and the United States, as well as Deaf and hard of hearing related topics.

The National Association for the Deaf supports and values Deaf and hard of hearing Americans with diverse perspectives, experiences, and abilities.

Common Myths About Deafness explains the truth behind some falsely understood myths about Deafness.

Why Do Sign Language Interpreters Look So Animated? If you’ve ever wondered, here is your answer.

Pushing Science’s Limits in Sign Language Lexicon is an article from The New York Times that shares about how the Deaf community is creating new scientific and enginering terms in American Sign Language for the Deaf who are interested in careers in those fields.

Through Deaf Eyes, a documentary provided by PBS.


Watch this video to enjoy some Deaf poetry by Peter Cook.

Books in the Luria Library

The library catalog also has books related to the Deaf or American Sign Language, a few of which are featured below:

Hands Of My Father: A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents, and The Language of Love, by Myron Uhlberg


Deaf World: A Historical Reader and Primary Sourcebook, by Lois Bragg


Deaf American Poetry: An Anthology, by John Lee Clark


The American Sign Language Handshape Dictionary, by Richard A. Tennant and Marianne Gluszak Brown

The post Deaf Culture Awareness appeared first on Luria Library.

Warren Sonnemann holds the prize basket during the 1923 Easter Egg Roll at the White House.

Festive Seder table for Passover with wine, matzo and the Seder plate.

Learn more about Easter and Passover by looking up their Topic Pages at Credo Reference, which contains the full text of nearly 600 encyclopedias, dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries, and other reference books covering all major subject areas. Thousands of Topics Pages provide articles from different reference sources, arranged by subject. Includes “gadgets” for finding images, definitions, people, pronunciations, quotations, and measurement conversations, as well as a concept map feature for help identifying keywords and broadening or narrowing a topic. Additional features include videos, maps, and animations.

The Religion & Philosophy Collection (EBSCOhost), also a good source on the history of holidays, provides full text articles from more than 300 magazines and journals, covering topics such as world religions, major denominations, biblical studies, religious history, epistemology, political philosophy, philosophy of language, moral philosophy and the history of philosophy.

The Luria Library wishes you a great spring break and happy holidays!

The post Spring Rites and Rituals appeared first on Luria Library.

Uniformed woman operating radio– Library of Congress.

This week, as part of Women’s History Month, we honor women veterans. Tuesday was Women Veterans’ Recognition and Resource Day and Colonel Barbara A. Jones, commander of the 30th Medical Group at Vandenberg Air Force Base, was the keynote speaker for the occasion. Read her bio to learn more about this accomplished leader of our military.

Colonel Barbara A. Jones is a strong supporter of education: watch the Youtube video above to hear her describe the meaning of her educational experience as well as her duties at Vandenberg Air Force Base, as part of the Storytellers oral history video project of Aurora University, where she earned a degree in Nursing in 1988.

The library catalog has books on women veterans and women in the military:

When Janey Comes Marching Home: Portraits of Women Combat Veterans, by Laura Browder and Sascha Pflaeging

A Few Good Women: America’s Military Women from World War I to The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, by Evelyn Monahan and Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee

Women in The Military: An Unfinished Revolution, by Jeanne Holm

Women and The Military: An Encyclopedia, by Victoria Sherrow

The library currently has a display of books on women veterans:

The Luria Library salutes women in the military and women veterans for their service to our country, this week and always.

The post Honoring Women Veterans appeared first on Luria Library.

Longitudinal section through the center of the brain. -Wikimedia Commons

Here at Luria Library we are kicking off Brain Awareness Week with all kinds of fun!

Wednesday we will be treated to another in a series of SBCC Reads 2013 events, a discussion we have titled: You and Your Neurons: Memory and the Neurons that Make It and How to Use Those Neurons! Join us to learn more, from Dr. Heather Rose on the neuroscience of memory and Matt Lorenzen on putting our memory to best use.

Monday afternoon, the library was the site of a Memory Competition hosted by the SBCC NeuroClub and the Psychology Club to see how well students could recall names, faces, historical dates, and cards from a deck of cards.

Students recalling names and faces during our Memory Contest.

How many cards could you recall at once?

All month, for SBCC Reads, the library has been focusing on Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer. In this book, Foer explains how he became intrigued by “memory competitions” and how he learned to utilize his memory to recall amazing numbers of objects.

The human brain is incredibly fascinating. Every day, scientists are discovering new ways the brain influences not only how we think, but how we feel and how we interact with the world around us. Neurons in the brain can not only communicate with each other inside of one individual, but respond to the actions of others: mirror neurons literally make us feel and “mirror” what another person is feeling, whether it’s a stubbed toe, a smile, or a reaction to tasting unpleasant food. The brain is very powerful on its own, but there are things you can do to make your brain stronger– and larger– from exercising to learning a new language.

The library catalog has a wide variety of brain or memory related titles, some of which are listed below:

The Brain, by Kenneth Partridge

Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and The Human Brain, by Antonio R. Damasio

Incognito: The Secret Lives of The Brain, by David Eagleman

Can’t Remember What I Forgot: The Good News from The Front Lines of Memory Research, by Sue Halpern

We just recently put up a display of brain-related books at the library, too!

Check out the PsychArticles database to learn more about the brain and other scientific subjects. PsycArticles contains more than 153,000 full text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles from nearly 80 journals published by the American Psychological Association (APA) and related organizations. It includes all journal articles, book reviews, letters to the editor, and errata from each journal. Coverage spans 1894 to the present and nearly all APA journals go back to the first issue.

Happy Brain Awareness Week!

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