Thoughts from the Library

You aren’t complaining about reading during the summer are you?  I took a look at the list and you have some really good books there.  So slather on some sunblock, sit in the sun and open up a book.  Feel free to use this blog to discuss the books you are reading.  And check out Literature Resource Center for more information about the various books (user id= prep).

 Looking for ways to participate in the world at large?  Check out the 20th Annual  Global Youth Service Day, April 25-27. Or the week-long camp held around the country, Youth Meets Truth Summer Camp.

On another note…have you noticed the increase of library use?  I think it is fantastic that you  feel comfortable using the library during your free periods and before/after school.  But (you knew there was a “but” coming) it’s important to keep in mind the library is the only place in the building were you can find a quiet place to study/listen to music/im/read?/sleep. Please do respect the sanctity of the library and work quietly.

If you ran the library would you make any changes?

You’ve seen the signs hanging up.  Don’t wait…sign up for the Risk Tournament NOW!

The spoils: a week of free lunch.

The battle begins in March.

Any questions? Talk to  Mrs. Nelson.

Teachers, students, citizens…

Check out this site! The Liberty Fund, Inc. “is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.”

The Online Library of Liberty is divided into two sections, the Forum and the Library.

The Forum is the place where discussion about people, the books, and the ideas these books contain take place. It contains articles, essays, biographies, bibliographies, and other educational material about the texts.

The Library is where electronic versions of classic books about individual liberty are stored. These texts go back some 4,000 years and cover the disciplines of economics, history, law, literature, philosophy, political theory, religion, war and peace. They are in a variety of formats – PDFs, HTML, and PDF  ebooks.

Please help to support the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation in its quest to build secondary schools in Darfur. Every penny you spend to buy a hard cover copy of What is the What will go toward construction costs, books, equipment and teacher training.

Check out the Free Library for upcoming events throughout the city and suburbs.

It is always a good idea to understand all of your options. Here are a few ways to find unbiased information on all of the candidates:

Vote Help is a “nonpartisan candidate calculator that tracks the main politicians’ stands on important issues.”

2008 Election Guide

NPR:Election 2008

Darfur Scorecard

I find it odd that our community does not have access to a full text database centered around religion. So here is my suggestion…

Try the American Theological Libraries Association’s database ATLASerials Religion Database (s8362338/trial). We have a trial subscription for about a month.

The Prep community now has  access to a database:
Science Online

and a new ebook:
Dictionary of Scientific Biographies

Both are available for use from home.  Check Moodle for username and password.

Begin a conversation about the long term effects of U.S. support of Afghan Mujahideen with The Soviet-Afghan War: A Cold War Chess Piece. Examine the two essays, formulate new questions and create investigative news reports.

Check out what the McShain Library has on this subject:

Ghost wars : the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001 / Steve Coll.

The rise and fall of the Taliban / Kelly Barth, book editor.

The Hidden war a Russian journalist’s account of the Soviet War in Afghanistan by Artyom Borovik

Taliban : militant Islam, oil, and fundamentalism in Central Asia / Ahmed Rashid.

Here is the way to search all of the library resources with ONE search…. No more multiple searches.
Just enter the term(s) you wish to know more about, choose a category and press search.  You will get a list of results grouped by source…a group of books from the McShain Library, a list of articles from JSTOR, a group of books to be accessed through Interlibrary Loan, etc.

Keep in mind this is a trial version and is subject to abrupt changes and that some resources will not return results.

Your comments and suggestions are very much appreciated.