Playaways are in the Ritz Library!

The genesis of books on tape has been cassettes to CDs to downloads, but what is next? What appears to be next are Playaways - portable audio devices that can be hand-held or plugged into an audio jack (with an additional cable) for easy, convenient listening. The entire contents of a book are found in a case about the size of a traditional cassette.  

The Ritz Library at Dutchess Community College is pleased to announce the addition of Playaways to our book collection. Located at the beginning of the McNaughton and New Books reading collections next to the periodicals, you can browse the Playaways for titles that might interest you. If you find a title you'd like to listen to, bring it to the Circulation desk at the front of the library and the staff will check it out to you for two weeks. If you need additional listening time, you may renew your titles once. Confused about how to operate the Playaway? The instructions are included on the inside cover of the box, but we have more detailed handouts, if desired. Hit the power button, hit the play button and you are good to go.

So what titles does the library currently have?

Walk Away the Pounds Hamlet - John Gielgud's Classic 1948 Recording NPR Driveway Moments - Baseball The Sonnets Elegance of the Hedgehog (NYT Bestseller) 100 Poems Audacity of Hope, The Drinking Coffee Elsewhere Interpreter of Maladies 7 Habits of Highly Effective People & 8th Habit, The Way We Eat, The Billionaire Who Wasn't, The Wave, The Armageddon in Retrospect Life and Works - Frederic Chopin Voice of the Violin 9 to 5 Window Louis L'Amour Collection Father Knows Less, or: "Can I Cook My Sister?" Credit Repair Kit for Dummies Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell Starship Troopers Assassination Vacation America's Great Depression First 30 Days, The Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life Dead Witch Walking K'wan Presents Bullet Proof Love Joker One Valley of Silence

The question has come up, "what if I want to listen in my car?" If you have a new vehicle, you can check out an audio cable at the front desk. If you have an older vehicle that has an iPod adapter already set up; for example, a cassette with an iPod wire attached, or an iPod speaker system at home, the audio cable will work with that also.

If you enjoy listening to Playaways, please let us know! We are looking to know what you think about this collection!

The Big Read

This year Poughkeepsie's Big Read selection is Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. What is the Big Read? The "Big Read" is an annual event sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts whose purpose is to "restore reading to the center of American culture". A collaboration of local community organizations such as colleges, bookstores and public libraries join together to promote a particular book. Last year the book discussed was F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and this year it is Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Dutchess Community College has lead a compare/contrast discussion of the film adaptation of the book earlier this week and is also planning on hosting a discussion on "how Harlem grew to be considered the capital of Black America" on Thursday evening, October 15th at 7pm. George Stevens, Professor of History and Department Chair, is leading this talk on the history of New York City's African American community, so come and participate. The discussion will be held in Hudson Hall, room 406.

The reader's guide for Their Eyes Were Watching God can be found here as well as a hard copy may be picked up at the Circulation desk in the Ritz Library.

October is Fire Safety Month

Come and visit the display case in the front lobby of the Ritz Library on the 3rd floor of Hudson Hall and view the various fire safety items provided by the Emergency Services Club.

Their message to us this month is:

Change your smoke detector battery twice a year!

Banners along the Hudson

The Francis U. and Mary F. Ritz Library is pleased to host Banners along the Hudson!

This exhibit contains reproductions of prints, paintings, and drawing selected from more than 250 prints and over 100 paintings and drawings from the private collection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt a renowned collector of books, ship models, and stamps, President Roosevelt also enjoyed collecting art, manuscripts, maps, photographs, and artifacts related to the history and people of the Hudson River Valley.

Join us now through October 26th below the mobile on the second floor of the Library.

Banners Along the Hudson is jointly presented by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and the Home of the FDR National Historic Site with support from the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial federal funds.

The text of this posting was taken from Campus email, dated 10/6/2009.

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month

Would you like to view the Gods and Goddesses of the Hispanic World?

OR

Read about the Sun Stone and Aztec Calendar?

You can do all this by visiting the display case in the
Francis U. & Mary F. Ritz Library
located on the 3rd floor - Hudson Hall

Trouble printing from Angel?

Have you been experiencing difficulties printing from Angel? If so, check out this document provided by Chrissie Mitchell in the Teaching Learning Center on how to print from Angel.

Looking for the taxonomy of an Animal??

Use the links below to get information on the full taxonomy of an animal and the origins of its scientific name:

NCBI Taxonomy Browser
National Center for Biotechnology Information Web site. HINT! Look at the "lineage" section to trace the taxonomy.

A Mammalian Lexicon
Michigan State University site which gives the meanings of the roots of taxonomic terms

Greek & Latin Roots
Meanings of Greek and Latin wordroots with the focus on their use in taxonomy