Seeking book recommendations?

As previously posted in this blog, several websites exist for recommending titles to read based on an author or an author/title. A recent suggestion that can be added to this list is The Book Seer which uses Amazon and LibraryThing as a back engine to come up with suggested titles to read. Book Seer works best with classic titles where more relevant data has been gathered, but it will list other books by a specific author even if it doesn't have any "outside" recommendations. Check it out!

What's in a word?

Have you ever attended a meeting where acronyms were being tossed around? Ever wonder what some abbreviations mean? If so, check out the website, http://www.acronymfinder.com/. Enter the acronym or abbreviation that is stymying you and review the list of potential meanings. In a strange combination of functions, you can also use acronymfinder.com to search zip codes for the United States and Canada and retrieve a map of where they are located.

Speaking of definitions, if you get hung up on words occasionally or would like to look up the meaning of a word, here are two useful dictionary websites: Merriam-Webster Online and Dictionary.Com. M-W features a dictionary, thesaurus, Spanish-English dictionary, medical dictionary that contains an audio option and word games online. Dictionary.com features a dictionary, thesaurus, translator (which can be used with a variety of languages) and an encyclopedia online. Both are great resources to bookmark to your local machine or save to a social bookmarking site like Delicious.

Women's History Month

Visit the Ritz Library during the month of March and view the display sponsored by the Womens' Activities Committee featuring: Writing Women into History.





When you visit, please take a brochure directing you to the various women's activities taking place on DCC campus during the month of March:



March 1 to 26 - Women's Studio Workshop at Mildred I. Washington Art Gallery



March 4 - Courtney Lynch, Leading from the Front


March 6 - Math and Science Matter, Especially for Young Women


March 9 - Catherine Clinton, Mrs. Lincoln: A Life


March 12 - Dress Down Day for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society


March 12 - Stretch and Relaxation Workshop


March 24 - Movie: Freeing Silvia Baraldini by Margo Pelletier


March 26 - Reading Women


March 27 - "Cinderella's Fairy Godmother"

More databases updated to include latest MLA citation formating

The number of Ritz databases that will automatically generate a current MLA citation for an article has been increased to include the following Gale products:

• Virtual Reference Library
• Literature Resource Center
• Twayne’s Authors Online

Keep in mind that these citations are computer generated and may have errors in them. Be sure to double check all database derived citations as you prepare your Works Cited list!

Black History Month

February is Black History Month. Visit the Ritz Library, Hudson Hall, 3rd Floor and check out the display presented by the Black History Committee:

CONGRATULATIONS to the NAACP on their 100th Anniversary!

Stop by the Circulation Desk and pick up instructions to view the online exhibit entitled The Missing Chapter: Untold Stories of the African American Presence in the Mid-Hudson Valley presented by SENYLRC.

Haiti Earthquake Information

The Middletown Thrall Library has put together a special coverage resource guide to the on-going situation in Haiti.  Click here for information.  

Check out our Oversize Books Collection

When you have the opportunity, stop in the Ritz Library and take a gander past the Oversize Books collection. Found in our Oversize Collection are beautiful old and new books on wildlife, nature, birds, art, and architecture among others. For example, we have a 1944 edition of The Birds of America, featuring the original drawings of John James Audubon. The 435 plates of exquisite renderings of the bird life in America found in this volume were originally drawn between the years 1827 - 1838. Complementing the beautiful volumes that we have on birds are multiple books on wild flowers, such as Wild Flowers of the World with paintings by Barbara Everard and two volumes of Wild Flowers of Western Pennsylvania and the Ohio Basin with water colors by Andre Avinoff. Enjoying the beauty of the plates can enhance your day!

In another vein, Stubbs Anatomical Works is a fascinating look at early attempts at representative anatomical exactness. The drawings by Stubbs for The Anatomy of a Horse from 1766 are included, along with human and other animal anatomy drawings. For something completely different, take a look at General Dynamics book entitled Dynamic America. Published in 1960, Dynamic America follows the creation of the General Dynamics Corporation from 1880 until the publication date in 1960. By the way, General Dynamics Corporation still exists today. Dynamic America shows the changes in the United States from a rural nation to an industrialized one. The photos, drawings and pictures included show the effects of the various war efforts and the growth in this country. Included also are images and sheet music reproductions from war times such as George M. Cohan's Over There.

Besides these few great old gems there are various art books such as 30,000 Years of Art and other old books on artists and paintings, architecture, and other topics. Stop in the library and view our Oversize Books Collection!