New books on international cultures & customs

The library has been the indirect beneficiary of a grant from the Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation. The grant, secured by Anne Ledvina in BSC's Sklenar Center for International Programs, has helped fund several thousand dollars worth of books (both print and electronic) and videos. Among the books are titles from the Culture & Customs series and the CultureShock! series. Online books include a selection of NetLibrary books on international business (focusing on the cultural dimensions of business) and the Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures & Daily Life (available in the Gale Virtual Reference Library).

All of these books are listed in the BSC Library Catalog. You may also stop by the library to see a display of some of the titles in question!

Our Government's Documents

In his Farewell Address to the nation in 1796, President George Washington suggested that Americans should "Promote, then as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened."

The Birmingham-Southern College Library is happy to help in that diffusion of knowledge, specifically of the knowledge published by the U.S. government through its collection of government documents.

The Library is a Selective Government Depository Library, so we only receive part of the vast output of the government and federal agencies. Of course more and more documents are published online, so we have access to much more than would ever fit on our library shelves. Also, we can borrow documents from the Regional Depository in Tuscaloosa.

The government publishes material on almost every subject imaginable, from reports on the response to the current financial crisis to documents about specific events in American history.

So, how do I get all this information, you may wonder? You could start at the BSC Library catalog (recent documents will show up there, along with any available links to online versions.) You can also explore the guide to Internet access of government information at http://orgs.bsc.edu/libref/govdoc/govdoc.htm

Or, you could come talk to us at the Library!

4th of July Holiday: Library closed July 3-5

The Library will be closed July 3-5 (Saturday through Monday) for the 4th of July holiday. Library hours will also be shorter than normal on Friday, July 2: due to a scheduled campus power outage, the library will open at 9:30 am and close at 4:30 pm.

Have a happy 4th of July!

Summer Term has arrived!

Welcome to summer! Beginning June 9, the library will be open the following hours:

Monday - Thursday: 8:00am - 10:00pm
Friday: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday: 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Sunday: 2:00pm - 10:00pm

We invite you to stop by and read a book, surf the web, or simply chill.

Here's to a fine summer session!

Faculty book order notices now to be e-mailed!

Starting June 1, the Library will begin sending notifications of "Books you ordered that are now available in the library" via email rather than paper. The email will be titled BSC Library. There will be one email per book. We might, on occasions when a large number of books you have ordered come in at one time, still send you paper notices so we do not overwhelm your email. Thanks. Steve Laughlin

Library hours between terms

Summer school begins on Wednesday, June 9. Until that time, the BSC library will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. We will be closed on the weekends and on Monday, May 31, for Memorial Day.

We hope everyone is enjoying the break between terms!

Vince Gawronski's Provost's Forum Podcast

The BSC Library is pleased to present podcasts of Dr. Vince Gawronski's Provost's Forum - "Democratic Consolidation: The Special Case of El Salvador" recorded April 27, 2010.

The files are at:

http://orgs.bsc.edu/podcasts/V_Gawronski_20100427.mp3

http://orgs.bsc.edu/podcasts/V_Gawronski.mp4

The top link is to the audio version, and the bottom link is to the video presentation.

We hope you enjoy the podcasts. Dr. Gawronski demonstrates his great knowledge of politics in Latin America, as well as his deep interest in the region.

Steve Laughlin