Category Archives: UC Clermont Library News

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Take a Break in the Clermont College Library

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Colorful puzzle pieces jumbled

 

Free time between classes? Need to relax for a bit? Stop by the Clermont College Library.

We’ve set up a puzzle table in the library. Don’t have time to do the whole thing? No problem! Come in and add a few pieces. We’ll all work together to finish. Once a puzzle is complete, we’ll switch it out for another.

Taking a short break to play a game or work on a puzzle helps decrease stress and can improve critical thinking. It might be just what you need before you dive back in to study for a final or finish that research project!

The Case for Exploring Open Textbooks

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Did you know that between 1998 and 2016, the cost of college textbooks increased 181%? That’s almost 4 times as much as all other consumer products during that same time period. The average Clermont College student should have budgeted $1500.00 for course materials in 2017-18. As a result, students may resort to delayed purchasing of a textbook, purchasing an older version, sharing a textbook, or never purchasing it at all.

So, what can we do to help with the burden of high textbook costs and ensure students have access to course information beginning the first day of a course?

Consider adopting an open textbook!

Open textbooks are free for students to use in electronic formats. Some are also available to order in print for a low cost. In addition, these textbooks can be adapted and repurposed by faculty to better align with specific course outcomes.

You might be asking yourself, how does a free textbook measure up to more expensive, traditional textbooks? It turns out, pretty well! A recent study showed that the use of open textbooks and open educational resources led to improved grades and decreased DFW rates for all students, with the most dramatic improvements occurring for at-risk populations.

Curious to learn more?

Check out the Open Educational Resources at Clermont library guide or consider speaking with a fellow faculty member. A number of Clermont College faculty have already adopted open textbooks. Dr. Noah MacKenzie, Associate Professor of Psychology, adopted an open textbook for the fall semester of 2018 and shared that, “student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.” Assistant Professor Educator Carolyn Goodman surveyed her students and the results were all positive. Students appreciated that the language in the book was appropriate for their level and that they didn’t have to purchase a book. The academic results are impressive as well with 88% of her students showing mastery in early October.

Ready to explore open textbooks in your area?

Your liaison librarian would be happy to help you identify or adapt a textbook that will work for your class. If you aren’t ready to adopt an open textbook, but are interested in exploring other open educational resources, we can help with that as well.

Any questions? Let us know how we can help!

Heather Mitchell-Botts
Instruction Librarian

photo from: https://opensource.com/education/13/2/boundless-free-alternative-textbooks

Manuel Iris, Cincinnati Poet Laureate, to visit Clermont College Library

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Please join us November 7, 2018 at 2:30 pm for a reading and book signing by Manuel Iris, author of Translating Silence/Traducir el silencio. Appointed Cincinnati Poet Laureate in 2018, Manuel is charged with “promoting poetry appreciation, encouraging the reading and writing of poetry throughout the city, and composing and reading poems for special events and occasions.” (City of Cincinnati) Come listen as he brings his poetic inspiration to UC Clermont.

He will also host a Q & A and writing workshop the same day, at 10:10 am in Student Services, room 240.

Penny McGinnis
Technical Services Manager

Guggenheim Grant-Winning Essayist John Jeremiah Sullivan to Speak at UC Clermont

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In collaboration with the UC Clermont English, Languages & Fine Arts Department, the Clermont College Library is proud to announce An Evening With John Jeremiah Sullivan on Wednesday, November 14.  John Jeremiah Sullivan is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and the southern editor of The Paris Review. He writes for GQ, Harper’s Magazine, and Oxford American, and is the author of Blood Horses and Pulphead.

Tickets for Sullivan’s talk are $5. Tickets to a VIP reception with the author (to include the talk, refreshments, and a signed copy of Pulphead) are also available on a limited basis. Proceeds from the event will benefit Clermont College scholarships.

Reserve your seat today and support the future of UC Clermont students: https://foundation.uc.edu/sullivan

Katie Foran-Mulcahy
Library Director

Learn More About Women in Science

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In celebration of this year’s UC Common Read, the Clermont College Library and the Academic Support Committee presented a panel discussion entitled Women in Science: Conversations to Spark Success. Moderated by Dr. Margaret Hanson, Associate Dean for Natural Sciences at UC’s College of Arts and Sciences, the panel engaged science and math faculty in conversation about their professional pathways.

Our Clermont College faculty panelists included Dr. Krista Clark, Professor of Biology; Carolyn Goodman, Assistant Professor Educator of Mathematics; and Dr. Jill Shirokawa, Annual Adjunct Assistant Professor of Chemistry.

For more information about the UC Common Read, Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss, please view this UC Libraries guide: https://guides.libraries.uc.edu/commonread/2019/radioactive

Want to learn more about women in science, check out these books:

Visionary women : how Rachel Carson, Jane Jacobs, Jane Goodall, and Alice Waters changed our world by Andrea Barnet

Wonder women : 25 innovators, inventors, and trailblazers who changed history by written by Sam Maggs ; illustrated by Sophia Foster-Dimino

Maria Sibylla Merian & daughters : women of art and science by Ella Reitsma ; assisted by Sandrine Ulenberg ; [translation, Lynne Richards]

She’s such a geek! : women write about science, technology & other nerdy stuff by edited by Annalee Newitz & Charlie Anders

The science on women and science by Christina Hoff Sommers, editor

Headstrong : 52 women who changed science–and the world by Rachel Swaby

Scientific pioneers : women succeeding in science by Joyce Tang

Sisters in science : conversations with black women scientists about race, gender, and their passion for science by [interviews by] Diann Jordan

So you want to be a scientist? by Philip A. Schwartzkroin

Hidden figures : the American dream and the untold story of the Black women mathematicians who helped win the space race by Margot Lee Shetterly

Beyond Curie : four women in physics and their remarkable discoveries, 1903 to 1963 by Scott Calvin

The Curies : a biography of the most controversial family in science by Denis Brian

Marie Curie and her daughters : the private lives of science’s first family by Shelley Emling

Obsessive genius : the inner world of Marie Curie by Barbara Goldsmith

The gentle subversive : Rachel Carson, Silent spring, and the rise of the environmental movement by Mark Hamilton Lytle

On a farther shore : the life and legacy of Rachel Carson by William Souder

Lab girl by Hope Jahren

Chrysalis : Maria Sibylla Merian and the secrets of metamorphosis by Kim Todd

Seeds of hope : wisdom and wonder from the world of plants by Jane Goodall with Gail Hudson ; [foreword by Michael Pollan]

The Mercury 13 : the untold story of thirteen American women and the dream of space flight by Martha Ackmann

The woman who smashed codes : a true story of love, spies, and the unlikely heroine who outwitted America’s enemies by Jason Fagone

Natalie Winland
Public Services Manager

Trouble Deciphering Fact from Fiction? We Can Help!

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As the midterm elections approach, we are all being bombarded with political ads, sensational news, and social media posts designed to persuade you to vote for a particular candidate. But how do you know what to believe when the information you see is contradictory or inflammatory?

Use the suggestions below to get to the truth.

  1. Consider the claim being made. Does it make sense? Can you verify the claim through another source?
  2. Use a fact-checker like PolitiFact, FactCheck.org, or Snopes. They check the credibility of claims and provide you with links to sources to back up their rating.
  3. Pay attention to any sources cited or links embedded in articles. Follow links and citations to attempt to get to an original source of information.
  4. Don’t be afraid to do a Google search about the topic, the candidate, the publication, or the sponsor of the information. You never know what you’ll find out.
  5. Look at the original date of the information. Is it old information that has been recycled? If so, is it still relevant to current events?
  6. Check the sponsor, author, or authority of the information. Do they have an agenda or display a particular bias?
  7. If you are looking at a news source, check the Media Bias Chart. It can also be helpful to read about the creation of the chart, methodology, and additional charts by news network on the ad fontes media

Think you’re an expert at spotting fake news? Test yourself using Factitious: The Spot the Fake News Game.

You may also find the following links helpful when researching how to vote in the upcoming election.

Election Resources at UCBA

USA.gov: Voting and Elections

Political Advertising on Google

How to Spot Fake News

As always, Clermont College Library staff are happy to assist if you have any questions!

Heather Mitchell-Botts
Instruction Librarian

Match the Selfie to the Shelfie

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The Clemont College Library staff plus two of the tutors from the Academic Success Center were challenged to choose one favorite book. Not an easy task! But we did it. Now you have a chance to match the person (selfie) with their favorite book (shelfie.) Check out the bulletin board in the hall by the library. Fill out the entry and drop it in the contest box on the library’s information desk. One lucky winner will receive a $25 Subway gift card.

Penny McGinnis
Technical Services Manager

Panel Discussion in the Library — Women in Science: Conversations to Spark Success

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In celebration of this year’s UC Common Read, the Clermont College Library and the Academic Support Committee proudly present a panel discussion entitled Women in Science: Conversations to Spark Success. The panel discussion will take place in the library on Thursday, October 18 from 12:30-1:30.

Moderated by Dr. Margaret Hanson, Associate Dean for Natural Sciences at UC’s College of Arts and Sciences,  the panel will engage science and math faculty in conversation about their professional pathways. Panelists include Dr. Krista Clark, Professor of Biology, Carolyn Goodman, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, and Dr. Jill Shirokawa, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Chemistry.

For more information about the UC Common Read, Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss, please view this UC Libraries guide: https://guides.libraries.uc.edu/commonread/2019/radioactive

 

Katie Foran-Mulcahy
Library Director

Student Art in the Library

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For the 2018-19 semesters, the Clermont College Library is pleased to exhibit the art of Caitlyn Richey and Trent McFarland.

Caitlyn shared her thoughts about her artistic process, “ ‘The power of imagination makes us infinite.’ At the beginning, developing the basic materials and ideas for the work is deeply reflective and informative. Later, by bringing materials together I begin to form a-distilling and shaping movement, creating a context, working toward something that feels cohesive and complete and creating a story that tells itself, that is what is powerful to me—and it is the spark that inspires my infinite imagination.”

Trent McFarland’s professor, Kelly Frigard, spoke about him, “Trent is a student artist interested in sea and marine life.  In Drawing II, he worked on this series of oil pastels exploring texture, color, and form.” We hope you enjoy his drawings in this series.

Come check out the student art in the library’s Student Art Spotlight throughout the 2018-19 semesters.  As always, we thank Fine Arts faculty Kelly Frigard and Kim Taylor for their dedicated support of the Student Art Spotlight since 2015. We also thank Terri Teague for organizing and installing the show.

Penny McGinnis
Technical Services Manager

 

Student Lounge Library Access

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Next time you’re in the student lounge, remember – your Clermont College Library is only an elevator ride away!

The blue elevator in the student lounge is now enabled to provide 1st and 2nd floor library access.

This will make coming into our space with your Subway (and your entourage) that much more convenient.

Thanks to the Clermont IT and facilities staff for helping to make this new library access point a reality.

 

Katie Foran-Mulcahy

Library Director