October is National Information Literacy Month

By Presidential Proclamation:

"Though we may know how to find the information we need, we must also know how to evaluate it. Over the past decade, we have seen a crisis of authenticity emerge. We now live in a world where anyone can publish an opinion or perspective, whether true or not, and have the opinion amplified within the information marketplace. At the same time, Americans have unprecedented access to the diverse and independent sources of information, as well as institutions such as libraries and universities, that can help separate truth from fiction and signal from noise."

Contact us today for help using information resources, or to schedule an information literacy workshop for your class.

Have a question? Ask your librarian online.

Students, faculty and staff at Centralia College can now receive assistance from reference librarians at Kirk Library even if they cannot visit the library in person. And the librarians are available anytime of the day or night.

Anyone who needs help finding information may submit questions through a link on the library's web site. Questions are answered by librarians at Kirk Library or by any librarian participating in our worldwide network of reference librarians.

The service is very easy to use. All you do is click on the "Ask a Librarian!" button, and you're on your way!

Give it a try today!

New database: World Conflicts Today

We are proud to announce the acquisition of a new database that we hope will come in handy. World Conflicts Today provides detailed information about current military conflicts throughout the world and includes timelines, origin of the conflict, key groups involved, implications, statistics, and more.

Biologists use Google to "destroy" ecosystems

By applying PageRank, the search algorithm that powers the world famous search engine Google, to the food chain of an ecosystem, Biologists have found a way to predict which species may be the most essential to the balance of that ecosystem. By virtually "destroying" the ecosystem by removing certain species from the food chain and observing simulated results, scientists are able to rank species by their importance, according to an article published in Wired magazine.

J.D. Salinger vs. Resurrected Caulfield

Reclusive author J.D. Salinger, now 90, has emerged from the shadows to attempt to stop the publication of an unauthorized sequel to his classic novel The Catcher in the Rye. An author writing under the nom de plume "J.D. California" has penned 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye, which features "Mr. C," presumably Holden Caulfield, the resurrected slacker protagonist of the earlier work. The sequel has already been published in Britain. Salinger has filed a lawsuit to keep 60 Years Later from going to press here in the U.S.

Tens of thousands of electronic books

Access complete versions of books online!

Centralia College library subscribes to eBrary, which provides access to over 18,000 books on a wide variety of topics that are likely to be relevant to community college students.

If you're into classics, you'll love Google book search. It's free, and though it only offers limited previews (featuring, in many cases, most of the book) of millions of books, complete versions of most classics by well-known authors are available for free. (That's because the copyright protection for books published before 1923 has expired, so they are now public domain.)

Top Ten Challenged Books of 2008

Each year, the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom compiles a list of the top ten most frequently challanged books, or books for which someone files a complaint about it being carried in a library.

The 10 most challenged books of 2008 reflect a range of themes, and are:

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
2. His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman. Reasons, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, violence
3. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle. Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
4. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz. REasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, violence
5. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya. Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, violence
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group
7. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar. Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
8. Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen. Reasons: homosexuality, unsuited to age group
9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
10. Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper. Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group