Celebrate the 40th year of Earth Day with a showing of An Inconvenient Truth

To mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the STC Pecan Campus library will be having a showing of An Inconvenient Truth on April 22nd at 4pm on the first floor at F-102.

There will be an introduction to the movie by Biology instructor, Dr. Mehrad Mahmoudian-Geller, and Lillian Martinez, the Pecan Biology Club President.

To find out  more about the Pecan Biology Club visit this site: http://news.southtexascollege.edu/?p=2075.

For more information about this event, please contact Esther Garcia at 956-872-6485 or egarcia10@southtexascollege.edu.

Author Harold Jaffe to speak on Wed. April 28th

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The English Dept at STC is bringing acclaimed author Harold Jaffe to speak at the Pecan Campus Library in the Rainbow Room.  Mr. Jaffe is the author of the books Beyond the Techno-Crave, Terror-Dot-Gov, and Anti-Twitter, a book of stories limited to 50 words.

Jaffe is the author of 17 books, translated into Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian French Turkish, Dutch, Czech, and Serbo-Croatian. Jaffe has won two NEA Grants in fiction, two Fulbright fellowships, a San Diego fellowship, three Pushcart prizes, and many other awards. His work has appeared in many journals and anthologies, including “Paris Review”, “Black Warrior Review”, “Pushcart Prize”, and “Best American Stories”. Jaffe is Editor of “Fiction International” and professor of English and comparative literature at San Diego State University.

American Book Review has said that Harold Jaffe “is like no one else writing today,” and the San Diego Union-Tribune says that his writing is “potent and prophetic.”

Harold Jaffe will be speaking on Wednesday April 28th start at 4:00 pm.

For more information please contact Dr. Raphael Bennett at 956-872-7266 or rbennett@southtexascollege.edu.

Contributed by Esther Garcia, Library Specialist at Pecan.

Library Open House at Your Campus!

Library Week is that time of the year when we stop and appreciate what libraries and librarians have contributed to our schools and communities. And South Texas College will celebrate Library Week with a number of activities at all five of its campuses.

Celebrated nation wide, this year’s theme is “Communities Thrive @ Your Library.”  In tough economic times, libraries give free access to books, DVDs, computers, and research assistance.  Go by one of your campus libraries to enjoy what they have to offer.  Please e-mail Esther Garcia for more details: egarcia10@southtexascollege.edu.

Library Open Houses 2010
Date Campus Library Details Contact Person
4/12 NAHC Open House 10 am – 2 pm
  • Book Talk  on Valley authors*
  • Drafting demonstration
  • Presentation by Rey Anzaldua on Hospital Security
  • Art Gallery Tours
  • Snacks, Drinks, Cake
James Phillips 872-3189
4/13 Starr Campus Open House 11 am – 2 pm
  • Kayak exhibit
  • Zavotash dancers
  • Talk given by Local Historian
  • Possible trolley ride
  • Door Prizes
  • Food, Snacks, Drinks
Thelma Garza 488- 5820
4/14 MidValley Campus Open House10 am – 2 pm
  • Information Fair
  • Music
  • Art Gallery Tours
  • Movie showing New Moon
  • Snacks and Drinks
Jessica Cruz 447-6663
4/15 Pecan Campus Open House 11 am – 2 pm
  • Information Fair
  • Scavenger Hunt
  • Meet Miss RGV
  • Music
  • Movie showing New Moon
  • Snacks, Popcorn, Drinks, Cake
Esther Garcia 872-6485
4/19 Tech Campus Open House 10 am – 2 pm
  • Folkloric Dancers
  • Paramedic Visit with Ambulence, Stretcher, and Dummy
  • Book Talk  on Valley authors*
  • Art Gallery Tours
  • Snacks, Drinks, Cake
James Phillips 872-6120

*Book Talk on Valley authors will be given by librarian James Phillips, and he will discuss authors Americo Paredes, Rolando Hinojosa Smith, Gloria Anzaldua, and T.R. Fehrenbach.

Staff Pick: The Next 100 Years

libblog-BookReview5Friedman, George.  The Next 100 Years: a Forecast for the 21st Century.  New York: Doubleday, 2009.

If you have an interest in politics, international relations, or predictions of futuristic technology then this is the book for you.  Using his knowledge of historical trends and political forecasting Friedman predicts how international relations will unfold over the next century.  The author has a PhD in political science from Cornell University and he is the founder of STRATFOR a private intelligence firm.

Friedman claims that the current economic downturn will not last long and that soon the United States will be back on top and will be the dominant superpower for the next 100 years.  This book predicts that Russia and China will collapse in the next 20 or 30 years from internal divisions and pressure from their neighbors.  By 2050 Japan and Turkey will be the world’s new major powers.  They will form an alliance to rival the United States which will lead to World War III.  However, the US will triumph in that future war.  By 2100 Mexico will be the new rising power that will challenge the USA.  How does the author come to these conclusions?  You’ll have to read the book to find out!  (Click here to check for availability.)

Contributed by Joshua Wallace, Reference Librarian at the Pecan Campus

Staff Pick: Boys Will Be Boys

libblog-BookReview4Pearlman, J. (2008). Boys will be boys: The glory days and party nights of the Dallas Cowboys dynasty. New York: HarperCollins.

Any Football fan will remember the dominance the early 1990’s Dallas Cowboys Team had in the National Football League.  I remember seeing the games and enjoying my favorite team beat teams like the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.  It was no surprise that the book Boys will be Boys by Jeff Pearlman about the Cowboys caught my attention.

Surprisingly some of the key players for the Cowboy’s Dynasty Team are living in shacks and working assembling line jobs to make ends meet.  Players like Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman are financially stable.  These three superstars have endorsement deals and work as football analyst for FOX, ESPN, and the N.F.L Network.  Other players were able to save money and make wise financial investments.

This book gives the reader an inside look at how fortunes were made and lost in the National Football League.   If you are a football fan and especially a Dallas Cowboys fan, you must take the time to read this Book.  (Click here to check for availability)

Contributed by Jesus Resendez, Library Specialist at the Mid-Valley Campus.

Screening of Iron Jawed Angels at MidValley Campus Library

libevents-Movies1 To celebrate Women’s History Month, the Mid-Valley STC Library will be showing Iron Jawed Angels, a 2004 film about the women’s suffrage movement during the 1910s. This movie follows activists, Alice Paul (Hilary Swank) and Lucy Burns (Frances O’Connor), as they fought tirelessly for a woman’s right to be counted.  Returning to the United States from England, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns learned that their ideas about women and voting were too radical for even the National American Woman Suffrage Association. In response, they created the National Woman’s Party, a group that takes drastic measures to ensure women’s rights. Taking the women’s suffrage movement by storm, Paul and Burns put their freedom on the line as they boldly take action.

In a time when it is easy to take the right to vote for granted, this film reminds us that women once had to fight and suffer to step into the voting booth. One hundred years ago women were denied the privilege of expressing their opinions about our government, but because Alice Paul and Lucy Burns (and a number of other brave women such as Susan B. Anthony) refused to be content with their lives as non-voting citizens, we are all able to be counted equally.

Iron Jawed Angels will be showing Wednesday, March 10, 2010 beginning at 10 am at the STC Mid-Valley Library.  It will also be showing Thursday, March 11 at 12:00 pm at the Pecan Campus Library.

Contributed by Jessica Cruz, Library Specialist at the Mid-Valley Campus.

Heart Health Month Display

This February is Heart Health Month.  Celebrate by getting a recipe or information from one of our many books.

Magazines/Journals
Stroke
Circulation Research
Books
Your heart : an owner’s guide
Platillos Latinos, sabrosos y saludables = Delicious heart-healthy Latino recipes
Bypass: a healthy heart without surgery
Women and Heart Disease: What You Can Do to Stop the Number One Killer of American Women

And if you are near the Tech Campus Library, check out this display:

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Contributed by Sara Martinez from the Pecan Campus Library and Sheila McGee from the Tech Campus Library.

Staff Pick: Batos, Bolillos, Pochos, and Pelados

libblog-BookReview2Richardson, Chad. Batos, Bolillos, Pochos, and Pelados: Class and Culture on the South Texas Border. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999.

This easy-to-read and interesting book offers an excellent introduction to life in the Rio Grande Valley.  Using touching personal stories and statistical data gathered from numerous interviews and surveys; the author paints a detailed picture of society in Deep South Texas.  Topics such as the experiences of migrant workers, life in the colonias, Winter Texans, the history of Anglo-Hispanic relations in the Valley, and much more are covered.   Whether you’re a newcomer to the Valley (like me) or you’re a life-long Valley native I think you’ll find this to be an enjoyable and valuable read, that will enhance your understanding of this unique region.

Click here to check availability.

Contributed by Joshua Wallace, Reference Librarian at the Pecan Campus