CVTC Library Winter Hours

Winter hours for the CVTC Library are as follows.  

December 21 & December 22nd, 7:30am - 5pm

December 23rd - January 3rd, Closed for Winter Break 

January 4th - January 21st, 7:30am - 5pm

WLA Election Results

 

Congratulations to everyone who was elected to to Wisconsin Library Association Board and Committees this year.  A special shutout goes to our very own Nicole Breed, who was elected to the Wisconsin Association of Academic Library as the Chair-Elect.  Nicole serves as the Health Services Librarian as well as being an instructor in the Library Program.  Congrats Nicole!  

Winter/Spring Hotspot & Technology Resources

 Great news!

A limited number of internet hotspots are available for students to checkout for the spring 2022 term at no cost. To request a hotspot please complete this short form by Tuesday, November 30.. Some hotspots may also be available for students registered for classes over winter term on a first-come, first-served basis. You can place a hold by emailing library@cvtc.edu or calling 715-833-6285. 

A limited number of other devices such as laptops and iPads can be reserved and checked out from the library for 30 days at a time depending on availability. 

Questions? Contact CVTC Library at 715-833-6285 or library@cvtc.edu. Pick-up locations will be held at the BEC Library and River Falls campus. For hours and locations, visit www.cvtc.edu/library. 

Introducing Our New Student Workers!

 We wanted to take a minute to share that we have four new student workers who joined us this semester!  Please extend a warm welcome and a hello next time you see them in the library!  Our student workers are an important part of the library team and we are so glad they are here!  

Abby is a student in the Paralegal Program

Tommy is a student in the IT - Software Development Program

Nat is in the IT - Network Specialist Program 

Jose is in the Mechanical Design Technology Program

Happy Banned Books Week!

 Since 1982, libraries and the greater book community, worldwide celebrate Banned Books week at the end of September.  While this may seem a strange thing to celebrate, the real celebration is about bringing attention to those books, organizations, and individuals that have been challenged and oppressed both in the past year and historically, to highlight our ongoing freedoms to read and access information.  

 Each year a theme is chosen, around which events are planned.  In 2021 the theme is "Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us", meant to" draw attention to the benefits of unrestricted reading and the harms of censorship."  The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) also compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted by librarians and teachers across the country. The Top 10 Challenged Books of 2020 are:

 

1.      George by Alex Gino. Challenged, banned, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint, and not reflecting “the values of our community.”

2.     Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds. Banned and challenged because of the author’s public statements and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.

3.     All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. Banned and challenged for profanity, drug use, and alcoholism and because it was thought to promote antipolice views, contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now.”

4.     Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Banned, challenged, and restricted because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint, it was claimed to be biased against male students, and it included rape and profanity.

5.     The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of the author.

6.     Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin. Challenged for “divisive language” and because it was thought to promote antipolice views.

7.     To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience.

8.     Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Banned and challenged for racial slurs and racist stereotypes and their negative effect on students.

9.     The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and depicts child sexual abuse.

10.   The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Challenged for profanity, and because it was thought to promote an antipolice message.

Please join us in celebrating this year's theme by visiting CVTC Library in person or visiting our Banned Books Guide.  You can learn more about Banned Books week, check out a Banned Book, and maybe win a prize!

  

Based on information found at: https://bannedbooksweek.org/about/.

Access Engineering Database

We are excited to share with all of you this exciting new database from McGraw Hill, Access Engineering.  Access Engineering is a reference and teaching platform that delivers world-renowned, interdisciplinary engineering content integrated with analytical teaching and learning tools.  

Access Engineering will help faculty prepare students to solve real-world problems.  It makes curriculum planning easy and features easy delivery options.  Access the database information to learn more about our new addition!  

JSTOR Trail Access

Just a reminder that CVTC has secured a trial to the database JSTOR until the end of September.  If you haven't had the chance to check it out please do so now and see if you would find it useful for your classes.  

Access is limited off campus during the trial, but wide open on campus.  

Please let Jen, jcook34@cvtc.edu know if you have any feedback about the trial and the database.  

Faculty Inservice Sessions

 Watch for these great sessions featuring library staff during faculty inservice!

OER/AER (No cost/Low cost) Textbooks: Are they right for your class?

Facilitators: Kim Ernstmeyer, Vince Mussehl, & Mary Purvis

This interactive session will explore questions relevant to faculty who want a better understanding of OER/AER textbooks. What is considered OER and AER? How can these resources enhance student learning? How do I get started exploring whether OER/AER textbooks fit into my classes? How do I correctly identify my courses as OER/AER when students need packets, equipment, or lab manuals for a course? Join us for a light-hearted session to work through these questions and more.

Trauma Informed Instruction & Care 

Facilitators: Nic Ashman and Kristi Hagen 

Educators and health care workers are becoming increasingly aware of the short and long-term impacts that trauma can have on students, patients and communities. However, educators and care workers can unknowingly perpetuate trauma rather than reduce it.  This session is designed to help participants understand the effects of trauma on those they work with and increase awareness of the levels and types of trauma they may interact with. The session will share about a "trauma-informed lens," ways we can mitigate the impacts of trauma and provide participants with tools that can increase learning and healing. 

Reminder from the Library

 

Textbooks for Checkout

Each semester, several CVTC students visit the library for course textbooks. The library checks out textbooks for 2 hours at a time for students that are not able to purchase a textbook due to finances, if a book becomes unavailable or out of stock, or if their copy becomes lost or stolen. Please consider providing a publisher/desk copy for the library to checkout. If you have an online text, consider holding a print copy in the library. If you are unable to provide a desk copy but would still like your text included please let us know.

Check Your Library Links & Resources in Canvas

It’s that time of year! Be sure to check any library links and resources you might have linked or embedded in your Canvas courses. Library resources are updated regularly to ensure currency and accuracy. You can check your links by selecting “Validate Links in Content” under Settings. It is also a great time to update your library instruction guide. If you need help updating your resources, or finding new ones, we are happy to help!

Contact Us

Librarians are standing by to help, year-round! Contact us at library@cvtc.edu or stop by the library desk at the BEC Campus. Be sure to check out our blog for new resources and updates!

Book Review: The Four Winds

This weeks book review is written by our new Circulation Supervisor Jenna.  

 The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah Review

1934. The land is drying up. The farm that gives Elsa’s family a purpose is no longer fruitful and her children are coughing up dust day in and day out. She must make an extreme decision: give up on everything she knows and loves for a chance at a better life? Or hope against all odds that the land can be revitalized? The Four Winds is a depiction of the American Dream. The Great Depression. Workers’ rights. The dramatic tone and engaging style that Hannah uses will sweep readers away into Elsa’s story of love, empowerment, and sacrifice. If you’d be interested in a historical fiction novel that captures the will and determination of people living in extreme poverty, pick up The Four Winds.

Introducing Jenna

Please help us welcome our new Library Services Associate - Public Services Jenna Chapman!   Jenna will be a familiar face to many of you as she has been a student worker since 2019, and we are excited to have her join our team in this new role.  

Jenna is an Eau Claire native and will be in the HIMT program in the fall, she previously graduated from the Library Services program.  A few fun facts about Jenna:

• She has two pets, a yellow lab and a bearded dragon
• She loves to read, watch movies and play video games in her spare time
• Right now her favorite books are historical fiction
• Her favorite season is fall
• She is left-handed

Welcome Jenna!  

Student Review: One of Us is Lying

Our student library workers have been reading this summer, this review comes from Jenna.  

One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus

Five students walk into detention. Four walk out alive. Simon’s death surrounds these four surviving students as they try to decipher what happened. Is it worth revealing their deepest, darkest secrets? One of Us Is Lying is a modern and sinister twist on the classic Breakfast Club. Featuring a brainiac, beauty, criminal, athlete, and outcast, their seemingly different lives must come together to solve the mystery. Author McManus uses fast paced writing to keep the reader’s interest as they try to answer, “Who dunnit?” The suspenseful tone reminds us of the serious predicament these characters are in. During all of this, the story switches between the different characters and captures the mystery from their different perspectives. If you’d like a fresh but disturbing take on The Breakfast Club, pick up One of Us Is Lying.

Study Room Open!

 Now that things are starting to return to normal around campus, the library is excited to announce that our study rooms have reopened! Our study rooms offer a quiet, secluded space for individuals or small groups to meet, study, and collaborate. Both offer an Idea Wall that be written on with erasable markers, as seen below. 

 

While Study Room B serves as a more traditional study room, Study Room C doubles as a recording booth. Study Room C comes with a computer, video camera, trip-pod, iPad stand, TV monitor, and an Apple TV.  

Both rooms can be reserved for two hours at a time and can be booked online, in person, or via phone. For more information, you may click here or stop by the library.