Winter Break Hours

Here is the library schedule for winter break:

December 17 - 18, CLOSED
December 19 - 22, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
December 23 - January 2, CLOSED
January 3 - 6, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
January 7 - 8, CLOSED

Search Films on Demand and Ebrary Through Our Library Catalog

You can now search for Films on Demand and Ebrary ebooks through our library catalog.  We have loaded the records so one search will find everything in our print collection, our previous ebook holdings, and also items from our Films on Demand and Ebrary subscriptions.  This should make it easier to find the resources you need to complete your education at Century College.

Just go to the library home page and type your search in the box under the Books & More tab.  Click Find to get started.

Check out a Kindle for Winter Break

We just added three more titles to our Kindles:

• Zero Day / David Baldacci
• Steve Jobs / Walter Isaacson
• The time of our lives / Tom Brokaw

We have several Kindles available right now that you could check out for winter break.  There are currently 18 titles on each Kindle, including Zeitoun, Century's common book.  We add a few popular titles each month. The Kindles circulate for three weeks with no renewal. If you want to borrow one and they are all checked out, you can place a hold using our online catalog and we will notify you when one becomes available.

Mobile Access to Library Resources

One of our vendors of online resources, EBSCO, just released an Android app for searching EBSCO.  It's available  as a free download from the Android Market. The app can be used on devices running Android v. 2.1 or later.  An iPhone app is also available.

Find a complete list of mobile access to library resources at http://libdata.century.edu/page.phtml?page_id=43. 

Library Closed November 24-27

The Century College Library will be closed November 24-27 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Check Out the New Books!

The October 2011 New Books list is available on the Library's What's New page at
http://www.century.edu/library/whatsnew.aspx.

More Titles Added to Kindles

We have added four more titles to our six Kindles: 

• Flash mobs, riots, and martial law in America: a special report on the demise of America as we know it
• The best of me / Nicholas Sparks
• Jack Kennedy / Chris Matthews
• Secret daughter / Shilpi Somaya Gowda

We plan to add a few popular titles each month.  The Kindles circulate for three weeks with no renewal. If you want to borrow one and they are all checked out, you can place a hold using our online catalog and we will notify you when one becomes available.

Library Closed November 11

The library will be closed on November 11 in honor of Veterans Day.

Learn a Language!

The Student Tech Fee funds access to Mango Languages, a learning tool for learning a different language. Mango has many languages, including popular ones like Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese, German, Mandarin Chinese, Greek, Italian, Russian, Arabic, and more, including the tongue-in-cheek Pirate. Argh!  It also has English for speakers of many foreign languages and is fairly user-friendly. Try it now!

You can access Mango through the library web site from our Databases A-Z list and the Databases by Subject page. The Century community can use it off campus, but you will need to use the barcode from the back of your ID as your login and your last name as your password. Users will also probably want to sign up for a free account that can track their progress.

If you plan to travel or just want to increase your skills, sign up for a free account and start today.

Veterans Day

Veterans Day is November 11. In observance of Veterans Day, the library display case is featuring books to remember veterans and the wars they fought. The display is showcasing books and images related to veterans and their service. Featured book topics include: World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War through Afghanistan and Iraq as well as personal stories and recollections of veterans. Veterans Day honors all American veterans, both living and dead but is largely intended to honor and thank living veterans who served honorably in the military - in wartime or peacetime. Please thank and honor our veterans this November for their sacrifice and dedication.

A Visit from the Busy Bees

The children who attend the Busy Bees daycare at Century visited the library in their costumes for Halloween. What fun! 

Library Closed on Saturday, October 22

The Century College Library will be closed on Saturday, October 22 for the MEA break.

Fire Prevention Week

In conjunction with Fire Prevention Week, October 9-15, the library display case for October is featuring books on firefighting and related fire/rescue work. Century library has a large collection of FIRE/EMS/Safety materials. Our collection is one of only about a half dozen libraries in the United States primarily concerned with fire and emergency medical services. Some of the subject specialties that are included in this collection are: arson, building codes, emergency medical services, fire codes, fire education, firefighting, fire investigations, fire safety, and much more. The display also includes publications dealing specifically with historical Minnesota fires such as Hinckley and Cloquet as well as personal stories of the men and women who fight the fires.

Banned Books Week 2011

The Century College Library marks Banned Books Week from Sept. 25 through October 1 with a drawing for several tote bags noting, "I Read Banned Books." Enter the drawing in the library today!

The books featured in our display case have been targets of attempted bannings. Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections. Come to the library and check out a banned book.

To learn more about challenges and bans, see About Banned & Challenged Books on the American Library Association web site. In 2010, ALA reported 348 challenges. You can see a list of the top ten most frequently challenged titles in 2010.

Kindles at the Library Open House!

The Century College Library has acquired 6 Kindles purchased with Student Tech Fee funds and have preloaded the following titles:

• Hide in plain sight / Marta Perry 
• Pride and prejudice / Jane Austen 
• Zeitoun / Dave Eggers 
• Jane Eyre /Charlotte Bronte 
• Unbroken / Laura Hillenbrand 
• The Help / Kathryn Stockett 
• A Stolen life / Jaycee Dugard 
• Safe haven / Nicholas Sparks 
• Moneyball / Michele Lewis 
• Until proven guilty / J.A. Jance. 

During Student Success Day, the Library will be having an open house from 10 am to 2 pm.  Stop by the library during the open house to try out the Kindles. After the open house ends, we will begin lending the Kindles. 

The Kindles will circulate for three weeks with no renewal. If you want to borrow one and they are all checked out, you can place a hold using our online catalog and we will notify you when one becomes available.

If you have your own Nook, our eBooks from EBSCO database has ebooks in downloadable PDF format. (Kindles may be compatible soon.)  From the library home page, click on the tab under Library Search labeled Articles, Databases & More, choose Databases A-Z or Databases by Subject, and click through.  If you are off-campus, you will need the 14-digit barcode from the back of your Century ID for your username.  Your password is your last name.

New Online Resource: PsycInfo

We've added a new resource for the social sciences: PsycInfo.  It's the American Psychological Association’s (APA) resource for abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations.  It contains  peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health.  It has very limited full text, but links into our print collection also into full text from our other online resources.

You can find PyscInfo from the Library's web page by clicking on the tab under Library Search labeled Articles, Databases & More, choosing Databases A-Z or Databases by Subject, and clicking through.  If you are off-campus, you will need the 14-digit barcode from the back of your Century ID for your username.  Your password is your last name.

eBooks at the Century Library

Off campus and can't get to the library today?  We've got lots of resources for you, but in particular, you might want to check out our eBooks. 

We recently purchased a subscription to ebrary College Complete using Student Tech Fee funds. This collection contains over 20,000 titles in a wide variety of subjects.  In addition, we have over 12,000 eBooks from EBSCO (formerly Netlibrary) in our catalog.  Lots of our reference books are online as well.  You can find all our eBook resources from the library web page, http://www.century.edu/library/, by looking at the Books & More tab where you'll see a link to eBooks.   

As usual, when you are off-campus, you will need the 14-digit barcode from the back of your Century ID for your username.  Your password is your last name.

Banned Books! Censorship!

Celebrate the Freedom to Read and the importance of the First Amendment! Why have Harry Potter, Twilight, and the Dictionary been banned from libraries? Banning books isn't something that was done centuries or decades ago. It happens nearly every week somewhere in the United States and around the world to have books removed from libraries and from classrooms. Why are books banned? What are the most challenged and banned books? Come to the library for answers to these questions. Check out the display case in the library this month to see a selection of books that have either been banned or have been targets of attempted bannings!

Banned Books Week is September 24−October 1, 2011

Library closed September 3-5

Century College Library will be closed September 3-5 for the Labor Day weekend.

New Resource: Music Online

The Library has added a new online resource, Music Online.  Music Online offers streamed audio recordings, music reference, and plans to add scores and video soon. The collection includes American songs, classical music and scores, jazz, contemporary world music, dance and opera videos, the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, and Smithsonian Global Sound. The collections are indexed for subjects, historical events, genres, people, cultural groups, places, time periods, ensembles.

You can find Music Online from the Library's web page by clicking on the tab under Library Search labeled Articles, Databases & More, choosing Databases A-Z or Databases by Subject, and clicking through.  If you are off-campus, you will need the 14-digit barcode from the back of your Century ID for your username.  Your password is your last name.

Regular Hours Resume August 22

Regular hours resume at the Century College Library today, August 22.  Hours for fall semester:


Monday - Thursday, 7:30 am - 9:00 pm
Friday, 7:30 - 4:00 pm
Saturday, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Sunday, CLOSED

Library closed on August 17

The library will be closed on August 17 for staff development.

Study Rooms in the Library

Looking for a spot to talk through a project? There are 4 group study rooms at the College Library. Each room is a privately enclosed space, allowing for groups to work together without disturbing other library patrons. Students can use any of these rooms to study in groups or to work collaboratively on projects. Stop by the Circulation Desk to reserve a room for your group. Up to 2 reservations can be made at 1 time.

Library Closed July 4

Century College Library will be closed on July 4 for Independence Day.

Films on Demand Adds New Titles

Take a look at the new titles added recently to Films on Demand, our streamed video resource. To get to Films on Demand, go to the Articles, Databases, and More tab on the library's home page, choose the Databases A-Z list, and select Films on Demand.

Explore Minnesota!

Planning a Minnesota getaway this summer? The library display case for June is featuring a wonderful selection of books on Minnesota destinations. Get some great ideas for your trip with books highlighting parks and forests, trails, fishing, canoeing, small towns, resorts and even county fairs. Whether you’re heading for the cabin, the wild north, the river bluffs, or the prairie we have what you’re looking for to inspire you to explore our beautiful state.

DVDs in the Library

On Tuesday, May 31st new DVDs will be available for check out in the library. New titles include 127 Hours, Black Swan, Burlesque, Country Strong, Hereafter, Inception, Karate Kid, Little Fockers, Tangled, Tron, and lots more! Stop by the library and pick up a summer movie!

Summer Hours Begin May 23

We will switch to a summer schedule on Monday, May 23. The Library will be open Monday - Thursday, 7:30 am to 8:00 pm.

Special Hours, Summer Hours

The library will be closed on Saturday, May 14.

From May 16 - 19, we will be open 7:30 am - 4:00 pm. We will be closed Friday and Saturday, May 20 - 21.

Summer Hours Begin May 23:

Monday - Thursday, 7:30 am - 8:00 pm

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, CLOSED

Mango Languages

The Student Tech Fee is funding access to Mango Languages, a learning tool for learning a different language. Mango has many languages, including popular ones like Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese, German, Mandarin Chinese, Greek, Italian, Russian, Arabic, and more. It also has English for speakers of many foreign languages and is fairly user-friendly. Try it now!

You can access Mango through the library web site from our Databases A-Z list and the Databases by Subject page. The Century community can use it off campus, but you will need to use the barcode from the back of your ID as your login and your last name as your password. Users will also probably want to sign up for a free account that can track their progress.

If you plan to travel or just want to increase your skills, sign up for a free account and start today.

More E-books

The Century Library is incorporating the collection of the recently closed Fire/EMS/Safety Library. This collection included over 5,000 Netlibrary ebooks transferred directly into Century's library catalog. Century's Netlibrary ebook collection now numbers over 11,000 items.

To find ebooks in Century's catalog, go to the Library web page, http://www.century.edu/library/, use the search box under the Books & More tab to search for your topic. On the left side, under Collection, click on Internet Resource to limit to ebooks or online resources.

To see a list of all Netlibrary books in Century's collection, search the catalog for the word "Netlibrary". The link to the etext will either be in the list of titles, or available after you click on the title of a specific book. You can view the book online, but many Netlibrary ebooks are in PDF format and can be downloaded to an ereader device.

National Library Week Drawing Winners

We're pleased to announce the winners of our National Library Week drawing. Erick Wanjuki, Razaq Adedayo, and Chueye Kong each won a gift certificate for the Century Bookstore. Thanks to everyone for participating in National Library Week activities!

March 2011 New Books list

The March 2011 New Books list is available on the Library's What's New page at
http://www.century.edu/files/library/newbooksmarch.pdf.

National Library Week is April 10-16

Come celebrate National Library Week April 10 - 16 at the Century College Library!

• Come to the library to check out our staff picks
• Enter our drawing to win one of three Century Bookstore gift certificates
• Enjoy an audiobook or some popular reading
• Find the latest releases on DVD
• Like us on Facebook
• Follow our Twitter feed: CenturyCollLib

Fire/EMS/Safety Center Collection Comes to Century

The Century College Library is the new home of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities’ Fire/EMS/ Safety Center Library collection.

The collection will support Century's EMS, fire, law enforcement and criminal justice programs, and will also be available to users throughout Minnesota via Interlibrary Loan. You can view the collection by going to the Century College library page and searching the catalog for Fire/EMS/Safety. Patrons seeking help in searching this collection may contact the Century Library Reference Desk at 651.747.4004.

For more information, see this April 1, 2011 press release.

National Poetry Month Featuring Billy Collins

April is National Poetry Month. The library display case is featuring the works of Billy Collins, “the most popular poet in America” who will be appearing at Century this month. A variety of poetry books are also showcased including titles by Jim Coppoc, an award-winning writer, teacher, and performer who will read from his work during the Visiting Poets event on campus. National Poetry month was created to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. The National Theme for 2011 is “Bright Objects Hypnotize the Mind”. Increase your awareness and appreciation of poetry this month in the library!

February 2011 New Books List

The February 2011 New Books list is available on the Library's What's New page at
http://www.century.edu/library/whatsnew.aspx.

March is Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month! The library display case is featuring books on notable American women. The 2011 theme, “Our History Is Our Strength,” pays tribute to women’s tenacity, courage and creativity over the centuries. Take a look at the collage of famous women and see how many you recognize and if you know why they are famous. Prominent women from Minnesota are also featured. Explore women who changed history and the world this month in the library!

Spring Break Hours

The Century College Library will be open from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm from March 7 - 11 during spring break. We will be closed on Saturday, March 12.

Hope your spring break is enjoyable!

Library Closed February 24

The Century College Library will be closed Thursday, February 24, for a staff development day.

Films on Demand Adds New Titles

Take a look at the new titles added recently to Films on Demand, our streamed video resource. To get to Films on Demand, go to the Articles, Databases, and More tab on the library's home page, choose the Databases A-Z list, and select Films on Demand.

Library Closed February 19-21

The Century College Library will be closed February 19-21 for the Presidents' Day holiday.

Online Resources for Black History Month

Gale is offering free online resources in honor of Black History Month. Our library also subscribes to Oxford's African American Studies Center, which includes articles, images, and primary source materials on the African American experience. They have recently added more biographies and primary documents on the Underground Railroad.

Black History Month

February is Black History Month. This year’s national theme is African Americans and the Civil War. This month African American men and women are honored who courageously fought for freedom and equality in the United States during the 1860’s and for the vital role they played in the Civil War. The library display case is filled with books that can be checked out on this significant time period in United States history.

New A&E Titles in Films on Demand

This month, Films Media Group has added new titles from A&E to Films On Demand. Titles include programs from the A&E series Biography, Declassified, Evolve, Great Blunders of the 20th Century, How the Earth Was Made, In Search of History, Investigative Reports, The Korean War, Save Our History, 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America, The Universe, World War II in HD, and A&E Specials that revisit important events and experiences from the annals of history.

To see a list of new titles, go to Films on Demand and click on left sidebar link to Recently Added Videos.

New Look for Web Site

The library home page has many new features to help students and faculty use library resources:

• Tabbed interface for Books, Articles, and Video
• Video tab has a search box for our physical video collection AND a search box for Films on Demand
• Patron Info is now on the left side and is called “Your Library Account”
• Ask A Librarian box on the right with phone, email and texting options
  
• New pages for Library Instruction, Citation Styles, Mobile Access to Library Resources and Services for Faculty.
• New Databases by Subject page on the Articles tab, and Databases A-Z list is now a true A-Z list, moving the EBSCO and Gale databases out to where they belong alphabetically. You can still go to EBSCO or Gale in the list to cross search EBSCO or Gale databases.

We hope these changes make using the library easier. Please email any comments or suggestions to askalibrarian@century.edu.

Interested in Photography?

The library display case for January is featuring a variety of photography books. Whether photography is a hobby or a profession, we have great books to help improve your skills. Take better pictures and improve the quality of your photos with helpful tips and techniques.

Many photography styles are featured including digital, black and white, nature, action, and more.

A collection of famous photographs is also included in the display.

Reference Collection Move

In order to better serve students, we've moved the Reference Collection to be right behind the Reference Desk, visible when you enter the library. The popular fiction and audiobooks are now located near the fireplace, perfect for a cozy break. Back issues of periodicals are now located on the low shelves near the south facing windows where the Reference Collection used to be.

We hope that these changes will make the collection easier for everyone to use.