Learn how to use Microsoft Office for the first time or increase your current skill-level!  Learning Express Library recently added streaming videos that demonstrate how to use Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Publisher, and many other commonly used productivity programs.  Each program is covered at three levels: basic, intermediate, and advanced.

Learning Express Library can normally be found in the Research Databases section of our website.  Also, make sure to check-out the hundreds of test-prep eBooks available for download in PDF format.

When? Wednesday, March 24th — 10:00a – 11:30a
Where? Central Campus, Tate Hall (in the Overcash Building)
Watch the trailer at the official website.

It’s under our feet and under our fingernails, but what is it? And how did it get there? Inspired by William Bryant Logan’s acclaimed book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, find out how industrial farming, mining, and urban development have led us toward cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods, and climate change. Dirt is a part of everything we eat, drink, and breathe. Which is why we should stop treating it like, well… dirt. Visit the official movie website for more info.

The 1 hour film will be followed by a 30 minute discussion with Stewart Espey, Senior Environmental Specialist for Mecklenburg County. Also, free snacks and door prizes will be provided.

Event sponsored by: CPCC Libraries, The Diversity Committee, and Mobilize.org.

The ANTS program at Levine campus is a new support group for adult and non-traditional students. The program was recently the topic of an article in the Charlotte Observer. If you are interested in the services and support offered through ANTS contact Barry Gilmore.

email: barry.gilmore@cpcc.edu
tel:704-330-4252

CPCC Students, Faculty and Staff can use any computer with a broadband internet connection to access nearly 250 PBS television programs. Included are full-length documentaries on baseball and the Civil War from acclaimed director Ken Burns, episodes of Frontline, The American Experience, and much more!

Your computer must have Flash Player 9.0 or higher installed. Flash Player is free and is available for download here.

These videos are part of the PBS Video Collection, brought to you by NCLIVE.  This resource can normally be found in the Research Databases section of our website.

318 new eBooks added to our Library collection through MyiLibrary!

This new e-collection covers a multitude of subject areas, with an abundance of books for learning any language you can imagine. This resource can normally be found in the Research Databases section of our website. Individual books in this collection have also been included in the Library Catalog.

This collection was purchased by NC LIVE with a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the State Library of North Carolina.

Below is a sample of some of the titles:

• Chinese Phrases for Dummies
• Cliffsnotes, Greek Classics
• Companion to Contemporary Art Since 1945, A. Blackwell Companions to Art History.
• Fast Facts: Osteoarthritis
• FBI Career Guide: Inside Information on Getting Chosen for and Succeding in One of the Toughest, Most Prestigious Jobs in the World
• Filmmaking for Dummies
• Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
• Knitting, Visual Quick Tips
• Meaning of Relativity (Einstein, Albert)
• Music Composition for Dummies
• Practical Crime Scene Analysis and Reconstruction
• Slavery in the South: A State-By-State History
• Strategies for Sustainable Architecture
• Teach Yourself Visually: Jewelry Making & Beading
• Tempest, The. the Annotated Shakespeare

Were the holidays hard on your wallet? Or maybe it is one of your New Year’s Resolutions to get a better hold on your finances…

Well, take a look at CPCC Library’s Delicious page for some assistance with all things Personal Finance!

All of these websites are listed on our Delicious page under the Personal_Finance tag.

Get a general overview of personal money management on the Practical Money Skills for Life page. “Visa has partnered with leading consumer advocates, educators, and financial institutions to create the Practical Money Skills program.” In the Educators tab there are free lesson plans for all age groups- also available are several free downloadable PDFs and brochures on various topics in the Resources tab. As well as several very useful calculators to calculate mortgages, calculate how to budget for gift giving, even a calculator to determine how much you need to save for how long to have a million dollars.

Need to create a budget? From the very straightforward one on the Kiplinger’s page to budgeting tools that link to your online banking accounts. We have bookmarked several web pages that offer budgeting tools.

And whether you want to use an online budgeting form or print one out- there are several pages to choose from. Print out a free budget form from PearBudget or let Wesabe keep track of all your incomes and expenditures for you online. All of these are located in the Personal_Finance or under the Budget tag.

Do you learn better by watching a video? Take a look at the MonkeySee site. They offer videos on several relevant personal finance topics, from coupon use to estate planning.

Want a plan for financial fitness boiled down to ten steps? Visit the Wellness Council of America’s page which offers “10 steps to Financial Wellness”. It also includes a Debt-to-Income ratio formula.

Whatever your plans and hopes are for 2010 your CPCC Library is here to help! Happy New Year and we look forward to assisting you this year and beyond!

Delicious is living up to its name this month! Take a look at our newly tagged websites. It is food and fun galore.

Will you be cooking a turkey during the holiday season?

The University of Illinois Extension’s Turkey for the Holidays page offers some Turkey cooking techniques, Turkey Safety, Turkey fun facts, and perfect side dishes for your turkey feast. Cooks, teachers, aspiring early childhood educators, parents and more will find their Turkey Fun section something to gobble about- lots of useful links to activities and information for kids and the young at heart. Find this page in the Current_Interest tag or under Cooking.

Make your holiday and everyday safe by checking out our web selections under the Food_Safety tag. Websites about proper food storage and food handling as well as a link to FoodSafety.gov which not only offers food safety tips and information but provides alerts to food recalls. The link to the USDA food handling sheets provides information about freezing and storing food- great information for saving leftovers.

How about some gift buying help? The Federal Trade Commission offers tips on buying gift cards as well as contact numbers for gift cards problems or complaints. Find this page under our Current_Interest tag.

Want to know the holiday numbers? The Census Bureau gives a rundown of the 2009 Holiday season on their Facts for Features page. Find this page in Current_Interest as well as in Statistics.

Want to “green” your holidays this year? Check out the fantastic tips from the Sierra Club, making your wrapping paper, pesticide free trees and more. Find this page in several places: Current_Interest, Holidays, and Sustainability.

Learn about Christmas traditions from around the world or get some information on other Holidays of Light- take a look at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Technology’s page. Find it under Holidays, Current_Interest, Holiday_History or the Culture tag.

Hope you have a terrific Winter Break and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Due to a sharp decrease in usage for the open lab in LR205 and an increase in library instruction requests, the LR 205 Library Instruction Classroom will not be available as an academic only computer lab beginning with the Spring 2010 semester.

Computers are available on the 1st and 4th floors of the library. Also, a complete list of computer labs is available at the reference desk and online.

Next time you stop by the Library at Central Campus take a moment to pause at the information kiosk and enjoy the pictures of our library staff of the month: Amy Burns, Jonathan Carter, and Steve Osler. We have included one comment about each staff member below, but stop by in-person to find out other things that distinguished them for the honor to be nominated by their colleagues. Join us in congratulating them!

• Amy Burns – “Never too busy to come to the rescue when there’s a problem, and always has an answer”
• Jonathan Carter – “Goes above and beyond his job description”
• Steve Osler – “Innovative, productive, technologically savvy, and knowledgeable”

Did you know you can access the encyclopedia World Book Online through the Reference subject area in the Research Databases section of our website?

Encyclopedias can be an invaluable starting point for finding information about a particular topic. For example, let’s say you are writing about how family-life has changed over time for a sociology class. Using the article in World Book titled “Family” will allow you to learn about changes in the family-unit from ancient times through today in just a few pages, but don’t stop after reading the encyclopedia article! From there, the specific topics covered in the article can be used to search for more in-depth information in books and articles.

Wikipedia can be used in the same fashion. When using Wikipedia the citations at the end of each article are particularly useful for finding more information on the topic. Just make sure you check with your instructor about what types of resources are appropriate for your assignment.