Are You Listening?!

Ever Think About the Everyday Products You Use?

At College Hour (12 to 1 p.m.), this Tuesday on March 11, come to the Library to hear investigative journalist and author, Mark Schapiro talk about the disturbing toxic chemicals that you may be exposed everyday and what you could do about it. Refreshements will be available.

This event is sponsored by the ASCC and the Aspire Program.

Trial Databases at the Library

From time to time, the Library hosts trials of database products that we are considering for possible future subscriptions. For the Spring, we are looking at the following products:

Ebrary
EBSCOhost Literary Reference Center
EBSCOhost Vocational Studies Premier
Biography Reference Bank
ProQuest Historical New York Times

to access these databases go to: http://www.chabotcollege.edu/Library/abby/TrialDatabases.htm

Be sure to read the directions. For most of these products, you still get in by using your username and password. ProQuest Historical New York Times is ONLY available on campus. Take note of the deadline dates. Ebrary's Trial concludes on March 20, 2008, for example. In the coming days, there will be a post that will introduce the database and give you some insight why we are considering it, and we would like to hear from YOU as to why you think it should be part of the regular collection.

Contemporary Reading Shelves for this Month: Women's History

This month Chabot Library honors Women's History Month. Read key works of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry by prominent woman authors, and also read key books that focus on key events in women's history. Books are either by or about prominent women such as Margaret Sanger, Barbara Jordan, Amy Tan, Alice Walker, and more!

These books are featured on our Contemporary Reading shelves which are right behind the main desk.

The Contemporary Reading shelves highlight books for those of you who are simply looking for something to read.

During this month, if you find a book by or about a renowned woman and you do not find it on the shelf, be sure to also check the Contemporary Reading shelves--it may be temporarily placed there, just for this month. If you need help finding a book, always see a librarian on the left side of the main desk.

Order New AV Materials Now!!!

Time is running out to place your AV requests for new DVDs, CDs, models, or any other type of media that you use in your classrooms. Please email either Debbie Soares, dsoares@chabotcollege.edu or Tom Hugel, thugel@chabotcollege.edu with your requests.

REMINDER: All videorecordings need to be either closed captioned or subtitled in English.

Contemporary Reading Shelves for this Month: Black History Month

This month, the Library is proud to have its contemporary reading shelves honor Black History month. Read key nonfictional, fictional, and works of poetry by renowned African Americans such as Martin Luther King, Toni Morrison, Barak Obama, Bell Hooks, Cornel West, Sister Souljah, Malcolm X, Alice Walker and more.

These books are featured on our Contemporary Reading shelves which are right behind the main desk.

The Contemporary Reading shelves highlight books for those of you who are simply looking for something to read.

During this month, if you find a book by a renowned African American and you do not find it on the shelf, be sure to also check the Contemporary Reading shelves--it may be temporarily placed there, just for this month. If you need help finding a book, always see a librarian on the left side of the main desk.

Links to California Election Returns

are now up on our Elections page at: http://www.chabotcollege.edu/Library/onlineref/elections.html

They include links to:

California Election Returns

Alameda County Election Returns

and current Delegate Counts for Democratic and Republican Candidates seeeking their party's nomination.

Please remember that in California, we have another primary election on June 3. This election will include primaries for U.S. House and state legislators, as well as state propositions. If you aren't or will have moved before that date, please remember to register or re-register to vote.

Welcome to Spring!

The Library welcomes everyone to a new semester. As you start getting your library research assignments, please remember that librarians are available to help you at the reference desk. We are always happy to teach you how to use the databases, the Library Catalog, how to search the Web effectively, and other methods to research.

Meanwhile, we have new announcements:

1. The Library's hours have changed this semester. Please make it a point to plan your visits to the Library, the Student Computer Lab, and WRAC Center with these new hours in mind.

2. The Library is proud to announce we have two new staff members: Thomas Hugel is our Audio-Visual library tech person and Lia Thomas is a new adjunct (part-time) librarian.

3. As promised last summer, the new Literature Resource Center interface is now live. We hope that the new interface will be an improvement to those of you who are seeking for literary criticisms or biographical information on authors. If you have questions about the new interface, please come to the reference desk and a librarian will show you how to use it.

4. The Student Computer Lab has updated and gotten more software! The computers now have both Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007, and other updated programs. Look at the Student Computer Lab page for more information. As a reminder, you no longer need to show and leave your Student ID card to use the Lab. Just sit at an available computer, and type in your User ID number.

5. Searchpath: The new Library Online Tutorial--some of you taking certain Distance Education courses may already be using it for your classes, but the Library is proud to announce the launching of its new online, interactive tutorial: Searchpath. This tutorial includes lessons on the types of resources, how to plan your research, how to find books in the Library Catalog, and articles in the Library subscription databases, how to search and effectively evaluate information found on the Web, and how to cite resources responsibly. We encourage you to use the tutorial, and if you have any questions about it, please see us at the reference desk!

REMINDERS: Wireless access is available in the Library. There is no username/password to get access. Just turn on your wireless ready laptop and go online. We do ask that you refrain from playing any games or movies, however as high use bandwidth does effect the entire wireless network.

Library's Hours in the Future

After this Friday, when we close at 2, we will be closed until Tuesday, January 22nd. Please return your books before Friday, December 21 to avoid any overdue fees. If you need to return a book during break, Library staff will accept books and overdue payments on Mondays through Thursdays, starting on January 2nd. To find times on those days when you can do so, please call (510) 723-7513.

The Hours starting in the Spring semester will be the following:

Spring Hours (NOTICE CHANGE IN HOURS):

Open-- Mondays through Thursdays 8:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Fridays 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Thursday, February 14 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Closed-- Saturdays and Sundays
Thursday, February 14 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Friday, February 15 (President's Day Weekend)
Monday, February 18 (President's Day)
Week of March 24-28 (Spring Break)
Monday, May 26 (Memorial Day)

The Library wishes you a wonderful Holidays season and we look forward to seeing you in 2008!

Power Plants Breaking News Update: Join your Chabot Professors to Make Your Voice Heard on Monday, December 17!

PowerPlants Breaking News Update: Chabot Representatives Making Case on Monday, December 17

SHOW THE ENERGY COMMISSION THAT YOU CARE! SUPPORT THE HEALTH OF YOUR COMMUNITY!

Monday, December 17 AT Hayward City Hall, the California Energy Commission will hear our case in opposition to the proposed siting of the Eastshore Power Plant. WHERE:
HAYWARD CITY HALL CHAMBERS
777 B Street

WHEN:
Monday
December 17, 2007
10 AM to 1 PM (Testimony)
2:30 PM to 5 PM(Testimony)

6 PM -8 PM (Public Comment)

Susan Sperling's Testimony Before the California Energy Commission
To be given on December 17 at Hayward City Hall Chambers

As The Semester is Winding Down, It's Time for Some Activism!

Update: Information on Proposition 92 for this Thursday's rally is up.

Update: NEW INFORMATION ON THE POWERPLANT HEARINGS--Chabot will be making its voice this Monday!

Yes, Finals are around the corner. But sometimes it is important to speak up as a student and demand the best for your education and your personal/environmental health. Coming up there are two very important activities where instead of chatting with your friends on Facebook or MySpace, you may want to head down to the Cesar Chavez Court at noon on Thursday, December 13 or to the Hayward City Chambers on Monday or Tuesday, December 17 and 18 and make your voice heard.

What's happening at the Cesar Chavez Court on Thursday?

There will be a rally to provide information and support for Proposition 92, the Community Colleges initiative. Do you want more stable funding for your college? Would you like a lower cost per unit with firmer controls that keep the legislature from raising your tuition rates? Proposition 92 will do those things. Some of your friends who were students in 2003-2004 can tell you how their tuition rates more than doubled due to two cost increases within a one year period! Your tuition will drop to $15 a unit and the California budget will provide firm guarantees of funding each year JUST for community colleges. If you support those ideas and want to help, be sure to attend the rally on Thursday.

What is going on with the Power Plants? How come we as residents, students, and workers of this area in Hayward were not informed? To get up to speed as to what this is about, be sure to read the sites on our Power Plants in Hayward page. The construction of two Power Plants near Chabot will have an effect on our environment and could have effects in the long term on people's health. There will be two hearings at the Hayward City Chambers on Monday, December 18 and Tuesday, December 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30-5:00 p.m. There is also an online petition regarding the Power Plants (Note: the energy produced from both Power Plants will go to the Peninsula and not to the East Bay). If you are against the construction of the Power Plants, let your voice be heard. The ASCC (Associated Students of Chabot College) have a petition online. Sign it to have your voice be heard.

Finally, for everyone who cares about their education and their health, please remember to vote. The next election is already LESS than two months away. It will be the Presidential Primaries and if you participate you will already be giving your voice as to who you want to be President next year. Registration forms are available online (though you will still have a filled out form mailed to you so that the State can receive your signature. The deadline to register is January 22, 2008. We will have a new President starting in January, 2009. Study up on the candidates and make your selection. To find what will be on your vote go to smartvoter.org

The Library will be revamping its Elections page soon. It should be launched by late January. Stay tuned!

Don't Let Someone Phish For your Virtual Wallet!

So you get an Email claiming to be from Ebay saying that someone is trying to fraudulently use your account and that you need to click on a link to an online form and reput your information.

Watch out! The fraud may be coming from the Email itself, where you will go to a phony online form that is NOT from Ebay and you will be entering personal, sensitive information such as Social Security Numbers, Credit Card numbers, or checking account numbers. Once those are submitted, someone then has your information and you could be a victim of identity theft!

This act is called "Phishing"--which means "a scam by which an e-mail user is duped into revealing personal or confidential information which the scammer can use illicitly" (Meriam-Webster Online Dictionary).

How can you protect yourself?

First of all--ask if email is an appropriate place to solicit funds? Government entities like the IRS cannot legally contact you by Email. Companies like Ebay and AOL have certain procedures on how to handle fraud that will not arrive to you as a normal Email. Charities usually use regular paper mail. In general, in most cases, you will be notified by other means than Email such as secure mail or a phone line.

Second of all--PAY ATTENTION to the URL of the form! Even if the email you receive may tell you to go to www.ebay.com, take your mouse on that link and look at the URL listed below your browser to see if it really takes you to the site it claims. Most often the forms will have a completely different web address.

When and if you do receive such a Email, forward it to your Internet Service Provider (AOL, Comcast, etc.) Notifying them about such Emails will allow the companies to add the author to their Spam filter, as well as forward it to appropriate police or other security entities.

In general, if you receive Emails such as these, treat them as Spam. Delete them immediately. If there are issues related to your account, etc. the company will contact you by other means.

For more information on Phishing, go to:

How Stuff Works: Phishing: http://money.howstuffworks.com/phishing.htm

Article: Why Phishing Works: http://repositories.cdlib.org/iber/xlab/XL06-013/

Have an Office 2007 or Microsoft Works File That Cannot Be Opened? Introducing Zamzar . . .

Sometimes the documents we are working at from home may be too new or too different from the programs operating on campus. We may mean well to save files properly to the right format (such as Office 2003) but we forget. And now here we are on campus, and we want to work on and later print our finished homework assignments. What do we do?

As mentioned before last summer, we are now in a Web 2.0 environment. You need to convert a file so it will work with a computer on campus? Go to a site to do it for free!

Introducing Zamzar. Say goodbye to clogging up your hard drive at home with bunches of file converters. And don't feel at loss when you're using public computers such as those on campus where you can't download converters. At http://zamzar.com you can quickly convert your files within minutes and then get back to working on your assignments.

If you need any assistance, a librarian will be happy to show you how to do it (though remember, you cannot do this from our reference area computers--they do not read flash drives or disks).