Extended hours for Finals Week!

 

Another new school year is upon us!  We've had some changes over the summer with the biggest change being the newly formed Learning Commons. 

Yes!  Your campus libraries and Student Success Centers have joined together to become the Learning Commons.  You probably won't see much difference in the service structure this year, but in the next couple of years we will combine spaces...it's going to be amazing!

As for now, your campus library is marching on, business as normal.  We can't wait to see your smiling faces.  Stop in and grab a cup of coffee, pick up a daily newspaper or use the computer. 

We're glad you're here!

End of the Semester Extended Hours

Love Your Campus Library!

 

February is Love Your Library Month! 

Check out your campus library for special displays and different events. 

End of the Semester Extended Hours

Where did this semester go?  See below for the end of the semester library hours.  We're open late to accomodate your study needs!

We're Glad You're Here!

By this time, we're settled comfortably into the 2015-2016 academic year!  We have worked hard over the summer to improve your campus libraries, if you have haven't had the chance to stop by and take a look, please do!  As a reminder campus libraries are open the following hours:

Monday - Thursday:  7:30am - 9:30pm

Friday:  7:30am - 4:30pm

Saturday:  Closed

Sunday:  5:00 - 9:30pm

We've added some new faces to our staffing lineup.  Please welcome our newest staff members, William and Bert.  William is working days in McCook and Bert is working evenings in North Platte.

New to both campuses are a charging station and standing print station. If your phone or tablet needs a recharge, stop by your campus library!  Our charging stations accomodate a number of different devices. 

We've also added a stand alone print station for those individuals who need to quickly print items before class.  There's no waiting for a computer with this station - print what you need and head on your way.  Of course, we invite you to stay awhile when you have time using one of our desktop computers. 

We're off to a great start and hope you are too!    

It's Summer and Your Campus Library is Open!

We're busy in the campus libraries this summer - but we're open for business!  Your campus library is open Monday through Friday, 8:00am-4:00pm . 

We're happy to check out books, dvd's, CD's and magazines.  Stop in and see the new materials we've ordered!

Finals Week is Near!

Can you believe the end of the semester is right around the corner?  As always, your campus library will have extended hours beginning this week.

 

New this year, your campus library will have games and puzzles available for students.  You've studied hard, take a break and relax by putting together a puzzle or playing a game of Scrabble.  

You deserve it!

Spring Break Hours

Spring Break is right around the corner!  Your campus library will have different hours during that week.

Don't forget the libraries are closed on the following upcoming Sunday evenings:  March 22nd, March 29th and April 5th. 

LibGuides at Your Library!

If you've had any classroom library instruction, then you've heard us talk about LibGuides.  LibGuides are created in house and contain information specifically for Mid-Plains Community College Students.

You'll find helpful tutorials that show you how to access the library webpage and databases, information regarding internet research and copyright and much, much more! 

We're fielding a lot of questions regarding citations and a lot of students have requested a centralized location on the internet to find the different citation styles and formats.

Your LibGuides has it just for you!  The Citation Guide has MLA, APA, CSE and Chicago formatting styles available for reference and we also provide links to the various resources who specialize in that information. 

Check out YOUR LibGuides!

Spring Semester 2015

The new spring semester is right around the corner!  For those returning, welcome back!  For those who are new, welcome to campus! 

We have changed our hours slightly to better accomodate students.  The von-Riesen Library in McCook and the Learning Resource Center in North Platte have the following hours:

Monday - Thursday:  7:30am-9:30pm

Friday:  7:30-4:30pm

Saturday:  Closed

Sunday:  5:00pm-9:30pm 

We've added several new faces to our library staff, please stop in and say hi to Ronnie, Tara and our work study student, Deanna in North Platte.  

McCook has a new staff member, Jasmine!  

Stop in your campus library and see what they have to offer!

Holiday and Finals Week Hours

The holidays are quickly approaching...and with the holidays soon follows Finals Week!

 

Please note library hours for the Thanksgiving Holiday

November 24 & 25:  7:30am-9:30pm
November 26:  7:30am-3:00pm
November 27 - 30:  Closed

We will resume normal hours on December 1st.

We've also adjusted our hours when it becomes closer to finals week.  Please see the poster below.

As always, if you have any questions, please stop in or call your campus library.  

October is Information Literacy Month

 

In September, Governor Dave Heineman proclaimed October as Nebraska Infomation Literacy Month, thanks to the work of several special library-minded individuals.  

That proclamation ties in perfectly with the National Information Literacy Awareness month during the month of October.  Information is at the tips of our fingertips, and this month we want to celebrate the ability to find, access and evaluate the infomation used every day.  It is our responsibility to use this information in an ethical manner. 

National Information Literacy Awareness Month starts in your library.  Stop in your campus library  for more information. 

New, New, New @ Your Campus Library!

This summer campus libraries ordered new books, this week we'll feature a couple of new books from each library.  If you are interested in any of this books, please stop in your library today!

New at the Learning Resource Center:

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war. 

Bullying Solutions: Learn to Overcome from Real Case Studies by Michael Carpenter

It has been said that “knowledge is power.” In instances of bullying, knowledge of how others dealt with the problem can be an empowering tool for someone in a similar situation. Bullying Solutions compiles 40 real-life examples of various types of bullying and explores how they were confronted. These are not scientific case studies, but rather detailed illustrations of actual events. Some have a good outcome, others were not resolved successfully. By reviewing the actions of parents, school administrators, children, and others involved in the bullying cases, readers will benefit from the “lessons learned” from the mistakes of others in handling or even recognizing a bullying problem.

The Fault in our Stars by John Green
 

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Built In Social:  Esssential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business by Jeff Korhan

Marketing today is driven by the customer. The old mindset was finding customers for your products and services. The new one is collaborating with the customers whose trust you have earned to develop better products and services for them. Businesses that succeed today acknowledge that they are in shared relationships with customers, employees, and other influencers in the community—even competitors. Built-In Social provides a step-by-step approach to building a business channel that aligns your business with its ideal customers and ensures your organization's continued relevance and success.

New at von Riesen:

Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fueling Our Modern Plagues by Martin J. Blaser

A critically important and startling look at the harmful effects of overusing antibiotics, from the field's leading expert.  Tracing one scientist’s journey toward understanding the crucial importance of the microbiome, this revolutionary book will take readers to the forefront of trail-blazing research while revealing the damage that overuse of antibiotics is doing to our health: contributing to the rise of obesity, asthma, diabetes, and certain forms of cancer. In Missing Microbes, Dr. Martin Blaser invites us into the wilds of the human microbiome where for hundreds of thousands of years bacterial and human cells have existed in a peaceful symbiosis that is responsible for the health and equilibrium of our body. Now, this invisible eden is being irrevocably damaged by some of our most revered medical advances—antibiotics—threatening the extinction of our irreplaceable microbes with terrible health consequences. Taking us into both the lab and deep into the fields where these troubling effects can be witnessed firsthand, Blaser not only provides cutting edge evidence for the adverse effects of antibiotics, he tells us what we can do to avoid even more catastrophic health problems in the future. 

 The Closer by Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera, the man who intimidated thousands of batters merely by opening a bullpen door, began his incredible journey as the son of a poor Panamanian fisherman. When first scouted by the Yankees, he didn't even own his own glove. He thought he might make a good mechanic. When discovered, he had never flown in an airplane, had never heard of Babe Ruth, spoke no English, and couldn't imagine Tampa, the city where he was headed to begin a career that would become one of baseball's most iconic. What he did know: that he loved his family and his then girlfriend, Clara, that he could trust in the Lord to guide him, and that he could throw a baseball exactly where he wanted to, every time. With astonishing candor, Rivera tells the story of the championships, the bosses (including The Boss), the rivalries, and the struggles of being a Latino baseball player in the United States and of maintaining Christian values in professional athletics. The thirteen-time All-Star discusses his drive to win; the secrets behind his legendary composure; the story of how he discovered his cut fastball; the untold, pitch-by-pitch account of the ninth inning of Game 7 in the 2001 World Series; and why the lowest moment of his career became one of his greatest blessings.  In The Closer, Rivera takes readers into the Yankee clubhouse, where his teammates are his brothers. But he also takes us on that jog from the bullpen to the mound, where the game -- or the season -- rests squarely on his shoulders. We come to understand the laserlike focus that is his hallmark, and how his faith and his family kept his feet firmly on the pitching rubber. Many of the tools he used so consistently and gracefully came from what was inside him for a very long time -- his deep passion for life; his enduring commitment to Clara, whom he met in kindergarten; and his innate sense for getting out of a jam. When Rivera retired, the whole world watched -- and cheered. In The Closer, we come to an even greater appreciation of a legend built from the ground up.

I Wasn't Strong Like This When I Started Out:  True Stories of Becoming a Nurse by Lee Gutkind
 

This collection of true narratives reflects the dynamism and diversity of nurses, who provide the first vital line of patient care. Here, nurses remember their first “sticks,” first births, and first deaths, and reflect on what gets them though long, demanding shifts, and keeps them in the profession. The stories reveal many voices from nurses at different stages of their careers: One nurse-in-training longs to be trusted with more “important” procedures, while another questions her ability to care for nursing home residents. An efficient young emergency room nurse finds his life and career irrevocably changed by a car accident. A nurse practitioner wonders whether she has violated professional boundaries in her care for a homeless man with AIDS, and a home care case manager is the sole attendee at a funeral for one of her patients. What connects these stories is the passion and strength of the writers, who struggle against burnout and bureaucracy to serve their patients with skill, empathy, and strength. 

A First-Rate Madness:  Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness by Nassir Ghaemi

In A First-Rate Madness, Nassir Ghaemi, director of the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center, offers a myth-shattering exploration of the powerful connections between mood illnesses (depression and bipolar disorder) and leadership. He sets forth a controversial, compelling thesis: the very qualities that mark those with mood disorders—creativity, resilience, empathy, and realism—also make for the best leaders in times of crisis. From the importance of the “depressive realism” and creativity of mentally ill or mentally abnormal figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Martin Luther King, Jr., to the lackluster leadership of “mentally normal” men such as Neville Chamberlain, George W. Bush, and Tony Blair, A First-Rate Madness overturns many of our most cherished perceptions about greatness and the mind and provides a unique insight for understanding our current political leaders and presidential candidates going into the next election season.

Remember, if your campus library doesn't have a copy of a book you want they will find it for you!  Just ask!

A MINION Reasons to Love the Library!

This week we welcome back our faculty!  As you may have guessed, we're really excited!



Even though classes haven't started, we've been busy all summer and are giving it our all for the final push this week to fully prepare for students next week.

Whether you are a new student or are returning, we're happy you are here!  Below, you will find a list of items or services available at your campus library:

• Sudent ID Card
• Study Areas
• Books
• Magazines
• Nursing Library
• Newspapers
• Comfy Seating
• Free InterLibrary Loan
• Computers
• Copy - Scan - Print
• COFFEE
• A Friendly Staff
• Databases

Please stop in and say hi!  We're really excited to kick off the semester!

New Library Catalog

This month we've been busy!  Our new library catalog was unveiled on July 14.  We've spent the last few weeks tweaking and perfecting our catalog gearing up for the fall semester. 

Library staff are more than happy to provide one-on-one library instruction regarding our new catalog.  Simply call your campus library to set up a time. 

Heads up!  August 1st the student login will change from the 5 digit student ID number to the CampusWeb ID.  If you have any issues logging on, again, please contact your campus library. 

Omaha World Herald

We're excited to announce that the Omaha World Herald is available at your campus library! 

Don't worry, we still have your other sources for daily news including the McCook Gazette, North Platte Telegraph and North Platte Bulletin.

Stop in and check out the local news today!

2014 One Book One Nebraska

One Book One Nebraska is a statewide reading program that features one book either about Nebraska or by a Nebraska author. 

This year, the book is Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen by Bob Greene. 

In search of "the best America there ever was," bestselling author and syndicated columnist Bob Greene finds it in a small Nebraska town few people pass through today -- a town where Greene discovers the echoes of the most touching love story imaginable: a love story between a country and its sons.North Platte, Nebraska, is as isolated as a small town can be, a solitary outpost in the vast midwestern plains, hours from the state's urban centers of Omaha and Lincoln. But from Christmas Day 1941 to the end of World War II, a miracle happened there.During the war, American soldiers from every city and walk of life rolled through North Platte on troop trains, en route to their ultimate destinations in Europe and the Pacific. The tiny town, wanting to offer the servicemen warmth and support, transformed its modest railroad depot into the North Platte Canteen -- a place where soldiers could enjoy coffee, music, home-cooked food, magazines, and convivial, friendly conversation during a stopover that lasted only a few minutes. It was a haven for a never-ending stream of weary, homesick military personnel that provided them with the encouragement they needed to help them through the difficult times ahead.Every day of the year, every day of the war, the Canteen -- staffed and funded entirely by local volunteers -- was open from 5 A.M. until the last troop train of the day pulled away after midnight. Astonishingly, this remote plains community of only twelve thousand people provided welcoming words, friendship, and baskets of food and treats to more than six million GIs by the time the war ended.

The MPCC Campus libraries have copies of the 2014 One Book One Nebraska, Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen by Bob Greene.  Stop by and check it out today!

Welcome Spring

We hope you had a wonderful Spring Break!  It's time to get back into the swing of things! Although the weather wasn't too harsh this winter, I think everyone is welcoming Spring with open arms.

It's time and we're ready! 

It's a lucky thing to come back from Spring Break on St. Patrick's Day.  Eight weeks left until the end of the semester, finish them off strong.  Remember your library is available to help if you need it!

Blind Date with a Book

It’s Library Lovers’ Month and this month we invite you to go on a Blind Date with a Book!

Stop by the LRC in North Platte and check out a wrapped book. Each book has a “dating profile” but you won’t know what it is until you get home. If you enjoy the book, we’d love to hear about it! If you don’t enjoy the book, simply bring it back with no awkward questions asked (unlike some actual blind dates).