CCA Libraries Blog

Victoria and Albert Museum

2009-11-04T11:36:00.000-08:00

The Victoria and Albert Museum has made over 1,000,000 images from their collections available, "including ceramics, fashion, furniture, glass, metalwork, paintings, photographs, prints, sculpture and textiles." There's quite a variety of work here, from David Shrigley and Rembrandt, to the care bears and drug jars.

The Elephant Rock (1858) by Linnaeus Tripe, © V&A Images

Solar decathlon resources

2009-10-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

If you want some background on the Solar Decathlon excitement, where Team California's Refract House is currently in the lead, Simpson Library (SF) has some great resources, including plenty of:

Good luck to Team California in the remaining contests!

History videos

2009-10-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

American History in Video is a huge collection of videos from the likes of PBS and the History Channel, but cooler than those are their digitized old newsreels*. Before many people had TVs in their homes, many got their news via 7-10 minute films (produced by Universal Studios, among others), which were played before movies in local theaters across the U.S. Here's an example of a newsreel clip of Jean Tinguely, and his "weird and wonderful machines... that have no function".

This database is available for free through Nov 15, 2009. Let us know if you like it and we can look into a library subscription.

* You can also find a treasure trove of old Universal Newsreels on the Internet Archive, but American History in Video has the added bonus of offering complete transcripts of every video, making citations a snap.

Cinefiles

2009-09-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

This new free database from the Pacific Film Archive is fantastic:

Cinefiles contains scanned images of reviews, press kits, festival and showcase program notes, newspaper articles, and other documents from the PFA Library's extensive collection covering world cinema, past and present.

Browse by director, hone in by film title, and check out full pdfs of primary and secondary sources, many of which are rarely available from other periodical databases. There's even a select list of heavy-hitters whose entire filmographies are indexed and available on Cinefiles.

Ruth Laskey solos in Berlin

2009-09-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

CCA Libraries cataloger, Ruth Laskey, heads to Berlin to install and oversee her solo show at Galerie Cinzia Friedlaender.

Until her return on October 6, cataloging inquiries can be addressed to Janice Woo or Michael Lordi.

Marty Streich display

2009-09-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

An exhibit of jewelry and other work created by renowned metal artist, Marty Streich, is now on display in the CCA Meyer Library (Oakland). A teacher of metal arts and design at CCA from 1959 to 1999, Marty’s rapport with his students, as well as his teaching methods, influenced many during his 40 years at the College. With a strong mid-20th century aesthetic, his art looks modern and fresh today. This is a great opportunity to view a body of work, much of it never exhibited before.

On view from August 14 to October 9, 2009 | Reception Wednesday, September 16, 2009, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. | Exhibit created by the CCA Alumni Council Archive Group

Photo of Marty Streich and students from the CCA Archives

Welcome to CCA libs!

2009-08-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome (back) to CCA everybody! Wondering what the deal is with the libraries, how to get started finding stuff, checking things out, etc?

Check out the video below for a quick and relatively painless introduction on how the libraries work
Feel free to acquaint yourselves with the library hours, introduce yourself to the library staff, and try out the many tools on the library website
And stop on by in person to check out books, DVDs, magazines, people, computers, exhibitions, and more!

Exporting ARTstor Image Groups to PowerPoint

2009-08-13T15:51:00.000-07:00

Hooray! This long-awaited feature is now in Beta! No more downloading images one by one.

For instructions, go here.

*NOTE* This feature only works with PowerPoint 2007. If you are running an earlier version of PowerPoint, never fear! Come visit Xima (xavalos@ccca.edu) in the Simpson Library to get an expander that will allow you to read all PP 2007 files.

Summer research awards

2009-07-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

We are collecting the first round of submissions for the 2009/10 Library Research Awards this week at Meyer Library (OAK). There will be opportunities again in the Fall and Spring to submit projects eligible for the two $200 prizes (to be awarded Spring 2010), but undergraduate students who researched an original paper, artwork or design project for a Summer class can submit that assignment now.

Download the application (and complete rules) from the library awards page.

See also: past research award winners

Philosophy resource

2009-07-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

For the philosophers among us there is a new(ish) free online resource: PhilPapers, "a comprehensive directory of online philosophy articles and books by academic philosophers." You can search and browse an impressive collection of journals on PhilPapers, but it's worth noting that the full-text articles are rarely available directly from the site. Rather, you can find the citations for articles that are out there using PhilPapers and then check CCA and other Bay Area libraries for those journal titles.

If you can't find enough quality coverage of a particular philosophy topic in CCA Libraries' article databases, PhilPapers would be a great next step.

Simpson Library Mini-Remodel

2009-07-02T16:30:00.000-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nathansnider/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The SF campus circulation staff are nearly done with hoarding their shiny things into the various burrows of the Simpson Library in anticipation of new furniture.

Starting Monday, July 6, the current circulation furniture will be dismantled and replaced by some brand new stuff.

The library will remain open, and all items may still be checked out to students/staff/faculty with valid patron records.

Please excuse any inconvenience that may come up during this transition period - we hope to be refreshed, renewed, and ready to serve as usual by the end of the week.

Chicago Manual of Style

2009-05-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

UPDATE August 26, 2009: The library has subscribed to the Chicago Manual of Style Online for 2009/2010. You can access the site anytime from the library homepage!

The library has a trial subscription to the Chicago Manual of Style online. Current CCA students, staff, and faculty can access the site through the end of July 2009, at which point the librarians will assess whether or not to set-up a real subscription.

The library already has print copies of the Manual available, so we would very much appreciate any feedback you might have about whether or not (and to what extent) the online version is a worthwhile tool compared to the print version. You can comment below or email your thoughts directly to me at chennesy@cca.edu. Thanks!

Outer space

2009-04-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

The often interesting Book Cover Archive blog just got the skinny on the legality of using NASA images for various purposes.

All publicly available NASA images are on nasaimages.org, which is co-operated by the Internet Archive. It is most likely legal for you to use them for any purpose (commercial or otherwise) unless there’s someone famous in the image.

More details are on the blog, and there are lots of very cool images on nasaimages.org.

Research award winners 09

2009-04-28T14:31:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the winners of the first annual Library Research Awards!

Parul Sharma won in the artwork category for her book, Gameplan for Equity, which she researched and designed in David Asari's Typography 3 course.

Brittany Luby won the research paper category for How does Cézanne's painting style express the way in which vision functions?, written in Celeste Connor's Intro to Modern Art course.

For their hard-work and creativity in the use of library and information resources, both winners will receive a $200 prize! And congratulations also to the other research award participants – the competition was very close this year!

Excerpt from Gameplan for Equity, Parul Sharma

Big thanks are due to our faculty judges, Ashley Eriksmoen, Anna Vogt, and Christopher Simmons, for lending their time and expertise to the judging process. Thanks also to the faculty members who lent their statements of support to the research award participants.

Read Up for Summer Abroad

2009-04-22T14:39:00.001-07:00

See selected background readings in the CCA Libraries at

www.cca.edu/library/exhibits/abroad09.html

Book art winners 09

2009-04-21T16:24:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Casey Gardner, first prize winner in the second annual CCA Libraries Book Art Competition! Casey's book, Beyond Question: Why Go, will become a part of the CCA Libraries' permanent artists' books collection, and she will be awarded a $200 acquisition prize. Congratulations also go to honorable mention awardees Molly Prentiss and Anna Bunting, as well as all of the other artists who participated!

All book art submissions are on display in Meyer Library (Oakland) through May 8.

Beyond Question: Why Go by Casey Gardner

Honorable Mention: Advice for Travelers by Molly Prentiss

Honorable Mention: The Cactus House by Anna Bunting

Thanks to our esteemed judges: Janice Braun, Michael Henninger, and Patricia Wakida. Thanks also to all of the CCA book arts instructors and students who participated in the competition!

Articles as mp3s

2009-04-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

The Art Full Text and OmniFile Full Text article databases added a very cool feature that lets you listen to full-text articles being read by the computer. Select the "full-text html" link for any article in your search results and then select the "Listen" icon to either listen online or download an mp3 of the full article to your computer/iPod.

Cody Hennesy on Tour

2009-03-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

Cody is on tour with his band, The Rhombus, March 27-April 11, and will play at the Hemlock Tavern, SF, Friday, April 10 (around 10pm). See you there!

therhombus.org

Nancy Chan at Hyde St. Gallery

2009-03-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

SPACES
Brett Amory & Nancy Chan

April 3-May 1, 2009

Opening Reception: Friday, April 3, 6-10 PM

Hyde St Gallery
1987 Hyde St (@ Union)
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-359-9800
www.hydestreetgallery.com

Gallery Hours
Wed-Fri: 1-9 PM
Sat-Sun: 12-8 PM

Curated by Julianne Yates

Comix + Flix

2009-03-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

With the recent release of Watchmen, this may be a good time to take a look at the libraries' collection of comic books and graphic novels, some of which have also already been adapted for the big screen.

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

Ghost World by Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Other notable titles:
Black Hole by Charles Burns - graphic novel with film adaptation in development
Hellboy [videorecording] by Guillermo del Toro - based on the comic
The Art of Hellboy by Mike Mignola
Nightmare Alley by Spain Rodriguez and William Lindsay Gresham - graphic novel inspired by a 1946 novel which was subsequently adapted as a 1947 film noir
Watching the Watchmen by Dave Gibbons, Chip Kidd, Mike Essl
Film and Comic Books edited by Ian Gordon, Mark Jancovich, Matthew P. McAllister
Frank Miller's Sin City [videorecording] - based on the comic series
Akira [videorecording] by Katsuhiro Otomo - based on the manga
American Splendor [videorecording] - based on comic series by Harvey Pekar

Slide Projector Phase Out

2009-02-27T15:59:00.000-08:00

Within the next year or so, slide projectors will no longer be available at the CCA Media Centers.

CCA has been preparing for slide projector obsolescence for the last five years; find out how in our timeline on transition to digital projection.

Download this flowchart to see which slides CCA faculty can submit to the library for digitization.

For tips on digitizing slides and reproductions, check out our one-page helpsheet.

Please contact Xima Avalos at xavalos@cca.edu for more information or assistance.

Magnum photos

2009-02-20T10:56:00.000-08:00

Looking for photos of wars and/or famous people? Well, you're in luck: ARTstor just added over 70,000 images to their new Magnum Photos collection. "Magnum's roster includes prominent photojournalists such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, Eve Arnold, Rene Burri, Elliott Erwitt, Josef Koudelka, Hiroji Kubota, Susan Meiselas, Martin Parr, Alex Webb, and dozens of others." Browse and search the Magnum Photos collection in ARTstor, or read more about it here.

CCA staff bookworks

2009-02-03T14:18:00.000-08:00

Meyer Library will be hosting ArtLibrary, an exhibit of bookworks by CCA staff, from Feb 9 to 27. Be sure to also check out the ArtRead exhibit of CCA student and faculty bookworks in Oliver Art Center, as well as the 2009 Codex Bookfair at UC Berkeley next week. Join us for an opening reception for ArtLibrary in Meyer next Tuesday, Feb 10, from 5 to 8pm.

Works above are by Roland Pitschel, Virginia Jardim, Jodi Redmon, Donald Smith, Allison Yates, and Jennine Scarboro.

Student video art

2009-01-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

Being a librarian, and a bookish dude in general, I've got a total soft spot for works of art that deal with libraries, books, shelves of books, card catalogs, data, text, and other bibliographic subjects. Here, CCA student Jake Sollins tackles our very own Simpson Library (SF) with his video, Every Book in Simpson Library.

See also: Harrell Fletcher's Alternative Library (Meyer Library, Oakland, 1992), and Nina Katchadourian's Sorted Books Project.

SF Library eCard!

2009-01-21T13:56:00.000-08:00

UPDATE (Mar 11, 2009): from the SFPL news, "Due to electronic vendor licensing agreements, San Francisco Public Library must suspend issuing e-cards, effective immediately. Existing e-cardholders must validate their current address no later than April 10, 2009 in order to continue using SFPL databases and other electronic resources remotely..."

There's a great new service at the San Francisco Public Library called eCards. Now you can register online to get free immediate access to SFPL article databases, streaming music and audio, and ebook collections. Here are just a few of the resources you'll be able to use online with an SFPL eCard :

Over 150,000 high-res fine and decorative art images in the Art Museum Image Gallery
The full JSTOR collection of scholarly articles
Full-text news articles in InfoTrac OneFile and
Audio from the complete Folkways Records catalog in the Smithsonian Global Sound archive