The Carroll Community College Library Blog

Encyclopedia of Disability

 

Reference HV 1568 E528 2006

 

This five-volume reference published by Sage provides multidisciplinary coverage of the complex topic of disability. The books cover legislation, medical and psychological conditions, innovators in the education of disabled people, organizations, religion, and more. The coverage is multicultural. Contributing authors, while mostly from American and European universities, also represent Oman, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, and Brazil.

Volumes 1 through 4 of the set are arranged alphabetically, and a useful Reader’s Guide groups entries by subject such as Rehabilitation and Ethical Issues. Volume 5 is a collection of primary sources, both text and pictures, spanning ancient times to the 21st century. These documents, which represent a variety of cultures, are from folklore, the Bible, literature, science, and law.  Also included is a timeline, showing advances and setbacks for disabled people since 1500 BCE.  Articles include print and Web references. The Encyclopedia of Disability is an excellent resource for many fields. This unique source is the Library’s largest resource on disabilities.

 By Clare Sebok

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Center for Teaching and Learning Publications

By Alan Bogage

The following titles have recently been added to the Center for Teaching and Learning collection:

General Education: A Self Study Guide for Review and Assessment. Andrea Leskes and Ross Miller. CTL LC 985 L46 2005
Published by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, this brief publication outlines the steps recommended in an institutional review of General Education. Each of the eight steps provides general guidelines and questions that should be addressed in a General Education review.

Levels of Assessment: From the Student to the Institution. Ross Miller and Andrea Leskes. CTL LB 2331.63 M55 2005
This AACU publication describes the five levels of assessment including:

• assessing individual student learning within courses


• assessing individual student learning across courses


• assessing courses


• assessing programs


• assessing the institution

For each level typical assessment questions, sources of evidence, aggregation of data, and data uses are described. 

 

The Art and Science of Assessing General Education Outcomes: A Practical Guide. Andrea Leskes and Barbara Wright. CTL LB 2331.63 L47 2005
Leskes and Wright provides a general overview of the assessment process for General Education. Chapters on the steps of assessment, tips for better assessment, methods, and an appendix of practical tools are provided.

Portfolio Teaching: A Guide for Instructors. Nedra Reynolds. CTL LB 2333 R49 2000
The practical guide to the use of portfolios is aimed at writing instructors, but is informative to all teachers. The first chapter on Defining Writing Portfolios is particularly instructive.

Links to New York Times Books

 

NYT > Books
Find book reviews & news on authors, best sellers, fiction & non-fiction, literature, biographies, memoirs, children?s books, Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize & first chapters.

• His Love of Words Rivals His Contempt for Critics
  posted on November 01, 2005 09:00:00 pm
  John Banville, Booker prizewinner and subject of a literary dust-up, says he's "gratified to see myself vilified, and the jury vilified."


• Books of The Times | 'Two Lives': A Marriage's Mysteries, Solved by a Fond Nephew
  posted on November 01, 2005 09:00:00 pm
  Vikram Seth's odd family memoir follows a trail of dislocation, separation and pain that began in Weimar Germany.

The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time

Author: Jeffrey D. Sachs

Reviewer: Clare Sebok

Location: HC 59.72 P6 S225 2005

“Let us commit to ending extreme poverty by 2025.”  This goal, proclaimed by economist Jeffrey D. Sachs, may strike readers as extremely expensive or hopelessly unrealistic. This ambitious undertaking is both feasible and affordable, according to Professor Sachs, who believes that “ending poverty is the great opportunity of our time.”

 

 

 

 

The Oxford History of Western Music

Author: Richard Taruskin

Reviewer: Judy Goodyear

Location: Reference ML 160 T18 2005

This newly released six-volume set is the result of a thirteen-year effort by a single author, Richard Taruskin, Professor of Musicology at University of California, Berkeley. Taruskin defines “Western music” as what is commonly called the “art music” or “classical music” of Europe and America. Taruskin focuses on music that was written or “literate” music.

True Believer

Author: Nicholas Sparks
Reviewer: Clare Sebok
Location: CCPL New Adult Fiction Spar
Currently on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers List, this novel is a love story about two people from very different environments who discover they have much in common. Yes, this is a predictable scenario, but the characters, dialogue, and plot are still intriguing. The protagonists are Jeremy Marsh, a skeptical science journalist and lifelong New Yorker, and Lexie Darnell, a strong-willed public librarian in a small town in North Carolina. They meet when Jeremy travels to her town to investigate mysterious lights in an old cemetery, which according to local legend are caused by ghosts. Jeremy’s analytical abilities have enabled him to establish a reputation for debunking supposedly paranormal phenomena, and he doesn’t expect this project to turn out any differently. Much to his surprise, he finds himself falling in love with the librarian who helps him with his research and seriously thinking about letting go of his fast-paced, workaholic lifestyle in Manhattan and staying in this old-fashioned Southern town. Will Jeremy prove the ghosts are fake, and will he or Lexie be willing to make a career sacrifice for the sake of their relationship?

Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq

Author: Riverbend

Reviewer: Chris Karman

Location: CCPL New Adult Nonfiction 956.7044 R

This compelling book is a compilation of the blog created by a 24-year-old Iraqi woman using the pseudonym of Riverbend. She narrates the daily impact of post- war Iraq on its average citizens from August 2003 to August 2004. The bombings, the home invasions, the lack of electricity, clean water, fuel, food, and employment all are described with both pain and even humor as families and neighbors find the strength and resourcefulness to deal with daily setbacks. Even walking children to school becomes a dangerous mission. Interjecting depressing events with more lighthearted content like recipes, descriptions of holiday celebrations, and other cultural aspects of daily life makes the reading more engaging.