A New Year, a New You: Happy 2020!

Photo by Crazy nana on Unsplash

Without a doubt, 2019 has been an eventful year. Whether good, bad or most likely a little of both, a new calendar year offers a symbolic chance for a fresh start. We urge everybody to take advantage of a new year and a new semester by rededicating yourself to doing your best work and setting yourself up for success.

If it’s an academic success you’re chasing, there’s no better place to start than the library. Whether you’re looking for study space, books and articles for a research project, or help to cite your sources, you can visit us in person or online. Don’t forget that librarians are available and happy to answer your questions.

But the library is about more than just coursework; we encourage you to take advantage of the resources available to you at this unique time in your life to dig deeper into the topics you encounter in your classes and your interests from other parts of your life. Check out a documentary, magazine, or ebook on the topic of your choice. As one wise man once wrote, “The more that you read, the more thinks you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Happy New Year!

 

Happy Chanukah!

This year, the 8 days of Chanukah will occur from the evening of December 24^th to January 1^st. Did you know that you can learn more about the celebration of Chanuka on the Touro College Library Guides? There are many helpful resources on the Festival of Lights and other holidays on the guide dedicated to weekly Torah readings, Parashat HaShavua Sites and Hagim. From this libguide, one can gain insight on how Chanukah fits into the constellation of all Jewish holidays throughout the year. The diverse resources on Chanukah include a link to Jacob Richman’s web directory of Educational Resources for Chanukah, Chanukah audio files of Jewish music from JNUL Sound Archives, as well as a few of my essays on the topic.

Highlighting Recent Arrivals

(CC0 image via Kaboom Pics)

Librarians love books (and cats!). And we especially love acquiring more and more books. I would like to highlight a few of the library’s newly acquired titles that piqued my interest and that I’m sure will be of use to the Touro community. These are just a small percentage of the many titles Touro Library has added to our collection this month.

Student Post: Visiting the Amish in Lancanster, PA

This post was contributed by: Karlene M. Williams, MHRM candidate 2017, Touro Graduate School of Business, originally from Grenada.

Karlene Williams (photo credit Shawn Davis)

For the past three years, I have enjoyed visiting the Amish in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, which occurs on the second Saturday in November. I first participated in this trip in November 2006 with some family and friends, and it has become my favorite pre-Thanksgiving activity since I moved to the United States in 2013. You may ask yourself, why a trip to the Amish? For me it’s about getting away from the hustle and bustle of New York City for an entire day and appreciating the way of life of a religious group that has preserved its identity in the midst of technology and a fast-paced world.

The Gift of Animal Helpers

Meet Elvis (photo by Annette Carr)

I don’t need an alarm clock. I have Elvis for that. No, not the King of Rock ’n’ Roll. Elvis is a black cat who I adopted several years ago at an animal shelter where I volunteer. Elvis has taken over my home, my heart, and my pillow. He acts like a supervisor and treats me like his staff. In the early hours of the morning, I am slapped from my dreams by a soft paw demanding attention, food, or just because he finds it amusing.

Introducing the Touro Library Mobile App

The Touro Library mobile app has arrived!

And we think it’s pretty great. Now you can search our catalog for books and eBooks, check your due dates and renew books, place holds and even search databases like ProQuest Central and EBSCO all from a simple and clear mobile interface.

Library User Survey is Now Live!

Let us know all the things you like, dislike, or are indifferent to at Touro Libraries. We’re here to serve you, so your feedback lets us know how we can do that better. Visit the library website between now and December 23rd to fill out a short survey on library use and preferences. We greatly appreciate all of your comments!

Project Gutenberg: Read the Classics (and more) for Free

visit www.gutenberg.org for copyright-free reads

Project Gutenberg is a volunteer organized digital library of literature and other cultural works. According to their mission statement “The mission of Project Gutenberg is simple: To encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks. This mission is, as much as possible, to encourage all those who are interested in making eBooks and helping to give them away. In fact, Project Gutenberg approves about 99% of all requests from those who would like to make our eBooks and give them away, within their various local copyright limitations. Project Gutenberg is powered by ideas, ideals, and by idealism. Project Gutenberg is not powered by financial or political power. Therefore Project Gutenberg is powered totally by volunteers” (Project Gutenberg Mission Statement).