Alpha Beta Omega (ΑBΩ): World Leaders Society

Are you looking to develop leadership skills and change the world? Grand Rapids Community College has a leadership group that may change your life. Alpha Beta Omega is looking for incoming freshman who want to make a difference in society and meet like-minded individuals.  For more information, check out the website to find the contact information.

You will also see links to other services offered by the Counseling and Career Center.  As a student, if you have not talked to a career counselor or looked at the resources available you are missing out on a wealth of information.  Make an appointment with a counselor to make sure you are on the right path towards your dream career.

Library Design

By Janelle Yahne
Circulation Associate

A few weeks ago I attended the Michigan Library Association Conference. Two of the most interesting sessions were on library design and what are a few of the expectations have towards building design.  With more people becoming technologically savvy and e-books and databases being more popular, it is important to re-evaluate the needs of the population. Here at GRCC, we have numerous e-books, e-journals, and databases full of great information that is both historic and recent. We also have SubjectGuides to help guide you in research. Students use the library for both quiet and group study along with tutoring services that are offered. Libraries may still be predominantly about books, but as mentioned above it is so much more.

Libraries are adjusting to the needs of the communities in different ways. New libraries like Grand Valley State University’s Mary Idema Pew Library Learning and Information Commons will focus on the learning experience of the student and not just information.  Kent District Library recently changed their collection from Dewey Decimal to a bookstore model, making it more browser friendly than before for patrons.  One library that was mentioned was making plans about temporary spaces in communities to assist technological needs of the community.  All these changes are meant to be user friendly and supportive of the communities.  To see what other libraries have done with design, check out these articles from American Library Association and WebUrbanist (an old Walmart is now a mega-library!).

To learn more about architecture and libraries, come on in and visit us!

Astronomy

By Janelle Yahne
Circulation Associate

Wondering how the night sky changes with the seasons? As the days get shorter, the position of the stars shift and some constellations might not be seen until other times of the day. In honor of Red Planet Day (or Mars), below is a small selection of astronomy resources (besides the books of course) to get us all looking at the stars more.  Of course you can also listen the The Planets, by Gustav Holst. Check out Mars, the Bringer of War (short sample) from The Planets. It is amazing.

Astronomy (periodical and database)

NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (really cool images)

Sky and Telescope (periodical and database)

Holiday Shopping Fun

By Janelle Yahne
Circulation Associate

It is about that time where we (or a few of us) open our wallets to buy gifts for people in our life, or to purchase a really nice television for cheap. Personally, I do not enjoy shopping on weekends or holidays. I prefer to linger in stores, making sure I have the right item and sometimes chat with a sales clerk. The holidays are usually not the time to do this type of shopping but I make it work.

However, this coming weekend the nation will be celebrating three unofficial holidays with citizens spending their money: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.  These three days will be used by economists to predict how much we Americans will be spending this holiday, and the size of the profit for retailers.  Black Friday is a reference to the fourth quarter of the fiscal year where most retailers actually make their profits. Small Business Saturday, promoted by American Express, is a day to celebrate and shop local businesses to build local economies. Cyber Monday relates to the amount of shopping people do online the first Monday back to work while working.

While shopping during this exciting time, please stay safe and enjoy the holidays. Though we may want to get the best deal on the most expensive items, perhaps we should spend some of our time being with our families on this extended weekend. Or you can read about retail this weekend. Happy Thanksgiving!

Improve Your Well-being

By Janelle Yahne
Circulation Associate

I am not one to read self-improvement books. Since Learned Optimism, by Martin E.P. Seligman, considers itself to be a psychological study it seemed fair to give it a shot. The author spends three-quarters of the book defending his view about the reasons optimistic people are more successful compared to pessimistic people. The last part of the book is explaining how to change one’s mind to be more optimistic.  He does have interesting data, and my time working in retail saw how great optimists are at working in sales.

Though the author spends most of the book discussing his research and proof and concept, he does not spend many pages about why it might not be good to be an optimist. He briefly discusses the careers necessary to have people who live with realistic expectations. He also mentions how it is quite possible to be too optimistic and live in a land of rainbows and unicorns.  Other than that, it was a pleasure to read his anecdotes and discussions about the way we view the world and how it may affects a person’s well-being.

Other books on similar topics available at the library include:

Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman

Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being, by Martin E.P. Seligman

How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth, and Karen Dillon

The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth, by M. Scott Peck.

Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements, by Tom Rath, Jim Harter