Library Blog

Did you know that Durham Tech has lots of student clubs and organizations? Learn about one of them in this weeks podcast episode! Cooper Pollock tells us all about SPECTRUM Club. What it is, what they do, and why students should consider joining! Listen below or download the episode on the podcast app of your choice. Episode transcripts are available on the podcast website. Want to be on the podcast? Email me at bippleyc@durhamtech.edu!

March 1-5, 2021 is Open Education Week! North Carolina, like many states, is moving towards making Open Educational Resources a valid alternative to traditional publisher-controlled teaching resources. Today’s blog post will acquaint you with some of the things NC has been doing with OER and hopefully get you thinking about how you might use them to customize your course content (and make life simpler for students!). Check it out! Let me insert a shameless plug for Durham Tech’s OER Team – a

Need general information or some background or basics to get started on a research assignment? Know that you shouldn’t head to Wikipedia if you want to use it for a class assignment? Try Credo Reference! Credo does not contain scholarly journal articles, but it is packed with reference information pulled from hundreds of books that can be cited for assignments. You can filter search results to by source, type, or date. You can look for articles or images. If you find an article that you want to

The Durham Tech Library is a member of the Dogwood Digital Library, a collection of online ebooks and audiobooks through the Overdrive/Libby app. Durham Tech faculty, staff, and students can check out books using their Durham Tech username and password, just like they can access databases off-campus. Ebooks and audiobooks check out for 21 days and can be read on your phone, tablet, or computer. Check out some of our staff recommendations that celebrate Black authors and experiences for Black

Title: The Vanished Birds Author: Simon Jimenez Genre: science fiction; fantasy; dystopia; literary fiction Read Great Things 2021 Categories: A book about or set in space; A book about family; A book that takes place outside the continental United States; and A book suggested by a Durham Tech Librarian My own category: A book about travel, longing, and trying to find beauty in something that's broken This book was read by Meredith Lewis, the [mostly] Orange County Campus Librarian. Earth has

Need to dig deep into a topic and want a single source to use as a great starting point? Try CQ Researcher! One of the library databases that we love best for research is CQ [Congressional Quarterly] Researcher. Unlike databases such as ProQuest that serve as an information middlemen for many sources and can leave researchers overwhelmed by their search results, especially when first getting started, CQ Researcher offers its own in-depth, unbiased reports on general topics such as health, social

Explore new frontiers with a book set in or about space with the Read Great Things 2021 Challenge. Keep reading for some suggestions, including some double-dippers. Double dip and get into a novella series to fill that short book category (could we also call these LITTLE DIPPERS? Eh?): Double dip and travel to space with a book with pictures: Explore new frontiers with some fiction from our collections: Or get the facts with nonfiction about space: Or just read about cats in space (as ya do)

The library is excited to announce that we now have a total of 254 loaner laptops (Dell and Acer) for students to borrow for the semester. Students who need a computer and who are currently enrolled in any Durham Tech course are eligible to complete the Computer Request Form to apply. Maggie West, Coordinator of Student Wellness and Basic Needs, receives all applications and will assess if a Chromebook will work or other options are available to meet current academic needs. Students who need PCs

Have you taken ACA 122? Have you taught ACA 122? Have you only heard about ACA 122? No matter what, this episode has something new for you to learn! Listen to rockstar ACA 122 expert Deidre Yancey describe why Durham Tech requires it, what her favorite assignment is, and what she's been reading! Do you want to be on the podcast? Email me at bippleyc@durhamtech.edu.

Can you believe that February 14th is right around the corner? It's like it popped up out of nowhere! (See what I did there?) The Student Government Association and the Library are giving out pretty scrapbook paper for you to create your own pop-up cards. If you would like some, email us at library@durhamtech.edu and we'll schedule a time for you to pick it up. What kind of pop-up cards, you ask? Well, there are so many choices! Check out these delightful options below, and keep scrolling to see