Christmas Around the World

Have you ever wondered how other cultures celebrate Christmas? Great, let’s get started with Lands and People!

Remember to access this electronic resource; you must be a resident of Las Vegas, with a valid card # and PIN.

Lands and People is extremely easy to use, you can simply enter a search term in the search box next to Find it Fast. Or you limit your results to one type of publication, such as an Atlas, Encyclopedia or Dictionary.

Find it Fast
1. Simply enter the term Christmas in the search box. You will get a list of several countries that celebrate Christmas.

2. Scroll down the list until you find a country you are interested in, and then simply click on it.

3. Next, scroll through the article until you see the word Christmas highlighted in red. This is where you will find the information about the traditions and how this country celebrates Christmas.

Publication Search
1. Click on any publication to search in. the list includes, Encyclopedia, Atlas, Almanac, and many more.

2. This allows you to limit your search only to the publication selected, which will give you fewer results than if you search all publications at once.

Was that easy? Remember this does not only have to be used for celebrations, you can also use this when you have to do your country projects as well.

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What are the 7 principles of Kwanzaa?

During the month of December, several religious as well as non-religious holidays are celebrated. Ever wondered what these holidays mean and who typically celebrates them?

The Internet contains lots of information, but how do you know what is accurate and what is not? No worries, just use our electronic resources and you don’t have to wonder.

Why use an Electronic Resources?
1. Information from electronic resources comes from books, magazines and journals, so this information is more accurate than the Internet.
2. Your teacher wants more resources, not websites; electronic resources will do the trick.

Ok let’s get started on finding out about Kwanzaa.

There are many sources to choose from, but let’s start with. As always, there are multiple ways to search for information, but we will use only two. Basic Search and advanced search.

1. Basic Search – Simplest way to search. Just enter the search term in the search box then click search.

2. You get a list of results, which can be narrowed by looking under filter results and clicking any of the options listed. That was easy enough, right?

1. Advanced Search – Simply click on advanced search and include as many limiters that you would like.
2. To not include items, delete the check mark from the list of items or simply leave the item at the default items listed in blue. This is also very easy, right?

Now you have learned how to search for information using the Student Resource Center, so go and tell your friends or send us your thoughts. Or perhaps, now you can tell us what the 7 principles of Kwanzaa are.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

How many of us either know someone who has died or has been diagnosed with breast cancer?

Q: How many deaths as a result of cancer are estimated to occur in the United States in 2009?
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), an estimated 40,610 breast cancer deaths are expected in 2009 (40,170 women, 440 men). (American Cancer Society website, retrieved 9/28/09)

These statistics are startling! If you are not sure where to go for authoritative information, check out our Health and Wellness Database.

Remember, as always you will need to be a Las Vegas Resident with a valid library card number and PIN to access this information. Just go to our Databases A-Z page and select health and Wellness Resource Center from the list.

There are several things you can do in this electronic resource.

1. You can find a list of agencies in your area that specialize in a certain disease or illness. Once you are in the database, click on Directories from the top tabs. Then enter your search term in the box. I entered Cancer. Next, enter the city and then select your state from the drop down menu.

This will give you a list of agencies in your city. Just click on one for the contact information and also information about the agency.

2. This electronic resource also has websites that we recommend because we find them to non-commercial, yet authoritative.

To get to these sites, simply click on Trusted sites from the tabs on the toolbar. You can either see if there is a site that is devoted to the illness you are looking for (American Cancer Society) or you can use a resource like Medline Plus that will contain information on multiple illnesses and diseases.

One thing I especially like about this trusted site (Medline Plus) is that you can view results in English or Spanish, just by clicking the language toggle button in the top right hand corner.

Look at some of the other features of this database and come back and let us know how you have found this resource useful.

What do homework and Karaoke have in common?

Doing Karaoke can help your homework assignments become fun and entertaining. I can see you are very doubtful. Don’t be!!

Check out Study Jams, located under Databases A-Z from our homepage, lvccld.org. Remember you must be a resident of Las Vegas with a valid library card # and PIN to access this.

Can’t remember the Tools of Measurement? Okay, look under Most Popular and just click on the link. Next, click on Sing Karaoke. Didn’t know learning could be this fun? Told you so!

Another cool thing about this electronic resource is that under each topic, if you look towards the bottom of the page, you will see a list of Related Study Jams. Click any link to learn more about that topic. How cool is that?

Don’t forget to click on the link to Visit the Crew. Here you get to see how Study Jams was started!

Need an AR Reading List Book?

Do you have a reading assignment and don’t have a clue what you are going to read?

Don’t worry; we have the perfect place for you to look.

Check out Read the Book located under Databases A-Z from our homepage, lvccld.org. Remember you must be a resident of Las Vegas with a valid library card # and PIN to access this.

From the Read the Books homepage, click on one of the books displayed. Not interested in those titles? Ok, well just look to the left and select one of the looks to get more titles.

What is really cool about this database is that you can get a recommended reading list from your local Clark County School District. Just click on School Lists from the links on the left. Next click the link at the bottom of the page, to view the available school lists.

Scroll down the list until you find your school. Found it? Great!

There are lots of great books on the list! Just click on your school’s button to launch the reading list. Browse through the list, then click the Check the Catalog button to see if your book is available.

What is also great is that you can narrow your search results by clicking the sort by AR reading level or AR points and more. Don’t forget to select the check the catalog button to see if we carry the book.

Please note, this list is updated each time we receive the list from each individual school. If your school’s list is not updated, ask your school librarian to send us the list at ask@lvccld.org