Helpful Tools

Our blog is about more than just reporting what's going on in the library.  This is also a great place to visit to find out about new resources on the web as well.  Here are a few examples:

Grand View Library Toolbar

Our library website contains dozens of links to our catalog, various databases, online resources, and email contacts.  Visiting our website and bookmarking it is an excellent idea.  However, sometimes you need a resource quickly and you don't want to follow the bookmark and click through to the proper page.  That's where our new browser toolbar comes in handy.  You can download it quickly to your Internet Explorer or Firefox browser.  It will then allow you to access all of our resources with one click!  Try it out.

Library Computer Lab Calendar

Do you use the library computer lab frequently?  If so, you'll want to keep your eye on our calendar for the lab.  As you probably know we teach classes in the lab from time to time.  Now you can know exactly when the lab will be open and when a class might be using it.  Bookmark this link and check the calendar whenever you plan to use our lab.  Remember: this calendar is on MyGVC, so it will prompt you for your username and password if you click on it from off-campus.

Contact Us

We know you have questions about your class work and your research.  Our job is to help you answer those questions.  We check our email all the time, so feel free to send us a question and we'll get right back to you.

Check back here to see our next blog post.  We'll have more resource links like this from time to time, including what's new on the web.

New Books in the Library

It's snowing pretty hard today. What's a good way to spend a snowy day? Well, I'm working right now, but if you have some free time, snowy days are perfect for reading. Here are a few of our many new books for December.

What Makes Us Human? edited by Charles Pasternak

This book contains essays by some of the world's greatest thinkers.  They try to tackle that eternal question: what makes humans different than other creatures?  They explore anthropology, philosophy, and other areas of human thought to try and answer the question.

A Surgeon in the Army of the Potomac by Francis M. Wafer, edited by Cheryl A. Wells

Cheryl Wells helps edit the writings, letters, and documents of an assistant surgeon in the American Civil War.  Mr. Wafer writes about all of the things he sees as a doctor during America's darkest war.  It truly is a view of the war you have never seen before.

The Tyranny of the Market by Joel Waldfogel

We are in some rough economic times right now and this book can help explain part of that.  Our system supposedly provides products and services to satisfy the desire of any consumer.  But what about the things the economy can't provide?  Waldfogel tells us about the limits of our economy.

James Van Allen: The First Eight Billion Miles by Abigail Foerstner

Do you like to read about space and the cosmos?  This book is about one of Iowa's greatest scientists who helped revolutionize the way all humans look at space.  James Van Allen was born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and became one of the greatest space scientists of the 20th century, helping us learn about the sun, the solar system, and how to explore it all with missions from Pioneer to the Mariner.

So come on over to the library and check one out.  We have many new books to choose from!