The Tarpon Springs Campus Library is celebrating Hispanic Heritage month with a spotlight on notable figures of Hispanic and Latinx heritage, such as
Frida Kahlo, a Mexican painter whose art explores questions of identity, post-colonialism, gender, class, and race among other topics.
Pope Francis, the 266th Pope and first Jesuit, as well as the first Pope to come from the Americas
Ellen Ochoa, JSC’s first Hispanic director and the first Hispanic woman to travel to space
José Ferrer, the first Hispanic Actor to win an Academy award among other accomplishments, and many others.
Our display highlights Hispanic and Latinx literature, such a poetry, short stories, personal narratives, cookbooks, and autobiographies among others. These titles are available for check-out and inter-library loans!
Interested in other celebrations?
In addition to the display held by Tarpon Springs Library, other SPC Campus events will be held in celebration throughout September 2019. Mark the following dates on your calendar and join us!
Clearwater Campus will be holding their celebration on September 19 from 12:00PM to 2:00PM on the Quad.
Downtown Center will be holding their celebration on September 26, 12:15PM – 1:00 PM on the 2nd floor student lounge.
Display created by Tarpon Campus student Kat Deschamps with blog post by student Alex Stewart.
Are you a business major? Interested in learning what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Starting a small business? Or maybe you’re looking for some guidance to grow an existing business? Join us for a series of Free Business Workshops presented by SCORE Pinellas at the West Community Library at St. Petersburg College-Gibbs Campus.
The workshops will be held monthly, and are open to both SPC students and the members of the community who are interested in learning tips and tricks for small business. The series will include workshops on start-up, market research, writing a business plan, and more.
The first workshop, Business Startup will be
held on Thursday, August 29th, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. in LI-101. Registration is encouraged. Dates for the September – December 2019 workshops
will be announced soon.
Pinellas County SCORE is a nonprofit association
dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small businesses start, grow,
and succeed. They offer free personal
and confidential mentoring plus educational workshops sponsored by local
businesses, professionals, and organizations. To learn more about SCORE
Pinellas, visit: pinellascounty.score.org.
Experience the St. Pete / Gibbs Campus Library & Learning Resources like you never have before at the upcoming “Tailgating @ the Library” event on Thursday, September 5th, 12pm-2pm.
Presented by the St. Pete / Gibbs Campus Library & Learning Resources, this event will highlight the free learning support available to students, including the Writing Center, research help, and math, science, and tech tutoring. This also includes the St. Petersburg Public Library resources.
More information about the event can be found on the St. Pete / GibbsFacebook event page. If you’re interested but would like to speak with staff on Campus, you can visit the library anytime between:
Monday-Thursday 7:30am – 9:00 pm
Friday 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Attendees who scan their ID upon entrance will be entered to win a 3-day, 2-night stay at the Sirata Beach Resort! The lucky winner will be announced on Workplace and the Library & Learning Resources Facebook page, so make sure you’re following our social media. The St. Pete / Gibbs LRC team hopes that the event will show both new and returning students that the library is a fun and welcoming place for all!
Start off the 2019 – 2020 school year on the right foot with Wizards Unite Walks on the Clearwater Campus!
Wizards Unite is a popular, free augmented-reality mobile game. Wizards Unite is similar to the globally renown Pokemon Go, where the player takes on the responsibility of a lifetime – in this case, the responsibility of a wizard pursuing a profession at Harry Potter’s Hogwarts. Teams are a necessity in overcoming challenging levels of game-play and progress through the game. If you’re still searching for your wizarding community yet, why not join us?
We will be meeting every Tuesday in August and September at 12:00 p.m. in the lobby of the LI building. We’ll take a walk around the Campus to return Confoundables for the Ministry of Magic and protect the Statute of Secrecy!
Bring a friend (or 10), meet your fellow students and LRC staff, get some exercise, and rack up the XP points! All players are welcome.
Want to reach out before the walk?
Never been to Clearwater Campus before, or a little nervous to join the walk? Take a look at our Clearwater LRC staff and reach out – we’re here to help make this walk more accessible and would love to have you join us.
This article was written by SPC Library and Learning Resources staff Antonia Green on August 8, 2019. Additional content added and line edits made by Marketing Intern Mia Landeck.
Lauren Dykes, tutor at SPC’s Downtown Learning Center, has a side talent: book folding! Book folding is a creative process which transforms old books into art through folding and cutting. Lauren is a professional and attributes her discovery of this craft to the LSC where old textbooks, having served their purpose, would be discarded.
A Little About Book Folding, from Lauren
“Besides being a math and writing tutor at the SPC Downtown Learning Center, I am also the artist behind Dilly Dally’s Custom Book Folding. This company is a partnership between my husband and me, created in September of 2016 when Daytime Channel 10 caught sight of one of my books and invited me to do a feature segment on the morning show.
I attribute my discovery of this art form to the LSC. While cleaning out the cabinets, I came across many old, outdated textbooks. I suddenly felt bad about throwing these books away, yet I had no attachment to them. I wanted to find a way to give these books new life. With a good ole Google search, I discovered book folding. I have always been good with paper crafts in the past. (I have folded 1000 origami cranes. Legend says it brings good luck.) So I gave it a shot.
Book folding is where each page in a book is altered by folding or cutting into the pages to create unique images, words, or logos. It takes patience, accuracy, precision and time to execute the intricacy of this art form. Needless to say, everyone in my family got a book fold for Christmas that year. I also gifted many books to local establishments like Haslam’s, Artpool, and Banyan.”
Lauren showcases her work under her business, Dilly Dally’s Custom Book Folding, inspired by St. Petersburg College.
Interested in Book Folding?
The Dilly Dally’s team participates in St. Pete’s Saturday Morning Markets and currently has an exhibit at Citrus Park Mall at the Pop-up Gallery in Tampa. Any student, staff, faculty, or family interested in learning more about the art of book folding is invited to reach out to Lauren at SPC’s Downtown Learning Center.
Additionally, learn a little more about our Learning Resources staff like Lauren through our libguides. They may have a unique passion or hobby to share
You probably remember being told as a kid to always “swim with a buddy.” Now that you are a college student, that buddy is the Learning Resource Center. As you swim through the semester, the LRC is here to help you stay afloat. Not only do we offer lifesavers, like FREE tutoring, we also develop themes throughout the semester to help students manage stress and engage with their academic community. This July, Learning Resources is making a splash by offering aquatic displays and programming across campuses:
The Tarpon Campus will be showing a FREE ocean documentary, with time and date still TBD. As an SPC student, you also have access to free films through our databases. Log in to your student account and click on the blue library tile. Then, click on “Databases A-Z,” and select Films on Demand from the list of choices. In the search bar, you can type key words like “ocean” or “shark” to find a film about marine life. http://www.linccweb.org/eResources?resourcekey=fmgondemand
This summer, the Clearwater Campus challenges you to go plastic free! Share your ideas on our #PlasticFreeJuly board on the first floor of the LRC, or you can post to our Facebook. Ideas can be as simple as switching to re-usable shopping bags.
If you need a
break from your textbook, check out the curated collection of mermaid horror
and aquatic mythology, recommended by Kassie Sherman, Library Services
Paraprofessional.
Research Shark… Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo,Clearwater Campus
I’m sorry, but we had to do it. Librarians Heather Holtzman and Paul Vermeren usually help students hunt for research. This month, they’ve also hunted for the very best aquatic-themed books, and now, you’re safe at last, doo doo doo doo doo doo. Check out the display, and if you need help hunting for any more information, you’re welcome to schedule a research consultation with any of our librarians. Make sure to check out the libguides, too!
Visit the first floor to see the Sharkey display, which features a paper mache shark, crafted by Library Services Technicians, Danery Pacheco and Maria Pantoja. Pacheco and Pantoja are also responsible for creating the beautiful ocean mosaic displayed upstairs in the ClearwaterLRC.
While involved in SPC‘s Biology Program, students are offered an amazing opportunity for student research and research lab experience at our SPC Bay Pines STEM Center.
This fantastic opportunity offers burgeoning student real world experience in a working laboratory and in-the-field research experience. This translates into being a more desirable research assistant and graduate student. The fluid nature of field work and the challenges faced like changing weather, equipment failure, successful teamwork, and on-the-fly solutions to problems that arise give each student working knowledge for future use in a working lab, research facility, or medical field.
Working in a Lab
The physical lab itself functions as a proper research facility which includes new chemical fume hoods, a dry lab, a wet lab, non-slip flooring, chemical safety such as emergency showers and eye wash stations, various marine research equipment for testing salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen, and much more. The facility resides in a beautiful Florida marine environment that transitions from a pine and palmetto hammock to a salt marsh seawall with fiddler crab, shore birds, and even bald eagles!
Additionally, the sea wall opens up on to a salt water basin that is visible from the back of the facility. There are serious discussions being held on how to repair (or replace) an on-site dock for student and professor use in the future.
The utilization of this facility gives our students a competitive advantage in an ever growing scientific and medical workforce. The Bay Pines STEM Center is just one example of how SPC strives to enable every student to achieve success.
I have been a part of the SPC Library and Learning Resources staff for the last six months and I’m constantly realizing how many people work here that I have yet to meet! As someone who works on two campuses, it can be hard to remember what campus everyone else is from and who tutors in what subject. To make it a little bit easier on everyone to get to know our librarians, tutors, and support staff, I’m happy to introduce our newest libguides:
These libguides were created by Heather Holtzman of Clearwater Campus, Kari Morrel of the Downtown and Midtown Centers, and Antonia Green of the Clearwater and St.Pete/Gibbs Campuses. They showcase our extraordinary team members!
Nothing can be as intimidating as sitting down with a librarian or a tutor that you know nothing about and telling them what you need help with. The libguides give you a chance to get to know us before you come to us with questions. I invite you to check out these pages and get to know us – we’re here to help you succeed and we’re all nice, unique, and understanding.
Can’t find time to meet?
We understand! We’re here to help, and we’re happy to say St. Petersburg College’s Learning Resources offers online support. Tap into tutoring from the comfort of home or read up on resource assessment and proofing your work in Word during your lunch break.
This article was written by SPC Library and Learning Resources staff Antonia Green on June 11, 2019.
We have moved! Sort of. At our St. Petersburg College Downtown Center, we have combined our computer lab, tutoring resources, and library services into one large room on the first floor for easy accessibility. Laptops, headphones, and calculators are available for enrolled students to use as well as rows of computers, printers, books, and of course our amazing tutors are there as well. Don’t forget, SPC has tutors and learning resource specialists at every campus, not just downtown.
Along the sides of the room there are a small number of
study rooms that will be available for small group study and class review as
well as a larger room with anatomy models ranging from ears and eyes to full
torso models. An interactive white board
towards the back of the main tutoring space allows instructors to workout math
problems or chemistry and with an app the students can see this happen in real
time on their phone form anywhere. The program will even convert these to a .pdf
that they can save.
The new downtown learning center is on the 1st floor, room DC 109. See you there!
Can’t Make it Out?
Whether you’re visiting the new Learning Center to study, meet with a specialist, or enjoy your time between classes, we aim to be accessible. That being said, if you can’t make it out, don’t forget SPC’s online resources! Read up on the top 100 Workplaces in Tampa Bay from home, or look into why dot-coms may not be the most dangerous resource for that essay you’re writing. As always – we’re here to help!
Sooner or later, everything old is new again. The 12th annual Record Store Day U.S. took place this past Saturday, April 13, where independent record stores all over the country celebrated with special release discs, live music, and more. St. Pete local record store Daddy Kool Records had a line to get inside their building for most of the day.
The hype surrounding this old school format isn’t just another fad. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, vinyl record sales rose to $419.2 million in 2018. While streaming may be the future of music listening, it hasn’t stopped good, old-fashioned vinyl records from making a comeback. Thanks to a recent donation by Dr. Lewis and Family from Pasadena, Florida to the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Library, St. Petersburg College is now embracing this comeback with a vinyl collection housing nearly 1,000 LP’s and professional audio equipment.
Vinyl, Equipment, and History
Vinyl from the late 1970’s, early 1980’s contemporary times, and even the 1969 SPC fine music ensemble The Madrigalians can now be enjoyed at St. Pete/Gibbs Retro Joe’s. An experimental music collection, as well as a collection of local bands, are forthcoming.
Housed inside Retro Joe’s which is located upstairs at the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Library, students can now enjoy a growing collection. The donation contains almost 1,000 LP’s, as well as 2 Audio-Technica LP120USB Direct Drive Professional DJ Turntables, 2 M6 USB 4-Channel USB DJ Mixers, 2 Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphones, and 2 Audio-Technica AT95E Dual Magnet 1/2″ Mount Phonograph Cartridges, a Denon DN-C630 and a Denon DN-C550R CD player/recorder.
The listening collection contains a wide variety of genres including a sizable assortment of Jazz, featuring classics by Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and Miles Davis. Students can experience vibes from the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, with albums from Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, and Bob Seger. Contemporary releases are also being added, including Panic at the Disco, Vampire Weekend, Portishead, Neutral Milk Hotel, Radiohead, Jawbreaker, and more. Students can even experience a little local history, with recordings from The Madrigalians, the SPC Clearwater fine music ensemble from 1969! An experimental music collection, as well as a collection of local bands, are forthcoming. Alongside the record bins, two turntables & mixers are available for listening inside Retro Joe’s. Students can check out the headphones at the Information Desk with their student I.D. Instructions on how to handle the albums, as well as on respecting the turntables, are visible for curious users who may be inexperienced with the format.
For
those interested in reading more about albums, the pocket-sized publications
“33 1/3” are also available for perusing and check-out. Each issue covers a single album, including
detailed writings on Led Zeppelin, The Velvet Underground & Nico, Jimi
Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland”, and many more.
Vision for the Future
Seminole Campus librarian, Chad Mairn, has spearheaded the record collection project in Retro Joe’s, cataloging the albums so they can be checked out. Mairn, who plays in a local punk band Low Season, is an avid music collector and has donated CD’s from his personal collection to expand the listening lab even more. Over 10 years ago he started an iTunes “listening station” in the library, so students could have easy access to much of the library’s CD collection. Mairn envisioned it like a record store, where people could listen to music before they take it home. As a student at USF, Mairn fell in love with the library as he spent countless hours flipping through bins of vinyl and discovering music. He hopes the same thing will happen for SPC students at the new listening lab.
Thank you to Dr. Lewis and Family for their generous donation and Chad Mairn for his efforts making vinyl accessible to theSt. Petersburg/Gibbs Library. Special thanks to Damon Dougherty and Corey Chambers who helped get the lab setup.
