Over the past few weeks, it has become common to hear students exclaim, “Flags!” when they enter Oesterle Library. The flags in question are a colorful new addition to the lobby area on the main floor of the library. They celebrate NCC’s international exchange programs and the home countries of our international students. Stop in and try to identify each flag. If you need help, check out Flags through the ages and across the world, located in the oversize section on the lower level of Oesterle Library. To find statistics and data from any country, look in the The Statesman’s Yearbook 2009 in the Reference collection or The World Factbook online. If you’d like more information on any one country, try a subject search in our online catalog. On the library’s web page, under the heading “Find Books, Movies and More,” type the name of the country and select “Subject” from the drop-down menu. For more information about study abroad programs or ways to get involved with international students at NCC, see the web page for the Office of International Programs.

Visit the Oesterle Library Gallery to view the paintings of Jack Siegel, a Chicago artist. The artist is a modernist painter, influenced by the 19th and early 20th century impressionist and expressionist painters.  The oil and watercolor paintings feature Chicago landmarks, street scenes and waterways.  The exhibit begins with a reception on Sunday, Feb. 22nd from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. The public is welcome to come meet the artist and view the paintings. The paintings will be on display until April 3rd. The exhibit is free and is open during regular library hours.

With new titles constantly arriving, there is always something for everybody!  Here are some highlights from the most recent additions to Oesterle Library. Enjoy!

Authentic Confucius: A Life of Thought and Politics

Bad Faith: The Danger of Religious Extremism

Call Northside 777 (DVD)

Chicken: The Dangerous Transformation of America’s Favorite Food

Children, Gender, Video Games: Towards a Relational Approach to Multimedia

College Student’s Research Companion

Cowboys and Dragons: Shattering Cultural Myths to Advance Chinese-American Business

Diego Rivera: The Complete Murals

Double Happiness (DVD)

Flowering Plant Families of the World

From Birth to Five Years: Children’s Developmental Progress

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Letters to a Young Teacher

On Being Foreign: Culture Shock in Short Fiction: An International Anthology

Optic nerve: Perceptual Art of the 1960s

Over a barrel: The Costs of U.S. Foreign Oil Dependence

Metropolis: Center and Symbol of Our Times

Metrosexual: Gender, Sexuality, and Sport

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song (DVD)

Piecebook: The Secret Drawings of Graffiti Writers

Planet in Peril: An Atlas of Current Threats to People and the Environment

Ramblin’ on My Mind: New Perspectives on the Blues

Schoolhouse Rock! (DVD)

Sicko (DVD)

Sports Mania : Essays on Fandom and the Media in the 21^st Century

Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping

It is hard to ignore the current economic crisis. Everywhere you look you see foreclosures, going out of business sales, job cuts, etc. Oesterle Library has up-to-date information on the current economic situation as well as information on recessions in the past.

The Economics Subject Guide is the best place to start and can be found on the Library Webpage “Research by subject” option. To perform a subject search in a database one might chose terms such as “economic crisis 2009” or “financial recession”. The Wall Street Journal, Business Sources Premier and Lexis Nexis all feature full-text articles on today’s economics and the current recession.  Perhaps you would like to research previous economic downturns? The Chicago Tribune historical file features full-text articles from 1849-1985, the historical New York Times database includes articles from 1851-2003, and America: History & Life offers a society perspective on the impacts of an economic crisis.  To keep up with the situation on an ongoing basis you might want to bookmark CNN’s economy section for articles and videos that are continually updated.

To many of us, Chicago is a place to shop, dine, and play; but it’s really so much more.  North Central College students, faculty, and staff can now discover how our urban neighbor became such a unique and entertaining city by borrowing Oesterle Library’s new Chicago History Museum membership card.

The Chicago History Museum membership card may be checked out by North Central College students, faculty, or staff for up to three days at a time.  The card entitles the borrower to free admission (for the borrower and one guest) to the Chicago History Museum, a 10% discount to the museum’s cafe, a 10% discount off all purchases at the museum store, and free or discounted admission to more than 160 additional history museums nationwide.

The Chicago History Museum is located at 1601 N. Clark St.,Chicago, IL 60614.  You may visit them on the web at http://chicagohistory.org/ for more information about the museum and its collections.

Join us at Oesterle Library from 11:30 am-12:30 pm on Thursday, February 12th to celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday. Yes, there will be cake! Come to the lower level of the library where you can view Lincoln artifacts on display in the College Archives and learn more about the 16th President of the United States.

Hungry for the news? Both online and in print, Oesterle Library can connect you with a great assortment of news sources. For online news, start at Oesterle’s web page and use the “Find Articles” drop-down menu. In Lexis-Nexis, you can search within a huge number of news publications, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Chicago Sun Times and the Chicago Daily Herald, as well as articles from the Associated Press and transcripts from the major TV networks’ newscasts.  Looking for the Chicago Tribune? Our Chicago Tribune databases allow you to search either the current issues of this paper (1986-present) or the historical file, containing issues from 1849-1985. To keep up with the happenings in Washington D.C., try CQ Weekly, an online magazine covering politics, government and commerce. If you are “old school” when it comes to your news consumption, relax in the comfort of Oesterle Library’s Periodicals Room, where you will find the current issues of many news sources including Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun Times, the Daily Herald and the Naperville Sun.