What happened during Banned Books Week

The Banned Books displays in all three LRCs last week raised lots of interesting questions about why books might be banned and led to further discussions on topics ranging from Hitler to Martin Luther King, to the Qur'an and the Bible. Students couldn't believe the range of books that have been banned over time.

Some students were brave enough to 'liberate' (borrow) books from the LRC displays. We look forward to hearing their views.




Class visit to Banned Books display at Farnham College

At Farnham College four English classes came to see the displays and do the quizzes. This included two A level classes studying political correctness in language, so the theme of banned books tied in well.

Quiz results:

• At Farnham College Deni Wither won the main Banned Book quiz
• Also at Farnham Lily Bohling won the word hunt, finding an amazing 88 words in 'Banned Books'! Although even more amazing was that adding together all words found by students and library staff, the total was 179! (there may even be more...)
• At Guildford College Musaed AlFoudari correctly identified the 10 banned books from the 15 pictured in the quiz (and wins a £10 print voucher)

For those still wondering, the correct answers to the Guildford College quiz were:

Banned:

 

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J K Rowling)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
• A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
• The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
• Wild Swans (Jung Chang)
• Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
• And Tango Makes Three (Justin Richardson)
• The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)
• Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)

Not Banned:

• The Brutal Art (Jesse Kellerman)
• Women in Love (D H Lawrence)
• Hairy-Scary Monster (Roderick Hunt)
• Birdsong (Sebastian Faulks)
• The Godfather (Mario Puzo)

Warning - Banned Books

As part of Diversity Week, the LRCs are highlighting Banned Books

Come to the LRCs this week (24-28 November) and be amazed at some of the books which have been banned not just in the distant past but also in the present time. Governments, local authorities, schools (and even libraries) in some countries ban books because they are considered to be dangerous from a moral, political or religious viewpoint.

Banned books have ranged from Madame Bovary, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Heart of Darkness, to Lord of the Flies, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Captain Underpants!

However history shows that banning a book is the perfect way to get people reading and discussing it!

Things to do in the LRCs this week:

• Read more about what happened when some books were banned
• Enter the LRC banned book quizes (£10 print voucher prize at Guildford)
• Borrow a banned book from the LRCs and find out how dangerous it is!

Book Swap 2014

The ‘Big Book Read’ in the LRC

Thursday 5th June, 10 am – 4 pm

 

To promote the pleasure of reading, Guildford College LRC is holding a book swap. Why not pop in and bring along one of your old fiction books to swap for another.

Staff are, of course, welcome to come along and swap too and if you have any unwanted fiction books (in reasonable condition) that you would like to donate to our book swap, they will be most welcome.

 

See you there!

World Book Day 2014

The LRCs celebrated this years World Book Day with a Desert Island theme.

Students and staff at all three College got involved in the activities and told us which book they would take to a Desert Island to keep them entertained. Which book would you take?

Guildford College LRC

• 41 staff and students wrote on our Desert Island book wall telling us which book they would take with them. Answers ranged from Harry Potter to Lord of the Flies.
• 17 students guessed the mystery book was 'Life of Pi' and Jessica Marney (CACHE) was the winner of a copy of the book.
• 28 students completed the book title picture quiz and Sony Purja (BTEC Applied Science) was the winner of the £10 Amazon voucher.
• 14 Entry Level students attended a Pirate theme storytelling event.

Merrist Wood LRC

• 15  students entered the book title picture quiz and Katie Wilson (BTEC Animal Management) won the £10 Amazon voucher.
• 30 Desert Island Disc entries - 15 Staff and 15 Students

Farnham College LRC

• 24 students completed the book title picture quiz and Roxana Upfield was the winner.
• 53 students completed the British Isles quiz and Chloe Shaw was the winner. 
• 24 students wrote on the Desert Island book wall.

Thank you to everyone one took part!

e-resources week 2014

e-resources week saw a total of 56 students drop-in to the LRCs to find out more about  accessing e-books and e-resources including mySearch.

We also had 18 students complete our quiz with 3 students winning £10 printing vouchers. These students were Sally Thompson (GC), Sacha Rivett (MW) and Harriet Bragg (FC).

mySearch allows you to search most of the LRCs e-resources in one place!



Dawsonera is one of our e-book platforms and allows you to access and download e-books to your PC and portable devices such as iPads.

If you would like to find out more about these e-resources and the others that are available to staff and students please pop into your LRC and ask!

E-resources Week 13th - 17th January

Do you always find the right resources for your assignment? Can you use the LRCs e-resources? Do you know how to search the online catalogue Heritage, find e-books and use mySearch?

If the answer to any of these questions is NO then come along to the LRCs e-resources event. There are drop-in sessions, displays and quizzes all week.

Here is what's happening...

Guildford College LRC Drop-in Sessions

• Monday 9am - 12pm: Heritage & e-books
• Tuesday 9am - 12pm: mySearch & e-resources
• Tuesday 12pm - 1pm: e-readers & fiction e-books
• Wednesday 9am - 12pm: Heritage & e-books
• Thursday 9am - 12pm: mySearch & e-resources

Every day from 4pm a Librarian will be available to answer your e-resources questions!

Merrist Wood LRC Drop-in Sessions

• Monday 2.30pm - 5pm: e-resources & mySearch
• Tuesday 9am - 11.30am: e-books & Heritage
• Wednesday 2.30pm - 5pm: e-resources & mySearch
• Thursday 2.30pm - 5pm: e-books & Heritage
• Friday 2pm - 4pm: e-resources & mySearch

Farnham College LRC Drop-in Sessions

• Monday 9.30am - 12.30pm & 2pm - 3.30pm: e-resources & e-books
• Tuesday 9.30am - 12.30pm & 2pm - 3.30pm: e-resources & e-books.
• Wednesday 9.30am - 12.30pm & 2pm - 3.30pm: e-resources & e-books.
• Thursday 9.30am - 12.30pm & 2pm - 3.30pm: e-resources & e-books.
• Friday 9.30am - 12.30pm & 2pm - 3.30pm: e-resources & e-books.

Staff Briefing: Monday 8.30am - 9am Introduction to mySearch & e-resources.

All LRCs are running an e-resources Quiz with a chance to win a £10 printing voucher!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Celebrating Diversity Week 2013!

All three Colleges was busy last week celebrating Diversity Week. We hope you had fun... we certainly did and here is what we got up to!

Around the world with your LRCs!

Guildford College LRC

79 Students attended two talks by Bob Thompson 'Developing Education in Africa: experiences of volunteering in South Sudan'

There was good feedback from the talks and the Foundation Degree Early Childhood Studies students hope to make a link with a school in South Sudan.

Farnham College LRC

54 students and staff contributed to the Why I love my Country Display! They covered 21 countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

Comments included: 

• the fact that many nationalities live in harmony with each other (Malaysia and Nepal) 
• “you can lay on a beach, diving in crystal clear sea water, enjoy the breeze on the mountain top, trek through a rain forest, or shop and party in the City of Malaysia” 
• ”I love the sound of the traffic and how it is still bright at night from the lights of the billboards everywhere” (HK) 
• “Vietnam is where saying “I love you” is impossible, according to the BBC, since we have more than 40 different pronouns to describe the relationships between individual and groups, based on ages and positions.” 
• Nepalese students commented on the beauty of the mountains and fantastic food, but one said that a surprising thing was how there would suddenly be a strike and they would have a day’s holiday. 
•  UK students said they love their freedom of speech, free healthcare and education and several said they love our weather!
• One student was reading the descriptions on the board and realised there was a student in college from her home town in Zimbabwe – she is going to try to make contact...watch this space...

Merrist Wood College LRC

At MW LRC students participated in an Equality and Diversity Treasure Hunt Quiz.

We have also had lots of equality and diversity fiction being borrowed from our displays at all the LRCs if you are interested in borrowing some E&D resources here are our recommended reads and watches!

A selection of Equality & Diversity Resources

available from your LRCs

Annabel by Kathleen Winter

Fiction: about a young hermaphrodite (FC LRC: F WIN)

Britain’s Gay Footballers (dvd) BBC 3

Amal Fashanu, niece of Justin Fashanu, the only ever openly gay British professional, goes on a mission to discover why no gay player has followed in her uncle's boots in over twenty years. (MWLRC: 796.334 BBC)

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Fiction: a murder mystery with the detective, and narrator, Christopher Boone a fifteen year old with Asperger's Syndrome. (All LRCs F HAD) Show More

Show Less

Drawing Autism by Jill Mullin.

A collection of inspirational artwork produced by people with autism. (FC LRC: 709.04 MUL)

Equality and Diversity in Policing by Brian Stout

(MW LRC: 363.2 STO)

Equality and Diversity in the Lifelong Learning Sector 2^nd ed. by Ann Gravells

(GC & MW LRCs: 374.017 GRA)

Finding the Real Me: True Tales of Sex and Gender Diversity by Tracie O’Keefe

(FC & GC LRCs: 306.77 OKE)

Killing Honour by Bali Rai

Fiction: about honour killings and violence towards women. (All LRCs: F RAI)

Milk (dvd) starring Sean Penn

Film: inspiring story of the first openly gay man to be voted into major public office in America, Harvey Milk. (GC LRC: 791.437 MIL)

Noughts and Crosses Trilogy by Malorie Blackman

Fiction: Against a background of prejudice, distrust and violence a romance builds between, Sephy a cross and Callum a nought. One that is to lead them into terrible danger… (MW LRC F BLA)

Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Fiction: A quirky comedy that brings two people with mental health problems, Pat and Tiffany, together. (MW & GC LRC F QUI)

Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt

Fiction: about Jenna who survives a car crash that kills her best friend but leaves her permanently scarred. (GC LRC: F JAR)

Succeeding in College with Asperger Syndrome: a student guide by John Harpur

(FC LRC: 371.90474 HAR)

Untouchable (dvd) starring Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy

Film: a French comedy drama about the friendship between a rich quadriplegic and his Senegalese carer.  (GC & FC LRCs: 791.437 UNT)

Zelah Green by Vanessa Curtis

Fiction: Zelah calls herself a “cleanaholic” and through her rituals has found a way to cope with the tragedy in her life. (FC LRC: F CUR)

Book Swap at GC LRC

To celebrate the advent of summer the LRC at Guildford College is holding a Book Swap. Please  bring along a fiction book to swap and find something new to read during the holidays!

When: Thursday 13 June, 10 am – 4 pm

Where: Guildford College LRC

If you have any unwanted fiction books (in reasonable condition) that you would like to donate to the book swap, they will be most welcome.

Celebrating World Book Week 2013

All the LRCs took part in celebrating a very successful At the Movies themed World Book Week 2013 which created a real buzz for reading. Here is a round-up of the activities along with our competition winners:

Guildford College

• 22 students attended a Storyteller event 
• 67 students entered the Picture Quiz - The winner of the £10 Amazon voucher is Amirali Kheradmand.
• 8 students entered the World Book Day Quiz - The winner of the Amazon voucher is Mia Sherrington.
• 64 books and 89 films were added to our wall.
• 43 fiction books were borrowed during the week. (This is a record!!)

Farnham College

• 101 students entered the Film Picture Quiz - 1st Prize went to Ellie Gaskin with 2nd Prize going to Durell Chimombo.
• 72 students entered the World Book Day Quiz - 1st prize went to Chloe Shaw with 2nd Prize going to Ayla Stenning.
• Students also shared their favorite books and films.
• 18 fiction books were borrowed during the week.

Merrist Wood

• 47 students entered the Film Picture Quiz - The winner was Connie Norris
• 6 students posted on the book wall and lots of discussion took place about books and films.
• 21 fiction books were borrowed during the week. (This is also a record breaking number!!)

A big thank you to all the students and staff that took part in World Book Week 2013!!

Watch this space for 2014.......

Warning Banned Books!

To celebrate Equality and Diversity Week 2012 all three LRCs showcased Banned Books!

Banned Books created a stir at all the sites with students getting involved in the quiz as well as discussing the books that were banned and also the issues surrounding the banning of books.

The aim of the quiz was to correctly identify whether the books had been or are currently banned either here in the UK or in another country. We used the following website as a guide to which books were banned and why. We had over 220 entries so a big thank you to everyone who took part!

The winners are: Lorna Taylor (FC), Mo Herbert (MW), Mary Apple Radam (GC).

Here are the answers so you can check which ones you got right:

Birdsong - Not Banned
Women in Love - Not Banned
Hairy Scary Monster - Not Banned
To Kill a Mocking Bird - Banned
Black Beauty - Banned
A Clockwork Orange - Banned
Refugee Boy - Not Banned
Wild Swans - Banned
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Banned
The Perks of being a Wallflower - Banned
The Brutal Art - Not Banned
And Tango Makes Three - Banned
The Da Vinci Code - Banned
The Godfather - Not Banned
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Banned 


Students also submitted comments and reviews of Banned Books -  here are a few along with some pictures of our displays. Enjoy!

Wild Swans by Jung Chang. "It is a brilliant book! So vivid and honest and it's all true. It actually happened that is what is so incredible. I admire these 3 brave women."

"Harry Potter banned in America? Meant to be a so called 'free country'! Censorship comes to mind."


"American Psycho should be permanently banned it's a very disturbing read" 


"Adolf Hitler's 'Meine Kampf' should not be banned - he was entitled to his political opinion."

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. "I loved Of Mice and Men because it was interesting and made me want to read more."


The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. "My favourite book ever. Clever, smart, thoughtful and very moreish. Read this hundreds of times. Worth a read!"

LRC CPD Day Showcase

The LRC had a very successful CDP Day showcase with 61 staff visiting us. There was a wide range of activities on offer including:

·         CIS Guildford QR Code game

·         Dewey order game and word games

·         Demonstration of Keynote reports

·         Have a go at using Action & Flip Cameras

·         Try out an e-book reader or the interactive books on the iPad

·         Find out about the LRC pages on Moodle and use Heritage Online

·         Tweet and find out about the new LRC Blog

There was also a Best Practice Vodcast in which Guildford College Tutors explained how to get the most out of the LRC. If you missed it you can watch it again here: http://youtu.be/aDorLREuUic

If you would like to find out anymore about how the LRC can support you or your students please get in touch or pop in and see us! You can also follow us on twitter http://www.twitter.com/GCLRCs

Guildford College LRC

library@guildford.ac.uk

01483 448611

Merrist Wood LRC

mwlibrary@guildford.ac.uk

01483 884022

Farnham College LRC

FCLRC@guildford.ac.uk

01252 740547

Celebrating World Book Week 2012

All the LRCs took part in celebrating a very successful World Book Week 2012 which created a real buzz for reading. Here is a round-up of the activities along with our competition winners:

Guildford College LRC

• 156 students and staff wrote on the book wall. The most popular current read was The Help by Kathryn Sockett. If you fancy reading it too it is available from the LRCs!
• 80 students and staff swapped books in the LRC.
• 31 World Book Week Quiz entries. 1^st prize, £20 Amazon voucher, went to Louise Hill and 2^nd prize, a signed copy of Bali Rai’s Killing Honour, went to Graham Burton.
•  27 fiction books were borrowed over the week.

Farnham College LRC

• 55 quiz entries for the world book day event. 1st prize Sahshi Rai £20 Amazon Voucher and 2nd prize Scott Hartley a mug and chocolates
• 3 Functional Skills classes and 2 GCSE English classes, aprox 70 students, visited the LRC to look at the display and enter the quiz.
• 19 fiction books were borrowed over the week.

Merrist Wood College LRC

• 10 comments on the book wall.
• 23 entries to the bookmark competion. 1st prize, a £20 Amazon Voucher, went to Gemma Elstob, 2nd prize, a Teddy, went to Ben Coles, and 3rd prize, a box of chocolates, went to Mary Lattimore
•  The winning entry was a beautiful caterpillar with the slogan 'Just munching through' (see photo)
• 5 fiction books were borrowed over the week.

Celebrating Equality & Diversity in the LRCs

In November the College held an 'Equality and Diversity Week' and all three LRCs joined in by organising events and putting up displays.  Here's short write up of what we got up to...


Guildford College LRC

Bali Rai visits to celebrate Diversity Week!

During Diversity Week Author Bali Rai spoke to three groups of 40-50 students from different courses such as Electrical installation, Business, Performing Arts and Beauty Therapies about a wide range of equality and diversity issues. He covered topics including reading, race, equality, the rich-poor divide, the London riots, EMAs and also music. He made the students think and join in by asking questions and promoting discussions.

Bali also spoke about the controversial topic of honour killing which is the subject of his latest novel Killing Honour. It is reported that 17,000 women every year are the victims of honour related violence.

Feedback from the event was very positive and one student tweeted “@balirai you gave an amazing talk at Guildford the other day! enjoyed it alot, thankyou for coming :)” and his books have been going out of the LRC like hot cakes!

Born in Leicester in 1971, Bali grew up in a multicultural, multi-racial community close to the city centre. Since then he has written eight young adult novels and his first, (Un)arranged Marriage, created a huge amount of interest and won many awayres including the Angus Book Award and the Leicester Book of the Year.

If you are interested in reading one of his books you can borrow the following from the LRCs:

·         Killing Honour

·         (Un)arranged Marriage

·         The Gun

·         The Last Taboo

Farnham College LRC

Why I Love My Country

When we put out a request for students and staff to tell us what they loved about their country of origin we didn’t expect such a fantastic result.  We had 57 contributions describing 25 countries, from 5 continents.  A Zimbabwean student wrote about traditional weddings and local music, a Scottish student about partying, many Nepalese described the wonderful mountain scenery and at least a dozen countries had the friendliest people in the world!  For GCSE English students this tied in well with their autobiographical writing and ESOL students practiced their English.  Books and flags, a bungee jumping sheep, a kiwi and traditional Nepalese accessories complemented the display.

Students and staff enjoyed trying to work out who had written the pieces and seeing where the countries were on the large map.  All through Equality and Diversity Week (and beyond – the display was too good to take down after only 5 days) groups of students could be seen reading the latest offerings.  Personally I found it very enriching to learn about the heritage of our College community and to understand more about the adjustments that many students have had to make when settling in to an English way of life.