Go Behind the News

Alabama Immigration Law Goes into Effect

2011-09-29T12:51:00.000-05:00

Due to a new immigration law in Alabama, law enforcement will be required to make citizenship checks that will be costly, ineffective, and time consuming according to a legal expert ("Immigration Law: Court Upholds Key Parts of Tough Alabama Law," The Christian Science Monitor, September 28, 2011). US District Judge Sharon Blackburn prevented other provisions of the law to be implemented, but schools will need to review legal status of students wanting to enroll.

Review selected library titles related to immigration at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

illegal aliens
United States emigration and immigration
United States immigrants

U. S. Immigrant and Immigration Policies in the Twenty-First Century: Making Americans, Remaking America by Louis DeSipio and Rodolfo O. de la Garza - Westview, 2011.
call number: on order
"An accessible overview of U.S. immigration and an incisive examination of the current legislative and legal debates over immigration and settlement policies." - publishers summary excerpt

American Immigration: A Very Short Introduction by David A. Gerber - Oxford, 2011.
call number: 304.873 Ger
"A fascinating and even-handed historical account, this book puts into perspective the longer history of calls for stronger immigration laws and the on-going debates over the place of immigrants in American society." - publishers summary excerpt

Immigration edited by Debra A. Miller - Greenhaven, 2010.
call number: 325.73 Imm
"Examines the current treatment of illegal immigrants, and potential changes to the U.S. response to illegal immigration. Also looks at how U.S. immigration policy could be reformed to mitigate the problem." - publishers summary excerpt

Transmission of HIV Cut Significantly with Preventative Drug Therapy

2011-05-13T17:00:00.018-05:00

A large clinical study of 1800 couples in nine countries proves use of antiretroviral drugs by HIV-positive individuals "can reduce transmission of the virus to partners by 96%" ("Anti-HIV Drugs Prove Highly Effective in Preventing Transmission of Virus," Los Angeles Times, May 13, 2011). However, the uninsured are on waiting lists for these types of drugs due to a lack of government funding.

Review selected library titles related to HIV and AIDS at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

AIDS (disease)
HIV infections

Saturday Is for Funerals by Unity Dow & Max Essex - Harvard University Press, 2010.
call number: 614.599 Dow
"In broad strokes, the authors cover the transmission and diagnosis of the disease, how drugs are researched and introduced on the market, and the humble and elaborate initiatives that have been so successful in Botswana: circumcision as well as HAART (Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy)." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

The HIV Pandemic: Local and Global Implications edited by Eduard J. Beck ... [et al.]; managing editor, Lynn-Marie Holland - Oxford University Press, 2008.
call number: 362.196 Hiv
"This ambitious book, written by 165 authors from 30 countries, offers a multi-country comparative study that examines how the response to the common, global threat of HIV is shaped by the history, culture, institutions and health systems of the individual countries affected. Increasingly the shift of health systems has been from prevention only as the main containment strategy, to a strategy that includes scaling up HIV treatment, and care and prevention services, including antiretroviral therapy." - publishers summary excerpt

HIV/AIDS: A Very Short Introduction by Alan Whiteside - Oxford University Press, 2008.
call number: 614.599 Whi
"HIV/AIDS is without doubt the worst epidemic to hit humankind since the Black Death. . .Despite rapid scientific advances there is still no cure and the drugs are expensive and toxic. In the developing world, especially in parts of Africa, life expectancy has plummeted to below 35 years. . .There have been unprecedented breakthroughs in understanding diseases and developing drugs. . . This Very Short Introduction tackles the science, the international and local politics, the fascinating demographics, and the devastating consequences of the disease, and suggests how we must respond." - publishers summary excerpt

Facebook Strengthens Anti-Bullying Campaign

2011-03-10T16:08:00.022-06:00

A new "social reporting feature" on Facebook provides help to those users who feel they are being bullied online. ("Facebook Backs Obama Anti-Bullying Campaign," The Wall Street Journal (blog), March 10, 2011). A recent White House conference included discussions of this new safety tool that requests other users to remove offensive content or gets help from other users about bullying online. This article mentions that the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PDF file) says that at least 10% of school-aged children are "bullied on a regular basis."

Review selected library titles related to bullying prevention at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

bullying
cyberbullying
hazing
school violence

It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller - Dutton, 2011.
call number: 306.766 Itg (NOTE: In processing)
"After a number of tragic suicides by LGBT students who were bullied in school, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage uploaded a video to YouTube with his partner Terry Miller to inspire hope for LGBT youth facing harassment. . . It Gets Better is a collection of expanded essays and new material from celebrities, everyday people and teens who have posted videos of encouragement, as well as new contributors who have yet to post videos to the site." - publishers summary excerpt

The Anti-Bullying Handbook by Keith Sullivan - SAGE, 2011.
call number: 371.58 (NOTE: in processing)
"The handbook summarizes current knowledge; guides schools in the development, implementation, and evaluation of effective anti-bullying philosophies; recommends anti-bullying programs; and supports a culture of problem solving that draws on research and experience. He discusses definitions, types of bullying, approaches to implementing programs, preventative strategies, and specific programs." - publishers summary excerpt

Understanding School Bullying: A Guide for Parents and Teachers by Mona O'Moore - Veritas, 2010.
call number: on order
"The handbook summarizes current knowledge; guides schools in the development, implementation, and evaluation of effective anti-bullying philosophies; recommends anti-bullying programs; and supports a culture of problem solving that draws on research and experience." - publishers summary excerpt

A Girl's Life (DVD) with Rachel Simmons - PBS Distribution, 2009.
call number: on order
"Researcher/author Rachel Simmons discusses the challenges facing young women as they grow to adulthood in the 21st century. To gather information, Simmons interviews parents, psychologists, teachers, social workers, and teens about what it means to be an adolescent girl in today's world and what messages girls receive from media and society. The core of the video consists of Simmons's interviews with four teenage girls in which she closely examines issues of body image, academics, cyber bullying, and violence." - School Library Journal review excerpt

Video Game Ban Reviewed by U.S. Supreme Court

2010-11-03T12:46:00.012-05:00

In a test of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, the U.S. Supreme Court will make a decision about violent video game sales to children ("Court Evaluates Violent Video Game Case," PBS NewsHour, November 2, 2010). The case involves a 2005 California law never taking effect that "bans the sale or rental of violent video games to anyone under the age of 18" and pits the state against the Entertainment Merchants Association, a video game trade group. Check out the transcript of the PBS NewsHour report at the link above and the YouTube video below of the interview.

Review selected library titles related to video game violence at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

video games
video games and teenagers
violence in mass media

Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissell - Pantheon Books, 2010.
call number: 794.8 Bis
"Grand Theft Auto IV is both a waste of time and 'the most colossal creative achievement of the last 25 years' according to this scintillating meditation on the promise and discontents of video games. Bissell excels both at intellectual commentary and evocative reportage on the experience of playing games, while serving up engrossing mise-en-scene narratives of the mayhem." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Video Games edited by Laurie Willis - Greenhaven Press, 2010.
call number: 794.8 Vid
Includes essays on topic such as "violence in video games reduces violence in the real world" and "video games are not responsible for people's violent actions." - Table of contents excerpt

Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth about Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do by Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl K. Olson - Simon & Schuster, 2008.
call number: 302.231 Kut
"Kutner and Olson's own study of some 1,300 middle-school gamers in Pennsylvania and South Carolina, while limited, produced interesting insights. Kutner and Olson advise parents to be involved with their kids' game playing, just as they should be with their other activities. While not profound, the authors, in a calm, evenhanded approach to a problem many parents find frustratingly difficult, address many social fears and make them less scary." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Cuba Changes Its Economic Course for Privatization

2010-09-15T16:52:00.008-05:00

In a push to privatize businesses, Cuban officials said they will remove some one million state employees from the payroll ("Capitalist Storm Clouds Loom over Havana after State Cuts 1m Jobs," The Guardian, September 14, 2010). Workers in sugar, public health, tourism and agriculture will face the first layoffs followed by civil aviation and the ministries of foreign relations and social services. The unemployed will be encouraged to "form private co-operatives or set up their own small businesses." Still others will be moved toward jobs run by foreign interests.

Review selected library titles related to Cuba, its politics and economy at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

Cuba foreign relations
Cuba politics
Fidel Castro

Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know by Julia E. Sweig - Oxford University Press, 2009.
call number: 972.91 Swe
"Using a Q&A format, this most recent book in the publisher's "What Everyone Needs To Know" series is more about Cuba's relationship with the United States than it is about Cuba. Sweig (director, Latin American studies, Council on Foreign Relations; Inside the Cuban Revolution) is eminently qualified to write on Cuba, Castro, and the long, shared history with American political, strategic, and economic interests." - Library Journal review excerpt

That Infernal Little Cuban Republic: The United States and the Cuban Revolution by Lars Schoultz - University of North Carolina Press, 2009.
call number: 327.73 Sch
"Schoultz, a University of North Carolina political science professor, offers an exhaustive study of the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba in the 20th and early 21st centuries. . .it's an approachable, deeply satisfying narrative with a clear-eyed and persuasive critique of U.S. policy toward Cuba and, more broadly, of U.S. policy toward any weaker nation that has ever stubbornly asserted its sovereignty." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana, and Washington by Ann Louise Bardach - Scribner, 2009.
call number: 972.91 Bar
"Bardach doesn't skimp on the politics or the day-to-day obstacles of Cuban civilians living in grinding poverty. Bardach opens the window wide on the "diplomatic train wreck" that is U.S.-Cuban relations, including Miami's exile community, anti-Castro Beltway establishment members, and the history of U.S. attempts to remove Castro from power. . .Bardach's unmatched access to Castro and other major players makes this a thorough account of a long-lived world figure who, admired or reviled, is an undoubtedly fascinating subject." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Texas Still Struggles with Obesity

2010-06-30T15:31:00.000-05:00

The obesity rate in Texas stands at 29 percent according to a study by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ("Texas Has 13th Highest Rate of Obesity in U.S., Study Says," The Dallas Morning News, June 29, 2010). Mississippi tops the list while Colorado is the at the bottom with the leanest adult population.

Review selected library titles related to obesity at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

food habits
food marketing
obesity

Stuffed: An Insider's Look at Who's (Really) Making America Fat by Hank Cardello with Doug Garr - Ecco, 2009.
call number: 616.398 Car
"The obesity epidemic in particular, he argues, is connected to food businesses that control "almost everything the average American eats." Drawing substantially on his professional knowledge, he examines such factors as marketing and product packaging, the recent controversies involving branded school snacks and beverages, the use of trans fat in restaurants, and the various food lobbies." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David Kessler - Rodale: distributed to the trade by Macmillan, 2009.
call number: 613.2 Kes
"Kessler (former FDA commissioner under presidents Bush and Clinton) describes how, since the 1980s, the food industry, in collusion with the advertising industry, and lifestyle changes have short-circuited the body's self-regulating mechanisms, leaving many at the mercy of reward-driven eating. Through the evidence of research, personal stories (including candid accounts of his own struggles) and examinations of specific foods produced by giant food corporations and restaurant chains, Kessler explains how the desire to eat-as distinct from eating itself-is stimulated in the brain by an almost infinite variety of diabolical combinations of salt, fat and sugar." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Body Image, Eating Disorders, and Obesity in Youth: Assessment, Prevention, and Treatment edited by Linda Smolak and J. Kevin Thompson - American Psychological Association, 2009.
call number: 618.928 Bod
"Smolak (psychology, women's and gender studies, Kenyon College) and Thompson (psychology, University of South Florida) present empirical research on the assessment, prevention, and treatment of body image problems, obesity, and eating disorders in children and adolescents." - book summary excerpt

How Should Obesity Be Treated? edited by Stefan Kiesbye - Greenhaven Press, 2009.
call number: 616.398 How
Includes essays such as "A culture obsessed with thinness propagates misconceptions about obesity" and "A tax on high fat foods might modify poor eating habits." - Table of contents excerpt

Liberals Push for Ally in Supreme Court Nominee

2010-05-05T09:51:00.002-05:00

Concern is mounting among liberals that President Obama is too focused on naming a "consensus-building moderate" to the U.S. Supreme Court ("Liberals Fear Obama Nominates Moderate to Court" - Associated Press/ABC News, May 4, 2010). Although retiring Justice John Paul Stevens began his high court career in the 1970s as a conservative, he moved solidly to the left. Liberal groups that supported Obama's election do not want to lose that left-leaning ideology after Stevens

Review selected library titles related to the U.S. Supreme Court and constitutional law at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

United States Supreme Court selection
constitutional law
judicial power
judges selection

The U.S. Supreme Court edited by Margaret Haerens - Greenhaven, 2010.
call number: 347.732 Uss
The book covers such topics as "There Are Advantages and Disadvantages to Term Limits for U.S. Supreme Court Justices" and "Political Ideology Is Not Relevant for Judicial Nominees" - table of contents excerpt

The Will of the People: How Public Opinion Has Influenced the Supreme Court and Shaped the Meaning of the Constitution by Barry Friedman - Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009.
call number: 347.731 Fri
"Friedman (law, NYU Law Sch.) offers an exhaustively researched book on the effect of public opinion on the Supreme Court from the Revolutionary period up to the end of the Rehnquist Court. " - Library Journal review excerpt

The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions edited by Kermit L. Hall and James W. Ely, Jr. - Oxford University Press, 2009.
call number: Reference 342.73 Oxf
Features the "scholarship of 161 field specialists, who summarize the Supreme Court's 440 most significant cases. . . An outstanding single-volume reference." - Library Journal review excerpt

The Supreme Court and the Powers of the American Government by David G. Savage - CQ Press, 2009.
call number: 347.732 Sav
"Using specific cases as illustration, the book engagingly explains complex historical and procedural issues." - Library Journal review excerpt

Arizona Immigration Law Seeks to Limit Racial Profiling

2010-04-30T16:16:00.004-05:00

After the Arizona governor signed the immigration law last week that seemed to sanction "legalized racial profiling," lawmakers revised the measure "to require scrutiny only of people who police stop, detain, or arrest." ("Arizona Lawmakers Modify Immigration Law" - Los Angeles Times, April 30, 2010). Legislators also prohibited race from the being the only reason to suspect someone was an illegal alien.

Review selected library titles related to immigration and illegal aliens at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

illegal aliens
immigration
immigration enforcement
Mexican-American border region
border patrols

Immigration edited by Debra A. Miller - Greenhaven/Gale Cengage, 2010.
call number: 325.73 Imm (in processing)
The book covers such topics as "Are Illegal Immigrants Treated Fairly?" and "How Should U.S. Immigration Policy Be Reformed?" - table of contents excerpt

Imaginary lines: Border Enforcement and the Origins of Undocumented Immigration, 1882-1930 by Patrick Ettinger - University of Texas, 2009.
call number: 325.73 Ett
"Historian Patrick Ettinger offers the first comprehensive historical study of evolving border enforcement efforts on American land borders at the turn of the twentieth century. He traces the origins of widespread immigrant smuggling and illicit entry on the northern and southern United States borders at a time when English, Irish, Chinese, Italian, Russian, Lebanese, Japanese, Greek, and, later, Mexican migrants created various "backdoors" into the United States." - book summary excerpt

Border Games: Policing the U.S.-Mexico Divide by Peter Andreas - Cornell University, 2009.
call number: 363.45 And
"The book covers such topics as "Creating the Clandestine Side of the Border Economy and The Escalation of Immigration Control." - table of contents excerpt

Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants by David Bacon - Beacon, 2008.
call number: 331.62 Bac
"The whole process that creates migrants is scarcely considered in the U.S. immigration debate, argues Bacon, who posits that displacement and migration are two perennially necessary ingredients of capitalist growth. In mapping the political economy of migration, with an unwavering eye on the rights and dignity of working people, Bacon offers an invaluable corrective to America's hobbled discourse on immigration and a spur to genuine, creative action." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives edited by Peter Orner - McSweeney's Books, 2008.
call number: 304.873 Und
"McSweeney's Voices of Witness series continues (following Voices of the Storm and Surviving Justice) with this collection of oral histories from undocumented immigrants . . .Culled from new interviews, the book's 24 subjects come from around the world (Mexico, China, South Africa, Colombia, Cameroon and others), each offering a vivid, personal, often wrenching and occasionally enraging first-person look into the immigrant experience." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Tibet Continues to Experience Oppression by Chinese Government

2010-03-10T17:06:00.005-06:00

Today marks the commemoration of the Tibetan "abortive 1959 uprising against Chinese rule" and the latest show of force by Chinese police on the streets of Lhasa was meant to prevent any uprising by locals ("Hundreds Held in Pre-Emptive Tibet Crackdown" - Times Online (UK), March 10, 2010). The police made a point to ask for identification from Tibetans and not ethnic Chinese minority residents. An estimated 500 Tibetans were detained by Chinese police in this latest incident. The exiled Dalai Lama stated that he recognizes "those Tibetans still enduring fear and oppression."

Review selected library titles related to Tibet and the Dalai Lama at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

Tibet
Dalai Lama
China Tibet relations

Tibet edited by Clare Hanrahan - Greenhaven, 2009.
call number: 951.505 Tib
The book covers such topics as "Chinese rule threatens Tibetan Buddhism" and "Tibetan quality of life has improved under Chinese Rule" - table of contents excerpt

Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World by Robert Thurman - Atria Books/Beyond Words, 2008.
call number: 294.392 Thu
"Tibetan scholar Thurman paints a splendid portrait of the Dalai Lama and masterfully elucidates the 50-year-old conflict between Tibet and China in this timely analysis." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

China's Tibet?: Autonomy or Assimilation by Warren W. Smith, Jr. - Rowman & Littlefield, 2008.
call number: 951.506 Smi
"Smith (Tibetan service, Radio Free Asia) provides a thorough and specialized study of relations between the two entities over the last century. He argues that assimilation is China's goal for Tibet: Tibet is becoming more Chinese and less Tibetan, as demonstrated by the recent mass immigration of Chinese into Tibet and China's dominance of both the government and the economy." - Library Journal review excerpt

10 Questions for the Dalai Lama [videorecording]: One Man's Journey through the Northern Himalayas produced by Rick Ray and Sharon Ray; written, directed and filmed by Rick Ray - Monterey Video, 2007.
call number: DVD Nonfiction 294.365 Ten
"If you had only one hour, what would you ask the Dalai Lama? This is the question that Rick Ray asks, and answers, in this excellent film." - Library Journal review excerpt

Bernanke's 2nd Term Awaiting Senate Vote

2010-01-22T14:19:00.006-06:00

Populist backlash from the Senate election in Massachusetts on Tuesday put the current Fed Chairman's prospects for a second term on hold ("Bernanke Confirmation Draws Opposition from Two Democratic Senators" - Washington Post, January 22, 2010). Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) now wants to wait on the vote to keep Bernanke in the job until he can shore up filibuster-proof support among Democrats and Republicans.

Review selected library titles related to the Federal Reserve System and Ben Bernanke at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

Ben Bernanke
Alan Greenspan
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
United States central banks
United States monetary policy

Bernanke's Test: Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, and the Drama of the Central Banker by Johan Van Overtveldt - Agate, 2009.
call number: 332.11 Ove
"Overtveldt's serious examination of how we got into this mess and what the Federal Reserve can do to get us out brings clarity to this period of financial chaos. Highly recommended for all interested readers." - Library Journal review excerpt

End the Fed by Ron Paul - Grand Central, 2009.
call number: 332.11 Pau
"An engaging response to big-government solutions for the financial crisis, this knowledgeable and opinionated look at U.S. economics, from a firebrand public servant, should provoke much thought." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Ben Bernanke's Fed: The Federal Reserve after Greenspan by Ethan S. Harris - Harvard Business Press, 2008.
call number: 332.11 Har
"Harris (managing director and chief US economist, Lehman Brothers) is more concerned in assessing the likely performance of the Fed under Bernanke. His discussion of Bernanke's role in the formation of monetary policy theory and practice thus discusses Bernanke's economic views and his early policy activities and assesses their likely impacts. Harris's volume also serves as an introduction to the Federal Reserve System and its role in many facets of the US economy." - Book News, Inc. summary excerpt

Same-Sex Marriage Approved in D.C.

2009-12-18T15:19:00.005-06:00

Although the bill goes to Congress for a 30-day review now, the mayor of Washington, D.C. put his signature on a bill to approve same-sex marriage in the district after it passed the local council ("D.C. Mayor Signs Same-Sex Marriage Bill" - CNN, December 18, 2009). Supporters believe that Congress will not prevent final passage of the law even though they have the power to block measures approved by the District of Columbia council. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and Iowa already allow such marriages and New Hampshire's law becomes effective January 1, 2010. Opponents of the D.C. measure say they will push for a citizen's vote on the issue.

Review selected library titles related to same-sex marriage at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

same-sex marriage
civil unions
gay couples
lesbian couples
domestic partner benefits

The Age of Independence: Interracial Unions, Same-Sex Unions, and the Changing American Family by Michael J. Rosenfeld - Harvard University Press, 2009.
call number: 306.85 Ros
Rosenfeld, Associate Professor of Sociology at Stanford University "offers a new theory of family dynamics to account for the interesting and startling changes in marriage and family composition in the United States in recent years . . . reduced parental control over the dating practices and mate selection of their children that has resulted in a sharp rise in interracial and same-sex unions." - publisher's summary excerpt

Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing All Families under the Law by Nancy D. Polikoff - Beacon Press, 2008.
call number: 346.73 Pol
"Polikoff says, we need to look at ways the law can change to value all families beyond those created by marriage, including same and different-sexed, married and unmarried couples. Polikoff draws on legal history and contemporary (often eye-opening) court cases to make her argument." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

The Politics of Same-Sex Marriage edited by Craig A. Rimmerman and Clyde Wilcox - University of Chicago Press, 2007
call number: 306.848 Pol
The book "brings together an esteemed list of scholars to explore all facets of this heated issue, including the ideologies and strategies on both sides of the argument . . .With comprehensive coverage from a variety of different approaches, this volume will be a vital sourcebook for activists, politicians, and scholars alike." - publisher's summary excerpt

Courting Equality: A Documentary History of America's First Legal Same-Sex text by Patricia A. Gozemba and Karen Kahn - Beacon Press, 2007.
call number: 306.848 Goz
"This book takes readers through the volatile public debate following the decision (on November 18, 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court granted equal marriage benefits to same-sex couples) and introduces some of the many lesbian and gay families who have taken advantage of equal marriage laws." - publisher's summary excerpt

World Hunger Relief Hit by Economic Downturn

2009-10-26T16:46:00.010-05:00

As a result of the world economic crisis, prices for "staple foods" in developing countries have increased 19% over 2007 costs causing 100 million more people this year to be classified as "undernourished" (More Than One Billion Go Hungry in World Recession" - Daily Telegraph (UK), October 14, 2009). The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) study cited the need for greater production of agricultural goods to spur price decreases, but food aid from wealthy nations continues to be cut. The only promising aspect of this report was the fact that "four decades ago one in three people in poor countries was undernourished – today that figure is one in five."

Review selected library titles related to the world food supply and malnutrition at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

food relief
food supply
malnutrition
sustainable agriculture

Malnutrition edited by Margaret Haerens - Greenhaven Press, 2009.
call number: 362.196 Mal
Includes topics such as "Global Malnutrition Is a Severe Problem" and "Increasing Local Food Production Will Help Alleviate Malnutrition" - publisher's table of contents excerpt

The Global Food Crisis edited by Uma Kukathas - Greenhaven Press, 2009.
call number: 363.8 Glo
Includes topics such as "Raising Agricultural Productivity Will Solve the Food Crisis" and "Modern Technologies Can Foster Success in Poor Farming Communities" - publisher's table of contents excerpt

We Feed the World [videorecording] supported by FVSterreichisches Film Institut Filmfonds Wien: Distributed by Kino International, 2009
call number: DVD Nonfiction 630 Wef
"Reveals the distressing problems of the industrialized world food system and what world hunger has to do with us. Nearly 1 billion of the 7 billion people on Earth are starving, but the food produced could feed 12 billion people." - video producer summary

Texas Pays Men for Being Wrongly Incarcerated

2009-09-04T15:47:00.008-05:00

The Innocence Project, a New York organization that works to free prisoners who are mistakenly convicted, announced that 38 men will receive payments from the State of Texas after DNA evidence prompted their release from prison ("Texas DNA Exonerees Find Prosperity after Prison" - Associated Press, September 4, 2009). For each year of prison time served, the exonerees will receive $80,000 in addition to "job training, tuition credits, and access to medical and dental treatment." Earlier payments to the wrongly convicted in Texas stood at $50,000 until several of the 38 men were "advised to drop their federal civil rights lawsuits" by their attorney who then pushed for passage of a new law that granted the larger sum.

Review selected library titles related to the DNA evidence and judicial error at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

DNA fingerprinting
false imprisonment
forensic genetics
judicial error

DNA Evidence and Forensic Science by David E. Newton - Facts On File, 2008.
call number: 363.25 New
". . . Provides an overview of DNA evidence and forensic science, covering forensic tools and DNA typing and their history, and legal issues and specific cases in the U.S." - publisher's summary excerpt

The Innocence Commission: Preventing Wrongful Convictions and Restoring the Criminal Justice System by Jon B. Gould - New York University Press, 2008.
call number: 347.755 Gou
"After describing the history of innocence investigations, Gould calmly dissects 11 cases from the ICVA files to illustrate some tragic errors in the criminal justice system. The book benefits from the use of trial testimony and detailed case descriptions, and the section on federal and state procedures for requesting post-conviction relief, model police identification procedures, and recommendations for prosecutors is especially useful." - Library Journal review excerpt

Justice and Science: Trials and Triumphs of DNA Evidence by George "Woody" Clarke - Rutgers University Press, 2007.
call number: on order
". . .Nonfiction page turner that should appeal just as much to true crime buffs as those concerned with the workings of the criminal justice system. . . (the author is) a leading world expert on the use of DNA in establishing probable guilt or innocence." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

After Innocence [videorecording] American Film Foundation & Showtime Independent Films - New Yorker Video, 2007.
call number: DVD Nonfiction 614.1 Aft
"Tells the dramatic and compelling story of seven men that were exonerated after being imprisoned for decades and released after DNA evidence proved their innocence." - video producer summary

Cheney Defends Terrorism Interrogation Methods

2009-08-31T17:18:00.002-05:00

In a recent televised interview, Former Vice-President Dick Cheney said that C.I.A. "enhanced interrogation techniques" including waterboarding were essential to defending the nation against terrorism ("Cheney Offers Sharp Defense of C.I.A. Interrogation Tactics" - New York Times, August 30, 2009). Cheney also stated that Attorney General Eric Holder's investigation into C.I.A. tactics would be detrimental to national security, noting that the inquiry must be politically motivated. Republican Senator John McCain disagreed with Cheney's assessment on the value of "extreme interrogation methods" and said that use of them went against provisions of the Geneva Conventions against torture and "produced unreliable intelligence."

Review selected library titles related to the terrorism investigations and torture at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

military interrogation
torture
war and emergency powers

Torture edited by Debra A. Miller - Greenhaven Press, 2009.
call number: 364.67 Tor
Includes several pro/con essays on such topics as "Is torture morally wrong?" and "Torture has a place in the war on terror." - publisher's table of contents excerpt

The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals by Jane Mayer - Doubleday, 2008.
call number: 973.931 May
"This hard-hitting expose examines both the controversial excesses of the war on terror and the home-front struggle to circumvent legal obstacles to its prosecution . . . the author looks at the use of techniques like waterboarding, stress positions, sleep deprivation and sexual humiliation against prisoners by the American military and CIA; her chilling account compellingly argues that this 'enhanced interrogation' regimen constitutes torture." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Administration of Torture: A Documentary Record from Washington to Abu Ghraib and Beyond by Jameel Jaffer and Amrit Singh - Columbia University Press, 2007.
call number: 341.65 Jaf
". . . The most detailed account thus far of what took place in America's overseas detention centers, including a narrative essay in which Jameel Jaffer and Amrit Singh (American Civil Liberties Union litigators) draw the connection between the policies adopted by senior civilian and military officials and the torture and abuse that took place on the ground." - publisher's summary excerpt

The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration by Jack Goldsmith - W.W. Norton, 2007.
call number: 342.73 Gol
"The author served as the head of George W. Bush's Office of Legal Counsel from October 2003 to July 2004, where he spent his short tenure challenging his colleagues' over-broad legal reasoning on such issues as the Terrorist Surveillance Program, the Geneva Conventions, military commissions, interrogation techniques, and Guantanamo Bay." - publisher's summary excerpt

Alternative Medicine Expenses on the Increase

2009-07-30T18:54:00.005-05:00

A new report from the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (affiliated with the National Institutes of Health) notes that alternative medical care "accounts for 1.5 percent of all health-care costs in the United States, but 11.2 percent of all out-of-pocket costs" mostly spent with "self-care therapies" that don't require consultation with a practitioner ("Americans Spend Billions on Alternative Medicine" - U.S. News and World Report, July 30, 2009). Purchase of "non-vitamin, non-mineral natural products" such as fish oil and echinacea accounted for some $14.8 billion of the total spent on alternative medicine.

Review selected library titles related to alternative medicine at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

alternative medicine
homeopathy
holistic medicine
herbs therapeutic use

Alternative Therapies edited by Debra A. Miller - Greenhaven Press, 2009.
call number: 615.5 Alt
Includes information on alternative therapy regulation, safety, benefits/drawbacks, and use with children. - publisher's table of contents excerpt

Mosby's Complementary & Alternative Medicine: A Research-Based Approach by Lyn Freeman - Mosby Elsevier, 2009.
call number: 615.522 Fre
"This text includes practical, clinically relevant coverage of complementary and alternative medicine, with commentary by well-known experts, descriptions of recent medical advances, case studies, and the history and philosophy of each discipline, along with indications, contraindications, practical application, and clinical trials for each topic." - publisher's summary excerpt

Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine by Simon Singh & Edzard Ernst - W.W. Norton & Co., 2008.
call number: 610 Sin
"Noted science writer Singh and British professor of complementary medicine Ernst offer a reasoned examination of the research on acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, herbal medicine and other alternative treatments. . . a stimulating and informative account that will be indispensable to anyone considering an alternative treatment, though it may not dissuade true believers." - Publisher's Weekly review excerpt

Prescription for Drug Alternatives: All-Natural Options for Better Health without the Side Effects by James F. Balch, Mark Stengler, and Robin Young-Balch - John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
call number: 615.535 Bal
"Verdict: The evidence supporting the efficacy of some suggested supplements is weak, and there are no caveats to readers that supplements themselves act as drugs. The bulk of the book consists of a listing of disease conditions with causes; prescription drug treatments with associated benefits, side effects, and risks; and natural alternatives." - Library Journal review excerpt

Alternative Medicine: An Introduction to Holistic and Integrative Therapies [videorecording] produced by Revodition LLC, 2008.
call number: DVD Nonfiction 615.88 Alt
"The program features 7 practitioners who have become successful in their respective forms of complementary and inclusionary medicine. They provide powerful insight on their experiences and methods of healing individuals who had nowhere else to turn for help." - publisher's summary excerpt

Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Baseball

2009-07-30T13:35:00.006-05:00

Add two more Major League Baseball players, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, to the 2003 performance-enhancing drugs positive test list based on word from attorneys who disclosed the information anonymously ("Ortiz and Ramirez Said to Be on 2003 Doping List" - New York Times, July 30, 2009). The latest report chronicles baseball's first steroid test in 2003, where the results eventually became part of a federal investigation against the wishes of the baseball players union. Ramirez recently concluded a "50-game suspension for violating baseball’s drug policy." Other players including Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez have been mentioned as testing positive in 2003 as well.

Review selected library titles related to performance-enhancing drugs and baseball at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

baseball players drug use
steroids
doping in sports
athletes drug use

American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids America's Pastime by the New York Daily News Sports Investigative Team - Knopf, 2009.
call number: 796.357 Ame
"Relying on hundreds of on- and off-the-record interviews and access to public and private documents, this is an intricate and compelling case in which there are no heroes, but a notable villain-the League itself-whose lax approach to the issue ensures baseball's steroids era isn't over." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Bases Loaded: The Inside Story of the Steroid Era in Baseball by the Central Figure in the Mitchell Report by Kirk Radomski - Hudson Street Press, 2009.
call number: 796.357 Rad
"Radomski, a former New York Mets employee, pleaded guilty to distributing anabolic steroids to dozens of major league players between 1995 and 2005." - publisher's summary excerpt

Performance Enhancing Drugs edited by Louise Gerdes - Greenhaven Press, 2008.
call number: 362.29 Per
Includes chapters on antidoping policies, drug testing programs, and teen athlete use of performance enhancing drugs - publisher's table of contents excerpt

Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and the Battle to Save Baseball by Jose Canseco - Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2008.
call number: B Cansec
"He talks candidly about what the Mitchell Report did -- and didn't -- get right, why steroid use became so rampant, and how his life has changed since he tore the lid off Pandora's box." - publisher's summary excerpt

Can Processed Food Actually Curb Hunger?

2009-06-24T15:51:00.014-05:00

Processed food can be altered with an additive to slow the rate that food leaves the stomach, keeping eaters feeling satisfied longer ("Foods May Soon Be Modified 'To Make You Feel Full for Twice as Long'" - Daily Telegraph (UK), June 3, 2009). The Institute of Food Research and Nottingham University discovered that this satiation of hunger can be achieved with an existing stabilizer, Tween 60. Research subjects said the addition of Tween 60 made them "feel fuller, less hungry and have less appetite" in contrast to another stabilizer that separated water and oil in their stomachs.

Review selected library titles related to food processing and obesity at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

food habits
food industry and trade
food marketing
obesity

Stuffed: An Insider's Look at Who's (Really) Making America Fat by Hank Cardello - Ecco Press, 2009
call number: 616.398 Car
"The obesity epidemic in particular, he argues, is connected to food businesses that control 'almost everything the average American eats.' Although the tone ranges from finger-wagging polemic to reformist optimism, the author does sketch out several solutions." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David A. Kessler - Rodale: distributed to the trade by Macmillan, 2009
call number: 613.2 Kes
"Although not everyone succumbs, more people of all ages are being set up for a lifetime of food obsession due to the ever-present availability of foods laden with salt, fat and sugar. A gentle though urgent plea for reform, Kessler's book provides a simple "food rehab" program to fight back against the industry's relentless quest for profits while an entire country of people gain weight and get sick." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

The Fattening of America: How the Economy Makes Us Fat, If It Matters, and What to Do about It by Eric Finkelstein and Laurie Zuckerman - Wiley, 2008
call number: 362.196 Fin
"Along with health-care writer Zuckerman, researcher Finkelstein delves into how modern technology reduces the cost of producing higher-calorie processed goods, decreases our activity level and puts our health in danger." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

North Korea's Missile Tests Escalate War of Words

2009-05-31T22:42:00.000-05:00

Diplomacy with allies failed to produce a resolution of North Korea's nuclear build up, so the U.S. is looking at defensive tactics against missile testing sanctioned by Pyongyang ("U.S., Allies Prepare for Tougher Response to N. Korea" - Reuters, May 31, 2009). While Japan, China, Russia and South Korea continue to work with the United States for a peaceful agreement with North Korea, the U.N. Security Council called for "strict enforcement of sanctions imposed after the North's first atomic test in October 2006." Meanwhile, North Korea said that they nullified the truce after the Korean War and retaliation against South Korea is possible.

Review selected library titles related to North Korean nuclear power and foreign relations at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

North Korea foreign relations
North Korea nuclear weapons
North Korea nuclear nonproliferation

Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis by Mike Chinoy - St. Martin's Press, 2008.
call number: 327.73 Chi
"Fine, insightful diplomatic history of a dire confrontation and a hard-hitting critique of the Bush administration's foreign policy." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

North & South Korea edited by Louise I. Gerdes - Greenhaven, 2007.
call number: 327.73 Nor
"Explores both sides of issues related to Korea and its relationship with the United States, including the military threat from North Korea." - publisher's summary excerpt

Worst of the Worst: Dealing with Repressive and Rogue Nations - Brookings Institution Press, 2007.
call number: 323.49 Wor (NOTE: p. 89 begins a chapter on North Korea: The Tyranny of Deprivation)
"Identifies and characterizes the most repressive states and singles out which are aggressive" - publisher's summary excerpt

Inside North Korea [videorecording] produced by Pangloss Films for National Geographic Television & Film (distributed by Warner Home Video), 2007.
call number: DVD Nonfiction 951.93 Ins
"A comprehensive look at . . . the tense world of the Demilitarized Zone to the surreal life of the Dear Leader Kim Jong II." - publishers summary excerpt

Swine Flu Researchers Review Historical Pandemics

2009-04-30T21:21:00.006-05:00

CNN reports that researchers are reviewing past pandemics to predict the future developments of the H1N1-swine flu virus ("Scientists Dig for Lessons from Past Pandemics" - CNN, April 30, 2009). The primary discovery is that a "more deadly second wave" hits several months after the first onset of a communicable disease outbreak (as seen in 1889, 1918, 1957, and 1968). This situation buys time for development of an H1N1 vaccine. Looking back in time, non-medical interventions such as closing places where people congregate and quarantining affected individuals still definitely slows the spread of disease.

Review selected library titles related to the epidemics at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

epidemics
communicable diseases
emerging infection diseases
world health

Do Infectious Diseases Pose a Threat? edited by Beverly Engel - Greenhaven Press, 2009.
call number: 362.196 Doi
"Includes essays such as 'The United States is prepared for an influenza pandemic' and 'Computers can predict and prevent epidemics'" - table of contents excerpt

Infectious Disease: A Scientific American Reader - University of Chicago Press, 2008.
call number: 362.196 Doi
"With sections devoted to viral infections, infectious disease, the immune system, and global management and treatment issues, Infectious Disease provides general readers and students with an excellent overview of recent research in the field." - publisher's summary excerpt

Pandemics and Global Health by Barry Youngerman - Facts On File, 2008.
call number: 614.49 You
"This indispensable book--which rivals even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's web site in accessibility and breadth--is a practical guide to understanding communicable diseases and their transmission modes." - Library Journal review excerpt

Understanding New, Resurgent, and Resistant Diseases: How Man and Globalization Create and Spread Illness by Kurt Link - Praeger Publishers, 2007.
call number: 362.196 Lin
"Aimed at a general audience, this volume by Link (a retired medical internist) provides a broad overview of the variety of disease threats that threaten the health and lives of people around the world." - publisher's summary excerpt

The Little Book of Pandemics: 50 of the World's Most Virulent Plagues and Infectious Diseases by Dr. Peter Moore - Collins, 2007.
call number: 614.4 Moo
"Includes headline grabbers such as SARS, avian flu, and anthrax, as well as conditions considered relatively mild in Western countries, such as measles and chicken pox. Basic information is provided in two to four pages and illustrated with a map of where the disease is active, . . . and bar graphs indicating how infectious and severe the disease is, its fatality rate, and how dangerous it would be as a bioweapon." - School Library Journal review excerpt

Domestic Abuse Discussions Rise Due to Chris Brown Case

2009-03-27T14:20:00.013-05:00

The fact that 1.3 million women experience violence annually from a partner came to light after the celebrity Rihanna/Chris Brown case of alleged domestic abuse ("The Front Lines Against Domestic Violence" - CBS News, 3/11/09). When Rihanna reconciled with Brown, her action resembled other abuse cases. Some 80% of women victimized in this way resume their association with the abuser. The story concludes with the need for the victim to realize that a crime has occurred, to seek help, and not take blame for someone else's destructive behavior.

Review selected library titles related to the domestic violence at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

domestic violence
abused women
abusive men
dating violence
violence against women
psychological abuse

The Nice Girl Syndrome: Stop Being Manipulated and Abused--and Start Standing up for Yourself by Beverly Engel - John Wiley & Sons, 2008
call number: 155.633 Eng
"Engel (Healing Your Emotional Self), a psychotherapist and domestic violence expert, has sharp words for the nice girls of the world who care more about being perceived as sweet and pleasant than strong and self-protective." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Violence Against Women edited by Kate Burns - Greenhaven, 2008.
call number: 362.88 Vio
"Includes essays on such topics as violence against immigrant women and changing male attitudes to prevent violence against women." - publisher summary excerpt

If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus - Simon & Schuster, 2007
call number: B Latus
"Chronicles the murder of her sister by an abusive lover and her own narrow escape from the same fate." - Library Journal review excerpt

You Don't Have to Take It Anymore: Turn Your Resentful, Angry, or Emotionally Abusive Relationship into a Compassionate, Loving One by Steven Stosny - Free Press, 2006
call number: 306.872 Sto
"Complete with checklists, case studies, and well-researched information, his program not only shows the damage that verbally and emotionally abusive relationships do to spouses and children but also demonstrates how to change them, with guidance for both parties." - Library Journal review excerpt

Octuplet Births Renew Debate on Infertility Treatment

2009-02-10T09:49:00.014-06:00

The octuplet controversy in California focused a spotlight on the unregulated world of infertility treatments that was featured in a February 9, 2009 San Francisco Chronicle article (Octuplet Mom Was Treated at Beverly Hills Clinic). In an interview with NBC, Nadya Suleman revealed the name of the clinic who treated her, West Coast IVF Clinic in Beverly Hills. Further investigation showed that Suleman was filmed at that clinic for a 2006 Los Angeles television station story with her doctor, Michael Kamrava. That doctor is now being scrutinized by the Medical Board of California for a possible "violation of the standard of care" because six embryos were reportedly transferred to Suleman, twice the standard number of embryos for someone her age. Two of Suleman's embryos actually split, forming twins.

Review selected library titles related to the ethics of infertility treatment and human reproductive technologies at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

infertility
human in vitro fertilization
human reproductive technology

Reproductive Technologies edited by Clay Farris Naff - Greenhaven Press, 2007
call number: 176 Rep
"Every technology has its pros and cons but reproductive technologies seem to present especially agonizing choices. For people suffering from infertility, the technologies offer . . . a chance to have a child. For critics of the technologies, they variously present a threat to the well-being of children, to motherhood, to God's will, and to the future of humanity itself . . . The authors contribute various opinions and predictions regarding this fascinating debate." - book introduction excerpt

Embryo Culture: Making Babies in the Twenty-First Century by Beth Kohl - Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007
call number: 618.178 Koh
"Freelance writer Kohl here offers a part memoir, part essaylike account of her experience with IVF and its effects on culture, legal issues, and more . . . From her paranoia over her IVF-conceived daughter to her reflections on what constitutes life, Kohl eloquently shares her innermost reflections while raising important issues in a thought-provoking way. Readers in her position may find hope in her story." - Library Journal review excerpt

Everything Conceivable: How Assisted Reproduction Is Changing Men, Women, and the World by Liza Mundy - Alfred A. Knopf, 2007
call number: 362.196 Mun
"Mundy, a feature writer for the Washington Post, combines a science reporter's objectivity with a mother's understanding, and she delivers her emotionally charged and often scientifically complex material in clear, bright and eminently readable prose . . . she interviews mothers, fathers, infertility doctors, surrogate mothers, egg donors, sperm donors and adult children conceived through surrogacy and in vitro fertilization. The picture that emerges is one of a social experiment so new and untested-legally, medically, ethically and socially-that it behooves us all to be as informed as possible. - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Test Tube Babies [videorecording] produced and directed by Chana Gazit & Hilary Klotz Steinman - PBS Home Video, 2006
call number: DVD Nonfiction 618.178 Tes
"This tells the story of doctors, researchers, and hopeful couples who pushed the limits of science and triggered a technological revolution in human reproduction. In so doing, they landed at the center of a controversy whose reverberations continue to this day." - Publisher summary

Electric and Hybrid Cars Popular at Auto Show

2009-01-12T09:31:00.018-06:00

The post-bailout North American International Auto Show in Detroit displayed an affinity for alternative energy vehicles such as Toyota's all-electric concept car, FT-EV and Volkswagen AG's clean diesel, BlueSport based on a story in the January 11, 2009 Detroit News ("It's a Small -- Green -- World after All"). Ford even touted its "new electrification strategy" in response to customer demand. Automakers think small cars will be their salvation, but for those buyers still wanting larger vehicles, they might need to settle for hybrid V-8 engines.

Review selected library titles related to alternative energy vehicles at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

electric automobiles
alternative fuel vehicles
hybrid electric cars
hydrogen cars
renewable energy sources

Energy for Sustainability: Technology, Planning, Policy by John Randolph and Gilbert M. Masters - Island Press, 2008
call number: 333.79 Ran (NOTE: see chapters 13 & 14 for transportation issues)
"Randolph (environmental planning, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U.) and Masters (environmental engineering emeritus, Stanford U.) offer an interdisciplinary and encyclopedic approach seeking to inform policy makers and technologists. . . . They describe energy patterns and trends, including . . . sustainable transportation and land use." - Book News summary excerpt

Future Cars: Bio Fuel, Hybrid, Electric, Hydrogen, Fuel Economy in All Sizes and Shapes by Ulrich Bethscheider-Kieser - AvEdition, 2008
call number: 629.229 Bet
"Introduces a unique selection of about 50 unusual and forward-looking car designs that will change the world: Hybrid cars that are already in mass production, automobiles soon to be produced, powered with natural gas, bio fuel or electricity, and concepts of fuel-cell vehicles." - Publisher summary excerpt

Zoom: The Global Race to Fuel the Car of the Future by Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran - Twelve, 2007
call number: 338.476 Car
"It includes excellent descriptions of fuel cells, hydrogen, plug-in technology, energy storage devices, etc., their domestic developers, and how US energy politics is changing from the bottom up, rather than the top down." - Choice review excerpt

Who Killed the Electric Car? [videorecording] produced by Jessie Deeter, written and directed by Chris Paine - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2006
call number: DVD Nonfiction 629.229 Who
"Investigates the birth and death of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in the future." - summary from the library catalog

United Nations Condemns Actions in Gaza

2009-01-09T11:50:00.013-06:00

The Voice of America (VOA) News reports January 9, 2009 that an official of the United Nations (UN) condemns the violence inflicted upon civilians by Hamas and Israeli forces and is pushing for a war crimes investigation ("UN Emergency Session Deals With Gaza Crisis"). The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay mentioned that attacks on relief workers in Gaza forced the shutdown of U.N. aid in Gaza. Israel defended its air strikes as necessary to protect Israeli civilians, but Hamas criticized the intensity of Israel's fire power that has caused civilian deaths.

Review selected library titles related to the Arab-Israeli conflict at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

Israel politics 1993
West Bank
Arab-Israeli conflict
Palestinian Arabs

Hamas vs. Fatah: The Struggle for Palestine by Jonathan Schanzer - Palgrave Macmillan, 2008
call number: 956.953 Sch
"Neophytes to the tangled world of Palestine's internal conflict will be treated to a serious, no-frills account; those readers more familiar with the issues will enjoy how Schanzer weaves a web of connectivity between the Palestinian conflict with Israel" - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

The Arab-Israeli Conflict by Kirsten E. Schulze - Pearson Longman, 2008
call number: 956.04 Sch
"General audiences and students of international history will appreciate the straightforward style of this book, which describes why this historic conflict has become the focus of Muslim politics throughout the world." - Book News, Inc. summary excerpt

The Much Too Promised Land: America's Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace by Aaron David Miller - Bantam Books, 2008
call number: 956.05 Mil
"Career diplomat Miller provides an impressively candid appraisal of Middle East peace efforts. Drawing from his extensive experience and 160 interviews with presidents, advisers and negotiators, he apportions censure and praise with an even hand, sparing not even his failures or those of his colleagues." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Victory for Us Is To See You Suffer: In the West Bank with the Palestinians and the Israelis by Philip C. Winslow - Beacon Press, 2007
call number: 956.953 Win
"Winslow balances the Palestinian struggle to maneuver through an ever-growing web of walls, checkpoints and Israeli military operations in the West Bank, with close attention to Israel's legitimate defense needs and the fear created by Palestinian terrorism." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

New Climate Change Treaty Debated at UN Conference

2008-12-01T11:33:00.014-06:00

Over 190 countries gathered in Poland to discuss a new treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions worldwide according to the December 1, 2008 Christian Science Monitor ("Building Trust Tops Global Climate Agenda"). Since the talks are being held while the global economic crises rages, many observers are wondering who will pay the price to reduce emissions. Also, cash-strapped nations are being forced to choose between inexpensive energy producers like coal-fired power plants that exacerbate global warming and saving the world from the impending increase and intensity of floods, droughts, and storms that are likely to occur as global temperatures rise.

Review selected library titles related to global warming at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3219 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

global warming
global temperature changes
climatic changes
renewable energy sources
human beings effect climate

Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet by Mark Lynas - National Geographic, 2008
call number: 551.6 Lyn
(see also the companion DVD Nonfiction 551.642 Six)
"The author portrays a sobering, but broad and fascinating, view of the problem" - School Library Journal review excerpt

Earth, The Sequel: The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming by Fred Krupp And Miriam Horn - W. W. Norton & Co., 2008
call number: 621.042 Kru
"Environmental Defense Fund president Krupp and journalist Horn proffer a business-centric prescription for alleviating climate change" - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

The Hot Topic: What We Can Do about Global Warming by Gabrielle Walker and Sir David King - Harcourt, 2008
call number: 363.738 Wal
"Explains in the clearest possible way why we should care about global warming and what we can do about it" - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

The Plot to Save the Planet: How Visionary Entrepreneurs and Corporate Titans Are Creating Real Solutions to Global Warming by Brian Dumaine - Crown Business, 2008
call number: 658.408 Dum
"Well-reasoned discussions of how corporations are becoming part of the solution" - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations by Brian Fagan - Macmillan, 2008
call number: 904.5 Fag
"Global warming is hardly new…Anthropologist Fagan (The Little Ice Age) focuses on the medieval warming period (ca. 800-1300)…he notes how times of intense, sustained global warming can have particularly dire consequences" - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Galveston Welcomes Biological Defense Lab

2008-10-29T15:20:00.008-05:00

The October 28, 2008 New York Times includes a story on the Galveston National Laboratory, a $174 million biohazard research facility to open next month on the University of Texas Medical Branch campus ("Bio Lab in Galveston Raises Concerns"). Environmentalists and local residents raised questions on the logic of situating a "killer diseases" laboratory on a barrier island in the potential path of hurricanes. Citing concerns that the recent Hurricane Ike was a minimal storm and not a true test of the building's ability to withstand significant storm surge, wind, and rain, the director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club worries that a larger storm "would pose an even greater threat of a biohazards release." An infectious disease expert from the National Institutes of Health defends the decision to build the lab in Galveston, where noted virologists are already in residence.

Review selected library titles related to serious communicable diseases at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

biological weapons
bioterrorism
communicable diseases
emerging infectious diseases
epidemics
globalization health aspects

Pandemics and Global Health by Barry Youngerman - Facts on File, 2008
call number: 614.49 You

Bioterrorism edited by Jacqueline Langwith - Greenhaven Press/Gale Cengage Learning, 2008
call number: 363.325 Bio

Understanding New, Resurgent, and Resistant Diseases: How Man and Globalization Create and Spread Illness by Kurt Link - Praeger Publishers, 2007
call number: 362.196 Lin

The Encyclopedia of Infectious Diseases by Carol Turkington and Bonnie Lee Ashby - Facts on File, 2007
call number: 616.903 Tur

Global Epidemics edited by Christopher Mari - H.W. Wilson Company, 2007
call number: 614.4 Glo

Economic Meltdown: Causes and Remedies

2008-10-24T15:48:00.021-05:00

CNNMoney.com reports on October 24, 2008 that the Federal Reserve is trying to improve economic conditions by "allowing Wall Street firms to borrow directly" from them, but Congress will need to offer other proposals beyond the $700 billion bailout to help state/local governments and the auto industry among others ("Throwing the Bathroom Sink at the Economy"). Beyond the United States, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is reviewing how to help the ailing economies of Hungary, Iceland, Pakistan, Belarus, and Ukraine. However, the article suggests that drastic measures may be needed to make significant changes in the economic forecast.

Review selected library titles related to how the United States and the world arrived at this economic crisis and potential solutions to the issues at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

United States economic conditions 21st century
United States economic policy 21 century
financial crises United States

Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism by Kevin Phillips - Viking, 2008
call number: 330.973 Phi

The Economists' Voice: Top Economists Take on Today's Problems edited by Joseph E. Stiglitz, Aaron S. Edlin, and J. Bradford DeLong - Columbia University Press, 2008
call number: 330.905 Eco

What Is the Future of the U.S. Economy? edited by Susan C. Hunnicutt - Greenhaven Press, 2008
call number: 330.973 Wha

The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash by Charles R. Morris - PublicAffairs, 2008
call number: 332.041 Mor

Drug Company Puts Profits Before Patient Care

2008-10-10T11:06:00.007-05:00

Recently filed legal documents show that Pfizer delayed publication of information about the ineffectiveness of their epilepsy drug Neurontin for off-label or unapproved uses for pain, migraine headaches, and bipolar illness, allowing physicians to continue prescribing the drug and earning big profits for the company according to a New York Times article published on October 8, 2008 ("Experts Conclude Pfizer Manipulated Studies"). Deliberate misinformation about the value or safety of other drugs including Vioxx and Vytorin, manufactured by other companies is mentioned in the story, also. A pending court case will decide if Pfizer must reimburse patients and insurance companies for "fraudulently misrepresenting the drug’s benefits."

Review selected library titles related to pharmaceutical companies and their research and marketing practices that may compromise consumer health at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

pharmaceutical industry ethics
pharmaceutical industry marketing
pharmaceutical industry corrupt practices
physicians ethics
drugs marketing

Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs by Melody Petersen - Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008
call number: 338.476 Pet

Profits before People?: Ethical Standards and the Marketing of Prescription Drugs by Leonard J. Weber - Indiana University Press, 2006
call number: 174.961 Web

Big Bucks, Big Pharma [videorecording]: Marketing Disease & Pushing Drugs produced and written by Ridberg, Ronit - Media Education Foundation, 2006
call number: DVD Nonfiction 338.476 Big

Paid to Prescribe?: Exploring the Relationship between Doctors and the Drug Industry by United States Senate Special Committee on Aging - Government Printing Office, 2008
call number: online access at http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS90432

Teen Suicide Trends Still Alarming

2008-09-08T09:54:00.007-05:00

Serious warnings on the risk of suicide for children taking anti-depressants may be limiting use of the drugs among adolescents and thus causing rising rates of teen suicides. Researchers from Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh studied this situation and published a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently that was summarized in the Wall Street Journal of September 3, 2008 ("Elevated Rate Of Teen Suicide Stirs Concern"). A host of issues that also may be factors in the teen suicide rate include "alcohol use, access to firearms, the influence of Internet social networks and suicides among (teenaged) U.S. troops" according to one of the researchers.

Review selected library titles related to teen depression and suicide at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

depression adolescence
stress adolescence
suicidal behavior teenagers
mental health teenagers
adolescent psychology

Is Your Teen Stressed or Depressed?: A Practical and Inspirational Guide for Parents of Hurting Teens by Archibald D. Hart and Catherine Hart Weber - Thomas Nelson, 2008
call number: 248.845 Har

Suicide edited by Jacqueline Langwith - Greenhaven Press/Gale Cengage Learning, 2008
call number: 362.28 Sui
NOTE: several chapters related to whether teens are at risk for suicide

The Teen Whisperer: How to Break through the Silence and Secrecy of Teenage Life by Mike Linderman with Gary Brozek - Collins, 2007
call number: 649.154 Lin (NOTE: also a downloadable book in Adobe Acrobat format)

When Nothing Matters Anymore: A Survival Guide for Depressed Teens by Bev Cobain and edited by Elizabeth Verdick - Free Spirit Publishing, 2007
call number: Young Adult Nonfiction 618.928 Cob

Will's Choice: A Suicidal Teen, a Desperate Mother, and a Chronicle of Recovery by Gail Griffith - Harper, 2006
call number: Young Adult Nonfiction 362.28 Gri

Health Insurance Coverage Ranks Lowest in Texas

2008-08-29T21:51:00.016-05:00

From 2005-07, Texas had the most citizens without health insurance coverage according to Census Bureau reports noted in an August 27, 2008 article in the The Austin American Statesman ("Census: Texas leads nation in percentage of uninsured"). Approximately 5.7 million Texans had no health insurance during that time period. Nationally, numbers for the uninsured decreased to 15.3 percent or 45.7 million in 2007, in contrast to 15.8 percent, or 47 million, in 2006. A health care legislation expert notes that this situation occurred because "the state did not take advantage of several federal programs that could have increased coverage for children and adults."

Review selected library titles related to health insurance availability and cost at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

health care reform
health insurance
medical care cost
national health insurance
medical policy

Critical: What We Can Do about the Health-Care Crisis by Tom Daschle with Scott S.Greenberger and Jeanne M. Lambrew - Thomas Dunne Books, 2008
call number: 362.109 Das

National Health Insurance in the United States and Canada: Race, Territory, and the Roots of Difference by Gerard W. Boychuk - Georgetown University Press, 2008
call number: 368.42 Boy

America's Health Care Crisis Solved: Money-Saving Solutions, Coverage for Everyone by J. Patrick Rooney and Dan Perrin - Wiley, 2008
call number: 338.433 Roo

Health Care edited by David M. Haugen - Greenhaven Press, 2008
call number: 362.104 Hea

Sick: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis--and the People Who Pay the Price by Jonathan Cohn - HarperCollins Publishers, 2007
call number: 362.109 Coh

Sicko [videorecording] produced by Meghan O'Hara and written, produced and directed by Michael Moore - Weinstein Company, 2007
call number: DVD nonfiction 362.109 Sic

DNA Evidence Not Saved in 25 States

2008-08-07T17:31:00.008-05:00

The ability to clear wrongly-convicted individuals is made more difficult because 25 states are not required to keep DNA evidence according to an August 5, 2008 story in USA Today ("DNA not kept in half of states"). The possibility of solving crimes committed years ago is hampered by lack of DNA samples as well. Disagreement about guidelines and length of time for saving DNA material and the requirements and cost for storage seem to be the biggest problems surrounding this issue.

Review selected library titles related to DNA evidence available now at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

DNA fingerprinting
DNA data banks
judicial error
false imprisonment
forensic sciences

DNA Databases edited by Lauri R. Harding - Greenhaven Press, 2007
call number: 363.256 Dna

Crime Scene: Inside the World of the Real CSIs by Connie Fletcher - St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2007
call number: 363.259 Fle

The Forensic Laboratory Handbook: Procedures and Practice edited by Ashraf Mozayani and Carla Noziglia - Humana Press, 2006
call number: available from NetLibrary book database online with student/staff ID or library card if off campus (NOTE: click on link above and enter library card number if requested)
NOTE: "easy-to-read introduction to the work of the modern forensic laboratory"

Journey Toward Justice by Dennis Fritz - Seven Locks Press, 2006
call number: 347.731 Fri

After Innocence [videorecording] produced by Jessica Sanders, Marc H. Simon - New Yorker Video, 2007
call number: DVD nonfiction 614.1 Aft

Case Settled in UT Student's Binge Drinking Death

2008-07-15T14:55:00.007-05:00

The July 15, 2008 Houston Chronicle covers the $4.2 million settlement in the case against Lambda Phi Epsilon national and Austin chapters and specific fraternity members in the hazing/binge drinking death of a former UT student ("Houston family settles suit in son's binge-drinking death"). Jack Phoummarath, 18, died of alcohol poisoning after a fraternity initiation party. His autopsy blood alcohol level was over five times the legal limit for adults.

Review selected library titles related to hazing and binge drinking available now at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

college students alcohol
binge drinking
ethanol poisoning
alcoholic intoxication
hazing

From Binge to Blackout: A Mother and Son Struggle with Teen Drinking by Chris Volkmann and Toren Volkmann - New American Library, 2006
call number: 616.861 Vol

Talking with College Students about Alcohol: Motivational Strategies for Reducing Abuse by Scott T. Walters, John S. Baer - Guilford Press, 2006
call number: 362.292 Wal

Dying to Drink: Confronting Binge Drinking on College Campuses by Henry Wechsler and Bernice Wuethrich - Rodale: Distributed to the book trade by St. Martin's Press, 2002
call number: 362.292 Wec

Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking by Hank Nuwer - Indiana University Press, 2001, 1999
call number: 378.198 Nuw

Women and Alcohol [videorecording] produced by ABC News - Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 2006
call number: DVD Nonfiction 362.292 Wom

International Response to Darfur Genocide

2008-07-14T12:53:00.014-05:00

The Online NewsHour from PBS reported on July 14 that the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague charged the Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with "genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur" (Sudanese President Charged with Genocide in Darfur). In an effort to eliminate native African tribes opposing his government, al-Bashir is accused of leading the movement to exterminate over 300,000 people and displacing 2.5 million from their homes. The announcement by the ICC is seen as an independent effort to quell the violence and bring world support to find solutions to the Sudanese conflict.

Review selected library titles related to the genocide in Sudan available now at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

history Darfur
genocide Sudan
ethnic conflict Sudan
atrocities Sudan
politics Darfur
humanitarian assistance Sudan

The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari, as told to Dennis Michael Burke and Megan M. Mckenna - Random House, 2008
call number: B Hari

Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide by Gérard Prunier - Cornell University Press, 2007
call number: 962.704 Pru

The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur by Brian Steidle - Blackstone Audio, Inc., 2007
format: OverDrive eAudio Book available for download at http://hcpl.lib.overdrive.com/. (See also the title DVD at end of list.)

Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival by Jen Marlowe with Aisha Bain and Adam Shapiro - Nation Books: Distributed by Publishers Group West, 2006
call number: 962.704 Mar

Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond by Don Cheadle & John Prendergast - Hyperion, 2007
call number: 962.704 Che

The Devil Came on Horseback [videorecording] produced by Docurama: distributed by New Video Group, 2007
call number: DVD nonfiction 962.704 Dev (See also the book title near top of list.)

Supreme Court Takes Stand for Gun Owners

2008-06-27T09:27:00.000-05:00

Gun owners hailed the Supreme Court's latest decision to overturn a Washington, D.C. prohibition on handguns as reported in a June 26, 2008 Dallas Morning News story ("Supreme Court strikes down D.C. handgun ban"). This latest decision about an individual's right to carry guns has some limitations that are noted in the article. Still this broader interpretation of the Constitution's Second Amendment is historic for gun rights advocates.

Review selected library titles related to the firearms laws and the Second Amendment available now at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

2nd Amendment
firearms laws
United States militia
gun control

Out of Range: Why the Constitution Can't End the Battle over Guns by Mark V. Tushnet - Oxford University Press, 2007
call number: 344.73 Tus

A Well-Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America by Saul Cornell - Oxford University Press, 2006
call number: 344.73 Cor

The Second Amendment in Law and History: Historians and Constitutional Scholars on the Right to Bear Arms edited by Carl T. Bogus - New Press, 2001
call number 344.73 Sec

The Right to Bear Arms: Rights and Liberties under the Law by Robert J. Spitzer - ABC-CLIO, 2001
call number: 344.73 Spi

Bush Calls for Halt to Iran's Nuclear Development

2008-06-11T14:33:00.001-05:00

Although Iran states that its uranium enrichment program is for "purely civil purposes," President Bush warns that further sanctions are forthcoming if Iran fails to stop its development of nuclear weapons according to a Guardian (UK) article ("Bush Warns Iran Again over Nuclear Plans" posted June 11, 2008).

Review selected library titles related to nuclear weapons development and Iran available now at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
foreign relations Iran
military policy Iran
nuclear weapons Iran
politics Iran

America: Our Next Chapter: Tough Questions, Straight Answers by Chuck Hagel with Peter Kaminsky - Ecco, 2008
(NOTE: Chapter 5 - Ayatollahs, Blue Jeans, and Nukes: The Question of Iran)
call number: 973.93 Hag
The Iran Threat: President Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear Crisis by Alireza Jafarzadeh - Palgrave, 2007
call number: 355.021 Jaf

Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States by Trita Parsi. - Yale University Press, 2007
call number: 327.569 Par

The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Iran by Yossi Melman and Meir Javedanfar - Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2007
call number: 955.054 Mel

Iran [videorecording]: The Next Iraq? produced by A&E Television Networks
call number: DVD nonfiction 955.054 Ira

Salmonella Outbreak - Why Is Food Contaminated?

2008-06-09T12:14:00.001-05:00

Salmonella contamination hit an estimated 145-150 people in 16 states including Texas and the culprit appears to be uncooked tomatoes according to a June 8, 2008 USA Today story. Other news this year related to listeria, E. Coli, and mercury caused widespread alarm about the safety of the food supply. Food irradiation or submitting food to "high-energy gamma or electron beams to disrupt the DNA of pathogens" is seen as a way to increase the safety of the food supply, but concerns still exist about potential drawbacks to the practice. Take a look at some library titles related to food safety available now at LSC-CyFair Branch Library.

Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

food safety
food law
food poisoning
food contamination
food-borne diseases
food adulteration
food irradiation

Salmonella by Danielle A. Brands - Chelsea House Publishers, 2006
call number: 615.952 Bra

Food Safety by Victoria Sherrow - Chelsea House, 2008
call number: 363.192 She

Threats to Food Safety by Fred C. Pampel - Facts On File, 2006
call number: 363.192 Pam

Death in the Pot: The Impact of Food Poisoning on History by Morton Satin - Prometheus Books, 2007
call number: 614.5 Sat

Food edited by Jan Grover - Greenhaven Press, 2008
(NOTE: Several chapters in the book cover food safety or irradiation.)
call number: 363.862 Foo

Largest Biodiesel Plant Opens in Houston

2008-06-06T09:12:00.000-05:00

The Houston Chronicle reports in a June 3, 2008 story that the Houston Ship Channel area welcomed the opening of the biggest biodiesel plant in the United States owned by GreenHunter Energy. The company touted its ability to create fuel from chicken and beef fat and rapeseed, canola and palm oils plus in two years, they hope to power the new facilities with jatropha, a plant from India. An agricultural economist interviewed for the article projects that the increased use of U.S. biodiesel "will displace 242 million barrels of crude oil between 2006 and 2015." Take a look at some library titles related to biodiesel available now or on order at LSC-CyFair Branch Library.

Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it. Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

biodiesel fuels
renewable energy sources
vegetable oils as fuel

Do-It-Yourself Guide to Biodiesel: Your Alternative Fuel Solution for Saving Money, Reducing Oil Dependency, and Helping the Planet by Guy Purcella - Ulysses Press, 2007
call number: on order

Biodiesel: Basics and Beyond: A Comprehensive Guide to Production and Use for the Home and Farm by William H. Kemp - Aztext Press: Distributed by New Society Pub., 2006
call number: 662.669 Kem

Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy Economy by Greg Pahl - Chelsea Green Pub., 2005
call number: 662.669 Pah

Running a Presidential Campaign

2008-06-03T11:46:00.001-05:00

Discover why so much is at stake in the political primaries and how our next president is really chosen with these items available at LSC-CyFair Branch Library.

Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it.

Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

presidents election
presidents nomination

political campaigns

presidential candidates

political parties

The Presidential Election Process edited by Tom Lansford - Greenhaven Press, 2008
call number 324.609 Pre

: Exploding Myths, Exploring Misconceptions by Jody C. Baumgartner and Peter L. Francia - Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008
call number 324.709 Bau

Choosing the President 2008: A Citizen's Guide to the Electoral Process by The League of Women Voters and edited by Bob Guldin - Lyons Press, 2008
call number 324.6 Cho

Gaming the Vote: Why Elections Aren't Fair (and What We Can Do about It) by William Poundstone - Hill and Wang, 2008
call number 324.973 Pou

Encyclopedia of American Political Parties and Elections by Larry J. Sabato, Howard R. Ernst - Checkmark Books, 2007
call number 324.273 Sab

American Political Parties and Elections: A Very Short Introduction by L. Sandy Maisel - Oxford University Press, 2007
call number 324.973 Mai

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on the Rise

2008-06-03T10:08:00.001-05:00

An Associated Press story discusses a report from the Army surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Eric B. Schoomaker on 40,000 diagnosed cases of post-traumatic stress disorder in members of the military, most significantly affecting the Army and Marines (Wartime PTSD cases jumped roughly 50 pct. in 2007 - May 27, 2008). The story mentions that there are likely many more unidentified cases of this condition in the armed forces. Find more about the devasting effects of combat and suggested treatment options for PTSD at the LSC-CyFair Branch Library.

Click the title of a book, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library. Call the library at 281-290-3218 to check your PIN if you do not remember it.

Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

post-traumatic stress disorder

veterans mental health

veterans family relationships

war neuroses

After the War Zone: A Practical Guide for Returning Troops and Their Families by Laurie B. Slone and Matthew J. Friedman - Da Capo Lifelong, 2008
call number 616.852 Slo

Back from the Front: Combat Trauma, Love, and the Family by Aphrodite Matsakis - Sidran Institute Press, 2007
call number 616.852 Mat

Soldier's Heart: Close-Up Today with PTSD in Vietnam Veterans by William Schroder and Ronald Dawe - Praeger Security International, 2007
call number 616.852 Sch

Courage after Fire: Coping Strategies for Troops Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and Their Families by Keith Armstrong, Suzanne Best, and Paula Domenici - Ulysses: distributed by Publishers Group West, 2006
call number 616.89 Arm

Politics & the Price of Oil

2008-06-03T10:06:00.000-05:00

Are we expecting a gallon of gasoline to keep rising in price indefinitely? What factors affect the increasing prices at the pump? Use these subject words to find more in the library catalog:

petroleum industry

energy policy

gasoline

petroleum products

petroleum reserves

All titles are in the adult non-fiction section of the LSC-CyFair Library (unless otherwise noted):

Leading by Example: How We Can Inspire an Energy and Security Revolution by Bill Richardson - Wiley, 2008
call number 333.79 Ric

Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of "Energy Independence" by Robert Bryce - PublicAffairs, 2008
call number 333.79 Bry

Oil and the Future of Energy: Climate Repair, Hydrogen, Nuclear Fuel, Renewable and Green sources, Energy Efficiency compiled by the editors of Scientific American Magazine - Lyons, 2007
call number 333.79 Oil

Oil on the Brain: Adventures from the Pump to the Pipeline by Lisa Margonelli - Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, 2007
call number 338.272 Mar

The Oil and The Glory: The Pursuit of Empire and Fortune on the Caspian Sea by Steve LeVine - Random House, 2007
call number 338.272 Lev

American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century by Kevin Phillips - Penguin Books, 2007
call number 973.931 Phi

A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (DVD) written, produced and directed by Basil Gelpke & Ray McCormack - New Video Group, 2007
call number 622.338 Cru (on the non-fiction DVD shelves near the 1st floor customer service desk)

Explore Myanmar

2008-06-03T10:03:00.000-05:00

As the world community struggles to respond to the devastation in Myanmar, discover more about the country formerly known as Burma by checking out a sample of library titles on this mysterious country. Use these words in a keywords anywhere search to find more in the library catalog:

Myanmar

Burma

All titles are in the adult non-fiction section of the LSC-CyFair Library (unless otherwise noted):

Early Civilizations of Southeast Asia by Dougald J.W. O'Reilly - AltaMira Press, 2007
call number 959.01 Ore

Worst of the Worst: Dealing with Repressive and Rogue Nations - Brookings Institution Press, 2007
call number 323.49 Wor (NOTE: p. 135 begins a chapter on Burma: Poster Child for Entrenched Repression)

Sounds of the Silk Road: Musical Instruments of Asia by Mitchell Clark - MFA Publications, 2005
call number 784.195 Cla (NOTE: p. 84 begins a chapter on Burma)

The Trouser People: A Story of Burma -- in the Shadow of the Empire by Andrew Marshall - Counterpoint, 2002
call number 959.103 Mar

The Traditional Ceramics of Southeast Asia by Mick Shippen - University of Hawai'i Press, 2005
call number 738.095 Shi

Journey into Buddhism (DVD) - WGBH Boston Video, 2007
call number 294.3 Jou on the non-fiction DVD shelves near the 1st floor customer service desk

The Bridge on the River Kwai (DVD or Videocassette) - Columbia TriStar Home Video, 2000
call number "B" (DVD) on the feature film DVD shelves near the 1st floor customer service desk