"Poet with the camera" Ingmar Bergman Dies at 89

Ingmar Bergman, widely considered one of the greatest directors in motion picture history, died July 30th at the age of 89. His death was announced by the Ingmar Bergman Foundation.

The Library has many books and other resources covering the life and works of Bergman. Click on the Find Articles--Film & Video link on the Library's home page to be directed to a number of film related databases, as well as the Biography Reference Bank.

Read Bergman's New York Times obituary HERE

For more information on the works of Ingmar Bergman, explore the Ingmar Bergman Face to Face website.

Your Campus Card = Your Library Card

Welcome, incoming First-Year students and new Transfer students! One of the highlights of Orientation (which has been taking place throughout this month and will continue into next month) is picking up your shiny new Columbia College ID card.

Not only will you be able to add "Columbia Cash" to your card to make purchases in the Bookstore, the Plum Cafe and the Library Coffee Cart and pay for printing in the Library and other Campus labs, your Columbia College Chicago ID (aka your "Campus Card") is also your Columbia College Chicago Library card! Your Campus Card is your ticket to a world of books and other resources available to you through the Columbia College Chicago Library.

In addition to checking out books from the CCCLibrary, you can also use your Campus Card to request books from other libraries located all over Illinois. Here's a quick explanation of how to do this: http://www.lib.colum.edu/research/findBooksOtherLibraries.php

And here's more information about the new Campus Card: http://www.colum.edu/Administrative_offices/Campus_Card/

Not sure how this works? Have another question? Just click

Columbia College Chicago supports New Orleans

At the end of this month, Columbia College Chicago Librarian Shirley Bennett will travel to New Orleans to help foster awareness of the continuing challenges faced by Hurricane Katrina survivors. Shirley is one of fifteen mentors from the College and its community partners who will be accompanying a group of twenty Saturday Scholars students who are making this trip as part of the culmination of a six-week course incorporating reading, writing and visual literacy based on the text of When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts by filmmaker Spike Lee.

This trip builds on a previous outreach effort made by a group of Columbia College students who were accompanied by Lott Hill, former Assistant Director for Civic Engagement and current Acting Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence. They traveled to the French Quarter to offer their assistance and support during Spring Break earlier this year.

Find these books and more on Hurricane Katrina in the Library:

Writer's Market 2008 is in!

Trying to find a publisher or a literary agent? Want to target specific consumer magazines or trade journals and don't know their editorial policies? The Writer's Market is an excellent reference source for the "where and how to sell what you write." It's available in the Library's 2nd floor reference stacks area.

Have questions? Need help? Just click

Do you like free donuts?

While this isn't in any way tied to the Library (or to the "Donut Day" extravaganzas we've held in the past), we thought you might like to know that the Dunkin' Donuts™ on the corner of Wabash and Harrison is offering a free donut (one per customer, per visit) on Mondays throughout July. Maybe you want to grab a quick pick-me-up before heading over to the Library? Mmmm...free donuts and information.

In the spotlight: Chocolate

The true history of chocolate









Pure imagination : the making of Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory







The new taste of chocolate : a cultural and natural history of cacao with recipes







The emperors of chocolate : inside the secret world of Hershey and Mars








Chocolate therapy : dare to discover your inner center!




The Library's bookshelves and databases are covered in (information about) chocolate! Come sit in our newly-remodeled Weisman Reading Room and read today's New York Times--the food section has an article describing the merits of British chocolate over American chocolate. Or read the full text of the article HERE through our America's Newspapers database.


Have questions? Need help? Just click

Spice up your summer at the Library!

Have you been wishing you knew how to cook more than just hot water for tea and ramen noodles? Getting bored with cafeteria and fast food or your usual rotation of recipes? Then check out some cookbooks from the Library this summer! Go to the catalog and search by Subject for Cookery or just try a keyword like Vegetarian or Pasta. Or simply come on up to the 3rd floor and browse the shelves in the 641.5 range. Your stomach (and wallet) thanks you!

New database: Biography Reference Bank

The Library has recently acquired the Biography Reference Bank!

Did you know...

• that Martha Graham was born in 1894 and continued to choreograph her dance company until she died a month before her 97th birthday?
• that Barack means "blessed" in Swahili?
• that David Bowie's life was changed by reading Jack Kerouac's On the Road and that he has a son named Zowie Bowie?
• that Georgia O'Keefe lived in Chicago briefly in the early 1900's and did free-lance commercial art work?

Well, now you do! You can find out about these famous people and more using Biography Reference Bank, just one of the many databases the Library offers featuring all kinds of interesting biographical information from reputable reference sources!

Have questions? Need help? Just click

New books (July 2007)

View a full list of this month's latest arrivals. Here are a few selected titles:

Chicago: Fashion Hub

Today's New York Times featured an article on fashion in Chicago. It discussed Fashion Focus Chicago, an upcoming event (October, 2007) organized by the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs. Check out that website for lots of links to Chicago Fashion sources, local designers and more.

And keep an eye out for Fashion Week Chicago, coming up in September 2007.

And if you missed this year's Fashion Columbia event during Manifest, be sure to put it on your calendar for May, 2008!

Read the full text of the NYT article HERE, available through the Library's America's Newspapers database.

Want to learn more about fashion in Chicago and beyond? Try some of the databases listed under our Find Articles--Fashion category. Need help? Just click

Welcome "new" Library staff members!

The Library would like to welcome our newest staff members, Kristin Lipowski and Cole Robertson.

Kristin has been a part-time image cataloger but has accepted the newly created full-time position of Visual Resources Cataloger. She will begin her new role in August.

Cole returns to the library as our new Visual Resources Coordinator. He was formerly a student worker here before graduating with an MFA in Photography in 2006. His photography was selected for the SOHO Photo Gallery's National Juried Photography Competition in July.

Welcome and congratulations to Kristin and Cole!

Expand your musical horizons

The library is always receiving new music--here are some highlights from this month's arrivals:


Slavic Soul Party: Teknochek collision



Billy Bragg: Talking with the taxman about poetry



Crime scene USA: classic film noir themes & jazz tracks



MC Solaar: Mach 6



Shins: Chutes too narrow

Read any good books lately?

Take a break from those summer courses or get going on that promise to read more this summer (before it's too late!). Not sure what to read? Try our new Fiction Connection database. You can plug in a title or an author that you like and be pointed to other works that you might enjoy. You can also search by genre, timeframe, location and more. Who knows? You just may discover your new favorite book.

Once you've identified a book (or two or three or...) that you'd like, use the library's catalog to see if we have it. Checked out? Not here? Use the I-Share link in the catalog or search over 70 libraries directly to see who else might have the book--you can request to have it sent to you here.

As always, if you have any questions or if we can be of any help at all, simply use our service.

Faster internet! Speed! Speed!

On Friday, the library underwent a long-anticipated network upgrade. What does this mean for you? No more choppy YouTube downloads and a much faster internet connection in general! Even your Wireless access should be faster (hint: the Library 2nd Floor connection is the fastest wireless access point at this time). Find books and articles faster! Fasten your seatbelts and happy searching!

Library computers upgraded to Office 2007 suite

No--you're not crazy. Not if you do a double-take when you open up Word or Excel or PowerPoint on the library computers, anyway. The new Office 2007 interface has a different look than what you may be used to from older versions of the software, but don't despair--all of the features you've become accustomed to are still there, you just may need to spend a minute looking for some of them.

If you're using Word and freaking out because you can't find Print or Save or some of the other basics, one big help tip is to use the "Word Home" button, located in the upper left of the screen.
It looks like this:



Of course, you can always ask for help on the 2nd floor at the Reference desk or use our handy service.

Cool off with a good movie in the library!

Temperatures are rising as summer officially nears here in Chicago, but it's cool (literally and figuratively) here in the library! Why not head up to the 5th floor and watch a favorite flick on one our viewing stations? You may be surprised by our collection.

View a whole list of new movies just added to the collection in June HERE or search our movie collection HERE

Don’t see what you’re looking for? No problem. Just drop us a note using the online Suggestion Form and we’ll do what we can to get your favorite films.

New Books, Music & Movies (June 2007)

View a list of the newest arrivals.

• books
• music
• movies

In the Spotlight: Company Research

Researching a company can be tough and time consuming.

Consult our research guide for tips that will save you time!

New Books, Music & Movies (May 2007)

View a list of the newest arrivals:

• books
• music
• movies