New Study Skills section at Leamington LRC

All of the Study Skills books have been shelved together in a new section of the library and can be found at the following class numbers:

Study skills: 001.42

Writing essays and assignments: 001.43

Data collection & questionnaire design: 001.433

Exam technique: 001.5

We hope that you will find this new section useful. If you need any help to find the books you need, please ask any member of the LRC staff!

posted by Sophie

Welcome to the LRC Blog!

A big “Welcome!” to all new students and ”Welcome Back!” to the rest of you! Here’s hoping you had a nice break, and the transition back into ’study mode’ isn’t too hard on the brain!

For those of you that are new to the LRC blog, this is a place where our staff post all kinds of information for your interest and reading pleasure, covering a wide scope of interests, topics and resources relevant to college courses.

Why not drop us a line and let us know what you want to hear more about. This is YOUR blog, YOUR LRC and we want to hear from YOU!

Wishing you all the best in the new academic year and the coming term!

posted by Sophie

Banksy Exhibition at Bristol City Museum

 

The elusive graffiti artist Banksy has produced his largest show to date, featuring more than 100 previously unseen artworks. Unveiled by Bristol City Museum, the exhibition – Banksy versus Bristol Museum – was kept secret from council bosses and was installed in the council-run museum amid great secrecy. Banksy was previously sought for vandalism by the police and council in his home city of Bristol. He said: ‘This is the first show I’ve ever done where taxpayers’ money is being used to hang my pictures up rather than scrape them off.’

Banksy claims that he has to maintain his anonymity for “legal” reasons. In the press release accompanying the exhibition, he said: “Maybe one day graffiti art will hang in lots of museums and be viewed in the same way as other modern art, although personally I hope it never sinks that low.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2009/jun/12/banksy-bristol-art-exhibition?picture=348798024

The exhibition runs until August 31st 2009, open daily 10am- 5pm; admission free.

For more information, visit www.bristol.gov.uk/museums

posted by Sophie

Free English Classes

Do you know anyone for whom English is not a first language who might be interested in free English classes? 

The classes start next Monday and will be held every afternoon (except Friday) 1.30-3.30pm for the next five weeks.

Classes are taught by trainee teachers under the supervision of an experienced tutor and are at two levels Elementary (Entry 1-2) and Upper Intermediate (Entry 3 / Level 1).

If you know anyone who might be interested they should telephone 01926 884211, email jmeakin@warkscol.ac.uk or pop into the languages department (RLS).

posted by Sophie

Congratulations to Lorna!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to Lorna- the librarian at the Leamington LRC- who is today celebrating having worked in the LRC for 20 years to the day!

posted by Sophie

Attention Art Students!

Andy Warhol’s portrait of David Hockney, part of ‘Pop Life: Art in a Material World’ at Tate Modern, London.

 

Tate Modern’s big autumn show- Pop Life: Art in a Material World- will examine how artists such as Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst have become part of celebrity culture, and will look at the legacy of Andy Warhol’s declaration that “good business is the best art”. The exhibition, three years in the planning, will look at subsequent artists at their most self-aggrandising.

Tate Modern’s chief curator Sheena Wagstaff said they wanted to pinpoint the moment in the 1980s when “a key aspect of late Warhol became a thrilling legacy for subsequent generations of artists”. The show will explore how, after Warhol, artists have not only commented on the mass media culture of the last 30 years, but have been very much a part of it, infiltrating the cult of celebrity.

The show begins with Warhol, the fright-wigged, pale and vacant-looking pop artist who inspired so many. “Artists took permission from Warhol to treat the persona as part of the art itself,” says Catherine Wood, one of the show’s curators. “By the 80s, Warhol was licensing his aura. People would pay for him to turn up to parties and sometimes he would send doubles to effect the same demeanour. He treated the idea of the aura almost like a perfume brand.”

The career of Damien Hirst, one of the most successful of all self-publicising artists, will also feature heavily in the Tate Modern show. It will chart his career from the breakthrough Freeze exhibition in 1988, which introduced the YBAs to a global audience, to the convention-defying sale he organised last year at Sotheby’s.

- Pop Life: Art in a Material World at Tate Modern, October 1st 2009 – January 17th 2010

taken from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/may/12/tate-modern-warhol-artists

posted by Sophie

Check out the new display at Leamington LRC!

What do the following books have in common?:

Where’s Wally

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Lord of the Rings….

 

THEY HAVE ALL BEEN BANNED BOOKS AT SOME TIME!

Come into the LRC at Leamington and see the intriguing Banned Books display (at the main entrance).

posted by Sophie

Thank You from Leamington LRC!

Leamington LRC would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to all of those who contributed to raising funds for Comic Relief by taking part in our literary quiz. With your help we raised a total of £35.50. The lucky winner of the giant Easter egg was Thea Philcox.

posted by Sophie

LRC Quiz for Comic Relief!

The staff at Leamington LRC have compiled a literary quiz in support of Red Nose Day this Friday. Quiz sheets are priced at 50p and are being sold at the LRC main counter. Completed quiz sheets should be returned to the LRC by Friday 20th March. The first correct entry form picked out on Monday 23rd will win a giant Easter egg and all proceeds go to Comic Relief!

posted by Sophie

Thinking about living a Greener life? Here at Leamington LRC we have just the right books for you!

Shades of Green: A (mostly) practical A-Z for the Reluctant Environmentalist by Paul Waddington. 

“Paul’s books will inspire even the most reluctant among us.” — Darina Allen.

 

The Eco-house Manual: How to Carry out Environmentally Friendly Improvements to Your Home by Nigel Griffiths.

‘This manual covers every aspect of domestic renovation from heating and electrical systems through to building materials and outdoor space. Whether you want to work out the payback period on a wind turbine or find out about the most eco-friendly floor covering, all information is presented in a clear and practical format with colour photography throughout.’ – Amazon.co.uk

Building Green: A Complete How-to Guide to Alternative Building Methods by Clarke Snell, Tim Callahan

‘This manual doesn’t just talk about eco-friendly building techniques, but actually shows every step. More than 1,200 close-up photographs, along with in-depth descriptions, follow the real construction of an alternative house from site selection to the final-touch interior details.’ – Amazon.co.uk

DVD Swapshop now at Leamington LRC

Following the success of The DVD/CD recycling scheme at Rugby LRC (see below post- added February 23, 2009), a DVD and CD recycling scheme is now up and running at Leamington LRC! Students and staff are encouraged to bring in any unwanted CDs and DVDs and leave them in the orange box opposite main counter. These items are then free for anyone to take, students and staff can help themselves to whatever takes their interest!

Ask Leamington LRC staff for further details.

posted by Sophie

Check out the new books on offer at Leamington LRC!

An Introduction to Drugs in Sport: Addicted to Winning? By Ivan Waddington, Andy Smith.

“An Introduction to Drugs in Sport provides a detailed and systematic examination of the extent of drug use in sport and attempts to explain why athletes have, over the last four decades, increasingly used performance-enhancing drugs. Richly illustrated throughout with case studies and empirical data, this book is essential reading for anybody with an interest in the relationship between drugs, sport and society.” – Amazon.co.uk

100 Ways to Make Your Business a Success: A Dynamic Resource Book for Small Business Owners Seeking to Transform Their Companies. By Neil Bromage.

“If knowledge is power then this book gives our businessmen and women the ability to create strong, vibrant and successful businesses’. Clive Memmott Chief Executive of Business Link Lancashire ‘No waffle, no preaching, just straightforward advice written in an unfussy, no bulls..t manner. What a nice change.’ Katherine Trimble, Gaelkat Ltd ‘I’m really pleased to see this book come out. Our small businesses are vital to the economy and they need all the help they can get.” Sir John Harvey-Jones. 

 Forensic Mental Health. By Mary McMurran, Najat Khalifa, Simon Gibbon.

“I believe that this will be an invaluable reference guide to anyone who is entering (or thinking of entering) the field, While it may have its greatest appeal to the novice practitioner who wishes to understand the difficult terrain, it will also benefit the more established practitioner provided that he/she is prepared to listen to what it has to say.” Professor Connor Duggan.

The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA.  By James D. Watson.

“One of the two discoverers of DNA recalls the lively scientific quest that led to this breakthrough, from the long hours in the lab, to the after-hours socializing, to the financial struggles that almost sank their project. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.” – Amazon.co.uk

The Workbench Book: A Craftsman’s Guide to Workbenches for Every Type of Woodworking.  By Scott Landis.

“The Workbench Book” is an illustrated guide to workbenches, from a traditional Shaker bench to the mass-produced Workmate. It contains plans for four benches and information on 18th/19th century benches, buying a bench, and carving and examines each bench’s strengths and weaknesses.” – Amazon.co.uk

Attention All Art Students!

Hermito's Children by Spartacus Chetwynd

The Tate Triennial 2009 at London’s Tate Britain has arrived! The museum’s fourth Triennial exhibition- entitled ‘Altermodern’ and curated by Nicolas Bourriaud- shows long-established figures alongside unknowns from Britiain and abroad. 

Here’s how the museum explains the consept behind this exhibition:

 ”A new modernity is emerging, reconfigured to an age of globalisation – understood in its economic, political and cultural aspects: an altermodern culture. Increased communication, travel and migration are affecting the way we live. Our daily lives consist of journeys in a chaotic and teeming universe. Multiculturalism and identity is being overtaken by creolisation: Artists are now starting from a globalised state of culture. This new universalism is based on translations, subtitling and generalised dubbing. Today’s art explores the bonds that text and image, time and space, weave between themselves. Artists are responding to a new globalised perception. They traverse a cultural landscape saturated with signs and create new pathways between multiple formats of expression and communication. The Tate Triennial 2009 at Tate Britain presents a collective discussion around this premise that postmodernism is coming to an end, and we are experiencing the emergence of a global altermodernity”.

The Tate Triennial 2009 at Tate Britain is running between 4th February – 26th April 2009. For more information visit http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/altermodern

posted by Sophie

Big Green Week

12 – 16 January 2009

‘Big Green Week’ – a sustainability and environment theme week – runs throughout this week. There will be information and display stands across all of Warwickshire Colleges’ sites.

Here at the LRC, we encourage students to do their bit by recycling any unwanted paper in the paper recycling bins provided. As paper does grow on trees, please do remember to recycle and please try to avoid wasting paper when printing out information – THINK BEFORE YOU PRINT!

You can find out more about what the college is doing towards recycling and take a look at the college sustainability policy at: http://www.warkscol.ac.uk/cms/content/public/intranet/college_information_and_support/estates/recycling_and_sustainability/web_info_dec_08/page_03.htm

Further information, associated links and a resource for use in tutorials, can also be found on the intranet: http://www.warkscol.ac.uk/intranet/default.asp?cNode=20657 

REDUCE  REUSE  RECYCLE!

posted by Sophie

New books at Leamington LRC!!

Just a reminder that Leamington Spa LRC will be open throughout the Summer holidays from 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday.

New books for loan this week include:

The Black Death: A Personal History by John Hatcher

‘In this new and fresh historical approach to the history of the Black Death, Professor John Hatcher recreates everyday life in a mid-fourteenth century parish in rural England. By focusing on the experiences of ordinary villagers as they lived, and died during the Black Death (1345-50), Hatcher vividly places the reader into the tumultuous fourteenth century and describes in fascinating detail everyday life amidst the tragic effects of the plague.’

Visual Merchandising: Window and In-Store Displays for Retail by Tony Morgan

‘A great introduction for retail students, this book offers a user-friendly reference guide to all aspects of visual merchandising. Covering both window dressing and in-store areas, and including a range of stores from fashion emporia to small outlets, the book contains a wealth of practical advice, as well as case studies and hints and tips from established visual merchandisers.’

Ultraviolent Movies: From Sam Peckinpah to Quentin Tarantino by Laurent Bouzereau

‘The book is clearly separated into eight categories which capture the essence of the violence within the films being refereed to. Bouzereau has successfully collated numerous films, from known and unknown directors, and explores the reasons for violence within them. He has integrated pictures throughout and combined with academic comments on the films, has ensured this book has something to offer everyone.’